Taste of Wicked

by Michelle Howard

  Fortunately, Drake didn’t mind when she landed in his lap as Larry first made his appearance by scampering across the table to his tiny place setting. This sent the boys into side splitting laughter. Simon softly scolded them and the meal resumed with one antic after another.

  “Do you mind if I speak with Simon for a moment?” Drake leaned toward Toni’s chair while the boys gathered up the dishes to help their mom cart them to the kitchen. He twirled the ends of her hair about his fingers.

  Much to her surprise, he’d been very attentive during the whole visit. “I’ll be fine.”

  Tory sent a questioning look from her husband then to Drake. “She can help me make coffee.”

  Taking a chance, Toni kissed Drake on the cheek and pushed at his shoulder. “Go talk with your friend. I’m sure I can entertain myself.”

  Simon and Drake exchanged a glance and both men left the room, heading down a hall and disappearing. Toni admired the way the black jeans cupped Drake’s very fine ass then hurried into the kitchen after Simon’s wife.

  Tory pushed buttons on a complicated coffee machine and tossed in a flavored pod with a carafe beneath a spout. “I don’t really need help but this way the men don’t feel like they’ve left us little women to ourselves.”

  Toni’s lips twisted in a wry grin. She really liked Tory. “I totally understand.”

  “How long have you known Drake?” Tory asked after drying her hand on a green cloth.

  “Not long.” Toni shifted her hips against the counter behind her and wondered if she should explain about their internet connection.

  Tory raised a brow. “Don’t mind me if I seem nosy. Because I am.”

  They stared then burst into laughter.

  “I met him on an internet chat forum. This is the first time we’re meeting in person.” Saying it aloud shifted something in Toni’s chest.

  “That’s wonderful. I play around with computers but the boys keep me too busy to really get into it.”

  Toni shrugged. “I’m single and live near my best friend. If the two of us don’t have plans, I hang out online and play games.”

  The carafe was now filled with steaming coffee. Tory poured two mugs and pushed one in Toni’s direction. “Tell me more.”

  ***

  “She’s not your usual type,” Simon started.

  Instantly offended and on guard, Drake glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that I’ve seen pictures of you in the business magazines at various functions. You lean toward flashy blondes. Not the innocent, sweet types.”

  Drake grunted. In the past, he admitted to being prone to blondes. That was all before Antonia. Now he was decidedly attracted to tall, brunettes with pretty eyes and round curves.

  “I’m assuming you want to talk about your magic?” Simon asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

  Drake paced the study, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve got bigger problems.”

  “What?!” Simon’s shout pulled Drake from his deep thoughts. His friend stared as if he’d grown a second head. “What could possibly be more important than your magic?”

  “Something attempted to gain entry into Antonia’s room last night while we slept.”

  Simon’s brow quirked and a frown pulled at his lips. “By slept you mean had sex, I take it?”

  Drake’s ears burned and he halted across the room from Simon. “Yes. Sex. That’s not the point I want to make. I set small wards at her door last night and someone tampered with them.”

  At least his friend looked interested instead of annoyed with him. “Your wards work?”

  Drake nodded. “Some of my magic works. It hasn’t been consistent in six weeks. The warding hasn’t been a problem though despite everything else.”

  “What makes you think they were bothered? Maybe your magic degraded the wards.”

  “No.” Inwardly, Drake cringed. The wards assured he protected himself. Losing the ability among everything else would eliminate holding his own against an enemy of magical origins. “The wards were gummy. There was a sticky residue left behind as if someone tested the strength of the spell imbedded.”

  Simon drummed his fingers on the desk behind him. “You and I both know only one creature which does that. Did you weave the wards with your signature attached?”

  Smirking, Drake didn’t answer and Simon rolled his eyes. Drake made it a point to use a portion of his family’s most powerful magic in any spell he worked. He’d used a milder version for security in Antonia’s room but if a person was familiar with Drake or had crossed his path at some point they could easily identify his essence within the magic.

  “Right. This is you we’re talking about. So this…person might know what you are and the trouble you’re having.”

  “Exactly. My question is how did it find me here.” Drake was very careful when he left New York and nothing had tracked him to New Mexico.

  Only three people from home knew he was here and he trusted Ben and Kent not to tell. Dr. Curran for all his difficulties would not release the information either.

  “If word gets out that you’ve been having problems with the core of your abilities…”

  Drake cut Simon off with a curse. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  His business and personal life would implode. Drake walked to the window in Simon’s office and stared at the backyard and its array of brightly colored toys and discarded buckets near what looked to be a graveyard consisting of broken toys. His hands tingled with temptation, magic begging to be released. Was this a new manifestation of the problems he was having? Things had worked for once this morning but the odds of that continuing were slim.

  “What are you going to do?” Simon asked from behind him.

  Drake heaved a sigh and raked a hand through his hair. He needed to go home but he wanted to spend as much time as possible with Antonia. Their night of explosive sex had been more than he’d expected or dared dream. He also needed to figure out if he was mistaken concerning what tried to break into her room. With this recent development he was feeling…vulnerable. Drake wasn’t used to feeling weak. He didn’t like it at all. “I’m not sure.”

  Unable to resist a moment longer, Drake waved his hand in the direction of the scattered play set with its broken seat. Plastic groaned and bent until the pieces snapped back into place.

  “Did you mean to do that?”

  Simon’s roughly worded question came from beside him. Drake glanced over, witnessing his friend’s surprise.

  “Yes.” Drake wiggled his fingers and turned his back on the yard. “That’s a perfect example of never knowing if something’s going to work or not.”

  Simon folded his arms over his chest. “If you’ve attracted attention from a bad element and can’t count on your magic, you may need to leave sooner than you want.”

  Drake had thought of that. “What if it’s not after me and Antonia is the original target? I can’t leave her.”

  The odds were slim. Antonia had no connection to the otherworld or paranormal beings. Hell, she didn’t know what Drake was. Or who, he added with a sense of trepidation. The moment of truth was coming fast. A truth he didn’t originally plan to share with Antonia. He was perfectly content with leaving her in the dark about his true identity but that wouldn’t be fair when she’d been honest with him. The reasons for maintaining his anonymity with the others online remained but not with her.

  “That’s a stretch, Drake but on the off chance you’re right, the residents of Magic would look out for her. We look after all humans who stumble along our way.”

  Drake didn’t want to leave Antonia’s safety to anyone else. Possessive, ugly jealousy dug its claws in and vehemently opposed the idea. No way he was leaving her protection up to someone else. He couldn’t leave her at risk if he was mistaken either.

  Drake repeated aloud the claim he’d refused to acknowledge the night before. “Antonia’s mine.”

  Chapter 11

  “D
rake, yes. Yes, touch me,” Toni gasped.

  Drake didn’t pretend or stall when they left his friend’s house. He made it clear what he wanted to do to her and with her once they arrived at the inn. Since Toni agreed whole heartedly with his plan, she’d practically raced him to her room.

  Now she lay on her back in the bed while he tormented her with slow, teasing licks and sweeping strokes of his hands all over every inch of her body. When his fingers delved between her legs and rubbed her slick entrance, Toni’s back bowed.

  “Stay still, Antonia.” Drake’s chuckle fanned air over her belly as he slid down her body and continued with his wicked nips and kisses.

  She smacked a palm flat on the mattress. “Please. I want to feel you. In me.”

  Thankfully, he’d tormented her long enough. “If you insist.”

  Then he came over her and filled her with one easy plunge. Toni gasped at the fullness but Drake powered on, each thrust slamming her into the mattress beneath them.

  “I love being inside of you,” he groaned.

  Toni dragged her nails down his back, fingers sinking into his skin as she braced against his thrusts. He pumped faster and she lost the ability for coherent speech. Drake was uncontrollable and Toni did her best to match his wildly soaring passion. It worked. Their mutual desire sent both of them to their climax.

  Drake collapsed atop Toni, chest heaving. She barely had enough strength to pat his shoulder and then her arm fell limply to the bed. Drake kissed her nose and rolled to the side.

  “I need to go to the bathroom.” Her body was a sticky ball of sweat.

  Drake’s grunt provided unnecessary assent. Limbs trembling, Toni climbed from the bed and wobbled to the bathroom. Her phone sat on the counter where she’d left it when she retrieved the lone condom conveniently provided by the staff in a discrete basket. One mistake Toni could ill afford even though she was on birth control. Drake certainly didn’t seem all fired up or concerned about protection.

  She washed up and as an afterthought turned the phone on. It had been off since the dinner last evening with Drake. A crooked smile pulled at her lips while she waited for the screen to load up. The cell vibrated an instant later. It buzzed and jumped with an onslaught of incoming messages. Chrissy’s name scrolled down the page and Toni bit back her chuckle. Her friend was probably desperate for details.

  Toni leaned on the counter and flicked to read the first message.

  ‘Call me!’

  ‘You can’t be serious, Toni. You need to call me right away.’

  The messages continued, growing more and more desperate until the last one this morning that read: ‘Call me now!’

  Fear snagged the breath in her chest as she hit the icon to call.

  “Do you know who that is?” Chrissy screamed, bypassing a greeting.

  “What are you talking about? I just got your frantic texts and let me start by saying you have officially freaked me out.” Toni lowered her voice to a hushed whisper and glanced over her shoulder. The door was cracked but she couldn’t see the bed or Drake from this angle.

  “I got the picture you sent last night and I’ve been trying to call you.”

  The tight clutch in her chest eased. Toni smiled. “Is that all?”

  “Is that all? Is that all?” Chrissy voice rose with each question.

  “It’s wicked gamer. I told you I was sending a picture of Drake.”

  “Drake frickin’ Winston. You did not say your online friend was the head of Winston Enterprises.”

  “What!” Toni fell back into the counter. CEO? Her Drake? Thoughts flipped through her head like a slow running movie. It wasn’t a stretch to believe he was a man who ran a multi-million dollar empire. But Winston Enterprises? They had their finger in every segment of entertainment, media and a grocery list of other ventures. Drake wasn’t just rich, he was a millionaire. And far outside her reach.

  “Only you, Toni,” Chrissy moaned.

  Toni dropped her head. Chrissy didn’t know the half of it. Only her. She’d slept with him. Built pipe dreams about Drake in her head. Mooned over houses and what their kids would look like. Well, not exactly but that had been next on her inner fantasy schedule.

  “What am I gonna do?” She didn’t expect a response but Chrissy’s snappy retort jerked her upright.

  “Have sex with him of course.”

  “I already did.” The whisper came out with a sniff as her throat burned with this new knowledge. Why hadn’t Drake trusted her with his identity? Sure in the beginning she could understand not revealing who he was. But everything had changed in the last couple of days.

  Or maybe that made her the bigger fool and things hadn’t changed for him at all. Was this a passing fancy for him? Sleep with the naïve woman and laugh all the way back to his fancy home. Oh, God, were his friends in on it? Tory and Simon had seemed so nice.

  “I take it that isn’t a good thing.” Chrissy’s voice grew subdued, picking up on Toni’s mood.

  Toni scrubbed at her cheeks determined to keep the tears from falling. Her chest squeezed tight and she ended up pressing a balled fist to her stomach. She needed to confront Drake. She choked and stared into the mirror. She was naked and had to go back into the room to confront Drake.

  “I have to go and talk to him.”

  “Okay, okay. Call me, Toni. Let me know you’re fine after.”

  “Alright.” Toni ended the call and set her phone back on the counter, part of her wishing she’d never turned it on to check.

  Her steps hesitant, Toni re-entered the bedroom. Drake wasn’t lounging where she’d left him. Wearing only his jeans, revealing the wedge of black boxers from the waistband, he appeared to be checking her door crack. She didn’t even have a desire to contemplate why he kept doing that.

  “Drake, we need to talk.”

  He tipped his head in her direction then returned to whatever held his attention. “I think so.”

  ***

  “I know who you really are.”

  Antonia’s outburst as she stood between the bathroom and bedroom confused Drake. His wards had been tampered with again but this time with more force as if the person had tried to break through completely. If he was the target why were there no attempts on his own room? “What?”

  “Were you hoping I wouldn’t find out?” She hurried about the room getting dressed haphazardly in the clothes he’d thrown about.

  Squinting at the elements of his magic, there could only be one reason why her room was the target. He didn’t like the ugly conclusion this led to.

  “Drake! Are you listening at all?!”

  His head jerked up at Antonia’s shout. Drake sighed and rose from checking the wards. “I think its time we really talked.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  This wasn’t how he wanted to start the conversation. Antonia swiped at her cheeks and stomped toward the bed where she froze and glanced from the neat sheets and quilt then back to him. It suddenly hit him that something was really wrong. She’d been questioning him but he’d missed part of it.

  He studied her flushed face and watery eyes. His heart clenched. “Antonia? What’s wrong?”

  When Drake crossed the room toward her, she backed up and held her hand up. “You lied to me.”

  He wasn’t sure how they’d gone from being in bed together to him lying. “What did I lie about?”

  Her lower lip trembled. “I know. I know who you are.”

  This time as she said it combined with the look in her eyes, he knew what she meant. His heart sank. “Antonia, let me explain.”

  “It’s true, right? You’re Drake Winston. The head of Winston Enterprises.”

  Drake braced his hands on his waist and nodded. Denying it was pointless. “I was going to tell you today.”

  She let out a bitter laugh and wrapped her arms around herself. “Before I found out on my own I’m sure. Did you laugh at me? Think it was funny that I had no idea who you were?”

  Laughing
at the only woman to accept him as is wasn’t something he’d ever do. He liked it less that Antonia thought he’d do that to her. “I wouldn’t laugh at you. I enjoyed just being Drake for once.”

  Doubt clouded her gaze. “Why should I believe you?”

  Ignoring her stay away signals, Drake closed the distance between them and cupped her jaw. He bent his head down to gaze into her eyes. “Because it’s true. I enjoyed your refreshing personality, your complete honesty.”

  “But you chose not to give me the same.” Her amethyst eyes darkened. “I thought we were friends.”

  Her breath hitched on the last word and it was like a knife to his middle. Drake dropped his hands from her face. Friends. He and Antonia were friends. She meant more to him than half of the people in his life and the truth of that was staring right at him.

  “I think what you and I share goes beyond friendship.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and it killed him. “Then why didn’t you just tell me? Especially after we…we—”

  “Had sex,” he filled in.

  She shot him a glare and Drake worked to hold in his smile. Now was not the time to be amused by her innocence.

  “I think you need to leave. Give me some space to think.”

  All thoughts of humor fell to the way side. “Antonia, listen. I know how this looks but you have to let me explain. There’s something bigger going on.”

  He really needed to talk to her about the creature trying to get in her room.

  She snorted and propped her arms on her hips. The move pushed her breasts up and the top she wore plumped her cleavage higher. Dressed in every day jeans and a simple shirt, he shouldn’t have found her sexy but he did and Drake’s mind immediately drifted to what they’d done in the bed together moments ago.

  “I can’t believe you’re thinking about sex!” Genuine hurt flashed across her features.

  Shit. “Antonia…”