by Tigris Eden
Enslaved In Shadows
By
Tigris Eden
Enslaved In Shadows
Tigris Eden
Copyright 2012 Tigris Eden
Cover : Tricia “PickyMe” Schmitt
Edited by H. McAuliffe & C. Von Ditter
Published by BookRhythm, LLC
ISBN: 978-0-9856365-0-0
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the work of the author's imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
I would like to first and foremost acknowledge the creator of all things! Without him/her, none of this would be possible!
Belinda (Bells) Bullock you are my light in that dark tunnel yo! I LOVE YOU TO PIECES! Words can’t express the gratitude and respect I have for you! What kind of belt is that you’re wearing? (Dolce & Gabbana Halo!) LOL
Lara Adrian and Larissa Ione for always answering my questions… When I grow up, I want to be just like the two of you!
Steph I know I will be seeing you soon and can’t wait for you to explode on the scene thanks for reading the beginning and middle stages!
Alicia Pates you are the best sister a sister could have! And you to Tekura! The both of you have done so much and I promise Q the story that needs to be told (NOLA) will be told soon!
Donyalle (Xee) Williams for being the best supporter and reader of my work thanks for helping me with eye color and details that mattered! Thanks for being the best admin and understanding when I basically told you the blog is yours to control! You rock!
Cariad you were instrumental as well even if we are oceans apart! Je Taime ma petite belle!
Christie Von Ditter and Heather McAuliffe you are my superwomen times infinity! You two are amazing stars! Don’t let anyone tell you different! SERIOUS! I can’t even imagine how many freaking emails we have between gmail and Facebook messages! I don’t even know what else to say! You were there from beginning to end! For loving Royce and all my ideas!
Trish Pickyme I ADORE YOU! The book’s cover is amazing! I am sooo glad that we crossed paths! I had a vision and you made it come to life! I apologize now for all the work I will create in the future! NEVER LEAVE ME!
My CP Elise Hepner… I know you said “sweat” is not sexy… I beg to differ and I love you anyway for being that person who gave it to me straight and encouraged me to do it no matter what! YOU ARE BOMB!
Sheila Mallynn and Carol Henderson thank you for being you and reading a book that will eventually get finished! For being my cheerleaders!
Thanks to JenRen,Char, Redfox, and Ashley thank you for taking over TE Garden of Books and doing the damn thing
Dedication
LL for loving me and understanding that creativity has no time limit, whether it struck at 6 in the evening or 4 in the morning! You understand the “nerd” in me. I understand the bad boy in you. You are my other half. And to my boys I love you mucho!
Mom you are one of the bravest women I know! I love you! Our journey as mother and daughter will never cease to empower me more!
Dad thanks for letting me follow you to the bowling alley when I was young! Thanks for being supportive! I love you!
Soco you are loved and not forgotten! I will miss you forever!
Chapter 1
His eyes were animal-like. A penetrating forest green, clouded with lust and appreciation stared at her from across the bar. The intensity of his gaze burned through the layer of sea salt that coated her skin. Expressive eyes regarded her with knowledge and fascination. Men never stared at her like this. Must be the ridiculous scrap of a bikini Bells insisted she wear. Jes took another sip of her seaweed shake laced with rum and sighed softly. The flavor of rum and vanilla reminded her of a time when her grandmother would make her swit biskits laced in rum. She needed the distraction, because if she glanced in his direction again, she’d melt on the spot and not from the heat either.
The man was past gorgeous and forever out of her league. Raven black waves fell haphazardly around his face, giving him a sleepy sexed look. His hair was shorter in the back than in the front, a perfect place for her to thread her fingers at the nape of his neck.
Bronze skin, stretched over finely tuned muscles, flexed as he adjusted his arms and leaned forward on the bar. Adonis meet hottie. Hottie, try not to make the Adonis jealous. He belonged on the cover of one of those women magazines. Top Ten Hotties of the Year. He was undoubtedly number one. Jes couldn’t see much, but from where she sat, she’d say he was pushing at least twenty out of ten on the hot meter. He looked right at her, not caring if anyone noticed his attentions were focused on her. There was no shame in his assessment. Her body’s functions stopped under his perusal, seconds seemed like minutes, then kick started her into full force. Damn. She could tell he was tall even as he sat across from her at the bar talking to the bartender. Curious anticipation danced along her spine, a seductive shuffle through her body. It was as if an erotic whisper coerced her into submission. Jes wanted to stretch the emotion out, make it longer. Instead, she fidgeted in her seat too taken with him.
Hard cut features outlined his face with a slightly crooked nose. His lower lip was a bit fuller than the top, sensual lips. The kind a woman wanted dragged across her entire body at least three times in a day. More if she had any say about it. His cotton blue and white button up shirt was open to fully exposed hard-sculpted pectorals lightly dusted with dark hair. She watched as he leaned over to reach for a napkin. Oh, to be the sweat that rolls down that chest. Jesminda sighed again, she was hormonal but of the horny “come do me,” persuasion and she never got that way ever.
Abruptly he stood and handed the bartender, who was still half a foot shorter, some money for his drink. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall. He dominated the area, owned it with his massive presence. That was a lot of man. He took one last microscopic look at her, discarding her scraps of clothing with his eyes piece by piece. She should’ve looked away but didn’t. He broke the contact when he turned and headed in the other direction. Such a short amount of time to be thoroughly turned on. There was a reason she always stuck to her plans and guys like him were not part of them. He’d change things up, go out of sync. Be spontaneous. It would drive her nuts. But in a good way, don’t you think? For all the staring he did, he could have at least walked over and said hi, something! She hated to admit it stung, a lot. Belinda, oblivious as usual, watched a family bathing under the sun. Her friend was constantly distracted, but she loved her for it. Downing the rest of her drink she signaled for the bartender and placed her money on the table for their drinks. She’d come here to enjoy herself, have an adventure.
“Time for a bit of fun in the sun Jes,” Bells said as she grabbed her straw hat off the counter and hopped down from the stool. Heat was much appreciated when faced with rejection; at least she wouldn’t be shaking under his stare.
They were here for two weeks, to soak up
the rays and planned on doing things most girls wouldn’t dare do. Well she was, Bells was purely along for the support and to make sure she didn’t overdo her adventure. Besides who said going to carnival was a terrible idea? Good way to break out of your shell, have some fun. She giggled as she pushed her sunglasses over her eyes and headed for the beach.
The sand was silk between her toes as she walked on the beach. Belmopan, Belize had been her home for the first sixteen years of her life. She’d gone to school here; her playground had been the beach bordering the southern lagoon, her backyard the beautiful jungle. She missed the smell of the ocean and its breeze kissing her skin. What more could a girl want? Her mother and father had a vast estate nestled in the jungle, most people wouldn’t agree with her when she said jungle life was the life for her. However, she loved it, and Belinda loved it too. Her friend would disappear for hours on her family’s property, explaining she was at peace in the jungle. Who could blame her?
“Lounging sounds good to me titi.” Jes answered.
“Stop with the titi.” Bells said over her shoulder. Titi was the Kriol word for girl. It never failed, every time she came home to visit, her grandmother refused to speak English. She was adamant about her keeping close to her roots. In addition, she did for the most part; you could take the girl from the island, but never the island from the girl.
She quickly walked ahead of Belinda so she could grab a great spot on the beach. It wasn’t crowded today and wouldn’t be until Carnival. That’s when the tourists would arrive, for Belmopan’s infamous Erotic Carnival. People came from all corners of the earth to experience it.
* * * *
The woman at the bar smelled fucking incredible, tropical, like the island. Coconut and pineapples with vanilla and nutmeg all surrounded his senses while in her presence. He wanted to taste her full pouty lips. See if she’d taste as good as she smelled. No one had ever caught the attention of his nose. Not once. Images of her lips wrapped around his cock clouded his brain and Draven groaned as he adjusted the errant erection in his shorts. He was restless, and fucking horny. She would have been perfect for what he had in mind, but a job was a job was a job. He needed to finish his assignment, and maybe later he could play.
Two and a half years of service and he was still considered the grunt. He was tired of the shit jobs and wanted something stable, more localized. Gallivanting around the world trying to fix people’s problems was not his thing.
He caught wind of the woman, spotted her walking towards the beach. Same direction he was going. Okay, well it was the direction his dick was straining towards. He mentally shrugged. He’d purposely left the bar wanting to escape her. She was headed north, he was supposed to go south, meet up with his contact. Shit, don’t follow, do not follow. He said the mantra over and over in his head. He wasn’t the only one who wanted in on the action. He watched as other men walking around stopped to stare at her and her friend. They were both scantily dressed. Bikini top and thong bottoms, his island flower had a wrap around her waist attempting to cover her ass and legs. Sheer was now his new favorite fabric. He could see all of her creamy sugar bronzed flesh. She may have thought she was covered, but to his eyes, she was on full display and his for the taking, after he finished his job. Decided already are we? One could dream.
He watched her pick a spot out on the beach. She looked around to see if anyone was watching and placed her bag on the ground. A warm breeze drifted pass and he inhaled. She was awkward in her skin, could smell her nervousness. She scanned the crowd as she set up her blanket and carefully sat down before she fully relaxed. No, his fragrant flower wasn’t comfortable at all. Yours? Draven shook the thought from his head, she wasn’t his, and he wasn’t even sure if he was even going to go-rounds with her. He could hurt her.
He watched closely, his insides knotting with a force proven to bring any male to their knees. The necessity to take her somewhere secluded where he could have his way with her consumed his thoughts more than once. This was bad for business on so many levels. He hadn’t bedded a woman in a month, which was some record for him. He usually only got like this towards the end of a full cycle, but now more than ever he was salivating at the bit. He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths. In …out. In… out. It didn’t help his situation. Instinct was taking over and before he’d even realized what he was doing he was standing over her, chest rapidly rising and falling as he silently stalked his prey. She was driving his beast crazy.
Her arousal from earlier permeated the air. It was thicker now that he was so close. Molecules of lust drifted between them. Kinetic energy moved from one body to the other, osmosis at its highest. He stood for several heartbeats attempting to gather his wits, and failed. The beauty tilted her head back and flipped her sunglasses up arching a brow in question.
He watched as she got to her elbows to sit up further, self consciously pulling the wrap over her legs. It was a shame, because she had sinfully gorgeous legs. Brown sugar laced with honey. Her skin shimmered when the sun touched her body. Her eyes a soft honey, glazed over to a deeper gold. Mahogany tresses mixed with red fell lazy on her face and spilled over her shoulders onto her bikini covered breasts. Draven's eyes made their way back to her lips, and he shuffled his feet to adjust himself.
She was nervous and aroused. He found it adorable. Beauty personified, and his oldest longest fantasies come to life. Lush woman and soft eyes, everything a man could desire. His senses worked overtime. He separated her scents from everything else around him. Giving up his good sense to be spelled by her, enchanted and trapped with nowhere to go but towards the sweet smelling bliss of her heat. Her friend wasn’t happy with his intentions. He was quite sure her friend was petrified, not only for her safety but for that of her friends. He tried for a friendly grin, but it must have come off in a different manner.
“We better go,” her friend said.
Idiot you scared them off.
“But we just got here Bells.” His flower whispered back.
Bells stared horrified. Why did he always have this affect on others? He was just like anybody else. Prickly sometimes, but for the most part, he did an admirable job at acclimating. Keep telling yourself that. He intended to be nice today, would be nice. Then you should have kept your wolf grin to yourself. Dumbass
He mentally assessed his situation. He was dressed for tropical fun. Open shirt, cargo shorts, and shoes. Who else would wear these ridiculous flip-flops? He was lucky he could even pull it off. Draven stared at the beach and then back at the delicate flower.
“Apologies, I only wanted to say hello.”
He turned, headed back in the direction he should have taken from the beginning. Away from her, she wasn’t for him. He’d already promised his father he’d settle down when he returned from this assignment. Would his father have been happy with his choice? Not that the choice was all his, but a wolf can hope. She was human, and humans were not for wolves. End of story.
* * * *
Jesminda was fuming from her early encounter with Mr. Hottie. Bells never cock blocked, so she didn’t understand what the problem was. They were here for fun but, because of him Bells was now acting extremely funny. She watched as everyone around them headed to what they deemed the nightlife in Belmopan. It wasn’t, but who was she to argue? She had a surprise for Belinda. She was taking her to the only real club in the city. It was underground and surrounded by tons and tons of ocean water. The walls were made of rock and glass thick enough to withstand the pressure from the water that surrounded it on three sides.
The Club owner Cyrian was a family friend and allowed them in free of charge. Named after his mother, Odessa’s was the place to be if you wanted to be anywhere in the city. The lights were dimly lit around the room in strategic spots, which left other corners of the club dark and hidden. There were no tables at Odessa’s, only the bar the length of one glass wall. The rest was dance floor.
“Close your mouth, fish.” Jes joked.
Be
linda’s mouth stood open a few seconds more, and Jes was pleased she was able to show her friend something she’d never seen before. Bells was tall and statuesque with beautiful raven black hair. It flowed to her waist in straight, silky strands. Multicolored feathers placed strategically in her hair all the time gave her an Indian-like quality with her warm-toned skin. She would constantly joke her feathers made her more mysterious and alluring. Her beautiful violet eyes glowed bright with wonder and mischief. The men in the club were riveted on her model form as she walked over to the bar and sat down.
“This place is amazing.” Bells whispered eyes wide with awe as she took in more of the surroundings.
“It is.” Jes nodded in agreement, taking a seat next to her.
“So um, where’s the ladies, in case I need to go? I don’t see any restrooms.”
“There aren’t any, if you need to go you have to step outside and hope the jungle doesn’t eat your ass.”
Belinda’s eyes got big and both women laughed in a fit of giggles.
“Seriously, you do have to go outside, make a right and you’ll see another structure and there you will find the golden throne. Don’t worry about it being dark, Cyrian always posts someone out there watching the restrooms, just in case.”
“Just in case?” Belinda asked.
“Just in case the jungle wants a piece of your ass.” The girls laughed again, and Bells put in their drink order.
No one bothered them as they sat at the bar drinking their island version of a lemon drop martini. Two parts Ciroc, one part coconut, and one whole lemon. The glass was rimmed with sugar and nutmeg, the perfect combination. Her drink was smooth and tangy as it splashed on her tongue. It didn’t take long for the warmth to heat up her body.
