Suddenly he realized Erich was staring at him with hand out. He gave a perfunctory shake, fighting the urge to hold on and swing him into a hug as a quick zip of arousal shot from the spot their flesh met straight down to his cock. Here they sat. Now what did he do about it without having any warning to plan his course of action?
“Hello, Mr. Saitou. I’m Eric Malcolm and this is my personal assistant, Janice Thompson. I want to thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak to you.” The other man stepped back and took a seat beside the woman on the couch.
“Not at all, Eric. And please, call me Ryuu.” Call me lover. Call me anything, just don’t leave.
Ryuu managed to keep his face calm as he sank into the chair facing the couch.
Erich, no, Eric smiled at him. “Ryuu. I have to say, you have an exquisite hotel.”
“Thank you.” Keep it business, for now. He carefully schooled his face to remain blank, thankful for all the tedious business meetings he’d used to perfect his impassive expression. “So I think you can see why I’m not terribly excited about the thought of prepackaging it.”
“Yes, I was told you weren’t impressed with our first offer. I’m here to see if there isn’t a compromise that can be reached, something beneficial to both parties.” Eric shot a handsome you-can-trust-me smile. Ryuu was certain that his one grin got more contracts signed than most people got after hours of research. “It could be a very lucrative proposition.”
This situation screamed for delaying tactics. A plan of attack…he needed time to plan. Ryuu leaned back, taking a moment to compose himself before allowing his business persona take charge of the conversation. “Ah, but you are assuming that money is a key issue. Quite frankly, for me, it isn’t.” He gestured with a flick of his wrist. “This is my place, my creation. You’re taking for granted that I believe such a thing could—or even should—be broken down into a mass-marketed asset.”
Eric started to speak but Janice placed a hand on his arm. The gesture drew Ryuu’s eyes and said much to someone who knew them both so well. Not just a coworker. A person who was trusted, maybe more. A definite comfort level existed between the two of them for her to be at ease enough to give such a casual touch. “We don’t mean to make light of what you’ve envisioned here. Think of it as a compliment to the work that you’ve accomplished as opposed to an invasion by corporate raiders.”
Ryuu leaned back and smiled as a wave of calm washed over him. Janice seemed to have some control over her powers already. It was so hard having this discussion with the two of them. He hated it. He’d planned on giving the RM&J reps a nice weekend on his tab then a quick kick out the door. Now he had to find a way to keep them here, giving him time with them, without becoming obligated to their bosses. Still, Janice had a way of putting someone at ease. He looked down at where her hand touched Eric. Catalyst and Empath together, one hell of a team. Had he been anyone else, he knew he’d be agreeing with anything they told him.
Now to play on that and keep them here longer. “What exactly do you propose?”
Chapter Eleven
As the door closed behind Ryuu, Eric let out a long sigh, rolling his head to release some of the tension in his neck. Something about Ryuu Saitou really got to him, crawled under his skin and took hold.
Something? Be honest, he’s sex on a chopstick and it’s been over four years since you’ve been attracted to another man. Just one look at the man got you hard and fantasizing.
But there were some things Janice didn’t need to know about him, things that would never affect her. Things that he swore were over and done with since before he’d met her. “Well that could’ve gone better.” Eric jerked off his tie, plopped down beside her on the couch and banished the other man’s appeal from his mind.
“It could’ve gone worse,” Janice replied, kicking off her high heels and propping her feet on the cherrywood coffee table with a sigh and a wiggle of her toes.
Eric picked up her feet pulled her legs into his lap. He dug his thumbs into her arches, massaging away the knots in the muscles. He grinned as she writhed and purred under his touch. “I don’t know. What was your read on him?”
Her green eyes sparkled with mirth as she scooted over to lay back across the couch with her legs still in his lap. “You expect me to give you my impressions of a business meeting when you’re rubbing my feet.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back across the arm of the couch. “Can’t talk. Too busy drooling.”
Eric raised his hands over his head. “Well I guess I should stop.”
Her purrs morphed into a growl as she flashed him a fierce glare. “Do it and die, mister.”
He chuckled but started rubbing again. He had no desire to have her angry with him. Other emotions were welcome tonight but not anger.
She had to stay with him. It was as simple and as complicated as that. He knew she didn’t want to commit, thanks to her ass of an ex-husband. But a long distance relationship wouldn’t be enough for him. He needed his hands on her, the feel of her skin beneath his fingers like this. His every move had to be well-planned and instigated with a great deal of caution if he wanted to win her over.
“I don’t feel he really knows what to think,” she answered, rubbing her legs together and scrunching further into his lap while ‘accidentally’ grazing his hardening cock. It took Eric a moment to realize she was talking about Saitou again. “He’s proud of what he’s achieved here and I really don’t believe he’s driven by money. He likes it, knows how to make it and has plenty of it lying around. But it isn’t what moves him, drives him.”
“I’ve seen the man’s portfolio.” Eric remembered staggering numbers that impressed even the big bosses. “Money is one thing he’ll never need. The world market could go to hell and he’d still be comfortably well-off. So our first offer is a definite no-go.”
Janice sighed, snuggling closer against him. “I don’t even know why we’re still here. He wanted us out. The moment he walked in I just knew it. But then something changed.”
“What?” he asked. Janice’s instincts rarely failed. He trusted her feelings more than most people’s carefully thought-out educated guesses.
Her forehead furrowed, her cute little nose scrunching in concentration. “I’m not sure. Something’s off with him and I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Well it looks like we’ll have more time to decide just what it is about him that rubs you the wrong way.” Eric slid his hands up to massage her calves, paying close attention to each soft sigh she gave.
Janice moaned softly, wiggling under his fingers. “It isn’t that he rubs me the wrong way, I just can’t pin him down. I can always pin a person down. He’s difficult and he bugs me.”
Eric reached under her skirt and unhooked her stockings, rolling them down. “I hate it when something bugs me. Makes me want to do just about anything to distract myself.”
She laughed but gave him a lascivious grin. “Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Malcolm?”
He kissed the soft flesh on the inside of her knee. “If you have to ask, I can’t be doing a good job of it.”
“Would it help if I told you that I took your advice?”
“What advice?”
Janice scooted into his lap, legs parting around his thighs to straddle him. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “I’m not wearing any underwear.”
His heart skipped a beat before sending blood rushing to his cock. He twisted a bit to relieve the pressure. “Thank God you didn’t tell me that earlier. I can’t imagine trying to get through that meeting with a raging hard-on.”
“Rough huh?” Her fingers rubbed against his twitching cock as she unzipped his pants. He shivered and arched against the caress. She nipped at his ear, sending another erotic zip shooting down his body. “I hid the condoms under the couch cushions.”
“Damn, how did you keep it together?” he managed to pant. Her touch sent ripples of pleasure through his veins, tightening his muscles in expectation.
Janice grasped his cock in a firm grip, rubbing her thumb against the head to spread a single drop of pre-cum around and around. “What can I say? I got skills.”
“Don’t I know it.” His eyes rolled back as she grazed the bit of raised flesh just under the mushrooming head.
Janice rubbed his cock, pumping it once before letting go. As soon as he regained feeling in his lower extremities Eric stood and wrapped her legs completely around his waist. His back would feel it in the morning but he had more important things to think about. He spread her out on the carpet then shoved a hand under the couch cushions. As his fingers wrapped around the cool row of foil packets, he glanced down. Janice had her blouse parted and the front catch of her bra undone. The nipples crowning her pert little breasts tightened, offering themselves up to him like an exquisite feast.
His breath caught in his throat as he froze for a split second, enraptured. Damn she was hot. He kicked off his shoes and jerked his pants and underwear off. He rolled on the condom and fell to his knees. “You look so damn good,” he told her as his hands went to her breasts. He rubbed his palms over her pert nipples, savoring each wriggling movement of her body as she strived for harder contact. “Ready and willing. Mine.”
She wrapped her legs around him again, locking her ankles. “I want you. I don’t want to think about you leaving. I don’t want to think about work or business deals. I just want you.”
Eric blinked, pulling back for a moment. She didn’t want him to leave her. It was the first time she’d said anything like that. A tiny flare of hope lit deep in his soul. Maybe, just maybe, he could talk her into staying with him. For now and forever.
He couldn’t wait to be a part of her. He pulled her knees up and slid, slow and deep, into her warm, wet core. Tight and wet. She felt so very tight and wet gripping him and pulling him in.
Janice moaned and raked her nails down his ass. He sucked in his breath with a hiss. God he loved it when she did that. That little stab of pain mixed with pleasure just fucking did it for him. It wasn’t often a woman understood that and wasn’t freaked out by it. But Janice gave him what he needed without question or judgment. Yet instead of digging in and urging him to take her like usual, the tips of her fingers moved down further and began running along the top of his crack, moving in, moving lower.
“Wanna try something a little different?” she asked as her finger teased closer to his tight opening.
God, she couldn’t be offering what he thought she was. She’d never actually said anything but he’d assumed certain areas were off limits. “Something kinky?” he whispered.
“Maybe.” His body jerked as she sucked on one of her fingers and reached back for his hole. Not actually pushing in, she teased him with the possibility, rubbing back and forth over the clenching rosette. Anticipation drummed through his bones as his balls drew up tight.
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He flinched as his voice cracked. Don’t let me sound too needy. Please, not too needy. “You couldn’t do anything that I wouldn’t like.”
“You sure?” she asked, pulling away slightly from his hole.
He arched his back and pushed into her finger, impaling himself. “Damned sure,” he sighed.
That single digit sank in, searching. God how he loved the slight burn of that first small invasion. It was one of the things he missed most about being with a man.
But no one said a woman couldn’t do it for him.
A harsh cry ripped from his chest and he almost came when she found that wonderful bundle of nerves deep inside. At the sound an evil grin crossed her face. She started pegging the spot almost mercilessly.
Eric lost all track of conscious thought. He snarled down at her and began pounding into her as she kept up her erotic torment. Not alone. He’d be damned if he came alone.
Reaching down, he sought her clit. A single soft pinch at the little bit of flesh and she went off like a rocket beneath him, thrashing and calling out incoherent phrases punctuated by curses. Eric roared in answer.
God but she was the perfect woman for him.
Chapter Twelve
Dirt and dust. He was so sick of dirt and dust. Even in the dream Eric knew this version of him had seen more than his fair share of stinking dirt and dust. He’d give anything to hear the sound of thunder and feel fresh, clean rain falling across his face, breaking through the unending heat. He missed the deep, all-encompassing green of his home. Here in this desert wasteland it seemed like a constant shade of brown stretched out into eternity. Only the walled city, with its bright-colored awnings and scurrying people, broke the monotony.
Erich walked among the merchants, losing himself in the bustle and chatter. He idly fingered a brightly enameled hairclip and thought of Jehanne. She deserved something pretty and useless. She needed something that was just female and frivolous after all that she put up with as his partner.
As the stall’s merchant swooped down on him, he glanced over to the next stall. A thin hand slid out of a pile of rubbish next to it. A single apple slipped into a palm and jerked back. He watched the pile tremble and a slight figure slowly back out to fade in the shadow of the city walls.
Flipping a coin at the jewelry merchant, he put the hairclip in his pouch and followed the little thief. Something, pity or curiosity maybe, drew him to the small form, Either way, he trusted his instincts.
The figure scurried down a small alley, away from prying eyes. Erich trailed the crunching sound as the little thief devoured his ill-gotten gains. He couldn’t make out a face as raven black hair fought free of a long braid, hiding the thief’s features.
“So is it as good as it sounds?”
The thief dropped the apple core and spun, crouched and prepared to attack or defend. The warrior in Erich appreciated the economy of the movement. This was no child. He was a man with fighting experience somewhere in his past. But Erich didn’t want that experience aimed at him.
At the moment his gaze met Erich’s, the thief’s face paled. “You?” the man gasped, standing tall and letting his cloak fall back even farther.
Erich raised one eyebrow. The man didn’t look familiar but there was something about him. His olive skin covered a thin, malnourished face. His dark almond-shaped eyes gleamed with intelligence. Ropey muscles covered his painfully thin frame. He wasn’t the type of man Erich would have forgotten. And yet he seemed hauntingly familiar.
“Have we met?” Erich asked. The other man’s face fell, the tragic expression stabbing at Erich’s heart.
“No, I guess not,” the man answered, bending over and dusting off his knees. “And unless you plan on turning me in for stealing food, I do not believe I have anything to say to you.”
“If you’re hungry you can come with me,” Erich surprised himself by offering. He didn’t know this man, beyond the fact that he was a thief. But he couldn’t leave him there, sitting hungry and dirty in a dark alley. His gut told that leaving this man was wrong. After years of fighting, Erich listened to his gut.
“Why?” The man eyed him suspiciously.
Erich took a closer look at the man. Fresh cuts encircled his wrists and an inch-wide swatch of flesh around his neck wasn’t as dark as the rest of his skin. Adding that to his pitiful condition, Erich pursed his lips. “How long ago did you escape?” he asked.
The other man fell back to a fighting crouch once more, eyes narrowing with jaw and fists clenching. Erich raised his hands, showing he held no weapons. “Peace,” he said softly. “I have no intention of returning you to whatever master you fled from. But if you are running, you must be hungry. And perhaps you would like a place to rest your head.”
The man didn’t ease his guard. If anything Erich’s words brought out more suspicion. “Why would you help an escaped slave? What do you have to gain?”
That was an excellent question. “To be entirely honest, I’m not certain why I wish to help you. I only know that I do.”
A strange, considering look crossed the
other man’s face. But he relaxed once more. “Are you alone or do you travel with others?”
“It’s only me and my woman. We live alone but travel with others,” he answered. It was the easiest way to explain the large group of ragtag warriors he traveled with. They moved as a caravan from one demon nest to the next but separated whenever they entered a city or village of any size. It was easier to hide their presence that way.
The man appeared to weigh his words. Erich didn’t know why it was so important to him but he willed him to agree.
Finally he nodded. “If your woman does not mind my presence…”
“She won’t.”
Again the other man nodded but this time he moved forward and smiled. The expression set his face aglow, giving Erich a glimpse of the handsome man beneath the grime and lack of proper food. “I saw you coming. It is why I chose to free myself when my master entered this city.”
It took a moment for Erich to realize what the other man meant. When he did he gaped in surprise. “You’re a seer, one of those who can find the creatures?”
The man placed his left fist in his right palm and performed a short, well-choreographed bow. “I am Ryo. I have been blessed with the sight since my thirteenth year. I have been waiting for you and for a woman named Jehanne, your woman I hope. I believe we are destined to fight against the demons as one.”
Another warrior found. With their numbers dwindling daily, every newfound warrior was a reason to celebrate. And to have found a partner, one who would fight by his side in battle and guard his back, was even more a reason to celebrate. Jehanne would be ecstatic.
Power of Three Page 5