Addict (19 page)

Kall’s eyes flew to me. “She’s the
Nex Apparatus
? But that’s not fair.”

Donovan laughed, and I heard Trent chuckling beside his boss. “Trent, it’s a good fucking night. Do you know how long it’s been since I got to torture someone to get much needed information out of them?”

“Been a while, boss,” the werewolf allowed. His nose was already perfect again.

Donovan shook his head. “See, it’s the little things you miss when you get to the top. No one ever lets me torture demons anymore. They consider it beneath me without ever thinking about how much I enjoy it.” The king turned to me. “Good job, Owens.”

I gave him a jaunty salute and breathed a silent sigh of relief because it looked like Trent had been right. Now that Donovan was fairly certain I wasn’t going to massacre his friends and family, he was using a much lighter touch with me. “Nice to know I could help.”

Donovan nodded at his wolf, and Trent picked up Kall with one brawny arm. The demon’s head hung limply to the side.

“You can’t torture me,” Kall yelled. “It’s in our contracts.”

Donovan thought about it for half a second. “I can’t torture a living demon. Henri, isn’t this whole head hanging on by a thread thing usually fatal?”

Henri nodded vigorously. “This body is very much dead. I would expect it to begin to rot within a day or two. I’m surprised he’s still in there.”

“I don’t know how to leave. This is the only body I’ve ever been in, damn it,” Kal explained.

“I can totally torture a corpse. There’s nothing in our contracts to stop me from doing that.” The king poked at him. “He can’t feel anything, can he?”

Henri considered the problem for a moment. “Do we still have some holy water? I assure you, if we submerge the head in a vat of holy water, we’ll get a response.”

Donovan snapped his fingers and a big grin lit his face. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. “I like the way you think, Henri. Owens, I expect a full report tomorrow night. We’re all having dinner at your uncle’s. We can meet in his office, and you can update me on your progress.”

Donovan and Trent walked back into the building carrying their new plaything. Kall was crying openly and begging the king to let him die.

Dude should have paid more attention in demon school.

Marcus slipped his hand into mine and used his free hand to shake my brother’s. “Thank you for bringing her home, James.”

Jamie grinned. “It’s always an adventure with my sis. Good night, Marcus. Go easy on Gray tomorrow.”

“I will be a gentleman, of course,” Marcus promised. “Come along,
bella
. It’s long past time to get to bed. Good night Henri, Hugo. We’ll meet again in the afternoon to discuss what Henri has learned about our patient.”

I quietly followed Marcus back into the building and toward the elevator that went to our floor. I was anticipating a pretty hearty fight. Marcus had been upset when I confronted Trent wearing a bath towel that had covered way more of me than my current ensemble.

“Marcus,” I began as I followed him on the elevator. He pushed the button to our floor and the car began to climb.

“Hush,” Marcus said. After we passed the second floor, he reached over and pushed the emergency stop button. He turned to me with hooded eyes. “Show me.”

I hesitated. “You’re going to be mad.”

He leaned back against the wall. “Am I? Were you working,
cara mia
? Did you intend to end up in a sex club with your ex-fiancé?”

“Of course not,” I assured him.

He stared at me intently, and I wasn’t feeling a wave of calm from him at that point. Nope. Things were heating up and Marcus didn’t mind sharing that with me. Lust. He was sending out a lusty vibe. Marcus had his own kinks. He tended to get horny when I did violent things to people who richly deserved it. Marcus liked bad girls, and I fit the bill.

“Did you willingly put yourself in a compromising position with the lieutenant?” His fangs were out, his dark eyes large. His voice was like thick honey. I knew there was a bit of persuasion being pushed at me. I could push back, but it felt good.

“I didn’t do anything with Sloane that wasn’t important to our cover,” I promised him.

“Then show me,” Marcus commanded.

I let the coat drop to the floor.

He sighed, letting me know he appreciated the sight. “Very nice. It makes me feel sorry for Sloane. He was only able to look while I am free to touch.” He motioned me to come to him and then turn so he didn’t miss an inch. His hand came out to caress the bare cheeks of my ass. He gently snapped the thong against my skin. “This is quite lovely.”

I let down my mental walls so he could feel how much I wanted him. I needed this. It had been a craptastic day, and there was nothing that would make me feel better than being in his arms. He squeezed my cheeks before he pulled me against his body, his front to my back. His erection nudged insistently against my ass. Being mostly naked meant I could feel his hands on my skin, the silk of his shirt against my spine.

Marcus let his hands run up along my torso until he cupped my breasts through the soft material of the bra. His tongue licked along my neck, up to my ear where he playfully bit down, causing me to shiver with arousal.

“I missed you every moment you were gone, my
bella
,” the vampire whispered in my ear. “We need to make some things plain between us.”

His clever hand made its way down my body. He slid his palm over the flat of my belly and teased his way past the band of the thong. With firm pressure, he began rubbing circles all around my clitoris. I let my head fall back against his shoulder as he continued to lecture me in the nicest way.

“I’m speaking to you as your trainer and your lover, Kelsey.” He kept his thumb on my little nub while his long fingers gently thrust up into my pussy. He filled me with his fingers. My breaths were ragged as I approached that sweet spot he was steering me toward. “Are you listening?”

“Yes.” I was pretty much going to agree with everything the man giving me the orgasm said. I’ve found it’s a logical course to take. I would have agreed with almost anything the man said because he was amazingly good at finding my G-spot.

“Excellent,” he murmured, curving his fingers up. “This is important. I’m an old-fashioned man, my mistress, but even in my human life I thought the entire idea of death before dishonor was ridiculous. You do what you have to. You survive by any means necessary. If that includes fucking your way out of a situation, then I expect you to spread your legs and when you’re done, you come home to me.”

I bit my lip and thrust my hand back into his silky hair. The pleasure burst over me. I twisted to the right and was able to get my mouth over his. He quickly took charge of the kiss, thrusting his tongue into my mouth.

He dislodged his hand and turned me fully into the cradle of his body. “Do you understand me, Kelsey?”

“I do, baby,” I replied. “Always come home to you.”

Marcus worked the belt of his slacks, and I realized he wasn’t patient enough to wait until we got home tonight. He shoved aside the string of my thong. Then my back was against the plush wall of the elevator. Marcus pushed his way inside me. He sighed as he seated himself and began to thrust deeply. His pelvis was grinding sweetly against me, and I started to come all over again. I held on, locking my legs around his waist while he rode me.

Marcus’s body stiffened when he rammed into me one last time. He kissed me as he emptied himself and murmured love phrases in Italian. When he was finished, he set me down on my feet and straightened his clothes. Gently, he took off his own coat and wrapped it around my shoulders. I should have known he wouldn’t want me wearing Sloane’s clothes. When he was sure we were presentable, he hit the button to continue our journey. He picked up Sloane’s coat and laid it over his hand.

“I’ll return it to him tomorrow,” he promised. “I will be sure to express my gratitude for his care of you.”

“You won’t start a fight or anything, will you?” I was worried at the thought of my boyfriend and my ex having a sit-down.

Marcus smiled. “
Bella
, have you ever known me to be less than a gentleman?”

I let him lead me out of the elevator, where he’d proven he could play the bad boy. “Please remember he’s bigger than you. If you get in a fight with him, don’t let him hit your face.”

The vampire opened the door, and I was surprised at the fact that this place already felt like home. “I will endeavor to retain my beauty for you.”

I yawned and after a long shower, finally went to bed. Outside the snow fell, and the world was wrapped in winter.

Chapter Ten

“Kelsey, wake up, you totally have to see this.” An excited voice broke through my peaceful slumber, dragging me out of sleep. Lucky for him, I recognized his voice or baby boy might have found himself on the floor with my hands around his throat.

We really needed to work on our security.

“Go away, Lee,” I muttered and tried to turn over. I reached for Marcus and was met with only an empty pillow where he should have been. I pulled the comforter over my head and prayed my little friend would take the hint.

“I think she went back to sleep,” an unfamiliar voice said.

I brought the comforter down only as far as my chin. I was kind of naked here and Lee had brought a friend. “Who are you, and why are you in my bedroom?”

The small blonde girl with big blue eyes smiled brightly.

“Hi, I’m Mia,” she said as though that should explain everything. She was the same size as Lee and they looked like they weighed roughly the same. I noticed this because I thought briefly about how much effort it would take to toss them both bodily from my rooms. Then the door opened, and I thought about how poor Gulliver must have felt when all those irritating Lilliputians interrupted his sleep.

“My father has counseled me on many occasions that it’s better to flee from a sleeping woman than to wake one,” Sean Quinn said as he and Rhys joined the crew. I noticed that both the boys had chocolate bars in their hands. Marcus was somewhere, and he’d sicced this bunch on me. “Father believes that when a woman is asleep, this is the best time to take one’s leave.”

I heard Mia sigh and saw the slight roll of her angelic eyes. Smart girl. She was wearing a thick coat and had a hat on her head. She greatly resembled the shrink I’d met the day before. She had his eyes and the set of his mouth. I was betting her last name was Day.

Rhys took a bite of his Snickers and shrugged off his uncle’s advice. “My papa says that if I ever want to have a goddess of my own, I should never, ever listen to your father.”

“What time is it?” I was not going to lie here listening to dating advice from nine-year-olds. Though from what I’d seen and heard of Declan Quinn, Rhys was probably right on.

“Nine o’clock,” Mia supplied helpfully.

“Shit,” I growled. I shook my head when I realized I had an audience with tender ears. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Lee said. “My mama says stuff like that all the time. I’m allowed to curse, too.”

“Only if a shark bites off your arm or you’re getting chased by dinosaurs,” Rhys clarified.

Lee nodded as though he looked forward to both incidents. “Yeah, but then I’m allowed to say the F word.”

“I can’t believe Marcus let me sleep all freaking day,” I muttered, sitting up. I pulled the covers around me and tried to figure out how to get rid of the gang of children in my room.

“It’s nine o’clock in the morning,” Mia corrected.

I hadn’t been aware that morning had one of those, too. I snuggled back down under the covers. “Then go away. Come back after noon.” I thought of something. “Aren’t you supposed to be playing basketball or something?”

“It got canceled because of the snow,” Lee explained. “See.”

He shoved a mittened hand at my face. The small snowball slipped out of his palm and went straight under my covers. I screamed and used that word Lee is only supposed to use in the event of a dinosaur attack.

“Guys,” Liv said from the doorway in her best teacher voice. “I told you to wake her up, not put her in a killing mood.”

“Make them go away,” I begged. If my boyfriend hadn’t been completely incapable of fathering children, I would have checked to make sure my birth control was up to date.

“Sorry,” Lee mumbled.

“Breakfast is ready,” Liv announced. “If you want French toast and bacon, I would eat it before the bottomless pit there gets her hands on it. Go.”

The Lilliputian crew ran out of my bedroom in search of food. I rubbed my eyes, still sleepy. I do not do well on short sleep. Liv walked over, carrying a mug of coffee. The aroma was heavenly and my will to live was on the rise. She was dressed in jeans and a thick sweater, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

“Well, good morning, sunshine.” She grinned as she passed me the coffee. “Did you have a rough night last night?”

I took the coffee and thought about Italy. No one ever invaded my bedroom in Italy. No one sent small children in to torture me with snowballs. “I did, in fact, which is why I should be sleeping now.”