by I. T. Lucas
What was his deal? Drugs? Was he in the market for a personal slave?
She lifted her wrist and dangled the white bracelet. “I want to ask you something, Ricardo. I’m new, so I don’t know what’s okay to ask and what’s not. You’ll need to tell me if I’m overstepping the boundaries.”
Ricardo waved his cigar in a magnanimous manner. “I’ll be happy to satisfy your curiosity.”
The obvious double entendre wasn’t lost on her. Eva took another puff of her cigar and pretended to concentrate on her question. “Is it too personal to ask someone about their preferred type of kink?”
Ricardo seemed unfazed by her question. “The protocol is that you ask to be introduced to people who are interested in the same thing as you are. The guides do the introductions. But there is no law against asking.”
“What’s yours?”
Ricardo snorted. “I like bluntness. I’m a dominant, if you’re familiar with the term.”
“Like BDSM?”
“Exactly.”
“My guide told me there are many levels. Do you prefer a sexual submissive or a twenty-four-seven slave?” If they were anywhere else that type of question would’ve gotten her in trouble, but not in here.
Ricardo tapped his cigar on the ashtray, then took another puff. “Slaves take too much effort. A woman who desires that kind of a relationship wants her master to decide everything for her. What to wear and what not, what to eat, what to drink. I don’t have the time or the patience for that. So to answer your question, I prefer a submissive who wants to play and go her separate way once it’s done.”
From the corner of her eye Eva observed James’s reactions to Ricardo’s answer, and the guy wasn’t happy.
Eva raised her drink. “Smart man. I couldn’t agree more.”
Ricardo smiled and lifted his martini. “And what do you like, Veronica? Are you into domination or submission?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I plan to try both and see how it works. Something very mild to start with.”
“You could be a switch and enjoy both.”
“That would be awesome. So many variations of play.”
Ricardo seemed more interested by the moment, and if he were her target, it would’ve been great. But Eva sensed he was too big of a fish for her. She needed to focus on the other one and get him to take her to his hotel room.
“How about you, James, what do you like?”
“Everything, as long as it has a pussy, that is. I’m not into guys.”
Ricardo’s mouth twisted in distaste. Apparently he didn’t approve of vulgarity any more than she did.
Eva laughed and put a hand on James’s thigh. “Are you as undiscriminating about food too?”
He shrugged. “I’ll eat just about anything. None of that French stuff, though. No frogs and no snails.”
She laughed again. “I hear you. I’m getting a little hungry. Is there anywhere I can grab a bite?”
“The club has a restaurant,” Ricardo said.
Damn it. She needed James to suggest they go somewhere else. “Do they serve tuna melt sandwiches? Because that’s what I’m craving.” Hopefully the club’s restaurant was too fancy for something like that.
This time, the disdain in Ricardo’s expression was directed at her. “I’m afraid they do not.”
“Figures. They probably serve frogs and snails, isn’t that right, James?” Come on, get a clue.
“Yeah.” James extinguished what was left of his cigar. “What do you say we go find ourselves some decent food?”
“I would love to. How about you, Ricardo, want to come? Sample some common folks’ fare?” Please say no.
“I’m afraid I can’t. As I was telling James right before you joined us, I have a session scheduled in”—he glanced at his watch—“ten minutes. Just enough time to finish my drink and cigar. Give me a call when you’re in the mood for really good food.” He winked as he handed her a business card.
Score!
If she ever learned how to thrall she would go after this one. After she did a background check on him, of course. Eva didn’t go killing people who she wasn’t absolutely sure deserved it.
“Thank you.” She dropped the card into her purse then hooked her arm through James’s. “Let’s go, handsome.”
Chapter 43: Bhathian
“Can you come over?” Eva said as soon as he answered his phone. No hello, no how’ve-you-been. She sounded on edge.
“Sure. When?”
“How about right now?”
“Did something happened?”
“No. It’s just that I’ve been working on several assignments at once and I need to unwind.”
Obviously, Eva wanted him for one thing only—sex.
More than fine by him. “No problem. I’m just going to grab a quick shower.”
“Great. See you here.” She disconnected.
Eva had been busy with work the entire week. Or so she claimed.
At first, Bhathian had thought she was avoiding him, but she hadn’t come over to see Nathalie either. Mother and daughter talked on the phone daily, sometimes more than once, but given that Nathalie’s due date was approaching rapidly, Eva should’ve made an effort to see her.
Was she avoiding Nathalie as well?
Maybe she was afraid of the questions Nathalie would ask. It wasn’t easy to tell a daughter that the father she adored had been cheating on her mother.
Bhathian didn’t envy Eva her predicament.
An hour later, when he knocked on her door, he was surprised to see all three of her crew members there. Nick was watching a show on television, while Tessa and Sharon huddled over some fashion magazine.
“Come.” She took his hand and led him to the staircase.
Bhathian barely managed to say a quick hello before she was urging him up the stairs.
“Someone’s horny,” he whispered even though he wasn’t detecting any scent of arousal. Aggression seemed to be overpowering all of Eva’s gentler emotions.
Strange.
Bhathian associated that particular scent with his fellow Guardians, and then only when they had a good reason to get pumped up. Kri almost never emitted it even though she was a warrior through and through.
Eva was a detective, not a soldier. Something must’ve gone wrong on one of her assignments.
She turned her head and flashed him a chilling smile that would’ve made babies cry and little children hide behind their mama’s legs.
He smiled back.
Without a word, she just kept climbing, her beautiful ass sashaying in front of him. When Bhathian entered her bedroom, the first thing he noticed was that there were beers and several bottles of liquor on top of the coffee table in the sitting area. The vodka had a third missing from it but it didn’t mean that Eva had drunk all of that while waiting for him. The bottle could’ve been opened before.
“Care for a beer?” She pointed at the assortment. “I’ve got your favorite.”
Bhathian felt encouraged. She’d remembered. “Don’t mind if I do.” He grabbed a bottle of Snake’s Venom.
Eva poured vodka into one of the tumblers, then added lime juice and ginger beer. Homemade Moscow Mule.
“Salute!” She lifted her glass.
“What are we celebrating?”
“A successful mission.”
“Oh.” He’d been hoping it had something to do with the two of them.
“Yep. I’m really good at what I do. A true professional.” She grimaced, took a long sip from her drink, and grimaced again. “I made it too strong, and it tastes awful, but anything less has no effect on me.”
“What’s wrong, Eva?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Work stuff. Confidential.”
He chuckled. “Who am I going to tell?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Respecting her commitment to her clients’ confidentiality, Bhathian wasn’t going to pry. Even if he and Eva were a committed couple,
she could not have told him secrets that weren’t hers to disclose. Andrew and Nathalie were married and he couldn’t share work-related stuff with her either. As a private eye, Eva’s secrets weren’t on the same level as Andrew’s, it wasn’t about national security, but the principle was the same.
Bhathian put his beer down then moved behind Eva and wrapped his arms around her. “I have just the thing to make you feel better.” He pushed her hair aside and trailed his lips down her neck, his fangs scraping lightly over her taut skin.
Eva slumped against him, tilting her head to give him better access. His hand slid beneath the shoulder straps of her long dress, pulling them down her arms. The loose dress cascaded to the floor, pooling at Eva’s slender feet. What was left were a tiny thong and a bra that didn’t cover much. Each time he undressed Eva, she was wearing one of those exquisite numbers he’d never seen on a woman before. The best part of the designs was how easy they were for a man to take off.
In a rush of jealous haze, he cupped her breasts and squeezed not too gently. Eva belonged to him. No other man would ever touch her again.
“Oh, God.” She moaned and arched her back, pushing into his hands.
Careful not to nick her with his fangs, he caught the fleshy part of her ear between his front teeth and bit down, gently, thumbing her pebbled nipples over the fabric of her bra at the same time.
She whimpered, and he released her ear. “You’re mine,” he whispered without thinking. If that would make her run, he would just have to chase her. “You’d better not let another man touch you, not if you want him to stay alive.”
Turning her head to look up at him, Eva surprised the hell out of him. Bhathian expected his unjustified possessiveness to bring out indignation, even ridicule, but there was none of that.
She smiled. “You say the sweetest things. Would you really do it? Kill any man who touched me?”
He wasn’t sure if she was asking jokingly or not, but his answer would’ve been the same in both cases. “You better believe it.”
She closed her eyes and let her head rest on his chest. “Am I a terrible person if that turns me on?”
It wasn’t a lie or a tease. The scent of her arousal had doubled in potency.
He nuzzled her neck. “You’re an immortal female, Eva, not a human. We are more savage, more intense, especially when it comes to our mates.”
Again, he expected denial, a rebuttal, a vehement I’m-not-your-mate. Instead, Eva almost purred with satisfaction. “Same goes for you, lover. From now on you don’t go near any other woman.”
“Since you came back into my life, I haven’t been with anyone else.”
Her head snapped around, anger flashing in her amber eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Bhathian.”
The woman’s responses were never what he expected.
“I’m not. I can’t even think about being with another woman. I started drinking with my son-in-law to numb the cravings.”
Eva pushed out of his arms and turned, looking so fuckable it hurt. “Andrew drinks? Nathalie didn’t tell me.”
Damn it. Bhathian didn’t want to talk about this now. He wanted to divest Eva of the rest of what covered her, bend her over the arm of the armchair and fuck her senseless.
“For the same reason I started to. He can’t have sex with Nathalie until the baby is born because his bite will induce Nathalie’s transformation. He numbs his sex drive with shitloads of alcohol.”
Eva nodded. “I suspected there was something going on between them that Nathalie wasn’t telling me. No wonder Andrew is almost never around when I come over.”
Bhathian grabbed his T-shirt and yanked it over his head. “The time for talking is over.”
Eva’s eyes raked over his muscular torso, and the scent of her arousal flared again. She put her hands on his chest and lifted her face to him. “Kiss me, lover boy.”
Chapter 44: Eva
Standing on tiptoes and offering Bhathian her mouth, Eva wondered if he’d been telling the truth. But when he smashed his mouth over hers, fisting her hair and holding her head in place so he could devour her, it no longer mattered.
The only thing that mattered was how soon he could be inside her. Eva wasn’t in the mood for loving and gentle. Maybe later, after the hunger that had been gnawing at her for days eased. Right now she just wanted to get fucked. Hard.
“I need you inside me,” she said the moment he let go of her mouth to come up for a breath. The kiss had been hot, but Eva needed that sexual ferocity directed where she ached.
His gray eyes bored into hers for a split second, then between one blink of an eye to the next, she found herself bent face down over the thick armrest of the overstuffed chair.
Hot!
Her butt up in the air and her legs dangling over the armrest, with only the tips of her toes barely reaching the carpet, she felt vulnerable, exposed. But it was only her flesh that was on display. Letting Bhathian see it was easy. Her outer shell was pretty. Showing him the ugliness that was inside was another thing altogether.
With a strong pull, Bhathian yanked her thong down her thighs and left it there, effectively binding her legs together. As his finger slid along her wet slit, she heard him pop the button on his jeans, and as he pushed two into her hungry core, she heard them fall on the floor.
A moment later his fingers were replaced by the tip of his shaft, and she braced for the invasion that never came. Bhathian teased her entrance, pushing in no more than an inch and retreating.
When she lifted her butt up, trying to get more of him inside her, he rewarded her with a loud slap on her ass. She didn’t mind the sting, on the contrary, but the sound was another thing. Even with normal human ears and an entire floor in between, her crew must’ve heard that.
“Don’t,” she hissed.
Bhathian bent over her, covering her back with his torso. “Then don’t move and don’t try to take over.”
His words pulled a ragged moan out of her.
Eva needed this. Needed him to dominate her. Bhathian was probably the only male she could let herself submit to. Her gut insisted that she could trust him, that it was okay to let go because he would never let anything bad happen to her. For the next couple of hours, she could let instinct take over and not let her logical mind stand in the way of her pleasure.
She didn’t move when he lifted off her, even though she missed the feel of his warm, smooth skin, and she didn’t move when he teased her entrance again, rubbing her stinging butt cheek with his warm hand. And yet he delivered another smack to the other cheek, just as hard as the first one.
“Shh.” He stopped her protest before it could leave her mouth, and pushed in, letting her have more of his length but not all. “It was for the sake of symmetry. Now both sides are pink.”
A thought crossed her mind that later Bhathian could thrall her crew to forget what they’d heard. It wasn’t that she owed them an explanation, and if they weren’t her employees she wouldn’t have even been embarrassed, but she could do without the snickering and the comments about their boss and spanking. Not unless she was the one administering it.
Her reputation as a hard-as-nails detective was on the line.
All was forgotten a moment later when Bhathian moved. With a gentle push, he slid all the way in, then bent over her and wrapped his arms around her. Snapping the front opening of her bra like a pro, he peeled the cups away and palmed her breasts.
Eva was on fire. Bhathian’s fingers were pinching and tugging on her nipples as his shaft drove in and out of her in shallow thrusts. It was all too much and not enough at the same time.
“More,” she groaned.
As Bhathian moved one hand over to her most sensitive spot and rubbed, the pleasure got so intense that she dug her nails into the chair cushion, tearing into the fabric.
“More?” Bhathian asked.
“Yes.”
With his other hand, he grabbed her chin, twisting her head around, and kissed her long and hard. But it
was impossible to maintain contact as he lost the battle with his self-restraint and started pounding into her.
Gripping Eva around her waist to hold her in place, he went harder and faster. With his pelvis slapping into her butt with each forward surge, and his fingers circling her swollen clit, the coil inside was winding up tighter and tighter until it sprung free with the power of an exploding grenade.
Eva bit her own arm to stifle the scream. The sharp pain of Bhathian’s fangs sinking into the flesh of her neck eclipsed that small sting, and then there was no pain at all.
The euphoria washing over her wasn’t instantaneous, though. With Bhathian’s roar keeping her tethered to this world, she was still aware when his own climax exploded into her, the warm jets coating her welcoming sheath and then dripping down her thighs. A moment later the tether snapped, and she soared up and away into the land of bliss.
When she came to, Eva found herself sprawled on the bed, her legs flopping lewdly to the sides, and Bhathian lying on his front between them with his tongue buried deep inside her.
She reached to caress his short hair and chuckled. “I didn’t know you were so kinky.”
He lifted his head with a comically puzzled expression on his handsome face. “You call this kinky?”
She cupped his cheek. “The cunnilingus in itself isn’t, but combined with necrophilia it is. I was passed out, lover boy.”
His smile was wickedly sexy. “You’re awake now.” He dove his head between her legs and went back to licking and sucking, bringing her to another shuddering climax in no time at all.
The man loved eating her up, and she loved him doing so, especially when it culminated with a deliciously wicked bite on her inner thigh and another trip to the clouds.
Chapter 45: Bhathian
Holding Eva in his arms as she slept felt so good that Bhathian dreaded the moment she’d open her eyes and start pushing him away. It always went like that. The sex was phenomenal, and he would let himself hope that they were getting closer, that she was lowering her shields and letting him in, only to have his illusions shattered the moment the sex was over.