“All right, Moriah, are you ready now? As I said, it’s Tuesday and I’m hungry. Since you’re not cooperating, I think we need a little something extra to keep you occupied.” Dante advanced slowly. If she wanted to object, she’d have plenty of time.
“You want to tie me up with that rope?” She tilted her head.
“Only your hands this time. Later if you decide you like it, we’ll play with it in other ways.” He stopped beside the couch.
“My hands in front of me or behind me?” She drew in a slow breath.
“In front of you. I’d like you to put your hands above your head after I tie them.” He held out the rope. Cael and Thane were both out of the house and couldn’t watch her. With his focus elsewhere, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“Okay, tie me up. But you’re giving me something to pull you to me.” She held out her hands.
“Above your head. They’re supposed to remain above your head.” He lifted his eyes upward. What had he done to deserve a huge tease for a mate?
“Um, but I like touching you.” She trailed her fingers over his chest.
“I can see that we’re going to have some difficulty with you. I think you’ll enjoy being tied up. In spite of your sassy attitude.” He secured the rope around her wrists. The red contrasted beautifully with her golden skin. Can’t be too tight. He kneeled and checked it.
She twisted her wrists. “It doesn’t feel too tight.”
“It’s not supposed to be. Now lean back against the couch and put your hands behind your head. You’re going to like this.” He squeezed briefly.
“All right, show me what you can do.” She leaned back and put her bound hands behind her head.
He tugged her pants and panties off. Her silky skin was far sexier than any piece of lingerie. He slung them in the direction of the chair, but they sailed wide, plopping on the floor. The woman in front of him shifted, widening her thighs. So beautiful. Her sweet scent rose. He spread her legs.
The lips of her pussy glistened with juices. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her thigh. A shiver shook her. He smiled. Such an intense response. He’d definitely build on it.
“You won’t regret this.” He widened her thighs and hooked one over his shoulder.
Her hips slid closer to the edge of the couch. She wriggled, but left her hands above her head. He eyed the slick flesh again.
He lapped at her. His tongue slid up one side of the plump lips and traced down the other. Her legs shifted restlessly.
“Fuck.” She lifted against him.
He chuckled. She liked it. Maybe later, he’d see how much she could think.
His tongue slid over her clit. Sweet, slightly musky essence filled his mouth. A rumble of appreciation rolled through him. She was addictive. Her hips rolled upward.
“Is this how you want me to touch you?” He drew his tongue down and gathered some of her juices.
“Yes.” Her thighs pressed on his shoulders. She tried to pull him in close.
“You keep those hands up and I’ll keep licking you. If you bring them down, I’m going to stop.” He tugged her as close as he could.
“Dante.” Her voice lowered. “Don’t order me around.”
“Do you really want to argue with the man between your thighs? You love this.” He ran his teeth over the nub of flesh. A shiver tore through her. He could do this until she was begging him.
“Fuck, yes, I do. What woman wouldn’t?” Her hips twisted.
The desperation thrilled him. He leaned in and closed his mouth over the nub. So good. He tapped it a few times with his tongue before he sucked on it.
Moans fell from her lips, and she tried to press harder against him. He held her where she was.
He pulled back to nip at her thigh. She tensed and hissed. His body tightened, and blood rushed to his cock. A low throb built. He took a deep breath. This was about her pleasure, not his.
“Lick me again.” She hooked her other leg around his body.
He glanced up. Her lips glistened and her body bowed as she strained upward. Damn, I should have taken off her shirt and bra. Then I could see her breasts bobbing and those nipples pebble with desire.
He sucked on her thigh, leaving a red mark. With luck, that would color up nicely. “That doesn’t sound like a request.”
“Dante, I’m so going to get you back for this.” She lowered her hands and gripped his hair.
“Threatening and you’re disobeying, too. I told you I’d stop if your hands lowered.” He shook his head and lowered his mouth to her thigh to hide a grin. “Ask me nicely and lift those hands back up. I’ll give you what you need if you do that.”
Her fingers tightened briefly in his hair. Stings prickled over his scalp. She lifted them back behind her head.
“Please, lick me again.” She took a slow breath.
“That sounds like a good request. I say you should give her what she asked for.” Cael’s voice boomed into the quiet.
Dante looked up. Cael leaned against the wall near the doorway.
“Why don’t you come over here and give her some attention while I do what she asked?” Dante smiled.
“I can definitely do that.” Cael nodded and strolled across the room. “The first thing I’m going to do is unbutton this shirt.”
“I thought of that after I’d lowered into my present position.” Dante pressed a kiss to her thigh before he turned his attention back to the sweet flesh in front of him.
He lapped at her clit. She moaned. Was that because of what he was doing, or had Cael already started giving some attention to her breasts? He didn’t lift his head, although the temptation throbbed through him.
Dante sucked at her clit. She moaned and bucked against him. He licked and scraped at the sensitive flesh. Juices flowed from her.
She gasped. Her legs tightened around his shoulders. She moaned, the sound broken. Her hips lifted against him. Tremors shook her body, climax taking her.
He ran his tongue over her, but stayed away from her clit. She needed to be soothed and to come down slowly. Her body relaxed. He lowered her to the cushion and glanced up at her.
Cael’s hand cupped her breast, and his thumb slowly brushed back and forth over the distended peak. He pressed a kiss to her lips. She slowly raised her hands and let them down in front of her.
“Did you like being tied up, sunshine?” Dante asked.
“I don’t mind it, but I don’t think this was anything like really being tied up by you. The only thing restricting my movement was the fact that I kept them above my head for you.” She wriggled her fingers. “If I tried, I could probably get out of this.”
“I wasn’t trying to make sure you didn’t slip free. I only wanted to make sure that you felt a little restriction and the press of the rope on your skin.” Dante patted her thigh.
“If you didn’t mind it, we could try it again sometime and let you feel what it’s like for the rope to be attached to something.” Cael lowered his hand.
“I wouldn’t mind experimenting some more. I wasn’t scared, and I know you won’t leave me in an uncomfortable position while you go off and drink coffee or something.” She drew her fingers over his cheek.
“We wouldn’t ever leave you alone while you were tied. You’re too vulnerable like that. Something could happen while we’re out of the room. It might not be likely, but we wouldn’t take the chance.” Cael planted a kiss on her lips, before turning to Dante. “So what brought this on?”
“She looked sad. Actually, she was worried about the Gobel. She was wondering if it was always like that. I tried to reassure her, but I wanted to take her mind off of it.” Dante ran his hands up and down her thighs. “Did it work?”
“It definitely got my mind off that damn thing.” She grasped his hands. “Untie me now?”
He grasped the rope and unfastened the knot before he unwound it from her wrists. He looped the cord.
“But you’re thinking about it again. Maybe we should take you into
the room and see if we can wipe that thought away so that it’s out of your mind.” Cael grasped her hand.
Dante’s body tightened. Damn. That was a wonderful idea. What would she think of it?
“I’m not sure if I’m worried enough to need it, but I’m all for going to the bedroom and seeing if you can do it.” Moriah laughed.
Chapter Twenty
On the way home, finally. The slowly dipping sun washed the ocean in deep orange and red. Dante guided the car around the turn. The tension in his shoulders eased. He couldn’t wait to see Moriah.
A flicker of dark color moved across the rearview mirror. He glanced over. The front end of a big truck filled the rectangle. His car jolted. He tightened his grip on the wheel. Fuck. Who the hell is that? At least two dark forms sat in the vehicle. It could be humans. The lighting was too low to pick out details.
He pressed his foot to the accelerator. Need to get to the community or closer to it. An ache built in his jaw. No car had passed in a while. Not coming or going.
The truck’s bumper slammed into the back end of his car. His breath caught in his throat as his car swerved. He turned into the skid. The truck rammed him again before he could straighten it out.
“Shit.” Dante corrected, but it wasn’t enough. The car bounced over the grass, careened up an embankment, and hit a tree.
Dante whipped forward. The seat belt tightened at his chest and waist, stopping him. Air rushed from his lungs. For a moment, he blinked. Move. They’ll come to attack.
He unbuckled and opened the door, stumbling out of the car, sore and tight as if a fucking band squeezed around his chest. He struggled to draw in a breath.
Two men rounded the back of the vehicle. The wind carried their scent. Gobel. A shimmer rippled over them, and the glamor faded, revealing graying skin.
Fucking hell. He’d relaxed too damn soon. Should have waited until I drove into the community.
Dante eased away from his car and into an open area. Having something at his back had some merit, but he could easily get pinned against the car. Better to have room to move.
The entire area was too open. He couldn’t change forms to fight. The most he could do was let his claws extend and do as much damage to them as they did to him.
The two Gobel didn’t hesitate. The first swiped at him with his claws. Dante flinched back. The claws sliced through the air in front of his chest. Dante lunged forward, driving his fist into the gut of the closest Gobel. The air rushed out of the beast.
He kicked out. His shoe slammed into the other beast’s thigh. Fuck, missed the damn knee. The Gobel stumbled to the side.
The other Gobel lunged forward, his arm swinging high. Dante threw up an arm, blocking the swipe at his face. The creature’s claws dug into his forearm. His arm stung, the burn spreading toward his shoulder. Poison? He shook his head. Don’t think about it.
He grabbed the brute and threw him up against the car. He turned and punched at the other. The Gobel blocked and swung. Instead of a closed fist punch, claws scored across Dante’s chest.
Dante struck, driving his fist into the gut again and again before shoving him back. The Gobel stumbled and fell. Dante turned, just in time to get claws raked over his shoulder and chest. Son of a bitch. Trails of blood immediately plastered the fabric to his chest.
The Gobel snickered, sharp white teeth gleaming in the darkness. Dante smashed his hand into the beast’s jaw. The thing’s head jerked to the side. It came back swinging and growling. Good, he’d pissed it off.
A quick glance at the other revealed that he hadn’t gotten to his feet yet. He’d made it one knee, but faced away from Dante. What will it take to get these two to run? Am I going to have to kill one of them out here on the side of the road? That would be a little drastic. Anyone could come along. Yes, the community was the only thing of size out this way, but others did use the road.
A blaring horn cut the silence. The Gobel’s head jerked up. Dante punched, taking advantage of the moment of inattention and knocking the creature to the ground. He kicked the Gobel in the gut. Hopefully, it stayed down.
A black car swerved to a stop by the side of the road. Phoenix jumped out. One of his partners, Sawyer, ran around the other side of the car. Phoenix ran past Dante. Dante turned. The Gobel on the ground scrambled to his feet. It took a hobbling step and then vaulted onto the hood of the car, struggling across and rolling off the other side. Phoenix jumped onto it going after him.
Sawyer ran over and flipped the Gobel onto his stomach. The brown haired man knelt, putting a knee in its back. A car revved. He turned. The big truck peeled away and whipped into a tight turn.
Damn. That bastard got away. Dante glanced down. Nothing to do about it now. Better take stock of his injuries. The burning pulse flickering over his skin wasn’t good. It would mean a night under observation. He rolled his shoulders. The wounds could have been worse. Phoenix and Sawyer coming along had been a lucky break.
Cuts on his shoulder, chest, and arm. Maybe even some along the back of his shoulder. He turned his head, craning to get a glimpse of his back. Had that swipe managed to get around that far?
“Sorry, I couldn’t get to the other one before he escaped.” Phoenix strolled back around the car, reaching into the backseat. “Your car isn’t going to run, and even if it does start, I doubt it would make it back into town.”
Phoenix lifted his phone. He asked for someone to bring a car.
“Hey, you’re here, and because of you two, we have one live Gobel. I was fairly sure that I’d have to kill at least one of them. When I did that, you can bet the other would have taken off.” Dante drew in a breath. His heart pounded against his chest.
“Why don’t you call Cael and Thane? Tell them to meet you at the hospital. I’ll take you there.” Sawyer straightened, pulling the Gobel up in front of him.
“I do need to call them. I can have one of them come and the other stay with Moriah.” Dante fished in his pocket for his phone. Not there. Damn it, where was it? He turned, peering at the ground. A top-of-the-line shock-resistant case protected it. It better survive a tumble into the grass at the side of the road.
“Yeah, if you believe that they’re going to keep your woman away from the hospital when you’re hurt, we should probably make sure they do a scan of your head. You must have been hit a little too hard.” Phoenix shook his head and headed to the trunk of his car.
“After this attack, it’s not safe for her to be on the road without a sizable escort to act as back up. I don’t want her hurt or touched by those Gobel.” Dante shook his head. A dark shape rested near the right tire of the car. There it was. He bent down and grabbed it.
“Have you been sniffing printer toner? Because even though I’ve never met your woman, I know enough about women to realize that if they care about you, they’re going to want to be with you when you’re hurt.” Sawyer handed the man over to Phoenix and grabbed a first aid kit from the trunk. He came over and tended to some of the wounds.
“I’ll take this Gobel to be questioned, and then I’ll join Cael and Thane. I’ll ride along as back up for them.” Phoenix secured the Gobel with some zip ties.
“Why do you have zip ties in your car?” Dante frowned. Phoenix wasn’t in security. “You work in Gar-corp’s graphic’s division.”
Though he would have been damn good at body guarding and security work. Dante shook his head. They should get moving.
Another car pulled up. A young man got out of it. Sawyer raised his hand, and the man tossed the keys to him.
“I used some of them for cords on electronics, but there were some left. I thought I’d do the same for a cord at my work, but maintenance took care of it before I could.” Phoenix lifted a shoulder. “You’d better get him to the hospital. I’ll call one of our doctors to be ready. He’ll get things set up so there aren’t too many human eyes on you. I’d say go with an accident, but you look like someone took knives to you.”
“I’ll think of somet
hing just in case.” Dante waved his hand. That wasn’t important. Being away from Moriah was. With the possibility of poisoning, he’d have to be observed.
Dante unlocked his phone and dialed Cael. Hopefully, Cael would see sense. Moriah should stay within the community. The risk of attack was too great.
“Hi, Dante, are you on your way?” Cael answered on the second ring.
“No, I need one of you to meet me at the hospital. Sawyer is taking me there. I was run off the road and attacked by two Gobel. Sawyer and Phoenix came along to help.” Dante moved toward the passenger door of the car.
“You were attacked?” Cael’s voice rose.
In the background, a voice rose, “What?”
“Yes, I was. I was cut up some. I want to keep Moriah safe. She should stay there.” Dante buckled in and waited as Sawyer started the car.
“Moriah will be safe with us. We’re all coming to the hospital,” Cael said.
“Damn it, Cael. I don’t want her to be their next victim.” Dante straightened.
“Dante, she won’t be, and if I tried to leave her here, she’d probably knock me out and leave me. She’s worried, and she needs to see you.” Cael laughed. “I’ve got to go. Thane has the keys and is heading toward the garage.”
“Cael.” Dante fisted his hand. Already hung up, damn it.
“She’s coming, isn’t she?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes, Cael didn’t listen.” Dante heaved a sigh.
Dante settled back in his seat. He glanced behind them. No sign of any other car, but there wouldn’t be. They wouldn’t even be out of the community yet, much less close to catching up.
His phone rang again. A glance down at the screen showed Phoenix’s name. Dante flicked his finger to the side, accepting the call.
“I’m following them, just in case there’s an issue, Dante. Don’t worry,” Phoenix said.
“Good and thank you.” Dante closed his eyes and relaxed
“You’re welcome. I knew you’d worry. I’ll talk to you as soon as I get to the hospital. I’m going to make a call to the Cim. I don’t know if Cael or Thane did.” Phoenix ended the call.
Finding Their Flame [Stone Passions 2] Page 17
