His lips curved in a sardonic smile. “Would you believe I ran into an old friend?”
“No,” she replied baldly.
“Well, I did—two of them. I made the mistake of having a drink with them. Things went downhill from there.”
“So I see. But what happened?”
“Never mind that.” He put his hands on his hips and raised a single black brow. “You called me here for a reason, right?”
She moved a shoulder. “I was worried about you.”
He moved a shoulder. “As you can see, I’m okay. Cleia gave me a dose of healing energy, and swimming as my dolphin helped.”
Of course, Alesia thought. The sun fae queen would be the one to help Tiago. Then she was ashamed of herself. The important thing was that Tiago was better. Now that her first shock had passed, she could see that he was already healing; the bruises were yellowing and the cuts were scabbed over.
He closed the few feet between them. “Why are you here, Alesia?”
“I told you. I was worried about you.” Her hands raised almost of their own volition, running over his face and body, assuring herself that he was all right.
A tremor ran over his skin, but he remained still, allowing it.
She rubbed his upper arms. “You’re cold. I—”
“I’m not cold.”
“No?” She took his hand. “Come onto the beach anyway.”
She drew him toward a log in the sun and sat down. He took a seat at the other end of the log. “How’d you do that, anyway?” he asked. “Call me here?”
He didn’t sense it then, not the way she did. He didn’t realize it was the mate bond. The knowledge slashed her heart.
She smoothed her hands over her jeans. “I can do that with friends sometimes,” she prevaricated, and then gulped as her stomach rebelled against the small lie.
“Yeah?” He slanted her a skeptical look. She’d forgotten that fada could scent a lie, but it wasn’t entirely false—she could do it with him, and he was a friend, even if she wanted him to be more. “How did you know something was wrong? I’ve been hurt before and you didn’t know. Or did you?”
“No. This was the first time.”
“So what’s different now?”
She moved a shoulder. “I just had this feeling you were hurt. Last night—it wasn’t just a fight, was it?”
He stared out at the bay without replying. Several seconds ticked past before he blew out a breath. “You may as well know. Jorge and Benny and a couple of their friends worked me over. You remember them—the four men from Okeanos’s den.”
She angled her body so she could see his face. “The ones who hurt Valeria?”
“Yeah. There was a woman this time too, an earth shifter. They hurt her pretty bad. I was too fucked up to stop them.”
“But aren’t they supposed to be in Africa?”
“Apparently they escaped.” His lips twisted. “At least Benny won’t be hurting any more women.”
It took her a few seconds to realize what he meant. “He’s dead?”
“Yeah.”
“You?”
“Yeah.”
She furrowed her brow, trying to read his mood. She wouldn’t have expected him to be overjoyed at having killed someone, especially a former member of his clan. But Benny had been a bad man, and from what Tiago said, he’d only gotten worse. So why this inner revulsion, as if he’d slain an innocent?
“They attacked you, didn’t they? You had to defend yourself—and the earth shifter woman. No one could blame you for that.”
He turned his head to glare at her. “You want to know every last freaking detail, don’t you?”
“Yes.” She lifted her chin. “And I think you need to tell someone.”
He looked back at the water. A minute passed, and then his chest heaved. “I was at a bar in Fells Point, drinking. I’m sorry about how I left things with you, by the way. I can be an ass sometimes.”
“I know. But thank you.”
He gave a humorless chuckle. “You do know, don’t you? Sometimes I think you’re the only person who really knows me. And even you don’t know the worst of it.”
She scooted down the log and set her hand on his back. It was rigid under her palm. “Go on.”
“Like I said, I was at a bar. There was this woman—an earth shifter. She invited me to an afterhours club.”
It was her turn to go rigid.
Tiago shot her a look. “Told you I’m an ass.”
She moved a shoulder without saying anything, and he continued, “Jorge was at the club. He sat down at our table, which is when I should’ve gotten the hell out of there, but I didn’t. I knew Dion would want to know what he was up to, and I wanted to be the one who reported it. You know, show Dion what I can do. Then Benny showed up, and the woman got pissed at me and left. One of them must’ve slipped that goddamn aphrodisiac in my drink—the same one they gave Valeria.”
“Oh, Tiago.” She rubbed his lower back.
“Yeah.” He drew in a breath. “The next thing I knew, we were in some dirty, broken-down rowhouse. But it wasn’t just me. There was a woman, too. An earth fada, but not the same one from the bar.”
She stilled. She’d seen what that aphrodisiac had done to Valeria. “Did you—”
“No. God, I wanted to.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “I was crazy for sex, craving it like the worst drug. Anyone would’ve done—woman, man. Hell, I was so hard I’d have fucked a knothole. And to make it worse, they’d already taken a turn with her. I could smell them on her, smell how much she still wanted it. But it was the drug, not her. She was terrified, begging me not to touch her. So I didn’t. I couldn’t.” He slanted her a crooked smile. “First you, then her. I’m a frigging saint, huh?”
“Oh, Tiago.” She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “But me—that was different. I wanted you. You know that.”
He lifted a shoulder. “Anyway, before all that happened, I passed out—I don’t know how long—maybe an hour, maybe more. That’s when the four of them had their fun with that poor woman. Well.” He inhaled jaggedly. “It seems Benny got tired of waiting for me to wake up and perform for them like some kind of goddamn trick dog. He started to rough me up. I woke up, all right—half out of my mind from alcohol and the drug—and fought back. The others got away, but not Benny.”
She brought her hand to his cheek. The black stubble was rough under her palm, his whole face tight. She smoothed her fingers over the clenched muscles of his jaw.
“It wasn’t your fault, Tiago. He brought it on himself.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” He gazed out at the water. “I think of that woman and how they hurt her—and not just physically. She’s strong, but between them and the drug, they damn near broke her.”
Alesia bit her lip. “She’s all right?”
“As well as can be expected. Turns out, she’s Lord Adric’s sister. I went with her to the hotel where he was meeting with Cleia and my brother. Cleia offered to help, but he took her to his own healer.”
“Lord Adric’s sister?” She gulped. “Goddess, Tiago. What did he do?”
“He wanted to cut off my balls and shove them down my throat, but his sister—Marjani—convinced him I wasn’t to blame. You know what I think?”
A chill went down her spine. “That it wasn’t a coincidence.”
“Hell, no. Those bastards were trying to provoke an incident. Get Dion and Adric gunning for each other and who knows what would happen? At least Marjani was able to vouch for me. Deus knows what Adric would’ve done if he thought Dion’s brother had raped his sister.” Tiago shook his head. “On top of that, Jorge tried to stir up trouble between me and Dion—said it must be hard for me, knowing I’m stronger than him. I told him to go to hell, and that’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in the rowhouse. With that poor woman shut in there with me.”
He shuddered like a great horse and she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I
t’s all right, Tiago. At least you got her away from them.”
“I am cold, Lesia. So damn cold. Oh, not my body—but there’s a block of ice where my soul should be.” He turned to face her. His eyes bored into hers, the pupils dark with need, the irises a thin silver rim. “I don’t have any right to ask this, especially after yesterday, but I need you.”
She could’ve resisted anything but that naked admission. The hurt that still lingered from his rejection yesterday eased. She didn’t understand why he’d left so abruptly, but this was her mate—and he needed her.
“It’s all right.” She brought her free hand to his cheek. “I need you too.”
He inhaled slowly and released her hand to slide his fingers around her nape, and then his mouth was on hers. His lips were firm and cool. He ran them over hers, softly, gently.
Closing her eyes, she brought a hand to his shoulder and opened her mouth. His tongue slipped inside and his taste filled her mouth, dark, luscious. And so right.
She sucked his tongue deeper. A wave of heat undulated down her spine, blooming in her belly like the slow unfolding of a flower. Her fingers tightened on his shoulder. She moaned, a wordless plea for more.
He skated a hand down her leg, his large fingers cupping her ass. “Ah, baby.”
He slid his hand lower to where she was already slick. His breath hitched and he scooped her onto his lap so her breasts pressed his chest through the sweater, his erection hard against her bottom.
“Alesia,” he said against her mouth. “I need to be inside you. So bad. Tell me it’s okay.”
Goddess, couldn’t the man tell how much she wanted him? “It’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s okay.”
She angled her mouth to kiss him again, but her fingers touched a hard lump on the back of his head and he flinched.
“They did this?” she asked.
“Yeah. Slammed me against the floor.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Maybe we should wait. You’re hurt—you need time to heal.” She tried to pull away but he tightened his arms around her, keeping her on his lap.
“It’s not so bad. And we can take it slow, right?” His voice was smoky soft. “Slow and easy. I ache for you, baby. I can take a little pain if it means I can have you.”
“But—”
“Enough.” He touched two fingers to her lips. “You called me, remember? And you already said it’s okay. So don’t try to back out of it now.” His voice was hard but she could see the uncertainty in his eyes.
She nodded mutely.
He pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. She was wearing a sky-blue ribbed tank beneath. “Pretty,” he said as he slid the straps down her shoulders, exposing her breasts and trapping her arms by her sides.
She moistened her lips. “Tiago?”
“That’s better.” He tipped her over one arm and eyed her bare upper body with a wicked smile that made her inner thighs clench. “Now you don’t have anything to do but enjoy.”
“But—” She lifted her hands and dropped them again. “I want to touch you, too.”
“You’ll have your chance. But right now this is all for you. You don’t mind, do you, sweetheart?” A work-roughened fingertip teased her nipple, sending warmth streaking from her breasts to her belly.
Her head fell back against his shoulder. “No,” she agreed. “I don’t mind.”
“I promise I’ll set you free…when I’m ready to.” He pinched the other nipple and she moaned. “But you have to trust me. You do, don’t you, querida?”
He stilled, waiting for her answer. Her brain whirled. How had he switched so rapidly from needy to the one calling the shots? But this was who Tiago was—a strong, dominant man. And maybe this was what he needed after last night—to be the one in charge. To know he could give pleasure. To know he wasn’t merely—or even mostly—a killer.
Still, this wasn’t just about him. It was about her, too. And Goddess help her, she wanted it however he wanted to give it to her.
She wanted him.
“Yes,” she said. And then more strongly, “Of course I do.”
His smile was dark with anticipation. “Oh, Lesia. This is going to be good…so good.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Tiago looked at Alesia’s small, firm breasts, the pretty peach points thrust high by her position over his arm. She licked her lips, her expression excited and a little uncertain. Her hair fell over his arm in a wild, sun-kissed mass.
He speared his fingers into her hair and gently pulled her head back so he could nuzzle her neck. Marking her with his scent and taking hers on him in return. His head and ribs still ached but it was a dull pain, easily ignored.
He inhaled deeply, drawing in her subtle, woodsy fragrance and reveling like a pup in the peace he drew just from being with her.
He hadn’t lied. He did need her. Bad. Maybe it was a side effect of that damn aphrodisiac, but he didn’t think so.
Something inside had shifted. He wasn’t quite sure what or why, but he had an overwhelming need to take Alesia, to make her his. His woman.
The beast agreed whole-heartedly.
He released her hair so he could cradle her in his arm. His other hand was still on her breast, the fingers olive brown against her creamy skin. She wasn’t that much lighter than him—she had those Greek ancestors, after all—but here, on her breasts, she was ivory-smooth, her skin untouched by the sun.
She made a small sound and he glanced back at her face. Her tip-tilted eyes met his, the pupils large and dark. Then her head dropped back against his shoulder, her neck bared in erotic submission.
He swallowed hard. He knew the gesture didn’t mean the same thing to her as it did to a fada, but damn, it brought out the dominant in him. Although wrapped up in that was the urge to protect and care for her.
He squeezed her breast. It was petal-soft and cool under his fingers. “You’re cold,” he murmured, massaging the nipple with his palm. “I’ll have to warm you up.”
She shuddered with pleasure. He smiled and brought his mouth to her other breast, drawing on one nipple while playing with the other. She squirmed and tried to free her hands. He caught them and pulled them behind her back, clasping her wrists in one hand.
“Not yet, sweetheart. Remember who’s in charge here.”
“Tiago,” she scolded breathlessly. “Stop teasing.”
He grinned. He should’ve known she’d push back. She might be shy but that didn’t mean she was weak or lacking in courage.
“I don’t think so,” he said and slid his mouth over her breasts, swiped his tongue through her cleavage. She tasted fresh and a bit salty, like the upper bay in spring. “I think you like it.” He pressed love-bites to the top of her breasts, her throat. “Tell me, Lesia. Tell me you like it. I want to hear you say it.” He lifted his head and waited.
Her chest heaved, raising those pert breasts in a way that had his pulse speeding up. “Yes, damn you. I do like it—a lot.”
A growl rose from deep in his chest. He released her wrists to spear his fingers in her hair and gave her a hard, deep kiss. Thrusting his tongue between her lips, sweeping it over hers. Showing her what he wanted, what he was going to have.
She wriggled on his lap, pressing against his erection and sending a punch of sensation to his lower belly. He dragged his mouth from hers and took a deep breath. He was close, so close to being deep inside her hot, wet cunt. But he didn’t want their first time to be like that, fast and furious.
When he had himself under control, he said, “That’s good.” He played with one of her hard little nipples. “Because I like teasing you. I’m going to be doing it a lot.”
She blinked up at him. “You are?”
“Oh, yeah. This isn’t a one-time thing, Lesia.” There was no way they were going back to being friends after this. They weren’t even going to be friends with benefits—not if he had anything to say about it.
He set her on the log to take off her heavy canvas work boots and t
hen skimmed off her jeans. . No panties again. The woman must always go commando. By the gods, if he’d known that all these years…
Pulling her back on his lap, he toyed with her soft curls, enjoying the needy little sounds she made. “Ah. You’re nice and wet down here. Now why is that, hm?” His finger slid deeper, inscribed a circle around her clitoris. “I think you can hardly wait to have me inside you. Is that it? Tell me, baby.”
Her breath was ragged but she shook her head. “Your head’s too big as it is, at least where women are concerned.”
“That’s because I’m good to my women.” He slid a finger into her, stroked slowly. “Would you like to find out how good?”
Her breath hissed out. She squirmed beneath his hand. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He lifted a brow. “Let’s see if I can change that to a ‘Hell, yeah.’”
Setting her on the log, he knelt on the beach and spread her legs so he could see her moist pink center. Her arousal scented the air, rich and enticing. His nostrils flared. His balls tightened and his cock, already rock hard, swelled even more.
He took hold of her thighs and set his lips to that lovely pink flesh. It pulsed beneath his mouth.
“Yes,” she breathed. “Ah Goddess, Tiago. That’s it…yes.”
His lips curved against her skin. He licked her, slow and deep, then again. She squirmed and got her arms free of the tank. She pulled it off and dropped it on top of her jeans. She slanted him a look and then, bracing her hands on the log, deliberately spread her legs a bit wider.
“Bad girl.” He slapped the side of her ass. “Did I say you could do that? Next time I’ll have to tie you. You won’t get free until I allow it.”
Her eyes rounded. He chuckled and brought his mouth back between her thighs, licking and tasting her.
Her hands clutched the back of his head, pulling him closer. Her breath came in short, aroused huffs. “Tiago.” She rocked her hips into him. “I—”
He slid a finger into her. “That’s it,” he encouraged. His voice sounded thick in his ears. “Come for me, sweetheart. My pretty little fawn. Let me hear you scream.”
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