Under her exploration, his chest started moving more rapidly. His heart thudded under her fingertips. Her hand slid down his body until she reached the hardness of his erection. He twitched at her touch and throbbed in her hand as she squeezed gently. Kat lifted herself over his body. She kissed a path down his stomach, over the hard muscles of his pelvis, until she found his cock. She wrapped her hands around the shaft and licked the crest. Lann hissed, and the muscles in his thighs bunched. Kat swirled her tongue around the big head.
“Krasavitsa...”
He tasted of male lust and a wild promise, and she loved it. She took her time savoring him, her tongue trailing up and down his shaft. One hand moved down to cup his testicles. She tested the weight gently before drawing her nails over the skin.
His back lifted off the mattress. “Ah, Katherine.”
Proud of the reaction she elicited, she lowered her lips over him and started to take him slowly with her mouth. His fingers bunched the sheet in a ball, but he refrained from touching her, as if he understood that this was her scene.
He hissed again when she took him deeper, as far as she could, and when she moved to kneel between his legs, he pushed up on his elbows to look down at her. Kat brushed her hair over her shoulder to meet his gaze. His eyes were narrowed to slits of deep gold. A muscle twitched in his jaw. When she increased her pace and the pressure of her lips, he gritted his teeth. His head fell back, but only momentarily before he lifted it again to watch her. The specs of color in his eyes started to shift. She felt his shaft thicken in her hands.
“Fuck.” He panted. “Katherine ... close to ... coming.”
She moved faster. For once, she wanted him to lose control. The only place she dared lose hers was in his arms, but now she wanted to give what she always got from him. She wanted to take care of him and make him feel safe.
His voice was guttural when he said, “I’m going to fuck your mouth, Katherine.”
The words came as a warning. A second later, his hands gripped her hair, keeping her head in place while he worked himself in and out of her mouth. He pushed to the back of her throat until she panicked she would suffocate before she could take any more. He fucked her lips until she saw white sparks behind her eyes. Just as she thought she was going to pass out, his body convulsed with a primal cry. He kept her still while his release poured into her mouth. He tasted of allure and power, and she wanted all of him. Kat took every drop. She sucked him clean and kept him in her mouth until he let go of her hair and fell back onto the mattress. Only when he started to soften did she release him. She crawled up his side under the crook of his arm to find his lips.
He kissed her eagerly, pressing her to him while his hand cupped her face. He kissed her like he sometimes said her name, as if she was the only woman on earth, the only woman in his life.
She was breathless when he let her go. He pulled her head down to the hollow of his shoulder. Kat closed her eyes and inhaled his masculine scent. Right now, she felt safe. She wanted Lann always to be safe.
She could have easily drifted off again, but she felt his body tense and knew he was going to move away from her.
“Stay,” he said, kissing her softly on her lips. “I have business to take care of, but I love the sight of you sleeping in my bed.”
She gave him a lazy smile. “However tempting that sounds, I’m desperate for a shower.”
He got up and offered his hand. “Then have it with me.”
When his fingers gripped hers, he brought them to his lips and kissed the ring. He didn’t say what was on his mind. He didn’t have to.
* * * *
Later, while getting dressed in her own bedroom, Kat dialed Diana.
“Hey,” she said when her friend answered with a yawn. “Just wanted to apologize for last night.”
“What the fuck? Are you alright?” Diana’s voice was full of concern.
“Yeah. I’m fine. You?”
“We’ll never get tickets for that club from Jack ever again.”
“I’m sorry.”
Diana chuckled. “Don’t fret. His friends weren’t that hot, anyway.”
Diana was only trying to be nice. Kat said guiltily, “I saw the way you looked at Enrico. I hope this won’t spoil your chances with him.”
“If Enrico is put off so easily, then he doesn’t deserve to be with me. Anyway, Jack deserved it. He behaved like an ass.”
“Thanks for being so understanding, Diana. You’re a good friend.”
After a short silence, Diana said, “I didn’t take Lann for the jealous type.”
“Neither did I,” Kat said. “He acted, uh, possessive.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Better than okay.”
“Wait a minute.” Diana laughed. “I hear make-up sex in that statement.”
“Diana!”
“Yeah, yeah.” In her mind’s eye, Kat could see Diana roll her eyes. “Don’t let him mess with your head, Kat.”
Kat looked out of her window and saw Lann walking down the hallway, probably on his way to his office.
“Did you hear what I said? Don’t fall in love with him, Kat.”
“I won’t,” she said, keeping her tone light.
“Good.”
They spoke for a few more minutes about Diana’s new shoots, and when Kat hung up, her stomach was tight for some reason. No, she was not falling for him. She couldn’t. It would destroy her when it was over.
* * * *
After she had coffee in the kitchen, Kat intercepted Alfonso when he entered to make Lann’s mid-morning tea. Kat prepared a tray with a pot and carried it to Lann’s office. She knocked and pushed the door open. He was reading the morning paper, a frown on his brow. The thunderous look in his eyes when he glanced up had her pause, but then he smiled. She walked around his desk and left the tray in front of him. He took her hand, intertwining their fingers, and pulled her into his lap.
“Bad morning?” she said.
He wiped a hand over his face. “Someone took a photo of us in the club last night. It’s all over the news.”
Kat leaned forward to get a look at the paper. There was a photo of Lann steering her from the club.
“Is it that bad that we’ve been seen together?”
His arms locked around her. “I told you last night, Katherine, I kept our arrangement a secret for your safety. You’re a target now for anyone who wants to get back at me. I’ve never been photographed with a woman before. Naturally, my enemies are going to assume you mean a lot to me. You can’t leave the house without security. I’ll double the guards. And you cannot take off the ring, do you hear me?”
When she shivered, he hugged her tighter.
“I’m sorry,” he said in her hair. “I’ll see to it that you’re safe when our agreement ends. That’s a promise.”
His words were too ominous to consider. She preferred not to think of it.
“I have something for you,” he said. He picked up a rectangular velvet box from his desk.
She looked at him in surprise. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
Kat lifted the lid and drew in her breath. Inside was a platinum bracelet, a delicate rose with the stem and leaves twisted together, diamonds encrusted in the petals like glistening dewdrops.
“It belonged to my mother,” he said softly. She looked at him quickly. “My father sold it when she died.”
“How did you get it back?”
“I took it from the bastard who bought it for next to nothing when my father was in a drunken stupor. Not even the Vodka could make him forget that she died for me, that I took her life from her.”
Kat laid her head on his shoulder. “Lann, it wasn’t your fault.”
He didn’t answer. He took the bracelet from the box and slipped it over her wrist. The intricate design shined in the light that fell through the window. It looked antique and impossibly valuable.
Kat shook her head. “I can’t take this.”
<
br /> “You will.”
He kissed her, his tea forgotten.
Chapter Seven
After the event in the club, and the newspaper article speculating about their relationship, it didn’t take long before Kat’s face and name were all over the Chilean tabloids. Despite what Kat had said to Marianne and Diana, to let her break the news to her parents, it was never her intention to tell them about her ‘relationship’. Why bother if it was going to be over soon, anyway? But now she couldn’t put off calling them any longer. What if they saw one of the articles back home? What if something leaked to the media in the States?
Kat sat quietly in the lounge, contemplating the situation. The world didn’t know that they had an agreement that was coming to an end in a week. As far as everyone out there reading the tabloids were concerned, she was Lann’s lover. To make matters worse, she was the first one he had ever been photographed with.
Lann had promised she would be safe when he left her behind, alone, in Santiago. She trusted him. But this was about more than her safety. Leaving Lann was going to be hard enough. Now she was going to have to live it through the tabloids, too. It wasn’t going to be a private matter. It would be public knowledge. Being humiliated in front of a whole country when Lann dumped her would be an added agony she hadn’t bargained on. She pressed her mobile phone against her forehead. As her mother always said, she had made her bed. She would just have to carry on sleeping in it until it was over. The optimist in her reminded her that she still had a week left with Lann. When the time came, she’d deal with the media, her friends, her family, and most of all, with herself.
She took a deep breath and dialed her parents’ number.
“Kat,” her mom, Felicity, exclaimed, “we were going to call you this weekend. How are you?”
“Wonderful,” she said, forcing herself to sound bright. “I have news. I met someone.”
Her mother’s voice adopted the high-pitched tone it usually did when she was worried. “You did? Who is he?”
“His name is Lann. He owns the library where I’m doing research.”
“That sounds like a foreign name.”
“Yes.” She didn’t mention that he was Russian. Felicity was untrusting of anything or anyone that fell outside her border of experience.
“Is it serious?”
“No, not at all. I just wanted you to know.”
“Kat,” her mom said sternly, “what aren’t you telling me?”
She cleared her throat. “It’s just that he’s kind of famous here in Santiago because he bought this old convent and a library of hundreds of ancient books and turned it into a home and we were photographed at a club. It’s all over the local gossip news. I didn’t want you to hear from someone else.”
“I see.” There was a short pause. “Is this relationship interfering with your studies?”
“Of course not.”
“Are you happy?”
“Very,” Kat forced herself to say.
“As long as you know what you’re doing, Kat. This exchange program is a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. Don’t throw it away on a fling.”
“Mom, please. I’m a big girl.”
“Will you send me some clippings?”
“Mom!” Kat laughed. “You’re impossible. How’s Dad?”
Her mom updated her on her dad’s health and on the status of the garden. They ended with Kat reassuring her mom that she’d be home for Christmas at the end of her study year.
When she disconnected, Kat took a shaky breath and rested her head in her hands.
“Was that your parents?”
She jerked her head up at the sound of Lann’s voice. He stood in the center of the room, regarding her with a sympathetic expression.
“It was my mom. I didn’t want them to hear from a different source.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Only that I met you,” she replied and smiled wryly, “and that I’m still focused on my studies. They’ll make their own assumptions after next week.”
“I agree. The less they know the better.”
Sadly, the same rule seemed to apply to her. She knew so little about him when she wanted to know so much.
“I came to give you this.” He held a mobile phone to her. “It’s a secure phone. I know you’ve been ignoring the media calls up to now, but it’ll only get worse. It’s best to leave your old phone switched off.”
She nodded and took the phone.
“And if anyone does manage to get through to you, don’t deny or acknowledge anything. I’ll handle the media statements.”
“What are you going to say?”
“I’ll say that you’re my girlfriend.” He paused. “In another week’s time I’ll say that we’ve broken off our relationship. In time, it’ll kill the media interest in you. When I’m gone, given a few weeks or so, the attention should dwindle to nothing. I’ll get my media consultant to keep in touch, though. He’ll advise you if you’re ever in doubt of what to say or how to handle exposure.”
She flinched at the thought of dealing with the publicity wolves alone, without Lann. She had to give it to him, he was trying to help. At least he wasn’t going to tell the truth. She made this bed ... She squared her shoulders.
“Right. That wasn’t so bad.” She got to her feet. She felt Lann’s eyes on her back as she left the lounge, but he didn’t say anything.
Kat went to her room and texted her new number to Diana. She’d send an email to her parents and to Charles later. They weren’t going to call her before the next few days anyway. A second later, her new phone rang.
“Hey, Diana.”
“Your photo’s all over the news.”
Kat sighed. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Don’t sound so despondent. You’re famous.”
“It’s not a good thing, Diana.”
“What are you talking about? Now that you’ve caught the elusive Russian, and even got him photographed, you’re the new celeb in town.”
“It’s over next week, remember?”
“I know. It doesn’t matter. You’re going to be the newest, hottest, most popular girl in Santiago.” She suddenly paused. “Kat, you haven’t fallen for him, have you?”
“Of course not. I’m just not looking forward to the public humiliation. It’s not going to be nice to be dumped in front of the whole country. Before, it was just between us. But now...”
“Never you mind. I’m going to take some fabulous shots of you and leak them to the tabloids. You can’t let an opportunity to become famous pass. Besides, you’re going to say you dumped him.”
“Diana! You’re despicable. We’ve decided not to make any statements. He’ll just say it’s over, and neither of us will comment.”
“Less dramatic,” Diana said with disapproval. “Well, I guess it makes it more mysterious.”
Kat only rolled her eyes at the phone.
“So, you’re moving back next week?” Diana said.
Kat’s heart squeezed painfully. “Yep. I’ll see you Sunday.”
“Right. I’ll be sure to kick Enrico out by then.”
Kat gasped. “Enrico’s living in our flat?”
“He sure is.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the two of you got together?”
“You’re busy with your own affair.”
“I’m never too busy to learn you’ve got a new boyfriend.”
“Anyway, he’s a bit wary of getting together with you after what happened at the tango bar. He’ll feel better meeting you after your possessive lover is out of town.”
“You don’t have to kick him out, you know.”
“I know. But I could do with a bit of personal space again. Enrico’s like an octopus.”
“You like him, don’t you?”
“Very much,” Diana said, and coming from her, that was admitting a lot.
Kat ended the conversation, promising to call her again before Sunday.
She went t
o the library and tried to lose herself in her work, something she guessed she was going to do a lot of in one week’s time.
* * * *
Security around the convent was increased, and reporters couldn’t get close enough to bother her as long as Kat stayed indoors. She couldn’t go for her daily run, but she reminded herself that it was only for another week. Instead, she worked out in the gym.
Despite her resolution not to let the media affair affect her, she found her concentration lacking. Lann was being especially sweet with her, his physical caresses tender, while he frequently read her work and made helpful comments. On Wednesday, she was reading a book on vampire verses at her desk in the library when Lann entered and slipped his hands around her from behind to cup her breasts. Thankfully, Magda was in the backroom typing reports.
“This is short notice,” he said close to her ear, “but my arm has been twisted to attend a Valentine’s ball on Friday evening, and I’d like it very much if you’d come with me.”
His request caught her off guard. “I thought you didn’t want to add more fuel to the media fire.”
“It’s out there now.” He straightened and moved his hands to her shoulders. “Nothing will stop the gossip. Not until I leave Santiago.”
With every mention of their time together coming to an end, Kat’s heart felt heavier.
He turned her face and looked at her expectantly. “So, what will it be?”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“It’s not going to make a difference to what’s already being said. And I do need a date. If you prefer, I could ask someone else, but imagine what it’ll to do to my reputation, not to mention yours.” He smiled wryly.
“I’ve never been known to deny a gentleman in distress.”
“I’ll be eternally grateful.” He suddenly turned serious. “Thank you for doing this.”
Wow, he went from playful to formal in less than one second.
“Of course.”
“If you need to shop for a dress, I’ll take you.”
She shook her head. “I think I’ve got just the right outfit.”
Aeromancist: The Beginning Page 11
