Tell Me No Lies: The Black Orchid, Book 1

by Magnolia Smith

  I was utterly confused, at least mentally. My traitorous body was certain what it wanted—more of Kael’s hard-core loving.

  “Do you want to leave? I’m not keeping you prisoner. Or do you want to stay with me? We still have to eat that dessert you made.”

  “Something is wrong with you,” I tapped my right temple, “up here. You have to be mental, insane to like that, to want to do that to another person.”

  “Do I seem crazy to you? Have I ever exhibited irrational behavior before?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe you’re a sociopath. Or is it a psychopath? I get the two confused.”

  “Sociopaths are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage. Do I appear to have anger management issues?”

  I shook my head.

  “Psychopaths are generally unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others.” A muscle on his jaw moved. “I love my parents. I have a strong fraternal bond with my friend, Luke.” He leaned forward. “And I love you.”

  I didn’t realize I was holding my breath. At the word love, I exhaled in short bursts. “So maybe socio and psychopath aren’t the best descriptions.” I tried to steady my breathing. “You have to admit, it’s not a normal behavior.”

  “I can readily admit that.” His eyes were pleading for me to, what? Accept him? Not reject him? Why did he have to look at me like that?

  But there was more. Lust. He was looking at me the way he looked at me last night. I felt a trickle of wetness between my thighs.

  No. I would not be turned on by his violent behavior.

  He reached across the table and touched my hand. Pleasure sprung from his touch and reverberated through my body

  “I want you again.” He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips.

  The breath caught in my throat. “You do?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you have to be so violent?” Why was I even asking that? Isn’t that what I wanted?

  “No. But I would prefer it.” His voice roughened. “I can try to be gentler.”

  I could barely speak. “Okay.”

  Something in his voice aroused me. Sincerity mixed with lust. I felt crazy. What was I doing? What was I agreeing to? I wanted him too.

  “But first, dessert. Better late than never.”

  My heart beat erratically against my chest as I entered the kitchen. I placed the chilled figs covered in chocolate onto a square white ceramic plate and balanced it on my hand like a waitress’ tray.

  When I returned to the living room, he was sitting on the couch. I sat beside him, placing the plate on the table before us. I selected the largest one and hovered it in front of his lips.

  “Bite it,” I urged.

  His eyes glinted. “As you wish.” He bit into the fig, first cracking the thick, cold chocolate layer. He closed his eyes, savoring the bittersweet taste. But when his teeth sank into the soft juiciness of the fresh, his eyes flew open.

  A rivulet of fig juice trembled on his lip and I wiped it away with a finger.

  “That tastes amazing. Your turn.” He chose a fig and touched my mouth with it. I parted my lips, my tongue flicking against the chocolate. But he pulled his hand away from me and put the stem portion of the fig in his mouth.

  He gestured for me to bite it now. I moved on the couch so that I was straddling him. His cock was a huge, hard bump underneath me as I positioned my mouth in front of his.

  I leaned forward and bit. The sensations of bitter and sweet, cold and spicy, hard and moist exploded in my mouth, causing multiple sensations to careen through my body.

  I reached for a second bite but this time he grabbed me by the back of my head and pressed my lips to his, forcing my mouth open. He first kissed me, but then his tongue went inside and stole the food out of my mouth.

  He finished the rest of my fig. “Sorry, I had to have it.”

  I pointed weakly at the tray. “There’s more.”

  He shook his head. “Your kisses taste like chocolate.”

  “Oh, you like chocolate do you?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You know I do.”

  He grabbed me by my waist and raised me up. He pushed his pants down. “Ride me,” he murmured in a firm tone.

  I pulled my shirt over my head, stepped out of my shorts and straddled him.

  “I’m not wet.”

  His gaze pierced me to the core. “I bet you are.”

  He took a moment to inspect the love bites and red handprints on my body. He touched every single one with a soft caress and then branded each one with a gentle kiss.

  After last night, I couldn’t believe how tender he was being with me. It was like he was two different people.

  I pressed my lips to his. I felt his cock move beneath me as we kissed. He groaned as I nuzzled his ear, nibbled on his neck.

  I returned to his mouth, biting on his full bottom lip. I felt his hands grip my waist tightly.

  “Ride me,” he commanded.

  I lifted up, hovering over his member until it touched my moist center. I hesitated a moment too long, and he pushed me down on his shaft.

  I moaned as his hardness sliced through me, with pleasure spiking me to the core. I tried to find a rhythm, but he did it for me, bringing me up and down on him while his mouth nipped at my breasts bouncing in front of him.

  I couldn’t speak, the pleasure was so intense. He’d caught a nipple between his teeth, tugging at it as I moved away from him. It was an exquisite pain that began in the very tip of my nipple and transmuted into pleasure between my legs.

  I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his thickness inside of me. And then…he slapped me. Hard across my cheek. I almost fell backward, but he caught me, slammed me back down on him.

  My hands pressed against his chest. “What are you doing?”

  His eyes were half closed. He didn’t answer me.

  I slapped him back on his left cheek. “Hey!”

  The sound was loud and his cheek turned pink. His lips spread into a slow grin. “That’s my girl. Slap me again.”

  “No!” I pressed my hand against my smarting cheek. This was Kael?

  “I hurt you. You want to hurt me back. Slap me again,” he snarled. “I like it.”

  He began gyrating his pelvis in slow circles, and pleasure radiated from my center.

  “When I bite you, bite me back.” He growled like an animal, roughly grabbed one breast with one hand and bit the other.

  “You want us to behave like animals. You want me to act like—”

  “Like a bitch in heat.” He grabbed my face, his fingers tight around my jaw and cheeks. “I want you crazy for me.”

  He kissed me, bit my bottom lip so hard I tasted blood. Angry and aroused at the same time, I slapped him again, shoved his face to the side and bit his neck. “It hurts. Do you see that? It hurts!”

  He lifted me off his lap, stood up and bent me over the couch. Grabbing my hair, he shoved my face down and entered me from behind, impaling me on the couch. He was fast, like a piston and I started orgasming immediately.

  The sounds of my moans and his groans filled the room. I began to come, an earth-shattering explosion that began with a pulsating throb and ended with my legs shaking and tears falling from my eyes.

  And then he pulled out, yanked me around by my hair and threw me onto my back. I could barely catch my breath before he grabbed the base of his cock with one hand, and batted his hardness against my lips until I opened my mouth for him.

  Lust had transformed him into a creature of passion, intent on pleasure—his and mine. His eyes were intense and focused on one thing: me. The depth of his emotion both aroused and frightened me, but no matter what, I wanted more. More of whatever he wanted to give me.

  He shoved his thickness into my mouth just in time
for him to reach climax. His hands held my head firmly in place until he’d stopped coming and my mouth was filled.

  It took him a long moment to recover from his orgasm, but when his breathing slowed and his gaze softened with tenderness, he said, “I want you crazy for me.” He gently pulled me up and kissed me on the lips. Because I’m crazy for you.”

  I stumbled upstairs to find my clothes.

  Alone in his bedroom, I stared at my nude body in Kael’s oval, floor-length mirror. My face was flushed and my hair was a mess. I could barely catch my breath and yet, that man had made me feel things I’d never felt before.

  I felt…alive. I gently touched the tender spot between my legs, still wet, still throbbing with pleasure. Now I knew what those women caught in dishabille on the cover of romance books felt like, loved by a passionate man, so overwhelmed by his desire that he could barely contain his primitive urges.

  My finger traced a circle around my nipple and I closed my eyes, remembering the way his tongue felt on me. Kael was barbaric.

  This was the man I loved?

  How could I reconcile this new Kael with the quiet, intense man I’d met in Jamaica, and the one I’d been spending so much time with of late?

  I knew he kept something from me, could see the secrets in his eyes. Was this it? He had a craving for love and violence? Could I be with a man like that? Did I even want to?

  Moving around the room, I found my overnight bag, stepped into a pair of panties and shrugged on a white sundress. I grabbed my brush and starting working the tangles out of my hair.

  In the mirror, I saw the door open behind me.

  “You’re clothed.” Kael stood there, his gray eyes unreadable.

  “I should go.” Forcing a smile, I quickly redid my ponytail and scanned the bedroom for my purse.

  He stepped into the room and sat on his king-sized sleigh bed. “I promised myself, not you. Never you.”

  I turned around, concerned with the tone of his voice. “When? When did you promise not to…make love to me like that?”

  “Two years ago. Jamaica. When I saw you on the beach.”

  I thought back to those halcyon days. Memories ran together like watercolors in my mind. Then it hit me. “That’s why you didn’t want us to make love?” I went to him, kneeled in front of him and touched his face. “You were afraid?”

  He looked up. “I was afraid I’d do what I did to you last night. And just now.” His face was grim and his voice flat. “You wouldn’t believe the lengths I’ve gone to not to do that to you.” He exhaled loudly. “But you’re safe from me, Rain. I won’t touch you again.”

  I shook my head, not understanding. “But, I—”

  “I want to continue to see you. I want us to spend time, as we have. But it’s best if I don’t touch you.”

  He slipped out of the room before I could speak. Before I could tell him…I liked it.

  * * * * *

  I stood at the sink, washing the same plate over and over again. Last night and again this morning had been everything I’d dreamed of and I wanted to make love to her again and again in exactly the same manner.

  But she’d responded just as I feared, with revulsion. Yes, her body responded to the pleasure but she was no pain whore and it was so wrong of me to try and turn her into one.

  I was such a sick fuck. I ran the plate under a cold stream of water, dried it and set it in the drainer. I mindlessly reached for another plate, worried out of my mind that I’d scared her off for good.

  What could I possibly say to undo what she’d seen last night? Nothing. There was nothing I could do. She could barely look at me just now. I’d acted normal at breakfast, as if she wasn’t looking at me like I was a monster. As if I didn’t know she was disgusted by me.

  I’d fucked up big-time. I needed her close. Il Morte was bound to show up and I had to be with her when that happened. I finished with the plate and turned around when I heard her coming down the stairs.

  “You look beautiful.”

  She glanced down at her simple white dress and smiled. “If you say so.” She took a step toward me and I froze, not sure what to do. What would be appropriate in this moment?

  “I have to go.” She watched me carefully. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry.” She stepped closer and I exhaled. Hadn’t realized I was holding my breath.

  “I’m not.”

  Did I hear her correctly? “What are you saying?”

  Her arm snaked out and she touched my hand. “I liked it.” She whispered the words, as if she were afraid for anyone to hear them.

  I held her hand. “You did?”

  She stepped close to me and I wrapped my arms around her waist. She nuzzled her face into my chest. “I feel embarrassed to say it, but I loved the way you made me feel when you were like that.”

  She ventured a look up at me and I saw desire in her eyes. My cock twitched and I tightened my embrace. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s just you and me here. I won’t tell a soul.”

  She averted her eyes. “Would you make love to me again…like that?”

  I nodded, hardly able to believe the words coming out of her mouth. “Yes. Of course.”

  She kissed me sweetly on my cheek and then my lips. I closed my eyes and savored the moment.

  “I want you to teach me everything about pleasure and pain.”

  I was shocked. All I could say was, “As you wish.”

  When she left my house, I was the happiest man in the world.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  I was in Atlanta on business and so was Haley, my girlfriend’s sister, planning to stop an assassination and she had a model shoot. It was only normal that we’d meet for lunch, right?

  Haley had just left and I was waiting for the waitress to return my credit card.

  I wasn’t stupid. I had a feeling that Rain wanted her little sister to check up on me, make sure I was where I said I was; and after Haley had run into me in New York, who could blame her?

  I was still expecting Rain to ask me about that, surely Haley had told her about seeing me there with Zelie. But to her credit, she’d said nothing and I wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up.

  Rain could just as easily see other guys when I was away on mission. I hoped she trusted me to be faithful to her, like I trusted her.

  The server returned my credit card and I signed the receipt and headed for the exit.

  Lunch had been surprisingly fun. Haley was a spitfire and once she’d finished interrogating me about my business in town, we’d discussed the fashion shoot she was on, a cover of a national lad’s mag, and even though I’d promised Rain, I pitched the idea of buying Haley’s friend out of his investment in Rain’s business.

  The football player was apparently fine with the status quo, at least according to Haley. Now, with that out of the way I could focus on the mission at hand.

  Zelie was pushing the front door of the restaurant open when I reached the foyer.

  I looked around curiously. “Are you following me? What are you doing in Atlanta?”

  “Do you see what happens when you don’t follow orders?” she hissed at me. “All hell breaks loose.”

  I looked around the enclosed foyer cautiously. There was another set of doors behind me that led to the main dining room.

  We were alone in a place that served as a waiting area, with a darkened coat check to my right.

  I gave Zelie a curious look. “He’s your uncle. You are Taiwanese. What do you really feel about all of this?”

  She looked at me and laughed. “I don’t give a damn. I’m not paid to care and neither are you.”

  Now that the cat was out of the bag, Zelie’s personality had completely changed. Gone was the purring sex kitten, replaced by a venom-tongued viper.

  “You were su
pposed to kill him when he released his statement expressing his disapproval of the US’s new rice for guns policy two weeks ago. Now you’ve created an international incident. The Group is not happy.”

  It was well after lunch and the restaurant was almost empty, but it was still not a good idea to discuss missions out in the open.

  “Op sec, Zelie.” Operational security.

  “Fuck operational security. Operation Serpentine is still a go, if you hadn’t noticed. What are you going to do about it?”

  Surprised at her blatant disregard for protocol, I looked around the foyer. “Let’s take this conversation elsewhere. Where are you staying?”

  She tossed her long hair. “The time for talking is over, Kael. What happened to you?” She sneered at me. “Oh that’s right, you met that girl.”

  “That girl has nothing to do with the decisions I make in my career.”

  “That’s not what The Group thinks. And that’s not what I know. As soon as you met her, you completely lost interest in me and you stopped caring about your work.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me? I killed more men in the last two years than you’ve probably— What do you care if I lost interest in you? You were just doing your job. You were assigned to me, remember? The Group has paid you to be my fuck-bunny, which makes you nothing more than a very, very expensive whore.”

  Eyes flashing, she bowed up at me like she wanted to do something. Super tiny, delicate-as-a-flower Zelie. I laughed in her face. “What are you going to do, fight me?”

  She reached down and pulled a knife from under her dress, flicked it open and pressed it to my neck in a flash.

  I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Mark was right. You are adorable.”

  At that she stretched on her tiptoes and took a swipe at me. I easily disarmed her, tossed the knife a few yards away and twisted her arm behind her back.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, darling. We’ve had some good times, but I will hit a girl.”

  “You have no idea how many men I’ve killed,” she whispered in my ear.