by Liliana Hart
“Suck on them,” she demanded.
“Oh, darling,” he said with a smile. “You forget that I don’t like to take orders.” Instead of doing as she asked, he very deliberately took one nipple between his teeth and bit down gently.
“Ohmigod,” she moaned as he tugged slightly.
Only when she was squirming did he do as she demanded and put his mouth over the taut bud, suckling with firm pressure.
“Your breasts have always been so sensitive,” Dante rasped. “I bet if I kept going, you could come without me touching any other part of you.”
“Yesss,” she hissed. “Maybe another day,” he teased, and pulled away from her.
“Bastard,” she bit out.
“Name calling will get you spanked once we’re out of here,” he said, kneeling in front of her. His own need was raging out of control, and he found his patience wasn’t nearly as strong as he thought it was. And then he saw that her black pants had an elastic waist and he almost sang the Hallelujah Chorus. He tugged at the elastic band of her black pants and she was able to help push them down to a certain point with her hands tied behind her back. He managed to get them down to her ankles.
His gaze was even with the thin scrap of material that covered her mound. He could smell her desire, and his mouth watered to taste her. He grasped the lace between his teeth and tugged sharply, and the flimsy lace fluttered to the ground.
“I’ve missed your taste,” he said, tracing a finger along the bare folds of her pussy.
“I’ve missed you tasting me,” she said, her voice hoarse with need.
“You can’t hide your desire,” he said, kissing her thigh. “I can see it.” And then he licked at her like a cat lapping at cream. “I can taste it.”
She widened her stance for him, but she was hindered by her pants and the shackles, and he smiled at her impatience. Teasing her had always been one of his greatest pleasures, but he was reaching his own threshold of patience. He didn’t give her warning. His mouth closed over her swollen clit and he devoured.
Liv screamed and her knees buckled as pleasure racked her body. His tongue swirled and his mouth sucked, drinking in her desire.
“Dante,” she said. Her hips bucked against his face as she came, liquid desire coating his tongue.
He couldn’t wait any longer. He stood and said, “Your turn,” and she stared at him out of passion-glazed eyes.
“Am I still standing?” she asked, her words slightly slurred.
He grinned, his ego nicely boosted. “Yes, darling. Now turn around and use those magic hands to undo my trousers.”
It took a few seconds for the words to penetrate her brain, and a few more seconds to figure out which way she could turn and have the most leeway. It took a few tries, but she was able to get her fingers to work well enough to undo the button and zipper, but she was confused by the skin suit he wore beneath.
“There’s just a flap,” he said, gritting his teeth and her hands wreaked havoc with his iron-hard cock.
By the time she freed him, he was down to the last vestiges of his control. His shaft was thick and impossibly hard, his cockhead glistening with pre-cum. No one had ever turned him on like she did, and he was like an unpracticed teenager, ready to explode at the first feel of her wrapped around his cock.
“Turn around,” he told her in a harsh whisper. “And spread your legs as wide as you can.”
He pressed her against the wall before she had a chance to get her bearings, and then he probed against her until he found the slick opening. He pushed inside of her, groaning at the wet heat that surrounded him.
“Jesus, Liv,” he said. “You’re going to kill me.”
“Just don’t die before I come,” she panted.
They were pressed together and there wasn’t much room to maneuver with the limitations holding them back, but already he could feel the texture of her vaginal walls change as she slicked and her temperature got impossibly hot.
“Don’t just stand there,” she moaned. “Fuck me.”
His balls tightened at the command, and he did as she bidded. “So tight, baby,” he said, gritting his teeth. He pulled out of her, reveling in the feel of her muscles milking him, squeezing him so tight it was almost difficult to move.
Sweat dotted his skin and his jaw clamped tight as he focused on staying in control until she came again. Her breathing was shallow and little mewls escaped her throat. Her pupils were dilated so her eyes looked black.
He pulled almost completely out of her, waiting until her eyes focused on his, and then he said, “Hold on,” and thrust into her over and over, hammering against her with a force that brought her to her toes.
Her head banged against the wall, but she didn’t seem to care, and his teeth clamped down on her shoulders as he held himself in check, desperately wishing she found fulfillment soon.
His balls tightened against his body, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer.
“Damn it, Liv,” he growled, feeling the change inside her as her orgasm was just on the precipice. “Come for me.”
Even as he felt himself losing the battle to contain his own orgasm, he felt the liquid heat intensify around his cock, and the slow undulations as she came apart around him.
“Oh, God,” she screamed, her body going rigid as it shuddered against him. His own orgasm was ripped from his very soul as he exploded inside her.
She continued to tremor around him as he collapsed against her and tried to catch his breath. Fucking Liv was even better than he remembered. And if he had his way, he’d be doing it again soon.
LIV WAS WORN out and weak in the knees.
She couldn’t imagine what she looked like, but if it was anything like how she felt, it couldn’t be good. Dante had taken everything from her. Again. She’d been determined to hold back. To only take her pleasure and say to hell with his needs. But he’d knelt before her and pleasured her selflessly. And then he’d fucked her into oblivion, making sure she came again, even though she could see the strain holding back had caused him.
His release coated the insides of her thighs and she smelled of sex and sweat. She’d never felt more awkward in her life. She was completely helpless to cover up, and if her luck held, the soldiers would probably be back in at any moment. After everything they’d just done, she couldn’t even look Dante in the eye.
She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to get her emotions in order. Sex with Dante had never been simple. She didn’t know why she’d thought it would be now. All she knew was that it was best to get away from him, however she could.
“There’s still time before dawn,” he said, nodding toward the barred windows.
“Lovely,” Liv said. “That gives us more time to stand around with our pants around our ankles. The firing squad can’t come soon enough.”
“Now, don’t get angry …”
“Because that’s not how every epic fight begins.”
Then she watched in open-mouthed awe as he arched his shoulders back, the concentration on his face intense, and then seconds later the restraints on his wrists dropped to the ground.
She felt the blood rush to her face. “You could’ve done that the whole time?” she asked hoarsely. “The whole fucking time?”
“Yes, but in my defense, I wasn’t thinking clearly while I was imagining myself buried inside of you.”
“Bullshit,” she said. “You winked at me. You had this planned all along.”
“We needed to get some things out in the open, and this was an excellent way to do it. You have to admit you feel better. You got to tell me how you feel, and the sexual frustration is gone. It’s like therapy.”
“I’m going to kill you,” she said. “Get me out of this.”
“Maybe you should calm down before I release you,” he said. “You look like you’re about to have a stroke.”
“Get. Me. Out. Of. This,” she said, enunciating each word clearly.
He sighed
and then reached out, running his fingers over the back of her scalp and pulling out a hairpin. “Nice wig, by the way. I still like your natural hair better though.”
“I’m so relieved,” she said sarcastically, making him grin.
He leaned down and had his shackles undone in a matter of seconds, freeing himself completely, and then he righted all his clothes while she stood there impatiently.
After what seemed like ages, he leaned down and undid her shackles, and she resisted the urge to kick him while he was down there. Then he turned her and removed the tape from her wrists.
Liv rubbed at her wrists, straightened her clothes and stretched out her back, taking a couple of deep breaths for deep measure. It didn’t help. She launched herself at Dante, getting in a couple of good jabs since she’d caught him by surprise.
He let out a laugh, blocking her next punch and pulled her in close so her arms and legs couldn’t do as much damage. His laugh infuriated her even more, and before she knew it they were rolling on the ground, her fists pounding against his chest.
And then she wondered why her vision was blurry and realized she was crying. She rolled off of him and lay on her back, her breath heaving in and out as she tried to get herself under control. The tears continued to fall, but she didn’t care.
He hadn’t tried to fight her back, or really even defend himself all that much. He’d let her whale on him, holding her close as she let out two years of anger and grief.
Damn him. She’d always been strong. Ever since Elizabeth had been taken. She’d hardened herself and kept her focus sharp. She’d learned to compartmentalize her feelings and keep them shut away in a little box. She’d learned to do the job she’d chosen and do it to the best of her ability, honing skills that very few women could muster. Strength and courage had always been her battle plan. But she’d failed this time. She wasn’t strong enough.
Dante rolled toward her so that he looked down at her from above, his face more serious and searching than she’d ever seen it.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I truly am. I hate myself that I hurt you like I have.”
“Too little, too late,” Liv said, her breath hitching.
“Maybe so,” he said. “But I’m sorry anyway. You have no idea how much I admire you. You’re insanely gifted at your job. You’re smart and funny. But I’ve realized I overlooked an important part of your spirit when we were involved before. It never occurred to me that you could be hurt. That you could love me the way you did. Because I didn’t see myself as deserving of that love, so why would you give it so freely?”
His thumb brushed at the tears on her cheek, but she wanted to cry more. How much she would’ve loved to hear him speak those words before. He’d known her body. But he hadn’t taken the time to really know her. And if she was honest, maybe she hadn’t known herself as well as she should have. She’d been so busy cultivating an image of toughness and attitude that she’d neglected part of herself.
Her therapist had been right. If she didn’t find a healthy outlet for her anger, it would explode, and she wouldn’t be able to repair the damage. Liv looked up at him, her eyes swollen, and stared into the depths of blue. She had to let him go, no matter how much she wanted him, no matter how desperately she’d craved his presence. Dante could never be what she needed.
Almost as if he read her mind, he leaned down and kissed her softly—tenderly—and then he rolled away from her and shifted into a sitting position.
“I’ve got to tell you something important,” he said.
Her heart hurt and her body was heavy. Gone was the after-sex euphoria. “I just can’t right now, Dante. Leave it be, and let’s move on.”
“I wish I could, but this is important. We’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to hunt down Raj Mittal. There’s no doubt in my mind that he has the girls and the launch codes, and you and I can stop him. But there’s another component to this puzzle.”
“What’s that?” she asked wearily.
“Your sister is alive.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“You never struck me as cruel,” Liv said, “but I guess I’ve come to realize that I never really knew you at all.”
A roiling sickness moved through her and she rolled to her hands and knees. Self-loathing filled her. When would she learn? Just because a chemical reaction existed between them didn’t mean there was anything deeper. At least, not on his part. It was her stupidity that kept her emotions in flux. She’d wasted too much energy on her emotions the last two years. It was time to bury Dante Malcolm in the past. And leave him there.
She moved to stand, but he put a hand on her shoulder. The look she cast him must have given him pause, because he removed his hand slowly and straightened up.
“I’m not being cruel, and I’m not playing games,” Dante said. “What I will promise you from this point forward, no matter what happens between us, is that I will not lie to you.”
She snorted out a laugh and got to her feet, stretching her sore muscles and making her way toward the latrine. She examined the grates that led into the sewage tunnel, which would eventually lead to her freedom. And then she was going to fly back to London, ask Beck for her job back, and go through the proper channels to hunt down Raj Mittal, and hope to God she could get to the girls before they were sold.
“Liv, you need to listen to me,” he said.
She knelt by one of the grates and pulled at it, but she didn’t have the strength to lift it. He knelt beside her and added his strength to hers, but the grate was immovable from a century or two of disuse and things she didn’t even want to think about cementing it in place.
“Elizabeth is here in the palace, Liv. I saw her. I thought she was you.”
“Do not say her name again,” she said coldly.
“Fine, but you’ve spent almost your entire life looking for her, and I’m giving you the information you’ve never been able to find on your own. I would listen if I were you.”
“Funny how you didn’t mention all of this before we had sex. Just like you didn’t release us from those stupid manacles. Everything serves a purpose for you, doesn’t it, Dante?”
“The manacles, yes,” he said. “I’ll admit that I wanted the time with you. But sex was your choice, and you know it. I just presented the opportunity if it was what you wanted.”
“How fucking noble of you,” she said.
“But your sister is a different matter. Something isn’t adding up with her. There’s no record of her being a permanent resident here. There’s no information about Mittal having a longtime lover or long-term relationship. But that’s what they have.”
“Elizabeth would never willingly be with a monster like Raj Mittal,” Liv spat. She was so angry her hands were shaking.
“Not the father,” Dante said. “The son. I wasn’t expecting to find anyone but Shiv Mittal up there. But they were there, and believe me, they’re most definitely involved.”
“So now you can add ‘voyeur’ and ‘perv’ to ‘liar’ and ‘thief’.”
“My point is,” he said, exasperation in his voice, “that she wasn’t a one-night stand. The bedroom was theirs. And I guarantee you that, when Mittal was evacuated after we set off the alarm, she was evacuated with him.”
“Fine. But it’s been almost twenty-five years,” Liv said. “Maybe she just has a strong resemblance to me.”
“She recognized your name when I said it,” he told her.
The sob caught her by surprise, and Liv buried her head in her hands and tried to hold it together.
“I thought she was you,” Dante said. “I heard them making love in the bathroom, and when she came out and discovered me in the room, I was furious. And jealous. I thought she was you. But when I said your name, she went on the attack. She told me I wasn’t going to take her, and then she punched me in the face, in the exact spot you did, I might add, and then she kneed me in the stones so hard I saw stars.”
“Too bad she didn’t damage a
nything permanently.”
“I’m sure that’s what you were thinking ten minutes ago when you were creaming around my cock.”
“A lapse in judgment,” she said stiffly. “It won’t be repeated.”
“Whatever your feelings are for me—”
“Which would be murderous rage,” she interrupted.
“—you need to think about this logically,” he continued, ignoring her. “They’ve gone to a lot of effort to make sure Elizabeth hasn’t been tracked down all these years. They keep her hidden from the public eye, but those who live in the palace must be loyal enough to keep the secret for her and Mittal.”
“People tend to be loyal when they can be punished by death.”
“True,” he agreed. “She recognized your name, but she chose to stay.”
“So you say,” she said. “If what you say is true and Elizabeth is here, then I’ll find a way to talk to her without her being coerced in any way.”
“I can help you,” he said.
Liv snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I think you’ve done enough. I’m not even going to ask what you were doing in their bedroom listening to them have sex in the first place.”
“When you knew me before, I was British Intelligence,” Dante said. “That was never a lie. I was a good agent, and I was able to incorporate my background and the circles I ran in to my advantage. But I grew bored with it. The kind of work we do isn’t all James Bond–type missions, though there are moments of high danger and intensity. So when the chance to become Simon Locke was presented to me, I took it.”
“What do you mean, it was presented to you?” she asked, eyes narrowing. “Someone approached you?”
His mouth twitched and he said, “You read the file I gave you on my encounter with the real Simon Locke. That was the truth, and I won’t lie to you anymore. But there are also some things I can’t tell you. It’s not just about me, but others’ privacy.”
“An honor code among thieves,” she sneered.
“Of a sort,” he said. “I loved living a double life. It kept my mind sharp. Like a puzzle. Keeping the lies straight between both identities was a challenge. Staying ahead of the game was invigorating.
