by Maya Banks
“Am I doing it wrong?” she asked huskily as she let him fall from her lips.
“God no. If you do it any better, I won’t be able to stay conscious.”
She smiled. “Well then, why did you want me to stop?”
He rose up and grabbed her by the shoulders, rolling until she fell under him. “Because, you little wench, it was about to be all over before it began.”
She hooked her leg over his and shoved, rotating them back over until she was on top. “That would be a great shame, since I plan to enjoy you for quite a while.”
He arched a brow and reached out to her breast. “I do believe I like the sound of that,” he murmured as he rolled a thumb over her nipple.
She shuddered and arched into his caress.
“Like that?”
“Mmm hmm.”
“Come here,” he said. He reached behind her and cupped her ass then pulled her closer to him. His hands smoothed up her back until they touched her shoulder blades, and he pressed her down so that his mouth captured her breast.
She closed her eyes as he licked and nibbled at one nipple and then turned his attention to the other. His erection was sandwiched between his stomach and her pussy, and each movement, no matter how slight, sent spasms through her groin. Her clit buzzed and tingled, and she shifted, trying to bring him into closer contact.
“You want top or bottom?” he asked.
“I’m surprised you’re giving me a choice,” she murmured.
He rolled them again, until he was positioned over her. “I can go that route. I just figured you’d kick my ass if I got too pushy.”
She shoved and rotated until she was back on top. “Who says I won’t? I merely said I was surprised you offered.”
“You still haven’t answered the question.”
“Hmmm, why don’t I get the condom out and then we see where things lead?”
“Good idea.”
She reached for the wrapper and tore it open. Moving her body back until she straddled his knees, she reached down to roll the condom over his straining cock.
“At least it’s not red this time,” he muttered.
She laughed. “Did I scar you for life with the colored cock?”
“You have a sick sense of humor,” he said darkly.
She scooted back up his body and placed her hands on his taut belly. “You have such a great body,” she murmured.
He ran his hands over her shoulders and down until he cupped both breasts. “The feeling is entirely mutual.”
He moved lower until his fingers dug into her hips. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing and settled her over his cock. For a moment he held her there, prolonging the sensation. Then he lowered her until she sheathed him completely.
They both sighed with satisfaction.
“I could die happy,” he said.
“Be careful what you wish for,” she warned. He moved so quick she barely had time to blink before she was underneath him, pinned to the bed. He was so deep inside her that she could barely breathe. Both her hands were above her head, held tight with one of his. And now she knew he’d merely been playing with her before.
She narrowed her eyes. “I was only joking.”
He rolled his hips against hers, driving deeper. “Funny, but I don’t believe you.”
Dizzying heat bloomed in her abdomen, raced through her pelvis. Each time he withdrew and rocketed forward again, her body tensed a bit more. Pressure built and squeezed until she writhed helplessly beneath him.
“If I wanted you dead, you would be,” she gritted out.
He slid out of her until the head of his dick barely rimmed her entrance. He palmed her breast with his free hand and tweaked her nipple until it stood stiff and erect. Then he bent down and nipped sharply just as he slammed back into her.
“Am I supposed to be grateful?” he murmured around a mouthful of her breast.
“I’m going to change my mind about killing you if you don’t start moving.”
He chuckled softly against her nipple then lapped it with his tongue.
“Fuck me, damn it.”
He reached down, grabbed her right leg and hooked his arm underneath. He pulled upward, spreading her wider. It made her feel vulnerable. Way more exposed.
“Oh, I’ll fuck you, sugar. Buckle down for a long, hard ride.”
Finally.
She whimpered when he slammed into her, her elevated leg giving him deeper access into her pussy. God, it hurt, but the pain was delicious.
He showed absolutely no mercy, and she loved every minute as he pounded into her over and over.
Suddenly her hands were free as he let go and grabbed her other leg. He shoved both legs up, over his arms, higher as he thrust.
She gripped his shoulders and dug her nails into his skin. He moaned and tensed between her legs as he surged deeper. She licked over the column of his neck, and when she reached his ear, she sank her teeth into the cord below his lobe.
He shuddered and bit out a curse. “Are you close?”
She closed her eyes and gripped him tighter. Sucked his skin into her mouth. Marked him. Her body tightened. “Yes. God, yes.”
“Thank, God,” he muttered. “I’m not going to last. Come with me, sugar.”
He rode her, hard and unrelenting. The slap of flesh on flesh filled the room. She bit him again and felt him stab deeper into her. The pressure mounted unbearably. The pleasure was too much. She arched into him, every muscle in her body seizing. And then she burst, and a thousand little spasms erupted in her groin. Wave after excruciating wave blew over her.
Eli strained against her, his body quivering as he pushed himself further into her, like he wanted to invade every inch. He fell forward, covering her. They both lay shuddering in the aftermath, his body a blanket over hers.
She should push him away, avoid such intimacy. Sex was sex. But it felt good. He felt good. And she didn’t want the moment to end just yet.
“Holy Mother of God. I think you might have killed me after all.”
She smiled against his shoulder.
He shifted his weight and rolled to the side, and she had to bite her tongue to still the protest that sprang to her lips. His arm snaked over her side and pulled her close to his chest.
“If I go to sleep, you’re not going to off me are you?”
Did she want him to stay? Sleep implied he’d stay over. She bit her lip. The truth was, she didn’t want him to leave. She needed information. Needed some way closer to him. But she knew those weren’t the reasons she didn’t want him to go.
“I’m too tired to murder you,” she mumbled as she snuggled deeper into his arms.
He stroked her hair then let his hand glide over her back and to her bare bottom. “Let me get rid of the condom.”
She relaxed as he rolled away, and a moment later, she was back in his embrace. They both wanted information. She knew it and he knew it. But for the time being, they were content with mind-blowing sex. They’d deal with the rest tomorrow.
Chapter Five
Tyana awoke to Eli’s hand stroking up and down her spine. He was flat on his back, and she was curled into the crook of his arm, her head pillowed on his chest. It was nauseatingly cozy.
“We’ve fucked twice, and I still don’t know your name,” Eli said.
She stiffened, but his hand continued its caress.
“Or why you came after me in Singapore.”
She clenched her jaw.
He reached down, cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up so that their eyes met. “Care to enlighten me?”
A loud knock on the door interrupted her response, not that she’d planned to give one.
Mad Dog’s voice followed the bang. “Tyana, come on. It’s late. Get your ass up.”
She scrambled up and searched frantically for her clothing. Eli also slid out of bed, but he calmly collected his clothes and then stood watching her as she hopped around on one foot. She finally got her other leg
into her pants and yanked her shirt over her head.
When she glanced over at Eli again, he started to fade.
“Damn it, don’t go yet,” she protested.
His smile quivered and stretched as he became a transparent apparition and then disappeared altogether. A fine sheen of mist streaked for the air vent above the bed, and he was gone.
She swore and balled her fingers into a fist. She wanted to hit something. Hard.
Mad Dog knocked again, and she hurried for the door. She opened it a crack to see him standing impatiently in the hallway.
“Hey, give me a few minutes, okay? I slept in and I need a shower.”
He grinned. “Meet me down in the lobby café. We’ll have brunch then head over for some more action.”
She smiled back and nodded.
Closing the door, she leaned against it for a moment before trudging into the bathroom. She took a quick shower and lamented for a moment rinsing Eli’s touch and smell from her body.
Idiot.
Angrily, she dried off and wrapped a towel around her head and then walked out of the bathroom to get clean clothes from her suitcase. As she was dressing, the room phone rang.
She yanked her head up in surprise. No one would be calling on her hotel phone. Jonah would have used her cell phone or just not called at all. They didn’t share chatty phone conversations.
Unless there was something wrong with D and Jonah couldn’t reach her on the cell?
Even as she frantically looked around the room for her cell phone, she rushed to pick up the still ringing phone on the nightstand.
“Allo?”
“Miss Berezovsky, so glad I caught you.”
The accented English grated on her nerves. It was a voice she recognized and one that sent warning bells clanging.
“What do you want?” The more obvious question would be how he knew she was here, but fuck, Eli Chance hadn’t had a problem tracking her down. There was some serious cause for concern when FMG was so predictable.
“Meet me at Chez Didier’s. There are things we should talk about.”
She made a rude noise. “Jonah already told you we weren’t interested in the job.”
“I’m not asking Jonah,” he said. “I want to talk to you. Before you refuse, let me say this. I know how to help Damiano Ruiz.”
She was stunned into silence.
“I’m offering a trade. You meet me. I tell you how to help Ruiz.”
“I’ll be there,” she said shortly. “What time?”
“Just ditch your companion and come. I’ll be there.”
The phone went dead in her ear, and she dropped the receiver. Shit, shit, shit. She ran a trembling hand over the towel on her head and jerked it away. Mad Dog would shit a brick over what she’d just agreed to.
“He can’t know,” she muttered. He’d drag her kicking and screaming back to the island and never let her off again. Hell, he’d do that anyway if he knew that Eli had found her.
She hurried for the bathroom to dry her hair. A few minutes later, she slid the room key into her pocket, retrieved her cell phone and stuffed it into the small backpack with her passport, money and the knife Mad Dog had given her.
With a sigh, she went down to meet him.
He was sitting at one of the small tables drumming his fingers impatiently on his leg. When he looked up and saw her, he flashed her a grin.
“You’re buying breakfast, by the way. You won the most last night.”
She laughed and allowed some of the tension to escape her shoulders. “I always win the most.”
He shrugged. “I ordered you an omelet the way you like it.”
She took the seat across from him and shoved her bag underneath the table. “Thanks.”
“You feeling any better yet?”
If she hadn’t got the phone call a few minutes ago, she could honestly say yes. Apparently a night of great sex was a great way to unwind. But now her nerves were fried.
So she lied and nodded.
“I need to call D,” she murmured as she pulled out her cell phone.
Mad Dog reached across the table and put his hand on her arm. “Ty, he’s okay. I talked to Jonah a few minutes ago. D’s resting so you’ll just disturb him.”
Reluctantly she put the phone down. “Sorry. But I worry about him.”
“We all do, baby.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s just that…”
Mad Dog nodded. “I do know, Ty. I do. But chasing Eli Chance all over Asia isn’t going to help D, not to mention he’d be pissed as hell if he knew what you’d done. Best just to leave it alone.”
Her cheeks grew warm, and she struggled to keep the guilt from her expression. Yeah, Mad Dog would go ballistic if she knew who had been in her hotel room.
They ate and talked about last night’s poker game. Tyana could tell he was eager to get back over and play some more. She fiddled with her food then realized her sleeping in and reluctance to eat could be in her favor.
She pushed the plate aside and slouched in her chair.
Mad Dog’s fork paused midway to his mouth. “Everything okay?”
She sighed. “I’m just tired. I don’t feel very well. Would you mind going over to the club by yourself and letting me catch some sleep?”
His gaze narrowed as he contemplated. “You sure? I can hang out here if you prefer.”
She smiled. “You know you’re dying to go play. I just want a nap. I didn’t sleep too well last night. Too hyped up from playing. I’ll catch up to you later.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
She reached down to gather her bag in her hand. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll feel better after some sleep.”
She ignored Mad Dog’s questioning stare and walked away from the table.
Tyana. The name hovered in Eli’s mind as he settled into his own hotel room just a block from the Royal. Her companion had called her Tyana. Unusual name and he’d only heard it once before. His team’s guide into Adharji, Damiano Ruiz, had mentioned a sister named Tyana.
A weary sigh escaped him as he flopped onto the bed. He needed a shower and a shave. And about twenty-four hours of sleep. Not necessarily in that order.
If the woman who’d sought him out in Singapore was Damiano’s sister, he could only come to the conclusion that she blamed Eli for his death and had revenge on her mind.
He shook his head. No, that didn’t make sense. She would have gone for his throat, not fucked him senseless then snuck through his belongings.
He dug into his pocket for his cell phone, flipped it open and punched a button. He’d fucked around long enough. It was time to figure out what the hell Tyana wanted. And how Falcon Mercenary Group played into the picture. The last thing he wanted was a damn merc group on his ass.
“Ian,” he said when the other man answered the phone. “I need some fast intel.”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Ian growled.
Eli checked his watch and did a swift calculation. “You lazy shit, it’s only six a.m. in Argentina.”
Ian grunted. “Only? What the fuck do you want so goddamn early?”
Eli grinned. “I need whatever info you can dig up on Falcon Mercenary. And I need it fast.”
Ian was quiet for a moment. “Isn’t that who we got to…”
“Yeah, it is.”
“What’s up, Eli?”
“Don’t know yet, but I’ll let you know when I do. Give me a buzz when you have details on the group.” He paused for a moment. “How are you and Braden doing?”
Eli heard a sigh.
“We’re making it,” Ian finally said.
Eli gripped the phone tighter. “I’ll find help for you, Ian. I swear it.”
“I’m not sure you can. Let me go. I’ll get back with you as soon as I have what you need.”
Eli let the change in topic slide and quietly closed the phone. There wasn’t much he could say. There wasn’t a way for him to ever make up for what happened to Ian, Braden
or Gabe.
Before, he’d lamented being the only freak of nature. An elemental shifter. An accident of birth. Something born of science fiction movies and bad action adventure flicks. But now he realized having others like him didn’t make him feel any less isolated.
While Gabe didn’t seem to have the instability issues that Ian and Braden did, he knew Gabe wasn’t any happier with his newfound abilities.
Eli was fortunate. He nearly laughed at the irony of that statement. But it was the truth. He had complete mastery of his shifts. He’d been born with the ability. His team wasn’t so lucky.
Set up on a false mission, they’d been ambushed and an unknown chemical had been unleashed on them. They’d managed to escape, but within months, Ian and Braden began to randomly shift into animals. Cats. A jaguar and a panther, while Gabe could make himself invisible.
Bizarre didn’t even begin to cover it.
In light of those developments, Eli no longer felt compelled to hide his own abilities from his teammates. With Gabe’s stability, Eli’s could be explained as well. And the truth of his past remained hidden.
Eli reached over to the nightstand and turned on the small GPS unit. In a moment, a small blip lit up the screen.
So, she was still in Paris. A smile crossed his face. Maybe he could arrange to run into her again. After he got more information from Ian.
Damiano stood on the deck, hands braced against the wood railing as he stared over the ocean. A cool evening breeze blowing off the water washed over his face, filled his nostrils with a salty tang.
“You okay, man?”
Damiano turned his head to see Jonah watching him from the open doorway. He eased around and leaned his butt against the wood. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Jonah ambled out holding two beers. He tossed one of the cans into the air, and Damiano caught it in one hand. Jonah popped the tab on his and came to a stop a few feet away.
Damiano studied him for a moment and opened his own beer. For once he didn’t feel edgy and out of control. For a few blissful hours he’d enjoyed a normal