The Royal Occult Bureau

by Barbara Russell

  The walls of the cubicle offered some privacy, and the hall was empty, but it could’ve been crammed with agents, and I wouldn’t have cared.

  He kissed me with desperation, running his hands along my body, touching, stroking, devouring me.

  Heat rose from him like a scorching wind. A spicy scent like verbena and pepper damped the air so intensely I moaned. But now I recognised the enticing scent as his incubus trait. Bertie had released an enthralling scent too when he’d tried to take me. The throb between my legs thudded harder.

  The rip of fabric startled me. Evander ripped my shirt and chemise with a single yank, and the pearl buttons scattered around us like hail. Cool air hit my breasts before he clamped his hot mouth on my skin. I reclined my head to give him better access, but a feral growl came from him. I moaned under the onslaught of his kisses and strokes. He bunched up my skirts and pushed a knee between my legs while holding me against the wall. Each graze of his teeth lifted me up towards the top of the cliff of sensations.

  I dug my fingers into his back, rubbing my hips against his hard length. “Take me, Evander.” A hint of desperation rang in my voice. I’d never, ever begged a man to take me, yet here I was, a hot mess of need, frantically needing him inside me.

  “No!” He pushed back, eyes flaring wide and showing too much black. “You’re too tempting. I can’t keep my instinct under control when you’re close.”

  His voice rang low and menacing and had an animal quality that caused the hairs at the base of neck to stand on end. Predatory menace radiated from his body, and I took a step back, clenching the torn lapels of my shirt together. Still, it wasn’t fear that numbed my thoughts, but sheer arousal. Being this close to danger only enhanced the pleasure of his touch.

  “I don’t care,” I whispered. “I want you.”

  Chest heaving, he hounded me, one slow step at a time.

  My back hit the wall of the cubicle, and I swallowed the lump of anticipation in my throat. The man inching closer wasn’t Evander, but a dangerous predator who wanted me. I’d lie if I said that a side of me wasn’t thrilled, that longed for his touch and wished to feel the weight of his body against mine. A mix of fear and desperate need swirled within me.

  The hard light in his gaze flashed as he stepped closer. I parted my lips, not sure if to say something or if to invite him in.

  He stopped a few inches from me. His muscles formed hard ropes under his clothes as if he were restraining himself. With deliberate gestures, he removed his jacket, his dark gaze flickering to my chest.

  My heart flipped when he stretched out an arm. But he was only handing me his jacket, his face muscles relaxing a fraction.

  “I’m sorry.” It was only a whisper, but a world of sorrow echoed in the few words.

  I accepted the jacket, and my fingertips brushed his. Energy shot along my arm from the point where we touched, straight to my core. He must’ve sensed it too because he staggered away from me.

  His scent was all around me when I donned the jacket. The fabric was still warm from his body. He spun, panting, and headed towards the exit.

  Together we walked back to his apartment. In silence. The crowd had diminished, but there were a few agents strolling about. I didn’t want to provoke him further, so I kept my questions to myself. I didn’t even dare ask how he was faring.

  It took him a couple of attempts to unlock the door of his house, so hard his hands were shaking. Once inside, he paused, his back to me.

  “Please, don’t tell anyone what happened.” His voice cracked as he faced me.

  And my heart broke. “Good Lord, I would never, ever say anything.”

  “If my superiors know . . . in the shooting hall of all places, I swear, it won’t happen again.”

  If I hadn’t read Lavinia’s letter, I probably would’ve taken his hand and told him I was fine, but if he had attacked a woman before, I wasn’t so ready to brush off the incident and reassure him that everything was fine. But he’d saved my life, and I couldn’t forget that. Not to mention that I had enjoyed his wildness.

  “Evander, I won’t say anything. Trust me.”

  He scraped a hand over his face and muttered a “Thank you” before shutting himself in his bedroom.

  Twenty-One

  IT WAS SIMPLY ANOTHER NIGHT OF WORK.

  I kept repeating myself that while pacing in the wide bedroom of Damon’s safe house that wasn’t so safe after all. It wasn’t supposed to be safe if the plan had to work. The house should provide easy access to Bertie. Not so easy to make him suspicious, but easy enough he could find me.

  The polished wooden floor warmed the room. A blazing log fire sizzled in the hearth, and thick brocade curtains covered the windows, keeping the chilly gusts out. But I shivered at each step. The flimsy flowing silver gown I was wearing left my back and décolletage exposed and didn’t help make me feel more protected. Dr Black had done my hair and twisted it in a complicated French chignon at the base of my neck where a pin I could use as a weapon was hidden. I’d worn clothes like that for my clients dozens of times, but the cold gripping my stomach weakened me despite the Enfield Special hidden under the pillow.

  After pulling a curtain aside, I peeped out of the window. No lampposts illuminated the dark dirt road that sneaked through gentle hills and barley fields kissed by moonlight. Some of Jasper’s men were scattered around behind the trees. Others were on the roof, and Evander was hidden somewhere in the house. But I couldn’t catch a glimpse of any of them, and dread pounded through me, causing my pulse to speed up. Besides, that was the point. The agents weren’t close enough to be detected by Bertie. In case he came, I had to endure a few minutes alone with him.

  After what happened with Evander, tension rode my neck and shoulders every time he was close to me. But maybe he was the right agent to fight against an incubus. Unless he lost control.

  Two nights had passed like this. Me all dolled up and shivering for an incubus who hadn’t shown. Either he was too smart to fall in our ambush, or he wasn’t interested in me anymore, which meant he’d found some other poor girl to torment.

  I sat on the edge of the bed. The quilt gave a soft huff under my weight. How the incubus could be attracted to this desolate place was beyond me. De Luna House was full of sexual activity the incubus surely picked, but here? It was just me, doing nothing. My brilliant idea wasn’t so brilliant after all, or I’d overestimated the lure I had on Bertie. Yet, last night a shadow had marked my window. Bertie knew I was here.

  “Evander?” I whispered, not sure he could hear me.

  There was a rustle of fabric and the sound of wooden planks creaking. The door opened, and Evander walked in. It was amazing how he could disappear.

  “Do you need anything?” he asked.

  “I don’t think this is going to work.” I shook my head. “The house doesn’t release any single sexual vibe. I don’t see why the incubus should come here.”

  “I’m afraid she’s right.” Jasper slipped out seemingly from the shadow, jolting me. “We thought her presence would be enough to entice Bertie, but obviously, he doesn’t sense her as strongly as we believed.”

  “What do you suggest doing?” Evander asked, rubbing his chest.

  “Spicing things up.” Sirius stepped out of another corner.

  I recoiled. Good Lord, they were all closer than I thought.

  “What do you mean?” Evander said.

  Sirius tipped his chin towards me. “One of us should start ravishing her. The excitement will bring the incubus here.”

  I shivered again. What Sirius proposed wasn’t any different from what I’d done in the past years, but the thought of having sex, even pretending to have it, with any of these agents while the others were watching started a flicker of shame in my chest.

  “Sirius.” Jasper’s voice rang low.

  “What? Are you squeamish? She does that for a living. Besides, that was the plan all along.” Sirius gazed
around. “Who wants to be the lucky one? Not Evander, since he spent a few nights in that bordello without attracting a moth.”

  Evander stepped closer to me. “I think Asia should say something about this.”

  Gratitude swelled in my chest. For once, he hadn’t jumped to Sirius’s throat, but had given me the chance to fight my own battle.

  Although admittedly, Sirius’s idea was a good one, but if I had to choose someone to ravish, then I’d choose Evander. Even if he could lose his control. His incubus sexual energy combined with mine would lure Bertie in.

  I cleared my throat. “I think Sirius has a point.”

  Evander’s jaw contracted, but he remained silent.

  “And if I have to do this, I want to do it with Evander,” I whispered.

  Evander drew in a breath that strained his waistcoat. “Asia.”

  “If you agree,” I added, fiddling with the folds of my skirt. “Besides, as Sirius said, that was the original plan. The only difference is that now I’m aware of it.”

  Silence stretched. Sirius and Jasper shifted their stances. Only Evander remained still. I gazed up, expecting to see his usual stone-cold face, but the fire burning in his emerald eyes sent shivers up my back. My nipples hardened under the thin material of the robe.

  Jasper neared Evander and put a hand on his shoulder. “I can do it.” He glanced at me. “If you both agree.”

  Kissing Jasper was definitely better than kissing Sirius. As handsome and kind Jasper was, he wasn’t Evander. I shook my head, casting an apologetic glance at Jasper.

  “May I talk with Asia alone?” Evander turned to Jasper.

  The captain nodded. “Of course. Gentlemen, out of the room.”

  Muffled footsteps faded, and agents filed out of the room.

  Evander bent closer, his spicy scent wafting from him, a sign that he was becoming aroused. “You know what can happen,” he said. “I can’t lose control here. Only Jasper knows about me.”

  “You won’t lose control.” My voice lacked confidence to my own ears, but the heady mix of fear and anticipation filled me with determination.

  “Asia.”

  “I don’t want to be ravished by someone else.” It was ridiculous, of course. I was a whore. But this wasn’t a normal night’s of work, no matter how many times I repeated it. And my body hummed for Evander. “Please. I’m sure I can’t conjure a single ounce of sexual energy if I have to kiss Sirius. The ravishing has to be real to attract the incubus better. Please,” I said again.

  He straightened. “Captain.”

  Jasper and the others slid inside silently like shadows.

  “What have you decided?” Jasper asked.

  “I’ll do it.” The words were uttered with a husky, low voice that promised all sorts of sins in the bedsheets.

  I parted my lips, and Evander sucked in a breath.

  Jasper coughed. “All right, everyone. We’ll give Evander and Asia a bit of privacy for a few minutes, but we’ll be nearby and ready to intervene, and Asia remember that a brougham is parked right in front of the house. In case of need, climb in it and the driver will take you away.”

  He blathered something else about security and guns and escape routes, but I couldn’t focus on his words. My attention was on Evander’s burning stare.

  Maybe his power had the same addictive effect on me Bertie had on Charlotte after all because my skin was itching with need.

  Footsteps echoed around us. A door clicked shut, and I found myself alone with Evander. He loosened his collar and raked a hand through his hair, dishevelling the thick strands. “How are we going to do it? I mean, what do you want me to do?”

  I rose. The fabric of the skirt unfolded and swished over my sensitive skin. “Let me start.”

  I ran my hands over his chest. So much tension in it. His body was as hard as stone, but smelled of bergamot. I took my time, caressing the taut muscles of his abdomen. The buttons of his waistcoat didn’t oppose any resistance and yielded under my fingers, but when I tried to unbutton his shirt, he stopped me.

  “No. Shirt on.” The harsh tone stilled my fingers.

  One day when we weren’t busy catching a murderer, I’d ask him what he was hiding under the shirt. Scales? Spikes? Was he green? Not that I’d care, but patience wasn’t my strongest virtue.

  I teased a flat nipple with my fingertips through the fabric of his darn shirt, and a low roar rumbled from him.

  “Careful,” he growled.

  I tilted my head up. “What do you—”

  The rest of the question was swallowed by his fierce kiss. He took my face in his hard-skinned hands and pressed his mouth against mine. Shivers danced on my skin and pebbled my nipples. His tongue slid past my lips and explored my mouth with firm strokes.

  I touched his chest again, then I moved my hands lower. When my hand cupped his bulging erection, he gave a jerk, and I half-expected him to push my hand away. Instead, his kiss turned savage. Just like the kiss we exchanged in the training hall, it was as if he wanted to devour me whole. And maybe it wasn’t far from the truth.

  Quick gasps tore out of me as his hands travelled along my body. I arched my back and stroked his shaft harder, his maddening scent doubling my need.

  His thumb found my nipple and rubbed it through the fabric of the robe. Energy burst through me, a build-up of dark sensations that made me want to wrap my legs around his waist and beg him to take me. The kiss, his touch, his body—nothing was like a night with a client.

  Every sensation was magnified tenfold. I pressed harder against him, frustrated by the layers of clothes that separated us and his control.

  His hand slipped under the fold on my robe, and I moaned when he cupped a breast. Liquid desire pooled between my legs with throbbing insistence. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had made me so crazy for his touch. Another menacing rumble came from him. As if sensing my body’s reaction, he pushed his thigh between my legs, right where I needed it the most.

  If an incubus wasn’t after me, and if there weren’t Sirius and Jasper nearby, I’d rip his clothes and take my time ravishing him. His nostrils flared, and his jaw locked.

  A frisson of fear scraped me, but there was excitement as well.

  “We must stop,” he gritted out.

  The glass of the window exploded behind me with a deafening crash, shutting the protest growing in my throat. Evander wrapped his arms around me and covered my head, while spinning so that his back was towards the window. Shards of glass scattered on the floor, and unnaturally warm air rushed inside. The scent of lilies filled the air. My heart jerked. The warm gust, the aroma of flowers . . . Bertie smelled of roses, not lilies. If it was incubus that shattered the window, it wasn’t Bertie.

  With Evander squashing me against his body, I couldn’t see anything. Hurried footsteps thudded in the room. The noise of gunshots ricocheted off the walls as Evander shoved me towards the door.

  “Go,” he said, half-carrying me, half-pushing me. “Go to the brougham. Leave.”

  My heart ordered me to stay, but my presence wouldn’t help, and Evander couldn’t fight while worrying about me. I sprinted down the stairs and tripped on an uneven step. My shoe tumbled away. Something sharp stung my foot. I winced, but kept running.

  I almost reached the front door when the scent of roses wafted in the air, and I slammed against a hot body.

  Bertie closed his long fingers around my neck, crushing the shout trapped in my throat, and dragged me out of the house. His grip almost cut off my air supply, and I opened my mouth in a mute scream. His black brougham waited at the end of the driveway. Black horses thumped their hooves on the gravel, snorting. Their breaths turned into cloudy puffs around their mouths. The silhouette of a familiar symbol scratched on the door distracted me for a split second. Yes, it was Bertie’s damn brougham.

  Panic shot to my head. I dug my heels on the ground, trying to slow him down, but his speed didn’t di
minish. He put a hand on the knob of the brougham’s door when a bullet hit his shoulder and caused him to jerk. His grip loosened, and I slumped on the ground, gasping.

  The incubus roared in anger and lunged at the shooter standing behind us. Evander shot again, his eyes two furious, narrow slits. Dark ichor oozed from Bertie’s chest, but he didn’t slow his pace. Evander pulled the trigger. Only a sharp click came out. He cursed and tossed the gun away as Bertie leapt with an inhuman jolt.

  Their bodies collided with the loud bang of two freight trains crashing against each other. I crawled back and put a hand on the carriage to steady myself. Evander and Bertie dropped on the ground.

  Bertie straddled Evander and rained a series of punched on his face. At each blow, Evander’s body bumped. I clamped a hand around my sore throat and staggered to my feet. Where were the others?

  Gunshots still rang out from the house. There were two incubi, then. One to keep the agents distracted while Bertie was supposed to take me. Evander’s groan of pain ripped the night.

  I grabbed a stone and aimed. It hit the incubus’s head with a satisfying smack.

  He turned towards me, his eyes gleaming red and reflecting the light. I swayed back, trying to muster my courage.

  Yes, come towards me.

  Evander needed time to recover from the blows, and hopefully the other agents would arrive soon. Bertie moved closer. Why didn’t the double shot weaken him?

  “Asia,” Bertie croaked out in a voice that could scratch the glass of a window.

  Goosebumps shuddered along my skin.

  Wheezing and covered in blood, Evander picked himself up, wobbling. Fury turned his face in a mask of hard muscles. He said something in a harsh, guttural language. It sounded like the noise of broken bones grating together. A new wave of chills froze me.