Sanibel Seduction - Vampire Werewolf Menage (Fanged Romance Series Book Four) (12 page)

“Don’t worry, if we encounter the power couple,” she whispered through her teeth, referring to Will and the GM’s daughter, Elise. “I’ll run interference.”

“No running interference, just run,” Azure warned. “I think my period’s coming, and I’m feeling a touch bitchy.” More than a touch, but she was shooting for optimism. She glanced over at Abby as they reached the concierge. She was in her navy blue power suit and heels, her copper hair coiffed into some kind of French knot Azure could never manage however many times she tried. But that wasn’t her problem right now. Her shoes were. At her realtor’s insistence, she’d switched her comfortable wedges for champagne-colored platforms she normally wore while clubbing with Nick. Shoes he’d bought Azure two weeks ago, insisting that her legs looked fabulous while wearing them, and now they glittered in the lobby’s soft commercial lighting, creating attention she didn’t need. Just so that she could try to fit in somewhere that she never did in the first place.

“Okay, we’ll stop at Fudgie Wudgies on the way back,” Abby said dreamily, “they’ve come up with this new cookie dough -”

Azure cut her off, “Do you feel like we’re being watched.”

“Sure do,” she replied without hesitation. “You’ve lived in this building, the security’s tight.”

“Since we’ve left the house, Abby,” Azure lowered her voice as concierge waved them on and a large man who looked as if he could pose in an underwear ad ran a card key down a lock. Voila. Brushed stainless steel doors opened to a private elevator meant only for the penthouse. Abby clammed up, instead, nodding at the walking fantasy who stepped in with them.

“I am Jude Faden.”

Take me, Jude Faden
, Azure chewed her lip, sensing that fire rolling across her skin again, making her breasts too heavy. He had silver eyes and hair the color of drizzling caramel. A walking dream. A fantasy body. A highlander from those dirty romance novels she shared with Nick, but pretended not to read. The kind of man you knew you should walk away from, but couldn’t even if he said he was the devil himself.

Abby was never at a loss for words, but she seemed to have swallowed her tongue. “I’m Azure Malloy,” Azure introduced herself, raising her sweaty palm.
I want to fuck you six ways ‘till Sunday.

He bowed his head slightly, but didn’t take her offered hand, so she used it to gesture towards Abby. “This is Abby Pendleton.”

“It’s a pleasure.” The way he lingered over that last word kicked her dirty mind into overdrive.
I seriously need to get laid.
Azure was a horny woman, especially since her vacation, and the past few months of sleeping in a lonely bed had taken a serious toll on her. Dreamy Highlander inhaled sharply as if
smelling
her, and rolled the tension from his magnificent shoulders.

“
Gage
is waiting for you,” he said in that accent reminiscent of Sayer’s. One she couldn’t place.

“Gage is Mr. MacGelton,” Azure said, because Abby still hadn’t found her voice. Since her friend had turned comatose, she wondered if she could hit Jude up for a quickie before they reached the top floor. He could peel off that shirt, unzip those pants, and slam her against the wall. Any wall would do. She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and swiped her nape with the back of her hand - major sweat action going on. Hell, she would go to it on a bed of nails if that unlocked Jude’s cock.

A flash of straight white teeth, followed by, “He’s anxious for you to
start
.”

He’d caught her being horny, but she didn’t care right now. In her mind, she was riding him hard. No doubt, a man like that had piercings, the kinds she read about in those books she really didn’t read. The naughty ones. She squeezed her knees, wishing her skirt was a little bit longer so the movement would go unnoticed. But he noticed, all right. After he had adjusted his fly
oh so subtly
, the elevator doors opened, and her dark, highland fantasy nodded goodbye. He should have moved faster if he didn’t want her to catch a peek at his hard-on.
I did that to him!

She snatched Abby’s hand. “Don’t leave me hanging!”

Abby cleared her throat. “Did you see that?”

“Did I
see
that?” Azure whispered back, shaking her head as if she were a goner. “Jude Faden has
serious
bragging rights!”

“Want him.”

“Stand in line.” Azure grinned, before they both started giggling like teenagers. “We would have had to pull Nick off the ceiling if he were here.” They laughed harder. “Find Daddy Warbucks so we can get out of here. Chocolate is required. Plus the longest cigarette I can find. After that, I’ll call Nick and round up some professional candidates for the halfway house.”

She zeroed on one thing. “Since when do you smoke?” Two doors slammed shut down a hallway centering an over-the-top double staircase. “Nick’s a bad influence on you.”

“No, I don’t smoke. It just looks sexy in all those old black and white movies he makes me watch. The couples light one up after they get it on, sharing a puff here and there. And they’re all worn looking as if they weren’t doing the romantic stuff, but dirty sex. The kind you remembered the next day when you were too sore to sit down.”

“Yum,” Abby said, looking left and then right, “Mom and I used to watch the Giant together. Know of it?”

“James Dean?”

“Yeah.” She glanced at her watch, biting her lip.

“That man was pure sex.” Azure scratched her head, and thanks to the cornstarch, she watched on in horror as white flakes settled on her shoulder. Abby quickly brushed them away. “We’ll have to rent it with Nick. He’ll make up his own dialogue, jabber through the entire movie with his sultry sounds, turning it into soft porn.” Azure snorted, and Abby nearly dropped her phone.

“Who should I be more jealous of?” A deep voice resonated overhead, danger lurking in each syllable, piercing every cell in Azure’s body with heightened awareness, “The ghost of James Dean or a sultry porn lover named Nick?”

Oh, shit.
She sent a desperate look Abby’s way. An eavesdropper had been listening in on their inane banter.

Look at your male
,
a
command demanding compliance, though not spoken aloud.

Azure glanced up, shaking away the sensation brushing her ears, invading her mind. On the landing joining the sophisticated, double staircase was a man. A beautiful blond man wearing a dark business suit, loosening his tie and opening his collar, his blue gaze was dead on, aimed solely at Azure. “Perhaps, Jude?”

“J-Jude?” She sucked in a breath, blinking a few times, though it didn’t help. He was incredibly chiseled, someone unreal, clearly not of this world. Nothing close to any man she’d ever seen, one who fell from above because he did something naughty.

“Perhaps,” he chuckled, and the sound clenched Azure’s stomach, “I shouldn’t tease you.” She could have sworn he swiped his bottom lip with his tongue - a decidedly pink tongue, warm and wet. “I am Gage MacGelton.” As he introduced himself, Azure’s eyes were transfixed on his jawline, muscles working under golden skin. She wanted to run her palm over that dusting of dark, blond hair. Feel his whiskers scratch her nipples until they burned for his tongue. “You are Azure Malloy,” he said since she didn’t bother introducing herself.
Caught ogling
. But he had to be used to that by now.

“I am,” she said, taking an instinctual step back. Why? She didn’t know. Had never done that before, even when someone creepy passed her on the street, but he was unnerving her in a daring way. “This is Abby Pendleton.” She tilted her head Abby’s way, but couldn’t take her eyes off Gage long enough to see if her friend’s chin had hit the floor.

Full lips curled, kicking up in the corners, pretty but still masculine. His hair was thick, brushed back from his tanned forehead in smooth chunks, though several long platinum-streaked pieces hung down, brushing his high cheekbones. A little messy. As if he’d enjoyed a recent roll in the bed or on the floor - maybe over a large desk somewhere. Azure could envision herself bending over a desk, taking it from behind while gripping the sharp edges as he pummeled her body. Her fingers curled in her palms, wanting to comb through that hair. Mess it up some more.

“Ah, Abby, nice meeting you,” he said in whiskey smooth undertones, but didn’t take his eyes off Azure, continuing to watch her with a primordial intensity that made her heart skip a few beats. His thick thighs made short order of the stairs, descending with a powerful grace that, considering his size, surprised her. Gage MacGelton was comfortable in his skin, at one with his body. But there was something else lurking there. The perfect lamb personified on the outside, yet she could sense a savage hiding behind those remarkable cerulean eyes. She could feel it calling out, pacing the floor, its singular focus set on
her.
Azure could picture him on all fours springing with a ferocity bordering unleashed violence. Maybe that’s why she took
another
step back. But there was one thing that she was sure of, as crazy as it sounded, she didn’t want to leave.

Abby pulled the paperwork out, offering it to Gage with a trembling hand when he stepped in front of them. “I have all the signed documents here.”
Jude came back through, the high ceilings and marbled floors echoing his booted feet. Gage held the file out to him without a second glance. “Mind taking that back to Stacy?” He positioned his back to Azure, placing himself between her and Jude. He was towering, warmth emitting from his colossal body. She could smell that wildness she pictured a moment ago, a tantalizing aroma. Between his body heat and his scent, her hormones were rocking into overdrive. More of that embarrassing sweat beaded on her forehead, some of it went down her chest and trickled a line between her breasts. “Abby needs to meet with her, as well.”

“Not a problem,” Jude said easily. “I’ll get them together.”

“Now?” Abby asked, surprised. “I was hoping for a tour. Even selling real estate, it’s not every day that I get to see a home like this.”

“A tour another time, then,” Gage said determinedly, guiding her back to the elevator with a firm hand under her elbow. Then he turned to his friend and ordered, “Report later, Jude.” He wasn’t curt, but anyone could see there was a pecking order, and Gage wasn’t on the receiving end of it.

Azure cleared her throat, stepping around him, but he countered her movement. And this strange dance had all started when Jude came back in as if Gage didn’t want her looking at him, or was it the other way around?

She heard Jude’s rumbling accent again. “Of course, but you must check into the, uh, pool
heat
er. It seems to be rising.” Azure watched as he stepped into the elevator with Abby, punching the code quickly in order to close the doors. “Perhaps you want to tinker with it,” he added, glancing Azure way, “fix it before it escalates. Avoid more problems, I say.”

“Yes, Jude. I noticed the problem,” Gage said tightly, nodding as the doors started closing with them inside. “And since I find procrastination tedious, I will be on
that
immediately.”

“Bye, Abby.” Azure turned to Gage. “You have a pool all the way up here?” They were at least twenty floors up, maybe more. She hadn’t counted. Heights got to Azure, made her nervous all of her life.

He gestured for her to climb the right staircase, following close behind with one hand under her left elbow and the other pressed hotly against her lower back. “Actually, it’s on this level, but right upstairs” - he kept herding her – “is something you want to see in the master bedroom.” And why did that have a foreboding ring to it?

“More than eight thousand square feet, I think. Not that large for a penthouse, but I wanted it more for the outer decks and the rooftop garden. That’s the living space I’m interested in,” his voice was deep, rolling down her spine.

“Wow.”

He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, glancing at her mouth. “I’m an outdoorsy kind of man.”

“I should enjoy the outdoors more, especially since I’m blessed to live in Florida.” Her mouth formed into an o as she gazed out. “I love it here.”
“Trust me, Azure. You fit in here.”

“Somewhere just as beautiful, but wholly different is Scotland,” she went on enthusiastically, “I had the opportunity last month to travel there.”

A wild sound left his throat, but he covered it with a cough. “How was your visit?”

“Lonely. I went by myself.” She shrugged. “But I’ll always remember it. Once in a lifetime opportunities don’t come twice.”

“I agree, Azure. We’re to cherish the opportunities we’re given. Some are treasures.” He gazed at her with dark longing, before referring back to the rooftop. “This garden’s been maintained since this building was finished, very woodsy. When night falls, and the moon glows, it’s welcoming, a place to mediate. I hope you’ll enjoy it during your stay.”

“About that -”

He lifted her arm, sniffing her inner wrist. “What are you wearing?”

“Soap,” she squeaked, but another, grander view quickly grabbed her attention. “Oh, my.” The bay was on one side, only overshadowed by the Miami skyline. He was a king here, power at his fingertips, the world in his sights. “Oh, it’s incredible.”

“Incredible,” he mused aloud, rubbing his whiskered jaw with his free hand while still holding a flat palm against her back. “Azure Malloy” – he turned her with that palm, boring his eyes through hers – “you are more incredible than I imagined. And I have quite an imagination.”