by L. Rosario
Sera rolled her head against the door and met his gaze. “Oh my God."
Valentino smiled at the unintentional compliment. Normally, he'd say something flip like “it's what I do,” but looking into Sera's clear blue eyes didn't make him feel very flip. He leaned down to kiss her without asking and she didn't protest. He kept the gesture brief. “It was my pleasure."
She smiled a brilliant smile that transformed her features. She'd been gorgeous before, but now she was breathtaking. She lowered her lids to hide her eyes and ducked her head. “I need to go, I think."
He knew she'd run. He lowered his hands and stepped away. Rules were rules, and no matter how much he wanted her to stay, if she wanted to leave, he had to let her. She slid away from the door and looked down at her torn blouse. For several moments she tried to secure the sides together then gave up with a frustrated whimper.
Valentino took pity on her and reached out to brush her hands away. She looked at him as he gathered the hem and tied it in a knot over her belly button. It wasn't perfect, but it covered her bra for the most part.
"Thank you,” she said quietly. “For everything."
He nodded. The ache in his groin was making him a little crazy, not to mention, frustrated. If there were no rules to follow, he'd beg Sera to stay and finish what had been started here.
Sera skimmed her hands over her hair, licked her lips, and flicked her gaze around the room. She looked ready to speak, but she never did. With a brief glance in his direction, she reached for the door, pulled it open and walked out.
Valentino cursed under his breath and slammed the door shut. He'd been in agony before after a client had opted not to have sex, but nothing that felt like this. Bracing one hand on the door, he dropped his head, closed his eyes, and shoved his hand down the front of his shorts. He hissed as he took hold of his erection, and it took only a few pumps of his fist to coax a climax. He came fast and hard, not caring about the damage to his shorts or the fact that he'd have to waste time taking a shower.
The next time Sera stepped into his world, he hoped to God it was her hand coaxing the cum from his dick. Or better yet, her mouth. If she ever came back. He wasn't sure she would.
A knock on the door made him jump back. “Yeah?” he called.
"Open up, Val."
Recognizing Stefano's low voice, he pulled the door open. The big blond stepped in the room and gestured for him to shut the door. Valentino did so, growing more and more curious by the moment. “What's up?"
Stefano searched the room, then faced Valentino. “You had that exotic raven-haired beauty in here, didn't you? The one that came with the curvy red head and the bombshell blonde?"
Valentino hadn't noticed a blonde with Sera, but he nodded nonetheless. “What about her?"
Before he answered, Stefano took a minute to skim his gaze over Valentino. He gestured toward the stain on his shorts. “That answers one question."
Valentino didn't bother to glance down. “Why would you come in here to ask if I had sex with her?"
"You need to report to the lab,” Stefano told him.
Valentino's blood ran cold. “Why?"
What had he done wrong? He leaned back against the door and replayed every second of his time with Sera. He had backed off when she said no. He hadn't forced anything on her. He'd given her exactly what she had come here for. What then? Why did he have to report to the fucking lab?
Stefano shrugged. “Wish I knew, buddy, but orders are orders. I was sent back here to tell you to go downstairs, and I've done it."
"Did you see her as she left?” There was no need to explain he meant Sera.
Stefano nodded. “Yeah."
"And?"
Another shrug. “She looked upset.” Stefano moved toward the door and eased Valentino aside. “Whatever you did to her, it didn't make her happy, and that might be the reason for the invitation."
"I assure you she was happy."
Stefano pulled the door open and stepped into the hall. “Whatever you say, buddy, but she left alone and it looked like she was crying.” He waited until a departing woman cleared the hall, then continued. “Or at least trying really damn hard not to cry.” Another shrug. “Just get your ass to the lab, all right?"
What Stefano wasn't saying was that if Valentino refused, his friend would have no choice but to take him there himself. Despite their friendship, a personal escort wouldn't be as pleasant as it sounded.
* * * *
The lab was a heck of a lot more high tech than that one little word implied.
Valentino looked through the glass door and was motioned in by a middle-aged man wearing a long white lab coat. Dr. Sven Reynolds was the brain child behind Captive Fantasy and worried incessantly about something going wrong. He set aside his clipboard, pushed up his reading glasses, and watched Valentino stroll into the room.
"You are out of uniform,” was his way of a greeting.
Valentino shrugged. “I figured I was done for the night, so why not shower and change?” He'd slipped back into his jeans and button down shirt.
Dr. Reynolds didn't look happy, but he merely waved his hand toward the metal examination table. “Strip and lie down."
As always, Valentino cringed at the no nonsense command, but he knew better than to disobey. While the doctor slipped on a pair of rubber gloves and readied an array of instruments, Valentino shed his clothes and stretched out on the cold table. He closed his eyes and images of Sera floated into his mind.
Where was she now? In bed, thinking of him? His body stirred at the prospect.
"I won't even ask what is on your mind, young man,” Dr. Reynolds commented dryly before the feel of rubber gloves touched Valentino's bare chest. “Take a deep breath,” the doctor commanded.
Time passed slowly as Dr. Reynolds did a routine checkup. Blood was drawn, heart rate was measured, height, weight, you name it, he did it. When the last test ended, Valentino swung his legs over the side of the table, ready to get his clothes and get the hell out. The doctor had other plans.
"Not so fast.” He set aside the tube of dark, almost purple blood, then pulled off his gloves. He pinned Valentino with a speculative look. “Tell me all about your client this evening."
Normally, there would be no hesitation. Valentino would rattle off the woman's name, her occupation, her blood type, anything he might have learned while making her sexual fantasies come true, but for some reason he didn't have any desire to say a word about Sera. His hesitation to obey was met with obvious disapproval.
"Listen, CF19,” he used Valentino's lab code instead of his name, “you'll tell me what I want to know, or I'll simply have the men investigate on their own."
As far as threats went, it was a good one.
Sera wouldn't stand a chance if “the men” tracked her down and interrogated her. He was backed into a corner, and the gleam in the doctor's eye irritated the hell out of him. “Her name is Sera."
With a nod, Dr. Reynolds picked up his clipboard and flipped pages. “Go on. Last name?"
"She didn't say."
The doctor looked up over the top of his glasses. “Did you ask?"
"Of course I asked, but given how skittish she was, I didn't dare push her."
Dr. Reynolds scratched his pencil over the page, while nodding again. He asked the next question without glancing up. “Age?"
"I don't know."
A sigh. “Occupation?"
"Again, I don't know."
The doctor glanced up with a frown that didn't bode well for Valentino. “Your unwillingness to do your job properly is only one reason I had CF14 send you down here before the night was over. I'll not tolerate rebellion. Need I remind you how special the situation here is? Do you no longer wish to be a part of the ground breaking technology that is Captive Fantasy? If that is the case...” He nodded toward a sealed steel door.
Beyond, lay the gas chamber. The place where every single one of Dr. Reynolds’ creations eventually ended their exist
ence. Some because of age, others due to disobedience. It was a threat that hung heavy over Captive Fantasy.
Valentino shifted on the cold table and thought of the pile of clothes lying nearby. He might be just a number to the good doctor, but no man should have to undergo an interrogation while naked. For a brief moment he allowed himself to fantasize about stripping the doctor's clothes off and strapping the annoying SOB to a cold table. No doubt the man would squawk like a trapped chicken.
He almost laughed out loud at the vision. Almost. One did not laugh in front of Dr. Reynolds. “I have never been unwilling to do my job,” he countered.
"Is that so?” Reynolds set the clipboard down and crossed the lab. He killed the lights and pulled a large screen down from the ceiling. “Explain this then, CF19, if you would be so kind.” With that, the doctor pushed a button on a remote and the screen filled with images of Valentino entertaining a woman in his red room.
Not just any woman. Tabby. Damn.
Wishing he could be anywhere but here, Valentino watched the events unfold on the giant screen. With a toss of her chestnut hair, Tabby crossed the room and stretched out on top of the bed. She crooked a finger at him, but he remained standing by the door. Frowning, she began to remove her clothing, one item at a time, until she lay on the bed dressed in red stockings and black heels. Again she crooked her finger, and again he didn't move.
Dr. Reynolds snapped the lights on without warning, and Valentino blinked against the sudden glare. “It looks to me as if you are refusing to service a client. Care to explain why?"
"She eventually got what she wanted,” Valentino bit out.
"Eventually is not what we do at Captive Fantasy. I have noticed an increase in hesitation with you, and it does not make me happy. Now, once and for all, tell me why you know nothing about the woman you spent over an hour with."
The images still flickered on the screen, harder to see now with the lights on, and Valentino averted his gaze. “I told you, I didn't ask. The woman was one wrong word away from running like a scared rabbit, so I didn't want to risk it."
"I've watched the tape,” Dr. Reynolds announced without emotion.
Valentino cringed. Damn. Sera would freak if she knew their little encounter was immortalized on film. At least she hadn't gotten naked for him; a dim silver lining, but one nonetheless.
"It did not appear as if the woman was a moment away from fleeing. You could have had her in your bed, had you coerced her a little bit more."
Valentino opened his mouth to spit out something in his defense, but the doctor went on.
"Since you failed to do your job in its entirety, you will remain down here for the rest of the night and you will volunteer to test out my new serum.” Reynolds crossed the lab again and then spun around with a medium-sized bottle in his hand. His smile was not comforting, nor was the rather thick, pinkish colored liquid in the bottle. “I am unable to test this particular brew on the rats,” he explained while moving back toward Valentino. “It must be consumed by a man to see if it will have the hoped for effect on your skin."
Valentino couldn't take his eyes off the bottle. “What it supposed to do?"
Dr. Reynolds uncorked the bottle and thrust it under Valentino's nose. He gagged at the smell. “Drink it without asking questions. That is the way things work down here, CF19."
Valentino took the bottle, pinched his nose, and drank. God willing, he wouldn't sprout wings or a tail. He doubted very much that Sera would appreciate the addition of either.
Chapter Five
"Well?"
Sera knocked the computer mouse off the table as Becca's voice shattered the silence of the room. She bent over to pick the thing up, hoping her friend would stay put and not discover what website she had been surfing. No such luck.
Becca strolled into the room. “Ah.” That one word, or sound or whatever, held a wealth of meaning.
Sera snatched the mouse off the floor and quickly used it to exit Captive Fantasy's site. The damage was done, however, so she braced herself to face Becca's insatiable curiosity.
"So tell me all about Valentino."
The mention of his name made her hot all over. She'd had a great deal of blood before coming to work, but not enough to make her feel this warm. She gave a little shrug. “There's nothing to tell."
"Oh, come on!” Becca moved closer, pointing toward Sera's neck. “Then what's this peeking out of your turtleneck?"
Damn. Bruises didn't heal as fast as open wounds. Sera cupped her hand over Valentino's bite mark and slammed the door on the recollection of how it had gotten there. Now was not the time to relive that heavenly moment. “Did you get lucky with Raphael?"
"I'm not going to let you change the subject."
Sera gave up with a sigh. “Fine.” She spun around in the computer chair and crossed her legs and arms. “You can consider my problem solved, which I'm sure will give you something to crow about for years."
Becca beamed. “Oh, that's fantastic!” She clapped her hands and beamed some more. “So I was right about the guys having sex with the women?"
"Does that mean you never hooked up with Raphael?"
"He wasn't working, but I want to hear about Valentino. Did you guys ... you know?” Becca made an infantile gesture with her fingers and wiggled her brows.
"No,” Sera said simply. One would think the clipped tone would be enough to alert Becca to drop this, but it had never worked in the past. Why now?
Becca plopped down into another chair and spun it around. She leaned forward, causing her short skirt to ride way up her thighs. Why she wore such impractical clothing to a library was a mystery Sera knew she'd never solve. “But obviously something happened in order to produce that shiner of a hickey,” Becca pressed.
"You know I'm not good at talking about this stuff, so can we just leave it alone?"
Becca shook her head without an ounce of remorse. “Nope.” She leaned forward and peered closely at Sera's neck. “Are those teeth marks?"
Sera groaned and prayed for patience while tugging her collar higher. “Maybe."
Becca's eyes widened. “He bit you?” She sat back in her chair with a little sigh. “God, that's hot."
Sera rolled her eyes and got up to leave. “I'll leave you to enjoy the fantasy of whatever it is you think happened."
"But he made you come, right? You said your problem was fixed, right?"
Sera nodded and kept walking. Becca's heels tapped loudly behind her.
"Do you want to go again tonight?"
Sera stopped, nearly causing Becca to slam into her, and turned. “I don't see any reason to go back.” Though that didn't mean she didn't want to, but Becca didn't need to know that. Just looking at Valentino's pictures on the website had made her wet and ready, seeing him again would undoubtedly be another trip into bliss.
"You don't see any reason to go back? Are you nuts? Why were you looking at his pictures? Are you regretting the fact that the two of you didn't screw? Or was that a lie?"
Sera turned away from the rapid fire questions and headed for the shelving cart. “We have a job to do, Becca."
"Screw work, I want answers."
Sera escaped up a shelving ladder with a pile of books in her hand. Unfortunately they were all sex manuals. Lovely. She tried not to look at the covers as she quickly slid them into their little spaces.
Becca rattled the ladder below. “Hey, don't ignore me, bitch."
"Is such a thing possible?” Sera mumbled. Having shelved the last book, she started down the ladder to slide it to the next section.
Becca grabbed her ankle and halted her several rungs up. Their gazes clashed. “Why won't you give me any details? I just want to know if the pics on the website are photoshopped. Surely you can tell me that much?"
Sera shook off Becca's hold, calling on just a little vampire strength to do so, and jumped off the ladder. “I don't know if they are photoshopped or not."
Becca narrowed her eyes and cross
ed her arms. “How can you not know? You were just gawking at Valentino's naked dick two seconds ago, did it or did it not, look like that in real life?"
"Did your mother teach you to talk like that?” Sera turned away from her friend's irritated glare.
"Fine,” Becca huffed. “Don't spill any of the juicy details. I'll just go back tonight and see for myself."
Sera pivoted so fast she got dizzy. “What do you mean by that?” She didn't care for Becca's crooked grin. Not one damn bit.
The redhead shrugged and leaned her shoulder against the shelves. “It means I'll go back to the club and select Valentino from the handy brochure and see for myself. Should I write it down, or do you get it now?"
Oh, Sera got it all right, but she didn't like it. The thought of her friend going anywhere near Valentino made her skin crawl. Lord, was this jealousy? She was jealous over a guy who got paid to screw women? She must be losing her mind.
"You look a little green, Sera,” Becca pointed out. “You aren't jealous, are you? Does the thought of me licking all that fine flesh of Valentino's make you want to rip my tongue out?"
Sera gritted her teeth. If she admitted how she felt, Becca would never let it go.
"I'll tell you this,” her friend went on. “If he does pack the weapon they show online, I'll take great joy in trying to shove it down my—"
"Enough!” Sera yelled. “I get it, okay? I fucking get it!” She spun away and stalked toward the end of the aisle.
"I take it that little outburst means you want to go with me tonight?” Becca yelled the question from where Sera had left her.
Sera growled low in her throat but didn't answer. She'd walked right into Becca's little trap and they both knew it.
* * * *
"You've got to be kidding?” Sera stood in the cramped women's restroom of the library, staring at the black dress Becca had just pulled out of a shopping bag. “I'm not wearing that."
Becca ignored her. “Are you wearing boots?"
"Yes, but I'm not wearing that.” Sera pointed at the skimpy dress and shook her head.