by I. T. Lucas
“Let them try. We might be technologically backward compared to you, but we know where to buy the best services.”
Carol frowned. “The plan also hinges on you calling your guy and asking him to arrange a job for me in the harem. How are you going to do that if you don’t have the numbers memorized?”
“Kian will have to send someone to get my backup phone from my safe in Washington. Even if I remembered the numbers, the humans and lesser personnel on the island can only be reached from my phone, or the phones of my brothers. We can’t allow them access to the outside world.”
“Don’t you think you should have mentioned that before?”
“It didn’t cross my mind.”
“Oh, really?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Perhaps you didn’t say anything because you wanted to drag things out until it was too late for me to go.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you don’t want me to do this without you.”
“I don’t, but I know you are going to do it anyway, and I want to give you the best possible chance of success. Delaying things would not have been conducive to that objective.”
Letting out a breath, Carol slumped in her chair. “I’m sorry. The stress must be getting to me. Now that it seems like I’m going, I’m questioning my sanity for wanting to do it so much.”
Lokan had been wondering about that. He was the one who had the most to gain from this. What was Carol’s angle?
“Why do you?”
She eyed him for a long moment before answering. “I’ve been training for this for a very long time. This was what kept me going after I escaped the sadist. It was a way to prove myself. Suddenly everyone was looking at me with respect just because I had survived, and I didn’t break, but I wanted more than that. I wanted to be the one who would go down in history as the woman who brought Navuh’s evil regime to its end.”
How the hell had she thought to do that?
Was his woman delusional?
Carol took a long sip of water before continuing. “The original idea was for me to somehow get myself to the island, get a high-ranking Doomer to fall for me, and start sowing the seeds of rebellion from within. We knew we couldn’t win a war against the Brotherhood, and annihilating it was never on the table. The only way we could think that things would change was a revolution. But then one thing led to another, and we figured out that your father has the entire island population under compulsion, so no matter how good I was, my efforts would have been futile.”
Her admission stunned him, mainly because it implied that she hadn’t been plotting this insane scheme by herself, but that Kian had contemplated it as well. They were all fucking crazy. “So you are a spy after all?”
Smiling, she waved a dismissive hand. “I’m not. I was training to become a spy, and only for that particular mission.”
“How did you plan on having a high ranking Brother fall for you?”
She tilted her head, giving him a questioning look as if it was self-explanatory. “The idea was to let myself get captured by traffickers and delivered to the island. I’m sure I don’t need to spell out the rest for you.”
His eyes widened. “You planned to work in the brothel?”
She shrugged.
“Do you have any idea how many males you would have had to service?”
She shrugged again. “I would have captured my sugar daddy in no time, and he would have bought all my time. I would have served only him.”
Now her defense on behalf of prostitutes suddenly made sense. Carol really didn’t see anything wrong with it. Hell, she’d volunteered to work in a brothel, which she must have known entailed servicing several males a day. And she was okay with that?
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you are disgusted with me.”
“I just find it hard to believe that you see no problem with working in a brothel and having sex with several males a night.”
She shrugged for the third time, which he realized was more of a nervous tick than dismissal. “I have the stamina, and at the time, having an unlimited supply of immortal sex partners appealed to me. I didn’t know that I was about to be gifted with a true-love mate, which would have voided that plan regardless of what we discovered later about Navuh's compulsory hold over his people. Now I cannot be with anyone but you.”
“Do you regret it?”
46
Carol
Carol crossed her arms over her chest. “Regret what?”
“Losing the appetite for multiple partners.”
Fates, Lokan knew how to push her buttons.
She answered his question with one of her own. “Do you?”
“No, I don’t. None of my previous partners can hold a candle to you. Even if it were possible, and even if you were unavailable to me, I would have had a hard time going back to human females. There is no comparison.”
“You asked and you answered. I feel the same way.”
He hesitated before dropping his next question, but he did it anyway. “Did you ever have multiple partners in one night?”
“Yes, but not at the same time. I’m not into orgies. The thing with human males was that sometimes the experience was so blah that I had to wash it off by trying to find someone better. Did you enjoy multiple partners?”
He smirked. “Yes, but at the same time, not one after the other. I was quite fond of threesomes, sometimes foursomes. Only with females, though.”
She could picture Lokan pleasuring several women into oblivion. He was such a devil. But now he belonged to her, and there would be no more threesomes and foursomes for him. She wasn’t the sharing type.
Lifting her chin, she looked down her nose at him. “Those fond memories will have to sustain you for the rest of your life because there will be no more of that for you.”
Lokan laughed. “I like it that you are jealous, and you can rest easy. You are all the woman I’ll ever need.”
He pushed to his feet and rounded the table. “Come on. It’s bedtime.” He offered her a hand up.
Carol shook her head. Lokan was such a contradiction. One minute he could be seething with anger, suspecting her of the Fates knew what, and the next he was smiling like nothing had happened.
If only she could turn her emotions on and off like that, her life would be much easier. As it was, she needed a few minutes to switch gears and get into a sexy mood.
“I have an idea. We’ve only dream-shared once, and we need to practice it. How about we take a shower and then cuddle in bed until we fall asleep, and then you can visit me in my dream, and we can have dream sex?”
He lifted a finger. “On one condition.”
“Shoot.”
“I choose the scenery, and anything I want goes.”
Carol wasn’t born yesterday. “No threesomes.”
“I wouldn’t dream of that.” He smirked at his own double entendre.
“Give me a hint.”
“It would be a role reversal scene. You will be my captive and I will be your jailer.”
She liked the sound of that. “And what are you going to do to me?”
“You’ll have to find out.”
“Ooh, the suspense. I’ll be too excited to fall asleep.”
“We will see about that.”
As it turned out, Lokan had a number of tricks under his belt.
First, he treated her to a scalp massage in the shower, then he massaged her in bed, very carefully avoiding any sensual touches, and when he’d got every muscle in her body to relax and loosen up, he climbed in bed behind her and covered them both with the blanket.
Carol was asleep before he finished saying goodnight.
The dream started almost immediately, and at first she thought it was a continuation of what they had been doing before.
She was lying on her stomach in a plush bed, and Lokan was massaging her thighs. The difference was that this massage was definitely
sensual, and she was tied up.
Well, sort of.
Her wrists were wrapped in silk scarves which were tied to the front posts of the bed, and Carol suspected that the same was happening with her ankles.
All she had to do to get free was stretch her arm and loosen the tension on the scarves. This was symbolic, a game she was comfortable playing. Anything more serious would have been a trigger for her, and Lokan was smart enough to realize that.
She could love him for that alone.
Most men didn’t think about such details, even those who really cared about their partners. It was just lack of awareness, to put it nicely, or stupidity, to put it more bluntly.
But Lokan didn’t suffer from either.
With a sigh, she rested her cheek on the small pillow below her face and wiggled her bottom on the larger one under her hips.
Lokan’s hands dipped lower, his thumbs brushing against her lower lips. Her legs spread wide, she was at his mercy, but it felt good. She trusted him, which was a revelation after all the worry she’d put herself through.
“Are you enjoying yourself, baby doll?”
“Yes.”
He pressed his thumb against her moist opening and then pushed it inside.
Carol moaned. This was good.
Then his second thumb came to play, scooping some of her juices on its upward trek and then pressing against her tight rosette.
She tensed. Despite her colorful past, this was the one thing she’d never done. Not because she thought there was anything wrong with it, but because she just hadn’t thought she would enjoy it.
There was a limit to how much control she was willing to give a man over her, or rather the illusion of control because at no point had she ever given it over for real.
“Relax,” Lokan whispered behind her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know.”
Still, she found it impossible to loosen up, and clenched her bottom protectively.
Surprising her, Lokan withdrew his thumb, replacing it with his soft lips.
He was kissing her there?
Even for an experienced courtesan, it was scandalously wicked.
Then again, none of this was real. They were dream-sharing, which provided a perfect opportunity to try something new, something kinky.
She was starting to relax, her bottom finally unclenching, when Lokan did the unthinkable and licked her there.
“What are you doing?”
He chuckled and blew air on her rear entrance. “Are you a virgin here, my angel?”
“Yes, and I’m not eager for a change of status.”
His thumb returned to gently massage her rosette, sending heat waves throughout her body.
“Aren't you curious?” He applied a little pressure.
It was intense but pleasurable in a different way from anything that she’d experienced before.
Leaning over her, he whispered in her ear, “Admit it. You want to try it out.” He licked inside her earlobe. “With me.”
“Go slow.”
“I will.”
47
Julian
“I’m worried about my mom.” Ella swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I want to go sit with her.”
“She is fine.” Julian put a hand on her shoulder. “Magnus is there, and you still get dizzy whenever you get up.”
She smiled. “But you are here to help me. Come on, it’s boring to lie in bed all day long. Besides, Bridget said it was okay for me to move around as long as I used something for support.”
Ella wasn’t the kind of patient who listened to her doctors and did what she was told without arguing about it. First, she’d demanded to get unhooked from the monitors because she wanted to use the bathroom without having to go through the procedure of detaching and reattaching the wires. And then she’d used that to argue that if it was okay for her to go to the bathroom, it should be okay for her to go visit her mother next door.
Next, she was going to ask to go for a walk outside, and then to go home.
The truth was that she was doing great. Low fever and some mild discomfort was the extent of her symptoms. That and the dizziness. Vivian, on the other hand, was running a very high fever and slipping in and out of consciousness.
“Am I that something?” Julian asked.
“Yes. Now help me up.”
He wrapped an arm around her middle and straightened up, pulling her against his chest. “Can I steal a kiss before we go?”
Ella grinned. “Always.”
He kissed her gently, his hands sneaking under the hospital johnny and cupping her exposed bottom.
As the scent of her arousal flared, Julian closed his eyes and inhaled, checking for the slight change that would indicate she was turning immortal, but so far it had remained the same.
Other than that, the only way to determine whether Ella had transitioned was to inflict a small injury and watch how fast her body healed it. But it was too early for that, and Bridget wanted to wait another day.
“The door is open,” Ella murmured against his lips.
He gave her bottom another squeeze before letting go. “I knew no one was out in the corridor.”
Holding her up as she slipped her feet into her flip-flops, he kissed the top of her head. “I should get you a wheelchair.”
She shuddered. “No way. I’d rather walk.
Stubborn, prideful girl.
With his arm propping her up, they walked over to the next room.
“How is Mom doing?” Ella asked.
Magnus got up and motioned for her to take the chair. “She woke up twice during the night. Bridget says that there is nothing to worry about and that she is progressing well. But I don’t know what she bases that on. I can’t see any changes.”
Julian helped Ella to the chair. “Vivian’s blood pressure is fine, and her heart is not showing any signs of distress. Those are all good signs. And the fact that she wakes up from time to time is an excellent sign too. Turner was out cold for a very long time. Everyone aside from my mother was losing hope for him, but the dude is a fighter. He made it through.”
“Of course he did.” Bridget walked in. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. How are you feeling this morning, Ella?”
“Good. I’m just worried about my mother. I hate seeing her passed out like that.”
“Her body is using every bit of energy available to it for the transition. But she still has a little bit left over to wake up now and then. I’m not worried about her.” Bridget put her tablet into her coat pocket. “What I’m worried about is the new developments in San Francisco, splitting the Guardian force and canceling half of the scheduled rescue missions.”
“What’s going on?” Ella asked.
Magnus and Julian had gotten the update yesterday, but Julian hadn’t told Ella about it. She had enough to worry about without getting upsetting news. But now that his mother had started, there was no point in keeping the rest from her.
“It seems that Doomers are kidnapping college girls from the UCSF campus. Five are missing so far, and we are afraid that they will spread their operation to other campuses as well. Kian and Turner decided to go hunting for Doomers, which means relocating half the force to San Francisco.”
“Last I heard three were missing,” Magnus said.
“Turner updated the number this morning.”
“Why college girls?” Ella asked.
“Apparently, the island's clients demand educated, English-speaking company.”
Ella grimaced. “I didn’t realize that pervs want to talk. I was under the impression that they were interested in other things.”
Bridget sighed. “According to Lokan, Navuh’s new breeding plan is all about improving the intelligence of future Doomers. They are bringing in smart guys to improve the stock, and apparently those men are interested in stimulating conversation as much as they are interested in physical stimulation.”
“How are they luring them in?” Ell
a asked. “From what I understand, only the super-rich or super-influential can afford a Pleasure Island sex vacation.”
“We don’t know, but that’s one of the things the Guardians are going to investigate. I suspect that they run fake sweepstakes or that they approach the men in person with a promise of a free sex vacation to an island paradise in exchange for some work done. I don’t think anyone is naive enough to think that they are getting something for nothing.”
Julian rubbed his hand over his jaw. “I’m just thinking out loud here, but if we find the bait they are using to lure the men in, we might find the Doomers. Follow the breadcrumbs, so to speak.”
Magnus nodded. “That’s a possibility. What I love about this idea is that we are going to hunt for them for a change.” He glanced at Vivian. “Not me personally, though. My place is here with my mate.”
48
Syssi
As Syssi and Kian walked out the door hand in hand, Syssi lifted her face and took a deep breath, luxuriating in the crisp morning air.
It was a beautiful day. Not too cold and not too hot, the sun was warm on her skin, and the birds were chirping so excitedly that Syssi felt like they were cheering for her and Kian, congratulating them on their happy news.
“I’m glad Bridget is in the clinic on a Saturday,” Kian said. “And that Vivian and Ella are there too, so we can pretend that we came to visit them.”
“That’s what we are doing.”
He glanced down at her. “I thought you wanted Bridget to verify the pregnancy.”
“I do. But I also want to visit Vivian and Ella so it’s not like we are pretending to do it. Besides, once Bridget confirms it, I don’t mind sharing the happy news. I just didn’t want anyone to know before you did.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Thank you. You’ve made me the happiest man on the planet.”
Kian hadn’t stopped smiling since she’d told him the news, and Syssi wondered how long it would last. The only other time she’d seen him so happy was on their wedding day.