Playing the Witch's Game (Keepers of the Veil)

by Zoe Forward

  “Then we won’t. No penetration.”

  “What?”

  He grinned at her. “Come now, Angel. There are other ways that can be almost as pleasing.” He eased her feet to the floor. “I assume your past boyfriends showed you other ways.”

  …

  Not really. Excitement and fear coalesced in her mind.

  He knelt down in front of her, resting his broad hands on the backside of her thighs. Could she remain upright for what he promised?

  He smoothed a hand up the inside of her thighs, then gently through the wetness between them. He brought a finger to his mouth and sucked on it. A slow smile spread across his face, part devil, part angel. “You taste like you want me to lick you until you come on my tongue. Ask me to do it.”

  Words stuck in her throat. She could only nod and wheeze out a strangled, “Yes.”

  “Balance your back against the wall.” He draped one of her legs over each of his broad shoulders and lifted her, leaving her wide-open to him. So vulnerable. He said, “Perfect.” He supported her ass with one hand and ran his tongue across her until she thought she couldn’t bear any more. He slid a finger inside her, massaging a zone that caused her to buck against his mouth. She trembled, tension gathering deep in her abdomen. All worries faded as she spiraled. He sucked one more time, and that was all it took.

  She’d hovered at the edge for too long and slammed into a mind-blowing release. She screamed his name and grabbed his hair, pulling him against her as she came on his tongue.

  As she slowly came down from the high, her conscious warned her what she and Nikolai were doing was a recipe for disaster. She’d never done this before. Sure, her college boyfriend might’ve gone down on her once, but never like this. Never in a shower with the threat of death hanging over her. Never this raw. That she loved it so much shocked her. She wasn’t prim, but she didn’t do sexual adventures. Yet here she was with her legs up over the shoulders of an ex-FSB agent in a shower.

  Her head buzz dissipated and her brain kicked on enough for coherent speech. “My God. That was…amazing. I’ve never…”

  “Never?” His eyebrows shot upward.

  Her face grew hot, and she cursed the redness. “Well, a guy has, you know, done that. It just…well, I never….”

  “He never made you come?” He grinned and helped her stand.

  She shook her head, feeling her cheeks burn. “I always assumed…he told me I was too tense or something.”

  “Angel, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  “My turn,” she murmured, excited. She wrapped her hand around him and stroked. His pupils dilated wide. She dropped to her knees and kissed him.

  “I’m good, Angel. You don’t need to—”

  A moan escaped him as she took him into her mouth. He twined his hands in her hair. The muscles of his ass tightened.

  She pulled away, worried. “Am I doing it right?”

  He gritted out, “Yeah.”

  She resumed and tried to use his reactions to gauge her proficiency, but he reacted to everything. His responses seemed positive. She wanted to do it right and give him as much pleasure as he’d given her. She paused. He groaned as she pulled away.

  “You okay, Angel?” His eyelids popped up. The hazed-out bliss in his dilated gaze indicated he walked that same edge where she’d been moments ago.

  She chewed on her lip. “Just worried…I don’t know.”

  “You can’t do wrong. We can stop now.”

  With a smile she took him deeper. He moaned as she worked her tongue and lips over him. Soon his breathing grew stilted and his hips jerked as she sent him over the edge. When she stood they leaned weakly against each other.

  “I think this is the quietest you’ve ever been,” he said.

  “Way to ruin a moment.” She smiled against his chest.

  “You took me by surprise with…yeah.”

  “I doubt I surprised you. Let’s eat.”

  He grinned in a self-satisfied way that tempted her to smack him as he let her down and helped her gain her footing.

  “Don’t you dare say it,” she said.

  “I guess that was the appetizer?” He grabbed a towel off the rack and threw one at her as she exited the shower.

  “You couldn’t resist, could you?”

  He zipped and buttoned the field camos, looking sexy and exactly like the wrong kind of man. The kind she’d hate herself for falling for—noncommittal but guaranteed short-term fun.

  Her only certainty was an instinct to survive.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nikolai clicked on the information tablet from Alexi while Jen rinsed out her wet suit. Hopefully Alexi had followed standard security protocol. He didn’t want Jen hearing what he suspected would be more info on Owen’s background check, not that he cared if she knew he’d checked.

  After a thumbprint scan, Alexi’s image appeared. “Sveiki.” Hello.

  He exhaled, relieved when Alexi continued in Lithuanian. Jen wouldn’t understand. “Right after you were transported down to start this ridiculous endeavor, Owen announced his engagement to his model girlfriend. Anna something-or-other. I don’t have a picture of her. She’s probably the model he totes around to various events. He announced this right before he boarded the plane to leave for the show. This could be a media ploy. But I think their engagement is real. You should tell Jennifer before she finds out. This Owen person can’t be her destined.” Alexi slowly smiled. “Not that we suspected he was. Damn, I’m so happy you got a girl now. So, you two are in her other dimension…alone? I need a nephew, you know.”

  “Go to hell,” Nikolai muttered.

  Alexi dropped all humor. “One of the show’s producers, Rick Holloway, has a red flag. He donated money to the Order Lutomaleficum several years ago. Bit of digging and I found out he’s Owen’s father. Owen’s parents are divorced. Owen took his mother’s last name. Not sure what to make of the significance of this. They’re probably all magicals in some way, which isn’t good.” The message cut off.

  Nikolai’s gaze shot to Jen.

  “What did Alexi say?” she asked, then took a sip of tea.

  He shrugged, reluctant to hurt her with the information on Owen.

  “He said something.” Her gaze flashed annoyance.

  “I asked him to run a background check on Owen. Pretty standard stuff for a celebrity.” Nikolai needed to tell her about Owen’s engagement and the possible family OLM connection. It’d be smart, and probably convince her to get off the show.

  She blew out a long sigh as if she’d been holding her breath. “I really don’t want to talk about Owen.” She shot him a brittle smile.

  “He hexed you.”

  “We don’t know he did it. He could’ve been as much of a victim as me…us. Maybe he really is the one for me. The gods always like to make the connection between couples a challenge.”

  “He gave you a hexed necklace. He knew you had skills, which suggests he targeted you.”

  “I was stupid, maybe even naive, but I was desperate to find my destined guy. I really felt something with him. I thought…God, I don’t know.”

  It’s me. “How could you not see Owen for the asshole he is?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “You’re jealous. He can commit to long-term, whereas you…like to play around.”

  “You know nothing about me. You also have no idea if Owen can do long-term. Hell, he can’t even commit to short-term. He asked you to go on a dangerous reality show before he’d even date you.”

  “Didn’t you ever do longer term?”

  Anguish crushed his mind.

  “That look is a yes. What happened?”

  The softness in her tone prompted him to spill. “There was someone long ago. She wasn’t the one for me, but we…worked for a while.”

  “Tell me.”

  He shook his head. “It didn’t end well.”

  “Please tell me you’re not a cliché. That she dumped you and now you can�
�t ever commit again.”

  Anger made him snap, “She was beheaded in front of me by the brother of someone I’d captured for Russia months before. The crazy motherfucker thought killing her might inspire me to talk.” She might not have been the one chosen for him by the gods, but even though they’d only been together a handful of times, he’d developed a strong connection with her.

  Her face lost all color. “Oh God. I’m so sorry. That’s…”

  He looked away, not wanting to find pity there. Yeah, he was a fucked-up mess. “It was years ago.” I can’t watch you be murdered. It will kill me.

  She gripped his arm, but he didn’t look at her. Then she shocked him by straddling his hips and wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed his lips and then buried her face in his neck. He barely heard her whisper, “I’m sorry. I understand watching someone you care about killed in front of you. I agree. I don’t ever want to do that again. But it doesn’t mean you have to give up on life. On love.”

  “Who did you see killed?” he choked out, hoping it wasn’t a man she loved.

  “My parents.”

  “How did you escape?”

  “Druids. Backup arrived a few seconds too late.”

  “Did you get hurt?”

  “A little bit. I’m glad you were there last year. I couldn’t handle being taken by them again. Thank you for being there then. And here now.”

  He swallowed his bad news of Owen’s engagement, knowing it was wrong to keep it to himself. But he couldn’t hurt her right now. He’d find the best moment to tell her. He said tightly, “Alexi means it when he says he doesn’t think continuing on the show is a good idea. Now, after the sniper teams they sent after us…”

  “Do you want to stop? I think the threat is only going to get worse. The scenarios on the show will get worse.”

  “I haven’t wanted to do this from the beginning. I want us off the show.”

  She leaned back, rolling over his rock-hard cock.

  He bit back a hiss.

  She smiled. “Then let’s not go back.”

  Anaïs’s message flashed through his brain. “We’re trapped in this mess. The show might’ve violated our contracts and should allow us off, but Charlotte is right. If we disappear, the world of media will pursue us like sharks. They love solving juicy mysteries. If we pull a fuss and ask for an out and point out they violated our contracts, it might work, but I think they’ll do something to keep us in the show.” If we leave, we may never have another chance to kill Anaïs. “If we are that famous… Shit, I can’t believe that we’ve put ourselves in this position. I think we have no choice but to return.”

  “Okay.”

  He sighed long and hard. “We just have to be careful. Very careful.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him.

  He jerked away. His body yelled a monster don’t stop and tormented him with the fantasy of laying her out on the kitchen table and being deep inside her. His brain ruled. “This is a really bad idea. I can’t hold back again.”

  Her impish smile sent more blood shooting southward.

  She said, “I found something in the bedroom.” She tossed several condoms onto the table. “Seems our precog witch had a vision. She thought we might…” Her cheeks colored dark red.

  “Now that is a useful vision, unlike mine, which come at random and tend to be filled with death. Us doing this is a very bad idea.”

  “If this was such a bad idea then why’d you follow me into the shower?”

  He blinked slowly and then let out a low laugh. “Christ, Jen.” He smoothed his hands down her back to cup her ass. “You’re one hell of a temptation.”

  She shivered. “Maybe we shouldn’t, but…” She smiled nervously. “Please?”

  His fingers tightened on her ass. “I should spank you for tempting my resolve to be done with this for now.”

  A grin stretched her generous lips. “I might like not being done.”

  He groaned when she kissed along his jaw.

  She said, “We probably have an hour or so before we have to get back.”

  As he pushed open her bathrobe, she ducked her head. Her shyness spoke volumes. She wasn’t his typical bedmate. His partners were usually experienced and kinky, and liked to walk on the wild side. He might convince her to slide into the latter two, but a definite no on experienced, not that it bothered him.

  “You’re beautiful.” He leaned in and caught her lips in a demanding kiss. They pulled apart when oxygen became a must. As he ran his hands down her back he asked, “Tell me what you’ve done before. Do you know what your boundaries are? How far you can push them?”

  She dropped her gaze and shook her head.

  He tipped her head up with a finger to her chin to meet his gaze. “I’m… Hell, Angel, I’m not always easy in bed. I’m not into domination or injury, but there’s a whole hell of a lot of darkness that kind of breaks loose once I start. I don’t want to hurt you or scare you.”

  Her lips parted and her pupils dilated.

  Holy hell. Brunette Barbie was turned on.

  “I want to try that. Don’t treat me like a princess.”

  He kept his gaze focused on her face, knowing if he glanced down at her high breasts, his good intentions would be damned. He’d be on her and inside her. Hoarsely, he forced out, “What’ve you done before?”

  “I’ve only been with one guy a handful of times. It sucked. Boy on top. In a bed.”

  “Damn, Angel. Did you even orgasm with him?”

  She shook her hand.

  The selfish asshole.

  He felt a shiver pass through her as she moved her naked folds over the erection pushing against his pants. Her head ducked. “Maybe I’m just not good at it or something.”

  He stood, pushing her off his lap. And yanked her to her toes. “Just for that I’m going to make you scream more than once, and no, there’s not one goddamned thing wrong with you when it comes to sex.”

  “Does that imply you think there’s something wrong with me in another area?”

  “You did drag me onto the show, and I’m still not convinced you didn’t use magic to get me there. That’s devious.”

  He kissed her deeply and walked her backward until her back hit the edge of the kitchen counter. His kiss remained assertive and dominating. Her back arched and her hands clutched his shoulders. She moaned. He cupped her ass and lifted her to sit on the cool marble, parting her thighs to wedge himself against those naked folds.

  She unbuttoned his shirt and smoothed her hands down to his cargo pants. She unzipped.

  Her small fingers surrounded him, and lust crawled over his skin. Heat surged in his veins. He ran a finger along her moist folds. So wet. She gasped as he parted her with his fingers, spreading the lubrication.

  “Nikolai…” Her voice held a note of desperation.

  “Let go, Angel,” he ordered as he kissed his way down her body.

  “Oh God…” She spread her legs as his tongue met the smooth, waxed flesh of her folds. He explored with his mouth, savoring her flavor. The scrape of her nails against his scalp sent chills down his back. He wanted her with an intensity he’d never experienced before.

  She moaned deeply, clearly wanting more. He slid one finger and then two inside her. Her legs began to tremble as he increased his rhythm and continued the pressure of his tongue. With a small sound, she broke, crying out his name as her inner muscles clamped down and pulsated around his fingers.

  Damn, she was hot. And so responsive.

  She moved to get herself off his tongue. “Please. I want you inside me.”

  He surged to his feet, taking in her flushed cheeks and half-mast lids. He fished a condom from its wrapper and slid it into place. “Move to the edge of the counter,” he said as he pulled her there roughly. Her thighs widened to make room for him again.

  He took her in one mind-blowing moment of complete penetration. His hands tightened on her hips to hold her in place. “Dieve.” Oh God, he groane
d in Lithuanian.

  So hot. So tight. Each flutter of her inner muscles constricted around him.

  She pulled the two sides of his shirt apart and trailed kisses up his chest to his chin. He felt the scrape of her teeth along his jaw to his mouth.

  He snapped. His fingers speared into her hair, tilting her head away from him for a kiss. The pumping of their tongues mimicked the brutal pace he pounded into her. But she didn’t protest. Instead she wound her ankles around his back, pulling him toward her each time he withdrew.

  His mind churned overtime at the amazing connection he felt with her. This once wouldn’t be enough. It would never be enough…

  Detach, he ordered his mind. Focus on sensation only.

  Her body tensed and clamped down around him. Flutters of spasms pushed him over the edge.

  After a few more power thrusts, he groaned and yanked her tight to him as his orgasm burst free. He pulsed over and over.

  When his brain came back online, he realized he was resting his forehead on her shoulder. She cradled his head against her. Tenderness swept through him.

  Fuck.

  He shouldn’t have done this. He wasn’t ready for them to truly bond.

  Too late.

  She leaned against him, limp. They needed calories before anything further. As he helped her off the counter and to a kitchen chair, he experienced a weird constriction in his chest. Starting this had been a mistake, but an inevitable one. Who was he to fight the gods? That little taste whetted his appetite. He suspected after a few days with her he’d be so addicted he’d never break free. And that was the gods’ plan.

  Maybe forcing them together had been Anaïs’s plan as well. He hated being predictable. Somehow he had to publicly convince Anaïs that Jen wasn’t the one for him. How did he do that while pretending on television to be in love with her?

  “That was…” She trailed off. “Wow.”

  “There’s not one goddamned thing wrong with you.” In seconds he had his pants back on, and he stalked to the refrigerator to rummage through the contents. “Let’s eat.” He pulled food containers out of the refrigerator. Potato salad. Pasta salad. Apple pie. “Charlotte has been busy.”