Lethal Game

by Christine Feehan

  The diners clapped their appreciation.

  “I don’t think her kick destroyed his face,” the cop said. “He’s having trouble breathing properly. Too much blood going down his throat.”

  Malichai tried to look innocent as Craig stepped up, in spite of the police surrounding Tag, so he could get a better look. Craig nodded in satisfaction.

  “He was threatening everyone, but particularly Lorrie. Marie asked him to leave and Linda said there was a restraining order out against him, but he kept coming like he was going to kill her. It was brutal. We were prepared to try to stop him, but you see how big he is. Malichai hit him with one punch. That was all. To save Lorrie. It was self-defense for all of us.”

  The cop turned his head to look at Malichai, a frown on his face. “What did you hit him with?”

  “His fist,” Craig answered before Malichai could. “We all saw him.”

  “We have recordings. Video,” one of the diners called out helpfully.

  Malichai nodded and showed the cops his knuckles. “I just hit him with one punch. He’s a big man and I didn’t want him getting to Lorrie. He was threatening to beat her. He threatened all the women. He swung at Amaryllis. Maybe the adrenaline was rushing, I don’t know. More likely, whatever he was on, and he was higher than a kite, might have weakened his bones. I think his jaw broke when I hit him.”

  “All of you stay right here in this room. I want to get your statements,” one of the cops said and directed the medical people into the room to take care of Tag, who was continuously groaning, the sound coming out more like that of an animal in distress.

  Amaryllis slipped under Malichai’s shoulder, fitting tight, her arm circling his waist. “He was really jacked up on something. I know all the bodybuilders that work out around here. None of them act like that.”

  One by one each occupant of the dining room gave their account of what had happened. Amaryllis was fearful Malichai would be arrested, but he knew, even if he was, Ezekiel would be there immediately, and a call would come in from Major General Tennessee Milton and he would be walking away a free man. Of course he might be ordered home and he’d have to leave, but he resolved that he wouldn’t leave without Amaryllis.

  In the end, everyone in the dining room told similar stories, all included that they were afraid, not only for Lorrie but for all the women and even themselves. They maintained that both Amaryllis and Malichai had defended themselves as well as everyone else in the room.

  They all slumped gratefully in seats around the largest table and Amaryllis and Marie brought out celebratory ice cream.

  “I’ve never seen such a big man,” Burnell said. “And so mean. He didn’t have to be so mean to you, Lorrie.”

  She’d been crying and her makeup made little tracks down her face. Lexie and Linda were trying to wipe it off. Stefani pulled makeup wipes from her purse and offered them to the three women.

  “Thank you,” Lorrie said tearfully. “Thanks, all of you, so much for standing up for me. He won’t stop. I’ve done everything the police have told me to do, but he won’t stop.”

  “He gave her a broken arm,” Lexie said.

  “In two places,” Linda added. “He knocked out two teeth. Broke her jaw once. Gave her black eyes several times and a cut lip multiple times. He broke her ribs twice. She got away from him twice, but he’d always find her and drag her back. Then she came home to us and we got the restraining order against him. We knew he was still looking so we rented out the main house and couch surfed with friends for a few months. I don’t know how he keeps finding her, but every few weeks, he calls on a number she just got, letting her know he’s coming for her.”

  “He’s going to have a very long stay in the hospital,” Malichai said. “And probably several surgeries. Hopefully, by the time he is out from under his now-major medical problems, he’ll forget all about you.”

  “I never thought I’d say I wanted a man to forget about me,” Lorrie said, “but I totally do. I want him to forget he ever knew my name.” She reached over and patted Burnell’s hand. “You risked your life for me. All of you.” Tears welled up again and spilled over. “I can’t believe you did that for me. You don’t even know me and I’m not always a nice person.”

  “Lorrie, stop crying,” Linda said. “You’re making your face all red and splotchy. Eat your ice cream.”

  “There’s hot fudge to put on it, just use the dipper,” Marie added. She’d put a big pot filled with hot fudge in the middle of the table along with a bowl of chopped walnuts and two bowls of fresh whipped cream.

  Amaryllis didn’t hesitate. She scooped up hot fudge with the dipper three times. “I don’t know what’s wrong with the rest of you, but I’m not taking a chance she takes this away from us.”

  “Put like that,” Lexie said and poured fudge over her ice cream and then passed the dipper to Stefani. “I love your accent. Where are you from?”

  “Finland,” Stefani said readily. “I am here for the peace convention, to represent my country. I’m meeting the others for the first time in person. We’ve worked hard to put this convention together. None of us had any idea that it would be so large we would have to have a place like the San Diego Convention Center.”

  “We’re working the convention as volunteers,” Lexie said proudly, forgetting just a few hours earlier she wasn’t all that excited to do so.

  “It’s such a good thing,” Craig said. “That’s why I came. I’m attending it with a few friends I met online. I’m actually speaking on one of the panels.”

  “Really? Which one?” Stefani asked.

  “My friends and I thought up a couple of cool ideas for games to promote a peaceful solution at the end of the day to make things work between people that don’t believe the same ways.” Enthusiasm edged into his voice. “They’re the kind of games we like, very action packed and with lots of shooting, but at the end of the game, only the peaceful solutions the teams think of will help.”

  Malichai thought maybe the game sounded a little conflicted, but he hadn’t heard the full presentation and it was an ideas convention, so any ideas were welcome. They would be thrown out to those attending to expand on and hopefully improve on. In any case, Craig had come out of his shell and interacted with those at the B and B in order to go to the convention.

  “That sounds so cool, Craig,” Lexie said, looking up at him and batting her lashes. “Do you want some of the hot fudge for your ice cream?”

  He nodded and she scooped the dipper into the melted fudge and then poured it into his bowl. She smiled full-on at him. “Tell me when.”

  Craig looked as if he might faint at her attention. “That’s perfect, Lexie.” He hesitated before he said her name, half expecting her to protest.

  Malichai smiled at Amaryllis and reached under the table for her hand. He pressed her palm to his thigh, his thumb sliding over the back of her hand. “I’ll help clean up tonight. I have a surprise for you.”

  “I can clean up,” Marie stated firmly. “You go have fun.”

  Malichai shook his head. “We wouldn’t be able to have fun knowing we left you with the cleanup. It will go fast with the three of us doing it together.”

  “That sounds so dirty,” Burnell said, winking at Jay. “The three of you doing it together.”

  “We got it,” Malichai said, trying not to laugh.

  Amaryllis and Marie exchanged a long look. Both were also attempting to keep a straight face.

  Malichai gave them a fierce look. In an overloud whisper, he reprimanded them. “No laughing. That will only encourage him.”

  10

  The stars were out in full force, so much so that the sky, in places, looked almost milky. Malichai stretched out on the thick futon mattress he’d gotten from Marie earlier. He had two pillows and a blanket, just in case his woman got cold. More likely she would have cold feet now that she�
�d had time to think about the things he’d told her. She had to know he was going to ask her to marry him. Well, not ask. He was already her fiancé.

  He found himself smiling as he gazed at the stars. Amaryllis turned over onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look down at his face. “You’re smirking.”

  “It’s a smile, not a smirk.” He might be smirking. He was already her fiancé and didn’t have to actually ask her the big question. That was definitely worth a smirk.

  “It’s a smirk. But the futon mattress is wonderful, so I’m letting the smirk go. Tell me what happened after I left this morning. It was really difficult to leave, by the way. If I’m ever in trouble for anything, that’s a pass right there.”

  He scowled at her. “You can’t negotiate that on the fly. That’s an entire discussion.”

  “No, I think it’s one of those things that just makes sense. If I do something really difficult that I don’t want to do, I should get a pass the next time I screw up.”

  “Does it work both ways?”

  “That would depend.”

  “Depend?” He turned toward her, one arm curling around her waist and dragging her body in close to his. Tightly. She felt warm and soft and all his. “What does that mean?”

  “You can’t say you don’t like taking out the garbage, but if you do it, you get a pass.”

  “I don’t like taking out the garbage. At. All. It smells, and the women are all about saving the damn environment, and that means sorting crap. So yeah, I take that out, I get a pass.”

  She started laughing. He was watching her face carefully and he saw it first in the curve of her lower lip, and then her lips parted, and the smile climbed to her eyes, lighting them a deep blue. Her face lit up and she was laughing, throwing her head back, uncaring about anything else but the two of them and their ridiculous conversation.

  He shifted his weight, curled his hand around the nape of her neck and brought her head down to his. The moment his mouth made contact with hers his world transformed. Fire licked at his skin. Electricity danced through his veins. Heat rushed to his groin, settled there and grew into a firestorm that fast. He pulled her tighter against him, his mouth commanding hers.

  The hand at her waist slid up her back, finding bare skin beneath her top. The night was warm and as usual, she wore a tank top and the yoga pants she preferred for comfort at the end of a long day. He used the pads of his fingers to stroke long caresses over her skin while he devoured her. The more he kissed her, the more he was addicted to her taste. To her fire. He wanted more. He even needed it.

  Reluctantly, he let her raise her head, both needing more air than he could give them. He kept his palm curled around her nape, his eyes looking into hers. Drowning there in her. “Baby, you know you’re not getting away from me tonight.”

  “I’m not?”

  That little twinge of amusement was back in her voice, and those eyes of hers were lit like twin sapphires.

  “You’re not.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and reached with his other hand to find the little jeweler’s box beneath the futon mattress. “Got this for you.” He didn’t know how other men did this sort of thing, but she might as well know he was awkward when it came to expressing himself when it counted. He might think poetry, but he wasn’t about to say it out loud.

  She looked at the box as if it might bite her.

  “It’s not a snake, babe.”

  Her gaze lifted to his. She didn’t lift the lid.

  “Babe. Seriously. It isn’t going to bite you.”

  “It might.” She took a deep breath and pushed the lid up. The ring was nestled in the velvet box, a glowing natural star sapphire to match her eyes, surrounded by small diamonds all set in a platinum band. Her breath caught in her throat.

  Malichai found himself relaxing. She liked it. There was no question, he could see it on her face. She wanted that ring. He’d chosen the right stones and setting. He’d talked to the jeweler early in the week, looked at designs, stones and bands. He’d paid an enormous amount of money to get to the front of the line to have the ring made.

  “Tell me what this is, Malichai.” She flicked him a glance and then her gaze went right back to the ring.

  “You’re my fiancée. You need a ring on your finger. That’s the one. Marie got me the right size, so it should fit.”

  “I’m your fiancée?”

  He was beginning to get tense again. He took the box out of her hand, pulled the ring out and put it on her finger. “Yes.” He said it firmly. “Apparently everybody in San Diego and the entire state of Louisiana knows but you.”

  He caught the hem of her tank and pulled it over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her breasts spilled out. He took advantage, cupping them in his palms and leaning in to cover her left nipple with his mouth, pulling her breast in deep while he kneaded the right one. She was soft, full and her skin tasted of exotic strawberries. He feasted, moving his body over top of hers, pinning her under him while he used the heat of his mouth, his tongue and his teeth to devour her. He tugged and rolled her right nipple and kneaded her breast, until he heard her soft little moan and her body moved beneath his.

  He kissed his way over the top curve of her breasts, leaving his mark everywhere. Scraping with his teeth, nipping, soothing with his tongue, claiming every inch of her breasts for his own. Making certain there was no mistake whose mark was on her. It was primitive, but he felt more than primal. He felt almost feral. He didn’t even care if it was the animal DNA in him or the man, his body was hard, hot and in urgent need. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe.

  Then his mouth was on her right breast and he used his teeth and tongue to drive her up, needing her wanting him with the same intensity he wanted her. He wasn’t taking any chances with rejection. Not now, not ever. She was his woman. He knew that with absolute certainty. Her hips bucked and he swept his hands down her body, stripping the yoga pants from her, taking her panties with the stretchy material down her legs. He had to give up her breasts to take them all the way off.

  He’d been smart enough to be prepared, already removing his boots and not bothering with a belt. He knew he was going to seduce her any way he could. Kisses seemed to work with her, and he always lost himself when he kissed her. She took him to another world where there was feeling. Pure feeling. No demons crept in. Nothing but sheer pleasure.

  He kissed his way down the valley between her breasts so he could nibble on the underside curves, leaving his mark there as well. He explored her rib cage, taking his time, easily pinning her smaller body beneath his so he could find every inch of her with his teeth and tongue, with his mouth so he could continue to get that exotic flavor he craved. He spent time on her belly button, kissed his way down her belly to the blond curls that lay tight there like a little landing strip. He appreciated that. He made certain to find each color, the gold, the silver and platinum.

  He reached down, caught his shirt and ripped it over his head, tossing it to one side. He wanted to be skin to skin, although right at that precise moment, all he could think about was feasting on her, gathering that taste of hers on his tongue. He gripped her thighs and pulled them apart, so he could wedge his broad shoulders between them.

  “Malichai.” She said his name. A little breathless. Ragged.

  He loved the sounds she made. She wasn’t quiet, but she wasn’t loud. Just soft moans and the occasional shattered cry of his name.

  “I’m right here, Amaryllis. I’ll take care of you. It’s going to be good, I promise you.” He was already nuzzling the inside of her thighs, the shadow along his jaw like sandpaper, arousing the nerve endings in her body even more.

  He took one taste, just a long sweep with his tongue, and his entire body reacted. Dark desire slid down his spine. She flung out one hand and gripped the edge of the futon mattress, the other settled in his
hair, fisted there, as if she might deny him what he wanted. He tightened his hold on her bottom, lifted her hips easily to him and settled his mouth over her.

  Amaryllis’s breath left her lungs in a rush of heat. It was all she could do not to scream. She was unprepared for the way it felt to have Malichai’s mouth on her, his tongue and teeth. The assault on her scattered senses sent her almost into a panic. Nothing had ever felt so good, yet at the same time, it was a takeover. A complete, absolute takeover.

  Malichai held her still easily, his strength enormous. There was no letup in him. He drove her closer and closer to something huge. She could feel the tension coiling in her tighter and tighter, the pressure unrelenting. Fear slid through her, creeping down her spine and spreading through her, adding to the nerve endings that were screaming with arousal. Whatever was waiting, crouching there, swelling out of control, growing so large it was like some dark wave—a tsunami—threatening to engulf her, take her over . . .

  Then it hit, moving through her, swamping her senses, drowning her in pleasure, spreading through her body like a wild, out-of-control sweeping entity. Alive. Fierce. Pounding through her. Taking her mind and throwing it into complete chaos. She didn’t know if her eyes were open or closed, but the stars were brighter than ever, bursting behind her eyelids while rockets went off. Little bursts of color scattered across her vision.

  Then he was stripping, and she caught a glimpse of his body. He looked chiseled. Hard as a rock. His chest and abdomen nothing but sheer muscle. His cock impressive and a little intimidating.

  He stroked his hand from her throat, down her breasts to the little curls on top of her mound. She pulsed with need, desperate for him to be in her, even while she was a little frightened that he wasn’t going to fit.

  “Shh, sweetheart. It’s going to be all right, baby.”