by C. R. Jane
Keon had a shoulder pressed into the doorframe, hands deep into his uniform pants, navy blue today, and one leg crossed over the other at the ankle. His dark chestnut hair was brushed off his face with a few loose strands draped over an eye. A shadow of stubble graced his jawline. And those piercing green eyes were a contrast to his tanned skin, while the corners of his lips quirked upward.
“Perfect for what?” I asked, unable to look away from the angles on his face, the muscles. This man was all brawn and desire and utterly gorgeous. I clenched my thighs together to stem off the arousal. He shouldn’t be affecting me this way, and I shouldn’t be remembering what his lips tasted like. Then again, I fell victim to Alaric too—though to be fair, he was an incubus. While I thought I lured these men to me, he in fact, tricked me and fed off me. Sexy asshole.
With Keon, it was different. I’d given myself to him freely. And now… well, now I struggled to make sense of my emotions around him.
My mother always warned me against falling for men...although really, it was a bit hypocritical, since I was pretty sure she’d been in love with Julian for a long time. They are attracted to your lure as a siren. Not who you are.
Her words always stayed with me and were probably why I never allowed myself to get too close to any guys. Well that, and the fact that Julian never really gave me the chance.
Keon and I studied each other. With the way he looked at me, he didn’t have to say anything, everything was there in his eyes. Hunger. Eagerness. Confidence that I was his.
He knew what he wanted, and he stared at me like he was going hunting and I was his intended prey.
“I have something to show you,” he said casually, glancing at me as curiosity bloomed on my face.
I snorted a laugh as I ran my fingers through my hair, swooping the long, dark strands over my shoulder to try and work through the knots. Not having a comb was certainly inconvenient. “You know that sounded a bit creepy.”
He shrugged. “All depends on how you interpret the words.”
“So, are you off duty right now?” I asked, and stepped closer to him, my body heating up from his presence alone.
“When I’m in here, I’m always on duty, little shadow.” He straightened and stepped out of my cell. “You coming?”
A slither of panic slid down my skin. It was an unreasonable fear on my part. He’d saved me...still, uncertainty sat heavy on my chest. At the same time, I didn’t want him to leave me alone. As he stepped farther away, my stomach knotted.
I should have said no, excused myself, anything but step outside my cell to follow him. I gave into my own curiosity to find out what he wanted to show me. Gave in to my fear of being left alone with my dark thoughts.
Mother Goddess, he was handsome. It seemed to be the only thought consuming me. For those moments when he came to my cell, I had forgotten about the heaviness in my chest, about the darkness fraying the edges of my mind. Keon offered me a chance to forget it all, and I took the opportunity.
Chapter 13
Once we left the main area of cells behind, his hand slipped into mine, and he quickly guided me down a corridor, sticking to the shadows. We moved fast, taking corridors left and right, and I made a mental note of the turns, tucking them into my mind.
When he finally stopped, he glanced over his shoulder at me and smiled. His smile was a bit devilish, like we were about to do something we shouldn’t. The jangle of keys drew my attention to his hand as he jammed an old-fashioned long key into the hole and unlocked the door. He quickly drew me inside by my hand before locking us inside.
“I’m surprised this place still uses keys,” I said, glancing around the dimly lit room and remembering the blood sacrifice that one of the walls in the prison had required.
There was a double bed, freshly made. A table with four chairs and a deck of playing cards in the middle along with a bowl of candy. A bar fridge in the corner.
Without asking, I hurried over and took a handful of the small round candies and popped them into my mouth. They melted on my tongue, and I moaned from the sweet taste. I had missed out on candy growing up. My mother would be horrified if she saw me now, but I didn’t care. I was in a freaking prison, so I’d eat whatever the hell I wanted.
“Got a sweet tooth?” Keon asked.
I collected another handful and turned to face him. “I assume this candy is free for the taking?”
He nodded, smiling divinely. I adored the way he looked at me like nothing else in the world existed. We hardly knew each other, yet in his company, I felt content. Maybe I was completely fucked up on the inside. Broken. Lost. Or I was so desperate for affection, I clung to whatever little bit was offered to me.
Except, what he was feeling probably wasn’t real. I wasn’t a fool to think he was different from all the others who were pulled in by my abilities. I wanted to believe Keon liked me for me, but it really wasn’t probable. I wasn’t even sure it was possible.
As much as I tried to deny it, prison life had been unexpected. I’d been terrified to come to this prison, expecting only fear and panic. Yet somehow, I’d found myself attracted to the monsters in here… guards and criminals alike. Dangerous men. Seductive men.
Keon wasn’t the only one who drove me crazy with need.
Maybe there was something wrong with me, or maybe I had to admit to myself that I was captivated by the darker side these men offered me.
“What is this room?” I popped the rest of the candy into my mouth, savoring the fruity sweetness once more. I was probably going to eat the whole bowl.
“My secret haven. A place a few of us guards hang out without cameras watching. I’d be happy to bring you here when you need some time away.”
“Oh.” My gaze drifted to the door and back. “So anyone can pop in here and find me?”
“Don’t worry. No one’s coming. We’re alone,” he said, standing tall. “Only I have the keys today.”
No barriers stood between us, and if he wanted to, he could slit my throat. I regretted having that thought immediately because he’d only ever saved me. He wasn’t the predator here, but my savior. He was the only person I felt comfortable coming to, despite the situation of how we first met. That was only solidified when he saved me from the vampire.
I glanced up at him, meeting those hypnotizing green eyes. “I’m not scared, if that’s what you think.” I held myself taller.
He strolled closer, and I didn’t react until he stood inches from me and his hand cupped the side of my face. He combed his hand through my hair and fisted my hair at the back of my head. Then he tilted my chin up. I should have cried out, but instead, I found myself falling into those green, green pools in his eyes. They promised me escape, a place to abandon myself and forget the horrible place I ended up in.
“Maybe you should be scared,” he murmured.
A bolt of electricity filled me at his touch. I stared up at him, holding his gaze. My knees trembled beneath me.
“I can smell your fear. I see it in the way your eyes flick about nervously. I can hear it in the faint strain of your voice.” His tone was mocking and rough, and I couldn’t help the way my body responded to the sound of it, heat spiraling through me. I shouldn’t be turned on by this show of aggression, but I was. My breath caught in my lungs.
“So, I can come here any time to hang out, you say?” I mouthed nervously, not sure I trusted myself right now from dragging him closer and kissing him. Except, that was exactly what my body wanted. What I craved.
“Of course,” he answered, overzealous in his quick response. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since that night. I want you, Selena. I’ll do anything to have you,” he continued, a hint of desperation in his voice.
I want you. Those three words resonated within my mind. I’ve had boys say them to me in the past at school, many in fact. They’d all been blinded by the call of my siren. And maybe Keon was blinded too right now… I didn’t know. But I didn’t want to know at that moment.
I needed his closeness and to extinguish the flames roaring through my body. I wanted to pretend this was real for just a little while.
The thought of walking away and doing the right thing crossed my mind, but with it came a disturbing ache in my stomach. An unease settled through me at leaving Keon.
I wished I didn’t feel so weak, so vulnerable, so eager for him.
Instead of pulling away, I watched the twitch of his lips as he leaned closer. I could have turned away. I should have. But I did nothing.
Our mouths crushed together. His lips demanding, his tongue forcing past the seam of my lips. Desire flooded me, eroding my resistance.
He broke from me, smirking, his eyes seeming to have changed to a lighter shade of green.
“Your taste…” He licked his lower lip, his eyes rolling up momentarily like he floated on his own cloud of euphoria. “I’ve never tasted a siren before.”
I blinked at his words. He knew what I was. Of course he’d find out from my prison records, and it made me smile to know he liked me enough that he’d checked up on me. It would be exactly what I would do too.
“You know what I am, but what are you?”
Instead of answering, he kissed me again. I trembled. My lips tingled, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how he tasted, how I thought I might explode from the heat coursing through me.
It was exhilarating.
Heart stopping.
Arousing.
Fireworks went off through my body.
My mind whirled, heart raced. Everything about him won me over.
He stood over me, his large body blocking everything. When he broke from my lips, he stared down at me with a primal, savage look.
“You are mine, Selena,” he murmured as his hands settled on my waist. He lifted me off my feet and claimed my mouth.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him, drowning beneath his desire. I inhaled his masculine scent. There was something inside of him, something dark that curled around me. It teased me with a sliver of fear… something unknown.
“I want to be yours,” I whispered against his mouth. I’d been so down lately, and he offered me an escape from the hell I lived in.
The delicious growling sound he made told me he liked my response. He licked my lips, tasting me hungrily.
“Yes, you will be,” he moaned as he laid me on the bed. “And I’ll be everything you need.”
He didn’t waste a moment and kneeled on the mattress. He leaned over me and captured my mouth with his.
I cupped the sides of his face, completely lost to this beautifully sexy man. A memory of how Alaric had felt flashed through my mind, but I pushed it away, focusing all my concentration on Keon.
Breathing was close to impossible, as was thinking straight. I didn’t care about anything but being with him. The man who took my virginity. There would always be a special place for him in my heart, and I’d never forget him.
He kissed me all over my face, his body pressed to mine. I pulled at the buttons on his jacket, popping them open. I wanted to feel his skin against mine. To feel what really lay underneath his clothes.
His large hands pulled my top up to my chest and tucked under me to my back. I arched myself as he unclipped my bra.
I sucked in rapid breaths and squeezed my thighs together as excitement blew through me.
He lowered himself, and his mouth found the soft skin of my stomach, covering it in kisses before cutting a path to my breasts. Quickly, he dragged my bra and top up over my body and head.
With my hands above me, the fabric of my top still covering my face, he settled a hand over my arms and stilled me. “Don’t move gorgeous, stay right there.”
His words stole my breath, leaving me shuddering.
Cool air licked over my skin. I drowned under his attention.
His large hands found my breasts and kneaded them. His mouth pressed to mine, the fabric of my shirt between our kiss. Black material was all I could see. Heat engulfed me as he held me down. All the while, his hand swept down my body and slipped under the elastic of my pants and underwear.
My breath hitched as shivers encased me. His fingers found the slickness of my heat, and he rubbed me until my legs widened for him. I arched at his touch, my hips rocking back and forth.
I was trapped by him, by his touch. His tongue traveled down the valley of my breasts before he found the pointed peak of my nipples.
I gasped, the fabric of my top sticking to my face from the warmth of my rushed breaths.
“I want you naked and under me, begging me for more.” His voice was dark and violent.
My heart pounded in my ears like a thousand drums.
When he stared down at me, his pupils had completely dilated, and there was something almost feral behind his gaze. Was he a shifter?
“You deserve so much more,” he murmured, pulling his hand away from my core. The bed shifted beneath me to indicate he stood up. He lifted one of my feet and pulled a shoe off, then he did the same with the other foot. Next thing, his fingers curled under the top of my pants, and he dragged them down my legs, along with my underwear.
An inferno engulfed me as I lay spread out before him, my face still covered.
Footsteps brought him up beside me as he gently tugged away the top and bra trapping me. He tossed them to the floor.
I breathed in and looked up at him, still completely dressed while I lay there vulnerable.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Selena.” He shouldered his jacket off and let it drop to the ground behind him. Underneath he wore a tight tee that pulled taut across a broad, powerful chest. “I have so much to make up for after our first time together in the bar.”
“It was perfect for me.”
He studied me as he reached down and collected my hand and placed it to his mouth. He kissed my palm, then stretched my arm up to the metal bedhead. There he pulled out a leather handcuff already attached to the bed. He wrapped the band around my wrist before tying it up where it wasn’t so tight that it hurt.
“Is this okay?” He walked around the bed to my other hand.
My brain wasn’t working. Not while my body pulsed with arousal. “Yes,” I breathed, drawing my knees up, squeezing my thighs together.
“Good.” He tied my other arm to the top of the bed.
He stood back and stared down at my naked body. A dirty smirk played his lips, and I buzzed all over, adoring the way he stared at me like he was trying to get himself under control. A groan spilled from his mouth, the corded muscles in his neck clenched.
Something about Keon made me feel alive, dissolving the depressing thoughts constantly plaguing my mind. I was tired of feeling numb, spiraling into darkness. I wanted him to make me feel.
“I need you,” I murmured. “Please, Keon.”
His hand slipped to the side of my face. “My little shadow, I’ll give you everything I have and more.” Complicated emotions flickered in his gaze, something deep and heartfelt.
The sharp edge of my desire seized my thoughts.
All that filled me was a savage lust.
And I forgot everything else.
I saw the same need in his gaze. We were more alike than I first thought. In a few long strides, he moved to the end of the bed then climbed on. Hands on my knees, he jerked them open, his gaze plunging to my heat.
There was a twitch at the corners of his mouth as he dropped down on all fours before my spread legs. He kissed the insides of my thighs, taking mock bites, making his way lower.
I threw my head back onto the bed, crying out with anticipation.
His mouth covered the perfect spot, ripping a moan from my mouth. He lapped at me, drawing even more heat from me. I needed him there. My pelvis rocked up and down, pushing myself against his face. Against that sexy tongue that devoured me.
“Oh, fuck, yes!”
With a brutal jerk of my hips, he lifted them as he rose to his knees. My legs hung up and over the back of his shoulders. His mo
uth latched to my pussy while those devious eyes looked at me as he ate me. So focused and intense, he watched me writhe and groan.
In a heartbeat, he pulled back. His mouth and chin glistened, and he clicked his lips hungrily.
“Fuck, Selena. Your pussy is gorgeous.”
I could barely catch my breath as he gently lowered my ass and legs back to the bed. My heart raced, and every inch of me purred.
“Please, fuck me,” I begged, feeling desperate for him to push me over the ledge I was standing at the edge of.
Keon climbed off the bed, his pants tenting from his huge erection. “I love your dirty mouth.” He stalked across the room before he pulled open a drawer near the bed. In his hand, he held a long black box, then flipped open the lid.
I craned my neck up, my hands straining against the cuff so I could easily see what was inside. He turned away from me and headed to the side of the bed before taking a seat. My eyes caught the black dildo in his hand.
My eyes grew wide incredulously.
“Want to play?”
“I...” The rest of my words fell away.
“First time?” He chuckled and kneeled on the bed at my feet. “Open up for me gorgeous.”
My legs fell open, the need for him still humming through me. The way he’d devoured me left me tingling and ready to burst. His fingers ran the length of my slickness before he inserted two inside me.
I arched, groaning with desire, my hips raising to meet his touch. My mind already floated on euphoria.
“You’re ready,” he told me, before quickly replacing his fingers with the dildo. It was slick and glided into me, filling me.
A rasping groan fell from his lips. When I looked at him, he had so much devious desire in his eyes as he focused on filling me completely. There was so much lust in his eyes, so much excitement, so much everything. With a flick, the dildo began to vibrate.
“Oh crap,” I purred loudly. My skin tightened. The sensation was impossible to describe, but it felt like my insides trembled. I writhed on the bed, my thighs drawing closed.
