Dark Lust: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Books 1-5)

by Kira Matthison

  I looked over at her honest face and remembered Sheng-li’s warning on her phone.

  “Nothing, really. Just let me know if you do, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll see you tonight.” I gave her a quick hug and waved as she turned to make her way to her next class.

  Then, fingers shaking with a heady mix of excitement and shame, I pulled out my phone.

  Can we go to the club again?

  The answer came almost immediately: Come to my office.

  Colton was, mercifully, gone when I arrived. Giving thanks for that—I didn’t think I could keep a straight face around such an innocent guy, what with the reason I was here—I hurried through the lobby and knocked on Donovan’s door before pushing it open.

  He smiled when he saw me. He was leaning back in his chair, suit jacket off and his sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His rough knuckles bore recent injuries. He raised one dark eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair.

  “So you want to go to the club again.”

  I didn’t even speak. I pushed the door closed and went to him, dropping to my knees between his legs. His hand came to rest on my head as I fumbled with his belt and drew him free. He must have been thinking about the club, because he was hard already. He groaned when I took him in my mouth.

  “Lily…” His voice was rough. “What is this?”

  I took my mouth off him just enough to answer, and even then, my fingers kept moving over his slick flesh. I met his eyes, and knew he could see the need in mine. “I want to go back,” I whispered. “I want to learn…everything. I want to see what you want from me.” I swallowed. “If you want me to…to perform…”

  His eyes darkened with desire and he pushed my head back down. His hips were moving now. He thrust into me as my tongue and my lips worked on him, and I heard his breath coming hoarse.

  “I do want that,” he admitted.

  Desire spiked through me. I moaned on his cock and took it as deep as I could.

  “I want them all to see me fucking you. I want them to know you’re mine. I want them to see what a slut you turn into when I’m inside you.”

  I gasped, and he tangled his fingers in my hair and wrenched my head back.

  “But I don’t want them even to see you,” he said roughly. “You’re mine, and mine alone. No one sees that ass but me. No one sees you submit but me. You’re not there for their pleasure.”

  “No, sir.” I stared up into his eyes. “Just for you.”

  “Good girl.” He bent to kiss me, and then he hauled me up and over his desk. I heard a drawer move, and he released me for a moment—just a moment.

  I drew in my breath sharply when I felt the toy. It was bigger than the last one, big enough that I wasn’t sure I could take it. I arched my back to offer myself to him, and he laughed, low in his throat.

  “Perfect. Don’t worry, Lily. I can be patient.” He was moving the toy slowly, in and out. It went a little deeper each time, a little wider, until he made a sound of satisfaction. “You took all of it, baby girl.”

  I bit my lip as I looked over my shoulder, and he smiled, pleased. His finger traced over my lips.

  “Now…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that tight little pussy of yours.” He parted me with two fingers, smiling when I gasped, and thrust deep into me.

  He fucked me hard, one hand in the small of my back to keep me pinned against the desk. Held down, stretched and penetrated twice over, I found my thoughts drifting to the show we had seen at the club. What would it feel like to be that woman, to have everyone watch—to look out into the audience and see Donovan watching?

  The thought was enough to bring me to the edge.

  “Put your hand between your legs.” The order was rough. “Do it. Make yourself come on my cock, slut. Show me how good it feels to have that toy in your ass and me inside you.”

  “Yes…” I could barely make out the word. I felt myself going over the edge with the first touch. “More. Harder.”

  He growled as he obeyed, and I surrendered to oblivion. There was only now: him inside me, taking what he wanted. He wanted this, needed it just as much as I did. When he came, I felt an instant of perfection—that I had given him everything he wanted, my own pleasure still heady in my blood, me clenching around him as my vision went black with pleasure.

  He stayed inside me when he was done, breathing hard, his fingers softening on my hips. I bit my lip when he worked the toy out, and then he drew away. He was looking me over when I stood.

  I blushed.

  “We can go back to the club,” he promised me. “I’ll take you. Soon.”

  “I’ll, uh…yeah. I’ll—” I gestured vaguely at the door.

  “Mmm.” He smiled at me.

  Colton, thankfully, had not returned while we were occupied. I made my way hurriedly to the elevator and back down, trying not to notice the stares of the men and women in suits who were clearly wondering why I was there. I had to bite back a grin. If only they knew.

  I’ll take you. Soon.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to work. I was supposed to be getting information from him. My smile died and I looked down at my crossed arms. I tried to ignore the voice that told me I was getting drawn in—but I knew it was right.

  It was later that night that my phone rang. I picked up, frowning at the unfamiliar number.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Miss Harris.”

  I swallowed.

  “I have some information that might help you.” Sheng-li seemed amused by my silence. “Do you want to hear it?”

  Book 5: Scandalous Lust

  Chapter 26

  Donovan

  I turned the handle of the whip over in my hands, watching as the tiny strips of soft leather twisted and fell in a waterfall. It wasn’t a heavy flogger, made to lay skin open; I had no particular desire for blood. The marks my palms made, the sort that faded quickly, were the ones I liked to make. Tiny reminders.

  The sort of marks that came with a gasp of surprise. Pain was not my goal, no—it was for her to know how completely she was mine. My breath came short. I had seen true submission before, but never like this, never like her.

  Lily was…

  The sound of footsteps outside the door recalled me, and I placed the whip in the drawer of my desk. It was gone by the time Hayden appeared in the doorway, for which I was glad—Hayden, ruled by his desires, was always looking for the same weakness in others. He had been trying for years to turn me into himself, at once sickened by his lust and driven by it, an addict in search of a miserable companion.

  Those who had assigned him to me had made a mistake when they trusted him; no one could trust a man like Hayden Wright.

  “What is it?” I looked up at him coolly.

  “Did you ‘question’ her?” His tone made it clear what he thought of my abilities to do so.

  But where Hayden liked to insinuate, I was always direct.

  “Is there a problem?” I sat back and laced my fingers together, appraising him.

  He flushed.

  “Is there a problem?” I repeated. My words were precise, cold.

  “She tried to distract you, didn’t she?” The accusation was sudden. His voice went to a falsetto. “’Oh, I don’t know what you mean. Here, let me suck your cock.’”

  I raised an eyebrow, my lips twitching. It should have been insulting—certainly, it was meant to be—but instead it was laughably bad.

  Hayden’s mouth tightened. “This isn’t funny.”

  “Okay, so it’s not funny.” I sighed. Whatever I might think of him, he was right about this. If Sheng-li didn’t like Lily... “She may have been asking questions there, but they weren’t related to…us. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.”

  “What else would she be asking about?”

  She’s homesick. It would be simple to say, and it would probably put his mind at ease. To my surprise, however, it felt oddly like a betrayal. I didn’t
want Hayden to know about Lily—I didn’t want him to think he could manipulate her the way he tried to manipulate everyone else.

  “It’s not important.”

  “She’s not important,” Hayden said quietly.

  I met his eyes. I always forgot how smart Hayden was; his weakness led me to think he had nothing going for him. But he was smart.

  I had to remember that.

  “She’s not?”

  “You can get your dick wet anywhere,” Hayden said crudely. “Remember that. You want one that looks like her? I can get someone sent to your place.”

  I blew out my breath. “That won’t be necessary. Is there anything else?”

  “Yeah.” Hayden leaned against the doorframe, hands in his pockets. “There’s another shipment coming in tonight. We’re supposed to be at the dock to inspect them.”

  “If they have issues with the handlers bruising the merchandise, they should find better handlers.” I was not amused. Looking over sobbing, terrified women was not what I’d had in mind for tonight.

  Hayden only shrugged.

  “Fine.” I lifted one shoulder in response. “I’ll see you there. I have work to do for now.”

  “One more thing.” Hayden hesitated. “Sheng-li wants to know what happened to Chun-mei.”

  “What happened? You know what happened.” My voice was cold. “I had Colton dump the body.”

  “So there was a body.”

  “You saw it. You were there; you saw what we did to her, did you not?” I held his eyes until he swallowed and nodded, and I felt my fingers clenched. “I did what I needed to do. Sheng-li doesn’t need to worry about her anymore.”

  Chapter 27

  Lily

  It was getting dark. I shivered, despite the stifling August heat, and regretted my choice in choosing to meet here. I knew Sheng-li was delaying to make me nervous and jumpy, and I hated him for it about as much as I hated myself for falling for it. Night wasn’t inherently any more dangerous, I told myself. The park was still full of people; I was hanging out near several picnickers.

  I was still nervous, dammit.

  “Miss Harris.” The voice was smooth, the fake accent out in full force.

  I kept myself from whirling around. I looked over my shoulder before I turned, and I met Sheng-li’s eyes. “Hello. So…what, exactly, do you want me to hear?”

  “It’s what you want to hear, Miss Harris, not me.”

  “As I recall, you were the one who enlisted my help.”

  “And you were the one who wanted to make sure that Mr. White could be trusted.”

  His words went through me like a bolt, and I stiffened. But I refused to be led this way. “I don’t recall saying anything like that.”

  “It was in your eyes, Miss Harris, not your words. Let us be frank with one another, yes? You…care for Mr. White. He is, assuredly, a catch—but you, being a smart girl, want to make sure that he is all he appears. You are wise to do so. Other women…have not been so discerning. Money does that, though, no?”

  I stared him down, my jaw set. It had such a mercenary ring to it that I was insulted. I wasn’t in this for Donovan’s money, I wanted to say, but the words froze on my tongue. It seemed, for reasons I could not articulate, as if that would only give Sheng-li more ammunition. My indignation always seemed to amuse him.

  “So I like to do my research,” I said coldly. “Perhaps I’ve been burned in the past.”

  What would I have found if I’d taken the time to ask around about Chris? I wondered now.

  Sheng-li’s smile widened. “It’s gratifying to find a woman with sense, Miss Harris. Unfortunately…” The smile died and he gazed out at the park. He looked genuinely angry. “I have learned something else.”

  It took me aback. I hadn’t thought that Sheng-li was a man who had genuine emotions. I bit my lip.

  “Are you all right?”

  From the look he gave me, he wasn’t in the habit of people asking him that.

  “Yes. Thank you.” The words were flat, automatic. He considered, and still did not seem to know what to make of the question. “Do you want to hear?”

  So he was returning the favor of my concern, in a way. My fingers clenched, and I strongly considered just walking away now. I would cut things off without having to know. It was tempting. But…

  “I’ll listen.” Was it hope that made me speak, or courage? I didn’t know.

  Sheng-li hesitated, but he handed me a tiny tape recorder. When I pressed play, a man’s voice came out softly, muffled. The recorder must have been in his pocket.

  “One more thing. Sheng-li wants to know what happened to Chun-mei.”

  “What happened? You know what happened.”

  I froze. That was Donovan’s voice. I held my breath, praying, but my prayers weren’t answered.

  “I had Colton dump the body.”

  “So there was a body.” The other man’s voice was a tangle of emotion.

  “You saw it. You were there.” Donovan’s voice was as cold as I had ever heard it. “You saw what we did to her, did you not. I did what I needed to do. Sheng-li doesn’t need to worry about her anymore.”

  The cruelty took my breath away. Sheng-li didn’t need to worry about her anymore. No harm could ever come to her again, because—

  “Miss Harris.” His voice was quiet.

  “I’m…sorry about your friend.” I managed to get the words out.

  “And I am sorry.” His eyes met mine, inscrutable. “I think, despite your questions…you thought highly of him. This must be difficult for you.”

  However kind he might be, it was clear from his voice that he thought I was a fool, and anger spiked. I gave into it with a rush, my head jerking up.

  “Don’t think you know me.” It was hard to get the words out without stumbling over them. “And don’t think you’re innocent. I know what you do.”

  I wanted him to stumble over himself to justify it, make a pathetic little show I could hate him for.

  He didn’t. “My innocence—or not—has no bearing on Mr. White.” His accent had disappeared now. “And you…can still help me. Help me find Chun-mei’s body.”

  “Why should I help you?” My voice was shaking.. “So you cared about her. What the hell difference does it make? You’ve trafficked how many others? You think I care how you feel about this one?”

  “Yes,” he said simply. “I do. I think you care, Miss Harris. I think you care enough that if a woman goes missing and her body is dumped in the city without a burial, you will help find her.”

  I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I kept my eyes from his and tried to think about anything, anything at all, that could make all of this mess make sense.

  “I’ll leave you,” Sheng-li said. “To think. To think about what you would do, not for me, perhaps—but for Chun-mei.”

  Still I didn’t speak, and he left, footsteps quiet on the grass.

  My phone was buzzing and I pulled it out. Donovan.

  Wondering where I was? Perhaps. I turned my head away, but the buzzing continued. With an angry swipe, I declined the call.

  I was still holding the recorder. What I should do with it was clear, and yet…

  “Here you go.” Officer Preston handed me a styrofoam cup.

  I’d shown up a few minutes earlier, wordless and in shock, only to find that Moua wasn’t presently available. His partner was, however, and he’d let me sit silently in his office, not pressing me for details.

  To be honest, so many people came through here every day that I hadn’t thought this man would remember me—but he had. He’d known my name, and told the bored secretary that he’d take care of everything. He’d gotten me seated behind his desk, and now he presented the cup of tea with a sad look.

  “Thank you.” My teeth were chattering. “You’re being so nice.”

  His mouth twisted and he perched on the edge of his desk. “I wish that was enough to make your day better, but I’m guessing it’s not.”


  I only shook my head. I couldn’t talk about this yet; it was too fresh.

  “Take your time,” he advised me. “These things…are hard to talk about.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes and he shook his head, taking the teacup away from me.

  “No, no. Stay calm. Try not to let yourself spiral out. The more you stay calm, the clearer it gets.”

  “I…” I didn’t want it to be clear. I wanted, desperately, to feel like I’d felt a few days ago, when I genuinely believed that I suspected Donovan of murder. I hadn’t really thought he’d done it—I knew that now. I hadn’t expected to feel shock when I listened to the tape.

  My phone started ringing again and I felt the panic rise. I could see Donovan’s name there—and now Officer Preston would know, if he hadn’t before.

  “You should speak to him.” Officer Preston held out the phone. “Try to be calm. Speak to him.”

  “I can’t—I can’t.” I grabbed the phone and shoved it in my pocket. “I can’t,” I whispered again.

  “Lily, if you know something—”

  But the door opened behind him, and Officer Moua stuck his head into the room. “Jenny said—” He broke off as he saw me. “You came to see me.”

  “I…yes.” I stood up. “Thank you, Officer Preston. You’ve been very kind.”

  “Of course.” He watched Officer Moua withdraw with a pleasant look, but he blocked my path when I tried to leave. “Be careful.” His voice was low.

  “What?”

  “Officer Moua has…an agenda. If you aren’t sure of something, don’t tell him. In the future, you can always come to me.”

  I swallowed, staring up at him. Officer Moua had seemed so sincere…

  But so had Donovan. Hell, so had Sheng-li. They all seemed sincere.

  “Should I not talk to him now?”

  “You can if you want.” He gave a tiny shrug. “But be careful.”

  It wasn’t exactly helpful advice. I pushed past him without another word and followed Moua down the hall to his own office. He was careful to shut the door behind him—a kind gesture, or a threatening one? I didn’t know anymore.