Enslave Me Sweetly Part 15

He drew in a deep, shuddering breath. The beams of light that couched his face gave him a menacing yet angelic ambiance. Conflicting, like the man himself. "All right, then. Now that that's settled, let's go buy your ticket into h.e.l.l."

We traveled through the tunnel again and back into Jonathan's room. I needed that time to get myself under control. To stop thinking about Lucius and his kiss, Lucius and his praise, Lucius and his past, and to concentrate on the mission.

He led me through a back way. We soon reentered the party undetected and became part of the laughing crowd. Like a dream, smoke wafted around us. "This dance is mine," he said.

His strong, callused fingers wrapped around my wrist as his rough, husky voice shivered along my spine. Without waiting for my reply, Lucius dragged me onto the dance floor.

Back in character, I cast a helpless look over my shoulder, searching for Claudia or Jonathan. I didn't see either of them.

Soft, lulling music hummed from strategically placed speakers that were hidden in the walls. Lucius wound his arms tightly around me, and I fought the urge to sink completely into him and continue our kiss, picking up where it left off.

I gave him my complete attention, trying to appear fearful and furious. Meanwhile, my body thrummed with the pleasure of his heat and pine scent. If only he hadn't praised my abilities...

In the light, I saw that his dark hair framed around his chiseled face, and his faux-brown eyes glowed with...what? I couldn't read the emotion there, only the extreme intensity. My fingers itched to trace the fake scar that slashed down his temple. My mouth watered for another taste of him. The small tastes he'd already given me weren't enough. Not nearly enough.

The music began to fade from my ears, and the people around me vanished from my vision. The gray suit Lucius wore fit him to perfection, molding itself over each and every one of his muscles. Though his eyes were now brown, his lashes were the same: long, black, and spiky.

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, put up some kind of fight," he growled quietly. "You're supposed to hate and fear me. Not f.u.c.k me with your eyes."

Common sense slammed into me. My teeth ground together, and my gaze narrowed. I slapped him with so much force his head whipped to the side. The people around us gasped. Lucius didn't remove his arms from me. No, he tightened his hold. Slowly he turned and faced me again.

"Better," he said, his eyes now glowing with amus.e.m.e.nt.

Just for fun, I slapped him again.

He lost his amused glow. "I think people get the message."

"You sure?" My tone was dark with suppressed animosity...and desire.

A muscle ticked in his jaw. "I'm sure." He jerked me deeper into his arms. "Miss me?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave.

Maybe his kiss had weakened my resolve to dislike him, maybe his praise had, or his confession about his childhood, because I suddenly wanted to give him an honest answer-the one thing I hadn't given him in all our s.e.xual sparrings. But I had to stay in character from this point on, and we both knew it.

"Take your hands off me," I demanded and tried to pull away from him.

His hold tightened even further. "You like to play hard-to-get, Eden, but we both know how easy you'll be," he said, and there was a ring of truth in his tone. He wasn't speaking to my character, but to me. "You like where you are."

"Take your hands off me, d.a.m.n it!"

"First, admit that you like when I hold you. I want to hear you say it."

I pursed my lips. I'd admit nothing, not for our audience and certainly not for him. "I'll scream."

"Do it. Scream."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I won't wait forever, you know. Iwill have you." He leaned toward me, placing his lips near my ear, as if he meant to kiss me and whisper sweet words of love. Softly, so softly, he said, "You're the most erotic thing I've ever seen. Your nipples are hard and your sheer dress does nothing to hide them."

I slapped him again, harder than before. It was either that, or sink into him. He stumbled backward.

"Stay away from me." I projected my words loudly, loud enough that the people around us heard. "I don't want you. I'venever wanted you."

I swirled around and finally found Claudia. Her eyes widened when she spotted me, and her features became pinched with shock and concern. Jonathan's darkened with anger. Claudia said something to him, and he motioned to one of the Ell-Rollises, who immediately raced toward him.

I reached them, and Jonathan's attention veered to me. He forgot the guard as he took my hand, turned it, and kissed my wrist. "I'm sorry if my friend frightened you."

I pointedly withdrew from his hold and glared at him. "He dragged me to the dance floor and wouldn't let me go. He could have hurt me." I stomped my foot, the perfect pampered child.

"I wouldn't have let him, I a.s.sure you." His brown eyes were already so dark they appeared black, but they darkened further. "Claudia explained what happened between you and Hunter. Believe me, I won't let anything like this happen again. I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." But I remained stiff.

There, I thought with satisfaction. I'd done my job. I'd effectively established my dislike of "Hunter." I'd proven I wanted him nowhere near me, which would validate his growing desperation for me. I gave my attention to Claudia. "I'm feeling poorly. Are you ready to leave?"

She nodded, her color high with anger. She truly was concerned for me. "Yes, of course," she said. "Let's get you home. You're shaking." Like a mother hen, she wrapped her arm around my waist and led me through the crowd and to the front door.

"See that they make it to their car safely," Jonathan commanded the Ell-Rollis. I felt his gaze boring into my spine-and a.s.s.

I couldn't help myself. I tossed a glance over my shoulder, past the Ell-Rollis now shadowing us, and watched as Lucius approached Jonathan. The two men began arguing. People inched away from them, but not far enough that they couldn't listen. Unfortunately, I was too far away to hear.

Jonathan pushed him.

Lucius balled his hand into a fist, and it appeared like he was going to pound the stupid man into a b.l.o.o.d.y, lifeless heap. But then Jonathan pointed a finger in his face, said a few words, and Lucius nodded stiffly.

Both men glanced to me.

I didn't pretend to misunderstand what they'd been talking about, and didn't pretend I hadn't watched with interest. Lucius abruptly swung around and stalked toward the back door, widening the distance between us.

Still glowering with anger, Jonathan stared at me, silently commanding me to appreciate his efforts on my behalf. I merely offered him a half smile and turned away. Though I desperately wanted to race after Lucius and find out what had been said, I forced myself to keep pace beside Claudia. What kind of power did Lucius wield over me that he made me forget my job, my surroundings, my...everything? If I knew, perhaps I could fight against it. Fight againsthim.

The return drive to the amba.s.sador's residence was filled with chatter-all of it Claudia's. She lamented on the plague that was man, promised to speak with Jonathan again, and asked me over a thousand times if I was all right.

"Not a good first day on the job, was it?" she said.

"I'll be fine," I told her. "I handled Hunter once, and I'll handle him again."

Unfortunately, I was lying on both counts.

Chapter.

15.

Why the h.e.l.l aren't you in your apartment?" a rough, infuriated voice growled.

I came awake instantly. I lay in bed-my new, wheelbarrow-shaped bed at Claudia's home. I wore a thin tank and equally thin sleep pants. A soft yellow cover draped my lower half. Agent Luc slept peacefully on the floor at the end of the bed.

And Lucius was crouched at my feet.

When he realized I was awake, he sprang on top of me. I had my knife at his throat before he could take his next breath. He didn't flinch, didn't seem to care that I held his life in my hands. Frankly, I was amazed. Not only had he bypa.s.sed the amba.s.sador's security; he'd bypa.s.sed mine. I'd rigged the windows and door locks before I allowed myself to fall into sleep.

Lucius's weight pushed me deep into the mattress, making me all the more aware of the cool material underneath me, and the pure male heat on top of me.

"How did you get in here without waking me?" I demanded quietly, pressing the knife deeper. Not deep enough to draw blood. Not yet.

"Very easily. Now answer the d.a.m.n question."

"Claudia insisted I stay here."

"Claudia, huh? You two are on a first-name basis?"

"She's not so bad. She wants to protect me from you."

"Baby, nothing can protect you from me." The darkness of his voice cut through the darkness of the room.

I tried to wriggle out from under him, but he had me pinned by his strength. More than that, my halfhearted wriggling wouldn't have dislodged a feather. It did spark my desire for him to new heights, though, causing my b.r.e.a.s.t.s to mesh into his chest. The scent of honey began to encompa.s.s us in a fragrant cloud. And perhaps, just perhaps, I intentionally spread my legs so his lower body would sink into mine.

His nostrils flared, and tension radiated off of him in decadent waves. "We've got to do something about your perfume."

"Why?"

"It gives a man ideas," he grumbled.

I swallowed. "What kind of ideas?"

"The naked kind." His eyes narrowed. "Did you bring Luc?" Undiluted and unrestrained menace dripped from his tone.

I almost smiled. Almost. "Agent Luc is here, yes."

Even in the moonlight, Lucius's eyes visibly darkened. His ice-blue eyes. No contacts. He'd come to me as himself. My heart picked up in speed, drumming hotly in my chest.

"I told you what would happen if you brought him. Where. The h.e.l.l. Is he?"

"On the floor," I said, bending both of my knees. An innocent (I swear) action that cradled him intimately against me. I kept my knife steady.

"The only thing on the floor is a f.u.c.king lazy-a.s.s dog."

"Exactly." The word emerged on a smug breath. "And she's not lazy. She's finally getting some rest after a horrible life with a predator."

In that moment, he understood how I'd played him. How I'd purposefully made him jealous. Watching me, he popped the muscles in his jaw. "You're going to pay for that, cookie."

"Yeah, and you're going to pay for sneaking into my room." At last I pressed the knife hard enough to nick him. A tiny drop of blood slithered down his neck. "I named her after you."

"If you couldn't have me, you'd have the next best thing, right?"

"Can't you take an insult as it's intended? Now get the h.e.l.l off me." If only I sounded convincing...Angry with myself, I pressed the knife a little more deeply into his neck.

He didn't answer or comment; he was too busy staring at my lips. For a moment, however, itdid look like he wanted to say something, something smart-a.s.sed and cutting, but then he changed his mind, pressed against the blade, and swooped down.

He kissed the breath right out of me.

His tongue plunged inside my mouth, and I opened eagerly. Helpless to do otherwise. He tasted like man and heat, firing my blood, igniting my senses. I could become addicted to his flavor, I thought dazedly. His lips were soft, so soft, the perfect contrast to the hard battle of supremacy our tongues waged.

Suddenly he jerked back, his breathing ragged and unsteady. He glared down at me. "Getting involved with an agent is stupid."

I glared up at him as I dragged in my own unsteady breath. The blade winked between us. "Getting involved with your partner is stupider."

"Do you care?" he said, brows arching.

"No." I should have, but I didn't. Not here, and not now.

"Me, either. Drop the knife, Eden. We finish this."

"Do we?" I smiled slowly, seductively, though how I was capable of the action when my mind had long since forgotten everything but Lucius I don't know. I moved the blade over his collar like a caress. "I could kill you, instead."

"Drop it."

"No." I used the blade to cut his shirt. His eyes widened; his nostrils flared. I tossed the tatters of his shirt aside.

He grabbed the knife and cut off my top then flung the blade aside. It landed on the floor with a thump. We were chest against chest. My nipples abraded him, and he sucked in a breath.

"You better be worth the wait," I said.

Neither one of us commented on the fact that we hadn't truly known each other long. It just seemed like we'd waited for this for an eternity.

When he didn't move, I prompted, "Do you need an engraved invitation?"

He groaned a sound more animal than human, and his lips instantly slammed into mine. I moaned when one of his hot, callused hands found my breast and squeezed, then plumped. My nipples beaded. I'd told him once that if he ever kissed me again, I'd kill him. To be honest, I'd kill him without thought or hesitation if he dared stop. We'd been building to this moment since we first clapped eyes on each other. Why not get it out of the way so we could at last focus on our jobs?

"This isn't safe here," he said, tearing his mouth away.

"Then hurry."

"You read my mind." He uttered a ragged chuckle. "Everything about you turns me on." He laved my lips with his tongue. "The way you move. The way you talk."

Weapons were strapped all over him. My hands unsteady, I tugged at the cords holding them to his chest. He let me, too. All the while, his mouth slanted over mine, his tongue plundering deliciously inside. Soon, his knives and guns surrounded us. He jerked off his pants. I jerked off mine. I shoved at the covers that separated our lower bodies until finally, we had total skin-to-skin contact. I sucked in a breath at the sheer heat, the rightness.

Luc whimpered.

Lucius tore away again. "Good girl," he said over his shoulder. His eyes met mine, and his tone changed, deepening with his next words. "Very good girl." Sweat ran down his temples, and he breathed as shallowly as if he'd run a marathon uphill. Lines of tension bracketed his eyes. "You're a screamer. I can tell. Just try and keep it down."

"I am not a screamer," I whispered roughly.