by Teri Gilbert
No wonder his erection pressed against his trunks. He shifted, willing it to go away. “How long does it last?”
They giggled again. “Why, until you do something about it, silly. If you don’t, you’ll be sick.”
Alec gave an inward groan of frustration. Mallaki was behind this. He’d been drugged to entice him into having sex with these two girls. Why? For power over him? Blackmail?
Hidden video cameras were a given. Tapes of him with two women would be excellent extortion material. He could see the CEO of CNN being quite interested in the antics of their newly hired chief of meteorology.
He placed his arm around the brunette’s waist.
“That’s more like it.”
Then urged her toward the door. “Time to go.”
With a shrug, the redhead placed the dome back over the fruit, then linked arms with the brunette. “I can’t remain in this state. There’s an empty room a couple doors down.”
Alec closed his eyes and blocked out the sound of the women’s voices as they exited the room. Far too many visuals floating around his brain.
He had turned down the opportunity to fulfill every man’s fantasy. Well, he’d never considered two women to be his fantasy. One was more than enough. But still...the Vegas philosophy. He had to admit he’d been tempted, for a split second. Then all he could think of was Eleni, the way her mouth turned up when she thought he’d said something funny. The way she’d stood up to Mallaki to let him know she was okay. The way she was willing to do whatever it took to avenge her friends.
Alec’s blood chilled. Was there a limit to what she’d do? Eleni was smart. She knew Mallaki wanted her. Would she go as far as sleeping with the enemy?
Chapter 24
Alec found walking nonchalantly down the hallway toward the pool nearly impossible. Thinking about the danger they were in had helped ease his erection, but knowing he’d be seeing Eleni in a matter of minutes had brought him to the brink again. He blew out a frustrated breath, trying desperately to focus on anything else. Whatever was in Siac should be patented. Someone would make billions. He tugged his bathrobe tighter.
Okay. Almost to the pool area. What would Eleni think when she saw the result of the aphrodisiac? No. Don’t think of Eleni, the way she looked in her skintight suit.
He padded through the changing room, past the pool, and found Eleni waiting for him in the spa. When she spotted him, the strain around her eyes and mouth vanished, and a smile graced her lips.
She shot him a sultry look and rose like a sea nymph from the water and smoothed her hands down her curvy body, sending a shower of droplets back to the water and another surge of blood south, filling him to the point of bursting. He let out a low groan.
Concern washed over Eleni’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Mallaki had a little surprise for me.”
“Are you hurt?”
“Not the way you might think. He sent a couple visitors to my room.”
Color drained from Eleni’s face. “Naia and Litsa?”
He gave a short nod. “If anyone here offers you something called Siac, don’t drink it.”
“Why?”
He shed his robe and glanced down at his bathing suit tenting outward. “That’s why.” He paused. “I also feel a little sick to my stomach.” No doubt a result of whatever concoction of drugs were used to create his pressing condition.
Understanding dawned across Eleni’s delicate features. “I’ve heard there’s a faction designing aphrodisiacs as a way to raise money for their cause.” She stared at his erection with frank curiosity. “I didn’t realize they were so far along in their research.”
He entered the spa and sat, noting cold water would have been better on his superheated flesh. He glared up at Eleni. “Don’t sound so pleased. This is pretty damn uncomfortable.”
Relief sagged her shoulders briefly before she raised her brows, mischief dancing in her light eyes. “You obviously resisted.”
“Obviously.” He didn’t find this amusing in the least. He explained what had happened, leaving out some of the more titillating details, knowing Eleni wouldn’t exactly appreciate the lengths the two women were willing to go.
“Mallaki is jealous of you, Alec.” She clasped his hand and lowered herself next to him. “You’ll have to be careful.”
Honored Eleni thought of him when she was the one clearly in more danger, Alec smoothed his thumb over her slender fingers. “So do you.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, brushed his lips over the top. The familiar electrical tug he associated with Eleni flowed through him. He had to think about something else. “Why have you been avoiding me?” He scanned her face.
Her mouth quivered as she stared beyond him toward the sea.
“Eleni.” Alec swallowed past the hard lump in his throat. He didn’t want to ask, but had to know. “That first act in the play, where the god rapes the maiden. Mallaki, he hasn’t tried...?”
The knot in his stomach relaxed when she shook her head. “Mallaki says he doesn’t want to force me.” Implying he would if Eleni didn’t do what he wanted.
Anger churned in the pit of his stomach. “How has he threatened you?”
Silence.
“Dammit, Eleni. I have to get you out of here.” He eased closer, brushing a wayward strand of hair from her face. “What did he say?”
She gave a little shake of her head, her lower lip trembling. “Nothing that I believe.”
“Where is he now?” Alec glanced around, listening carefully. They were alone. He was sure of it.
“At another meeting with his houseguests. They’re getting ready for tomorrow night.” She started filling him in on Mallaki’s plans, but he stopped her.
“I know what he’s doing. He’s quite open about his intentions. How did you get here?”
“No one was guarding my room. I think Mallaki thought his earlier threats would keep me there, and that you were busy with Naia and Litsa. But I had to see you, Alec.” She met his gaze with those incredible eyes of hers, and he couldn’t take it any longer. He tugged her into his arms and crushed his lips to hers. She returned his kiss, eagerly, fervently.
Cradling her, he lowered her into the spa, out of sight of any possible security cameras.
Eleni’s breath hitched as Alec’s arms shifted, edging her closer, forcing her to lift her thighs over his, wrapping herself around the man she hadn’t been able to get out of her mind from the first moment she’d met him.
She wasn’t acting as Amalgamated’s agent anymore, not that seducing Alec had been the plan in the first place. Warmth flooded through her. Somewhere along the line, something changed. Conscious thought of what to do and how to pleasure evaporated, replaced by a raw, urgent need to be with Alec, to lose herself in pure sensation, knowing only that he was here with her, to relish in the solidness of his chest, the comforting warmth of his arms wrapped around her body.
He ran his hands over her, lightly touching everywhere, as if to prove she were really there, too.
Eleni inched forward, wanting to be closer still, then tilted her head upward, mouth parted, inviting another devastating kiss.
Alec didn’t disappoint as his tongue brushed her lips. He tasted sweet, like honey and exotic fruits. She shifted her mouth, encouraging him to delve deeper, her body warming and responding to the familiar taste of his mouth, the velvet caress of his tongue against hers as he plunged, retreated, then plunged again, causing liquid to pool between her legs.
She let out a husky moan, then scraped her teeth along his tongue before pressing her lips to his. Her hands clenched his hair, holding him to her mouth.
She started trembling, and it wasn’t from fear or sitting in a hot sub surrounded by cooler air. No. Her body’s reaction was one of recognition, of knowing who the man was that making love to her and welcoming him home.
Alec must have felt it, too. Tenderness and something else she didn’t recognize shone darkly in the depths of his eyes.
H
is kiss alone was making her body burn. She shifted restlessly against him, pressing the pulsing, demanding part of her against his erection, needing to feel some small measure of relief. Instead, her movements only intensified the smoldering demand for more.
A shudder ripped through Alec, and a sense of wonder suffused Eleni. She’d never felt like this before, hot and hungry, yet tender and desperate, all at the same time. Needing to tease her partner, not because she could, but because she wanted to drive him to the same torturous, intensely exciting place she was.
She traced her fingertips downs the sides of his face to his mouth, relishing the feel of the rough texture. “Alec.” The depth of her need thickened her voice.
Or was it something else? Something unrelated to sex, something that, until this point in her life, had been foreign to her.
“What?” Alec noted the change in Eleni’s expression. “Is everything all right?” She appeared choked up, like she was about to cry.
She hugged him and planted her face against his upper body. “I can’t think of a place I’d rather be or anyone I’d rather be with.”
A wave of emotion swept over him. Maybe he wasn’t ready to give voice his feelings, but he could show her how he felt.
He ran a hand through the damp tendrils at the side of her face, traced them upward to her hair bun, and then tugged out the ornate comb, letting the silky stands caress his fingers.
She shifted and pressed her lips against the ridge of muscle above his nipple.
He reluctantly inched Eleni backward. He loved having her pressed against him, loved the contrast of his hard chest against her feminine softness and the feel of her silky hair pouring over him.
His mouth closed over hers, and a rush of familiarity and desire swamped him. This time he didn’t bother coaxing or teasing. He drove his tongue deep into the sweetness of her mouth.
She sucked gently.
A thick sound of pleasure issued from his throat as he withdrew, then plunged again while at the same time moving her gently against his erection.
She made little noises herself, then thrust her tongue against his in a sensuous tango, leaving him more inflamed than he’d ever been before. Her hips rocked against him, forcing him to still her. Though his erection throbbed painfully, he didn’t want this to be over before he had the chance to be inside her.
He hooked his trembling fingers beneath the shoulder straps and peeled the wet, clingy fabric to her waist.
The sight of her bare breasts sent another wave of urgency thrumming through his ready-to-burst erection. He touched her shoulders, then trailed his fingers downward, circling the shaded portion, then cupping the perfectly shaped mounds.
Leaning forward, he drew the protruding pink tip into his mouth, sucking gently. He flicked his tongue back and forth over the slick, hot pearl and was rewarded when her nipple hardened and tightened into a taut peak. He paid her other breast the same attention until it, too, was shiny with his efforts.
Eleni threw back her head and made soft, unintelligible sounds as he continued to taste her. Her hands wrapped around his back, urging him even closer. He gave a soft moan as he closed around one peak, then the other.
Her head fell back with a cry, caressing his hand with her silky hair. He kissed her deeply along her exposed neck before scoring her neck lightly with his teeth.
He ran his hands down her back and encountered the suit, bunched at her waist. Lifting her onto the seat at the edge of the spa, he slipped his hand beneath the fabric, cupped her tight buttocks, and slid the remaining fabric over her hips, down her ankles, and off of her, finally setting the suit next to her on the seat.
He quickly stepped between her thighs, widening them, then knelt in front of her.
Eleni drew her knees up, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of her dark triangle. The scent of her arousal filled his senses. He planted a moist kiss on the inside of her thigh, then separated her warm, soft folds with his index finger.
“Alec.” Her voice was husky, full of need.
He kissed her again, this time encasing her sensitive, protruding nub at the same time he slid his finger into her slickness.
She thrust against him as he drew her into his mouth, feeling her response in the way her body tightened, then contracted in tiny pulses around his finger.
He doubled his effort, adding another finger to her slick heat. Her breath came quickly, and her thighs trembled. She convulsed once, twice, but he didn’t stop sliding his tongue over her hot little nub until finally she took his head in her hands and drew him on top of her.
The throbbing of his engorged flesh matched the heavy beat of his pulse, thundering through his veins. He shook with the sheer force of raw need, making him fear he’d waited too long.
He slid his suit to the bottom of the spa, positioned himself, then, meeting Eleni’s heated gaze, plunged forward into her slick heat.
Eleni nearly wept with relief at the feel of Alec moving inside her. Need burned, its flames licking along her spine. She bucked against him, tiny sounds of pleasure issuing from the back of her throat. Her climax had only just taken the edge off of her desire. She needed more.
He started moving, sliding every inch of his erection against that oh-so-sensitive part of her he’d been so tenderly loving moments before. She felt herself contract against him.
“Stop that.” He spoke between clenched teeth. “You’re getting me so hot I won’t last more than a damn minute.”
Smiling seductively, she ran her hand down the lean plane of his face. “I’ll do my best.”
He moved again, and her head dropped back as she arched against him. Unable to stop herself, she raised her legs higher, forcing him even deeper, then locked her ankles high on his back.
“You’re killing me.”
“No more than you are me.”
Then he moved again, and pleasure shimmered through her, causing her breasts to swell, her nipples to tighten.
Alec must have noticed, for he dipped his head down and drew the tip of one breast deep into his mouth and used that magic tongue of his to bring her to the brink once again.
Alec increased his pace, watching as Eleni’s pupils widened, then went white hot with fiery pleasure. She was close again. He could tell. Tiny pulses tugged at his rigid flesh, so deep inside Eleni, there was no way to tell where he started or she ended; the way it should be. Two parts of a whole.
Pure sensation ripped through him as he started moving again, fighting his own release, trying to draw this out, bring more pleasure to Eleni. His back tensed as she tugged at him again. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He couldn’t stop it this time. Intense pleasure so keen it bordered on pain flooded his body as he withdrew, then thrust into Eleni again. Her hips rose off the tiles, shoving at him, accepting his release as he poured into her.
Seconds, maybe even minutes passed, as they remained in that position, locked together. Slowly he removed himself from her and slid into a sitting position.
“Feel better?” Mischief lit her eyes.
“Much.” But he knew it wasn’t merely physical. This had transcended any previous sexual encounters. Hadn’t even compared.
“Alec?”
“Hmm?” Her voice sounded far away. Had he drifted off?
She shifted, sending a wave of water across his lap.
He sat and ran a hand through her hair.
“What Mallaki said at dinner. About losing your house. Is that true?”
He recoiled, feeling like he’d been sucker punched. Now ancient history, the wound still felt raw. But after everything they’d been through, Eleni deserved the truth. “Just after my brother Nick was born, my dad opened a micro brewery along the Erie Canal in Fairport. Did a booming business. We were living the American Dream.”
“What happened?” Her voice was calm, sympathetic.
“When I was sixteen, my father died of a heart attack.” To Alec’s surprise, the words no longer invoked the overwhelming sense of loss. “Creditors
took the brewery and house and very nearly the shirts on our backs. We moved to a small two-bedroom apartment where Nick and I had to share a room. I quit the swim team and got a full-time job at a local store.”
Her face grew compassionate, and moisture rose to the corners of her eyes. “What about school?”
He swallowed past the knot in his throat and stared beyond her to the sea, where crests of waves glinted in the moonlight. “I worked after school and on weekends. My family depended on my paychecks to survive.”
“So that’s why you work so much now?”
His face tightened, and his pulse pounded in his ears. “I’ll never live like that again, worried that I won’t have a place to live, that I’ll lose my goddamned house.”
She took his hand and squeezed, tears falling freely down her cheeks.
“What?” He shook her free and glared at her. “I don’t need your pity.”
“I don’t pity you, Alec. I’m sorry for the sixteen-year-old boy who had to grow up too fast.” She curled herself over him.
He stiffened, then allowed her to bring his head against her chest. A knot of emotion clogged his throat.
Several minutes passed.
He raised his head, then wrapped his arm around Eleni’s shoulder, wishing they were in another place.
Eleni ran a hand through his hair. “Do we have to go? I want to stay here forever.” Her breath warmed the side of his face.
His body echoed her sentiments. How right this felt, holding her in his arms again.
Cupping her hips and lowering her into the spa, he turned her around and settled her back against his chest. More content than he could ever remember feeling, he watched the stars winking in the sky.
“Alec?”
“Hmm.” Had he drifted off again?
“Were you tempted by Mallaki?”
He stiffened and released her so quickly he felt her hip bump against the bottom of the spa.
She swiveled and brushed the hair back from her eyes. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were. Mallaki would make you rich, while Amalgamated...” She spread her hands. “We live okay, but it’s definitely more of a hand to mouth existence than the lavish life Mallaki can offer.”
