Elder Bonds

by Lexi C. Foss

  Luc’s emerald gaze warmed. “She’s like the perfect woman. Seductive, possibly immortal, understands the importance of geometric shapes, and gorgeous.”

  Alik rolled his eyes. “Right. Am I excused?”

  “No,” Balthazar replied. “I need you to handle the Brazilian quartet I left by the pool earlier. They’re not pleased, and you know how I feel about leaving my conquests unsatisfied.”

  “That sounds like a job for Luc or Jay more than me, B.”

  True. Alik preferred quick and dirty, and while he always reciprocated, it lacked heart. That didn’t stop the rest of them from trying to convince him to indulge just a little.

  “Jay’s busy entertaining several others,” Luc said. “And I promised two other women a maple bath.”

  “Here.” Balthazar handed Alik the key Yasmin had left for him. “Just tell them I sent you. I’m certain they won’t be disappointed. Brooding is sexy right now. They’ll love you.”

  Alik flipped him off but accepted the plastic card. “Fuck you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Balthazar replied with a wink.

  The telepath shook his head and stalked off after Balthazar gave him the room number. “Do you really have a maple bath planned?” he asked.

  Luc chuckled. “No, but I will soon.”

  “Clever.”

  “He needs to get laid more.”

  Balthazar agreed with a nod. “You’d think he grew up in this religious era, not the one prior.”

  “Right?” Luc blew out a breath. “I so miss the Roman period, and the Greeks before it.”

  “Me too.” The lack of inhibitions—where humans were driven by desire and indulgence, not the false idea of morals—was considered acceptable, not sinful. Alas, those days were ancient history.

  Leela tossed her head back on a laugh at that moment, grabbing the attention of several at the bar. Sexual energy radiated off of her so strongly that it practically beckoned him to approach.

  “A succubus,” he mused to Luc. “That’s what she is.”

  Amusement touched his oldest friend’s features and his voice as he said, “If one existed, maybe. But I suspect she’s a fledgling with a power we’ll all enjoy.”

  “I’ll go find out and let you know.”

  “Please do.”

  Balthazar’s lips quirked upward. “We’ll touch base in the morning. I suspect this one is going to require my attention throughout the night.”

  “I’ll be well occupied,” Luc replied, his focus already shifting to the people in the room. A handful of them were actually Hydraians, all there with the purpose of guarding their Elders, but Luc wouldn’t touch them. His status as the leader of their kind created a conflict when it came to personal relationships; hence, Luc avoided them completely and favored one-night stands with humans.

  “Enjoy your evening, Luc.” Innuendo filled his tone, causing his friend to grin.

  “You too, B.”

  Luc wandered off, leaving B alone to admire his quarry. Her fingertips were lightly tracing the forearm of the man beside her, and those long stems of hers were crossed toward him as well. Both signs of sexual interest, which the dark-haired male reciprocated in kind with his almond-shaped eyes. She’d chosen a handsome one with a nice smile and a strong jawline.

  Balthazar favored women; however, men worked too. If Leela wanted to share, he’d be game. Of course, he’d run the show in every way.

  He approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her sexy little waist while meeting the surprised gaze of the male beside her. Aggression gave way to astonishment in his thoughts, followed by a quick summary of all his perceived shortcomings when compared to Balthazar.

  Pity. It seemed confidence wasn’t one of the man’s strengths.

  “Hello, sweetheart.” Balthazar lowered his chin to her shoulder as he hugged her from behind. “Did you find us a playmate?”

  She hummed in approval as she tilted her head to brush a kiss against his cheek. “I hoped you would find me.”

  “Does that mean I get a prize?” he asked against her neck.

  The mortal beside them stirred uncomfortably, his hand rising to grab the bartender’s attention. He wanted to settle his bill and flee. Apparently, the idea of joining Balthazar and Leela in bed intimidated him. Perhaps a demonstration on what he would be missing was in order.

  Balthazar knotted his fingers in Leela’s silky hair, pulled her head back, and took her mouth in a sensual kiss. No hard or fast moves, but smooth and sexual ones designed to rouse an audience. Her tongue reciprocated with several slow, seductive strokes against his own. This was a lesson in patience and skill, where they both existed as masters in the class.

  “Mmm,” he murmured against her mouth. “How I adore a skilled woman.”

  She grazed his lower lip with her teeth. “You have no idea what you’re up against.”

  “Likewise, sweetheart.”

  She grabbed the collar of his black dress shirt to hold him to her. “Oh, lover, trust me when I say I definitely do and that’s the only reason I’m still sitting here.”

  Was that a hint of some kind? A subtle way of saying she already knew of his reputation, or perhaps even more? He’d never met her before; of that he was certain. He might experience a different woman every night, but he remembered their faces and bodies, and this one was new to him.

  Leela twisted in her stool to face him as she stood—every inch of her body brushing his—and put her arms around his neck. “There’s a party out near the beach.”

  “You want to dance.” Not a question, but a statement.

  She nodded. “With you.”

  In this dress that barely covered her ass? “Let’s go.”

  Leela glanced over her shoulder at the empty seats. “I guess he didn’t want to play after all.”

  “We can find another that better suits you, if you want,” Balthazar replied, his hands caressing her hips. “I’m flexible.” He meant that figuratively and literally.

  “You’ll do for now.” She grabbed his wrists and guided his palms up her sides to her breasts and then ever so slowly down the middle. It resulted in a slight gap between their bodies, yet it felt as if they were still touching with the way electricity raced between them. Her hand wrapped around one of his as she stepped to the side. Arousal turned her gaze a dark forest green, but rather than lead the way toward an elevator upstairs, she pulled him toward a set of patio doors.

  His blood whirred with excitement at her bold maneuvers. This was a woman who knew what she wanted and took it. Her heels clicked against the stone flooring as she led him outside and down a rocky path.

  The moon hung overhead, lending a sexy appeal to the already romantic evening air. Smooth beats and rhythmic sounds came from up ahead, followed by an array of people all enjoying the ambience of the night. Soft lights lit up a nearby bar, a few high top tables stood in the sand, and a hotel pool glistened beyond it.

  My kind of atmosphere, he mused as hedonistic thoughts prickled his conscious. Dancing served as foreplay to sex, and some of the members out here were taking that notion to a sensuous level. Balthazar approved.

  Leela weaved through the dancers to a darker spot near the middle and started to turn. He caught her hip with his free hand, holding her in place as he pressed his chest to her back. It was his turn to lead.

  He skimmed her neck with his mouth and flattened their entwined hands against her stomach, with his on top of hers. His other palm remained on her waist as he guided her to the beat playing overhead.

  “You imply that you know me,” he said against her ear. “But do you know what I am?”

  She lifted her free arm and wrapped her slender fingers around the back of his neck while her hips swayed against him. The subtle distraction curved his lips upward.

  “I’m not that easy, sweetheart,” he warned. “But if you want to play, we’ll play.”

  Her nails bit into the skin of his nape in a sign of encouragement.

 
; Balthazar grinned against her neck. He always assessed his partner’s level of skill before unleashing his sensuality. Most situations required him to hold back, but not this one. He sensed Leela could handle anything he threw at her, and that only excited him more.

  The song shifted into a heavier beat that thudded through his veins. He increased their tempo to match the rhythm while keeping her hand trapped between his palm and her abdomen. She met him move-for-move, her ass brushing his groin in a tantalizing manner that excited his instincts. It was purposeful and well practiced, and it alluded to the night they had ahead of them.

  He took control of their pace by spinning her around without warning and catching her in a dip that brushed her light hair against the floor. Her dilated pupils captured his as he slowly pulled her upright against him. The faint blush decorating her cheeks urged him to twirl her again, but this time she added a sexy little kick to it and wrapped her calf around his thigh.

  A few more whirls caused the other dancers to part around them. He ignored everyone, his sight only for the woman in his arms. Leela thought to best him at one of his favorite sports—seduction by dancing. Oh, how much she had to learn.

  He threw her upward and caught her hips as her legs spread on either side of his waist. Her lips were a hairsbreadth away from his own, her heart hammering against his chest. “More,” she panted.

  “Yeah?” He swung her around his body with one arm beneath her knees and the other guiding her shoulders. Applause broke out in the crowd as she landed deftly on her heels. He blocked their thoughts and focused on the beauty grinding up against him. Her gaze dared him to continue.

  “Who are you?” he asked, mesmerized.

  “Leela.” She winked. “Now do it again.”

  He chuckled and did as she requested, whirling her with the beat, lifting her, dipping her, and pressing his body intimately against hers with each move.

  Pure, honest foreplay.

  It could only be improved by nudity, though he enjoyed the tantalizing hints of what lay beneath the clothes. Sometimes barriers provided just the right amount of friction to make things interesting.

  He slid his thigh between hers during one of her more intricate moves, eliciting a delectable little gasp from her. She dug her nails into his exposed forearms—he’d rolled his sleeves to the elbows earlier—and her calf once again wrapped around his jean-clad leg. He grabbed her thigh and slid his palm upward beneath the fabric of her dress.

  Of course she wore nothing underneath. That explained all the passionate vibes around them; his Leela had given the audience quite the show. And her expression said she didn’t care at all.

  An exhibitionist too? Perfection on heels.

  If Balthazar believed in fate, he might think someone created her just for him. Because she was without a doubt his kind of woman.

  He pivoted her once more, placing her back at his front again while his hand slid from one hip to the other beneath her dress. She tilted her head back and to the side, her alluring eyes locking with his as he slowed their movements to an intimate pace.

  Mmm. That aroused gleam dilating her pupils was quite lovely. How much hotter could he make her burn?

  He lowered his mouth to hers and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. Fire licked through his veins as she opened for him, tempting him to deepen the kiss. He took advantage of the angle and explored her the way he preferred, all the while maintaining a perfect rhythm with the beat.

  Her skin burned beneath his fingers as he drew circles against her hip with his thumb. His fingers spanned her upper thigh, close enough to know she kept herself well groomed. Not that he expected otherwise after seeing her in that tiny thong earlier.

  Fuck, she had a perfect ass. His hard cock agreed as he pressed against her. The things he would do to her tonight…

  She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and gave it a sharp tug. A demand for more. He grinned against her mouth and wrapped a hand around her throat while his other ventured to the warm, wet flesh between her legs.

  So ready for him and he hadn’t truly started yet.

  But he would now.

  Leela arched against him and moaned as his tongue dipped inside to dance with hers. His intentions were obvious to everyone around them, yet hidden beneath the guise of a dance. Where was his hand? What was he doing? The thoughts were endless, and the fantasies only added fuel to the already simmering fire.

  His finger slipped through her damp slit as his thumb found her clit. He caught her gasp with his mouth and tightened his grip around her neck. She responded with a shiver that told him everything he needed to know. While Leela played the part of sensual mistress well, a submissive lurked beneath her confident skin. And oh, how he would exploit that later to meet both their needs.

  He pinched her sensitive bud, then massaged it as she trembled against him. His cock ached and pulsed, begged him to take this to the next level, but he needed to see her fall apart. Just for a moment.

  His lips went to her ear while he slid two fingers deep into her channel to that spot that made all women weak in the knees. “Can you feel their eyes on you, watching your body quiver against mine? They all know what I’m doing to you, Leela. Everyone wants to watch you come undone.”

  She practically purred in response, her hips moving as she shamelessly rode his hand. Her pulse quickened beneath his lips as he trailed hot, openmouthed kisses up and down the slender column of her neck.

  “Come for me so I can taste you,” he murmured. “I want them all to see you shatter, so when I’m licking my fingers afterward, they know it’s your essence on my skin.”

  Her groan vibrated his chest, and he caught her mouth in another searing kiss meant to disable. He’d held back before, slowly learning her tastes and preferences, and now he used them all against her. The pace between her thighs increased as he applied subtle pressure to her pleasure point.

  There it is, that subtle squirming. You’re mine now, Lee.

  The last vestiges of her control unraveled as an orgasm ripped through her body. She caressed Balthazar’s lips with his name over and over, her body quivering unabashedly for the audience around them. They all knew, their minds blossoming with varying states of arousal and lust, suggesting a new type of party was about to begin.

  All because of the gorgeous woman melting against him.

  He removed his hand from her sensitive flesh and lifted it to his mouth, just as he said. His eyes closed as he tasted her, so sweet and fresh, and positively addicting. He would be devouring her in his bed after this. In full. For hours.

  She turned and caught his wrist, then went onto her toes to lick his other finger clean. Flames engulfed him from head to toe as he pictured her doing that to his cock. Her mouth was unbelievably wicked and oh-so talented.

  Balthazar gazed down at her, inviting her to do her worst, and smiled when she slipped a finger into the belt loop of his jeans. She tugged him forward as she stepped backward toward a bar dusted in shadows. The source of music and drinks came from the opposite end of the dance floor, while this side appeared to only be used during daylight. That meant it was mostly vacant, but with a very public view.

  His lips curled. It didn’t take a mind reader to know where this was headed.

  She nudged him onto a stool and stepped between his spread legs, hands on his thighs. “My turn,” she said, her voice husky.

  The hushed bass of the song playing nearby matched the rhythm of his heart. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

  Her fingers trailed up to the top of his jeans. “Oh, I know what I want.” She deftly unfastened his belt, popped open the button, and slid down the zipper.

  He grinned at her heated expression. “You’re not the only one who prefers to go without underwear, Leela.” It made everything easier, including seduction in public settings.

  She licked her lips. “I approve.”

  He glanced at the delicate hand looming just above his shaft. “That’s my line.”

/>   Leela wrapped her fingers around him and stroked him from head to base. “Is it?”

  “Yes.” He lifted his elbows to the counter behind him and relaxed against it. “Keep going.” Because it feels like fucking heaven.

  Much to his chagrin, she released him. And damn if it didn’t hurt a little. Balthazar loved a good game of delayed gratification, but Leela possessed a magical touch and he wanted more. So much more.

  “I have something else in mind.” She stepped out of his legs and pushed them closed while leaving him intimately exposed. “Don’t move.”

  He grinned, intrigued. “All right. Do your best.”

  Her eyes sparkled as she met his gaze. “I’ll need all weekend for that.”

  “Fine by me, sweets.”

  She leaned in to brush her lips over his. “I’m about to blow your mind, B.”

  His dick liked the sound of that. “I’m still waiting, Lee.”

  4

  Leela

  So cocky, and yet well deserved. Especially after that demonstration on the dance floor. God, Balthazar had lit her on fire like no one else ever had. Leela had expected it after witnessing the male in action on several occasions, but to experience it was an entirely different entity.

  An inferno climaxed inside of her just at the sight of him lounging lazily before her, fully erect. Leela had seen thousands of naked males in her life, but none were quite as exquisite as this one. He truly was perfect in every way.

  Not that she would admit it out loud. Balthazar was arrogant enough.

  She drew her nails up and down his jean-covered thighs, causing his gaze to smolder.

  Sexy. That was the best way to describe him in that moment with those hooded chocolate eyes, slight quirk of his mouth, and obvious interest only inches from her hand.

  They could be interrupted at any second, which only further spurred her on. So few partners possessed the confidence and stamina for an act like this, but she knew without a doubt that Balthazar would be up to the task.

  Leela grabbed the counter on either side of him to stabilize herself as she stepped onto the wooden struts of his stool and straddled him.