I turn my head inward and give my own nuzzle before running my tongue around his lobe and drawing it between my teeth. Take that!
He lets out his own moan and grinds his hard cock into me. Has he even gone soft since dinner?
“I need to know where Jari is and if he’s okay.” My voice is hoarse with all the distress swirling around in me right now.
“He is fine. Mehki has been checking on him to make sure. We won’t let anything happen to him. As long as Rainer thinks you care about him, he won’t kill him. He likes to have leverage.”
“I do care about him.”
“What?” He threads his fingers deeper into my hair.
“I don’t just want people to think I care, I do care about him.”
“I believe you. You need to be careful of Lavi and Lucia. I will do my best to keep them from you, but Rainer has me handle too many responsibilities to stay by your side all the time.”
Naughtily, I run my hands down his back, digging my fingers in as I go until I reach his ass. I wrap my legs around the backs of his thighs and pull him to me with two handfuls of deliciously beefy cheeks. His breathing becomes harsh as he settles more of his weight on me.
I don’t have any idea what has come over me. An insistent drive keeps telling me I should rile him up.
“How do I know that you are the good guy in this situation? That you aren’t out to get me or my guys?” I breathe into his neck.
He doesn’t answer right away. He rolls his hips, mimicking the act even though we are fully clothed. Shivers work their way up my spine as I grip him to me tighter.
Not stopping his motion, he answers me.
“You don’t know. But I’m willing to show an act of faith so you know we have good intentions. After everyone goes to sleep, I’ll take you to see Jari. I want you, though. After you see him, I want to bring you back here and ravish you. I want to make you scream my name.” His lips curl against my cheek. “That actually works in our favor. Rainer won’t watch you so close if he thinks you will bond to me.”
He means it. He wants to sex me up in exchange for him taking me to Jari. If he and maybe his sister are my only chance of escape, do I have a choice?
Can he force a bonding if we have sex? I won’t bond to him. I can’t. I made a promise.
I didn’t promise Sage I wouldn’t have sex with others of his house, but if I do this, I’ll feel like I’m cheating on him. I don’t know if I can live with that. I also don’t know if I can live without making sure Jari is okay, seeing him with my own two eyes.
“I promised Sage I wouldn’t bond to another Janer member until we decide if he’s the one for me.”
He stops his movement and pulls back far enough to look me in the eyes.
“I won’t bond you. You have my word. I’ll even keep away from your mouth while we’re at it so you don’t take any chances. Believe it or not, I think Sage is the perfect Janer for you.”
I try to assess the honesty of his statement. Can he be telling me the truth?
“What’s in it for you then? Why have sex with me not to bond to me?”
Since I met Rand, he has been courteous, polite, charming, but he always seems to hold part of himself back. He’s aloof even. If he really is one of the good guys, this could be because he hides who he really is to navigate this shark pool.
However, as soon as the words are out of my mouth, he gives me the sweetest smile that starts in his eyes. No way is he holding himself back now. Stunned, I stop breathing.
“Love, why do you think someone would only want you for what you represent?”
I shrug uncomfortably.
“You are beautiful.” He kisses my forehead. “You are kind.” He kisses one eyelid. “You are loyal.” He kisses my other eyelid. “You are brave.” He kisses my cheek. “You are genuine.” He kisses my other cheek. “You are magnificent.” Rand ends on my mouth and kisses me sweetly.
He’s good. He’s talked me into a puddle of mush, his for the taking. I wouldn’t have expected this of him. Not from what I have seen so far. Is this the real Rand?
“I want to be with you because I desire you. No ulterior motives. I would never bond you without your consent.”
Without thinking too hard about this and how Sage or the others will feel, I find myself nodding my assent.
“Perfect,” he whispers so low I can barely make it out. He rolls off and expertly maneuvers me under the covers before joining me.
He curls around my back and, with the other hand, pulls my hair from between us. Smoothing his palm mover my stomach, he pushes his face into my neck and exhales softly. My hair whispers across my neck. His breath that is its own brand of erotic.
“Sleep for a bit. We can’t see Jari yet anyway. We have to wait until the house is asleep.”
“Okay,” I murmur.
Even with how sexually frustrated I am from our unfulfilled ministrations, my eyelids get heavy. Before I know it, I sink into unconsciousness as if I were truly weighed down by the figurative problems on my shoulders.
“Isolde.” I hear my name being called, but I can’t quite place why someone would call to me. Least of all here.
“Love…” A soft shake on my stomach rocks me and back and forth. “Isooolllddeee.” A whisper sung into my ear. Is that a thing? Can someone sing and whisper at the same time?
I don’t really care. Oblivion waits for me as I snuggle deeper into the pillow.
“Iss!” Whisper shouted this time, but it does the trick. My eyes pop open, and I take in a sharp breath.
“Shhhh… Easy there, love.”
I remember now where I am and why I need to be alert.
Rand pulls me deeper into his embrace. “If you want to go see Jari, we have to do it now.”
Without a word, I pull away from him and climb out of bed. I reach my arms toward the ceiling, putting in an effort not to make any stretch noises. It’s damn hard, but I manage.
Rand follows suit without making a sound. If I wasn’t watching him do it, I never would have known he was stretching.
We stay barefoot, I assume to make as little noise as possible, and we head toward the door. Rand slowly turns the handle and eases it open until he finally gets it cracked far enough that we can slip through. He must be afraid of any creaking since the lodge appears to be dated, although meticulously maintained. So that’s a valid fear.
He eases the door shut behind us, and his hand stays on the door knob for a full minute after he has the door shut. When he turns, I raise my brows in question. He mouths locked.
That’s a good idea. We don’t need to be ambushed when we are trying to sneak back in. Hopefully Rand and Ralina are the only ones with keys. That seems unlikely. Maybe he used his mind-melding powers to lock it in a way the key can’t open?
He leads me the opposite direction of the dining room and stops at a large woven tapestry. I kid you not, he pulls the tapestry away from the wall to reveal a trap door. He must be using his mind powers again because one, it appears to be made of some kind of metal, and two, it moves on its own.
I try to hold in my surprise and awe because I don’t want to come across as the amateur I am. So basically, I’m trying to give off the vibe of “hey, this is just another day in the life of Isolde Bardot.”
Once the door closes behind us, we are plunged into murky darkess. After a few minutes my eyes adjust enough to make out the passage way. Small disks on the ceiling about every five feet are dimly glowing, providing barely enough light to continue. A few feet in something fine and siky slides across my cheek. A squeek pops out as I jump backward. I really really hope there aren’t any spiders in here. The thought of so many little tiny legs crawling somewhere on my body, especially where I can’t see it, gives me the heebie jeebies.
“You okay?” Rand whispers as he stops and peers over his shoulder.
I swipe my face and pull one of my own hairs away.
“Yes, all good,” I whisper back, embarrassed.
It only takes a few minutes and two down staircases until we reach our destination. This has to be the same type of door at the foot of the stairs because it drifts open without any physical touch.
Low lighting flickers off the walls, casting deep shadows in the corners and by the floor. The candles can’t be very big to provide such little light. I don’t hear any sounds, so we carefully begin to extract ourselves from our hidden tunnel. Mehki is sitting in a chair, just out of sight from inside the secret passageway, with his arms crossed.
“I thought you two would never get here.” He doesn’t whisper, but he doesn’t exactly talk at normal volume either. I wonder if he is having any animals be his eyes and ears tonight. That could be why he feels so secure talking to us. What did Rainer say? Mehki mostly has power over canines? I suppose there could be guard dogs stationed around here somewhere.
“We wanted to make sure that there wasn’t the tiniest fucking chance of someone catching us, so we waited.” Rand sounds impatient as he pulls me down the hallway to another door.
“This is it. I’ll stay out here so you can have some privacy. You have one hour.” He happens to be holding the hand that bears my Levan mark on the wrist. He lifts it toward his chest as he examines my mark.
“I won’t tell you what to do, but if you want Jari as a mate, you might want to seal the bond with your time. The sooner you have all four bonds completed, the safer you will be. I wouldn’t put anything past Rainer, and having some extra weapons at your disposal is never a bad thing.” He grimly locks eyes with me as his thumb runs over my mark.
“What about our deal?”
Rand steps so close that he brushes against my chest, and he flashes a boyish grin at me that makes my heart beat faster. “We still have a deal. Don’t worry. I’m not reneging on you. A little secret for you.” He leans down, most likely to keep Mehki out of our conversation. “Mazzas are insatiable when it comes to sexual appetite. You’ll be fine to have an encore performance.”
Wow. I’m torn between appreciating his honesty and being outraged by his explicit comments. They don’t fit with the persona I have of Rand in my head.
I show him my back as I step up to the door. Beyond is Jari, waiting for me. Well, not waiting for me per se, but waiting. I twist the knob and push the door in as quietly as possible.
JARI, WHO HAD most likely been asleep, jumps up off the bed. This room looks identical to mine, only there are no windows. Either this is a basement guest room, or they have plush cells without window escape options for their less accepted “guests.”
The fierce scowl that covered his face quickly morphs into surprise and elation as he recognizes me.
Jari scoops me up and spins me around. The door snicks quietly behind me.
“Hey, Ranger Danger. You okay?” I wrap my arms around his neck and press my forehead to his. Damn, was it just this morning since I last saw him? Or maybe yesterday since it’s now the middle of the night.
“I don’t even care that you just called me some ridiculous name. I’m so glad to see you!” He peppers kisses all over my face as he sets me down on my feet. He runs his hands over my body, and while he is clinical in his examination, looking for injuries I’m sure, my blood heats.
“How have they treated you? What’s happened since I was knocked out this morning?”
“Come on, let’s sit down.” I sag onto the bed, my adrenaline at seeing Jari seeping out of my system.
Jari sits right next to me, plastering his body to mine as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, tipping my face up to his. He gazes at me as if he hasn’t seen me in a year. I’m sure he was as worried about me as I was about him. Seeing him and being in his presence settles something in me that I didn’t even realize was out of whack.
“I woke up here, and Rand’s sister helped me get ready for dinner. You wouldn’t believe who was at dinner! Rand’s mom and dad, of course, plus Mehki and LUCIA,” I whisper-shout. “Can you believe this? I don’t know who to believe and who is playing a dangerous game here.”
Jari’s eyebrows climb his forehead as he listens to me list the attendees of dinner.
“Mehki and Lucia? There is no way I would have pegged them as being in Rainer’s camp. Maybe they are just trying to gather information.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know either of them very well, but no matter whose side Lucia is on, I’m pretty sure her hate for me is real. And she seems like a vindictive bitch.”
“We can’t be talking about Sage’s Lucia. Are you sure it’s the same one? She’s sweet, even timid.”
“This was definitely her. She made several comments about Sage, and Rand even told her she was just jealous because he dropped her for me. Listen, Rand brought me here to see you. He said that you and I should complete our bond before Rainer tries to force a Levan bonding on me. Do you trust Rand?”
Jari doesn’t say anything at first. I watch his forehead crease and his lips purse, and I know he’s thinking hard about whether or not we can trust Rand. I appreciate his caution. He isn’t just throwing answers out just to make me feel better.
“I want to say yes, but he has always been his father’s man. But if so, why would he want you to complete the bond with me? That makes no sense if he is truly a follower of Rainer. Did he ask for anything in exchange?”
I swallow hard and close my eyes, giving one slight jerk of the head in confirmation.
“Well? What did he ask for?” Jari squeezes me against and gives a slight shake of my shoulders.
“He…us… He wants to take me to bed.” I cast my eyes to the side and finger patterns into the blanket. “I agreed because he said he would bring me to you. I needed to see for myself that you were okay. I haven’t slept with him yet, though. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a trick. I think he plans to help us out. He is the only one who has given any indication that he is against his father. Well, his sister made a strange comment that I don’t know how to interpret, and oh! Mehki knows you’re here. Rand said he has been checking on you to make sure you were okay. It almost seems like there is tension between Mehki and Rainer, and Rand made a comment that Mehki has to be here. Like, maybe he is here against his will. That has to be good, right, since he is one of your good friends?” I realize I’m rambling, but I can’t help it. I’m nervous after telling him what Rand asked of me.
Jari doesn’t say anything.
I turn my head to see what he’s doing. He is so rigid he may as well be made of marble. His jaw works back and forth, and his hands sit on top of his thighs clenched in tight fists. A vein throbs in his forehead and neck.
“What are you thinking, Jari?” I’m almost afraid to ask, but a bigger part of me needs to know.
“What I’m thinking,” he forces through clenched teeth, “is that Rand is trying to take Sage’s bond.”
“Jari.” I settle a palm over his forearm. “One, I told him I wouldn’t bond with him, and he said that we don’t have to bond to have sex, and two, we don’t know that Sage wants the bond.”
Regardless of that, I hate to see Sage hung up on someone who could potentially be batting for the other team. I admit to myself that I would be devastated if he didn’t want the bond with me.
“He could force you! Think about what Nato did. You didn’t even have a clue. That would suit his father just fine. And Sage does want the bond! Whether he admits it yet or not. He just feels bad about Lucia because they have a history. Not because they have some kind of burning love for each other. Believe me, if he loved her, there is no way in hell he would even consider bonding with you.”
“Shh…” I run my hand up and down his arm. He is getting louder, and I’m afraid someone will hear, other than Rand and Mehki. Actually, I don’t want them hearing this either.
“Do you think Mehki is one of the good guys?”
Jari shakes his head. “I thought so. He has been one of our closest friends as long as I can remember. I can’t tell you what he is doing here, though.”
“We’re
running out of time. Rand is only giving me an hour. Do you want to complete the bond with me? I can’t say that this doesn’t play into his hand if this is a trick, but I would rather bond to you than someone else Rainer tries to introduce me to.”
Jari leans away and loosens his hold on me.
“Wait, that came out wrong.” I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I fear I’m mucking this up. “Jari, I want to bond to you. I care about you. Would you complete the bond with me and be my Levan mate?”
“I would love nothing more, sweets.” Jari brushes my cheek with the back of his hand. “I don’t want you to sleep with Rand, though. I think that is a trick.”
“I agreed so he would bring me to you. He kept his end of the bargain. He told me that he wanted me to bond to Sage. That he thought Sage needed to be my Janer mate.”
“I don’t trust that. Too many things could happen if you go through with it.” Jari eyes me sadly as if he knows he can’t change my mind. I don’t like that I’m the reason he looks so desolate.
Scooting closer, I throw a leg over his lap and straddle him. Loosely, I close my arms around his shoulders and lean my forehead to his. I inhale deeply, taking his clean, stormy scent into me.
“I want you to be my Levan mate. Right now.”
His hands go to my ass, gripping painfully, and the heat in his eyes exposes his desire for me. For the bond. I can tell I’m wearing Jari down. I know he’s torn about what to do. The situation sucks, no doubt. I would much rather have bonded to him under less stressful circumstances.
But I want it to be Jari. I want him to be connected to me. I know it’s soon, but I have a feeling. The four boys who forced their way into my life aren’t a coincidence. It was fate, I say to myself with a smile.
“We’re doing this, Jari, but it’s gotta be a quickie. We can make up for it later.”
He belts out a short laugh.
“All right, sweets. You’re twisting my arm.” He stands with me in his lap and sets my feet on the floor. He yanks off both my clothes and his until we are standing here naked staring at each other. I laugh at his eagerness, and he joins in as he tackles me to the bed.
Marks of the Mazza: Reverse Harem (Mazza Series Book 1) Page 16
