by Sedona Venez
Shit, I would never survive the night like this. I opened my legs slowly. “Okay, I'll keep them open.”
He kneeled on the bed, running a finger from my inner thigh to my vagina. “Darling, it looks like you need something.” He traced a finger over the wet folds. “You look all swollen.”
My mind was foggy, fighting the urge to lay myself at his feet. “Knox, I don't like this.” Who was I kidding? His slightest touch made me want to come. My mind was begging to submit to him, to give up control. This was dangerous, opening up a part of me that would leave me feeling bare and raw. Leaving me open to a curse that would cause more harm than good. I felt the part of my soul that had been sealed for years cracking open, and it was frightening.
My mind started rebelling. “Just fuck me, Knox. Let's be done with this.”
His eyes glittered with fury. “You don't give orders. I do. One more word and I'll leave you so aroused you won't be able to sleep.” He shed his pants and shoes and just stared. The thought of his tongue on me made me tingle with anticipation. He leaned his head in, driving his tongue into me. His warm breath blew over my sensitive bud. Then he took me between his firm lips, caressing my clit with long, sensuous swipes. He threw me over the cliff with such a vicious push that I panted as my clit clenched tightly. A slamming release shook me to my very core.
“Are you protected?” he asked.
I nodded—in more ways than one. He was human. There was no way in hell I could conceive with anyone but an Other who had mate-claimed me. His weight pressed down on me. And with no mercy, he drove into me. His thick erection stretched me. My body clamped down on him deliciously. His thrusts went from tortuously slow to fast, thrusting into me with an intensity that drove me over the edge and, with one big spasm, shattered me into oblivion.
CHAPTER 6
My eyes snapped open when, in one swift motion, Knox pressed me into the mattress with his lean, muscular frame. I didn't have time to speak before he brushed his lips tenderly across mine.
“No time for regrets, Storm.”
Tears sprang to my eyes as he took my mouth so gently and thoroughly that I was rendered speechless. Lifting his head, he just stared before brushing my hair from my forehead. “You are too beautiful for words. Damn, I love that well-fucked look on you.”
My heart pounded. This was not good. He cracked open a part of me I was uncomfortable feeling. A part of me that wished I could spend a lifetime in his arms, protected, happy, and loved. This sappy shit had to stop. There was no way in hell I was going to do this.
“Look, Knox. I'm an escort who just violated all types of Credence O. rules.” I paused, licking my lips and tasting him all over them. Swallowing hard, I pressed on. “Last night was good…”
He arched a brow mockingly.
I scowled. “Okay… it was fucking great. You uber Dom. You rocked my fucking world. But this can't go further than fling status. We are just too… different.” There, I said it. Now he would get angry, put on his clothes, and walk away. Problem would be solved. But his reaction was quite the opposite. He quickly rolled me, pulling me over to straddle him. My pulse raced as I stared down into his sea-green eyes with my damn betraying body molding against him, craving more.
“Let's get one thing straight. You belong to me,” he stated flatly.
My mouth opened with shock. “Fuck you, Knox. I don't belong to anyone. This. Is. A. Fling!”
His eyes narrowed as if this were the first time he was really seeing me. “I scare the shit out of you,” he stated flatly. “Why?”
I closed my eyes, swallowing over the emotions bubbling to the surface. “You don't know me, Knox, so don't pretend you do. My life is… complicated. Too complicated. Besides, where do you think this thing between us will go?” I paused, shoving my emotions down brutally. I was doing this for him. Cutting him off now was for the best. “I live in New York. You live…” I gestured wildly. “I don't know… everywhere but here. You're on the road all the time and I need stability. Someone who will be here for me. You're not that man.” I held my breath, waiting for him to roll me over, leaving me cold and safe from drowning deeper into an emotional abyss.
“That's bullshit and you know it. You belong to me. That is a fact.”
He was just too thickheaded to get what I was doing—saving him from me. I pounded on his chest. “Fuck you, Knox! I'm not property. I don't belong to you or anyone.”
“I see right through you, Storm.” He slapped my ass hard before running his hands over the globes, softly soothing the sting. “This time, trying to push me away is not going to work,” he stated calmly before rolling me over onto my side and moving off the bed. “I'm going to run a bath. Stay here.” His voice was cold as steel with eyes warning me not to move.
I just lay there, paralyzed, focused on his muscular butt and wide shoulders. My eyes trailing to the large, silvery grey wolf tattoo with eerie green eyes that looked like it was daring me to move. As soon as he disappeared into the bathroom, I scrambled off the bed, making a beeline for my gown and frantically snatching it up. I was so out of here. If he didn't believe in self-preservation, then I did. He was just too fucking stupid to realize I was doing this for him… A voice mocked me immediately. No, Storm. You're doing this for you. You're a damn coward.
Ignoring the voice, I grabbed my stilettos and cell. I didn't know how the hell I was going to get back home, but I was prepared to walk if necessary.
Knox suddenly appeared in the doorway, still naked and looking like some well-chiseled, tattooed Greek god. “Going somewhere?”
Shit! Looking at him with more bravado than I actually felt, I said, “I'm going home.” I licked my dry lips. “I have work to do.” My voice cracked.
“Not yet. I'm not done with you. I cleared my schedule to spend the entire morning with you. I have plans—wicked plans.”
I jumped nervously, trying to figure out if I could make it past him without being caught. His eyes narrowed before he crossed the room. Snatching the stuff from my hands, he threw it onto the floor.
Like some freak, my sex pulsed as I barely held myself back from kneeling at his feet, begging him to take me. “Stop being such an ass.” My breath caught when he grabbed my arms, pulling them behind my back, forcing my body against him. He caught my head, tangling his fingers in my hair and angling my mouth, leaning down to kiss me. My mouth dropped open and his tongue thrusted in. “Stay with me, Storm,” he whispered against my lips.
My lids drooped. God help me, but I was willing to give him anything. To hell with this. I was in control here. I wasn't some fickle college girl. I was a grown woman who enjoyed sex. And frankly, sex with Knox was as good as it ever got. I broke the kiss.
“I'll stay as long as we can experiment. I think I got the hang of this D/s thing.” I ran my hand across his tight butt. “How about letting me top you?” My lids lowered as I imagined all of the naughty things I'd make him do.
He snorted. “No!”
I ran my tongue across his lips seductively. He nipped it so hard I pulled back. “Shit! Ouch!” I cupped his tight sac. On to sensual persuasion tactic number two. “Why? I know how it works. Spanking, exposure, degradation, licking my clit… come on, baby—let me give you a well-deserved submissive experience.” I batted my eyes prettily.
“Not going to happen. I don't bottom.”
I ran my fingers over his manhood.
He growled low. “You give good head, but not even that can persuade me.”
“Mmmm, well then.” I sat on the bed, crossing my legs. “If you don't want to compromise, I'll just take a nap.” I leaned back on my elbows and waited. In a flash, I found myself swinging through the air and being slung across his shoulder caveman style. “What are you doing?” I wasn't one of those thin women, but he carried me like I was light as a feather. “Put me down.”
He slapped my ass hard, shutting me up. “Quiet, woman. The water’s getting cold.” He rubbed the globes of my ass softly as he walked across
the room and into the gorgeous Italian marble bathroom with a double vanity, a deep soaking tub, and a separate shower without breaking a sweat.
“How did I not remember how pushy you are?” I asked with a smile on my face.
He laughed in that husky way that sent chills down my spine. “Because you were too busy trying to run away from the inevitable.” He eased me into the lavender-scented hot water and then settled behind me.
I sighed with pleasure. The combination of the heavenly scent and the way my body molded against him filled me with way too much satisfaction. Closing my eyes, I just relaxed, stopping the barrage of reasons why this wasn't a good idea. He cupped my full breasts, squeezing them gently.
His manhood rose, pressing deliciously against my back. He grabbed a handful of my hair, twisting my head to meet his lips. Roughly, he thrust his tongue into my mouth, taking what he wanted. Our tongues tangled. Dueled. Retreated. I moaned, not caring that at this moment in time, I would refuse him nothing. He reached forward, hooking my legs over his knees, stretching them wide.
“Horny?”
“Yes,” I admitted. There was no sense in lying. I wanted him and there was no damn shame in that. Settling into his embrace, his arms wrapped around me as he buried his face into my neck, nipping it softly. Shivering, I knew that despite my best intentions, one night with him would never be enough. Double damn.
* * *
What is that annoying ringing? Forcing a droopy eye open, I raised my head from the pillow and then put it back down. I was deliciously tired. My body was recovering from being thoroughly taken in the bath, then several more times when we got out. Knox was insatiable, with extraordinary stamina for a human. And I loved every bit of it.
I rolled over onto the other side of the bed. It was still warm from Knox's body. Flipping over onto my stomach and pressing my nose into the pillow, I inhaled his lingering scent. Damn, I got it bad. The last thing I remembered was him kissing me before saying he had to go to concert dress rehearsal and would be back to take me out to dinner before we went to Ryker's charity fantasy ball.
I closed my eyes, ready to go back to sleep, when someone pounded on the door.
“Go away,” I mumbled before the door swung open with Light standing in the doorway looking frazzled.
“Damn, I'm so jealous. You look well-fucked,” she said before swaying forward on wobbly legs.
Damn. She had been drinking. “You're drunk already?”
She snorted. “I'm entitled to get a little drunk. I have a wolf-shifter sniffing around me like a lost puppy and an Alpha who's one step away from choking me to death. It's confusing at best.”
My eyes narrowed. “And?”
“And you better put on your clothes because shit just hit the fan.”
With a start, I sat up. “What happened?”
“Well, if you answered your damn cell, you’d know.” She plopped down into the chair. “That call that you didn't answer was the security company saying the alarm was tripped at the office.”
“Holy shit!” I scrambled off the bed, looking around the room frantically. “I can't find my dress.”
Light pointed over to the dressing table. “Knox left clothes for you over there.”
Running over to the table, I snatched up the dark jeans, putting them on quickly. Then I pulled on the black tank top that was body-hugging tight. If I wasn't so anxious, I’d kill him. He dressed me like some rocker chick. Annoyed, I picked up my stilettos, putting them on.
“Do we have a ride back?” I asked.
“Yep, pain-in-the-ass Ryker has a car downstairs ready to take us back.”
“Pain-in-the-ass?” I asked, hustling out of the suite.
“Ugh, just don't ask. Hate doesn't begin to express what I feel for him.”
We ran out of the mansion and into the waiting SUV. Speeding through the traffic, all I could think of was how shit just went from bad to worse. A sense of dark foreboding weighed on me. Things got even worse when we spotted the crowd gathered on the sidewalk. I didn't even let the SUV fully stop before jumping out in sheer panic.
A short, heavy man walked up to me, extending his hand. “Ms. Credence?”
I looked at the sloppily dressed man impatiently. “Yes? What happened? Was anything stolen?” I asked sharply.
The man looked at me curiously. “I have some questions to ask. First—”
I looked at him dismissively. There was no time to stand around. I took the stairs, two at a time, rushing through the front door, passing through the foyer of the house. I skirted to a stop when I saw the office crawling with uniformed and plain-clothes police officers. I jumped when the annoying man from outside walked up beside me, wheezing like he was about to pass out.
My heart pounded at the sight of the wide-open double doors to our custom-designed luxury estate safe. My pulse raced as I took visual inventory of the gold, cash, jewelry, and coins left by the thief. I stuck my hands in my pockets to keep them from trembling when I realized the real valuables were all gone—every single document that we had on our clients and escorts.
Light looked at me with shock before letting her face blank out. My mind raced as I looked around the office. All of our very expensive laptops were still where we left them. The information on them was encrypted, but it wouldn't take a sophisticated thief long to decrypt it. And without a doubt, this thief was very sophisticated. To have the skills needed to break into the complicated house security system, along with bypassing the biometric lock on the safe door, spoke volumes of the thief's ingenuity.
I was startled by the bizarre man's voice when he said, “Strangely, the thief left all of the valuables.” He looked at me with icy brown eyes. “So it begs the question, why would someone break into a safe and leave valuables?”
I tapped my foot impatiently. “I'm sorry. Who are you again?”
“Detective Burrows. I called you yesterday about your murdered employee.”
“She had a name… Celina,” Light responded crossly.
“Yeah… right… Celina,” Detective Burrows said before looking at me sarcastically. “So tell me, Ms. Credence, what exactly did they take?”
I looked at him coolly. There was no sense in lying; it would only raise more suspicion. “Company documents.”
He raised a brow. “Documents? What type of documents?”
I sighed heavily. “Look, Detective Burrows. Our documents contain sensitive data… our financial holdings and investments. My family has investments in all of the major industries.” This was true. Our family had amassed a fortune from being very savvy investors.
“Uh-huh—so there's no truth to that reporter's allegation?”
“Reporter?” I asked with more calmness than I felt.
“Jeff Hunter, who alleges that there's some dark, secret society made up of rich men who your employees—escorts”—he leered at me suggestively—“provide sexual services to?”
I had enough and wanted him out of my face. Pulling out my cell, I pressed the buttons so hard that I thought it would snap in half. “Hi, Reason. There's a Detective Burrows harassing me. Would you like to explain to him in lawyer talk why that's not such a good idea?” I extended my cell to him, tapping my foot sharply.
He backed away from it like it was a snake. “Come on, guys. Let's clear out.” He started to leave, but not before looking at me with ice-cold eyes. “I know you’re hiding something, Ms. Credence. And I won't stop digging until I find out what it is.” He eyed me with disdain before strolling out with way too much confidence.
I held my breath until I heard the door slam shut.
“Let me make sure that they’re out,” Light said before rushing out and then coming back in to stare at me. “It's clear.”
My breath was ragged as I put the cell on speaker. “Okay, Reason, they’re gone.”
“What the hell happened?” Reason asked.
“Someone broke into the office and stole every single document we had on our clients and escorts.�
�
Light’s hands were trembling as she gathered her hair, pulling it into a high ponytail. “This is bad. They were thorough… contracts gone—records documenting what client booked what escort, places, times, agreed-upon service fees… all gone!”
I got an instant migraine. My jaw tensed just thinking about all of the information that safe held. All going back centuries. Paper documentation was not my preferred method of doing business. I was more of a technology girl with documents encrypted on my laptop. But the contracts we had with our clients were arrangements dating back centuries, when paper ruled and a physically signed document was the only thing honored. A practice that was a recipe for disaster in the wrong hands.
“I don't understand. I thought you had a safe,” Reason said.
I paced back and forth. “We do, with a burglar alarm including a silent alarm function. It also has glass plate re-lockers and redundant time locks that keep the safe inoperable for a time. And on top of that, a biometric fingerprint-reading entry keypad.”
“The thief bypassed it all,” Light said tiredly.
“Holy shit! This requires major damage control, Storm,” Reason responded.
“Why? We don't even know what the thief plans to do with it,” I said, all the while shaking in my fucking stilettos. We all knew that this shit would be a catastrophe if the Other Council found out the information was stolen.
Light snorted loudly. “It doesn’t take much to figure that out—can you say blackmail?”
“If you want to hold off on letting the Council know about this, I understand. But as your best friend and lawyer, this is not my advice. The Council has ears in all of the low and high places. So by putting off disclosure, you're damning yourself to further scrutiny,” Reason stated.
“Understood,” I responded.
“Just let me know if you hear anything. In the meantime, I'll keep my ears open in case I hear something,” Reason said before hanging up.
The doorbell rang making both of us look at each other. No one should be ringing our bell without calling.
