by I. T. Lucas
“I don’t want to. Hell, I don't want you to be quiet. I love those feral noises you make.”
She arched a brow. “Feral?”
“You growl like a tigress.” He waggled his brows. “It’s sexy as hell.”
She didn’t know that. Did her moans sound like growls?
It was embarrassing. Bridget thought of herself as a lady, and ladies didn’t growl or hiss or make any kind of animal noises.
“I’ll have to cover my face with a pillow,” she whispered.
“Over my dead body. Let’s go to my apartment. I don’t care if it’s messed up. We can take the plastic cover off the bed.”
Bridget laughed. “Evidently you haven’t checked on Ingrid’s progress. She had all the wall-to-wall carpeting removed in the bedrooms, and the marble flooring in the main areas is gone too. Except for the bathrooms, she is replacing everything with hardwood. Not that the bathrooms remained untouched. They are getting new stone and tile. Soft earth tones are going to replace the gleaming white.”
He winced. “I had no idea she would go so far. I don’t like mess, and I don’t really care about the decor, so I preferred not to look. Besides, how did she manage to do it so quickly?”
“That’s how she does things. Don’t forget that she works for Kian. He wants everything done yesterday.”
Victor looked worried, so Bridget continued with Ingrid’s update. “She says not to worry about the cost. When she is done, your apartment will sell at a premium price, and she says it will more than cover the cost of everything she is planning to do.”
“I’m not worried about the cost.”
“So what was that look for?”
“I’m still trying to figure out where we can have sex without worrying about being overheard.”
Talk about a one-track mind.
A moment later, Bridget’s phone pinged with a new text.
“I hope no one needs me at the clinic,” she said as she took it off the charger.
The message was from Julian. Going clubbing with Ed and Charlie. Will be back late.
Turning the phone so Victor could see the text, Bridget let him read it. “Coincidence? I think not. He must’ve overheard us.”
Victor took the phone out of her hands and put it back on the charging dock, then pulled her into his chest. “Whether he did or not, I’m going to exploit this opportunity to its fullest. Who knows when we will have privacy again?”
She put her hands on his shoulders. “What do you have in mind?”
Victor pushed into her, letting her feel how hard he was. “Lots of noise.”
She arched a brow. “Yours or mine?”
“Yours.” He turned her around and pushed her face-first into the wall, his body enveloping hers from behind. “I want to hear you scream my name as you come,” he whispered in her ear.
Bridget glanced at him over her shoulder. “Are you going to frisk me?”
His hand in her hair, he tilted her head to the side and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, his other arm going around and cupping a breast. “I’m going to do much more than frisk you. Put your hands up on the wall.”
The tone of command in his voice went straight to her core. It tingled with need, already moistening in preparation for what was coming.
“Higher, above your head where I can see them.” He waited for her to obey. “Now take half a step back and spread your legs about two feet apart.”
Those were very precise instructions. She wondered what he had in mind.
“Push your fabulous ass out.” He kissed her throat before moving back a few inches.
She did, grinding against him.
He sucked in a breath. “Behave.” A hard slap landed on her ass.
Bridget opened her mouth to protest, but all that came out was another moan.
His body enveloped hers again, and he leaned to whisper in her ear, his hot breath fanning over the side of her face. “You like this, don’t you.” He nipped her ear.
“Oh. Fates, I do.”
“And I like that you’re honest with me.” Victor rewarded her with a flurry of kisses down the column of her neck, then dropped down to his knees and unceremoniously tugged her pants down.
“Lift up,” he instructed, holding her foot, freeing one leg and then the other, leaving her nude from the waist down.
There was something both vulnerable and erotic in the position, and as his warm palms coasted upward her inner thighs, Bridget felt herself grow wetter by the second.
But Turner was in no hurry, going slow, deliberately prolonging her anticipation. When he gripped her buttocks, his fingers digging into her flesh almost painfully, she groaned, clenching her sheath in a desperate attempt to relieve the tingling itch to be filled.
When Bridget finally felt his velvety lips on her, kissing softly, reverently, she was rendered undone, and as his hot tongue speared into her, she would’ve collapsed if not for his hands propping her up.
“Fates, Victor, I’m about to come.”
His tongue retreated. “Not yet, I want you to climax when I’m inside you.”
Damn, if he didn’t want her to come, he shouldn’t have said that. Bridget took a deep breath and tried to hold off the impending orgasm by going through the parts of the lymphatic system in her head. But it was no use.
As his fingers replaced his tongue, the orgasm blasted out of her on a scream. She hadn’t waited as he’d wanted her to, but she’d given him what he’d asked for—shouting his name as she came.
The sound of Victor’s pants coming down was like a promise of a wish coming true, and as he entered her in a single hard thrust, she came again. And that was even before he started pumping into her like a man possessed.
Bracing her hands against the wall, she took the pummeling, backing into him and giving as good as she got. Victor didn’t last long, his climax rising fast and pulling another one out of her.
“That was a hell of a lot of noise,” he groaned as he collapsed against her back.
Bridget smiled. “Happy to oblige.”
Chapter 11: Kian
As Bridget finished her presentation to the assembled committee, Eva clapped, soon to be followed by everyone else in the room.
It was powerful, touching without being melodramatic, depressing, but also optimistic. She’d managed the perfect balance between playing on people’s conscience while at the same time offering them a roadmap to a better future.
Would it be enough to lure back the retired Guardians, though? Kian wasn’t sure.
“Very well done, Bridget,” he said. “But I’m not as confident as you are about the Guardians’ response. There is a big difference between abandoning their comfortable lives and everything they worked for to defend their own, and doing so for strangers. For thousands of years we’ve refrained from intervening directly in human affairs, and for a good reason. Unless they learn to solve their problems for themselves, our help will only be a temporary fix and not a solution. It is much better for us to provide the tools, the progressive ideas and the technology to enable the progress than to go in and fight their battles for them. Even if all the Guardians come back, it is still an insignificant force for such a large scale operation.”
Bridget nodded. “I know you’re playing devil’s advocate, and I can’t refute your logic because it’s solid, but I believe our work will put the big wheels in motion, and eventually the governments will step in.”
“You’re an optimist,” Eva said. “Show me one politician who is willing to risk contamination by association. No one wants to touch the subject.”
Bridget collected her papers into a neat pile. “That’s because they don’t see a possible solution. Politicians will not undertake what they believe is a lost cause. They need easy wins to get elected and reelected.”
“True,” Turner said. “And I agree with Bridget that this might push the boulder just enough for it to start rolling.”
“The Guardians will come.” Bridget leve
led her eyes at Kian. “There is a reason these men chose to become Guardians in the first place. It’s not an easy job, and although the pay is good, it’s not enough of a motivator for dedicating decades to training and risking their lives in defense of others. It’s a passion, a calling, and if there were battles for them to fight, they would’ve still served. No one wants to be idle and feel useless, especially highly trained people whose hard-earned skills are not getting put to good use. It’s almost humiliating. No wonder most of them retired.”
Bridget rose to her feet and started pacing. “Give these men a purpose, a worthwhile cause, and they will come eagerly. You’ll have the large force you want, and the Guardians will have their pride back—the satisfaction of being needed and necessary as they were in days past.”
Kian glanced at Anandur who’d been uncharacteristically silent throughout Bridget’s presentation and after. “What do you think, Anandur?”
The big guy shrugged. “I’m still here, ain't I? I didn’t leave to go searching for other things to do with my life. Being a Guardian is more than a job for me, it’s who I am. Same goes for Brundar and the others who stayed. That’s why I can’t speak for those who left. With that, I’m with you, Kian. I’m not sure what motivates the others, and how they are going to respond to the presentation.”
“I don’t have a crystal ball.” Bridget returned to her seat. “You know these guys better than I do, Anandur. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Kian was thankful to Anandur for curbing some of Bridget’s enthusiasm. If the results ended up not being as spectacular as she was hoping, at least she’d be mentally prepared.
“I’m going to coordinate a convenient time for the big assembly with Sari and Annani. I’m shooting for two weeks from now. Is that enough time for you to have everything ready?”
Bridget nodded. “I want to add a few visuals, and I need to rehearse, but two weeks will do.”
“Let’s make it three weeks to be on the safe side.” Kian looked at Turner. “What about you? Are you satisfied with the presentation?”
“Bridget did a superb job.”
“I didn’t do it alone. You helped a lot.”
Kian lifted a hand. “You can compliment each other later.”
“Right.” Turner smoothed his hand over the back of his shaved head. “I started mapping the targets. I know the funding hasn’t been approved yet, but I wanted to get a head start. I have a partial list of over thirty brothels here in the US and several in the UK. If you like, I can add it to Bridget’s presentation. I think soldiers will prefer an actual tactical plan to generalities. It will also drive the point home how widespread this is, and that it is not a problem limited to third-world countries. It took my people only a few days to come up with these. Just imagine how many more there are right here under our noses.”
“Can I take a look?” Eva asked.
Turner pushed his laptop to her so she could see the map.
Kian pointed to the large screen behind his desk. “You can hook it up to that so everyone can see.”
Several clicks later the map appeared on the large screen.
Anandur shook his head. “Unbelievable. Are you sure those are all brothels? I didn’t know there were that many. And how do you know they are not legit? And I don’t mean as legal or illegal, just no forced or coerced prostitution.”
Turner leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “My instructions were to document all places employing underage girls. I don’t give a damn if the girls volunteered for that or not. They shouldn’t be there, and I want to get them out. But chances are that they are not there of their own free will.”
“He is right,” Eva said. “It’s one form of coercion or another. There isn’t enough awareness, and most are not familiar with the methods the scum use to lure girls into a trap. That’s why I started writing a fiction book describing the ordeal of one girl. If it gets enough publicity, it might help girls recognize the signs before it’s too late. Unfortunately, it’s going slow because I don’t have a lot of free time.”
Brandon, who until now hadn’t taken part in the conversation, perked up. “I would like to take a look at what you have written already. I can give you some pointers. Or, if it’s really bad, I can get you a ghostwriter.”
Glaring daggers at the media specialist, Eva huffed. “Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence.”
Brandon wasn’t intimidated. “I’m being practical. Why waste your time? If it’s good, I’ll tell you, and you’ll be motivated to push forward with it, and if it’s not, I’ll save you a lot of time by providing an assistant.”
“So now it’s an assistant.” Eva made air quotes around the word. “Not a ghostwriter.”
“Potayto, potahto. You can get as much or as little help as you want. Don’t take it personally.”
“What about the charity events?” Kian stepped in before Eva hurled something at Brandon’s smug puss, which in her case could have been anything from a knife to a bullet between the eyes.
“I’m working on it. I’ve lined up several stars who are willing to sing at the event. They will bring in the deep pockets.”
Kian lifted a brow. “For free?”
“I promised to list what they would normally charge for a performance as a charitable contribution. Naturally, the sums are grossly inflated, but it will look good for them as well as for us.”
Chapter 12: Turner
“Are you coming?” Bridget asked.
Turner leaned to kiss her cheek. “I have a few things I need to discuss with Kian.” Translation, it was confession time.
Catching his meaning, Bridget nodded. “I’ll see you later.”
Kian was in a good mood after the meeting, the spat between Eva and Brandon lightening the mood, which made it the perfect opportunity to broach the touchy subject of the clan’s new secret location not being as well guarded as Kian believed it was.
“Can I have a few words with you?” Turner asked when everyone else had left.
“About?”
“Security measures.” Turner walked over to the office’s doors, closed them, and then walked back to sit at the conference table across from Kian, making sure he wasn’t within the guy’s reach.
“Which ones?”
“The clan’s in general. It’s not as difficult as you think it is to discover your location. I have a few security protocols I would like to suggest.”
Kian frowned. “It was easy for you to find us because you had me and Andrew followed after our meeting with you. You were in a unique position to do so.”
“True. But you’re trying to keep the new location secret from your own people, and they can do exactly what I have done—follow your butler as he drives people to the new place.”
As he waited for the meaning to sink in, Turner braced for the explosion. Hopefully, his roundabout way of telling Kian that he knew the location of the village would soften the blow.
The moment it did, Kian’s eyes blazed. “You sneaky bastard. That’s what I get for letting you in? I should’ve never allowed you to move in with Bridget here in the keep.”
Turner raised his palm. “I discovered your new location long before I moved in with Bridget. I knew it even before I came to ask for your help. You made it too easy, my friend. And that’s why I’m here, risking your immortal wrath. I want to show you a better way of doing things.”
As Kian let out a breath and leaned back in his chair, Turner mirrored the guy’s pose. It seemed the explosion had been averted. Or so he hoped.
Kian shook his head. “I thought I was so clever. I can’t believe I overlooked such a basic thing. Of course, people could follow Okidu.”
He narrowed his eyes at Turner. “But he started taking visitors there only recently. You said you discovered the location a long time ago.”
“Your butler also drives the delivery trucks up there. I had him followed from the keep to the warehouse, and from there to the village. Easy.”<
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“Fuck.”
“But I can offer a solution.”
Kian waved a hand. “Please do.”
“Your guy, the one who followed me, I assume he reported his lack of success?”
“Damn. Anandur was sure you didn’t see him. He lost you a couple of times. Did you make all those evasive maneuvers because you knew you were being followed?”
“No. This is standard operating protocol for me. I have enemies, but I don’t have bodyguards. I need to be very careful.”
“Understandable. Are you suggesting we employ similar procedures?”
“Basically.”
Kian shook his head. “People will be coming and going to and from the village every day. I ordered special cars that will self-drive part of the way while their windows lock and become opaque. Or do you know about that as well?”
Turner nodded. “I didn’t bother to check the special features, but I know about the shipment. It’s a clever solution but dangerous. What if there is a malfunction or an accident and your people are trapped inside a locked car?”
Kian smoothed his hair back. “It’s a remote possibility. Do you have a better idea?”
“Not if you want to keep the location secret from its own occupants.”
“The Doomers are doing it. Only the pilots who shuttle people to and from the island know the location, and they are under strong compulsion not to reveal it.”
“Can’t you put a similar compulsion on your people?”
“No. Immortals are immune. Their pilots are human.”
“And it’s an island.”
“Exactly.”
“I guess the self-driving cars are the only solution.”
“What about your car switching method?”
“First of all, don’t let anyone drive straight from the keep to the village. Have your butler drive to a large mall, and not with the limousine, leave the car there and proceed to a different parking structure on foot where another car will be waiting.”
“Is that how you do it? You always have another car parked in a mall?”