Seduced by Chaos (3 page)

Standing, he reached down to pull the groaning Suit to his feet then gave him a push toward his friends as Rio and the other customers parted. The friends helped him out and down the street without a backward glance.

As Rio closed the door behind him, Teo picked up the chairs that had scattered and set them at other tables then gathered up the remnants of the table and took them out to the porch while Rio held the door for him.

When there were no
eteri
around, he’d fix the damn table. At least the
amentia
didn’t screw with his magic. He could still use it to knit the wood table back together good as new.

“Never a dull moment, huh, Teo?” Rio grabbed his shoulder and squeezed as he walked back in. “Don’t let it bother you. The guy’s an asshole.”

Yeah, the guy was an asshole but he probably would have left without a fight if not for Teo and the fucking
amentia
.

Shaking his head, he followed Rio back to the bar, where Rosie and Lacey were deep in conversation.

Which they stopped the second he and Rio were within hearing distance.

19

Stephanie Julian

Lacey’s expression held no anger, no disdain. In fact, her eyes held a trace of heat.

He wondered how fast that would change if he told her everything.

Their gazes caught and held. And held. Finally, she blinked and looked away, under the pretense of tapping a beer no one had asked for.

Teo glanced to his left. Rosie and Rio were holding a private conversation, their heads close together. Rosie’s tone was teasing, Rio’s husky. Teo knew if he looked closely, he’d see the flush of desire on Rosie’s cheeks and a sexual gleam in Rio’s eyes.

And so much love, Teo swore he could touch it like a forcefield around them. It came from being blood bound. The ancient ritual of a blood exchange during sex tied a couple’s souls together through centuries and lives. It made them more than a couple. It made them a whole.

Teo looked back at Lacey, who looked up at that moment, beer in hand. She placed it in front of him.

“I
can
take care of myself.” Her voice held no heat, arms crossed loosely over her chest. “I’ve actually had a lot of practice at it.”

Something in her tone scratched at his brain, hinted at darkness in her past. Not that he saw any trace of it in her expression. That was smooth and clear. Too smooth.

He’d sensed something in her before. Something hidden. He wanted to know what.

Tilting his chin up just a hair, he watched her eyes narrow. “I don’t recall saying you couldn’t take care of yourself.”

Her beautiful face tilted to the left. “I could have gotten rid of them myself.”

Yeah, she probably could have. Eventually. And without the mess he’d made of it.

“But,” she said, “I…appreciate the effort.”

Heat. Christ, the heat in her eyes burned into him like a blowtorch.

And his cock took it as an open invitation. It hardened in his jeans, eager and ready and oh-so willing.

20

Seduced by Chaos

Tinia’s teat. When was the last time he’d had sex? A year ago? Maybe more. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the woman’s name but he knew it hadn’t been satisfying for him. He’d gotten her off and she’d gotten him off but he’d had to keep such a tight hold on his emotions because of the
amentia
that it almost hadn’t been worth it.

Would he want it like that with Lacey? Would he want to give only half of himself?

Would it be enough to satisfy her? To satisfy him?

Hell, he was already falling for her. He knew himself well enough to see the signs.

But was he reading her right? He’d been shut off from the rest of the world for so many years now that maybe he was out of practice. Maybe she just wanted to thank him for his help.

Still holding her gaze, he nodded to acknowledge her appreciation. “Sorry about the table. I’ll make sure it’s fixed before I leave.”

She maintained eye contact with him, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiled. “I would appreciate that. Of course, that means you’ll have to stay after everyone leaves. Wouldn’t want anyone to see your handiwork.”

His eyes narrowed as he ran her last statement through his brain. Had she asked him to stay to fix the table or had she meant something more? Did she want something more from him? Did she want
him
?

Vaffanculo
. He wanted one night with her. One night when that the
amentia
didn’t rule his life as it had for… Hell, for more years than he wanted to count.

Could he have her and not lose control?

He nodded, keeping his gaze locked on her eyes. “Sure, I can stay.”

Her smile lit inside the dark place that harbored the
amentia
, made it churn with glee. He smashed down the feeling with a ruthlessness born of desperation.

Then he let loose his own smile and watched the heat build. He’d been told by more than a few women that he had a killer smile. He hadn’t used it on anyone in decades.

Not like this. Not with lust so hard in his blood, it felt like lightning.

21

Stephanie Julian

“Hey, bro, we’re heading home.” Rio clapped him on the back, and Teo barely glanced at him. “Are you going—”

“Yeah, I’m going to hang around a little.” He deliberately ignored the grin Rio didn’t try hard to hide. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow.”

“Night, Teodoro.” Rosie gave him a quick hug and kiss. “And be good,” she teased under her breath before she let Rio drag her out of the bar. Her bright smile was the last thing Teo saw before the door closed behind them.

When he turned back to face Lacey, her smile had disappeared but not the heat.

And Teo knew he wasn’t going home tonight.

* * * * *

For the first time since she’d opened the bar, Lacey couldn’t wait to lock the door behind Mike and Bill.

Worry had started to eat away at her since the couple in the booth left shortly before the Suits. They had seemed likely candidates to provide her with what she needed. And needed bad.

Lethargy hung heavy on her bones, signaling complete burnout. She needed to recharge, to feed the ache in her gut, between her thighs. In her blood.

She needed sex or, at the very least, a hit of sexual energy, before the hunger made her a raving maniac and she attacked the first willing man she met on the street.

So wasn’t it just too convenient that Teo happened to be here tonight?

Jesus, she hoped she didn’t hurt him.

From the corner of her eye, as she closed out the register and slid the cash drawer into the safe beneath the bar, she watched him go around the room, putting the chairs on top of the tables in preparation for the tribe of
lauru
she’d hired to clean after hours.

The two-foot-tall sprites with pointy ears and noses, and toes that curled backward, had an obsession with cleanliness that they’d translated into a lucrative cleaning service for the
Fata
and
Enu
, the two magical races of the Etruscans.

22

Seduced by Chaos

In her condition, she couldn’t expend the energy to clean the bar with magic. This was the next best thing. Actually, the
lauru
were better than next-best. Those little suckers made the place sparkle. And since they had an affinity for wood, as did all of the Etruscan magical races, they gave the hundred-year-old walnut bar special attention, which she truly appreciated. It’d been her Pop’s pride and joy.

Teo reminded her of Pop. Her mother’s father had had that same quiet intensity. A sense of leashed violence that had come from surviving the Purge of 1758.

But there the similarities ended.

Where her pop had been short and round, Teo was long and lean. He had a swimmer’s body—broad shoulders, slim hips. Muscled thighs and ass outlined lovingly in the just-tight-enough jeans.

He was a lot taller than she and that should have been an immediate turn-off. And he was so freaking good-looking, she had to be careful not to stare.

Then again, since she was planning on having sex with the guy tonight, she might as well lay all her cards on the table. Or she could just drape herself over the bar naked and let him have her.

The thought had her eyeing the bar. No. Too high. Maybe they should try the pool table.

Her gaze found Teo again and widened when she realized he was watching her, from the table closest to the bar.

What was he thinking? His expression revealed nothing but hunger. And again, that should have had her running for the nearest exit. She’d been subjected to the worst sort of male hunger. Ten long years of sexual hell. Simply because she’d been born
querciola
.

Dropping her gaze, she walked to the other end of the bar to check on the cooler there. She still had things to do, things she alone was responsible for. But her mind continued to gnaw at her own history.

23

Stephanie Julian

Several times during the past decade, she’d wondered if her parents had made a conscious decision to have children or if she and her sister had been a mistake. Every
Fata
knew that if a
folletta
and a
linchetto
produced children, that child would be
querciola
.

Normal
Fata
took precautions against producing a child who would become a danger to herself and others. A daughter who would grow into an adult with a sexual appetite that incited men to give in to their most secret desires and use her to slake them—

“Lacey, are you okay?”

Teo’s voice startled her and she gasped as she realized he stood next to her behind the bar. She hadn’t seen or heard him move.

She looked up, way up, into his eyes. Dangerous. He was dangerous. She saw it in the set of his mouth and the darkening of his eyes.

Teo wanted her. He’d seen through her glamour to the beauty of her true face. A beauty she’d had no control over and one she would gladly give up if only she could lead a normal life.

But her life would never be normal and Teo wanted her with a hunger that should scare the shit out of her. No one had looked at her like that in the year since she’d escaped from that
Malandante
hell.

From the hell her sister hadn’t.

Those
Mal
bastards had a lot to answer for. Descended from the Etruscans but born with a bent toward evil, with a taste for power and wealth, the
Mal
had killed her sister.

They’d driven Cara to take her own life.

Grief flared but she couldn’t let it overcome her. She was already seriously close to losing the tight hold she had on her hunger and if that happened, she’d hurt someone.

And she couldn’t live with that.

24

Seduced by Chaos

She didn’t want to hurt Teo but he looked strong enough to take whatever she dished out, strong enough to give it back in spades…

What about tomo—

“Fuck tomorrow,” she whispered under breath as she reached up and grabbed Teo around the neck. His eyes narrowed at her words, but he didn’t try to stop her when she pulled him down to kiss her.

Hot and hard, his mouth landed on hers with a force that should have been painful.

So hard, it should have drawn blood but their lips parted and his tongue entered her mouth with a thrust so fierce, she moaned and sucked him in.

He tasted like heat and spicy magic and dark dominance. His tongue swept along hers, forcing her to open wider, to let him in. He cupped her head, trapping her between his hands, tilting her so he could go farther.

Reality receded as he kissed her, thrust his tongue in her mouth and intoxicated her. She didn’t mind that he held her head immobile as he moved his mouth over hers, that he surrounded her completely, as if he could wrap his entire body around her and make her disappear into him. It should bother her—

No.
She pushed everything but the taste of him out of her mind, let herself sink into the carnality of it. Breathing in through her nose, she drew his scent into her lungs, let it diffuse into her blood.

And infuse her with lust.

Her sex convulsed. She craved something to fill it. Pressing forward, she sought the hard cock her body needed. There, that’s what she sought. The firm, heated length against her stomach elicited an answering rush of wetness between her thighs.

Her hands clenched, digging into the thick muscles of his shoulders. Her nails sank deep but Teo didn’t flinch. He groaned and thrust against her, the ridge in his jeans pressing into her like an iron bar. The motion inflamed the sexual heat intrinsic in her blood, made her brain go blank so all she could do was feel.

25

Stephanie Julian

And the second that happened, Teo’s hands shot to her hips and lifted her off her feet and into his arms. She felt weightless and yet so heavy she could barely breathe.

Her feet hung in the air for a few brief seconds until she wrapped her legs around his waist, her body plastered against his. Her aching breasts crushed against the broad measure of his chest, her nipples diamond hard. And her soaking wet pussy rubbed against his lower stomach, just above his erect cock.

She moaned into his mouth as he held her with one arm around her waist, leaving one hand to explore. He ran it up her side, stroking along her breast, then down to her stomach before pushing beneath her shirt.

They both gasped and broke apart as his warm hand met the sensitive skin at her waist.

Lust detonated like dynamite through her body.

Sex became imperative. Sex with Teo. Right now.

She wanted him naked and thrusting his cock into her body with a force bordering on violence. The nature of what she wanted shocked her but her body had its own agenda now, one it wasn’t about to be denied.

Just before she pressed her mouth back on his, she saw something flicker through his eyes, something that looked like regret. Or worry. But she was too far gone to care.

“You need to be naked. Teo, please.”

Was that her? Was she
begging
? She never begged. She’d learned early on that it achieved nothing. Except her humiliation.