Taken By Lust
By
LeTeisha Newton
Taken By Lust
Copyright © November 2013, LeTeisha Newton
Cover art by Mina Carter © November 2013
Interior book design by Bob Houston eBook Formatting
Amira Press
Charlotte, NC 28227
www.amirapress.com
ISBN: 978-1-627620-24-6
No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.
Dedication
To my family, who forever stands behind me in my goals. To my friends who allow me to scream in frustration over the phone when I can’t get a scene right. To Brook who continuously puts me on the right track, no matter what I say. And to my husband, who regularly, and quite convincingly, gives me so much research for my…hot scenes. Oh, love, keep the research coming!
And to the real Adelis, Drea, Lauren, and Beth: You girls are the best friends a woman could have. I couldn’t think of anyone else to take care of my main character. You’ve taken care of me many a times, and I am forever grateful. I love you guys…forever. My sisters, I wouldn’t know what to do without you.
Chapter One
Selene wasn’t particularly a fan of girl’s night out. Granted she loved to party, loved to get on the dance floor and shake her troubles away, take a few shots of liquor, and call it a night. What she didn’t like was the persistent need for her so-called friends to set her up with some man to take home for the night. She was no virgin, so it wasn’t a prudish nature that made her patently against the idea. It was the simple fact that she wasn’t going to treat her body like it was some kind of meat market. Every time they did this to her she imagined herself naked on a butcher’s counter with a sign around her neck that said “fresh meat.” She hadn’t felt that way since her freshman year in college when she, admittedly, had been a little looser with her morals. Now, three years after graduating from law school and at the ripe age of thirty-two she wasn’t in the mood for Mr. Right Now. She wanted Mr. Forever, and her friends could take a long walk off a short pier if they thought she was going to change her mind on that.
Club Posh, an exclusive club that she and her friends had just recently gotten membership into, was full of exquisitely dressed people of the upper echelon. Posh was a place to rub elbows with doctors, lawyers, judges, celebrities, and old money. Selene and her friends represented the first three of those categories: Maddy the neurosurgeon, Sasha the judge who was pushing for an early appellate seat, and Selene the corporate lawyer. They were a mix for sure. This was a place they could let their hair down, so to speak, and Selene was happy for the opportunity. She’d both figuratively and truly let her hair down. Her hazel gaze scanned the crowd, her plump lips pursing as she looked for her friends from her seat at the bar.
She sighed, taking another shot. It was nice to feel kind of muddled. It made it easier for her to look at her friends, Maddy and Sasha, without thinking too hard about who she wanted to slap first when they walked up with three men. Maddy, the shortest of their trio, swept back her mass of chocolate dreadlocks over one shoulder, watching Selene with laughing brown eyes. Selene had always found Maddy beautiful in a girl-next-door sort of way. She was just over five feet tall and slender, maybe one hundred pounds soaking wet, her red mini dress hugging her shape nicely. She was on the arm of a tall, olive-skinned man whose hair was cut into a stylish mop of curls that brushed his ears. He wore a pair of charcoal chinos with a lavender shirt. Any man who could wear that color with pride made her smile. She may just like him enough not to scream.
Sasha was taller than even Selene’s five-foot-ten height by at least two inches. Her black hair was cut pixie short, showing off her heart-shaped face, dark eyes, and full lips to perfection. Sasha was the fashionista of them all. She wore high-waist white shorts with a striped gold and black shirt tucked in. Curvy in a way that made Selene envious, the outfit showed off her long legs and rounded hips nicely. On Sasha’s arm was a man just about her height in a black on black suit. His smile was charming; thick and long eyelashes framed green eyes while his blond hair fell neatly to his shoulders. Selene had to admit that their choices were nice indeed. Too bad she wasn’t in the mood.
The third man had an air about him. Selene couldn’t put her finger on it, but she could sense it. He watched her with an unblinking stare, so still she wasn’t sure that he was breathing. She didn’t know how her mind felt about being watched like that but her stomach went flip-flop. She was happy to be sitting. He was taller than her. Taller than anyone in the group. She figured him to be at least six foot four. He was broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hips, and his black suit flowed over him like water. He wore a black shirt but broke it up with a pure white vest and tie. She’d always loved a man who wore vests. It looked classier to her for some reason. His jaw was strong, covered with a light five o’clock shadow. His lips were narrow, but sensual. She didn’t know why she thought that, but there it was. His midnight hair was thick and fell just above his shoulders before curling slightly.
Most startling about him, over everything else, were his eyes. They weren’t real, they couldn’t be. But Lord they were mouthwatering. They were the color of vapor, not quite light enough to be silver, but not dark enough to be gray. She felt trapped in those eyes, like she was falling in quicksand and couldn’t break free. He stepped closer to her and she couldn’t move. She waited with bated breath. She wanted him to touch her, wanted to feel his gaze on her. She was eager, to the point of wanting to squirm, but she didn’t. She sat there, waiting for him. Waiting for the touch of his hands.
“Selene, this is Connor,” Maddy said, breaking Selene and the mystery man’s stare. Selene shook herself, feeling anger mount as swiftly as desire had seconds before. Selene didn’t even spare the man on Maddy’s arm a glance.
“This is William,” Sasha said, but again Selene didn’t react. She had found her anger again, just that fast. She was more comfortable with anger than she was with being embarrassed about the fact that she’d been staring at some stranger like he was all that existed in her world.
“I am—”
“I am out of here,” Selene said, not wanting to admit that the deep timbre of mystery man’s voice could be panty-dropping material if she let it. She didn’t want to know his name, she didn’t want to know him. She just wanted out of there.
“Selene!” Maddy gasped, but Selene pushed out of her seat and started to walk away from them. She had nowhere to go but forward, right next to snake eyes, but she wasn’t going to be deterred. She was going to get to the floor, dance a little, and then go home. She’d strangle her friends later.
“Pietr,” snake eyes finished, as if she hadn’t interrupted his earlier words and grasped her wrist as she passed by. She turned to jerk away and he was there, pulling her in close.
She could smell him. He smelled of the wild, of forest and brooks. She inhaled deeply, pulling his scent deep into her belly, feeling off balance, lost. What the hell is wrong with me? she thought. She couldn’t look away. His body was hard, solid, and she gripped his lapels to balance herself. Her breasts were crushed against his chest, her hips just under his groin. She could feel the imprint of his cock in her stomach. In her head she knew that something was wrong, something was very wrong, but she couldn’t stop herself. She felt the pulse of electricity where his hand gripped her wrist. She could feel every zing with each pound of her heart. She could barely catch her breath. She had to get away, had to get to freedom. This wasn’t right. She’d never reacted to a man like this. Still holding her to his chest, he wrapped his other arm around he
r, anchoring her. He spread his large hand across her back, so hot it was like a furnace. He leaned down as if in slow motion.
“Mine,” he whispered in her ear, and the slide of his exhalation over her shoulder sent chills down her skin.
“Well, it’s a good thing we brought him along,” she heard Maddy saying from what seemed like a mile away.
“Finally hit one on the head,” Sasha tossed back.
“You have no idea,” Pietr said, but he was looking at her. “Shall I order a drink for you, mikro?”
“No,” she was finally able to whisper. She swallowed and tried to speak again. Her body was throbbing.
“I want to dance,” she whispered, trying to think of anything to get away, to get free. “Let me dance for you.”
“You haven’t seen anything until you see her dance.” She didn’t even know which one of her friends said that, she was just happy they had. Pietr smiled down at her and slowly let her go.
“I will be right here. Dance for me.” As she turned away his hand glanced over the globes of her ass and she trembled.
He let her go and she could breathe. Her mind was working again, and with its function came fear. What the hell was happening to her? She’d never had a connection with a man like that in her life. She wasn’t one for bouts of fancy. She either got to know them over time, and then felt something for them, or she didn’t. Selene was not prone to moments of passion where she nearly lost her mind with wanting a man. Her friends stepped up to her side, laughing and giggling. She bet they’d shared a high-five before they came after her, but she didn’t care. She needed to get away.
“We did good this time, Sas. She couldn’t even think when that man came over,” Maddy said.
“Maybe she will get laid tonight. Lord knows she needs it. She works too hard,” Sasha said.
Her friends appeared at her side just as a deep reggae song pumped over the speakers. They dipped and rolled at her sides and Selene fought to calm down. She needed to think. If she didn’t play this right she wouldn’t get away. She sighed roughly, trying to push the tension out of her body and move her hips to the beat. She swayed and shimmied, raising her hands to the sky, for all intents and purposes looking as if she was dancing for Pietr at the bar. She didn’t dare look at him. She didn’t want to be lost again. Instead she looked around the club for the exit, her escape. She kept dancing, turning to get a better view of the exit. She moved, twirling around her friends, rubbing her hips at the right time, tossing her odd-colored hair over one shoulder, and licking her lips. She did everything she could until she saw her opening. She backed up as a waiter passed her on the floor carrying champagne for the dancers. She kept backing up, dancing through guests, her friends following her in the weaving pattern. They’d done this enough that it wasn’t odd. When she broke away from them they were laughing too hard to care and she slipped out the back door.
The cool air kissed her skin and she took a deep breath, clearing her head. Maybe it had been the alcohol, or the fact that she hadn’t been sexually active in nearly a year. Maybe Pietr had just been like no man she’d ever met before. Either way, though, she couldn’t give in. She was a sensible woman with an important career. She didn’t have time for one night stands or temporary flings. She knew she was being a bit childish to want love, real love, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t have love, she didn’t want anything else. She shook her head, happy the cool air was clearing her mind so quickly. She pulled her small card purse from the bust of her dress and waved her hand to hail a cab.
If she felt a pang of disappointment to be riding away from Pietr instead of falling into his arms again she didn’t admit it out loud.
Chapter Two
Pietr scanned the crowd for his little fireball. The long red-roan strands, a color that was natural somehow to her, hung to her bra clasp. Her broad hips, high, full breasts, and slim waist were molded in a gold Chanel mini-dress. She’d completed the outfit with white heels. She was an absolutely entrancing woman. He’d been distracted by Connor and William as the men did the typical thing and congratulated themselves on tonight’s possible conquests. Pietr just smiled with no comment as he ordered a Long Island iced tea for himself and a cranberry and vodka for Selene. Under the scent of Patron shots his sensitive nose had picked up the scent of cranberry on her breath and he made the assumption that she would enjoy it. Sometimes being a wereleopard helped him. He chuckled to himself as he thought that it also helped him tremendously in his field. As a doctor who could detect the scent of sickness, and often the types, he’d become renowned as a family practice physician. He could have chosen a specialty in surgery but he’d found that having an excellent nose turned the human body into smelling like meat when it was open. He couldn’t risk the temporary distraction, or the chance to be found out for what he was if his leopard decided to make an appearance because it was hungry. Sad to think of it that way, but it was true.
Instead he enjoyed his profession, and now things were going to get even more interesting. He knew that he’d just found his mate. He’d been captivated from the moment he’d seen her reddish hair framing her warm brown skin. He wondered what she’d look like spread naked and wet over his bed sheets.
Tonight he intended to find out.
She’d felt the connection to him as well. He saw it in the quickening of the pulse in her neck, smelled it in the scent of her desire as her pussy moistened and readied itself for him. He’d never thought he’d find his mate. Her hazel eyes made her look like one of his kind, but he knew she wasn’t a shifter. The problem of her humanity had only given him a moment’s pause. He’d have to be careful with her, his strength in the bedroom could hurt her if he wasn’t careful, but he would enjoy learning her.
“The ladies are coming back,” Connor said. His voice was smooth but had an underlying growl in it. If Pietr had been paying attention to anything but the delectable shape of his mate he may have picked up on the werewolf’s scent. He did now.
“Is she yours?” he asked. Connor turned to him with a wicked grin that could only be described as wolfish.
“Yes,” he said. William looked at them both but didn’t say anything. He was human and wouldn’t understand the importance of their conversation.
“Happy hunting,” Pietr offered.
“You as well,” Connor answered as Maddy and Sasha returned. His Selene was quite obviously not at their side. The women must have realized it too because they frowned.
“Selene didn’t come back over here?” Maddy asked, stepping up to Connor. The wolf wrapped his arms around her possessively.
“No,” William said, his smile quick and easy as he pulled Sasha to his side. Pietr couldn’t smell any deception in him so he didn’t bother him. These women were obviously close to his mate so he couldn’t have one being hurt by some callous man. Maddy, he knew, would be just fine.
He turned and scanned the crowd before taking a deep breath. He stood straighter, not picking up the scent of his mate as strong as he was before. Connor shifted beside Maddy, lifting his nose slightly into the air. When he looked at Pietr over the head of his mate he shook his head. Somehow she had escaped.
“Maybe she went to the bathroom?” William asked, stepping away for a second to look over the crowds.
“Perhaps,” Pietr said, though he knew that she hadn’t. He was already moving away from the bar when Maddy stopped him with a small hand on his arm.
“Here’s her number. If I know my friend she’s running scared,” she said, slipping him a napkin. Pietr accepted it and slid it into his pocket even as he was walking away.
“She won’t get far,” he promised to no one in particular as he strode through the crowd. His preternatural aura made it so that without realizing it people parted for him as he passed.
He was at the door in a matter of minutes and calling the valet as he exited. He waited impatiently for his car to arrive on the curb. Selene couldn’t run from him. Not now. Mates didn’t run from each other. The
y were meant for each other, two halves of a whole, and Pietr had lived long enough to know that was something rare indeed. Shifters were not immortal like some of the other things that went bump in the night. They simply lived much longer than humans because of their regenerating powers. It was hard for something to die when it could just heal itself. The regenerative powers did begin to slow as they got older, much older, and they could die of old age, but their version of old age could be counted in a few centuries instead of just short of one. He scented the air again, smelling his mate as far as the street and then losing her trail. She had gotten into a car. No matter, he’d find her soon enough.
As his Ferrari FF pulled up to the curb he was already pulling out his phone. Leopards may be solitary animals in the wild, but shifters were not. It was one of the reasons that he’d purchased the FF. It was rare in the world of sports cars to have one that was a four seater whose back seats could fold down to produce more trunk space, but he’d acquired one. When he had to administer medical aid to his leap, the pack of leopards Pietr belonged to, he had a vehicle that could transport them, and get them anywhere, fast. He slid into the driver’s seat and quickly dialed Cirro’s number.
“Cirro,” his friend said after just one ring.
“Cirro, I need you to do something for me,” Pietr said without preamble. Cirro was the leap’s resident security personnel, hacker, weapons expert, and Pietr’s best friend. Sometimes it paid to be connected.
“The last time I helped you they threatened to suspend me for a month without pay,” Cirro groaned.
“Then they realized they didn’t know who would protect the Vasilias and his Vasiliassa, and they decided just to frown really hard at you.”
“Pietr, I think it was more that you are his brother and Vita, than because of who I am. Being second-in-command has its perks.”
“Yes, but being my second and Asfaleia protects you enough.”
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