Paris (The Adlers Book 4)

by Avery Gale

  “Even though I was exhausted from traveling, I was skeptical enough to shake the basket before I opened it.” Her shudder seemed to start at her core before working its way to the surface. “My parents traveled a lot, but by the time I was in junior high school, they were settled in Texas. Being a Texas girl means I recognize the sound of a rattlesnake when I hear it. That was the first time I called the police. Since I had no way of knowing if there were other snakes inside, I had to vacate the condo for several days while it was checked.”

  “Where did you stay?” Trinity hated the growl he heard in his own voice. The crease between her brows assured him he already knew the answer.

  “I called David, and miraculously, he was only a few blocks away.”

  It was easy to hear the cynicism in her voice. As the Sheriff, he’d heard the same self-censure in victims’ voices before. He always tried to remind people hindsight was twenty-twenty, but it rarely made any difference. Since Trin didn’t have any reason to believe Paris would be different, he kept the bit of wisdom to himself.

  “I should have been suspicious when he wasn’t afraid to go inside and pack a bag for me. Fuzzy bunny nuts, the cops couldn’t get out of there fast enough. They said they dusted for prints, but I’m sure they didn’t. Asshats.”

  “But David was your knight in shining armor.” Trinity sucked in a calming breath and apologized. “I’m sorry, that was out of line. I’m just pissed about the fear I felt coming off you in waves last night. My bitterness is aimed at him, not you.” He watched her eyes fill with tears, but she bravely blinked them away before continuing.

  “David has a really nice penthouse apartment with several guest bedrooms. I chose the one farthest from the master bedroom to give him privacy. Since I’d never seen him with a woman, but he talked about dates, I assumed he was gay. I found out later, the dates he’d been talking about were the times we’d gone out for dinner or to a movie. Over the past year or so, David managed to completely isolate me from the few female friends I had by telling me things he’d overheard them saying about me, etc.” Shaking her head, Paris seemed to be thinking aloud when she quietly added, “A couple of those women tried to warn me about David, but I didn’t listen.”

  Trinity hoped his sweet mate would get a chance to talk with her friends again, it would go a long way to ease the regret he could see in her eyes. He admired the way she shook off her melancholy with remarkable determination—Paris was so much stronger than she knew. He looked forward to helping her realize her full potential.

  During the next several minutes, Paris described several more incidents, each one with a common thread—David Lamb was conveniently nearby and happy to come to her rescue. Trinity knew she’d been distracted with finals and wrapping up the paperwork for graduation, but it was a surprise she hadn’t started to suspect the one person who was always close when things went down.

  “I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right… I should have figured it out. Maybe somewhere in the back of my mind I did because when my car suddenly wouldn’t start after I returned from a visit here, I called Kensington since I knew he was in town, and he sent a driver to take me home. Before I could call the auto club, Kenz had already taken care of it, and let me tell you, big brother was not happy someone had sabotaged my car.”

  Trinity felt his blood pressure start to spike and wondered if he should have broken this conversation up into more manageable segments. Hell, at this rate, he was going to have a fucking stroke. Before she could continue, his phone chimed with an incoming message.

  “That was Eli. He’s available earlier than he expected.” Holding out his hand, he purposely relaxed his stance and smoothed out his expression. “Come.” She put her small hand in his, letting him pull her to her feet. “Let’s go get you officially hired, then we’ll come back to celebrate. You can tell me the rest of the story in the cart.” Hopefully, he wouldn’t drive the damned supped-up golf cart into the tunnel wall.

  By the time Paris touched up her make-up, brushed her teeth—again, and grabbed her purse, Trinity was standing by the elevator, rolling his eyes. She’d left him cooling his heels for ten minutes, then laughed when she saw him.

  “You look like one of those cartoon characters with steam coming out their ears.”

  “There’s no steam coming from my ears, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.” Laughing at his own impatience, Trin realized how long it had been since he’d been forced to wait for a woman. Isn’t there a country song about waiting for a woman? “I will say, the past few minutes gives me a new appreciation for my dad’s frustration waiting for my mom—who always seemed to keep us waiting before leaving the house.” He chuckled as they exited the elevator into the tunnel. He hadn’t thought about his dad’s exasperation about his mom’s lack of respect for time in a long time.

  Before starting the cart, Trinity turned to Paris and shook his head. “Don’t fidget, Sprite. You look amazing, and you’ve already got the job, this is just details.” He saw her take a deep breath and nod.

  “Thanks. It’s nice knowing I have someone in my corner. As much as I hate everything David did and the horrible way things ended…” Paris stared straight ahead for several seconds before meeting his gaze. “This will sound ridiculous, but I miss his friendship. Even though I know nothing about it was what it seemed, it’s still hard to lose my best friend.”

  “Baby, it makes perfect sense. You miss the person you thought you knew. It’s Lamb’s fault that man didn’t really exist.” Thankfully, the tears he’d seen shining in her eyes disappeared, and Paris gave him a small smile. She might not understand her feelings about David Lamb, but Trinity understood how difficult it could be to move on from a betrayal. Starting the cart and moving down the tunnel, he wondered if perhaps it would be better to let her tell him the rest of the story in her own time rather than forcing the issue. As if she’d read his mind, Paris turned to him and smiled.

  “I don’t want this hanging over my head during my meeting with Elijah, so I’m just going to blurt it out.” Trinity admired her grit; the woman didn’t back away from a challenge. “David knew I was leaving to come here before flying to the Caribbean. He tried to finagle an invitation to London’s wedding, but something kept holding me back.” Baby, that’s called going with your gut, I’m glad you heeded the warning. Waving her small hand as if clearing away another obstacle, Paris continued, “Anyway, he was clearly annoyed when he left my condo. The whole thing was sort of baffling. Even though we had attended family events together, we’d always gone as friends, never as a couple. While I finished packing and loading everything in my car, I kept replaying the evening in my head. I remembered something he’d said about you and chills went up my spine.”

  “Me? How did he… oh, you’d talked about me with your best friend. Gotcha. Was he pissed about the speeding tickets?”

  “No.” Her blunt answer confused him. “He’d figured out I was… well, I am attracted to you. He called our bickering foreplay and accused me of coming here before the wedding so I could… and I quote, fuck the hick sheriff.”

  Trinity worked to keep his anger in check. While he was thrilled to know she’d been attracted to him, it pissed him off to know Lamb had berated her for admitting as much to someone she considered a friend. It was probably going to be a long time before she was able to trust enough to form a similar bond.

  “I locked up the condo, took a shower, and fell into bed. I was so exhausted, I didn’t even bother with a nightgown. The whole evening had been such a nightmare, I could feel a headache building, so I’d taken a couple aspirin. I’m particularly sensitive to pain medications—heck, I usually sleep for hours after taking one low-dose aspirin—but I knew I had to head off the migraine if I was going to be able to drive into the rising sun the next morning.”

  They’d reached their destination, but Trin didn’t want to interrupt her story, so he parked off to the side and sent a telepathic message to Elijah letting him know w
hat was happening. The meeting was important, but finding out what they were dealing with was crucial. Protecting Paris from a man with the financial and political resources David Lamb had at his fingertips wasn’t something any of them were taking lightly.

  “I don’t know what woke me up, maybe some inner sense of self-preservation. By the time the fog from the aspirin cleared enough for me to assess the situation, David was already on top of the bed covers, straddling me. I swear it was like he’d turned into someone else entirely. It was terrifying. He’d tried to trap my arms against my sides, but I managed to wiggle free while he was screaming about how ungrateful I was and how he was willing to give me everything my heart desired. He yelled about all the gifts he’d sent and how I knew it was him all along—he said we’d been doing a mating dance, and he had too much invested in me to let me go.”

  Trinity was impressed by her composure and guessed she was using detachment to her advantage. He wouldn’t object to Paris shutting down her emotions to get through the next couple of hours, but long-term emotional distance would be devastating to someone with a sensitive soul. Allowing her to exist in an emotional vacuum wouldn’t just shield her from the fear, it would also rob her of life’s joys.

  “It seems weird now, but at the time, all I could think of was how strange it was he thought I’d even consider being with him after everything he’d done. Thankfully, I knew he spent a lot of time in the gym but has never trained in any of the martial arts.” Trinity felt himself smile for the first time since this damned story started.

  Chapter Twelve

  “That wasn’t the longest meeting I’ve ever attended, but it felt like it,” Paris sighed, leaning back against the cart’s seat. “Holy crap on a crown, Elijah Monroe is a force to be reckoned with. It’s a good thing London is brilliant.” She knew the smile spreading over her face was part relief and part amusement. “I wonder if Elijah and Evan know what they’ve gotten themselves in to. They bravely marry and mate with one of the best researchers in the country, then hire her crazy sister.”

  Trinity turned the cart so quickly, she nearly slid off the seat. Parking in a small alcove, Trinity pulled her close, crashing his mouth down on hers. Growling deep in his chest, he ravaged her mouth in a kiss that screamed possession and unrelenting need. She felt his hand snake under her shirt to cup her breast. Groaning, Paris arched into his touch. I wonder if he could make me come just by playing with my breasts?

  “I can smell your need, baby, and I plan on giving you exactly what you want, but first we need to talk.”

  Talk? He wants to talk? Now? I thought it was supposed to be women who wanted to talk all the time.

  “We can talk later. After…” Paris couldn’t believe he’d pulled back. What the hell had he been thinking when he’d started something he didn’t plan to finish? Can you say irony? The man I wanted as a friend wants more, and the one I crave seems to be happy keeping me at arm’s length.

  “After?” Paris could have sworn she heard laughter in his voice despite his stoic expression.

  “Are you laughing at me? Because if you’re laughing, that’s going to rain on my parade, and I’d have to go into the city and indulge in a bit of retail therapy.”

  “You’re not going anywhere except upstairs to the playroom. Now, about that chat. You will not refer to yourself as crazy. You’re smart, witty, gorgeous, and mine!”

  Paris felt the telltale burning at the back of her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to blink back the tears. Trinity pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave her nipple a sharp pinch before withdrawing his hand.

  “Don’t speak about yourself disparagingly, or there will be consequences next time. Now, let’s go. We need to celebrate, and I’ve got a plan.”

  Paris stared at him from the St. Andrew’s Cross where he’d bound her, confusion rather than desire glittering in her blue eyes. Trinity knew he’d thrown her for a loop when he’d pulled back, down in the tunnel, but he also knew every inch of the underground passageway was monitored. He would enjoy showing Paris off at the club or a private party, but he didn’t want her pleasure displayed for the security team. Despite being shifters, who are by nature very sexual creatures, they were still a part of a tightly knit community where gossip could spread at the speed of sound—literally.

  “You are beautiful, Sprite. Seeing you displayed for my enjoyment fills me with anticipation. I know you’ve been on edge since our encounter in the tunnel, and I want you to know how pleased I am by your patience.” Hell, he was damned impressed she hadn’t clawed his eyes out. It wasn’t her reputation as impulsive he’d thought might send her over the edge in the tunnel, it was the tidal wave of need he’d felt rolling off her. They were becoming more connected, making him wonder how much stronger their link would be after he claimed her.

  “Your compliance pleases me more than you know, baby.” Damn, he was proud of her. He’d outlined his expectations before they entered the playroom and so far, she’d done beautifully. “I know your experience in the lifestyle is limited, which makes the way you handled your frustration in the tunnel even more impressive.” He knew Paris wasn’t convinced she could be what he wanted, but she couldn’t be more off the mark.

  Walking around her with slow purpose, Trinity made certain he maintained some level of physical contact when he was out of her sight. Whether he was trailing the soft deer-skin leather strips of his favorite flogger over her drool-inducing curves or stroking the pads of his calloused fingers up and down her spine, he relished the way goose flesh followed his touch.

  “You are so responsive, baby. Before I spin you up, I want to ask you a question.” She needed to make this decision with as clear a mind as possible. I’ve already pushed this seduction farther than I should have—but I didn’t want there to be any chance she’d say no. Trinity wouldn’t use sexual seduction to persuade her to submit to the mating bite, but he wasn’t above using sensual luring. Go ahead and keep telling yourself those aren’t two sides of the same coin, asshole.

  “Tell me what you know about mating in shifters, Paris.” She looked surprised by the question but covered quickly. It was fascinating to see her refocus her attention on the question he’d asked, despite being bound naked in front of a man she wanted as much as he wanted her. The question was—would she be brave enough to admit it?

  “I don’t know much aside from shifters are fiercely loyal and mate for life. They are also not averse to polyamorous marriages.” She stopped suddenly, seeming to consider the implications of what she’d said. “Okay, so that’s marriage, and I don’t know if that’s synonymous with mating or not.”

  “It is. But what I was asking was, what do you know about the process?” The light in her eyes brightened as his meaning registered.

  “Oh, I don’t know much, but I could make an educated guess since I noticed two small scars on the upper slope of both London’s shoulders. They are round, like puncture wounds. They’re flat, so they must have healed quickly… probably bite marks. So, it seems reasonable to assume that’s at least a part of the mating process.” He smiled to himself. Damn, it appeared Paris was as astute as he’d have expected.

  Standing in front of her so he could meet her gaze, Trinity tucked the handle of the flogger under one arm, using his fingers to roll her pale pink nipples between his fingers until they peaked, turning a lovely shade of rose. Giving the nubs a sharp pinch, he smiled when her back bowed. He hadn’t left her much room for movement, the bindings were fairly snug, but she’d still managed to push her breasts closer in offering.

  “Biting where the shoulder and neck join is a centuries-old tradition. The marks heal completely in a matter of seconds but remain visible as a sign to other shifters the female is mated—although it’s purely symbolic since your body chemistry will change, and every shifter will know you are my mate.”

  Trinity knew he’d changed from speaking, in general, to specifically about the two of them. His wickedly smart mate hadn’t missed the subtle switc
h. Watching her eyes dilate until only a thin ring of blue remained, along with the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her respiration kicked into high gear was the most enchanting thing he’d ever seen.

  “You are mine, Paris. I knew you were my mate the first time I stopped you for speeding.” Knowing his mate had put herself in such danger had scared the hell out of him, and he’d lashed out at her in the process.

  “You want to bite me?” Trinity looked on as a shudder skittered up her spine, a reaction he knew was equal parts apprehension and anticipation. “I don’t know… that sounds painful, and I’m not really into pain.” Trinity had to fight back his smile—this was the woman whose body was arching into his stinging touch, the one whose scent filled the room. He planned to show her just how much she enjoyed pain.

  “Pleasure and pain are two sides of the same coin, and I’m looking forward to showing you how much you enjoy the edge of pain—how much it can ramp up your enjoyment if you put yourself in my hands, Sprite. Watching you arch closer when I pinch your swollen nipples, the way your pussy floods with cream—oh yeah, baby, your body responds perfectly to a bit of pain.” Trinity paused long enough for Paris to absorb the words. Her eyes were starting to get the soft, glazed look he loved seeing in a sub’s expression.

  “Tell me you want to belong to me, Paris. We are meant to be.” He knew he was rushing her, but the truth was, he was worried about her running or worse, being taken out from under his nose. After they were mated, he’d be able to find her easily. Mating would likely enhance her ability to defend herself as well, and if she gained the ability to shift—all the better.