by Kit Rocha
"Jealousy's an ugly thing." She kept her voice light in spite of the dangerous heat curling through her belly.
"Is it?" The hand in her hair jerked tight without warning, craning her head to the side. He licked her throat with a low laugh that prickled over her skin. "I don't believe you."
He probably shouldn't, either. "So tell me what you want to see."
"Hard to pick." He trailed his fingers up between her breasts to cup her throat, replacing the collar she'd set aside before climbing into the bath. "You're hot when you're topping Noelle, and I get hotter imagining how I'll tame you. But you know what's even better?"
When she shifted in his grip, his fingers slipped over her skin with a delicious, wet friction. "What's that?"
"Watching you come."
The moment when pleasure stripped away control. Watching a lover succumb to that rush turned her on too, fast and fierce. "I've come for you plenty, just in the last few days alone."
He bit her this time, closing his teeth on the spot where her shoulder met her throat. "No such thing as plenty. When it comes to you and orgasms, Lexie love, it's never enough."
"Uh-huh. So what are you gonna do about that?"
"What do you want me to do about it?" Low words, straddling the line between promise and threat. "Give me a fantasy. A nice, filthy one."
She rarely considered it. Other people's fantasies were enough, especially since Lex had been taught how to cater to them. She fulfilled them, and everyone had fun. Simple enough.
But this wasn't simple at all. Dallas was asking for a piece of her, a revelation that could tell him so, so much, and the end result was the same as if she carried a thousand fantasies locked away in her mind. She shied away. "I haven't really thought about it."
"Bullshit." There was the threat, in the hard-edged word and the slight tightening of his hand around her throat. "Everyone has fantasies. You can tell me to go fuck myself, but don't lie."
"I haven't thought about it." She swallowed hard beneath his hand. "Mine aren't important, that's what I learned. It's crap, but even the stupid lessons die hard sometimes."
Silence. His chest rose and fell against her back in three ragged breaths before he growled something she couldn't understand and curled both arms around her. "Christ, Lex. That lesson needs to die now."
"It isn't--" Her throat ached, not from his fingers but from the gentle touch, a tenderness at odds with his rough words. "I would have lied to you. That much is true."
"I know, but don't think admitting it's gonna get you off the hook." He drew her more snugly against his chest. "You're stuck here until you cough up a lurid fantasy. And no cheating by telling me something you think I want to hear, or I'll just make you start over."
"You know one," she whispered. "Don't tell me you forgot already."
"Still cheating. You've got to say it out loud. Admit it. Own it. That's part of the journey." His voice dropped to a rasping whisper as he pressed his lips to her ear again. "Want me to go first?"
She held her breath and nodded.
"Fight night," he said. "That's where it starts. I haven't hit the cage in years, but I do in my fantasy. I kick the shit out of some asshole, and there you are. Sometimes you blow me right there, on your knees in the cage, and sometimes you taunt me. You dare me to take you, and I do. Just shove up your skirt and fuck you up against the bars with half the sector watching."
He never fucked his women in public. He might mess around with the fight groupies or the women in the gang--even Lex herself--but when it came to the ones he'd collared, everything went down behind closed doors.
She could imagine it, though, hot and frantic and so, so sweet. His hands under her ass and steel biting into her back with every hard, mind-blowing thrust.
"Yeah, you're seeing it now." Laughter and smug arrogance lurked beneath his words. He stroked his fingers up her side and stopped just shy of her breast. "Though I'm only getting started. A good fantasy is in the details. Like how you're not wearing panties, and your pussy's so fucking wet when I slide into you. How I pin your hands to the bars of the cage and make you admit that watching me fight got you that damn hot, and you want the whole sector to know it."
Her blood thrummed in her veins, both racing like mad and lingering with the heaviness of arousal. "I like it."
"Good to know," he drawled, his cock heavy and erect against the small of her back. "So now it's your turn. And take a page out of my book, love. That fantasy was all about me. I wanna hear one that's all about you."
The real challenge, since too many of her half-formed fantasies revolved around him. "A party," she murmured finally. "We're celebrating something, and everyone's horny. Starving. But you won't let them touch each other until they touch me."
"Yeah?" Rough fingertips grazed her inner thigh. "A good start, but pretty light on the details."
"I'm not finished." She closed her eyes and focused on the lapping water. "They're supposed to tie me up, but no one can find anything, so they hold me down instead. Wrists and ankles, even my knees while they're pulling my legs apart." The image throbbed through her, driving her legs open under Dallas's fingers. "That's when they start. Their hands first, then their mouths."
He slid his fingers over her pussy, parting her outer lips as his middle finger teased her entrance. "Do you struggle?"
"At first. Until they get their tongues in on the action." Lex arched her hips. "My neck, my nipples. My clit. Everywhere you tell them to lick me."
"That's what I'm doing?" Pleasure sparked as he worked his finger in and out in a slow rhythm. "Telling them what to do?"
"Everyone belongs to you. The woman pulling my hair and sucking my nipples. The men fighting over who gets to fuck me with his fingers and tongue." Her voice slipped into a husky whisper. "Especially me. That's what they're doing, Dallas. Getting me ready."
His breathing hitched. "Ready for what?"
"For you to fuck me so hard I can't stand up afterwards."
Groaning, he touched her clit. Lightly at first, just enough to make her squirm, but when she tried to push closer, he moved his hand with her hips. "How well did they prepare you? What if I want to fuck more than your pussy? Did someone get your ass all slick and ready, maybe decorate you with one of those jeweled plugs you love so much?"
"Ready, yes." Her ears were buzzing now, dampening the sound of her own voice. "But nothing inside me you didn't tell them to put there."
One hand stayed between her thighs. The other slid up her body, wet fingers clamping over a nipple to tug and twist, sparking her banked arousal into flame. "It's your fantasy, honey. What do I do? Do I tell them to fill you with toys and suck your clit until you're sobbing? Or do I not even let them use their fingers? Do I tell them I want your pussy nice and tight when I ram my dick into it?"
There was only one thing she could see when she closed her eyes--Dallas, blazing with jealous, possessive lust. "Fingers," she managed faintly. "But barely. You don't like it. You don't want anything in me but you."
"Do they hold you down for me?" He accompanied the words with the firm touch she'd been dying for, fingers moving in rough, quick circles over her clit as the water splashed around them. "Do they hold you open? Or am I so possessive I won't let them do anything but watch?"
Fuck. Fuck. "You let them, but only because you know it'll make me come again and again."
"Is that what'd do it?" Hot breath against her ear. Strong fingers between her legs. He stroked and teased and kept whispering filthy words, each one a promise. "Ace and Mad pinning your hands. Jasper and Noelle holding your knees apart while I fuck you. Everyone watching you take my cock, every fucking inch of it, and listening to you beg for me to fuck you harder."
Every word was another caress, a promise. Her nipples ached, and sweat sheened her skin under the water and steam. "I need you to want me so much you can't stand it. Can't even stop."
He whispered three words that sent her crashing toward the edge. "I already do."
/> As much as she did. Too much. Lex turned in his arms and fit her hips to his--easy as breathing, like there'd never been a time when her body hadn't known exactly how to take his. "Now?"
Water cascaded over the edge of the tub as he laughed and thrust up into her. "We're gonna trash your bathroom."
The hard, sudden stretch stole her breath and her witty rejoinder, so she yanked his hair and bucked her hips. His laugh was lower, with an edge this time, one that sharpened as he dug his fingertips into her waist and ground against her.
Lex shuddered. "Tell me another one. One more fantasy."
"Just one?" Something dark stirred behind his eyes. "Mine starts where yours did. Except there's a blindfold. And chains."
"You want to lock me up?"
"Mmm." He pressed his thumb to her clit again. "I will chain you up, love. Soon. Only question is where and how."
She couldn't hold back her pleasure--or her plea. "Yes." The first tiny waves trembled through her, and she welcomed them. Rode them higher. "Any way you want, baby."
"Fuck." His head fell back as he arched, sloshing more water around them.
The brink. He was right there with her, maybe always had been, and it was enough to shake loose what was left of her control. Enough to tumble her into the sort of ecstasy that left her clinging to the only solid thing in the storm surrounding her.
Dallas.
As if she'd said his name out loud, he answered with a groan of release.
The water settled along with Lex's frantic breaths, and she lifted her face from the crook of Dallas's neck. "Jesus."
Grinning, Dallas pushed damp hair back from her cheek. "Yeah, that got a little out of hand. I can't seem to keep my cock out of you."
"I've noticed," she teased. "I was talking about all the damn water on my floor."
"It does seem like there's a whole lot less of it in the tub."
As if she really gave a shit about the water with him inside her and hot aftershocks still pulsing through her. "You wrecked me and my bathroom. And I feel pretty good about it."
He leaned up to claim a lazy kiss before biting her lip. "Hope you still feel good when I give you homework to do while I'm out conquering."
"Will I get detention if I slack off?"
"Sector Four-style detention. You'll be bending over the teacher's desk for sure."
She smiled slowly. "I'll be sure not to do my assignments, then."
"Bad girl." Dallas caught her chin and gave her a faux-stern glare. "A good girl would spend the night thinking of more fantasies. And if getting bent over a desk counted, it could top what needs to be a very long list."
"How long of a list are we talking about here?"
"Fewer than ten would be disappointing."
"And what do you plan to do with all these fantasies?"
He smiled.
No words, but the question had been rhetorical anyway. There was only one thing he'd ever do with a literal list of her deepest desires clutched in his fist.
He'd make every single one happen.
Lex arched an eyebrow. "Should I have Noelle help me with them?"
Chapter Fourteen
Dusk was a perfect time to survey his new empire.
Standing atop the tallest building left in Three, Dallas watched the twisted maze of alleys and broken-down streets come to life as the sun dipped behind the distant hills. Eden was already alight, of course, its looming walls dominating the skyline, a constant reminder of the avalanche of power waiting to descend upon them.
Not that Three needed a reminder. Entire city blocks were nothing but rubble-filled ruins here, silent testament to what happened when councilmen felt threatened. The first man to claim Three had moved too fast, consolidating profit and power with blind greed. He'd thought possession of the largest surviving electronics factory made him immune to reprisals.
And it had--for as long as it took Jim Jernigan to bring a competing factory online in Eight. The next night, Eden blew a third of Sector Three back to the Dark Ages.
And most of the sector hadn't managed to claw their way out of it yet. Dallas watched fires spring to life in barrels up and down the uneven roads. Here and there, signs of electricity flickered on, a soft glow spilling from windows or the flickering neon of a prized bar sign. But the streetlights remained dark, even in sections that clearly had power.
Fucking figured. Nobody who'd set foot outside after dark in this hellhole would want the streets well lit.
Dallas glanced at the silent man at his side. "Quite a prize I won us, huh?"
Jasper snorted and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's a pile of shit, but now it's your pile of shit. Time to get to work, I guess."
True enough. "Don't worry, Jas. If these guys we're meeting aren't complete idiots, you'll have plenty of time left over to play with your girl."
"Tonight's business. I'm good with that." Jasper surveyed the growing darkness. "Ace got that intel on Gareth Woods from his friend with connections in the city. You won't like it."
"Yeah?" Tension knotted Dallas's shoulders, but he refused to let it bleed into his voice. "So rip the Band-Aid off."
"Looks like he's back in play."
"Fuck." His hands ached, and he realized he'd clenched his fists. All the time he'd spent chasing the ghost Woods had become, and of course he surfaced now, when there was no time. "What's our old friend up to?"
Jasper met his gaze, grave and serious. "The rumor? He's climbing in bed with Fleming over in Five."
It would take all night to untangle the implications--and the enemies. Trent, who'd died trying to kill Dallas. Fleming, who'd always been a knife at Dallas's back. Gareth Woods, who'd tried to settle a score with Noelle's father by framing the man for his own daughter's death.
How the hell were they all connected? Woods and Trent had attacked within a week of each other, but had that been a sign of collusion or merely coincidence? Trent had had a backer, no doubt, someone with access to city resources.
Sighing, he rubbed at the back of his neck. All the good Lex had done with her clever fingers was long gone. "What a fucking mess."
"Uh-huh." Jasper stretched his neck to one side until it cracked. "First Trent in Three, and now Sector Five. Starts to look like a flanking maneuver. Like Woods wants to choke you out, nice and slow."
"I should have seen this coming." Woods had tried to assassinate Noelle--and had shot Lex instead. From that moment, he'd been marked for death, and Dallas was pretty fucking sure he knew it, judging by how paranoid he'd gotten about his security. "He probably thinks Noelle's darling daddy and I are plotting against him. If he wasn't in bed with a sector leader before this, I should have figured he'd find one."
Jasper grunted. "He's blown the biggest advantage he had--we can see him coming."
"They always do underestimate us." He nodded to the broken streets spread out beneath them. "Which could very well make this a distraction, if Cerys is in on it."
"Eh, they handed you Three because they have nothing to lose. You take all the risks, do all the work, and they sit back and collect. It's a no-brainer."
"There's your problem, Jas. You're talking lots of sense and only a little bit of greed." Movement below caught his eyes, and he watched a group make its way through the shadows. "Do you know what it takes to run a sector?"
He answered with a low laugh. "If I did, you'd have to watch your back."
"Damn right." Excitement was building in Dallas's gut now, anticipation of the thrill that came with matching wits against an enemy. The men from Three would be here soon, and he'd get to play his favorite game. "We're all fucking insane, and damn near suicidally obsessed with more. Nothing's ever enough for us."
Jasper leaned against the wall of a small hut that had been built on the rooftop. "So I'm learning."
More than a little chiding in his tone, or maybe Dallas only imagined it. He bared his teeth in a grin. "Is this where I tell you I can quit any time I want?"
"Come on, man. You know
it's a lie. You love this too much."
It was true, but that wasn't the whole reason. "And I can't stomach the idea of taking orders from anyone dumb enough to want my job."
Jasper grinned. "We all like you well enough, raging insanity and all."
"Gee, thanks. I love you, too."
He raised both eyebrows and pulled his cigarette case out of his vest pocket. "Don't let Lex hear that. She'll get jealous."
Somehow, Dallas doubted it. "Man, she'd sell tickets. And since she's probably going down on your woman right now, I think you and I are fucking well stuck with each other."
"So that's that. You and Lex." Jasper struck his lighter and touched the flame to the end of his cigarette. "You gonna go ahead and mark her? Enough with this collar bullshit?"
"When she's ready." Which wasn't the same thing as willing. Sometimes he thought he might be able to talk her into wearing ink now, but one thing held him back.
Do you trust me?
As much as I trust anyone.
He'd get a yes out of her. And then he'd claim her.
"She'll get there." Jasper offered the lit cigarette to Dallas and pulled another from the case. "Even when she's not with you, she's thinking about you."
Words to make any man smug. "She damn well better be."
Jas blew out a sharp breath that almost sounded like a laugh. "Asshole."
Grinning, Dallas slapped his second on the shoulder. "Whatever. Tell me you wouldn't say the same thing."
"I'd only say that about a chick if I couldn't get her the hell out of my head, either."
Lex had been carving out a permanent place in his subconscious since the day he'd caught her trying to steal from him. So fucking young, so unrepentantly brazen. He'd told her she'd be the death of him, and she'd blithely agreed.
They'd both meant it. He hadn't changed his mind.
And he still wanted to be back in that bathtub with her, danger be damned. "She's not just in my head. She's in my blood."
Both of Jasper's eyebrows shot up at that. "Christ, you're serious, aren't you?"