Temptation at Twilight: Lords of Pleasure (17 page)

“That, too,” he admitted. “And ever since then, I’ve been searching for a way to bring her back to me. Decades of agony, as one witch after another failed to help me.”

A sudden, brutal moment of clarity crystallized in her brain. Her eyes widened. “Your bargain with the priestess . . .”

“I was looking for a spell, a trade—anything to bring back Helena.”

“Her last name. Tell me,” she demanded. A memory of his face in the limo, pale with shock, came back to her.

“Vaughn.”

Harley sucked in a sharp breath, pain lancing her chest, confusion clouding her thinking. “Helena Vaughn was my great-aunt,” she said, numb.

“Gods.” He ran a hand through his long hair. “I’d almost begun to hope there was no connection other than a coincidental last name.”

“So
that’s
why you were asking me so many questions about my family and my past when we were in the bathhouse! Are you saying you thought at first I was my aunt, brought back from the dead? Or that you wished I was? That’s just sick.”

“No! I didn’t mean it like that! Well, maybe at first, but I saw almost right away that you’re nothing like Helena, and I was glad,” he said with vehemence. “I swear to you, I wouldn’t have you any other way than just as you are. I know now that you and she are two different women, even if I didn’t before.”

She stared at him, letting the words soak in. Gradually, she saw the truth in his eyes and relented. “I’m glad you can tell that, because it’s true. There’s no one in here but me,” she said, tapping over her heart.

He nodded. “I’m glad we have that put to rest. Now, what do you say we tour some of the places where I
have
gotten down and dirty, many times?”

Harley let him take her hand and pull her from their sanctuary, unable to help but smile at his enthusiasm.

S
oren grinned at Harley as he began her tour. For the moment he could forget he was in heaven and hell, living two simultaneous lives that were tearing him apart. Housing two minds—his and the beast’s—that were at war for dominance.

Harley’s eyes gleamed like a delighted child’s as he showed her the various adult-play facilities in the entertainment building; the main house was for family only, off-limits to resort guests except by special invitation. The particular room they were visiting happened to be empty at the moment, since it was favored more at night than during the day. At this hour, many people were out sunbathing naked by the pool.

“Oh, a media room!” She ran a hand over the large theater recliner outfitted with surround sound and drink holders and then gestured at the big screen taking up the length of the wall. “Guess everyone needs a break from the kinky stuff, huh? Nothing like movie night, complete with popcorn.”

He snorted. “Baby, we show adult movies in here. Porn. See that bowl over there on the coffee table?”

She peered at the crystal bowl filled with colorfully wrapped discs on sticks. “Lollipops?”

“Look closer.” His beast chuckled in derision while he did his best to ignore the damned thing.

Walking over, she picked up a stick with a round, flat red circle on the end . . . and started laughing. “Condoms. I should’ve known.”

“For the humans.” Soren grinned. “One of the perks of being a vampire is not needing them. Come on. I have something even more interesting to show you.”

At the back of the media room was a door, and behind that a stairway descending to one of Soren’s favorite areas. The passage was dimly lit by gas sconces, enough that they could see where they were going, yet still maintaining the proper ambience of stepping into a darker world. Of course, being a vampire with superior vision, Soren could’ve made his way in the pitch-black if need be, but humans could not.

At the bottom, the hallway continued straight ahead for a short distance and came to an end at a closed door that was facing them. To their right was another door, and he opened it, ushering her inside a long, rectangular room that was completely dark. A group of comfortable sofas and a couple of recliners faced a window that took up one wall, clearly set up to view the scene in the room beyond.

“That’s a one-way mirror,” Harley observed in a hushed voice. A man and woman cuddling in the corner paid her and Soren no mind. Their attention was riveted on the scene in the room beyond.

“Yes. This is our voyeur’s salon. You can watch the goings-on or be watched, whatever is your desire.”

Soren noted that like the couple in the corner, Harley was focused on the threesome beyond the window. Two males had a woman sandwiched between them; one fucked her mouth while the other reamed her from behind. The trio was clearly having a raunchy good time, their heated arousal searing the air, both from their activity and the novelty of having an audience.

“Would you like to do that?” he murmured into her ear. “Allow two males to take you, make you scream, knowing we have a salon full of aroused people glued to the scene? Perhaps wishing they could join in?”

She let out a deep breath. “I-I’d like that.”

“Have you done threesomes before?”

“Well, with Valafar and Zenon . . .”

Her gaze found his, and from the heat in her eyes, he knew she had enjoyed it. A lot.

“Ah, we’ll invite Valafar to join us, then. At the club he expressed enthusiasm for visiting the resort—and checking up on you.” He took her hand and led her from the viewing salon and back up the stairs.

“Really? I thought he couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

She still sounded a bit miffed about that, and he smiled. “I don’t think it was his desire to make you feel cast aside. I believe he had your best interests at heart, strange as it is to think that a demon would care for anyone’s well-being besides his own.”

“His entire clan is the same way. Sort of . . . progressive. No less lusty, but definitely not brutal like other demons I’ve observed and read about.”

“Yes, well, even the prince’s clan can be violent if need be. If push comes to shove, they’ll protect those they love same as anyone.”

“The prince? What prince?” She frowned in confusion as they reached the media room once more.

He paused, hoping he hadn’t betrayed a confidence. But Valafar hadn’t said he must keep his status as royalty a secret, just that he kept a low profile these days. “Prince
Valafar
, leader of the entire Southern Coalition of demons, not that he cares for the title of late. In the demon world, he’s Aldric’s equal in rank.”

“Holy shit,” she breathed, wide-eyed. “I had no idea. He’s dominant, but he doesn’t act all pompous about his position, not like you’d think a prince would.”

Soren shrugged. “Neither does my brother.” Beside him, she fell quiet and he studied her. “What is it?”

She shrugged. “When I mentioned Val being dominant, it made me think.”

“Of what?”

“How I loved it when he told me what to do,” she confessed, reddening a little. But she didn’t back down from the topic. “He exerted control over me but not in a hurtful way. It made me feel safe. And the same was true of the wolf shifter in St. Louis. How strange is that?”

“There’s nothing strange about a submissive enjoying giving that control over to another,” he said, his voice gone husky at the image she conjured. “Did you like what happened to you up on that stage in the club?”

“Yes,” she whispered, then cleared her throat. “I was embarrassed at first. Then Kai rubbed that cream on me and it lowered my inhibitions. But that’s not actually what sent me over the edge.”

“You really loved being a slave, deep down.” Saints, this woman was going to kill him. His groin got heavy and hot.

“I did. I liked not having a say, being displayed and used.” She shook her head. “How twisted is that?”

“It’s not,” he said, taking her hand. “Here with me, you can have whatever your heart desires. Whatever makes you happy sexually, I can make it a reality. All you have to do is tell me.”

“What if I wanted that again?”

“Being bound and fucked?”

“Yes. I want to be your captive,” she said, warming to the idea. “And for others to watch.”

“Give me a while and I can set it up—if you’ll trust me.” She shouldn’t, but he wanted to give her this. While he was still in charge of himself and could be with her. Guide her.

“I do. Let’s do it.” Her eyes lit with excitement.

He was helpless to deny her. “All right. Meet me here in an hour.”

In just under an hour, he’d arranged for a tantalizing show in the dining room with five participants, including himself and Harley. Quite a few of the resort’s guests were on their way to attend as the audience, to observe the devouring of the evening snack. He strode back to where Harley sat on a stuffed chair, waiting. She looked up expectantly at his approach.

“Come with me,” he ordered in a firm voice.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Just do as you’re told. We’re going to the dining room, where some guests are waiting. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes, sir.”

He didn’t miss the shiver, the gleam in her eyes as she said it. His female wanted this, and he would deliver. Harley could barely contain her excitement as Soren ushered her into the big dining room. She wasn’t certain what he had in mind, and she eyed the crowd taking their seats around the long table. An assortment of fruits, dips, and cheeses graced the table, and some of the guests were availing themselves of the bounty. What sort of kink had he planned?

Then her gaze fell on the rack taking up quite a bit of space just beyond the head of the table. The rack was apparently the focal point of the room, and all chairs were turned so the guests could view the proceedings. A young, dark-haired man who worked in the kitchen and a woman she’d seen around and guessed to be a Chosen, plus another big male she’d never seen before, stood near the rack, awaiting Soren’s instructions. The vampire joined them.

“Come here,” Soren told her. She moved toward him and then stopped. “Undress.”

She complied, hands trembling. She shook more with arousal than fear. The lust in Soren’s eyes magnified her own, and she couldn’t wait for what came next.

“To the rack,” he said. “You’re our afternoon snack—mine, Trisha’s, and Nikki’s—and one of our guests will participate while the rest watch.”

“Your what?” She gaped at him.

“You heard me. Do as I said.”

Quickly, she stripped, aware of the hungry attention focused on her. Legs weak, she backed up to the wooden contraption and raised her arms, spread her legs. Trisha and Nikki fastened her wrists, rendering her helpless and exposed. It felt so much more intimate than the club, which had been dimly lit, the faces in the crowd blurred. Not so here in this room, in close quarters. The shock of it was electric, and her nipples hardened to points.

“Good girl,” Soren crooned, thumbing one pert peak. His hand skimmed down her belly to her clit, rubbed the nub in full view of everyone, making it wet. “Isn’t she stunning? Look at her hot little cunt, ready to be sucked and fucked. She’ll submit, because she belongs to me.”

A couple of males at the table groaned, and hands began to touch partners, roaming.

His words were hypnotic, as was the sight of Trisha bringing forth a jar of familiar cream.
Oh, I am done for.
That wicked stuff would make her squirm, heighten her already simmering libido.

“Trisha, dearest, leave no area of our little slut unattended.”

“Yes, master.”

The Chosen began to spread the cream, and did her job well. She paid the most attention to Harley’s breasts, kneading, plucking her tender nipples. It felt so good, Harley arched her back into the delicate touch, seeking more. Then the slim hands found her pussy, smeared it over her slit. Dipped into her channel, teasing. Then sought and found her back passage, preparing her there, just in case.

By the time Trisha was finished, Harley was about to cry in frustration. Soren liked this, and used it to his advantage.

“I believe she’s ready,” he told the audience. “Watch as Nikki and my loyal Chosen show my new female the ropes.”

Trisha knelt in front, between her legs, as Nikki did the same behind her. Four soft hands skimmed the outsides of her thighs, a soothing motion. But nothing she’d ever experienced came close to being licked and sucked from both the front and back at the same time.

“Oh,” she moaned, straining in her bonds. “Fuck!”

“That’s what they’re going to do, baby. Feast and fuck. Give yourself to them.”

She had no other option. The knowledge of that was a powerful aphrodisiac, even more so than the honey-almond stuff on her skin. She was theirs to eat and fuck. Their treat.

And they did eat her, skillfully. Trisha’s nubile little tongue laved her clit and folds, while Nikki’s mouth suckled and licked her asshole. The dual sensations nearly sent her over the edge, but Soren wouldn’t allow that. Not yet.