Night Intrigue [Night 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Leah Brooke

  Ian took her in his arms and hugged her, rubbing her back and smiling down at her. “Because you have an incredible gift. Several of them, in fact. Damn, that’s good. You really are an incredible artist.”

  “Thank you. I’m going to fix some breakfast.” She pulled away from him, disappointed that he’d complimented her ability to paint but refused to mention that she’d helped them with their assignment. “Did you two already eat?

  Alastair smiled and started fixing her another cup of tea. “Nope. We waited for you.”

  Ian gripped her arm, turning her to face him. “I’m going to watch DuBois tonight. A stakeout. Would you like to come with me?”

  Serena gasped, grinning as she started to throw herself against him, stopping at the last second to eye him suspiciously. “Why?”

  Ian smiled, running a hand over her hair. “I just thought you wanted to help. If you don’t want to go, don’t worry about it. You probably don’t want to eavesdrop on a conversation and tell me what they’re thinking. I can—”

  “Wait! I’ll go. As long as it’ll help.” Serena leapt at the chance, thrilled that Ian had changed his mind.

  Ian slid his fingers into her hair, bending to kiss her. “Oh, it’ll help. But first we have to follow Rita Savon. She’s meeting with Tom Garner before she meets with DuBois tonight, and I don’t know where they’re meeting. I have to go follow—”

  “They meet at her house. She has a room set up with her uh…toys.”

  Alastair grinned. “You just saved us some time and a trip.” He glanced at Ian, and she had the feeling that he said something to him mentally, but their expressions never changed.

  Ian inclined his head. “So if you want to help, you have to be able to tell me what they’re thinking while they’re together. I want to know everything.”

  Opening the refrigerator, Serena paused and turned back to face him, her stomach fluttering. “You mean while they’re…”

  Ian raised a brow, his eyes sharp. “Exactly. You said yourself that she got information from him during their sessions. I need to know what that is. If you can’t do it…”

  She didn’t have to be able to read his mind to know that he hadn’t changed it at all.

  It was a dare to do something he knew would make her uncomfortable, and she’d be damned before she backed down. She glanced at Alastair, lifting her chin. “I can do it.”

  She’d show him that she was strong in ways that he hadn’t even imagined.

  Alastair inclined his head, his eyes gleaming with approval. “Good girl.”

  Ian smiled, a slow smile of a man who was convinced he’d already won. “Wear something warm and comfortable. It’s supposed to be cool tonight.”

  Serena gritted her teeth, determined to impress the hell out of him. “I know that, Ian.”

  Ian smiled again, an arrogant smile that made her want to smack him. “Of course you do.”

  Shaking her head, Serena accepted the cup of tea from Alastair. “I’m not hungry. I’ll just take my tea out to the deck and—”

  Ian took her arm and led her back to the table. “You have to eat something. You barely ate last night, and we’re going to leave in a couple of hours. I don’t want you passing out from hunger in the middle of our stakeout. Christ, after that headache last night, you need something on your stomach.”

  Serena poked him in the chest. “I’m not going to pass out in the middle of your friggin’ stakeout, and I’ll eat when I damned well want to.”

  Furious with himself and Serena’s stubbornness, Ian watched her storm from the room. “She’s too damned hard-headed. She’s so used to living on her own that she doesn’t want to take advice from anyone.”

  Alastair smiled, infuriating him further. “Do you?”

  Ian glared at him. “No, but I can take care of myself. She’s out of her element here.”

  Alastair shrugged and started cracking eggs into a bowl, looking a little too pleased with himself. “She seems to be fitting in just fine.”

  Ian tightened his hands into fists, going back to look at the painting. “As long as we shield her. Look what happened when she got here.”

  Serena had come to New York at her cousin’s request to attend her wedding, only to learn that her cousin didn’t want her here at all.

  She’d asked her to come only to please her cousin’s future husband, who’d learned from Elise and her mother that Serena had psychic abilities.

  Not only had Anthony Carello, a thug tied to organized crime, tried to kidnap Serena, but Serena had also been deeply hurt to realize that the only family she had left wanted nothing to do with her and considered her a freak.

  Thinking about it still had the ability to enrage him, and the thought of her going back to that hurt and totally defenseless woman made him sick to his stomach.

  He and Alastair had been pulling her steadily out of her shell since then, and her art showing had gone a long way to restoring her confidence.

  Not wanting Serena to overhear them, Ian spoke to his brother telepathically. I like that she’s getting her confidence back, but I don’t want her to get in over her head.

  Alastair didn’t even turn to look at him. She won’t. We won’t let her. But we have to let her see her limits for herself.

  I don’t like it.

  That’s because you love her.

  And you don’t?

  Alastair smiled. Of course I do. I just know that she needs to see how strong she is.

  Yeah, by falling apart like she did last night? I’m sure that was good for her self-esteem.

  She knew I trusted her to be able to do what she needed to do, and she was willing to pay the price.

  I’m not. Scrubbing a hand over his face, Ian nodded and spoke out loud again. “But I get it. I’ll try, but I can’t just let her walk into danger.”

  Which is why you’re taking her to watch a dominatrix dominate a man. You’re hoping she gets uncomfortable enough to stay away the next time.

  Ian grinned. “She’ll see that it’s not a job for the faint of heart and won’t be in a bit of danger while she learns that this kind of work isn’t for her. I want her safely out of the way in the future, Alastair. Getting her feelings hurt is one thing. Having her get physically injured is another.”

  Chapter Seven

  Using a tall hedge for cover, Ian kept Serena’s back pressed against his chest, trying to convince himself he did it to keep her warm.

  That was only one of the reasons.

  He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of her.

  When Ian had pictured watching Tom Garner and Rita Savon together, he hadn’t counted on the effect Serena would have on him.

  He sure as hell hadn’t imagined her curiosity or that she’d become aroused.

  The listening equipment he used allowed him to hear Rita and Garner through his earpiece, the sounds of sex coming from them having no effect on him at all.

  Being with Serena did.

  The sound of her labored breathing, the catches in her breath, and her questions were enough to excite him, but feeling her arousal as well made it hard as hell to concentrate.

  The semi-darkness, broken only by the small flashlight he held, created an intimacy that didn’t fit the circumstances, but life with Serena continued to prove highly unpredictable.

  “I know he’s aroused. He likes that helpless feeling. I can understand that.” Serena looked up at Ian over her shoulder. “I feel that way when you keep me from moving while you touch me.” Reaching up to cup his jaw, she smiled and pressed against him. “You know, like the way you did this morning.”

  His cock jumped, her words and the playfulness in her voice inspiring all kinds of fantasies.

  Her daring made him crazy to have her and had him hard as a rock, distracting him from his mission.

  He had a feeling she was attempting to retaliate for trying to make her uncomfortable.

  She’d gotten her revenge. In spades.

  With another sharp intake
of breath, she closed her eyes and shifted restlessly against him, her whispered voice evoking images of her naked beside him in bed. “He’s so aroused that he’d do anything for her. He aches. He wants her to touch him…there. She doesn’t care about him at all. She’s just using him for information.”

  Opening her eyes, she glanced at him, her eyes filled with a combination of distress and arousal that made his cock throb. “She gets no satisfaction out of it except getting the information she wants. She’s not even aroused. How could she touch a man she doesn’t even like?”

  Willing his cock to settle, he placed his hand over hers, smiling at her naiveté, which he found adorable. “You sound surprised.”

  Serena shrugged, shifting again. “I am. I guess I shouldn’t be. If she’s playing games like that with him, she couldn’t love him.”

  Running his hand down her back to her curvy bottom, he bent to touch his lips to her ear, smiling when she shivered. “You don’t think people in love can play games in the bedroom?”

  She shivered again, her head dropping back against him. “Not like that. It’s all about deception.”

  Ian stiffened, hating the sadness and anger in her voice. “You’re thinking about the young man who took your virginity.”

  Stiffening, she raised her head again and looked away. “He did it as a bet. A game. He pretended to like me. I didn’t realize the truth until it was too late.”

  Ian clenched his jaw, fighting back the rage at the young man who’d hurt her. “He was an asshole and probably too immature to appreciate what he had. You and I play games in bed, and we’re going to play more, but don’t think for one minute that I don’t love you.” He pulled her closer, not wanting her to dwell on the past. “Tell me what Garner’s thinking.”

  Serena didn’t speak for several long seconds, her breath hitching. “He’s aroused, too aroused to think clearly. She’s um, tying him up. He loves it. He’s fighting the bonds, loving that he can’t get free. He wants her to be rougher. The whip she’s using is driving him crazy. Heat. Lust. He can’t wait for, um…”

  His arousal chipped at his patience. “You wanted to help. If you can’t do it, go sit back in the car. It’s too cold out for—”

  Serena whirled her him, her voice a furious whisper. “I can do it, damn it!” Turning away, she elbowed him in the stomach. “Jerk.”

  Gripping her arm, Ian whirled her to face him, lifting her to her toes and planting a hard kiss on her lips. Pleased to see that the hurt in her eyes had been replaced by anger, he ran his hand down her bottom, pressing at her puckered opening. “Then do it.”

  Staring down into her eyes, he took in her stunned look and smiled. “For the first time in my life, I’d gladly walk away from an assignment. I want to fuck you so badly that I ache. This isn’t the time for shyness. Spell it out. Listening to you describe what they’re doing is agony, but I need to know everything. Either tell me or go back to the car and wait.”

  Serena’s devious smile made his hand itch to spank her, the mental image of doing so stoking his desire to show her just how rough and naughty sex could be. Running a hand down his chest, she looked up at him through her lashes, squinting when he focused the low light on her features. “You’re always aroused. I already said I can do it. Just because you can’t concentrate doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

  Ian couldn’t resist, some demon inside him urging him to slap her bottom. “Behave. You’re already in enough trouble.”

  Serena glared at him before closing her eyes, stilling as she focused. “He’s pleased with himself because he has a lot to tell her. He wants to drag it out so she keeps going. She’s touching him. She’s wearing leather gloves. It excites him.”

  Although she spoke in a monotone, her voice gradually lowered, becoming breathless.

  “She’s touching him. Cupping him.”

  Ian groaned, his cock jumping. He could almost feel Serena’s hand wrapping around his cock. “Keep going.”

  Serena gulped, her breath catching in a way that had his cock throbbing. “He’s bent over and restrained. H-his, um… He wants her to touch his, um, ass. It’s driving him crazy. He won’t tell her anything until she does. He’s fighting hard not to come. He needs attention there. That tingling, needy feeling is driving him crazy.”

  Ian smiled to himself when she shivered and moved to stand behind her, pressing his cock against the small of her back. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back against him.

  “I don’t know what that feels like, but you do. Tell me.” He’d bent her over and taken her ass often enough to know how wild it made her.

  Serena’s breath caught, and with a low moan, she leaned back against him. “I can’t.”

  Sliding his hands around her and under her shirt, he undid her bra and pushed it out of the way to close his hands over her breasts. “Tell me what he’s feeling, what he’s thinking.”

  With another low moan, Serena dropped her head back against him. “It’s an awareness that’ll drive a person crazy. Shut up. I have to concentrate.”

  Sliding a hand down her bottom, he pressed against her puckered opening. “Who’s stopping you?”

  Serena’s head moved from side to side against his shoulder. “She’s asking him what he has for her. She needs something that will impress DuBois. She wants DuBois to fall in love with her. She wants him to need her. He’s a stepping stone for her.”

  Stiffening, she turned to look up at him over her shoulder. “She’s ambitious and money hungry. She wants to get to you. She knows you have money and a lot of contacts. She wants you to be her slave.”

  Something in her tone bothered him, and closing his hands on her waist, he turned her back to him. “What aren’t you telling me?” The flash of guilt and unease in her eyes answered his question. “She’s going to try to get rid of you, isn’t she?”

  Serena shrugged and turned away. “That’s her plan, but it won’t happen. If I was in danger, I would know about it before anything happened.”

  Suspicious of the sureness in her tone, Ian turned her face to his again, struggling to make out her features in the darkness. “If you ever have a dream or even a feeling that you’re in any kind of danger, I want to know about it.”

  “She wants to know about the new drones.”

  Gripping her arm, he touched his lips to her ear. “Did you hear me?”

  “Of course, I heard you. I’m in no danger from her.” She stiffened against him again, her words coming faster. “She’s whipping him. He loves it. Every strike of the whip excites him even more. She’s asking him again and again about the drone. He was supposed to bring files, but he didn’t. He memorized it. He did it so she would be forced to get the information from him. He’s enjoying this so much. He wants her to beg him to tell her. He wants her attention. Oh! She stopped.” Her breath caught and she started to shake, almost as if she was feeling it for herself.

  Alarmed at the possibility, Ian sharpened his tone to pull her back. “What’s he thinking?”

  Serena shivered, gripping his arm, but Ian doubted that she even noticed. “Please. Don’t stop. I need more. I’m ready to come. Oh, God. I’ll tell you whatever you want—just don’t stop. I’ll tell you.”

  Ian nearly came in his jeans, the feminine need in her voice pulling at the masculine need to satisfy. He hadn’t counted on her becoming so aroused. Drawing a small pad of paper and a pen out of his pocket, he bent to kiss her hair. “When we’re done here, I’m going to fuck you senseless.” He drew out a small flashlight and stuck the end in his mouth to leave his hands free.

  To his delight, she leaned back against him, turning her face to press it against his chest in a gesture that drew every protective instinct to the surface and stirred him with softer emotions like a fist around his heart that wouldn’t let go.

  Tilting her head, she smiled. “I know.”

  Stiffening again, she turned to face him, gripping his arm. “Numbers. He’s trying to focus on the numbers.
Designs for the drones. They’re measurements, I think. He doesn’t really understand them himself.”

  “Tell me.”

  Ian wrote down the numbers as fast as she rattled them off, frowning when she paused.

  “What’s happening?”

  * * * *

  Serena took a steadying breath in an effort to fight her arousal. Eavesdropping on such a passionate encounter and being pressed against Ian made it hard to concentrate. Startled by the need clawing at her, she struggled to fight it, wanting to prove to Ian that she could be professional.

  She’d been anxious to see how far she could stretch her abilities, concentrating so hard on Tom Garner’s thoughts that she would have sworn she could feel every strike of the whip and the alarming pressure against her bottom hole. “He gives her numbers and then becomes so overwhelmed that he can’t think anymore.”

  She knew what it felt like to be caught up in passion and hated listening in on someone’s thoughts during such an intimate and vulnerable moment. “This feels wrong. It’s too private.”

  Forcing herself to back away from Tom’s thoughts, she turned her focus to Rita.

  Ian took the small flashlight from between his teeth and ran a hand down her back. “I know that sometimes you’re uncomfortable invading someone’s privacy on purpose, but this is different, and something that we’ll use if you’re going to help us. It’s a matter of national security. This asshole is giving government secrets away. He doesn’t deserve privacy. If you’re going to do this, you have to be willing to do whatever needs to be done to stop it.”

  Serena’s face burned, and she wished she could be as hard-edged about it as Ian. “I know. I am. He’s a traitor. I get that. I didn’t mind trying to get information from DuBois at the party, but this is different. It’s too personal. I’m going to focus on Rita instead. She’s not as emotionally involved, and she’s not aroused.”