by Zoe Forward
She hugged Riley and kissed his cheek. Stepping back, she noticed Matt scowling. “Of course, but I’m not going to another Wiccan thing. That is not for me.”
Riley broke into a huge grin. “Great. It’s time to get ready.” He paused, caught in Matt’s glower. “Didn’t you tell him what we’re doing?”
She squeezed Matt’s hand. “It’s nothing bad. I just wasn’t sure how you’d take this, but I’ve got to go do this thing with Riley. It should take a few minutes to prep, a few to do, and then I’ll be done.”
He asked far too calmly, “What exactly are you doing?” His blue eyes warned her he was at the edge of his tolerance for mystery.
Riley laughed. “Maybe this should be a surprise. She’s really extraordinary.”
Matt’s scowl deepened.
“I’m going to dance with Riley and do a little demo for everyone. That’s it.”
“Dance? You can’t. Not in public.”
She laughed. “Says who? Just give me a few minutes. Trust me, we’re good.” She slipped off with Riley.
…
Dance? Pleiades were forbidden to do anything other than stiff social dance in public. Matt had never seen a Pleiades really let loose, but according to Quinn it had the effect of making everyone watching so hot for sex that it was like throwing a match onto dry pine needles during a drought.
He should stop whatever was about to transpire. Just as his legs moved to take him in the direction she’d disappeared, the background music stopped.
The bride stood with microphone in hand. “Friends, family, welcome to our celebration. To get this party started I’d like to introduce this year’s National Amateur Latin Dance Champions: Riley Levine and Katherine Ramsey. My multitalented veterinarians.”
The lights dimmed. Sultry Latin tones filled the room. He tried to suck in air when Kat and Riley dance-walked onto the floor. She wore a green sequin-and-fringe outfit that showed far more skin than it covered. The fabric stretched tight to her curves when her hips started to rotate. The slit up her right leg went right up to… Holy hell, was she even wearing anything underneath? She kicked one of her heels in a way that made it obvious she was wearing something beneath, but the scant strip of green fabric revealed more secrets than he wanted any other man in this room seeing.
Riley wore a matching skintight, green, synthetic outfit with a shirt that was open until it tucked into his waist. Riley’s slim body was as limber as silly putty. He rolled his hips in a way that must’ve taken decades to perfect. He spun her, and that was when Matt realized there was no back to her dress. It went from a small spaghetti shoulder strap to her waist, showing off her elegant spine. Her red hair whipped across that expanse of naked skin in a ponytail of waves to her midback.
The two of them pelvis rolling through what he identified as a samba was like watching dancing sex. Quinn had been right. Riley was but an accessory. She was the show. Electric and erotic. Yet, she was elegant and hauntingly beautiful. His gut demanded he yank her off the floor and throw his jacket over her. But, he couldn’t move, let alone breathe. He was as spellbound as the entire audience, watching her. His body recognized this sultry witch on an elemental level. Blood surged to his groin.
He usually rolled his eyes at the calculated, showy way most pro dancers moved. These two made it look effortless and liquid. Watching her provoked his body into a heady mixture of jealousy and arousal.
Riley dipped her so low that her head almost hit the floor. From her upside-down position, her eyes found his.
In that moment, he realized there would never be another woman for him, regardless of whether she had or had not cursed him to dissatisfaction with every other woman. He’d tried to make do with look-alikes for a decade, but none had been her. Hell, he’d lost his soul to her the moment he’d found her at his frat party in college, even though he’d handled the morning-after part abysmally.
Somehow, he would convince her to be his. And to stay in his dimension. This would involve some dramatic life changes for him, but his life needed a makeover. This level of permanence cramped his gut with unease, but he wouldn’t allow another druid to claim her.
Shit, shit, and super shit. That meant he’d have to deal with Bryce and his bullshit long-term. He could no longer run from his heritage.
Riley threw Kat into a dip and fast twirl. His breath caught, fearing she’d fall. She smiled and the two promenaded off the floor with synchronized hip rotations. She was magnificent.
And she was his.
Chapter Eighteen
“What’d you think?” Kat asked.
Matt jumped.
She bit back a smile, pleased that she’d surprised him. She couldn’t read anything from him. Hopefully, she hadn’t shocked him too much.
“You guys were…pretty good,” he said noncommittally.
“Pretty good? I guess I’ll take that for now, but I think we were better than that.”
“You’re not supposed to dance in public as a Pleiad. It’s forbidden because of…that.” He waved at the dance floor.
“I don’t know what being a Pleiad means. What was so wrong with it? That took years of practice and a lot of competitions.”
His gaze raked her outfit. A flush highlighted his cheeks. He pulled her tight to him, and there was no question his southern hemisphere was jacked up. “It’s too much for most people to take, watching you move like that.”
“Was it too much for you?” she asked.
He pulled her down a hallway and whirled her into a dark, deserted closet. His mouth covered hers.
She slid her fingers through his hair, the soft strands making her fingers tingle. She loved his unique taste—wild aroused male mixed with Scotch. That, in combo with the endorphin high still circulating in her blood, had her teetering on the edge of wild abandon.
His stiff arousal pushed between her legs while his tongue swept her mouth.
A riptide of lust seized her, sweeping away insecurity and worry about the future. And blinded her with desperation to have him inside her. Maybe that could cool the fever of lust that burned only for him. A low moan slipped past her lips—a husky and helpless sound of need. Oh God. Yes.
He lifted to balance her against the wall, grinding his rigid erection against the scant underwear covering her core, which was already drenched for him. Damn him for being like no other—hard, ruthless, and dominant. Damn her traitorous body for desiring only him.
She reached for the fastening of the tuxedo trousers, freeing him. He groaned when she palmed him, and caught her mouth in another deep kiss that swallowed her answering moan. He slid her skirt up her thighs, bunching the fabric in his hand. And fingered aside the wet panties to swirl around her clit. One more pass and she’d explode. But those too-knowing fingers didn’t make that pass. Disappointment soared as she reached for that release.
“Please, Matt.”
“Please what?”
“Stop teasing. I need you inside me.”
He worked off her panties and then repositioned between her legs. He pushed into her slowly—thick, hot, and so hard. Her fingers dug into his biceps as she tried to wriggle to get him to move, to lose control and stop the torment. But his hand clamped her hip and held her in place.
He broke from her lips and whispered, “You shall suffer a bit for what you just put me through.”
“You’re killing me. Matt…please.”
He moved just a little deeper, the sensation setting off nerve ending explosions. “Here?” he asked. And then he moved a little deeper, nudging the section deep inside that sucked the air from her lungs. Fireworks exploded in her brain. Her wild cry gave him his answer.
He chuckled and flexed his hips in what wasn’t so much a thrust as an internal rub. Ruthlessly he stroked that deep zone.
She cried out again under the onslaught of intense pleasure. Her body clenched and convulsed on that edge, but she couldn’t quite get there. She begged, “Please…I can’t take this.”
“Yo
u can take it.”
She tried to move, to incite him to lose this vicious control he had, but he locked her pelvis and tortured her with another deep stroking.
Desperate to move, she sank her teeth into his shoulder.
He growled, and his body bowed. His control shattered. After several hard thrusts, her body clamped down and her mind exploded.
She was only dimly aware of the power of Matt’s convulsions as he pumped violently into her.
In the silent afterward, reality returned in bits. First, awareness of a dark closet lit only by light sneaking under the door, and the assortment of mops and buckets surrounding them.
Slowly he withdrew and pressed a cloth she suspected was his handkerchief between her legs, absorbing the wetness he’d left.
They both slowly straightened clothes, while thoughts of that’d-been-great-but-nuts swirled in her brain. And yet again, they’d forgotten protection. She needed to reiterate to him her inability to take birth control pills. Even so, the thought of another baby, his baby, didn’t bother her. That spooked her.
The world went blurry and started to teeter.
“We’re going back.” She quickly righted her clothes and then clung tight to him.
Chapter Nineteen
“I’m never getting used to the eyes burning part of this,” Matt grumbled.
Kat stumbled, blind and off-balance, reaching out for anything solid. His arm wrapped her waist and anchored her to his side. She leaned into him with a relieved sigh, impressed that he didn’t waver despite the fact he had to be fighting the same mental whirlybird that owned her mind.
She asked, “Where do you think we are?” Her head hurt too much to try to sense for thoughts or chance squinting for a visual.
“Looks like my house in the Hamptons. In the office.”
“You think it’s safe?” she asked. When he twisted as if glancing around, she gripped his arm.
He murmured, “I’ve got you. Can you see yet?” He enfolded her in his arms.
“No.” She relaxed and rested her ear against his chest, comforted by the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing.
He rubbed circles on her back.
“Mmm. That’s nice.”
Suddenly he stopped. His body snapped taut. “We’re not alone. I’ll handle this.”
“Handle what?” She peeked through cracked eyelids. The light from the windows seared through her skull.
“I knew it would work,” boomed a man with a Scottish accent. “I’ve never done a command summon on a Pleiad before, but this was getting ridiculous.”
Her eyes finally decided they were on board with vision. Four large men blocked the office doorway. One glimpse of the Scott who made that declaration and pain lacerated her mind. Her knees buckled, but Matt caught her before she fell and locked her against him. She gripped her head, hoping whatever had her brain in a vise clamp would halt.
Visions of her real mother flashed in her head. The pictures included the Scott. She remembered him now. Bryce Sinclair.
Daddy.
Scattered images of him in her childhood replayed as if someone had opened a locked door to memoryville. Despite her excitement at remembering her real past, her head screamed agony while memories poured in.
“What’s wrong?” she heard Matt ask, but his voice sounded faint and far away.
“Head,” she choked out. “Hurts.”
His large palm massaged the back of her neck. All head pain vanished. She took a deep breath and chanced an eyelid crack. No pain. Functional vision. He was her own personal miracle. She glanced up at him. “All gone. Thank you.”
“Did one of them try to hurt you?”
She shook her head and took a step away from him. “I don’t think so. I just remembered some of my childhood. I think it was memory overload.”
The two hulking men beside her father grumbled low to each other. A college-aged guy stepped beside Bryce. And Eli, who she hadn’t gotten a good look at before. Eli was the same height as Matt, and looked almost identical, except for the facial scar and different hair. His brother was a twin. Thank God he’d survived the earlier attack.
They had to be druids. That meant they could potentially hurt her using magic. A sudden surge of aggressive thoughts from the druids hit her frontal lobe. She staggered into Matt and groped for his hand.
“I don’t recall inviting any of you to my house.” He glared at his brother. “Eli. Are you taking sides?”
Eli shifted on his feet. “No. I am but concerned for your safety. And hers. My duty above all else is to ensure her survival.”
Matt glowered.
“I don’t recall discussing you get personally involved with her rescue. That wasn’t part of the deal,” Bryce said.
“What deal?” she asked.
Matt didn’t reply.
Bryce said, “The deal we made where he brings you to me. What the bloody blazes are you wearing, Katherine?”
“Long time, no see, Dad.” She experienced a fleeting nostalgic happiness at a reunion with her father. But terror that he or his friends might hurt Matt killed her joy.
“Dad?” Matt rounded on her. He pulled his hand from hers and stepped away. Betrayal etched his features.
“I didn’t remember until right now. My mother might’ve memory suppressed me when she left me in our alternate. I was only ten. Since I can jump dimensions, I assume those people that shot her with a poison dart didn’t reverse the poison.” She sought Bryce’s gaze and added sadly, “Or killed her?”
The sorrow on her father’s face was enough of an answer. He wasn’t at fault for separating them so long ago. Almost twenty years. A lifetime.
Then, she caught her father’s thoughts. I’ll see that gigolo in hell before he touches her.
She stepped close enough to Matt to be in contact. He must’ve sensed her fear since he didn’t move away. But tension thrummed through him. She may not understand the undercurrents, but there was some deep, very bad history here. That aside, he’d made a deal with Bryce? What kind of deal? Was everything Matt had said and done just a con? She couldn’t believe that. Just couldn’t. It’d shatter her soul to think he’d gone so far just for a deal. He’d already inflicted so much damage on her heart that if she discovered his complicity in anything like that she wasn’t sure she could recover.
She remembered his wrist tat. And now recognized it as the mark of a Sentry druid. That didn’t mean she trusted him 100 percent with her heart. Her life, however, that she knew he’d keep safe. But was his concern about her safety only to complete whatever deal he’d brokered with her father? Or did it have to do with Sentry vows?
“I repeat, what are you wearing?” Bryce demanded.
“She’s the National Amateur Latin Dance champion in her dimension. She’s…” His eyes met hers and went smoky. “Well, she’s a really good dancer.”
Her cheeks burned at the compliment. Warmth tingled her insides.
“Pleiades are forbidden to dance in public,” Bryce announced.
Just as she bristled to defend herself, the college-aged guy stepped forward. She caught some hazy naked images of her from his mind, in some very unoriginal positions, not that that kind of imagery from a barely postpubescent guy surprised her. He pulled her away from Matt and locked his lips onto hers. Revulsion hit hard. She bit his tongue when he tried to push into her mouth.
With a yelp, he pulled away. She palm struck his chin, sending him reeling.
Matt pounced, landing the guy on the floor with a knee to his chest and his hands wrapped around the kid’s throat.
“Release Jason,” Bryce ordered.
Matt gritted out, “The asshole has no right—” He flew off Jason as if tackled by an invisible linebacker. He bounced on the floor and slid until his head smacked against the wall. Then he gasped and clawed at his chest as if an invisible pressure crushed.
“Stop it!” she screamed. She knelt beside him, desperate to help him. “What’s wrong?”
Jason tugged her away from Matt. She struggled to get out of his grip.
“Knock it off, Bryce,” Eli said.
Matt popped upright, took one gulp of air, and lunged for Jason. He landed a brutal hook to Jason’s chin.
The kid stumbled backward, releasing Kat.
Matt threw Jason face-first into the wall. Jason rolled, exposing a bleeding gash on his head.
Matt stepped away. His head snapped around to pin Bryce. “I’m not fixing him. The next time he touches her, I’ll kill him.”
She pointed at Jason, who’d stumbled behind Bryce to rest against the wall. “What the hell was that?”
Jason massaged his throat and slid along the wall farther away from Matt. “Katherine? We’re destined to be together.”
“Who are you? There’s no chance of us doing anything together other than this.” She stalked to Jason and slapped him hard. She reached back to do it again, but Matt caught her hand and pulled her against him. And away from the druids.
He whispered to her, “He’s dead if he touches you again. Don’t give him the opportunity.”
“I can’t believe he did that.”
“Remind me again and I’ll kill him right now.” His deep blue eyes promised death.
“Step away from her, Matthew. Now,” Bryce ordered.
She detected the energy notch up a few degrees in the room. Terror hit hard. In her mind she screamed, Someone help me. They’re going to hurt him.
Within seconds she heard voices from several women. The most prominent asked, What’s wrong? Is this my lost sister?
Who are you? Kat asked.
I’m Charlotte. I saw you at that Wiccan thing. I’m sorry if I scared you. You are one of us, a Pleiades. What’s going on?
The Pleiades were able to connect mentally? Cool. And, she really might be one of them.
She thought back to them, I’m at Matt’s house in the Hamptons. Matthew Ryan. We were in my world and now suddenly here. I thought I was getting better at this jump thing. The druids here might hurt him.
