“You taste like you smell,” he murmured against me. “Honey and cinnamon.”
The moment he worked two fingers inside me, I shattered. I arched and writhed and chanted his name in my head. Still he didn’t stop. He worked me with his fingers, rubbing deliciously—without ever entering me—until I climaxed twice more.
“That was three orgasms,” I gasped when I was able.
“I’m going to give you an extra one because of the naughty thoughts I’m having.”
I would have laughed if I’d had the strength.
“Am I forgiven for teasing you?” he asked, his chin resting on my pubic bone, his breath fanning my stomach.
God, yes. I nodded.
I thrummed and pulsed from the force of my last orgasm as he climbed up my body and entered me. Hard. Swift. Expertly. I wound my hand around his neck and drew his head to me. Our lips met, our tongues clashed. He tasted hot, like me, like himself. Like pure passion. A taste I already craved like an addiction.
His hands coasted to my hips, gripped them and urged me higher, to take him deeper. His teeth nipped at my lips. I nipped back. We were fierce and growling with our need.
“It shouldn’t be this good,” he said hoarsely, darkly. As he spoke, one of his hands moved to my breast and pinched the golden nipple between his fingers. His hips began a rotating dance that increased my pleasure.
I came again, squeezing his back, gripping him.
His orgasm quickly followed mine. He bit the cord of my neck to contain his roar.So good, so good, so good, my mind chanted as I floated to the stars.
Afterward we lay together, silent. He rolled to my side, keeping me cradled in the strength and torridity of his arms. A sensuous spell wrapped around us. I could have stayed there forever, I think. And that scared me.
Business, remember. I swept my hair from my sweat-beaded face. “Did Jonathan say anything else to you?” I asked, getting back on track.
Lucius didn’t speak for several minutes, and the wall clock ticked away. Finally he said, “After he made the offer to help me, he started acting strangely.”
“Strangely how?”
“He wouldn’t meet my gaze and hurried me out of his office. He’s up to something, I’m sure of it. Something more than acquiring you for me.”
“Any idea what?”
He pushed out a frustrated breath. “I think something’s going down. I think another girl is going to be taken. He got a call and, well, I listened from the two-way. He talked about needing a girl for one of his associates while flipping through a file of pictures. I tried to find out more, but he never brought it up again.”
So. Another girl could very well be taken. I couldn’t let that happen. Not when there was something I could do. “I can find out what he’s doing,” I said hesitantly.
Lucius’s gaze sharpened on me. “How?”
My next words froze in my throat. I’d kept this part of myself secret for so long. Even Michael didn’t know. Telling someone now was difficult. It exposed me, made me vulnerable. Lucius wouldn’t hurt me, would fight to protect me. I knew that deep down. I never would have slept with him otherwise. But…
“I can spirit-walk,” I said, glancing away from him.
His head tilted to the side as he studied my features. “I don’t understand.”
“My spirit leaves my body and roams free on another plane or dimension. I’m like a ghost. No one can see me, but I see them. No one can hear me, but I hear them. I’ll spirit-walk to Jonathan’s, watch him, listen to him, and he’ll never know.”
For a long while, Lucius continued to study me. He stared down at me, his ice-blue gaze unreadable. Then he said, “You’ve done this to me.” His tone was devoid of emotion, as well.
I didn’t try to deny it. “Yes.”
“At Jonathan’s.”
“Yes,” I said again. “How did you know?” I’d suspected then that he’d sensed me, but the thought had been laughable. Then. Not any longer.
“I smelled you. No one smells like you, like rich, warm honey…” He paused. “And sex.”
I expected him to be angry at what I’d done, but he surprised me by adding, “Smart trick. Can you take your weapons?”
“I take whatever is strapped to my body.”
“Does Michael know any of this?”
Looking away, I shook my head.
His expression became pensive. “Why not? What’s the downside?”
I hated admitting to weakness of any kind, but he had to know. “If I’m gone too long, my body grows weak. Plus, while I’m gone my body is left completely vulnerable to attack. Someone can hurt me, kill me, and there’s nothing I can do about it. No way I can fight.”
He paused, tense as my words churned inside his mind. “So if the room your physical body is in catches on fire—”
“I burn with it.”
Pause. Then, “Is yourspirit ever in danger?”
“Only if my body is hurt.”
Silence surrounded us as he pondered everything I’d said. Finally, he nodded. “Then do it. We need to know what’s going on.”
“If someone comes to the door—”
“I know what to do.”
Yes, he knew exactly what to do. He’d kill if he had to. He’d create a distraction if he had to. No one would get into this room without his approval. “Where can I find Jonathan?”
Lucius named several places. I nodded, leaned toward him, and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “No worries,” I told him. “I know what to do, too.”
“You just get back here in one piece. Understand?”
Chapter 18
After I dressed, I lay back atop the yellow sheets and closed my eyes. A deliciously naked, but awake Lucius rested beside me. Not even his sultry scent could distract me from my unease.
I was nervous about doing this in front of him. The fact that I felt his intense blue stare boring into me didn’t help.Just do it.
Deep breath in, deep breath out—more of Lucius’s scent. Concentrate. Another deep breath gradually released. Save the girl.That’s what mattered. Very slowly, my mind faded to black. My body relaxed into the mattress. My energy centered inside my stomach, swirling and pushing for release. My spirit began to rise up, up, and then I was standing beside the bed, looking at myself. And Lucius.
His bare skin glowed in the moonlight. My hair draped over him like a blanket, playing peekaboo with his ni**les. The golden hue of my skin complemented the bronze of his. As he lay beside me, his big, hard body could have completely engulfed and overshadowed my smaller, seemingly delicate one. But it didn’t. I looked protected by him. Even…loved?