“Exquisite,” he murmured. He cupped her breasts and leaned down to lavish each one with soft, provocative kisses. When he had her moaning with need, he abandoned her breasts and plucked open the button closure on her skirt. It fell to her feet and she kicked it aside, trembling with anticipation.
He didn’t disappoint. Yanking her hard against him, one hand burrowed into her hair, pulling her head back. His lips grazed her neck. “I can’t wait for another taste of you,” he rasped, then pressed his tongue against her quaking pulse. “I’ve been mad with the need to take you, to fill that sweet pussy with my cock, to savor the salty tang of your blood on my tongue as I fuck you.”
He closed around her thong and yanked, and Olivia cried out. She had a vague thought about leaving the club with no panties, but it disappeared, replaced with thoughts of Noah’s fingers gliding through her slit to penetrate her. She closed her eyes, dropped her head back, and widened her stance when his fingers slid deep.
She shrieked with surprise to find herself suddenly on her back, the heat of Noah’s bare skin against hers. “God,” she gasped. “How do you do that? I’ve never known anyone who could undress so quickly.”
He laughed. “I possess superior speed and strength, love. You’d do well to remember that next time you seek to taunt me with this lovely body.” He laughed when she arched her hips against him. “Hmm, the lady likes to live dangerously. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, pet.”
Yes, she’d been warned. He reached into the specially prepared bowl of fruit and withdrew a large, ripe strawberry, pressing it to her lips. She bit into the delectable fruit. When the juice dripped down her chin, she giggled and then moaned when Noah licked it up.
Dear God!
He coated each nipple with strawberry juice and leisurely sucked it away, then squeezed half an orange between her breasts. She watched, fascinated, while he sipped at her body. A trickle of orange juice filled her belly button and he dove into it.
“Ah . . . God . . . you’re driving me crazy!” A sweet, citrusy scent filled her nostrils, and she gasped feeling something cool and slippery slid into her vagina. Mango. Oh, Lord, he was fucking her with juicy slices of mango!
He pushed her legs up, opening her wide, and nibbled at the entrance of her pussy, tugging a thick slice of mango from her and chewing it.
“Delicious.” That was all he said before burrowing his face between her legs to dine on the fruit.
Olivia arched her hips and ground her pussy against his voracious mouth. Jesus, this was the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced. The lightly acidic mango tingled, adding to the overwhelming sensations. All around her, the sounds of sexual arousal filled the air, driving her into a frenzied need to fuck. Just fuck.
And then he was above her, driving his cock deep, fucking her as if his life depended on getting as deeply inside her as possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tight while he pounded his cock into her. Cries of ecstasy filled her ears but she had no conscious realization they were hers. Oh, God, she was going to come like Vesuvius!
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes, baby, oh, God, I’m going to come!”
His hands grasped her waist, and he leaned back onto his haunches, hauling her with him until they were chest to chest. “Ride me, pet,” he growled in her ear. “Ride me while I feed.”
She tossed her head, baring her neck. “Yes, yes, do it!” she cried out.
Finding her frantically beating pulse, he sank his fangs deep into her. He held her tight within the cage of his arms, and she ground her pussy against him. God, he felt so much bigger, so much thicker, and she rode him, sobbing his name while his mouth and cock worked in unison.
Her pussy felt painfully stretched when he drove into her downward stroke, again and again. It had never been like this before—this intense, this consuming, this overwhelming. Then her orgasm took her. She screamed, and then she was bucking against him, keening, digging her nails into his back coming with him and reveling in the roar of his satisfaction in her ear. She collapsed against him, sweaty and limp.
“Marry me, Olivia,” he rasped.
“Yes,” she answered.
* * * *
Propped against the pillows, Noah held Olivia, feeding her orange slices during her slow recovery from the intensity of what they’d just done together. She hadn’t spoken since agreeing to marry him, and he worried she would change her mind given the opportunity.
“You’re thinking again.”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“Do you want to take it back?” If that was her choice, could he let her?
She turned her head and pressed a kiss to his chest. “No, but you have to understand, I’ve never been good at the whole relationship thing. I’ve never been in love before.”
“Never?”
“Not even once.” She heaved a sigh. “I always thought there was something wrong with me. Like, maybe, something was missing. Now, I think it’s because I wasn’t meant to fall in love with anyone but you. Does that make sense?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Yes, it does. You’re meant for me, kitten. Even if you’d been married, that wouldn’t have changed. Once we met, our fates were sealed. But that doesn’t stop your worrying, does it?”
She shook her head. “Not really.” She chuckled. “You’re so fucking bossy. It’s obvious you were raised during a time when women had no rights. That’s going to be hard for me.”
Noah threw back his head and laughed. “You think I’m bossy now? Sweetheart, I’ve mellowed compared to what I once was. And what about me? I’m not used to women who talk back and tell me no.”
She tipped her head back and snickered. “Really. I can’t believe none of your jet-setting, model lovers talked back to you.”
He shrugged. “Well, sure they did, but I didn’t care one way or the other because none of them was the one I was meant to bond with. So, it didn’t matter. With you, it’s a whole different ball game. I have the feeling you’ll be testing me at every turn.”
She snorted. “I can just about guarantee it.” He gave her a mock shudder and she bit his nipple. “Get used to it, buddy boy. That’s the way your life will be from here on out.”
He reached down and stroked her breast. “Perhaps, perhaps not. I can be quite convincing.” He rolled onto his side and burrowed his hand between her thighs. “I can always fuck you into submission.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You can try, but that doesn’t mean you’ll succeed.”
“Mmm, hmm.” He slid down and shouldered her legs apart. “I think I’ll start now. You’ll be moving in with me as soon as we get back to New Orleans.”
She attempted a protest, but his mouth nestled into her pussy, lapping and teasing. “No . . . ah! . . . fair, damn it!”
He gave her clit a long, hard suck. “Darling, never expect a vamp to play fair.”
* * * *
Giving up her condo was a huge bone of contention between Olivia and Noah. Oh, she understood why he wanted her to move in with him. They loved each other, they would eventually get married, and deranged people would probably make attempts on her life. Somehow, none of that proved motivation enough to make her give up her independent lifestyle.
“It’s not like we’re getting married tomorrow! There’s no need for me to give up my condo!”
The argument continued nonstop from Paris to the New Orleans airport, from the limousine to the parking lot of Flirt.
Noah was adamant. “There is a need, and you know damn well what it is! I can’t protect you if you insist on living in that condo!”
“Ooooh, you are the most frustrating man on the face of the Earth!” Olivia dug through her purse for her car keys. “This is not open to debate!” She punched the button on the remote and her doors unlocked. “I’m going home!”
She attempted to open the door, but he braced his knee against it and it wouldn’t budge.
“You aren’t going anywhere, pet.”
&nb
sp; God, she hated it when he took that superior tone with her! “If you don’t let me in my car—”
“You’ll do what? What is it you think you can do, Olivia?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I can dump your ass, that’s what.” He actually had the temerity to laugh! “Bastard,” she snapped, then gave him a hard shove.
His chest rumbled with a growl of frustration. “All right, but I’m going with you, and you will wait outside until I check out your place to make sure it’s safe.”
Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “Fine. Christ, you’d think I hadn’t spent the last ten years of my life in the service.”
* * * *
The Sentinel watched from the rooftop. His fears confirmed, the lookout dialed his cell phone. “She’s back and he’s with her.”
“Is he covered?” his contact asked.
“No, sir. He walks in the light like a normal man.”
The contact sighed. “Kill her.”
“How?”
“Do something dramatic so the others will know and understand.”
“When?”
“As soon as you’re able.”
“Yes, sir.” He smiled. She had it coming, and he’d enjoy giving it to her.
Chapter Ten
Olivia closed and locked the door when Noah pulled away from the curb. He’d wanted her to come back to the club with him while he checked out the receipts from the time they’d been gone, but she’d politely declined. The same with his request to spend the night.
The issue wasn’t whether she wanted him to stay with her. Hell, she’d agreed to marry him. But he needed to get it into his head that he wasn’t going to control her every waking moment. She was ex-army, ex-military police, for heaven’s sake. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself.
But she also needed a little space. They’d just spent four days together. All that togetherness made her crave some alone time. She needed to think about everything that happened in Paris. He’d fed from her. They were bonded now. Soon enough, there would be a wedding to plan.
God! She was getting married. Part of her was overjoyed. The other part was scared shitless. A long run was just what the doctor ordered. She changed into a pair of spandex running shorts, strapped on a web holster, and shoved her little Beretta in place. Armed for any problem, she shrugged into an oversized T-shirt to cover her weapon.
As usual, she headed west on Royal, nodding to locals and tourists, then turned north on Canal Street. She paused for a cool down on North Rampart, then did a slow jog, heading east toward Louis Armstrong Park. If anyone was going to approach her, she figured they’d do so at the park, but she passed by unmolested and headed south down St. Phillip to Royal. She was sweating profusely by the time she got home, so she peeled off her clothes in the utility room and strolled naked to the shower.
The cool water felt wonderful on her heated skin, and she took her time, washing and conditioning her hair. She shaved her legs while the conditioner did its work. When she stepped forward to turn off the water, she stepped on something hard and looked down. Screws? How the hell did they get there? She looked up.
Shit! The water forgotten, she did a rolling dive out of shower and into her bedroom seconds before the shower light fell from the ceiling and crashed onto the tiled floor.
Electricity hissed and sparked from the water spraying on the light fixture, and then the power blinked out. She wrapped a terrycloth robe around her and went to the utility room to flip off the main breaker. Holy crap, she’d nearly been fried!
On trembling legs, she hurried to her bedroom and rummaged in her purse for her cell phone. Her electrician was still on speed dial from when she’d had the kitchen redone, and she left a message for him to call her back immediately.
“Hello?” she answered, when the call came through.
“Ms. Sheppard, it’s Terry. What’s up, you sounded really freaked.”
She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m totally freaked, Terry. The shower light came loose and nearly cooked me. If I hadn’t stepped on the screws, and realized what was happening, I would have been a crispy critter.”
“You turn the main off?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Okay. You caught me between jobs, so I’ll be there in about forty minutes.”
* * * *
Olivia curled up on the couch while the electrician worked. Talk about close calls. Heaven only knew how long the screws in that old light fixture had been coming loose. They’d all been stripped, Terry told her with disgust. The light was just hanging from the wallboard. The rattling of the old pipes had caused the screws to shake loose. The contractor hadn’t even used materials that met code. Well, at least she felt confident that it had been no more than a case of shoddy workmanship and not an attempt on her life.
“All set, Ms. Sheppard. I called my buddy Todd, and he’ll be over tomorrow to give you an estimate on redoing the master bath. Might be you wanna have him look at the other bathrooms, too.” She followed him into the utility room where he flipped the main breaker, then went around trying all the lights. “You’re up and running.”
“How could that happen, Terry? I mean, the place passed inspection, right?”
“Inspectors don’t make a lot of money, Ms. Sheppard. Don’t forget where you live.”
She sighed with relief. Anything could be bought and paid for in New Orleans. “Thanks, Terry. What’s the damage?”
The young electrician laughed. “Hang on to your checkbook, cher. I’ll just add this to the cost of rewiring the place for you.”
“Cool.” She put her checkbook away and handed him two of her business cards, with a note scribbled on the back of each one. She handed them to the young man. “Free pass for Flirt, no waiting.”
The electrician gaped at her. “No shit? My girl’s gonna faint when she see these. Thanks, Ms. Sheppard.”
“Hey, man, you did me a huge favor getting here so quick. Enjoy yourselves.”
* * * *
Noah sat in the glider in Olivia’s courtyard, forcing himself to relax. Passing the night without her in his arms had been sheer agony. He’d been calling all morning to no avail. He told himself nothing had happened to her. She’d merely forgotten her cell. She must have gone for a run because her car was in its space and she hadn’t answered the door. She wouldn’t have forgotten her cell, would she? Could she be so inconsiderate to have purposely left it behind? He didn’t think so, but then she’d been adamant about needing some space.
The slap of runners’ shoes on the sidewalk alerted him to her arrival. Relief swamped him when she saw him standing by the gate and smiled. She was all right, and glad to see him.
“I’m all sweaty and stinky,” Olivia protested when he drew her into his arms.
“I don’t care. I’m happy to see you and relieved you’re all right.”
She kissed him, then wriggled out of his grasp. “Of course, I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He looked at his watch and followed her up the walk. “I’ve been calling you for the last hour.”
“Oh, crap, I forgot my phone.” She pulled her house key from between her breasts and unlocked the door. “Sorry, I forgot to charge it in all the excitement yesterday.”
Noah went on instant alert, his voice sharp, intense. “What excitement?”
Olivia laughed. “Don’t get yourself worked up. That old shower light fell out of the ceiling in the master bath. If I hadn’t stepped on the screws and taken a rolling dive out of the tub, I would have been fried to a crisp.”
Noah stared in horror. “You were in the shower at the time?”
“Oh, no, don’t freak out.” She tossed her key on the console table. “There was nothing Machiavellian about it, babe. Just cheap construction. It’s a miracle the unit passed inspection. My electrician came right over, and he showed me the screws. Not only were they stripped, but the can wasn’t even attached to the joist.” She went into his arms, hugging him tigh
tly. “I’m fine. I’m getting estimates on getting the place rewired and re-plumbed.”
His first instinct was to go all macho on her, but instead, he sighed, and held her tight for another long moment. God, if anything had happened to her . . . it didn’t bear thinking about. Losing her would destroy him, plain and simple, and it was difficult to squelch his protective instincts.
“So, the reason I called,” he said, “is because there’s some kind of problem with our liquor license. My attorney is working on it, but we’ll be closed for a couple of days until it’s ironed out.”
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