Reining Him In (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 5)

by Rachael Slate

  “We’ll see about that.” His smug laugh sent chills through her body. The same tone that both made her infuriated and drove her mad with desire.

  That was her Price.

  He pressed on her back, nudging her to bend over, above the bed.

  She gulped as uncertainty flooded through her veins. What had she agreed to?

  “Been dying to see this fine ass like this since I first met you, darling.” He slapped her bottom, then massaged her flesh with his free hand.

  Warm moisture swept across her spine. His tongue? She hissed in a breath, tense with trepidation and anticipation.

  His tongue drew a path downward, following her spine, and not stopping.

  She jolted as the moist velvet of his tongue delved and probed that sensitive opening, his fingers spreading her bottom to feast on her while he dropped to his knees. Dear gods. He really had meant every inch.

  She pierced her claws into the sheets while his lapping, nipping, and sucking filled the room.

  He shifted lower, spearing his tongue into her core. “You taste so fucking good, Daji.” He grunted, and seeming sated, rose.

  She let out a shaky exhalation, but froze again. His thickness rocked between her thighs, gliding across her folds, mingling his wet kisses with her slickness.

  “Relax, this is going to go deeper.” He pinched her bottom in warning.

  And then he drove into her sex.

  She yelped at the shock and tore a line through the sheets.

  He slammed all the way into her. Phaem Nüwa, Sweet Goddess, he was deliciously long.

  Her legs collapsed, toes curling as she gasped to regain her senses.

  He froze. “Too rough?”

  No, but his voice certainly was. She shook her head. “That better not be all you have, Consort.”

  “You might regret that, Princess.”

  “Queen,” she huffed, shoving her hips backward. “And I’m still waiting.”

  ***

  “Fuck yes.” Price rolled his hips and drove into her again, triggering another sharp cry from her lips. It had concerned him at first, but apparently, his Queen liked to scream.

  Liked to be made to scream.

  His fingers spread across her slender waist to her stomach, and hell, he felt himself filling her. Claiming her. Owning her.

  He arched and growled into her ear, “Say you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours,” she wheezed, sounding short of breath.

  “Like you mean it, Daji.” He leaned harder on her, sinking as deep as he could manage without crushing her. Dammit, he couldn’t figure out why he suffered this driving urge to possess her, but he did. If he lost her… His throat tightened and he gave his head a rough shake.

  He’d fucking stop breathing too, that was what.

  If he connected them tightly enough, nothing, not even the darkest powers, would draw them apart. Bloody ridiculous, but he couldn’t reason away the urge.

  He sank his teeth into her shoulder, because maybe a love bite would do the trick.

  “You call that a bite?” Daji smiled at him over her shoulder, flashing those razor-sharp fangs.

  Yeah, Horse didn’t have those.

  “Be glad I’m not Rat.”

  “Why, is he a magnificent lover?”

  “Don’t you even.” He straightened and slapped her firm ass.

  She squirmed, mewling and wriggling. “More.”

  “I’ll show you more, kitten.” He released her hair and drew out of her. The puckered rosebud he’d teased earlier beckoned him. He happened to know the húli jīng had a sweet spot there.

  She was slick from their play, so he guided two fingertips along her silky folds and inched them into that tight slit.

  Daji hissed.

  “Relax. Trust me.” He pressed his fingers deeper, determining she was wet enough. Gently, he guided his cock to where his fingers disappeared, and edged them out while he nudged inside.

  Daji dropped her head and muffled her cries.

  Gently, he settled partway into her, squeezed the base, and released his jīng into her.

  She screamed.

  Hell yeah.

  Her hips undulated wildly against him, shoving him deeper than he’d intended, but she didn’t seem to mind. At all.

  Daji panted…hard.

  He pulled out, admiring his handiwork. She was completely worked over. Mussed hair, flushed cheeks, dilated pupils.

  Glistening pussy.

  Her eyelids fluttered, lashes dropping, and she released a groggy moan. Yeah, consuming so much energy would make any húli jīng sleepy. He wasn’t ready for her to crash yet, so he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the adjoining bathroom, switching on the hot water and stepping beneath the spray.

  She rested her cheek against his pec, sighing as he shifted her around, soaping them both. While they rinsed off, she draped her arms around his neck, and after a few minutes, she pushed off, sliding along his body like a fireman’s pole.

  Then she found that other pole.

  She flicked her tongue across his tip, sending his eyes rolling back in his head. Her long, damp hair plastered around her face, the spray raining on her as she kneeled in front of him and took him into her mouth. Her sharp claws pinched into his ass, the graze of her fangs pricking along his cock, telling him she would play as rough as him. Those thick lashes lifted to reveal glittering mischief in her eyes, and he was done for.

  His cum shot forward and he ground his jaw, riding the wave.

  She drew out every last ounce of jīng he possessed, feasting off him until there was nothing left. This time, she leaned back and broke away, leaving him drained but not dead.

  He managed a grin, gathered her into his arms, switched off the water, and wrapped a towel around them both. “We should grab a nap and try again, hmm?”

  “What, you need to sleep?” A yawn betrayed her arched brow.

  He nipped at her nose, towel dried her off, and tugged her to the bed, collapsing and dragging her on top of him.

  She snuggled into his side, and he slid his eyes shut. In this moment, everything was right in the world.

  And he finally understood what was worth fighting for.

  Her.

  ***

  A thunderous clanging throbbed inside her head. Bang bang bang.

  Daji rubbed her face against the delightfully firm muscle forming her pillow. She sniffed and inhaled a familiar, decadent scent. Price.

  A smile tugged at her lips, until the banging repeated.

  “Wh—at?” Price rolled toward her, groggily mumbling.

  The door. She peeled one eye open. “Someone’s at the door.”

  “Better be pizza.”

  She poked his side, making him jolt and grumble harder. “Fine, I’ll get it.” He shoved his legs off the side of the bed and stomped to the door.

  “Um, you’re naked.”

  He didn’t bother snatching anything to cover himself as he twisted the knob and cracked the door open an inch. “What?”

  “Ah, sorry to interrupt.” A snicker followed the deep baritone. Ox? “Ling’s here.”

  “Gotcha.” Price slammed the door in Kassian’s face and strolled to the bed, plopping beside her.

  Stretching, she hauled her heavy limbs to sit.

  “Whoa, where’re you going?” He nudged her down and hovered above her.

  “They’re waiting for us.”

  He nipped at her ear. “Let’s be fashionably late.”

  She smothered her laugh—that would encourage him. “Not this time.” Poking a claw into his chest, she forced him back, and shuffled out from underneath him. After sauntering to the closet, she chose a few garments Lucy had placed for her. So thoughtful. She slipped on the black silk blouse and tugged up the crimson A-line skirt.

  “Okay, changed my mind. You can get dressed.” Price stalked behind her and lifted the hem of her skirt, whistling in admiration.

  “Hey.” She slapped aside his hand. “You to
o.”

  He groaned, trapping her in his arms and squeezing tight. “Fine, but you’re going to owe me later.”

  “Hmm. Depends on whether you behave.” She arched her brow in challenge.

  “Swear, I’ll be good. I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” He held up his hand in oath, then thrust his fingers under her skirt, between her thighs. “Until you tell me otherwise.” His fingers speared into her sex, and she gasped. He withdrew them and licked them clean while his gaze locked onto hers. Winking, he swaggered to rifle through the closet.

  Daji clasped her hand to her chest, evening her breaths. The man had a potent effect on her. One look from him and she was ready to, well, bend over.

  She discarded the naughty reminiscence and stepped to the door, tugging it open. Price’s arm shot out from behind her, slamming the door. “What now?” She spun and perched her hand on her hip, frowning.

  “I forgot one thing.”

  “What?”

  “To kiss you.” He snared the back of her head, slanted his mouth across hers and drove his tongue inside, thrusting as he had between her thighs, before rearing. Smirking in pure masculine satisfaction, he wrenched open the door and let her pass first.

  He’d blasted her cool collectedness from her, instead making her hot and ready. His cocksure grin was proof of how smugly he comprehended this.

  Damn him. She narrowed her eyes, shook her head, and strolled past him. From across the hall, Kassian inclined his head at her, then jerked his chin at Price.

  A friendly enough gesture. Perhaps this meeting wouldn’t be too painful.

  “This way.” Kassian led them down the corridor, through a set of large doors, up an elevator, and into a wood-paneled room. Fragrant incense drifted throughout in a smoky haze. The members of the Kongsi were seated in an irregular circle on haphazardly placed and oddly matched furniture. On her left, Sheng and Lucy snuggled on a chaise longue. Seated on the plush sofa in the middle of the room, Nat patted the cushion beside her for Kassian to join her. Fang slouched on a leather armchair to her right. An empty loveseat had been crammed in between the armchair and sofa at a sharp angle, and a quick study of the weathered cushions indicated its less than comfortable status meant it had been reserved for Price.

  A man she hadn’t met, but recognized nonetheless, braced against the wall, arms crossed. Dragon. Must be Delun, Sheng’s brother. What an oddity he was. Possessing the spirit animal of a creature he would never truly emulate.

  A tall, swan-like female with dark hair and thick glasses scooted forward on the small curved seat she occupied. She shifted forward, seized the rectangular glass coffee table, and tugged the edge toward her. The legs of the table scraped the wood floor, screeching. “Oops, sorry.” She pushed her glasses up on her nose and peered at Price, squeaking out a “Hey.”

  “Hi Ling.” Price saluted her.

  The woman’s cheeks flushed as she regarded Price, and for an instant, Daji stiffened, but the same blush flamed the female’s cheeks while she observed Kassian too. Perhaps flustered was her natural state.

  Daji stepped out from behind Price, drawing the female’s attention onto her.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Ling.”

  “A pleasure.” Daji angled her head, casting Price a questioning brow as the female flipped open the stuffed folder on the tabletop.

  She rifled through the dozens of papers, scattering them.

  Daji bit her tongue, hoping this woman would indeed live up to her name.

  “Okay, so let’s get started.” A nervous laugh chimed from the woman’s lips, and she tucked a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear. A blur fuzzed across her aura for the briefest of seconds.

  Daji squinted, but it was gone. Hmm. What are you hiding?

  She stepped forward. “I require two things. A method to trace energy, and a weapon.”

  The woman straightened. “You’ve come to the right person.”

  Price slunk to the wall while Daji snagged a wooden chair next to Ling. The second “weapon” had passed Daji’s lips, anxiety had eroded through his gut like acid.

  “I need a weapon that can kill a man turned into a demon.” Daji straightened. “A Demon King.”

  “Whoa.” Ling jerked backward, raising her hands and shaking her head. “Something like that isn’t easy to acquire. It has to be a weapon wielded by the human against his victims before he was turned demon.” Ling nodded as though this was common knowledge and angled her head. “Who are we talking about?”

  “My former husband, Dì Xīn, last Emperor of the Sh—”

  “Shang Dynasty. Posthumously known as King Zhou, a derogatory nickname referring to the strap of leather that goes under a horse’s tail to keep the saddle from sliding forward and often gets…soiled. Yeah, gotcha. Hmm.”

  Oh, Horse was going to love kicking the shit out of him.

  The woman scrunched her nose. “Wait. Okay, I do know of one person who might have the right weapon, but… Nope.” She swung her head from side to side. “Not going to ask him.”

  “Why not?”

  Ling folded her arms. “Uh, because he’s one of the Eight Immortals. I don’t deal with them. Nah-uhn.”

  Price stepped forward. “Who?”

  “Zhongli Quan,” she puffed. “God of weaponry. He has a thing for collecting antique armaments.”

  “My ancestor?” Nat sprang to her feet. “Let me go ask him.”

  “By all means.” Ling waved her hand toward Nat. “Have at it.”

  “I will.” Nat frowned and perched on the edge of the sofa, whispering with Kassian.

  “We’ll go together.” He leaned forward, linking his hands on his thighs. “What do we ask for?”

  Ling clucked. “Ideally, something lethal. Remember, it has to have been wielded against his victims. If my recollection of history is right, that shouldn’t be too hard to come by.”

  “Gotcha.” Kassian nodded.

  From the corner of his eye, Price watched Daji suppress a shudder.

  “Okay, I’ll set it up.” Ling snapped up a pen and scribbled into her notebook. “Next? Oh yeah, the energy. What kind?”

  “Price!” Heavy footsteps pounded toward them, the male voice calling his name. Ryden?

  He shot to his feet as his brother stumbled into the room, breathing hard.

  “What’s wrong?” Daji rose stiffly, the color paling from her.

  “Naya. She’s…gone.” Ryden’s voice broke and he fisted his hands.

  “What do you mean, ‘gone?’ ” Price strode to his brother and grasped his upper arms to make him meet his stare. The wild panic in Ryden’s eyes set off an explosion of dread in the pit of his stomach.

  Ryden bunched his brows together. “She was worried about you, so she checked your email.” He tilted his chin toward Daji. “She found a lead and suggested we follow it, so we went to a nightclub together, but I lost track of her for a second, and she was just…gone.” He scraped his hands along his scalp. “I looked everywhere, but even her scent was gone.”

  Price bit down the urge to slap his brother and give him hell. By the strain on his face, he was already there. He had one job, dammit. Protect Daji’s heir.

  “Okay, we’ll figure it out. We’ll find her.” He squeezed Ryden’s arms once, then released him and focused on Daji.

  Her lips were pressed so tight, they were swirling white. “It was a trap.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yep. After Naya escaped Chao, they knew we’d go looking for him. Finding the safe—it was a setup.”

  “All I found was this.” Ryden handed him a small metal disk.

  “Mei!” Sheng pounced forward and snapped the palm-sized discus, examining it. “Hell yes, Monkey.” Depressing a button, Sheng popped open the disk and after a click and whir, the star spindles closed in on themselves and a bluish, holographic image flickered.

  A map.

  Someday, he was going to buy Monkey a drink.

  Lucy padded forward to rest beside S
heng. “Do you think Zhao is involved? The Empress?”

  “Yeah,” he clasped her hand, “starting to look that way.”

  “What do they want with Naya?” Nat’s question floated around the room.

  “Not with Naya. With me.” Daji folded her hands in front of her. “They’re forcing my hand.” She shot a glance at Ryden. “Which means they will not harm her.”

  Not yet. Not unless Daji didn’t grant them whatever they were after.

  Fucking hell. He choked back the growl in his throat. “What do we do?”

  “We stick to your plan,” Ling hummed. “Nat and Kassian, a helicopter will be here soon to pick you up. I’ve arranged the meeting.” She set aside her phone. “The rest of you should follow the map. They demanded your attention and now they’ve got it.”

  ***

  Daji followed the Chosen to their armory, her body and mind numb. One action, so many centuries ago, was affecting so many lives. My action. Exacting revenge upon her ex-husband had caused a ripple of destruction. Instead of putting an end to his cruel reign of carnage, she’d multiplied it.

  If anything happened to Naya… Her claws cut into her palms and she winced at the pain. Forcing her hands open, she examined the weaponry chamber. The Chosen had amassed a collection of armaments. Even as well-stocked as it was, none of these would defeat Dì Xīn. If he ventured to this realm, yes, a lethal blow would force him to Dìyù. In Dìyù itself, he was invincible.

  If he consumed enough power, he would be made undefeatable—immortal—in this realm too. She refused to allow that to happen. The thread that bound them together, as much as it weakened her, also prohibited him from claiming that destiny. As long as her spirit endured, it tied him to Dìyù. Kept him prisoner in that realm. That was the downside of his curse, and her sole advantage.

  He had to defeat her before he could rise.

  And he would never rise.

  Inside the locker room, Daji switched into a red top, black leather pants, and a black leather jacket. She tucked a couple of daggers into her short, heeled boots and glimpsed herself in the mirror.

  Badass.

  She smiled at her reflection. If Dì Xīn sought to tangle with a húli jīng, he’d get his wish.

  “Ready?” Price’s voice bellowed from around the corner, and his knuckles rapped on the wall.