That relief was quickly followed by a feeling of nausea that erupted in her stomach. At first, she thought it must have been the food, but then she realized that it was Lucas causing the terrible feeling, that she could practically feel the evil seeping out of him.
Knowing that she had to say something and fast, she laughed, and said, “I doubt that’s true, but thank you for the compliment.”
Lucas spun her around a few times, then said, “I think your boyfriend might agree with me, and he doesn’t look very happy to be sharing you with me right now.”
Vivian looked over at Adam, who was scowling, a look on his face she didn’t like. “Oh, he’s not really my boyfriend,” she said, then wished she hadn’t when Lucas pulled her closer.
“But you came with him,” Lucas probed, his mouth close to her ear, making her shiver with repulsion.
Realizing that she’d opened a door it might be hard to close, she said, “Yes I’m with him; we met right before he decided to come and when he invited me, I couldn’t resist.”
“That’s a shame. I would have enjoyed spending more time with you,” Lucas said, his meaning impossible to miss.
Vivian took a deep breath, then sighed as if disappointed. “It wouldn’t be right,” she said, looking up at him coyly.
Lucas leaned in close and said, “I could arrange to have him go home early.”
“Umm...” Vivian stalled, “that probably wouldn’t be a good idea since we work together,” she finally said.
Lucas looked at her suspiciously. “I don’t think I recognize him, or you for that matter, and I was sure that I knew everyone coming.”
Vivian knew that she was in trouble, that it would be a disaster if Lucas started digging. “Vince got the tickets as a gift from some uncle that couldn’t make it; it was a last-minute thing. That’s why he invited me,” she quickly said, then just to distract Lucas she said, “I might be able to sneak away later tonight.”
That seemed to please him. “My rooms are at the end of the west wing. I’ll be there as soon as the party is over,” he said.
Vivian looked over at Adam, who was still scowling. “I’ll try to sneak away,” she said.
Lucas pulled her closer. “I’ll be waiting, and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I hate to be disappointed,” he said, pulling her closer again and letting his hands slide lower.
The feel of his hands on her was making bile rise in her throat, and she was sure that she was going to throw up any second when they were interrupted by one of his men. “Sir, I have an urgent matter that needs your attention,” the man said, making Lucas loosen his grip on her.
“Can’t it wait?” he snarled. “I’m busy.”
“Sir, the Avondale won’t be ready to sail on Wednesday; we just got word from the captain,” the man said, grimacing when Lucas swore.
Lucas turned back to Vivian. “I’m sorry, my dear, but I have to go deal with a little emergency,” he said, taking her hand and kissing the back. “But I look forward to seeing you later tonight.”
Vivian shivered when she saw the look in his eyes and wondered what he was going to do when she didn’t show up because there was no way she’d ever be in a room alone with the man. She watched him walk away, then breathed a huge sigh of relief when her stomach stopped hurting and the sense of evil disappeared.
When she got back to the table, Adam got to his feet; the scowl that had been on his face all night deeper than she’d ever seen it. “We’re going back to our room now,” he said, grabbing her arm and starting to drag her from the room.
Vivian pulled her arm from his grasp and stopped walking, “I’ll go back to the room when I’m ready; you don’t make decisions for me,” she said, glaring at him.
Adam stepped up as close as he could get without touching her and asked, “Do you know who you were just dancing and flirting with out there?”
Vivian stared up at him, her anger building. “Do you think I’m stupid? Of course, I know who that was,” she hissed at him, looking around to make sure no one was watching them.
“Well, you were sure being friendly with him and it looked like you were enjoying yourself,” he spat back at her.
Vivian’s anger hit the breaking point then, and she knew the next thing she said wasn’t going to be very nice, so instead, she said, “I think I’ll go back to the room now.”
She knew that Adam was following her, could feel his angry presence behind her, and wished for the hundredth time that they had separate rooms. Instead, they rode the elevator to their shared room, both as angry as they’d ever been at each other but conscious of the passion simmering between them.
Vivian couldn’t understand why her body was humming with desire, why her anger seemed to fuel it. But one look at Adam standing there, his hands clenched in fists at his side, made a thrill rush through her, made her body tingle in places it shouldn’t.
With a jolt, she realized where the feeling was coming from; she was pleased that he’d been jealous, happy that he cared enough about her to go a little crazy when he’d seen her with another man. Wanting to bang her head on the wall because it was the most ridiculous thing to be feeling, she waited for him to unlock the door, trying to make the feeling go away.
Chapter Eight
***Adam***
Vivian pushed past him when he got the door to their room unlocked, but he wasn’t ready to let it go, so he grabbed her arm again, then shut the door. “I just want to know: you enjoyed that?” he asked.
Vivian pulled away from him, narrowed her eyes, and said, “Stop grabbing me like that. I don’t like to be man-handled.”
Adam just glared at her, waiting for her to answer his question and beginning to wonder if she had enjoyed it. But then she said, “Besides, what difference does it make to you if I enjoyed it or not? We’re not involved; you have no say over what I do. If I decide to meet Lucas later tonight, that’s my business.”
It took a few seconds for what she’d just said to filter through his brain, but when it did, he exploded. “Meet him? Have you lost your mind? That is not going to happen,” he said, stepping up to her. “You should have seen the way he was looking at you. You can’t be alone with him; he’ll take what he wants whether you like it or not.”
Vivian looked like she wanted to scream at him. Instead, she repeated her earlier question. “What difference does it make to you?”
Adam looked into Vivian’s eyes, which he discovered were full of not just anger, but desire. Her chest was heaving, her eyes sparkling in the dim light of the room, a promise in their green depths he couldn’t resist. He reached for her, pulled her up against him, then cupped her face with his hands.
“It matters because I’ve started to care about you, Vivian, I don’t want to see you hurt, or worse,” he said, a thrill rushing through him when she let out a huge sigh.
The anger drained out of her eyes, leaving only desire, and he couldn’t stop himself from lowering his head. When their lips met, pleasure filled him, and when her arms came up around his neck, he knew that, lies or not, he needed this woman like he’d never needed another.
Vivian’s body molded itself to his when he pulled her up against him tighter, and he could feel her hard nipples through the thin fabric of her dress. Passion exploded between them as he kissed her, his tongue ravaging her mouth while his brain screamed at him that this was wrong.
Somewhere deep inside, he knew that he should tell her the truth, that he should explain, but he blocked that truth, letting something far deeper take over. Soon, he was operating on pure instinct, letting the demands of his body rule him, and Vivian’s beautiful dress fell to the floor in a pile of torn shreds.
***Vivian***
The feeling of cold air hitting her naked skin made Vivian gasp and step out of Adam’s arms, reality suddenly slamming into her. She stood staring at him, unable to move as his eyes raked over her body, making her shiver and her face flame.
Alarm bells were going off in her head,
telling her to move, to get away, but her feet wouldn’t move, the hungry look in Adam’s eyes freezing her to the spot. “Take your hair down,” he ordered, stripping off his tie and shirt.
Hands shaking, goosebumps rising on her skin as she watched him strip off his pants, she reached up and pulled the pins out of her hair and let it cascade over her naked shoulders. Adam sighed with pleasure, so she reached up and ran her hands through it several times, leaning her head back as she did, and exposing her breasts.
This time he let out a low moan, and swept her into his arms, his mouth clamping down on one of her breasts before she could lower her arms. He suckled first one and then the other, his hands roaming over her body.
His fingers were as light as a feather, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her skin, and her body throbbing deep inside. When his hand slid between her legs, she willingly parted them for him, anticipation makes her body throb even harder, and a gasp escaped her lips when he slid one finger between her folds.
Pleasure erupted deep inside her, wave after wave that left her breathless and clinging to him. He took her higher and higher, his finger working a kind of magic she’d never experienced until, with a strangled cry, she erupted in his arms, her nails digging into his back.
As pleasure nearly drowned her, Adam swept her up in his arms, strode over to the bed, laid her down, then slid between her legs. Vivian’s body was spent, but when his eyes locked on hers, and he pressed his throbbing erection against her sensitive nib, desire erupted inside her, and she lifted her hips to him.
Unable to resist the invitation, he whispered her name, then drove himself into her, pushing as deeply as he could with a hard thrust of his hips. Vivian threw her head back and dug her nails into his shoulders, her body closing around him, her velvety softness driving him higher and higher.
He filled her over and over, driving her to the edge, then backing down until she was crying out his name, desperate for satisfaction. Then with one final thrust, he took them both over the edge and into oblivion, the pleasure so intense that for long moments, neither could breathe.
When he finally collapsed on top of her, Vivian wrapped her arms around him and held on, sure that if she didn’t, she’d float away. Her body felt light as a feather as she floated in a pleasure-filled haze, every nerve in her body still pulsing.
***Adam***
Adam rolled off Vivian as soon as he caught his breath, afraid he’d crush her; she whimpered a little but sighed contentedly when he snuggled her into his arms. Her head resting on his chest, she stroked it and played with the coarse hair that covered it.
He sighed and closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of Vivian’s body pressed up against his and realized that he wasn’t quite done with her that night. Negative thoughts tried to push their way into his head, but he pushed them away; he’d already made the mistake, so there was no reason he couldn’t enjoy the rest of the night.
Tomorrow would be soon enough for recriminations and beating himself up; tonight, he was going to enjoy being with the woman who’d shown him what real pleasure was. Propped up on one elbow, he looked down at her, smoothing the hair back from her face.
“That was incredible, Vivian,” he said, kissing her on the forehead.
When her face turned bright pink, he couldn’t help but laugh. She slapped him on the chest. “Stop laughing at me; I can’t help it,” she said, covering her face.
Adam pulled her hands away from her face, “That blush is one of the things I like most about you,” he said, kissing her on the nose.
She looked up at him for a long time, her green eyes full of an emotion he couldn’t quite name, and didn’t want to think about for too long. Then she asked, “What else do you like about me?”
Adam was silent for a second thinking about her question. “I like your independence, your intelligence, and the fact that you always speak your mind even when your opinions aren’t popular,” he finally said, realizing too late that he’d said too much.
The look in Vivian’s eyes changed again, became deeper, and he knew what she was feeling because he felt it too. “I like that you want to protect me. I like that you see me as more than just a silly woman, and I like the fact that I know I can trust you,” she said, making his heart leap in his chest.
Guilt washed over him, but then he reminded himself that it wasn’t his choice to keep secrets from her; it was the council’s decision. If it were up to him, he’d have told her that day at the beach, and then it hit him: he should have told her that day. Council or not, she should know.
Vivian was a strong woman; she would have been able to handle the truth, would have understood, but that chance had passed, and now he wasn’t sure what to do. One thing he knew for sure: he couldn’t tell her right then, as it wasn’t the right time. But he promised himself that at the first opportunity, maybe at breakfast tomorrow, he’d tell her.
If he were lucky, she’d understand, and if not, what they shared was too strong not to survive her being angry at him for a while. Feeling reassured by his decision, he trailed one hand down her chest and used a single finger to trace a circle around her breast, then flicked his tongue across the nipple when it stiffened.
Vivian gasped and said, “Oh, I like that too.”
“Hmmm,” he growled. “What about this?” he asked, sliding his hand down her stomach, between her legs.
Later that night, he lay with Vivian cradled in his arms, half-asleep. Even after a second trip to paradise in her arms, he was still desperate for her and wondered how long this deep craving would last. He’d started something he was powerless to stop, and now that he’d had a taste of what being with Vivian was like, he didn’t want to give her up.
That was the last thought that went through his mind before he fell asleep. But he’d only been asleep for a few minutes when he felt Vivian carefully untangle herself from him and slip into the bathroom. He smiled when he realized that she hadn’t wanted to wake him, and started to go back to sleep.
But the bed felt empty without Vivian and sleep wouldn’t come. It wasn’t long before he saw her come back out of the bathroom, but she was dressed in her pajamas and carrying something in her hands. He started to sit up and ask her what she was doing, but then she headed for the closet, and he became curious.
Watching her from the bed, his eyes closed so that he could barely see her, he watched her disappear into the closet. He waited for her to come out for a long time, then finally sat up and called her name, suddenly concerned.
When she didn’t answer, he got out of bed, walked over to the closet, and called her name softly again, but got no response. He flipped on the light in the closet and was shocked to find that she wasn’t inside, then he saw a space where the clothes had been pushed to the side, and a panel in the wall sticking out just a little bit.
He walked over to the panel and pulled it out, stuck his head through the opening, and looked around. It was dark inside, but there was just enough light to see that it was a passageway and that there was a pair of tracks in the dust leading away.
Cursing, he backed up and looked around the closet. Vivian had been carrying something, a map probably, he thought standing there; then he understood why she hadn’t been pushing for a way into the study: she’d had one all the time.
Going back to the room and pulling on his pajamas, he began planning what he was going to say to her when he caught up with her. She’d lied to him, hidden the map, and now was off wandering around on her own in a very dangerous place. If she didn’t get herself killed, he might be tempted to kill her himself.
Chapter Nine
***Vivian***
Vivian walked through the dusty passageway wishing that she’d risked trying to find her slippers. It had taken Adam hours to fall asleep, and she was just beginning to think that she was going to have to abandon her plan when his even breathing told her that he’d nodded off.
She felt guilty as she crept through the darkness, a penlight the only illumination i
n the darkness, but she’d been afraid that Adam would try and stop her if she showed him the map. So, she’d snuck out of bed, gotten dressed, and headed through the panel on her own.
Now, she wished that she’d brought him, the darkness becoming heavier and heavier the farther from the room she walked. Afraid she’d take a wrong turn and end up in someone’s bedroom, she kept her eyes on the map, hoping she’d be able to retrace her steps when she was done.
Several times, she thought she heard someone in the passageway with her, but when she shined the light towards the sound, there was nothing there. By the time she got to the study, she was so jittery that the slightest sound was making her jump, so she leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths.
Feeling calmer, she shined the light along the wall until she saw the latch for the panel that would let her into the study. Silently thanking her contact, she shut off the light and slowly released the panel, every tiny sound making her heart pound in her chest.
Finally, it came free, and she set it to the side, then paused and listened. Satisfied that there was no one in the room, she poked her head through the opening, ready to flee at any moment, but saw only Lucas’s big desk and the fireplace.
The room was completely dark and silent, so she stepped through the opening and up to the desk. She looked down at it, trying to think of the best place to start looking, then chose a drawer and carefully slid it open.
She was on the last drawer of the desk when she found what she was looking for and couldn’t stop the little cry of triumph that came out of her mouth. Covering her mouth with her hand, she stood perfectly still, listening, afraid to even breathe, hoping the guards at the door hadn’t heard her.
Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Dragons Secret Society Book 2) Page 5
