by Ines Johnson
“Only.”
He grins as he takes another turn, his green gaze makes me feel like a priceless gem. “We’re going to keep it that way.”
This relationship between us should not be moving this fast. We’ve only just met two nights ago. But there are many cases of love at first sight. Tons of movies and books about it. I wonder if this is love that I’m feeling as we do eighty miles per hour in a forty zone.
“You don’t think we’re going too fast?” I voice my concern.
Hadrian removes his hand from my face and places it back on the wheel. The speedometer on the dash ticks down as he engages the brake.
“No,” I say. “I mean us. What’s between us. It’s happening so fast. I mean, we barely know each other.”
We’re in the heart of the city of Tucson. I recognize a few of the buildings around us by the high rises in the skyline, but I haven’t been to this particular street before. He’s parked in front of a club. The people walking in and out look dazed as though they drank too much and won’t remember the good time they had inside.
Hadrian reaches over. He unstraps me from my belt. He lifts me up out of the passenger seat and brings me into the driver’s seat with him.
After settling me in his lap, he asks, “What do you want to know?”
I look into his eyes. They are clear, open books. I know nothing about this man. But what I do know is that I have access to everything inside him.
His every thought. His every wish. I need but ask. He would give me his all.
So why am I holding back?
“I just want to know one thing,” I say. “One thing that you want me to know about you.”
Hadrian opens his mouth. Then closes it. He swallows hard. After a moment he places my hand on his heart. “I want you to know that it’s never felt like this for me before.”
The warmth from his chest seeps from his flesh and into my fingertips. Something pulses in the palm of my hand. Then it arrows straight to my heart.
“You’ve been in lo-.” I cough to cover my flub. “I mean you’ve had other lovers before? Of course, you had other lovers.”
Hadrian unfurls my fingers from his chest and brings my palm to his lips. “Only one.”
That arrow in my heart twists. But not painfully. He’s turned a lock and the floodgates rush open. My eyeballs go to my hairline and I see my skull.
But I temper my response. He did say one. There had been someone else before me.
“Domitia?” I repeat the name I’d heard earlier tonight.
Of all that’s happened between us in the last forty-eight hours, it’s those four syllables that make Hadrian wince. What had Viri said she’d done to him? Put his private parts in a vice? I wonder what he meant by that metaphor?
“You loved her?” I ask.
“I…?”
I hear the question in that single letter. His gaze clouds. He squints, looking off into the night. Finally, Hadrian sighs and rests his forehead on my chest. I cradle his head like he is a child in need of comfort.
“Where is she?” I ask.
“Dead.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out before he continues. “I never thought I’d feel… anything again. And then you fell into my arms.”
Hadrian lifts his head from my chest. My hand still cups his face. He rests all of the weight of his worries and cares there.
“Fast or slow,” he says, “I don’t care about the speed. All I know is I want to feel this way forever.”
“Me too,” I agree.
His kiss is slow. His lips take their time on the curve around my lower lip. As they reach the bend of my top lip, the speed and the urgency increases. Neither of us pumps the brakes as we crash into one another. Our mouths are on a high-speed chase that just might end in our total destruction.
He kisses my forehead tenderly when he pulls away. Then my eyelids. Followed by my nose. He shifts in his seat. I note he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, but I don’t comment.
“Do you want me to wait in the car?” I ask when he reaches for the door handle.
“No.” He opens the car door and steps out with me in his arms. “We won’t be inside for long. But stick close to me.”
“Is this place dangerous?”
“Your life will never be in danger with me.”
Hadrian places me on the ground and takes my hand. Our fingers twine as we walk to the closed doors of the club. The sign overhead reads Club Toxic. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this place. When the doors open and my mouth gapes, I see why.
Chapter 23
Hadrian
I keep my hold on Carignan tight as we leave the writhing bodies of the top floor and descend into the dungeon. The first time I came through these doors, the deviant acts and depraved inhibitions had no effect on me. But when Cari hesitates on the threshold and presses her ass back into my groin, I get an immediate rise.
I wrap my arms around her. Partly for her protection. Mostly as a display of my possession of her. It’s paramount that every man, monster, and beast in this room recognize upfront that this woman has been claimed.
She hasn’t even entered the room and her scent already has a few nostrils flaring. I catch the eye of a tall, wiry vampire. My vision is sharp, so I see the glint of fang. I flash mine fully, hissing a low warning. The vampire lowers his gaze and moves on.
Carignan’s fingers tremble as they search for mine. She entwines her hands with mine and squeezes. I squeeze back to reassure her. But as her scent wafts up to my nose, I’m not sure that it’s fear that I’m scenting on her.
I take in the dungeon through her eyes. The naked woman strapped to the Saint Andrew’s Cross moaning in pleasure as a man flogs her bare cunt. A row of men and women bent over spanking benches as canes play a drum roll upon their asses. In the open play area, two males hold a woman in between them as they double penetrate her ass and pussy, pumping in and out in time to the music. The woman’s head lolls back and from side to side in ecstasy. I’m not entirely sure she’s still conscious.
Cari squeezes my hand again and presses further back into my chest. I hold her to me, assuring her that no one will touch her.
That’s why I brought her in with me. The hell would I leave her in the car on the street. My suspicions of her brother aside, wolves and vampires roam these parts freely. The safest place for her will always be by my side, in my arms.
“This is a sex club,” she says.
“Yes.”
“Are you… into this?”
Is it my imagination? Is it wishful thinking? Or do I note a hitch of interest in her voice?
I have every intention of training her in the ways of the erotic arts. Or what is known today as BDSM. But in private.
Having her arms wrapped around me earlier and her fingers entwined with mine now is a new kind of joy. But I ache to tie her down, have her entirely immobile while I pleasure her to unconsciousness so that when she wakes from her orgasmic stupor there will be no doubt in her world that she is mine.
For now, I follow her gaze. It is on the woman tied to a Saint Andrew’s Cross.
“Does that interest you?” I whisper in her ear. The tip of my tongue touches the cone of her ear and I taste the heat that has spread from her cheeks to her ears.
Her head tilts back. Her gaze flicks to me. Then down to the ground.
Perfectly submissive.
“I…” She bites her lower lip as she sneaks another glance. “I don’t know.”
Lies. She will get a punishment for not speaking her true desires.
“Maybe,” her gaze lifts. Her fingers twist, pulling and tugging at the skin around my knuckles. “But not with an audience. I don’t want to be passed around or for others to see me like that.”
I spin her around to face me. My grip on her shoulders is a bit rough, but I need her to understand this most important fact in her new life. “You belong to me.”
Her gaze hoods, as though her lids have grown heavy with desire. Her chest lif
ts as she takes in a deep breath. The outline of her taut nipples is clear beneath the fabric of her dress. Praise the Fates she does not resist my claim because she no longer has a choice in the matter.
“No one else will ever taste what’s between your thighs or in your veins.”
“My veins?” Her fog of desire clears momentarily.
I have no idea how long I can hold my tongue about what I am from her. I already know that I can’t hold my fangs at bay. A pang of desperate hunger is growing inside me. Blood bags simply will not do any longer. At least Viri will be happy.
“Why, if it isn’t the Prince of Pain, himself.”
I look over Carignan’s shoulder to find Frangelico approach. The Vampire King is not alone. His queen is with him tonight.
I’ve heard of the wolf who claimed Frangelico’s heart and drank his blood. She is a beauty. White blonde hair, long limbs, and a feral look in her eyes that warn that she isn’t entirely tame.
“Such manners,” purrs Frangelico. “You’ve brought a fresh toy to play with? A delicacy at that. She smells untouched.”
“She’s mine,” I growl, tucking Carignan behind me.
“Understood.” Frangelico smiles, clearly unfazed by my show of dominance.
I am in his house. Surrounded by his sireds. Besides that, Frangelico is ancient. He wouldn’t need help disposing of me. But I need his help. So I take a deep breath and try to focus.
“She will not be touched without your express permission,” says Frangelico. “You’re welcome to stay and play as long as you like.”
“We’re not here to play,” I say. “I need information.”
“The man who wanted no part in our politics has come to me two nights in a row to ask a favor?” Frangelico turns to his bride who has not taken her gaze off me. “Selene, will you take Hadrian’s guest to the bar for a drink while we talk?”
Kissing Cari’s knuckles, I relinquish my hold on her and hand her to Selene. Carignan’s gaze is questioning. I can only nod my head, hoping she will trust me. She does and turns to go with Selene.
Selene is a newly made vampire. But she is also a wolf. She has a modicum of my trust. But I still track their movements and don’t take my eyes off Cari.
“What can I do for you this time?” asks Frangelico.
“Arneis Durand. What is he to you?”
“Well, seeing as you’re here with his baby sister, I feel I should be asking you that.”
“He was here two nights ago. Why?”
“A bribe.” Frangelico shrugs.
My teeth clench until my molars grind. If Frangelico had anything to do with Cari’s near-deaths, I don’t care how many of his sireds I will have to gut, I will start a war.
“A zoning issue I paid to have swept under the table,” he continues. “Standard political swamp. Arneis Durand likes to pretend he’s above it all. And for a time he was. But now he’s cash poor.”
“Cash poor, you say?”
“Durand Vineyard has fallen on hard times since the father’s death. But the enterprise is still quite lucrative. Arneis wants to sell to pay off debts, but the older sister is tenacious. I’ve made a very generous offer.”
“The Durand Vineyard is not for sale any longer.”
“Really?” Frangelico raises a brow.
“Really,” I insist.
Frangelico shrugs again. I’m certain it’s no skin off his back. The vampire is richer than a Saudi prince. “As long as my personal cellar is stocked, we won’t have any problems.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding. This was not exactly a dead end into who sabotaged Cari’s safety harness. Arneis has motive. I need to get the man alone, where I can force him to look me in the eye and tell me the truth. But that will have to wait.
“My offer stands to stay and play,” says Frangelico.
My gaze has not left Cari. Her back is to me. I have a clear view of the outline of her ass. My mind is outlining all the things I want to do with it.
Yes, I think we will stay to play.
Chapter 24
Cari
The door snicks closed behind us. I stand in darkness. A second later there is light but only enough to see what’s before me.
On a small platform is a large apparatus that looks like a giant tripod. At the center of the three legs of the contraption hangs a metal hoop. I try to take in a deep breath, but my lungs are too busy pushing air out as I pant.
What have I gotten myself into?
Hadrian walks around the tripod and begins checking its knobs and gears. His face is all business as he does so. Complete focus and concentration, like he’s done this before.
Of course, he has. He tied me up expertly last night. I watch him now as he takes varying lengths of rope.
“The Prince of Pain. Why do they call you that?” I ask, partly to distract myself from what I’ve agreed to. Do I really even know what I’ve agreed to?
“It’s my old job,” he says as he inspects the rope, running his fingers along the twined strands.
I’m not sure what he’s looking for. It all looks like it’s unbreakable to me.
“Which was?” I prompt him when he does not elaborate.
Hadrian’s gaze flicks to mine. “I used to hurt people, Carignan. Does that scare you?”
“So you were mafia?”
“No. Worse. But not anymore. Not for a long time.” He places the rope aside but doesn’t come to me. “Aren’t you going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“If I will hurt you?”
“No.” I shake my head with certainty. “I know you would never.”
The look he gives me is inscrutable. But I know I’ve said the right thing. It was an easy answer. It’s the truth.
Although I’m nervous about what’s about to happen, I have not a single doubt in my mind that Hadrian would never hurt me. I might feel a bit of pain. But the times he’s bound me the pain was fleeting. The pleasure was exquisite. I’m happy to go through a bit of agony now that I know what’s on the other side.
Hadrian holds his hand out to me. I go to him without hesitation.
“Don’t we need a safe word?” I ask.
He grins down at me. He dips his head down and kisses my nose before turning me around. I feel his fingers in my hair, gathering my strands and tugging at them as he weaves my hair into a braid.
“No safe word. I know you. I know how you respond to me. I know what you need. Better than you do, it would appear. Just tell me what you need and I’ll give it to you.”
Well, that’s easy. “I need you.”
“I know,” he says as he lets me go.
The long braid falls and taps between my shoulder blades. With fast, sure fingers, he peels the dress from my body, followed by my underwear. I’m naked before him and I’ve never felt so free. Hadrian takes a place beside the tripod.
“Stand here, Cari.”
His voice is full of command. It sends a shiver down my spine. I go where he instructs me to go beneath the tripod.
He picks up a length of rope and walks toward me. I stare at the rope and my breath catches in my throat. Any tension releases from my body on a strained exhale as my nipples tighten to hard points.
“Is this what you want?” he asks.
I look from Hadrian then back to the rope. He stands before me; tall and gorgeous, eyes intent on my body as he charts a path to my pleasure. My skin prickles as the air conditioning kicks on from above blowing at the fine hairs on my forearms.
My ears perk up. My eyes are so focused. It is sensation overload.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Hands.”
My hands come up on their own accord and I present my wrists.
“Ragazza brava.”
He takes my wrists in his hands. His touch is electric. He guides my hands behind my back, folding one forearm over the other. His chest presses into my back, his hips and torso meet my ass. His belt buckle brushes against the skin of my lower back.
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He wraps the rope around my wrist. The feel of the ropes and their restriction ignite something within me. I am at his mercy, the mercy of his sure hands.
Hadrian rests his chin in the crook of my neck as he pulls the ropes taut. My head lolls back to rest against his cheek. I tilt my head up, offering him my lips.
“Spread those pretty thighs for me, stellia.”
I open my legs, a little off balance since my hands are tied behind my back.
“Ragazza brava.”
He kneels behind me. I hear a cap flip open. Then I feel fingers on my pussy lips. I gasp, almost teetering over from my wide-legged stance. But Hadrian lends me his chest for balance. The fingers on my pussy lips are warm and wet. He rubs lube on my clit and labia, slowly, lightly, until I am panting. With just that light touch, I am close to orgasm. Hadrian pulls his fingers away from me as soon as I start to tremble.
I hear the cap open again. Then I feel the same wet warmth on my anus.
Wait? What? But I don’t have time to reject his touch at my exit.
He circles my puckered hole a few times before he enters. My eyes flutter at the sensation as he pushes his finger in. I gasp again as he pushes in knuckle-deep.
With his finger up my ass, it takes a moment for my mind to work. Is he about to take my anal virginity before penetrating me vaginally?
But he withdraws his finger. I clench at the vacancy. My eyes open as he rounds me. He places a pink anal plug on the stand before us. Hadrian examines the plug and then regards me.
Does he want my permission? I can’t open my mouth to form words. I’m not sure what I’d say if he asks. Do I want something up my ass? I’d never even considered it before just a moment ago.
Hadrian walks behind me with the pink plug. A second later, I feel the cool plastic of the pink plug greet my anus.
“Bear down,” he says.
I do as I’m told. The plug slides home without any obstruction. Hadrian gives it a firm push. I feel the end of the round suction stopper on my ass cheeks. The plug isn’t painful, but neither is it pleasant. There is a slight discomfort, as though my body knows it shouldn’t be there.