Brick squeezed her fingers. “Naya?”
A flood of longing and desire washed over her. “Yes. Of course, yes.”
A grin spread across Brick’s face, lighting up his eyes. She didn’t remember ever seeing him look so happy. He jumped to his feet and darted out of the curtain.
Naya sighed like a lovesick schoolgirl. How had she gotten so lucky?
She picked at her food and drained her water glass. Then she pulled out her purse to quickly check her makeup and reapply her lip gloss. She had just stuck a mint in her mouth when Brick emerged through the flowing red curtains.
“I got it.” His eyes shone like he was a little boy standing in front of a new toy. Putting out his hand, he said, “Everything’s ready. We just need to go upstairs.”
She felt a jolt of lust as she slipped her hand into his. Gods, how she wanted him.
He led her through the curtain and toward the back of the building, where they climbed a set of wooden stairs covered with red velvety carpeting. The higher they went, the more plush everything seemed. In the upstairs hallway, the walls were lined with velvet cushions. Was that in case anyone got carried away and slammed against the wall in their lust?
Their door was two down from the top of the stairs, a deep cherry wood that swung open without a single squeak. Brick let her go in first. When he stepped in behind her, he shut the door then grabbed her and pressed her back against it. Not a second later, his lips touched hers, a firestorm started in her belly, and she forgot her life, her name—forgot everything except the wonder of being in Brick’s embrace.
He groaned deep in his throat. “Naya. I never thought I’d have you in my arms.”
She nibbled at his neck, then whispered in his ear. “All you had to do was ask.”
With a moan, he picked her up and walked them toward the bed. She kissed his throat as he lowered her onto her back and loomed over her. He rested his hand between her breasts. “I love you.”
Emotion speared through her. Love. That’s what this had been all along. “I love you, too.”
With a smile bright enough to light up all of Las Vegas, he lowered his head to kiss her again, whispering endearments in between each kiss. “My sweet one… my darling…so beautiful…”
She melted inside with every word but the only thing she could give back was her own love. And love him she would.
She rubbed his back, then pulled his shirt out of his pants so she could slip her hands underneath. His back was a mass of muscle under smooth skin—no more than she’d expect from a huge bear shifter. She could feel the rumble of his animal inside him.
Brick slid his hand down the middle of her chest, brushing against her breasts and wakening nerve endings along the way. His hand slid over her abdomen then took an abrupt turn. She moaned as he gripped her hip instead of touching her where she really wanted to be touched.
“Brick—”
“We’re taking this slow.” He kissed her throat. “I don’t want this to be over any time soon.”
She understood, yet she wanted him inside her. “What’s so wrong with fast? We have all the time in the world.” As she said that, a thought poked her in the back of her mind. They did have all the time in the world—didn’t they? She pushed the thought away. Of course they did.
Brick pushed her shirt up, baring her belly, then laid kisses all along the sensitive flesh.
She threaded her fingers through his crewcut. “You’re such a tease.”
“You’ve been teasing me for months.” His chest rumbled as he spoke, vibrating against her thighs.
Rubbing his broad, muscle-bound shoulders, she watched as he flicked his tongue in her belly button. Her pussy felt needy and empty. This going-slow thing really wasn’t working for her.
Naya lifted her upper torso off the bed, thankful for all her hours in the gym, and yanked her shirt over her head. But when she went for the clasp of her bra, Brick stopped her.
“You’re unwrapping my present. That’s not nice.” Pushing her back onto the mattress, he rose over her and settled his lower body against hers.
Immediately, she felt his hard cock right against her clit, although the layers of denim and cotton muted the effect. She grabbed his luscious butt—how many times had she wished she could do that?—and pulled him even harder against her, moaning.
“You’re a vixen.” His hands roamed over her bared torso, brushing against the lacy red bra she’d had hidden under her more professional clothing.
“Touch me. Please…” Naya wrapped her legs around his waist, anchoring his lower body against hers. Then she tugged at his shirt. Getting her own top off was step one. Getting his off was her next goal.
Brick lifted his chest off of her with a growl, grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked it over his head. Then before she could get a good look at what had to be the most amazing chest she’d ever seen, he settled back on top of her and captured her lips with his.
She’d get a better look later. For now, she’d content herself with touching him everywhere she could reach—his back, his shoulders, his huge upper arms. Biceps never made her swoon before, but his were enough to turn heads. Her hands trailed down his back to cup his tight ass once more.
As soon as he released her mouth to press kisses along her jawline, she whispered, “I want you inside me.”
“Slow,” he growled. He nuzzled under her chin, then licked her shoulder and ever-so-lightly took it between his teeth.
She froze. Shifters marked their mates by biting them. Is that what he was doing?
But then he moved on. She gently ran her fingers over her shoulder and could tell he hadn’t broken the skin. Relief and disappointment warred within her. She wanted to be his forever…but it seemed too soon.
Brick kissed down her chest, between her breasts and then lower. Just before she could protest at his skipping her nipples yet again, he sucked one of them into his mouth, right through the bra.
Her legs tightened around his waist, her arms wrapping around him to hold him closer as her pussy clenched. “Yes.”
When he moved to the other breast, she held her breath. He wouldn’t tease her again, would he? As he closed his mouth over her nipple, she sighed in relief. Her fingers gripped the back of his head and pulled him closer.
Brick shifted his hips, grinding his cock against her aching pussy. As she moaned, he pushed his hand underneath her back and popped her bra clasp open. He rose to a kneeling position then slowly pulled the bra down her arms, finally peeling it from her breasts, where the moisture from his mouth made it cling to her nipples.
As he tossed the piece of lace and underwire to the side, a growl of appreciation rose from his belly. His eyes were pure yellow when they met hers. “Mine.”
She couldn’t stop the shiver that raced through her body. This felt real. This felt like—
Brick rubbed his hands down the front of her body, giving special attention to her breasts. “Mine,” he rumbled again.
She couldn’t be sure it was really Brick who was speaking. His eyes and the rough timbre of his voice suggested his bear had come out to play. He unbuttoned her jeans, letting his fingers dip below the waistband to tease her.
Were they finally going to go a little faster? If he didn’t hurry up, she might just come before he could even touch her. She bucked her hips but couldn’t move them very far, pinned under Brick’s weight. “I want you inside me.”
“Slow,” he growled.
“Why are bears always so damned slow?” Even though Naya knew what she’d said wasn’t quite accurate—nor quite fair—she didn’t apologize. She needed him, and he was lumbering along like they were going on a pic-a-nic.
He dropped onto her, catching his weight on his elbows at the last minute. His nose touched hers. “So it’ll last forever.”
There was that ‘forever’ word again. It sounded both amazing and vaguely terrifying. “If you want it to last forever, why can’t we just do it over and over again?”
; “Do you want to come, mate? Is that the problem?”
Did he say ‘mate?’
But before he got the chance to deliver on that promise, someone pounded on the door. Both Brick and Naya froze.
The pounding came again, this time with a deep male voice that said, “Open up. We need to talk.”
As Brick crawled off the bed, Naya felt a moment of disorientation. The feeling of wrongness she’d had during lunch came back.
“We know you’re in there,” said another male voice. They knocked louder.
Naya scrambled for her bra and shirt, feeling suddenly self-conscious at being naked in front of Hardiman. He put his clothes to rights, his back to her. Was he also feeling embarrassed and confused?
***
When the knocking continued, Hardiman called out, “Who is it?”
The two—or more—men on the other side of the door didn’t respond.
Hardiman looked at Naya. “Ready?”
“Think we need our weapons?”
“No, but be ready to pull it. I’ll answer the door. You stay behind me.”
He turned away before he could see whether she bristled at the order or not. His prickly mate didn’t want to think for a second that she wasn’t as strong and capable as he was. He’d happily agree she was just as capable, but he had a good hundred pounds of muscle on her, so she wouldn’t be able to convince him she was stronger.
Hardiman looked through the peephole in the door to see two dark-haired white men wearing black leather jackets. They looked like stereotypical mafia thugs, but he didn’t see any weapons in their hands, and there were only two of them. He could take them both without pulling his gun. He opened the door.
The men took one look at him and took a half-step back. “We’re looking for Officer Krena,” the shorter one said.
“What do you want with her?” Hardiman didn’t see any reason to let these two get anywhere near his mate.
“We heard she arrested Sneezy McGee,” the taller guy said. “We need him.”
Shit. Hardiman still felt fuzzy, but he remembered enough to know he and Naya didn’t have Sneezy. “Why do you need him?”
The shorter guy shifted his weight, throwing his shoulder forward. “That’s our business, not yours. Where’s Krena?”
Hardiman was about to tell them to go to hell and slam the door when Naya stepped up to his side.
“Why do you want Sneezy?” she said.
“Where is he?” the taller guy said.
“Who are you?” Naya said.
Hardiman was starting to get a headache with so many questions and no answers. “You can’t have Sneezy. Get lost.” He slammed the door.
As he turned back to the room, he remembered what he and Naya had been doing. A flush spread over him. What were the chances he could get her in bed again?
She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “We should go.”
No chance at all. Shit.
***
Naya and Hardiman waited a few minutes until the two men disappeared from the hallway, then left the restaurant. They hadn’t gone far when Naya started to feel ill—first a headache, then a rolling stomach. By the time they reached Hardiman’s car, the fuzziness that had accompanied her all through lunch lifted. With another tightening of her stomach, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake.
She’d almost slept with Hardiman. How could she have done this?
She stopped short and turned around, looking at the Den of Cupid. “That wasn’t some kitschy tourist trap,” she whispered. “That was real magic.” Strike four against Vegas. Or was this just more of strike three?
Hardiman put his hand to his head. “I noticed. Do you have a magic hangover too?”
Gods, what had they done?
She started walking again, heading for the car. She couldn’t answer him; couldn’t even think about what to say to him, now that she’d gotten half naked with him.
On the other hand, had Hardiman meant all those things he’d said? She’d spent months thinking he thought she was incompetent and that he’d tried to kick her off the Stevenson case. Was it true that he hadn’t been mad at her at all, but mad at her chief instead?
He’d also said he loved her. If the stuff he’d said about the case was true, then was his love true, too?
She let that thought settle into her bones and got a jolt when the answer bubbled up.
She didn’t hate Hardiman at all. No, he drove her to distraction. If she poked at his pride it was because she wanted him to notice her and he never did.
Except it seemed that maybe he did. At least if he could be believed. But they’d been under a spell. How could she trust anything he’d said?
The thought that he might have been lying or playing out some script dictated by the magic in the restaurant made her feel sick to her stomach. If that was true, how much worse would it be now? So much worse. Every time she saw him, she’d remember what they’d done and know that it had all been an illusion.
She didn’t think she could stand it if that happened. Far better that they part ways now and he never know how much she cared.
Fool that she was, she loved him.
They reached the car. Hardiman pulled open the passenger door for her. When his hand brushed her hip, Naya jumped.
He didn’t notice. “Hopefully we’ll find something at the casino, even if May’s employees are too afraid to talk to him.” He helped her into the car.
She felt like crying. Why was he being so nice? It just made everything harder.
He got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Are you all right?” he said.
No. She’d never be all right again. “A little headache. You?”
“Same.” He paused. She could almost feel his gaze on her skin. “That’s not what I meant. We should talk about what happened in there.”
No. No, no, no. “We need to find Sneezy.”
Hardiman took her arm. “You’re avoiding me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She breathed through her mouth. How could she talk about this? Talking about it would make it so much worse.
“Naya.”
Fine. He wanted to talk? She’d talk. “You remember what happened in there, right?”
“Of course.” His thumb rubbed her arm.
“We were enchanted.” When he didn’t respond, she yanked at the edge of her collar, revealing the hickey he’d given her. “We almost had sex.”
“I remember.”
“And we both said a lot of things we never would have said otherwise. Things we didn’t mean. How can you be so calm?”
He took her hand in his. “Listen to me. We might have been punch-drunk on whatever kind of magic they had going in there, but that doesn’t mean I lied. I meant everything I said to you. And I’m not sorry we almost slept together. I’m only sorry we didn’t get to finish. I hope you’re not sorry either.”
That was probably the longest speech she’d ever heard him say. Too bad she couldn’t believe a word of it. “We need to find Sneezy.” She pulled her hand out of his and looked away from him, out the window.
Hardiman growled. “Naya.”
She couldn’t face him. Hades, she couldn’t even look at him.
Hardiman stretched his arm along the top of her seat, his fingers brushing her shoulder.
She wanted to cry.
Chapter 7
Hardiman wasn’t sure whether he should feel angry or scared. Hadn’t she meant the things she’d said in the hotel? He’d been drunk on magic but it hadn’t made him do anything he hadn’t wanted to do anyway. But she acted like they’d made some huge mistake.
He wanted to punch something. Anger was good. Anger was safer than fear. Now he just needed to find something to hit.
He punched the address for the casino into his GPS, as though hitting the touchscreen as hard as he could would help.
It didn’t.
In less than a blink, they drove a few blocks and pulled up in front of the casino where May worked. Hardima
n pulled into the parking lot and tried not to notice that Naya still wouldn’t look at him.
Had a more stubborn woman ever been born? It was like she was determined to be unhappy.
They had to walk back out to the street and down the sidewalk to get to the winding path that led to the casino’s front doors. As they passed by the huge fountain in front, Naya stopped short.
“This is wrong,” she said.
“What is it?”
Her brow furrowed, and she tapped her fingers against her leg. “I don’t know. The water feels… wrong.”
He couldn’t imagine what ‘wrong water’ felt like, but if there was someone who understood water, it was his mate. “Let’s investigate.”
Together, they stepped closer to the fountain. Naya shivered. “I just want to get away from it. But I don’t know why.”
They gazed at the water for a few minutes. Naya rested her hands against the edge of the fountain and studied the water as though it would give her answers.
Hardiman was about to suggest they go into the casino when a head broke through the surface of the water. A woman with long, streaming blond hair swam toward them.
“Have you come back to save us?” she said.
Naya’s mouth dropped open. “Do you know me?”
The woman cocked her head to the side. “There’s magic on you.” She swam to the right, then to the left, gazing at Naya. “Lots of magic. Dark blues and reds. The red is love magic, but the blue, I’m not sure. Don’t you remember us?”
“No.” Naya’s voice sounded mournful. Without thinking about it, Hardiman put his hand over hers.
“You were here last night,” the woman said. “You recognized us, and we recognized you.”
A lightbulb came on in Hardiman’s head. The woman was a naiad. Of course.
“You saw the binding cords around our waists and said you’d help us. Then our captor came out of the casino with a binding cord for you, and you ran.”
“How did he know she was a naiad?” Hardiman said.
“Because she could see us and he noticed that. With the binding cords on, no one but other naiads and our master can see us.”
“I can see you,” Hardiman said.
Betting on Bear (Charmed in Vegas Book 6) Page 5
