by Laura Kaye
She gulped, and after a moment, her eyes hardened with challenge. “I’ll do whatever I pleas—”
Before she could finish, he captured her lips in a punishing kiss, thrusting his tongue inside her sweet-as-honey mouth, swallowing her gasp as he kissed the air right out of her lungs. She moaned, and his already hard cock twitched. Keeping her arms restrained, his tongue moving with hers, he poured all of his emotions into that one kiss.
Something rammed into his groin.
“Son of a bitch!” He broke away, dropping both hands to protect the sensitive spot. Brynn stayed plastered to the wall, her chest heaving. He looked at her in disbelief. “You…kneed me.”
“It’s no more than you deserved.” Her eyes blazed as she glared at him. “What did you expect? First you kiss me, then you insult me, and then you jump me all over again. And you think I’m going to take it without any argument? What is your malfunction?”
“I…” Straightening, he backed up a few inches when she poked her finger in his chest.
“Did you mean what you said earlier? Am I really just an inconvenience to you?”
“No.” What a vision she made. Anger flushed her cheeks and darkened her normally calm green eyes to the color of the sea during a raging storm. He didn’t know whether to be wary or turned on, but right now he was a little of both. “You aren’t an inconvenience.”
“Then what?” she persisted, her brow crinkling. “Why did you push me away?”
“Because…”
“Finish it. Why?”
“Because I shouldn’t want you, that’s why,” he admitted, unable to stop himself from saying the words, despite the fact that he fucking knew better. “But I can’t help it. I do.”
Her eyes narrowed in on him and he drew back, raking a hand through his hair as he pondered where they would go from here. From the way she stared at him, he half expected her to try and punch him again. No doubt he deserved it.
“Oh, Keegan…” she said instead, her voice soft and somber.
“I—”
Before he could say anything further, she jumped him, expertly closing her mouth over his. He stumbled backward a few steps at her unexpected weight before wrapping his arms around her and returning her kiss. Knowing the whole time it was wrong, but unable to stop.
She lifted first one leg, then the other, to wrap around his hips. Her movement brought his cock right in line with her core, and he rubbed up against her. Even then, it wasn’t enough. He needed her closer, until he was inside of her. He wanted it with a burning intensity that overwhelmed all sense of reason.
“I told you not to push me,” he reminded her hoarsely, breaking away.
Her luscious lips curved into a wicked smile. “But I want to push you.”
That much was clear. With a muttered curse, he stumbled a few steps to the low dresser and sat her on top of it. Her new position aligned her perfectly to his body, as if she were tailor-made for him.
“Be careful what you wish for.” Bending down, he claimed her lips in another deep, searing kiss.
…
Brynn was on fire. Keegan’s tongue thrust against hers, matching the pulsing rhythm of his arousal rubbing between her thighs. It was almost too much. She arched her back as her hands traveled under the light fabric of his shirt. She tugged his jacket off and tossed it to the side, gasping when he did the same to her sweater.
He gazed at her black, lacy bra for a long moment before groaning and cupping each of her breasts with his hands. Then, with a simple flick of his hand, the bra came off and fell on the floor alongside her sweater.
“Damn, you’re beautiful,” he said, stroking his thumbs along her nipples. “Just as I’d dreamed.”
Her cheeks warmed. “You dreamed about me?”
He chuckled, obviously amused, as he lowered his head to take one breast into his mouth. She arched with a low cry, pressing his head to her body. Then he moved to lavish the same attention on the other, tugging and rolling his tongue across the nipple.
She needed to feel him—not just the corded muscles of his back, which even now rippled under her touch, but his length pressing so determinedly against the front of his jeans. Keegan let out a harsh groan as she unbuttoned his fly. The hardened heat of his arousal felt like steel against the fabric of his jeans. What would he feel like under her fingertips?
Nothing would stop her from finding out.
“Brynn,” he gasped.
She unzipped his jeans, then took his silky length into her hands. He was big and hard and oh-so-hot against her palms. Closing a fist around him, she slid her palm up, then down, reveling in the feel of his flesh. He tore his mouth from her breasts and buried his face in her neck, breathing in ragged bursts of air. “That feels so good.”
He rewarded her with another kiss, keeping time with the shaky movements of her hand. But he broke away with a husky laugh and gazed down at her, an almost sad expression crossing his face. “If there were a Hell, I’d be going to it for sure.”
Gently, he tugged her hands away from his arousal, and in response, she made a mewling protest that she could hardly believe came from her. She whimpered when he licked her belly button, and at the same time, his deft fingers unbuttoned her jeans and tugged off her boots. Faster than she could blink, he’d slipped her jeans down and off her.
“Wow, you’re fast.”
He chuckled, his breath caressing the bare skin of her belly. “Sometimes you have to live in the moment.”
Her giggle turned into a soft cry as he knelt down and tore off her lacy underwear, just as easily as he’d done in her dreams. Tossing her legs over his shoulders, he cupped her ass and lifted her off the dresser. His tongue found her slick core and unceremoniously dipped inside.
“Oh, God!” Her shaky arms supported her body while he pleasured her with his mouth and tongue. In seconds, her whole body shook uncontrollably as she panted, on the verge of orgasm. “Please…don’t stop.”
She moaned her disappointment when he broke away and rose. She was almost there. But then he kissed her, slow and erotic, and soon she was squirming once more.
He looked at her with marked satisfaction. “Just as I’d thought.”
She blinked. “What?”
“You do taste like strawberries and cream.” His lips found hers as he thrust a finger inside her wet core. She struggled for breath, pushing her hips upward. He withdrew it, then held her hips down with one hand. The other hand moved between her legs. Before she could brace herself, he’d thrust two thick, long fingers all the way inside. She cried out, arching her back. Her body convulsed in a mind-shattering orgasm that only increased in intensity as he continued to move his fingers in and out. He didn’t stop until the last of her spasms had died away.
“Brynn…” he groaned against her lips.
Pulling away, she dropped her gaze to where his erection jutted out of his half-undone jeans. She circled her hand around it. “Please. I need you.”
“I need you, too. More than you know.”
Crushing her into his arms, he breathed into her neck for a long moment before lifting her off the dresser and carrying her to the bed.
A loud knock cracked through the air a split second before they reached the bed. Ronin’s voice was barely audible through the wooden door of the suite. “Keeg, are you in there? I forgot my cell phone. My key. Fuck. Keegan?”
The door rattled again, sounding perilously on the verge of being broken in.
Keegan cursed. Dropping her on the bed, he broke away hastily, his expression equal parts lust, guilt, and regret.
Feeling uncertain, Brynn watched in silence as he quickly zipped himself back up.
“Keegan?” she whispered.
“Get dressed,” was all he said, before turning and striding out of the room.
The door rattled after he closed it, like he was doing something to it.
She found her clothes and pulled them on. When she stood in front of the door, Keegan’s and Ronin’s muffled voices filtered
through the wood, though they were too low for her to pick up any actual words. Holding her breath, she carefully turned the knob. It stuck. Stifling a curse, she tried to pull it open, but nothing.
That asshole! Somehow he’d jammed the lock as he’d left. Once again, she was imprisoned.
Brynn willed herself to calm down as she slid to the floor, her back against the door.
It’s okay. It’s for your own protection. You’re not a prisoner.
The problem was, she wasn’t so sure she believed it anymore.
Chapter Fourteen
He couldn’t sleep.
Ronin finally gave up trying and rose off the bed, staring across the room to where his big brother lay on the second double bed. He had a funny feeling Keegan couldn’t sleep, either, but was pretending otherwise.
“Keeg?” he said, testing his theory.
His brother’s chest continued to rise and fall evenly. Not even a twitch.
Yeah, he was definitely faking it. That fucker.
He needed a drink.
Ronin padded out to the parlor. After filling a glass to the brim with straight whiskey, he opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside. Even now, crowds of half-naked drunk people stumbled throughout the streets.
“Idiots.” He chuckled. Damn, how he envied them. No cares in the world. No idea just how precarious the fate of their world was right now. They were so blissfully ignorant.
Not once had he ever had that luxury.
Ronin took a big gulp of his whiskey, feeling it burn down his throat and wishing it would drown his worries. But he knew it wouldn’t. He knew what Keegan and Brynn had been up to earlier. Was his brother stupid enough to think he’d buy the line of bullshit he’d tried to feed him about how he was “talking” to Brynn? Yeah, right. Talking. That he’d even tried to get him to believe that spoke to Keegan’s desperation.
Keegan was in immediate danger of going over the edge, if he hadn’t done so already. And Ronin couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him. Worse was the realization that if Brynn wasn’t the heir, he wouldn’t want to stop him. Keegan deserved some happiness in his life. Too bad the woman who seemed most likely to give it to him was the one woman they might have to destroy. And if Keegan somehow lost his mind and tried to challenge the Council, they would kill him.
Why can’t life ever be easy?
Now he had to decide whether or not to report what had happened to Taeg. If Taeg knew, he’d probably flash over and terminate Brynn himself. Not because he was an asshole—which admittedly, he was—but because he loved Keegan too damn much to let him risk his own life.
…
Brynn was back inside her New York apartment. Some distant part of her brain recognized this wasn’t possible. She was dreaming. It felt real, though.
A breeze blew in through the open window, fluttering her sheer curtain so that it resembled a butterfly taking flight on gossamer wings. She pulled the curtain all the way to the side. Instead of her familiar nighttime street view, she saw a never-ending backdrop of desert. Nothing but desert.
“Egypt.”
“Is that what you see?” said a gravelly voice.
Brynn’s heart pummeled her ribcage. She forced herself to swallow hard before glancing behind her. It was Keegan’s father. Again. He stood beside the door to her room, an intrigued expression on his deceptively benign face. She recalled her earlier dream of the woman in the cave and fury rose within her, followed in equal parts by fear. This man was the personification of evil…and for some reason she couldn’t explain, the image of him haunted her sleep.
“Get out of my dream.” She turned back to the desert scene, making sure her dismissal of him was clear. Instead of obeying, he stood next to her and surveyed the view, the fabric of his slacks sliding against her nightgown. She stifled a shudder of disgust, reminding herself that it was only a dream. She could make herself wake up whenever she wanted. Couldn’t she?
At least this time, they were both fully clothed.
“What part of Egypt is this?” he asked in a casual tone.
Answering him seemed idiotic, considering he was part of her imagination, but somehow she felt compelled to. Maybe if she engaged him, whatever dark recess of her mind had conjured him up would be appeased. “I’ve never been to Egypt before, so I can only guess it’s Memphis.”
Keegan’s father stilled. “Memphis?”
Brynn shrugged. “I imagine. Since I heard the name, it’s been rooting around in my subconscious.”
“Indeed.”
Brynn surveyed him closely, studying the similarities and the differences he had with Keegan. “What are you doing here?”
“Same thing, I imagine.” He gave her an oily smirk. “Rooting around in your subconscious.”
That made sense. She still hadn’t processed the whole deal in her mind. Keegan’s memories had shown her just how evil his father was. How had such a heinous demon, an abuser and a rapist, managed to create four decent sons? Mind-boggling.
He surveyed her room. “No Keegan here tonight, I see.”
She’d noticed that, too. “No. Not tonight.”
“Hmm…I would have thought you’d be dreaming of where you are right now.”
“The hotel?” she scoffed. “No, no unresolved feelings about that.”
“But it’s such a nice location.”
“Yes,” Brynn agreed. “I always did like this city.”
He didn’t speak for a long moment. “I would so love to see your view from your hotel.”
She stared at him. This was easily one of the weirdest dreams she’d ever had. “You have seen my view. You’re my subconscious, remember?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “Still…paint a picture for me, will you?”
“Whatever.” With a careless wave, Brynn pictured the hotel suite. In a flash, her apartment disappeared and they stood outside on the hotel balcony, staring down at a small crowd of people littering the streets.
“Ah, Royal Street,” he breathed. “I always did like New Orleans.”
“I already said that,” Brynn noted, and shook her head. Now she was starting to repeat herself. Weird-ass dream.
He turned back to her. “Thank you, dear.”
“For what?”
Keegan’s father grabbed her hand and bent down as if to kiss it, but she snatched it back before he could. Her skin crawled as if a thousand ants crept over it, provoking an unreasonable stab of fear. She choked in a breath and her fright morphed into anger. This was her dream, and she controlled it.
“I don’t care if you’re a figment of my imagination. Don’t touch me, asshole.”
“I do so like a fighter.” Laughing softly, he straightened and peered over the railing. “One more thing, Brynn.”
“What?” she snapped.
His lips curved upward. “Good-bye. For now.”
Before she could respond, he reached out and gave her a hard shove that sent her flying over the balcony railing. She somersaulted in the air, then hung there for a moment, unable to do anything more than stare at him in shock. Gravity kicked in, and she zoomed toward the ground.
Could you die in a dream? Was that even possible?
She let out a sharp scream as the ground grew closer… Shit!
She jolted awake. Gasping, she sat up in her bed and tried to calm the galloping of her heart. If the stress of everything that had happened over the past few days didn’t kill her, then these crazy dreams might.
…
Early morning light trickled into the room, casting shadows along the wall. The streets were probably at their emptiest. If he was going to leave, now was the perfect time.
Keegan heard sheets rustling behind him as Ronin shifted in his bed, but he didn’t bother to look. His brother wouldn’t be waking any time soon, not unless he woke him. He’d just gone to bed a few hours ago.
At least one of them had managed to get a few hours’ sleep. As for him, well, he’d lain in his bed all night, doing little more than dozi
ng off here and there. The few moments of sleep he had gotten had been haunted by nightmares of his father and the horrifying ways Mammon had tortured him and his brothers. For years after they had initially escaped, Keegan had feared their father would hunt them down and take his revenge. Eventually he’d come to accept the notion that they were finally free of him…but he was wrong. They would never be free, would never be able to outrun the past. The best they could do was try to counteract the horror of their youths with all the good they did now, catching fugitives for the Council. And that was why it was so important to complete this mission.
The chains of responsibility weighed down heavily on him. His obligation was to the Council. To his brothers. How many times had he impressed upon them the need to do what was right, to do the opposite of what their father would have done? And now here he was, putting everything in jeopardy. All because of his dick.
No. That wasn’t true. It wasn’t his dick that was a danger to him.
Brynn had gotten under his skin. Somehow he’d let her worm her way under there, with her green eyes and laughing face, and her undying optimism and belief that others were inherently good.
Ronin’d had that particular trait once, before his father had beaten it out of him.
He harbored no doubt that Ronin hadn’t believed a word of what he’d said yesterday. The silent censure in his eyes was proof enough. But he hadn’t challenged him, like Taeg or even Dagan would have. No, he’d kept quiet, to mull things over in typical Ronin style.
Shit. What was he going to do?
He wasn’t good enough for Brynn. That was obvious. Here she was, trusting him implicitly, and all he could do was feed her half truths, at best.
She wasn’t meant for him. But, by the devil, she had fit him perfectly yesterday, tasted divine. Keegan closed his eyes, savoring the memory of how right for him she’d felt.
One thing was certain: he couldn’t just sit here, awaiting an order that might mean the difference between Brynn’s life or death. He had to do something.
Keegan moved to Ronin’s bed and bent to shake his shoulder. He awoke with a start, sitting up with a questioning look in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”