Chapter
15
“Aren’t you two going to bed soon?” Catherine shook her head at Luke and Hu Chang sitting over the chess board before the fire in the library. “It’s almost midnight. You’ve been playing for hours.”
“I almost beat him the last game.” Luke didn’t look up from the board. “I’m close this time.”
“Not close enough.” Hu Chang smiled. “But you’re making it interesting.” He glanced at Catherine. “Run along to bed. I’ll tell you how I triumphed in the morning.”
Luke snorted. “Someday I’ll beat you. Maybe tonight.”
“A competitive spirit is good. A humble spirit is even better.”
“I don’t think so.”
Hu Chang chuckled. “Actually, neither do I.” He moved his knight. “No word from Cameron, Catherine?”
“No,” she said curtly. “Not unless he contacted you.”
Hu Chang shook his head. “I believe any communication will be with you from now on. I sensed a change today.” He waved his hand. “Now go away and do not distract me. I’m having to concentrate on this game. I did not think he’d reach this degree of expertise for another year.”
She shook her head ruefully as she left the library and closed the door. Luke had been changing, making all kinds of advancements, since the day she had arrived in Hong Kong. It was even surprising Hu Chang. He was busily adjusting and accepting. She must do the same.
God, it was hard. It was like dealing with an adult and she wasn’t ready for that yet. She needed a little time to—
“Good. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to search the house for you.” Cameron had blown into the hall like a strong wind. His eyes were glittering, and Catherine could almost feel the tornado of excitement and exhilaration that surrounded him. “Come on.” He grabbed her wrist and was pulling her toward the front door. “I have something to show you.”
“What?” They were outside, and she was having to half run to keep up. “Where are we going?”
“The trap. I’ve found the trap.” They had stopped beside an orange-and-blue motorcycle, and he handed her a helmet and large-lensed protective glasses. “Tuck your hair under the helmet.” He was putting on his own orange-striped helmet and dark glasses. For the first time, she noticed he was still in the jeans he’d worn earlier in the day but had somewhere acquired biker boots and a black leather jacket. He got on the bike and revved up the engine. “Jump on.”
She got on the broad seat of the bike behind him, her arms around his waist. “Where’s the Mercedes?” she asked as he tore down the street. “And where did you get this motorcycle?”
“The Mercedes is discreetly dumped in a place that will lead Kadmus to step into the trap. The bike I bought from a man in a bar along with his gear.” He smiled. “It’s as close as I could come to a bona fide disguise that would allow us to move around Chinatown. The young people love their bikes. Not surprising, considering the terrible traffic.”
He was right—the helmet and glasses were a decent disguise. “It took you long enough. If you’d taken me along, I could have split up the search by—”
“And I would have been distracted,” he interrupted. “I didn’t need you. I got everything done. Now be quiet and enjoy the ride.”
And she was enjoying the ride, she realized suddenly. Why? A roaring motorcycle wasn’t the place to enjoy a conversation and yet she was having no difficulty hearing or communicating. Cameron? It didn’t feel like intrusion but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a more subtle form of manipulation. Hu Chang had said he didn’t know the extent of Cameron’s skills.
Oh, what the hell, if it was an intrusion, it was minor.
“I’m glad you’ve decided to give me the benefit of the doubt,” Cameron said. “Now relax and enjoy. I haven’t ridden a motorcycle for years. Have you?”
She tried to remember. “Once when I was in Moscow trying to track down Luke.” Her arms grasped him tighter. “It was no joyride.”
“No, nothing about that time contained any joy for you. But it’s over, and you have Luke.”
If Cameron didn’t lure him into his camp, she thought dryly. He seemed to have an incredible amount of magnetism where her son was concerned.
“I wouldn’t try to take him away from you,” he said quietly. “And I won’t use him as a pawn. You have my word on it.”
“Is your word any good?”
“Yes.” He added simply, “Because it’s all I have that doesn’t belong to the committee. I have to keep something for myself.”
“And yet you’re going to go against them when you kill Kadmus.”
“It’s an exception. In most cases, I’m in agreement with them.”
“Why do they want to keep the bastard alive?”
“He’s a big investor and financial force in keeping that tourist town of Shangri-La going. There are a few reasons why the committee wants all the public attention fixed on that town the Chinese swear is the location of Shangri-La.”
“Because it’s not the true location?”
He was silent. “How can a mythological place have a true location except in the imagination?”
“How indeed?” she whispered. She laid her cheek on his back. She could feel the silky smoothness and smell the leather of his jacket against her flesh. “Or perhaps they want the entire myth to have a tawdry image and be totally discounted.”
“I said there are a few reasons.”
“And some you’re not going to divulge,” she said. “That’s okay with me. When I really want to know, I’ll go searching for myself. In the meantime, it’s enough to know that you realize that your committee isn’t right all the time.” She added, “And that you’re willing to help me take Kadmus down.”
“Oh, I’m definitely willing to help you do that.” He swerved around the corner, and they were suddenly bombarded by light and tourists and music. “It will be my pleasure.” He paused. “By the way, I like the feel of you lying against me.”
She started to straighten, then stopped. She liked the feel of him, too. Why cheat herself? “How far away are we?”
“About six blocks. In three blocks, I’m going to cut left and start going down the alleys. We’ll be able to ditch the bike in the alley and climb the fire escape to get into the building.”
“What building?”
“The home of Moon, Stars, and Heavenly Wonder,” Cameron said gravely. “And, hopefully, the place where we’ll be able to bury Kadmus and Brasden.” He cut left and roared down the neon-lit street and then turned the bike into darkness.
Glowing feline eyes. Garbage cans. Foul smells. Alley. They were in the alley.
After ten minutes of weaving in and out of the maze of alleys, Cameron brought the bike to a stop. “We’re here.” He got off the bike and lifted her off the seat. “Come on. Let’s get moving.” He set her on the ground and jumped up to bring the fire-escape ladder down. “There’s an open window on the third floor. I’ll go first. I climbed the ladder before, and it’s none too steady. If you feel it going, yell, and I’ll grab for you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bellow loud and strong.” She watched as he climbed the steps until he reached the first-floor landing. She loved watching him move. He was all animal grace and clean definition.
He glanced down at her. “Coming?”
“Right behind you.” She was climbing the first steps as she spoke. She said maliciously, “I wanted to give you a chance to fall before I risked my valuable neck.”
“Very wise.” He had turned and was rapidly climbing. “I feel just as cautious about risking your neck and other delectable body parts. It would be punishing myself.” He had reached the third level and turned to look down at her. His eyes were gleaming with mischief as he reached out a hand to her. “Give me your hands. I’ll pull you the rest of the way up. It will be quicker.”
“Are we in that much of a hurry?” She let him grasp her hands. He pulled, then dropped her hands and grasped her waist and swung her the rest of the way up to his level. Strong, he was so strong. She remembered what Hu Chang had said about his daily workouts to keep fit for the task of being Guardian.
“No real hurry.” His hands lingered a moment on her waist before he dropped them and turned to the window. “I just wanted to touch you again.”
“This is serious business, Cameron.”
“It’s not serious until there are bullets flying. This is preliminary stuff that allows a bit of pleasure.” He opened the window and slipped over the sill. “There are three boxes piled under the window. Be careful not to send them crashing when you crawl in.”
He was gone.
She heard nothing in the darkness beyond the window.
She followed him across the sill and felt for the boxes with her feet.
Found.
She stood on the top box and dropped catlike to the floor.
“Good. No sound.” Cameron was beside her. “I just disconnected the security system. We can move through the place without worrying about motion alarms.”
“Where the hell are we?” She was peering around her, trying to pierce the darkness. “Boxes. Lots of boxes.” She stopped. “And I smell something … chemicals.”
He handed her a penlight. “Gunpowder and coated papers. Keep the beam down. But look around. I want you to memorize the area. You can never tell when you’ll need to know where you are at any given minute.”
She shined the beam of the flashlight around the room, and up to the ceiling, where she saw a gleam of light. Stars? Yes, there was a large rectangular skylight that occupied a good half of the ceiling. Night sky and stars. She lowered the beam to the room itself. There seemed to be a wall of cabinets or closets against the far wall. Other than that storage wall, the place was stacked high with various-sized boxes. Some were open, some were sealed.
She took a step nearer one of the boxes. The Chinese print on the lid jumped out at her. Moon, Stars, and Heavenly Wonder. And beside it a red-and-gold fireworks display.
Her gaze flew to Cameron’s face. “This is a fireworks factory?”
“The top two floors. The street floor is a collection of souvenir shops.” He moved toward the freight elevator. “This floor is mostly storage. Let’s go down to the second floor. I saw some offices down there.”
She followed him. “What did you have in mind for this place?”
“The trap. We’re going to let Kadmus discover that we’re using this place as a safe house. We can probably expect him to attack with a full crew. In order to lure him into a trap where we have the advantage, we’ll have to find a way to eliminate a large number of his men. You get the picture?”
“Boom. Fireworks. Explosions. Yes, I get it.” She frowned. “But I’m not sure I like it. This building is in the middle of the city. How are you going to stop the big boom from blowing up a block of prime real estate and the people inhabiting it?”
“I’ll work it out. There’s a vacant lot next door that may have potential.”
“No, don’t give me that. I have to know. I remember a fireworks factory that blew in Vietnam years ago. The death-and-injury count were terrible. I won’t accept being part of a catastrophe like that.”
“I don’t have all the details in mind yet.” He met her eyes. “But I promise you there won’t be innocents killed. It won’t be another Vietnam. Is that enough for you?”
“And what about the people who own this property?”
“The owner’s name is Kim Po. I have a man at his home right now making him a deal that will set him up for life.”
“Money, again.”
“You object?”
“I prefer bribery to violence.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s just that the quantity of money you appear to control is a little mind-boggling. Of course, there are crime syndicates like the Mafia who are able to dig deep to get what they want, but you’re one man.” She tilted her head. “Or maybe this conglomerate is really a crime syndicate.”
“You don’t believe that.”
No, she didn’t. Incredibly, she was beginning to believe the concept or reality of Shambhala as the mystical, idealistic place about which Cameron and Erin had told her. “I can’t see you in the Mafia. You wouldn’t pay any attention to the ‘family.’ You like control too much. How are you going to bait this trap?”
“You and Hu Chang bring Erin here through the front door of the shop entrances. By that time, Nagle’s men will know they’re in Chinatown and be on the alert. They’ll probably have photos of Erin … and you.”
“You won’t be with us?”
“I’ll come in through the back fire escape. I don’t want Kadmus to think that he can gather me in with one scoop. The bait has to be a little less tempting, and you have to have something to offer.”
“I won’t let Erin be exposed to that bastard again. No risk to her, dammit.”
“There won’t be a risk. All she has to do is show up and be seen entering the factory. There’s a basement exit that leads to the restaurant next door. I’ll negotiate with the owner to have one of Blake’s men there to take Erin to safety.”
Catherine frowned. “I still don’t like it.”
“Erin will like it,” he said quietly. “She’ll want her part in getting rid of Kadmus. Don’t cheat her of that because you want to protect her.”
“Just make sure that she’ll be out of any action. When is all this supposed to happen?”
“Today is Tuesday—everything should be in place by Thursday. Sooner if Kadmus moves faster than I’m expecting.”
“Thursday. It will all be over day after tomorrow…” She got off the freight elevator on the second floor. “You’ve obviously scoped out the building already. You don’t have to tag along with me. I’ll look around on my own.”
He stepped back and gestured. “Be my guest. I’ll wait upstairs. I want to put the alarm back on, and that’s the only window I’ve taken off the motion detectors.”
“Twenty minutes.” She moved quickly into the darkness. Several cubicles that would serve as offices, an assembly line with several stools. Boxes. Lockers. A Coke machine …
She arrived back at the third floor seventeen minutes later. She got off the freight elevator and moved toward where Cameron was standing by the window. He was only a blur in the darkness lit from the faint light streaming through the skylight. “They’ll have to come in from the shops on the street. It’s not likely they’ll use the fire escape to break into the other floors. They’re too easy to guard.”
“Unless Kadmus is more clever than we think.”
His voice sounded … strange.
She stopped, her gaze searching the darkness to see his face. “Is something wrong?”
“No.”
He wasn’t telling the truth. The air was thick, crackling with whatever was disturbing him.
“Let’s get out of here.” He lifted her up on the top box under the window. “Go on. I’ll see you down there. I’ll take care of the alarm.”
She was already jumping the last few feet to the alley when he reached the fire escape at the second floor.
She hadn’t had a chance to look around when they first arrived and took the opportunity to do it now. Garbage cans, boxes with the Moon, Stars, and Heavenly Wonder fireworks signs and, several yards toward the street, the blue Mercedes.
“So this is where you dumped it,” she said, as Cameron jumped down beside her. “It definitely looks out of place in this alley. It should be easily spotted if anyone is searching.”
“They’ll be searching.” He got on the motorcycle. “I guarantee it.” His voice held a tension that hadn’t been there before. “Come on, let’s go.”
She frowned as she swung her leg over the bike and slid onto the seat behind him. Her arms slipped around his waist. “There is something wrong. What did you see up there after I left?”
“Nothing.” He started the bike and roared down the alley toward the street. “It was just a long twenty minutes waiting for you.”
“Seventeen.”
“Whatever.”
“It’s not as if I wasn’t efficient. I just needed to make sure there wasn’t anything that might trip me up when—”
“I know that.” He was silent. “I suppose I was counting on going with you. It would have kept me busy, and I wouldn’t have had time to think.”
“You mean worry? I thought you had it all planned. It’s not—”
“I mean think. Anticipate. Imagine. I leaned against that wall waiting for you with the darkness surrounding me.” He said jerkily, “Guess what I was anticipating, Catherine?”
She didn’t have to guess. Her heart was beating hard, and she felt the taut muscles of his back against her breasts. His words had come out of nowhere, but they were not really a surprise. Somewhere deep within her, she had been waiting for them.
“You’re not answering,” he said softly. “Do you want me to tell you?”
“Don’t play games.” Her voice was uneven, and she stopped to steady it. “You’ve already given me a glimpse before of how your mind works. It’s all about sex.”
“Not all, but when I’m anywhere near you, it comes close. I was very controlled on the ride here. That’s amazing. As I told you, I have no discipline where you’re concerned.” He paused. “And you were touching me.”
As she was touching him now. Her breasts pressed against the smoothness of the leather jacket, her arms holding tight around his taut, corded waist. Her upper legs curved under his and the center of her sex jammed against his buttocks. Only their thin layers of clothing separated warm skin.
Not warm. Hot. Her entire body was flushed, readying.
“I’ll tell you anyway.” His voice was hoarse. “I could smell you in the darkness, just a lingering hint of soap and shampoo. You were nowhere near me, but your scent was still there in the darkness. The same scent that drifted to me when you were behind me on the bike. The same scent I’m smelling now.” He gunned the bike.
Speed. Jarring contact against his body. Wind whipping her face.
“And I thought how I wanted that scent closer to me, how I wanted to drink it in and get drunk on it.” His words were soft as velvet, and yet she was aware of a subtle, erotic abrasion. “And I began to think how I could make that happen. I thought about this bike and that it was all wrong for you to be behind me. I wanted you to be in front, with your legs wrapped around my waist, so that I could bury my face in your hair.”
“Rather distracting,” she said unevenly. “And definitely unsafe.”
“It gets worse … or better. You’re naked, and I open my jacket so that I can feel your breasts rub against me. Your nipples are hard and taut, and I want my mouth on them. But I know it’s not going to be enough. So I make an adjustment, and I’m inside you. I can feel you. I start to move.”
“My God, Cameron.” Her voice was shaking. “Stop.”
“Because you’re feeling me inside you, too? That’s no reason. You like it, don’t you? You feel the jarring of the bike, the occasional sharp bump, but it’s all part of me and you and the rhythm. It’s driving you as crazy as it’s driving me.”
Crazy? Yes, and breathlessly erotic, with white-hot sexuality. She found herself clenching, fighting the emptiness. “Are you doing something to my head, Cameron?”
“Not this time. It’s only words.”
And visions brought to life by those words.
“Close your eyes,” he said. “Let it come to you. Let me come to you. You know it’s going to happen. Why are you fighting it?”
“Dammit, because I don’t fall into bed with every man I find sexually attractive. There has to be a reason, there has to be order to my life.”
“Then I’ll give you a reason,” he said roughly. “You want your son protected? I’ll see that he’s safe from Kadmus and everyone else. Not just now but for the foreseeable future. I’m probably the best-qualified and expensive Guardian he could ever have. Is that reason enough?”
“I didn’t say price. I said reason.”
“Then you’ll have to decide if what I bring to you is reason enough.” She could see his hands clench on the handlebars. “But decide soon, or I’ll start fighting dirty. I don’t want to do that with you.” He said curtly, “We’re halfway back to Celia’s place. You haven’t got much time.”
“I have as much time as I wish. I won’t be pressured, Cameron.”
“Pressured? I’m not pressuring you. It’s the last thing I want. I know that’s a one-way street.” He drew a deep breath. “I’ve just got to have you. You tell me how to do it.”
She didn’t answer. Her mind was in chaos. She put her cheek on his back again. Leather, jarring contact, his words, which were sending deep tremors throughout her body. Feelings and visions were splintering into glittering shards all around her.
Her thighs resting against Cameron’s. She wanted to move them, rub against him.
Her breasts were taut, swollen, full.
I wanted my mouth on them, Cameron had said.
Cameron’s imaginary scenario was suddenly her own.
Her body naked against him, her thighs parted to accept him into her body.
She could feel him.
She bit her lower lip to keep back a groan. She clenched hard, and he must have felt the movement ripple through her body. “Stop fighting,” he said thickly. “You won’t regret it. I’ll give you anything you want from me. Stack up a dozen reasons, and I’ll knock them out one by one. Are you afraid of me?”
“No.” She was more afraid of herself and this fever that seemed to be possessing her. She could feel the waves of pure lust jolting through her. She could feel the flush heating her cheeks. She was shaking, wanting to draw him closer, wanting to tear off her clothes and make that naked vision reality. “Of course not.”
“I can’t take this,” he said harshly. “Celia’s is just ahead. I’m parking a few houses down.” He drew the motorcycle to the curb and turned off the engine. “I’ve got to have my hands on you.” He pulled her off the bike. “Don’t argue. You want it, too.” He pulled her toward the walkway leading to Celia’s backyard. He’d gone only a scant four yards when he released her wrist and jammed her up against the brick wall of the house. “God, I hope you want it. I can’t cheat and find out.” His mouth was on hers, opening it, tonguing wildly. “Not this time. Not with you.” His body was arching, hips rubbing catlike, pushing her back against the rough bricks. “Tell me you want me, Catherine.”
Want him? She was dizzy with wanting him. She couldn’t breathe. She was on fire.
“Tell me,” he said roughly. “I have to know. I can’t find out any other way.”
“That must … be very frustrating for you.” She reached up and started quickly unbuttoning her blouse with hands that were shaking. “Hell, yes, I want you. And if you don’t do something about it, I’m going to drag you down right here. This is too much to—” His lips were covering hers again. Tongue to tongue. Teeth nibbling, biting, tasting, possessing.
“Not here.” He lifted his head. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the back garden. “I got a text from Celia. There’s supposed to be a summerhouse…” He glanced at her. “Oh, shit. Bad timing?”
“No, she told me the same thing.” She was half running to keep up with him. “I don’t care if she thinks she can set up arrangements for you. This isn’t about her.”
It was about need and the most intense desire she’d ever experienced, she thought hazily. She had to have him, and nothing else mattered.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you.” He threw open the door of the summerhouse and pulled her inside. Darkness. Moonlight streaming through long, arched windows, couches, and chairs with some kind of print upholstery. “This is the only thing that’s important.” His fingers were flying over the buttons of her blouse. “I have to—”
He wasn’t being quick enough. “I’ll do it.” She kicked off her shoes and brushed his hands aside. “I don’t need you for this.”
“Whatever.” His jacket dropped to the floor. “Just so you need me for—” He inhaled sharply as she came naked into his arms and began to rub against him. “Dear God.” He closed his eyes. “I’m so damn close. Give me one minute.”
“I don’t want to—” She moved away from him. She was panting. Her skin felt burning, aching yet satin smooth, inviting touch. Inviting him. “Where’s your control, Cameron?”
“I don’t know,” he said jerkily. “I don’t have it with you. Everything’s different with you.” He was naked, pulling her to the couch and tipping her down onto softness. “The first time is going to be fast. I’ll make it good, but I can’t—” He parted her thighs and sank into her.
Deep.
Hot.
Hard.
She groaned through clenched teeth, and her nails sank into his shoulders.
But he was groaning hoarsely, too, and moving, lifting her to meet every thrust, turning her, taking every bit of her.
Madness.
Striving.
Her stomach was clenching to give more, take more.
But she couldn’t take more no matter how she tried. And it was driving her insane.
She held him frantically tighter. “Cameron.”
“I know.” His tongue was in her mouth, taking deep. He raised his head. “Now … I’m sorry … it has to be now.”
“Sorry?” Her teeth sank into his shoulder. “Do it.”
He went deep, deeper than before. She hadn’t thought it was possible, but he was pinning her and stroking with an intensity that was causing her mouth to open in a silent scream.
Deeper.
Round.
Deeper.
Frantic.
She climaxed!
And the scream was no longer silent but had become a broken sobbing of sheer pleasure and relief.
She was only vaguely aware of Cameron’s low cry and his body stiffening above her. She was lost in a haze of pure physical sensation.
He was leaving her.
She instinctively tried to keep him inside her.
“Shh, not right now.” He pushed her away and kissed her breast. “Rest, then I’ll make this up to you.”
What was he talking about? Oh, yes, something about control or lack of it. But none of that was important now. What was important was that she felt empty without him and wanted him back, wanted the rhythm and the madness back.
She watched him move off the couch, the moonlight playing on that beautiful, strong body like a shadow lover. But she wanted to see more of him. She was feeling a crazy sense of possession. “Turn on the lamp.”
“No, I don’t want anyone looking down from the house and noticing that we’re here.” He took out his penlight, turned it on, and put it on the end table by the couch. “But I want to see you, too.”
The beam was only a little brighter than the moonlight, but she could see him. Oh, yes, superbly masculine and totally sexual. Purely sensual, muscular, tight belly and buttocks. And now that she had what she wanted, she was feeling a little awkward about it. Or perhaps it was because the first frantic, feverish need was subsiding, and her head was clearing.”It’s okay. You’re right, the light’s not necessary.”
“The hell it’s not.” His gaze was slowly going over her. “You’re magnificent, you know. All gold and sable and grace. I want to take my time and memorize every gorgeous inch of you.” He knelt before her, and his hands cupped her breasts and lifted them to his mouth. “Because I can’t see time or opportunity allowing us another occasion like this anytime soon.” He sucked gently, then teethed the nipple. “And you may decide I’m not what you want. I’ll try to rectify that clumsiness I showed last time, but it’s your decision.”
His teeth were causing her nipple to harden and the need to return. And he had to know it. She said, “You’re being very meek, but I think you’re full of shit.”
He lifted his head and smiled. “Partly. I have no intention of giving you or this up. I just have to find a way to keep it going that won’t interfere with your independence.” He parted her thighs, widened them, and began stroking the soft hair. “I admire and respect your independence. Did I ever tell you that?”
She was losing her breath again. “I can’t remember its coming up.”
“I do. But it’s going to get in the way. I found out something tonight. I kept thinking … mine.”
“How barbaric and completely chauvinistic. What about your independence?”
He grinned. “That doesn’t bother me.”
“I’m sure,” she said dryly. “Because you consider it totally inviolate. Not fair, Cameron.”
“No, but I’m trying to give as much as I can.” His fingers started gently plucking. “I know I can’t have it all my own way.”
Heat was spreading from his fingers to her entire lower body, and she had to steady her voice. “Why even discuss it? It’s only sex and really has nothing to do with who we are. Who I am. This isn’t me. Do you think I do this all the time? You managed to sweep me away, and I’m still dizzy from it. But I’ll come to my senses. So will you.”
“Will I?” He leaned forward, and his lips touched her belly. “I don’t think so. I’m caught. I don’t even want to be free.” He licked delicately. “So I’ll just have to find a way to have you. Get used to the idea.”
She closed her eyes as her entire body started to ready. “It’s only sex,” she repeated. “And you’ll become bored. I’m just another woman in your life.”
“Neither of us is going to become bored.” His fingers were moving down. “We started out with something pretty incredible, and I’ll keep fanning the flame until it gets so high, it will burn us both to touch it.”
She was burning now. His fingers were doing something strange, wickedly erotic … “Cameron.”
“You like that?” He rubbed his cheek against her belly, and she felt the faint bearded roughness. “I told you I’d take my time from now on. Providing I can keep control. I believe I can hold on. I told you I was forced to limit sexual encounters to prostitutes, and that may have advantages for you. I was taught many, many ways. There are so many things I can do with my hands and mouth…” Pressure. Two fingers. His thumb. “And I can do them for hours and hours.” Three fingers. He pressed hard with his thumb.
She cried out and lunged upward as an explosion of pure lust shot through her.
“Shh, it’s just starting.” He was rubbing, pressing, pinching. “I love to see you like this. Will you believe that it’s the only control I want to have over you?”
Her head was moving back and forth on the couch in an agony of need. “No, I don’t—believe you.”
“Well, right now.” He whispered, “And perhaps, if I bring you enough pleasure, you’ll let me share that beautiful mind while I’m inside your body. That would be spectacular. There’s a thousand sensations and emotions I could give you if you permit me to do that.”
“No.” She could barely speak as she clenched helplessly around his fingers. “Dangerous.”
“Not if you trust me.”
She shook her head.
“You’re trusting me to do this to you. That’s only another step.” He looked up at her and coaxed, “It would please me. Sometimes I think I love that mind of yours better than I do your body.” He leaned forward and licked her nipple. “And then I realize that I can have both if I work hard at it.”
“You can’t have either.” Dear heaven, his fingers, intricate, knowing … She hadn’t known anyone could do that …
“Yes, I can. Just look at us. Right now, this is strictly on loan. But I’m working toward making it a permanent arrangement.” His lips returned to her belly. “But you’re distracting me, I’m not working hard enough. I have to see if I can make you want to please me as much I’m pleasing you.” His breath was warm and heavy as he moved down. “What do you think, Catherine?”
Don’t scream. Don’t scream. Don’t scream.
She screamed.