Latvis Security Services

by Lexie Ray

  She wasn’t sure if it had more to do with their own unique style of relationship, or something that stemmed from their respective time in the military, but one hit to the face seemed to soothe over the wounds Mads’ departure had created. Admittedly, they were setting a pretty bad example for Sophie. Something they only realized when she asked if she could hit Mads too. He allowed her to kick him in the shin. He soon regretted it, especially when he realized that she was wearing metal-tipped boots.

  When the acts of vengeful violence and debriefing were done, she expected that the evening would wind down and she would be allowed to crumple into her bed. But then someone, she couldn’t remember who, suggested that they were hungry. The shock was almost tangible when Mads suggested that they all head over to his house and he would cook for them.

  Everyone readily agreed, but no one actually thought that Mads would follow through. Instead, he opened his doors wide, provided Daren with the key to the liquor cabinet, and happily and, more importantly, willingly, left them alone while he went to prepare their dinner. It should have actually been considered a lunch, but Willow’s head was swimming and she felt like it should have been a lot later. The sun was just being uncooperative.

  And, what Mads produced for them wasn’t the simple snack that everyone was expecting. Despite everything, and the obvious pain he must have been in, Mads whipped up a downright feast. He set up the long table with his finest china, cut crystal, and polished silver. The array of meals filled the table while their scents wafted into the air. There wasn’t been a scrap left after they all ravaged the meals, even though it seemed that only Mads and Natalie could identify the meals by sight. For her part, Willow decided to keep herself completely ignorant and just enjoy.

  Sophie, of course, was the first one to go down. Instead of using it as an excuse to get Daren and Rebecca out of his home, Mads offered a spare room. Brahms curled up next to the small girl and the adults were left to an evening of full stomachs and expensive alcohol. A day later, Willow still hadn’t been able to figure out how they went from telling jokes around the fireplace to Mads and Natalie teaching them all how to tango. But, admittedly, it was around that point that everything became kind of fuzzy.

  The next thing she knew, she was waking up in Mads’ bed, his warm body wrapped tightly around her and Brahms impatiently lapping at her face. It was her turn to leave a note as she took Brahms for a walk. The whole walk, she wasn’t quite sure if she was supposed to return or not. Mads opening his home for one night didn’t mean that she had the right to just instantly move in. But she had left the note promising to be back in an hour and she was still a little uneasy about leaving him alone.

  That was how she ended up walking back through the front door to be met instantly with the rich, beautiful scent of something cooking. Intrigued, she let Brahms off of his lead, the small dog scurrying away to curl up by the fireplace, and edged towards the kitchen.

  The dining room caught her attention and she found herself simply standing in the threshold, looking over the display Mads had created. Dozens of candles filled the place, creating a romantic glow that caressed the fine table setting. There was only one place setting. Was she not supposed to come back? Was this a polite brush off? Maybe she should just turn and go now, while she still had some shred of dignity.

  Still unsure of her course of action, Willow turned to find Mads leaning against the doorframe. His eyes drifted over her at a leisurely pace, taking her in without a hint of shame or hesitation.

  “Hi, Mads,” she said slowly.

  His smile grew hungry and sharp. “You are right on time. I have just finished preparing lunch.”

  “I am noticing that there is only one place setting,” she said, her voice wavering a little despite herself.

  His head cocked to the side. “And I had been so certain that you would remember our bet.”

  Mads slowly stalked towards her, his wanton gaze quickly stripping her of any shred of doubt. Once more, his eyes followed her body before they locked upon her face in a heated stare.

  “If you recall,” Willow said as a teasing smile began to tilt her lips, “You lost that bet.”

  “I did not.”

  “You told them that the house would go up for sale,” she countered. “That was mentioning the house. Therefore, you lost.”

  “Well.” He finally got close enough that he could reach out and wrap a hand around her hipbone, squeezing. “Is that not still sufficient enough to warrant a small reward?”

  With a happy sigh, Willow draped her arms over his shoulders, playing with the silky hair across the back of his neck. He smiled and edged closer, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his heat drifting across her from head to toe.

  “But it can’t be the full reward,” she said. “That’s something I want to keep in my back pocket for later.”

  “I never took you to be a tease.”

  She slipped her hands over his shoulder and down his chest, relishing the solid muscles of his form pressing hard against her fingertips. For once, he had decided to be casual and had left his vest off. Willow could only wonder when her standards of ‘casual’ had changed so that Mads having the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows seemed downright risqué. She rubbed his hands over her skin again and again, keeping them in constant motion, delighting in the feel of skin-to-skin contact.

  “I don’t suppose you have any other fantasy that would be a more appropriate level of reward,” she whispered.

  Willow had expected a pause. A moment taken for consideration or a bashful silence as Mads’ bluff was called. But the response came a half a second later and was given with a smile and a tightening grip.

  “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  His hands didn’t leave hers as his hands drifted to the hem of her sweater. As he inched the material up, his hands deliberately drifted along her sides, touching every inch of skin that his stretching fingers could reach. At his insistence, Willow lifted his arms and allowed him to remove the sweater. It was a surprise when his questing fingers didn’t go for her bra, but instead for the thin bands that were currently keeping her hair in a messy bun.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as he arranged her hair to fan out over her shoulders.

  “You too,” she said back.

  Willow was prepared for a playfully narrowed gaze or a scoff that he would somehow make him sound dignified. But instead he ducked his head, a light blush crossing his cheeks, still visible in the dim light.

  “Thank you.”

  His fingertips trailed down her skin to drift along the waistband of her jeans. The tip of one finger circled the top button but he didn’t attempt to open it.

  “I would like you to undress.”

  The cold air came quickly to ravage the heat Mads’ hands had left lingering against her skin.

  “You’re not going to help me?”

  His smile grew until she could see a quick flash of pristine white.

  “I need to tend to lunch.”

  Willow hesitated as he stepped back. Shedding her clothes when Mads was in front of her, watching her with hungry eyes, now felt as easy and natural as breathing. But to do it alone, just waiting around while he was bustling around in the kitchen, just felt odd. Not to mention that it was in the same room where he had hosted his dinner party a few hours ago.

  Sensing her unease, Mads shifted forward once more. The kiss was searing, sparking a beautiful haze that Willow felt from her crown down to her heels. He was quickly learning how to master the art of reducing her mind to its most basic elements. It was as if he dedicated himself to the task. And that was something that she relished even as it left her deeply concerned for just how easily he would be able to play her in the future.

  “It will not be an imposition, will it?”

  “No, I can do that,” Willow mumbled as she reached for his mouth again.

  Mads only gave her a swift, close-lipped kiss before retreating back out of the roo
m. Left dumbfounded and increasingly cold, Willow tried to understand just what the hell had happened. Any time she had tried something new with a partner, hours of conversation and paranoia had always proceeded the event. She had always made sure that she knew every last thing that was going to happen, from start to finish. And surprise or deviation had resulted in an instant stop to everything. But with Mads, she wanted to follow his lead. She wanted to see what he had in store, how his mind worked, how he had been thinking about her. Knowing that Mads, even when drunk and horny, only needed a light mutter of ‘no’ to fling himself across the room also helped her to feel a state of control even as she surrendered everything else.

  Her hands trembled with anticipation as she reached behind her and unfastened her bra. As a slight jab at Mads, she took great care to fold her sweater and jeans neatly on the far end of the table, topped with her bra and panties. The night air wasn’t forgiving as it ghosted across her skin. Completely naked and standing in the middle of his dining room, Willow was hit with the knowledge that she had no idea what to do next.

  He hadn’t given her any further instructions, so she supposed that she should sit down. As she lowered herself onto the chair that felt both delicate and sturdy, it occurred to her that Mads had never really seen her naked before without being in the heat of the moment. She tried to squish down the little tendril of anxiety that tried to work its way up her throat. It wasn’t like Mads was going to see her, turn around, and leave because he decide that her thighs were too thick or her stomach wasn’t hard enough. She might not be a runway model, but she had the distinct advantage of being the only naked woman currently in this room.

  Still, she began to shift and turn, trying to find a seductive pose while simultaneously forgetting what that might actually look like. After shuffling around into every position that she could scrounge up from the depths of her mind, Willow gave up and decided to simply sit there, with her hands folded neatly within her lap. She’d think up something more impressive next time.

  She knew that she really had needed to bother the moment that Mads came back into the dining room. His confident footsteps staggered to an abrupt stop, his eyes slightly wide, the plate tilting within his slackening grip as she became the sole focus of his world. It was a unique experience to be looked at like that, and it went straight to Willow’s head like wine.

  “Mads,” she said, trying to keep the smugness that was brimming inside of her from seeping into her words.

  She didn’t know how well she managed to accomplish that feat but Mads was still staring.

  “Mads.”

  He blinked rapidly and came back to himself with a jolt. The plate almost tipped from his grip again as he cleared his throat and moved towards the table.

  “Forgive me,” he said, his voice a little weaker than normal. “I did not mean to stare. I got distracted.”

  She straightened her posture, the action making her chest stick further out, and making his plate clatter against the table top. It was loud and awkward and so far removed from his usual charm that she had to smile.

  “Now, what managed to distract the great Count Latvis?”

  Hands now free, Mads reached a hand out towards her, holding his palm up in invitation. Cautiously, Willow took his hand and let him raise her to her feet. His long fingers curled over her own as he pulled her closer, close enough to brush his forehead against her own.

  “It occurs to me within this moment how perfect it feels to have you here. This house would feel so empty without you,” Mads whispered. “It is going to be so very hard to let you go, Willow. Is there any chance that I might be able to persuade you to stay?”

  Willow pulled back, searching his eyes with a hint of confusion and more than a little curiosity. “Did you just ask me to move in with you?”

  He didn’t need a single moment to think it over. “Yes.”

  “That’s a little fast, don’t you think?” she laughed.

  “We have known each other for years. If anything, I believe this is something long overdue.”

  Willow closed the distance between them without thought, capturing his mouth in a hungry kiss that said all of the things that were bubbling within her mind. Mads returned each stroke and slide with an equal yearning. Feeling it returned made it all the more real.

  “Tell you what,” Willow said as she pulled back. “You ask me when you don’t have an erection. Then we’ll talk.”

  “That seems fair enough.”

  The edge of the table was a solid pressure against her bare backside as he crowded her against the table. His hands found her hips and she was falling and tethered all within the same motion. Her heart stammered at the sensation, her mind alert even as the edges of her awareness grew fuzzy. It was just her and Mads and the distinct ache of emptiness that she longed for him to fill.

  “You.” She had to swallow to get her throat to push out the rest of the words that were lodged within it. “You are way overdressed.”

  With a squeeze of fingers and a sharp jerk, he lifted her upon onto the tabletop. Willow’s legs automatically dropped open, making room for his hips between her thighs. Mads reached down and cupped her ankles, slowly sliding his hands higher, gliding over her calves to her knees. The slow process made her legs quiver and her insides melt into heated steel.

  His hands crept higher, callouses creating the slightest of rasps over her delicate skin. They added to the fire within, making the ache increase until Willow was barely able to breathe around the emptiness deep within her core. His hands slipped under her thighs and he scooted her back into the middle of the table.

  Her attention snapped back with a razor sharp focus and she looked at him completely baffled. With his grip still in place, he spun her around until her feet were on the table and she was facing the single place setting at the head of the table.

  “Mads?”

  Heated breath washed over her bare skin as he whispered to her, “Would you still like to help me live out my fantasy?”

  Eyeing the incredible dish that Mads had prepared, she tried to predict what was coming next. It looked like something that should rightfully cost a fortune and she found herself interested in tasting it, whatever it was, although she was pretty sure that his fantasy didn’t involve feeding her. But curiosity lurked under her skin and she smiled despite the nerves building up within her.

  “Yeah,” she smiled at him. “But you will have to eventually let me in on what that is.”

  Knowing exactly what he was doing to her, Mads trailed his fingertips down her shins as he rounded the table. He didn’t sit down at his dinner setting. Instead, he curled his fingers around her ankles and, with one smooth jerk, he pulled her legs apart. Willow instantly felt exposed and vulnerable, on display in the most personal and intimate way possible. On instinct, she moved to press her knees together. But his gentle touch grabbed her knees and slowly coaxed them back apart.

  As if to steady her nerves, he leaned his long torso forward and stole a swift kiss, maintaining it just long enough to have her melting again. He took her hand and slowly shifted it between her legs.

  “Touch yourself for me, Willow.” Arousal dripped from his words, thickening his accent until it moved like molasses along her skin.

  The sound left her reeling. Floating. And she only came back down to earth when she heard his chair move. Lifting her eyes, she found that Mads was now sitting at the head of the table. The position gave him a perfect view between her spread legs and he calmly placed a cloth napkin across his lap. After bestowing her with a private smile, he curled his perfect fingers around his cutlery and began to cut into the meat of his dish.

  With neat, swift movements, he cut off the tiniest morsel. His eyes held hers as he slowly wrapped his lips around his fork. There was something completely erotic in watching the polished silver slip from his lips. Watching him slowly chew made a sharp spark of desire slip down Willow’s spine. Heat pooled within her legs until she couldn’t stand it. A single fing
er slipped between her folds, pressing just enough to take the sharp edge of her pang of need.

  “So, this is what you want?” Willow tried to make her voice sound light-hearted and amused, but her retreating fingers grazed her clit and she couldn’t keep in her gasp of pleasure. “Just to sit there, eating, while you watch me masturbate?”

  Mads took his time chewing. She watched the way his throat bobbed and worked as he swallowed. He licked his lips and smiled.

  “Yes.” His voice was audible sex and she quivered at the sound of it. “I would very much like that.”

  “I feel like a centerpiece,” Willow said with a shiver of delight.

  His eyes trailed between her legs. She could almost feel the heat within them pressing against her. It made the desire within her sore but wasn’t enough to keep her from feeling the simmering tide of awkwardness.

  This wasn’t something she was used to doing for an audience. And she had no idea how to make any of this look sensual or alluring. Mads cut off another piece of meat and she focused her attention on his fingers. She imagined them upon her. That they were the ones touching her. Watching the morsel slip past his lips, Willow began to move her hand.

  It was just the briefest touch, but her building desire had left her skin aching for contact. The first tentative swipe of her thumb of her clit was enough to make her gasp. It made her bolder and she pressed harder. Her legs quaked as she watched Mads throat work once more. The sight was enough to bring back a flood of memories of just how his lips felt against her. The need and desperation that he had devoured her with. Using the side of her index finger, she slid the digit between her folds, stunned at how slick she was.

  Mads’ attention fixed squarely upon her as he continued to eat. As much as he tried to keep his growing need tightly under control, she could see the hints of it seeping out, from the stumble in his breath to the slight quake of his fingers. Propelled to a new boldness, Willow kept touching herself, making her caresses stronger and surer.