Venice Heat (7 page)

Eiji went beyond every lover she’d ever had. He held her in a tight grip, making it impossible for her to move away. Still from behind, he took her nonstop. She could do nothing other than enjoy the feel of his possession of her body. She shut her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder. He nuzzled the side of her neck, and she thought she felt his teeth graze her skin. Even this turned her on, and she surrendered to her man.

“Eiji,” she whispered, “I don’t want you to stop. I can’t get enough.”

“Neither can I,” he assured her. “I won’t stop until day.”

He kept his word. Exhausted and sore, Shae saw the beginnings of daylight pouring into her window before Eiji pulled out of her for the last time, and she drifted off into a very satisfied and much-needed sleep.

Chapter Five

Shae stumbled to the bathroom holding her sore pussy with one palm as if it would fall off if she didn’t. After days of lying with Eiji in her bed, she’d sent him home. When he called the next day, she hadn’t answered. The endless sex was too much. She had to wonder when the man had last had it. Every muscle in her entire body hurt like hell, and before their marathon, she would have said she was in top form, the best physical condition anyone could be. Eiji’s sexual desire was both raw and wild. Sure, it felt out of this world, but for the first time, she thought she couldn’t handle a man. He was too much, way out of her league.

She stood in front of the bathroom mirror looking at herself. The dark circles around her eyes, the swollen lips, the tangled hair were not just the aftermath of a satisfied woman, but a woman who needed rest and nourishment. When was the last time she’d eaten? At the thought, her stomach stirred with hunger. She showered first and drew on clothes with sluggish movements before walking into the kitchen to find food. Coffee brewing and bacon frying in the pan, she remembered her cell phone and returned to the bedroom to grab it. The light blinking indicated she had messages, and she pressed the button to unlock the phone. A tingle of fear and excitement stirred to see Eiji had sent a text. She had a voice mail from Darryl, which drew curiosity, and her dad had returned her call. She hadn’t heard any of these messages come because she’d been out so deep.

Rather than check her dad’s message, she called him first and got his voice mail. She swore and backtracked to the message.

“Hello, Shae, sweetheart, I’m sorry we keep missing each other. I think I might have someone to bring our systems back online. Just not sure he can be trusted yet. Also, handling a potential shifter in New York. Your brother is off to London. I’ll share the details when I’m back on the West Coast. I love you. Rest and enjoy yourself. That’s an order. Good-bye.”

“Damn it!” She’d burned the bacon. After that disaster, she waited until she’d cooked everything and finished eating before she contemplated her next call. She could forget everybody and go shopping. She could hunt up something fun to do until the night scene came alive, which she loved more than anything.

“Or I can admit I’m avoiding Eiji,” she murmured into the empty room. Turned out vacation wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, at least not alone. She was used to going to exotic or domestic places that were nice, but she wasn’t alone. Her posse came along, especially her protector, who was a good friend, one she’d had a no-strings-attached sexual affair with a few years ago. They still slept together when her well went dry. Yet, right now, she both wanted Eiji, and he scared her. She didn’t allow things or people to scare her long. She decided she’d give her and Eiji a break. Getting too wrapped up in him could not be allowed to happen.

After a day of shopping and then lounging on the beach in a bikini, she started back to her room thinking she’d give her protector a call and ask him to join her out here. They could have a little fun without any obligations. As she strolled up to her place, smiling and a little excited about her decision, she paused at the shadow that had just flitted behind a building to her right. The sun dropping low in the sky didn’t provide much light, but as she stared, she didn’t catch sight of anyone. Maybe her imagination played tricks on her. She continued on only to stop once again at the foot of her stairs.

“Darryl, what are you doing here?” She eyed the man from head to toe, noting he still looked fine as hell with chiseled muscle and confidence in spades. He had folded his arms over his chest and leaned with negligence against the banister. None of his boys seemed to be around.

“I got tired of waiting for you, so I came to get you.”

“Oh, is that right?” She chuckled, somewhat annoyed and pleased too. She’d written off checking him out, but him showing up was kind of nice. She liked men to come chasing after her. “I’ve been busy.”

To her surprise, his expression went from bored to angry in a heartbeat. “I know, and you made the wrong choice.”

“Excuse me? Maybe you should just go. I told you I would call you if I was interested. Now I’m not. So—”

She moved to push past him, but he grabbed her arm to stop her. The bite in his hold set off her warning bells, and she drew in a deep breath, ready to put his ass on the ground. He’d grabbed the wrong woman.

“Come on, baby girl,” he whispered. “You know how bad I wanted to get to know you, and you didn’t even give a brother a chance.”

All her anger ebbed away. She stared into his face, shocked at how open he seemed, even vulnerable. Black men, from her experience, didn’t do that often, which made her curious. His thumb caressed the skin at her elbow.

“I guess I could do something tonight,” she offered. “I heard about this spot where the dancing is hot, and the drinks are stronger. Wanna check it out with me?”

He grinned and pulled her close. “I would prefer it just be me and you, naked and getting our freak on.”

She resisted rolling her eyes and pulled from his hold. “You a little fast, aren’t you? I want to dance.” She unlocked her door. “If that doesn’t work for you…”

“Fine, but you’re going to be mine in the end anyway.” He smacked her ass, which always pissed her off, but she ground her teeth and didn’t complain about it—
this
time.

“Pick me up at—”

“I’ll be here at nine. Be ready for me.” He stepped off the porch as he slid dark sunglasses into place on his face. She just kept herself from smacking them off and changing her mind yet again. That vulnerability bullshit was just that, and she couldn’t believe she’d fallen for it. But anyway, her protector would take a bit to get there when she called him, so she needed tonight, and going to the club alone wasn’t as much fun. Darryl would do for now. Tonight, though, she planned to knock him off his high horse and show him how she felt about men telling her how it was going to be.

That night, she wore a red halter minidress with three openings in the front leading down to her navel. The sides were square cutouts from her breasts to low on her hips, and the ruched details on her thighs and at the back showed off her curves and pronounced her ass. She slipped her feet into high-heeled slingbacks and wore three-tiered gold metal earrings.

At nine fifteen, when Darryl hadn’t shown up, she left the house intending to go out to the main street and flag down a taxi. At the corner, a sleek black convertible almost ran her down in the narrow side street, and she flipped the bird at the driver. The car rolled to a stop in front of her, and she swore. Darryl stepped out of the dark interior with music blasting.

“I said I was picking you up,” he snapped.

“Yeah, at nine. I wasn’t waiting on you.” She started to walk around the car to keep going, but once again, he grabbed her arm. She couldn’t help comparing him to Eiji. Even at his coldest, Eiji had been polite and considerate.

“Let’s go.”

She glared at Darryl. “No, I think I’m going to go alone.”

“Come on, Shae. Don’t be like that, baby girl. We’re going to have a good time. Look, I’m sorry, okay? One of my boys was acting stupid today, and I had to set him straight. He made me late. If you want, I can call him up and prove to you it wasn’t my fault.”

She sighed. It was never their fault. “Darryl—”

“Please?” He did that low-toned whispering thing he’d done earlier, and despite herself, she felt tingly over it. She must be getting weak to fall for little dumb tricks like that. Darryl touched his forehead to hers, as if he was trying to create a closeness between them, like they were already a couple and understood each other. She’d done that kind of thing a million times and recognized it.

“Last chance,” she warned him.

He saw her into the car and even held the door while she settled into the low seat. Then he shut it and jogged around to his side. Shae watched his athletic form, the easy grace he displayed as he folded into the driver side and threw the car into gear. In seconds they roared down the road, narrowly missing pedestrians and other vehicles on the street. Shae breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled up to the club and the valet took the offered keys from Darryl. Her ears needed a break from the blaring speakers in the trunk, but she knew it wouldn’t be much better where they were going. How Darryl wasn’t deaf she didn’t know.

Her date must have had pull in this city because he gave the bouncer at the door a nod, and they bypassed the line. A smile spread over Shae’s lips, and she clasped Darryl’s arm. “Okay, you’re doing better so far.”

He grinned down at her. “See? I got this, and you’re going to be all mine before the night’s over.”

She laughed, already knowing she would go home alone.

They squeezed into a spot at the bar, and Darryl ordered them drinks. She selected a mojito to start off with, and he had a beer. Darryl pulled her after him toward a spot by the wall, and she settled in front of him to sway her hips to the music. Although early, the place creaked with wall-to-wall people. Several sets of male eyes drifted over Shae’s figure in appreciation, but they frowned when they spotted Darryl.

“Damn, you are killing me with that dress, girl,” he shouted into her ear.

“Thanks.” She turned her back on him and took a sip of her drink.

He moved up close and danced with her. Song after song, they swayed to the music, and she lost herself in the beat and in a couple more drinks. Darryl kept a possessive palm at her waist or splayed over her stomach. No one dared come close, but she didn’t mind.

“It’s getting late. Let me take you home, and we can continue this,” he suggested.

“No, I don’t think so,” she shouted back and wiggled for the first time from his hold. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.”

She weaved through the crowd, leaving him standing there. When she was closed off in the small room with other women standing at the sinks and peering in the mirror, she checked her purse for her cell phone. There were no messages. Maybe she should let Darryl take her to get something to eat. They could talk a bit more and get to know each other. He wouldn’t like it that she opted for food instead of sex, but he could get over it.

An hour later, they found a table at a nearby spot. She crossed her legs beneath the table and smiled at Darryl. “You sure you don’t mind coming here, right?”

“No, I don’t mind.” The tightness around his mouth said otherwise, but he hadn’t pushed. She gave him credit. He picked up the after-midnight menu and perused it. “So what do you want to eat? I’ll pay for it.”

“Thanks. I think I can handle mine.” She studied his handsome face, the brown, intense eyes, and the strong jawline. His nostrils flared a little, and he blew out a strong breath. She had the impression of patience about to snap, but somehow felt it had nothing to do with her spreading her legs. Then again, maybe it did. Most guys were led around by their dicks. Darryl had made it plain he wanted her for himself. His declaration made it seem like he wanted something more long term, though, which was why she hadn’t told him to go fuck himself. He wasn’t all bad.

By the time Shae tucked into her steak and mixed vegetables, conversation between them flowed. “So what do you do?” she asked him.

He shrugged. She noted how rare he liked his meat and cringed. “A little this and that.”

A hustler, she surmised.

“I have a big family to look out for. Everybody turns to me to make sure they eat, but I can handle it. Been doing it for a long time.”

“I hear that.” She settled back in her seat and saw how his gaze dropped to her breasts. He made no effort of hiding where his attention had wandered. “I have a pretty big family, but while we’re close, it’s not on any one of us to take care of the rest.”

“I know.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“I mean, I know everybody has family, and yours is probably not like mine,” he rushed to say.

Shae stared at him. What he’d said sounded like a cover, but why should it? She was being paranoid and pushed the suspicion out of her head.

“So are you native to Los Angeles?”

He rolled his shoulders as if in relief and continued to eat. “No, I’m from Chicago originally. We came here looking to spread out a little. I had a bit of trouble at the start, but I’ve made it mine.”

Shae laughed. “Man, your ego is huge, isn’t it?”

He splayed his hands, and she shook her head. Conversation continued to flow between them without a hitch, and when they finished eating, Shae paid for her part of the check, and they left. She had been glad to see Darryl kept his head while drinking, so he had no problem driving her back to her place. When he pulled up to her rental, she thanked him and hopped out to jog up the steps. The slam of the door behind her made her turn.

“I said thanks, Darryl. I’ll call you tomorrow. Definitely, this time.”

His hands were shoved deep into his pockets as he ascended the stairs, his face hidden in the shadows of the night. He didn’t speak.

Shae took a defensive stance. “I know you’re not going to be stupid.”

“I’m a lot of things, baby, but stupid’s not one of them.”

“Why do I hear a threat in there?”

He advanced on her. She held up a hand to ward him off, but in a move that took her unaware by its sheer speed, he had her against the door with his big body grinding against hers. He breathed deep at her neck as if he took in her essence. One hand held her wrist in a viselike grip at her side, and the other might as well be useless the way he pinned her in place.