Two shots later, I asked, “Who did you see her kiss besides Brent or Cole?”
“Her daughters.”
I glared.
Once more, he put his face in front of mine. “Answer the question I asked right before.”
“No. I haven’t seen her kiss them.” My eyebrows came together as my fogged mind contemplated a new theory. “Why do you care if she’s kissing anyone?” I gasped as the concept really manufactured in my thoughts. “Do you have a thing for Ember?”
He laughed outright, rocking on the booth.
I squinted, realizing what I was seeing.
He was really fucking handsome. Like really, really handsome.
Why had I never noticed that before?
Wait. I peered closer. Perhaps it was beer goggle vision.
Fuck...I couldn’t tell.
I rubbed my forehead. “Answer my question.” My words were hard to get out.
Daniil shook his head, tilting to the side. He almost fell out of the booth. I barely managed to grab his arm and yank him upright. He did not seem to notice, and went to pour, but froze. “Shit.”
“You didn’t answer,” I demanded stubbornly, forgetting if I had already asked my one question. I glanced where he was peering. “Damn! That was good stuff, too.” It really had been. In his hilarity, he must have knocked the table, because the bottle was lying on its side, the liquor spilling over the far edge of the table.
I lifted the downed bottle.
We both stared at it closely.
He muttered, “Well, shit.”
I nudged his shoulder with mine. “You already said that.”
“Did I?”
“I think so.”
“Shit.”
“Is that that all you know of the English language, old man?”
“Shit if I know.”
We stared at the bottle more.
I asked, “How are we supposed to get answers now?”
His eyebrows came together. “We could order more here, but I’ve got something that’s even better than this.” His grin was crooked. “I call it Obsidian Liquor. It may be vodka, but after ingested, the resulting acts aren’t pure like the liquid. It will definitely open the path to further discussion between us. Still off the record, mind you.”
“No. There’s no way you have something better than this.” I shook the bottle. “This was fucking awesome.”
“I swear.” He placed a hand over his heart. “It’s ten times better than that.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” I slammed the empty down. “I want answers, and you’ve got the Obsidian…whatever.”
He chuckled and swayed as he stood. “I want the answers and I’ve got the liquor.” His eyebrows came together again. “That should mean something.”
I grabbed my bag and stumbled from the booth.
He caught my arm, mumbling, “You’re a klutz.”
As we made our way out of the bar, I pointed at the tip of his nose. “You’re the one that tipped the bottle.”
“Shit.”
“Maybe you should get a tutor.” I waved grandly in greeting to his bodyguards standing at the entrance of the bar. Daniil slurred to them we needed the liquor he had brought to the resort. They wore odd expressions on their faces as they stared at us. “Are all your bodyguards ugly?” I studied them, stumbling. We both hit the wall. Their weird expressions increased as we righted ourselves. “Or maybe they need an antacid? I think I have some in my purse.” I started to dig for them.
Swatting my hand away from my search, he whispered, “They’re just that ugly. I hire the ugliest, scariest men I can find. Keeps the idiots at bay.”
I grinned as we started walking again…but damn I forgot what I was going to say, so I asked instead, “Are you sure this stuff is better than that two hundred dollar bottle you spilled?”
We stepped into the elevator; the ugly bodyguards following inside and standing like a wall in front of us. The doors closed. Daniil answered, but I did not hear him because I was peering around the bodyguard of the right side to get a better look at them. I stumbled, but caught myself on the wall with a widespread hand, oddly, feeling things shift under it. I really did not care what I had just touched because three of the ugliest people I had ever seen before were staring at me.
I pushed away from the wall, yanking Daniil down by his suit jacket, whispering against his ear, “The one on the left is the worst.”
He pointed, and I nodded. Cocking his head, he glanced at all of them. We both forgot what I had said because the elevator dinged, and the doors opened. He and I started forward but we slammed against the wall of ugly.
Daniil barked, “Why aren’t you moving?”
Least Ugly replied, “It’s not our floor.”
The doors closed, but no one got on. It started moving again.
“Who pressed the wrong,” he waved his hand, slamming back against the wall, “thing?”
I yanked him upright. “It’s called a button. Maybe I’ll help find that tutor.”
I could have sworn the ugly wall started shaking as the elevator door opened again.
Once more, they did not move.
Daniil asked, “Who pressed the wrong damn buttons?”
I swayed this time when the door closed and the elevator started lifting.
Daniil caught me, but we both slammed against the back wall.
We stayed there. It was safer.
The wall of ugly was vibrating again, and it looked really cool. I stared, mesmerized, and suddenly remembered that Daniil had asked a question. I thought hard, and the doors opened again, but like normal, no one moved. It hit me what he had asked, and I put my lips to his ear, not wanting them to hear, whispering, “Maybe you shouldn’t have gone for ugly, but intelligence instead. Their memories aren’t so good if they have to see each floor to remember where they’re going.”
Daniil shrugged, stating gruffly, “They can shoot and fight like demons.”
I shook my head as we visited another floor. “I hate violence. Those that use it to better themselves are schmucks. Might does not make right. That point of view only creates cretin beasts.”
The wall of ugly was really pulsating.
Daniil replied, “You don’t really believe…” He stopped when the wall of ugly started moving out. “Ah, finally.”
I pointed covertly, whispering, “The one on the left! The one on the left! He looks like an exhibit I once saw in a wax museum of horrors.”
We stared, who would not, and the door started to close, but one of the guards stuck his massive paw out, making it open back up.
I whispered, “You think it’s contagious?”
Daniil stared open mouthed. “You know, I never thought of it that way.”
Ugly Duckling asked, “Sir? Are you getting out?”
“Yes,” Daniil stated, and we both lunged through the opening at the same time, bypassing Ugly Duckling, giving him a wide berth. The man seriously had to have some kind of disease for his face to look like that.
I blinked at my surroundings. “Where are we?” This did not look like my floor. Mine was green. This one was gold.
“Going to get the liquor,” Daniil stated, pointing down one hallway.
His bodyguards took off in the opposite direction.
I cracked up when he looked miffed. “Maybe you should fire them.”
He glanced left then right, calling out, “That’s not the way!”
Ugly Duckling turned around, and I think his poor face looked pained.
“I really think he needs medical attention.”
Daniil nodded. “I’ll see to it tomorrow.”
Ugly Duckling held up a room key. “Room 919. It’s down this hallway.”
“Think he’s delusional, too?”
Daniil sighed. We walked after them, banging against walls as we went. He grumbled, “I guess we’ll see.”
I started singing “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks.
Daniil hu
mmed with me. His voice was not too bad.
“You like country music?”
He shrugged. “Some, but I prefer classic rock.”
“Ugh. Old man stuff.”
“I’m not old,” he countered, harshly waving his hand in the air.
This resulted in us falling on our asses.
“Break a hip, old man?” I grumbled, getting back up to my feet.
“I’m only forty-nine,” he muttered, rolling to his feet, thumping against the wall.
I tried to do the math in my head. I could not figure it out. “I’m twenty-eight. Big difference there.” I paused and thought about it, Daniil stopping with me…before we started moving again. “How old were you when you had Grigori? He’s what? Thirty-three?”
“Yes, he is. I was very young when he was born.”
His expression went kind of sad, so I started singing “Friends in Low Places” again. That perked him up. He even sang with me this time instead of just humming. We made quite the duet until the guards stopped, and opened a door.
As I walked inside, I stared in awe, leaning against the couch. “This room rocks!”
Daniil shrugged, wobbling through the expensive living room we were in. I followed, gawking at all of the furniture, and even a tiny chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. He turned a corner next to a wall of windows that overlooked the ocean with the huge full moon shining down on it. We went down the hallway, one side a solid wall, the other the windows. There was a room at the end of the hallway with the door open.
We strolled inside. It was a bedroom with a huge bed against the opposite wall, with a nightstand on each side. A dresser was against the wall by the door, and a flat screen sitting on top of it. There was a small table set up next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with a tiny wet bar between the windows and one nightstand.
I dropped my bag and immediately maneuvered to one of the two seats at the circular glass table. The chair looked damn great after our trek through the resort. Good liquor was hard to find.
Daniil grabbed two glasses from the minibar and almost dropped them when he bent to open the fridge, but after some consideration, he bit one, holding it in his mouth while he squatted to grab one of the bottles of vodka in the fridge. When he came over, I took the glass from his mouth and set it down on the table. He poured the liquor, wobbling as he kicked the door closed.
“This had better be worth that walk,” I grumbled, taking a sip. I blinked at the glass, and then glared at him. “This is fucking water!”
He tasted from his glass. His eyebrows came together until he sniffed his glass. His expression relaxed and he shook his head. “No. It’s the good stuff.”
I sniffed my own and could somewhat smell the alcohol. “Oh.” I blinked. “Weren’t we supposed to do something?”
He stared, and took a drink, draining his glass.
I followed suit.
He stated, “I don’t remember.”
Shrugging, I poured us more. “How about we sing? We did that well enough.”
Daniil grinned, and it was sloppy crooked. “I’ll teach you a song from Russia.”
He proceeded to try to teach me a song from his home country. He sang it low and with gusto, and I tried to say the words, but damn, it was hard. He repeated it slowly, putting his hand on my chin, making me move my mouth differently as I said the words. I laughed when he grinned, saying I had just learned a song that would not be appropriate in respectable company.
“Weren’t we using glasses?” I asked where we now stood facing the large windows and singing to the ocean, sharing the bottle between us.
He shrugged and peered at me. He swayed and his forehead bumped mine. Gradually, he tilted his head back to stare me in the eyes. “Speaking of glasses, you shouldn’t wear those. They hide your eyes.” He plucked them off my face, dropping them on the table and making me squint at him. “Green. Your eyes are green.”
“And yours are brown. Together they make a tree.” I reached for my glasses since I could not see without them. My contacts were not in my duffle.
He placed the bottle in my hand that was extending for my glasses.
I forgot what I was reaching for and took a swig.
Seriously, it tasted like water.
I asked, “What?”
He was staring at me as we swayed, bumping against one another.
“You look like a kewpie-doll without those horrid glasses,” he blurted.
My nose wrinkled. “My mom collected those. I used to play with them when she wasn’t around.” I pointed right against the tip of his nose. “You remind me of a land shark.”
He grinned. “Apt description.”
I shrugged. “I thought so. But you’re not so scary right now.”
He chuckled, taking the bottle from me, placing it to his lips for his own swig. He tipped it back far, arching with the effort, but grunted, pulled it away from his mouth, and flipped it upside down.
We stared, blinking furiously. Shit. It was empty.
“I’ll get another one,” I muttered. “I drank the last of it.”
I turned toward the minibar but tripped over his feet.
He caught me, but stumbled over a chair, knocking it over.
Instantly, he wrapped his arms around me, trying to catch his footing.
I squeaked, but when we landed, it was on a soft surface.
I was flat on my back on the sweet, soft bed while Daniil lay sprawled on top of me.
I muttered, “You called me a klutz?”
He lifted his head and grinned deviously. “You fell first. I saved us from the floor.”
Time…wavered.
He stared down at me.
I blinked up at him.
Daniil really was gorgeous. He sure as hell did not feel like an old man against me. He felt all hard and warm. It was almost overwhelming. His shoulder length black hair hung down around his face, and his honey brown eyes were turning darker as they slowly roamed my features.
He whispered, “A minx kewpie-doll.”
He lowered his face and placed his lips on mine.
My eyelids shut, and I instantly groaned as his mouth overtook mine. My lips were a little numb, so I pressed harder, yanking on his hair. He did not seem to mind, giving me want I wanted. I opened my mouth and his tongue slid in.
It was fucking good.
Instantaneously, we attacked one another’s mouths and started stripping.
The next thing I remembered, I was naked on my back and he was naked on top of me.
I kissed him fiercely, and he returned the caress just as forcefully while pushing my legs apart with his knees. He reached down with one hand, his fingers landing on my core. I blinked, and the next thing I recalled, I was squirming a hand between our bodies.
Daniil jerked on top of me, taking his head off my shoulder, and stared down at me as I placed his hard cock at my core. He groaned, and pressed forward, kissing me again.
I gasped at his size as he slowly thrust into me. I was wet, although I could not remember how I had gotten that way, but his cock was absolutely enormous. He stretched me wide, and suddenly, he licked over my lips…and thrust hard and fast, all the way in. I screamed into his mouth and he shouted, gripping fistfuls of my hair. It fucking hurt; he was so damn big.
He hissed through clenched teeth, “Fucking...itty…bitty.”
My body tensed; I panted and my core stretched beyond belief.
“Give it a minute,” he whispered, sounding pained.
I nodded quickly.
His lip brushed against mine, and I lost track of time all over again.
When I opened my eyes, I could still feel his cock inside me, but his head was on my shoulder while he snored softly. I started to move out from under him, but his head jerked up. While he blinked repeatedly, I slurred, “Are we done?”
He wobbled and moved his hips, and then groaned deep.
It felt so damn good as he moved that little bit, still hard.
I wrapped my legs around his waist. And he started thrusting.
It was chaotically gentle at first, and it was more than nice, but when we found our rhythm, he drove harder and rougher, and it was…amazing.
With skin slapping and the headboard banging, I cried out, arching under him.
He released my hair and palmed one of my breasts, murmuring breathlessly, “All of you is bitty.” He licked across my puckered nipple.
I shuddered, making his muscles quiver and he instantly nibbled at my nipple. Choking, I gripped his flexing ass as my head thrashed back and forth. He felt like pure stallion inside me.
Suddenly, I was flipped onto my belly. The room was still spinning as I was pulled up onto my knees, and from behind, he slammed his cock inside me again. He shouted my name at the same time I screamed his; his cock so fucking massive inside my core. Gripping my hips tightly, he started driving into me repeatedly. Our rhythm brutal, it felt like it went on endlessly, but still not long enough. I spread my legs wider, giving him better access.
With the head of his cock bumping my cervix and sliding farther, I shouted in pleasure.
“Christ, fucking good.” He leaned over me, and bit down between my neck and shoulder, non-to-gently, and I whimpered softly, jerking when I felt two of his fingers on my clit. He moaned, licking across my skin, kissing my neck, as he pushed me further toward oblivion.
“Just a little more,” I mumbled breathlessly, and he altered from circling my clit to rubbing it. I rocked, immediately screaming his name, flying over the edge. My walls took hold of his cock as my muscles pulsed, my body humming with heavenly warmth.
“Fucking shit,” he gasped, and started pounding into me.
My mind was floating in sizzling euphoric flames, and as his cock started to jerk inside me, hearing his husky shout of satisfaction, I passed out for good.
Okay, so there are mornings in everyone’s lives that we wish we could reason through what the fuck we had been thinking the night before.
Or, more precisely, remember the majority of the night before.
Like…
Where the fuck am I?
How did I get here?
What the hell had I done?
Most importantly, who had witnessed it?
Well…this was my morning like that.
The sun was bright against my closed eyelids, and I moaned as I lay on my rolling stomach. My head hurt like no other. Honestly, it did not even feel like my head. It just felt like a constant ball on top of my neck that pulsed with never ending pain.
Obsidian Liquor Page 4
