“I did two tours in Afghanistan, kind of got used to the Middle East. I like it, actually, and I wanted to see part of it that wasn’t a war zone. So I came.”
“It was good of you.”
“Haven’t done anything for him yet except stay in a posh hotel. A friend of his knew Demitri and got me put up here until it’s time to go to Luxor.”
“Which is when?”
“A couple of days. I came a little ahead of schedule to do some sightseeing.”
“I might go to Luxor, myself,” Val said. “It’s been a long time since I saw the skies above the temples of Karnak.”
Leon smiled at her. “I think I’d like that.”
When he smiled, his whole face warmed and his eyes went dark. His lips turned up, the lower the slightest bit fuller than the upper, a man’s lips, which she hadn’t touched in centuries.
Leon slowly pushed himself up until he sat on the edge of her chair. He studied her in silence a moment, then he slid his hand behind the nape of her neck, leaned down, and kissed her.
Val knew she should jerk away, put herself across the room from him. He wasn’t for her. He was for the woman down in Luxor Val had to lead him to.
But Val couldn’t make herself push him from her. The tiny part of her that was still Valenarian whispered, Have this. Just a taste. When he meets the woman and falls in love, he’ll forget you.
Leon’s lips were like silk. Smooth and warm, they parted hers, his tongue dipping inside her mouth. His hand was firm on the back of her neck, fingers teasing her curls. Valerie leaned back and ran her hands along his hard shoulders, loving the feel of man beneath the shirt.
Warmth flushed her body, her nipples hardening to little points inside her blouse. She felt loose, watery, hot. His body was heavy against hers, his arms strong, his lips gentle but not leaving any doubt what he intended. He wanted to have sex with her, the friendly sex of two people far from home finding themselves alone together in a hotel.
His fingers slid down her blouse to undo the first button. She closed her eyes as hard fingertips touched her bare breast, finding and catching on the point of her nipple.
“No,” she groaned. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” His breath was hot on her lips. “You got a boyfriend? Husband?”
“It’s not that.”
“What then? Do I smell bad?”
Val wanted to laugh. “No. That is, you smell good.” She put her nose to his bare neck and inhaled. He was all kinds of good, and for fun she put out her tongue and licked him.
Mistake. He tasted salty and nice, and she wanted to lick him from head to toe. She wanted to open his jeans and see what kind of cock he had and how it tasted. Judging from what pressed her from behind the fabric, it was a nice one, thick and long. She imagined it was dark with a rush of blood, the tip smooth and cool.
“I won’t push you, chere,” Leon said in her ear. “We’ll take it slow if you want. Get to know each other better.”
Val put her hands on his chest, tears flooding her eyes. “We can’t. I can’t—ever. I’m sorry.”
Leon’s eyes flickered strangely, a flash of that otherworldly thing she’d sensed in him. “Well, since my mama raised me to be a gentleman . . .”
He slowly unwound himself from her and stood up. Tension thrummed through his body, a virile male who’d been about to let loose tightening up again.
Valerie got up with him but couldn’t resist running her hands along his chest. She wanted him, and not like Valenarian would. Valenarian the demoness would have him on the floor, extending claws to shred his clothes. She’d press him flat on his back and impale herself on his rigid cock. No talking, no getting to know each other, just straightforward, fulfilling sex.
But Valenarian was gone, suppressed behind too many layers of Aphrodite’s brainwashing. The woman Valerie wanted Leon naked, but she wanted to slide her arms gently around him, to get to know his body and let him get to know hers. She wanted it slow, nice, memorable. She wanted him to want to see her again when it was over.
Valerie rose on her tiptoes and kissed Leon on the mouth. He moved his lips in response but didn’t hold her.
“I’m sorry,” Val said. “I should have told you right away, but I so enjoyed talking to you.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away. “You didn’t have to pretend you’d have sex with me to get me to talk to you.”
“I didn’t pretend. I really do want to have sex with you. But I can’t. It’s forbidden.” Val ran her fingertips down his chest again, feeling his heart beating beneath his skin. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth, because that, too, was forbidden, but she could tell him part of it. “I’m a celibate, you see. I took a vow never to have sex with any man, no matter how much I might want to.”
2
THIS was a new one on Leon. Not tonight, darling. I’m celibate. Leon stepped back and studied her, a gorgeous female with curly dark hair streaked with red. He’d thought the red was dye until he’d seen it close. The color was natural and beautiful, red mixing with black like weavings of silk. Her eyes were dark, not brown, but such a dark, intense blue they looked almost black.
Kissing her had been dizzying. She knew how to kiss, knew how to use her hands, knew how to make his cock sit up and dance.
“So, are you a nun?” She didn’t dress like a nun, even if she wore a long-sleeved loose tunic and pants, clothes that covered most of her skin.
“Priestess,” she said. “A priestess of Aphrodite.”
Leon started to laugh. “You can just say no, sweetheart. You don’t have to come up with excuses. I can take it.”
Valerie gazed up at him with beautiful eyes he wanted to drown in. They were like the night sky just before darkness took over.
“It wasn’t my choice to serve her, though I can’t pretend it’s been horrible. But she insists on having her priestesses celibate.”
“Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love, right? Like Venus.”
“Venus is the name the Romans gave her, yes. She prefers Aphrodite.”
“And the Goddess of Love wants you celibate. Isn’t that a little backward?”
“Love is for others, and herself. Not for her priestesses. We must remain pure to do her work.”
“Right.” Like mythical goddesses talked to people all the time.
“I don’t know why you’re surprised,” Val said. “You aren’t quite human yourself. I haven’t decided what you are, but you have some supernatural in you.”
Leon wanted to back up yet another step, but he held his ground. The one thing he hadn’t let her pry out of him was that he and his brothers were shifters. He’d been taught to keep it quiet from the time he’d been a little boy. The rest of humanity wouldn’t understand their special gift, and no one could ever know.
Leon understood better when he got older. People didn’t like people who were different. Those who didn’t fit the mold were either shunned, driven out, or hurt in some way. Didn’t matter how strong or magical he was—normals would try to hunt him down if they knew.
“Keep that to yourself,” he said. “I don’t need it blabbed around, and neither does my brother.”
Val smiled. Damn, she had a sexy smile. His blood started heating all over again, just when he thought he’d calmed down.
“Your secrets are safe with me, Leon Dupree.” She touched his chest again. Why did he suddenly envision her raking her nails down his bare skin while she rode him? He felt his eyes flicker into an animal’s and back again.
Val lowered her hand. “I should go.”
“You don’t have to. We still have half a pot of coffee.”
She twirled one curl around her finger. “You want me even if we don’t have sex?”
“Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” Did he really mean that? Or did he want to try to convince her to thumb her nose at her vow of celibacy and get between the sheets with him? He wasn’t sure. He also wasn’t sure how much he believed she w
as a priestess of Aphrodite.
He thought for a second she’d say yes. Then she shook her head, taking on a look of regret. “I can’t.” Another touch on his chest. “You are too tempting. If I stayed, I’d want to eat you up.”
Yes. He pictured himself spread-eagled on the bed with her mouth all over him. She’d lick his skin then take his cock and suck him down deep.
“Perhaps I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow,” she said. “Good night, Leon.”
Damn. He forced the fantasy away, wishing his erection wasn’t pounding so hard.
“Yeah, right. Breakfast.” He walked her to the door and opened it, surprised he could move normally with the huge thing throbbing in his pants.
Val paused at the door, rose on her tiptoes again, and pressed a light kiss to his lips. Smooth and sweet.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
“For what?”
“An enjoyable evening. And thank you for worrying about me at the carpet shop.”
“You never told me what that was really about.”
“Yes, I did. Or Bes did. A misunderstanding.” She tapped the tip of his nose, then turned around and walked toward the elevator. Her hips moved enticingly, making him want to close his hands around that slender butt and drag her back.
She waved again as the stepped into the elevator, then the doors closed, and she was gone. Leon slammed the door and locked it, then swung around, shoving his hands through his hair. His army buzz had grown out some, nowhere near the long mop he’d worn as a kid, but he had enough hair to pull in frustration.
“Damn it.” His erection wouldn’t die, and his imagination wouldn’t stop thinking about her naked, licking him, kissing him, rubbing her body on his. It had been too long since he’d had sex, the last time being about six months ago.
Shit. Maybe he should take a vow of celibacy, too, and live in a monastery raising grapes or something. No, he’d bury himself on Remy’s dig and forget all about women and his needs.
It never worked out for him anyway. Women liked him, but something about him put them off, and he’d never developed a lasting relationship. They wanted his body, not the rest of him. Maybe it was the way his eyes went weird when he got excited or angry, the one shifter part of him he couldn’t control.
Leon realized he was standing in the middle of the room, hands on his head, sweating. His body wanted to change, to relieve his frustration by becoming a snarling animal. He held himself back. He might wreck the place, and he couldn’t pay for it. And that would make Remy look bad.
Leon kicked off his shoes, got some towels from the bathroom, and stripped off his clothes in his bedroom. This was one of four bedrooms, each as opulent as the others. A huge mirror in a delicate wooden frame reflected the sumptuous bed and beautiful paintings on the walls.
It also showed a naked Leon leaning his butt on the bed, his sand-colored hair a mess, his eyes yellow. The mirror reflected his enormous, angry cock, which moved a little with each heartbeat.
Leon didn’t have any lube, not having had the foresight to pack any, but it didn’t matter. He wet his palm with his tongue and closed his hand around his aching erection.
DEMITRI watched Val exit the elevator on her floor and walk to her room. No, sashay to her room. She made the simple act of walking down the hall enticing.
Her hair looked curlier than when she’d arrived yesterday. Was it the heat of the city on the river? Valenarian the demon’s hair had always been tight corkscrew curls, lovely ringlets that had tumbled over her body. The few times he’d seen her after she’d become Valerie, humble priestess of Aphrodite, her hair had been nearly straight.
Valenarian was gone, he reminded himself. Demitri had trapped her and Aphrodite had erased her, leaving Val alive with a new, softer personality.
At least that’s what he’d believed until Aphrodite said there’d been incidents. Valerie hadn’t remembered them when questioned, but Aphrodite suspected that Val had seduced a few men on her assignments, had sex with them, then erased their memories. She wasn’t certain and couldn’t prove it, but the other gods had started grumbling that Aphrodite had been a fool to keep Val alive. Most of the male gods were touchy about demons whose purpose was to murder adulterous men.
Demitri made himself turn away from Valerie, not confront her. He’d been waiting to see if she’d come down after his waiter told him the interesting tale of her going to Leon Dupree’s suite. His tiger’s senses didn’t smell sex on her, only coffee, but she had been up there a good long while.
“Demitri.” Her sultry voice sounded behind him.
Demitri turned reluctantly.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
Her eyes were innocent, blue now when they’d been black eons ago. Since her arrival, she’d never once shown a memory of anything between her and Demitri—correction, between Valenarian and Demitri. She and Demitri might have been old friends getting reacquainted—no more, no less.
“Everything’s fine,” Demitri said. “How about with you?”
“My room’s lovely, thank you.”
“You went out tonight. Why?”
“Shopping. You have no need to worry. Your friend Mr. Dupree made sure I returned without harm.”
“You went to his room.”
“For coffee.” She closed the distance between them, reached up, and straightened Demitri’s tie. Just the touch made him want to back her against the wall, to furrow her hair, to press his tongue into her mouth.
“Really,” she said. “Coffee only.”
Demitri looked into her beautiful eyes. Had they darkened since she’d been here? He couldn’t tell.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Demitri.” Val stepped away from him. “I’ve been living all these years without a single hitch. I’ve brought a lot of love into the world.”
“So I hear.”
“I was merely doing my job. You can go back to bed and stop following me.”
“I wasn’t following you.”
Her brows arched. “No? Your room isn’t on this floor, is it?”
“I had business on this floor. It’s my hotel.”
“That is true. I suppose that means you can go to any floor you wish.” Val smiled sweetly. “Good night, Demitri. Sweet dreams.” She turned back to her bedroom, opened the door, and went inside. Demitri glimpsed the large bed and her clothes folded neatly over the backs of the elegant chairs.
He could go in after her. He’d been charged to keep an eye on her. He could stay with her, learn her again, make damn sure she didn’t do anything to Leon Dupree. But he couldn’t interfere. Aphrodite had made that clear. No matter how much it killed him, he had to let Val choose her path, even if it meant her death.
His eyes moistened, and he looked away before she could see. “Good night.” He closed the door for her then rested his fingertips against it.
Wiping his eyes, he turned around and took the elevator up to the very top of the hotel, where he’d given the best suite in the house to Leon Dupree.
LEON groaned. His hand moved faster, stroking his cock in a rapid, even rhythm. The mirror showed a man bulked with muscle, his eyes a wild yellow, a hard red cock appearing and disappearing between his fingers.
He imagined Valerie touching him, Valerie taking him into her mouth and sucking in hard, quick jerks. Leon squeezed his fist, imagining how her lips would feel around him. He dipped his other hand behind his balls, feeling them tight and hard. He stroked them, letting an animal growl escape his throat.
Val was so damn beautiful. He loved how her hair curled around her fingertips when she touched it, loved how her eyes darkened, the blue becoming almost black when he’d kissed her. The cleavage he’d glimpsed under the button he’d undone was soft and lickable. She hadn’t worn a bra, which was fine with him. He’d wanted to open her shirt, lower his tongue to her breasts and taste them all over. He’d take her nipples into his mouth one at a time, suckling until she groaned with it.
The f
rustration of having to let her go made him stroke faster, pull harder. Lamplight shone on the droplets of sweat on his shoulders and neck. The hair at his groin had twisted into tight, damp curls, sandy brown and coarse.
“Val,” he groaned. He felt the buildup of his climax—the movement of his balls, the need to thrust, the mindless darkness of it ready to release. “Val, sweet woman I want to fuck. Damn, do I want to fuck you.”
Here it came, the roar, the release, the darkness—
Someone banged on the front door. The knocking was loud, insistent.
Leon’s cock slipped out of his grasp, and he grabbed a towel to catch any mess. But the moment had passed, too late. The tingling faded and frustration took its place. Hell.
Leon dropped the towel and jerked on his pants. “Just a minute.” Barefoot and bare-chested, unsated and still throbbing, he strode through the living room and yanked open the door.
Demitri the hotel owner stood in the hall, hand raised to knock again. Demitri wore a pristine tailored suit and tie, and had his hair pulled back into a neat tail. He was shaved and washed and manicured, and was obviously not impressed with Leon scruffy in jeans and bare feet.
“Something I can help you with?” Leon asked, his breathing still heavy.
Demitri raised his brows and looked him up and down.
“I was working out,” Leon said. “Trying to stay in shape.”
Demitri gave him a brief, unconvinced nod, then hoisted a small overnight bag. “Pipes broke in my bathroom, and I will have to stay up here until it can be fixed. It’s an old building.”
His words were stiff, not apologetic. Leon opened the door wider, stepped out of the way. “It’s your hotel.”
“I’ll use one of the bedrooms and be out most of the time. You’ll never see me.”
Leon shrugged. “Like I said, it’s your hotel. I’ve bunked with twenty guys in the same room before. I think I can handle someone staying across the hall.”
Demitri gazed at him for a while longer as though wanting to say something more, then he turned on his heel and marched to the bedroom opposite the one Leon had taken. He opened the bedroom door and started to go inside, then swung back around to Leon.
Mortal Seductions Page 3