Leaning back against a solid wall of chest muscles, she moaned. Her teeth hurt as her canines dropped. Before she realised what she intended to do, she'd spun in his arms so quickly the room blurred for her. In one lithe jump, she wrapped her legs around his hips so his cock pressed against her aching core. While Connor moaned and clamped her butt-cheeks tight as he pressed her closer, she did what her cat wanted. She sank her teeth into his neck, almost viciously.
He cried out and went rigid under her. She felt his cock pulsing as he came forcefully between their wet bodies. If he was feeling what she'd felt when he bit her, was it any wonder that he'd come so suddenly?
That thought was immediately lost in the mindless intensity of the moment. Teeth impaling his flesh, she clung to his hot, sticky body as the shower sprayed her back and her tongue tasted his blood.
Allie had tasted blood before. She'd sucked at a cut and bitten her tongue in the past. But that was as far from this taste as water was from aged whisky. His blood left her lightheaded, warm and tingling, and so close to coming, she could hardly hold back.
But Connor was dragging her hips backward, away from him. For a moment, her sex-drugged brain couldn't work out what his desperate actions were about. Then she felt his still-hard cock press into her, thrusting so deep and so fast that she could only moan her ecstasy into his flesh as she clung on with her teeth to his shoulder.
The first blinding orgasm was more relief than pleasurable. The one that followed it, no more than moments later, had her arching her back and breaking her teeth's grip on his shoulder. Using his callused palms, he began pushing and pulling her hips along the length of his thick column of flesh, while he kept his own hips almost inhumanly still. Gasping, groaning, grunting, he slammed her over and over against his body until she keened out yet another orgasm, her inner muscles tightening around his cock and forcing him to ejaculate yet again.
This time it was his teeth that buried themselves deep in her shoulder. And while he still spurted his scalding seed into her, she detonated yet again, not just in her core, but across every nerve-ending in her body. It was like a lightning strike: its branches spreading out and electrifying every cell. And still he pulsed inside her with what seemed like an endless stream of fluid that burned her up like lava as the bite electrified every pleasure point in her body at once.
When he finally stilled, she noticed the blood trickling down his chest from the bite she'd inflicted. Without thought, she leaned in and licked the wound closed. It disappeared instantly, as if it had never been there. Only the smears of residual blood showed what she'd done, and that too disappeared as it was washed away by the still pounding force of the shower.
He licked her wound and slowly slid her body down until her feet touched the tiled floor. Then, wordlessly, he began to wash her with the soap; gently, reverently, almost distractedly, as if he wasn't quite in his body.
When he'd finished, Connor pushed her firmly out of the shower so that he could tend to his own bathing. There was enough steam in the room to have removed wrinkles from a closet of clothes, so she quickly towelled off and took the dress back into the bedroom.
By the time Connor emerged from the sauna they'd created, she was dressed and applying emerald, metallic eye-shadow to her eyes. She rarely wore much make-up, but when she did, she liked to be dramatic about it. So her eyelids glittered green and her kiss-swollen mouth would be painted a vibrant, lush red. Her complexion was good, so she never covered it with make-up, but she did highlight her high cheekbones with a glittering blush. Finishing the transformation off with a large pair of gilded, dangling earrings, she turned back to see if Connor was dressed yet.
And of course he was. He moved like the wind, after all. So he was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking every bit as professional as he had when he walked into the room. The only difference was that he was now peering at her as if he doubted what he saw.
"You don't like?" she asked, pivoting to show him the bare expanse of her back. She'd been right about the length; the dress flowed gracefully over her hips and ended at her knees. Underwear of any kind would have been too observable, so she'd settled on wearing nothing but the dress.
When Connor continued to stare silently at her, she started to worry. Maybe she'd gone overboard with the eye-shadow. Maybe he preferred the natural look. Well, it was too late now. They were probably already way past the half-hour she'd been allocated to get dressed.
"If I've overdone it, it's too late to fix it. I could probably wash it off once we get there…"
"You look…fine," he managed to croak out.
"Oh, fine. Okay. Well I guess I'll do, then. I'll just put my coat on, will I? I don't have panty-hose, but I do have a pair of nice pumps that will go with the dress. Not the strappy, fuck-me heels I would've liked, but they'll be
fine."
"I doubt I could handle yer wearin' feck-me heels right about now," he muttered under his breath. She heard it as clear as if he'd yelled it at her. So her hearing was improving. That was good wasn't it?
A delightful little feminine tingle started spreading out from her chest. He wasn't disapproving of her appearance; he was just stunned. Maybe she'd gotten it right after all.
Connor was still reeling from what they'd done. Fucking this woman had been shattering in so many ways. No wonder Colt had been a shite that first night with Alyssa. No wonder he'd called the sex
not normal
and been afraid to repeat it. That's exactly how he felt about it now. But not normal was too mild a description for what had occurred for him.
Every sexual encounter in his life paled into insignificance compared to what he and this relative stranger had shared in the shower. He'd gone to her in a rage of pent sexual frustration and had expected to complete the act she demanded with blunt aggression. But the moment she spun into his arms and wrapped her legs around his hips, she'd unleashed a wildness he'd never known before.
Having her bury her teeth in his shoulder only served to push him over the edge. That bite had shifted him to a whole new level of awareness, and driven him to orgasm before he had a chance to suppress the urge; hold back at least until he was inside her.
But that release hadn't been enough. His still-hard cock had demanded more, and so he'd wildly sought out her core and buried himself in her slick heat. That in itself was a first. Usually after coming he needed time to recharge. Not much time, he was proud to admit, but more than a few seconds.
However, having just come had made it a little easier to control the rising tide. This time he used her wet channel sliding along his taut flesh to gain the painful pleasure he needed. When she came apart in his arms, her back arching, the erotic stimulus of the bite removed, it eased but didn't dissipate the pleasure surging through him. Instead, he felt her internal muscles convulse around him, and that sucked away his control yet again.
This time his release was agony and ecstasy. Connor had heard the description before but had never really understood it. Not like he did now. The intensity of the orgasm had felt like being pummelled around the head. He'd felt dazed and lightheaded, almost as if his soul had been forced out of his body. And the orgasm had gone on and on, until he started to fear it would never end.
When it did, his relief was unlike anything he'd known before. It was more than having finally scratched an insistent itch, it was like he'd come home. But no home had ever felt as good as Allie. She was his mate, the one being who completed him. Had he ever realised just how empty he was? Yes, to a certain extent. He'd blamed it on being raised in a test-tube instead of a womb. He'd thought there was something wrong with him. But now he knew different. He'd just been waiting to meet the other half of him.
As he'd washed his seed from her body with a feeling that came close to reverence, he grappled with what had occurred. She might think that this was just sex, but he knew better. What they'd shared wasn't even love-making; it was communion.
And then, while his satiated body tried to keep up with his fractured thoughts and feelings, she'd turned to him, asking how she looked. How could he answer a question like that? The old Connor would have paid her a pretty compliment, just as she'd intended. Just as she'd deserved, for looking so incredible. But this new Connor couldn't even find words to describe how she looked to him.
Gorgeous, amazing, beautiful
had seemed pathetic substitutes for words that didn't exist. And so he'd settled on
fine
, and upset her. She'd doubted herself and her appeal. Which seemed too crazy for words. Surely she could sense his awe? Surely it was written all over his face?
And now she was about to go out into the enemy's camp wearing nothing but a silk sheath that felt so much like her skin she could have been naked. How was he going to keep from attacking any man who looked at her and realised, just as he did, that she wore no underwear? How was he going to stand by and let Cameron, the feckin' dick, moon over her? It was to be an act. But surely, seeing her like this, would make it more than just an act. What red-blooded male wouldn't be drawn to her?
How the hell was he going to keep those other males away from his mate? Even his bite was hidden under the shoulder of her dress. Maybe he shouldn't have washed his scent off her body. If he'd left it there, others would have known who she belonged to.
It was just a feckin' shame
she
still didn't know who she belonged to. Because everything about the way she was behaving now told him that it had just been a meaningless hook-up for her.
Did he want her to love him? That's what women usually did when they settled on one man – and he wanted her to settle on him. But love? He didn't even understand the concept, no less
how
to feel it or how to get someone to feel it for
him
. Though he'd worked at pleasing women, he'd made sure they always knew there was nothing more on offer from him than passing pleasure. Being loved had been a responsibility he'd never wanted.
But now? Could he ask her to love him if he couldn't love her back? Because, no matter how intense and all-consuming this mating bond was, it wasn't love. It was a biological necessity.
The taxi ride to his hotel to meet Alyssa and Colt was a short and silent one. The limo was already waiting for them at the front entrance and the impatient couple was in the foyer, tapping their toes.
"You're late, bro," Colt started in immediately, his voice terse.
Then his expression shifted, his eyes, now as green as Connor's thanks to the coloured contact lenses they both wore, opened wide and he grinned like a smug idiot. "From the look of you, either you were run over by a bus or you've suddenly realised what it really means to have a mate."
Scowling, Connor hunched his shoulders. He didn't want to deal with Colt taking the mickey. But he'd always been one to take as good as he gave, so he'd withstand the smug jibes. After all, he'd had a great deal of fun at Colt's expense a month or more ago, so it was only fair that Colt had his share.
"Colt, don't be a dick. Have a bit of empathy," Alyssa said, elbowing her mate in the ribs hard enough to get his attention. "Hi, I'm Alyssa. Welcome to the ranks. It will be nice not being the only one."
Alyssa had held out her hand to Allie and his mate had taken it in relief. The perplexed expression of moments before was now gone.
"Thanks, I think. I'm not sure about this mate thing. But I am one of the DNA experiments, there's no doubt about that. Oh, and thanks for the dress. It's beautiful. You didn't have to lend it to me, though."
Alyssa beamed and blushed. "Of course I did. You're one of us. We share."
"Not everything," Colt grumbled.
Alyssa laughed. "No. Luckily the
mate thing
as you call it, Allie, makes us sexually exclusive. At least they toned down the test for you. They made me stand there while nine of the Sons sniffed at me like I was dinner."
"Yeah, what's with that whole sniffing thing? Freaks me out."
Alyssa had taken Allie's arm, as if they were old friends, and the two women were heading for the limo waiting outside.
"We smell different from human women, it seems. And become more enticing after we're activated. Did your parents know what you were? Were they part of the Résistance?" Alyssa had dropped her voice in case there were eavesdroppers, but every word was clear to Connor, as he and Colt brought up the rear.
"I have no idea. I never knew I was anything but adopted until this morning. Wow, it was only this morning. It feels like weeks ago."
"Yeah, that's how it felt to me the first few days, too. I lost my virginity the day I met Colt again. It was just a
wham bam, thank you ma'am
, kind of thing. Like being bitten for the first time. Just so sudden and unexpected."
"Hey, Lyss, give me some credit. There was a lot more to it than a
wham bam
," grouched Colt as he helped his mate into the back of the silver Mercedes limo Karl Rothmen had sent for them.
Alyssa laughed prettily. "Of course there was, my lovely man. And you didn't say thank you, either. If I remember rightly you said –"
"Is that going to haunt me the whole of my life? I'd just been run over by a bus, like Connor here. How could you have expected sense from me then?" Although Colt was joking, there was still an edge to his voice, as if the wounds from that night hadn't fully healed for him.
Connor assisted Allie into the limo and then followed Colt in. Alyssa was already opening the small box between the widely separated bench seats and revealing four wine flutes and a chilled bottle of champagne.
"I do so love the life of a star. This beats the warm, flat can of coke I used to guzzle as I busked for hours in the sun for nickels and dimes." She handed the bottle to Colt to pop, and he did so efficiently.
One by one, Alyssa handed out the filled glasses frothy with bubbles. Once they all had their drinks she lifted her glass in a toast. "To a new sister and to a successful evening."
They all drank to the toast but Connor barely tasted the expensive, effervescent liquid as it slid down his throat. It felt odd to feel part of a unit. For the last month or more he'd been the third wheel of this team. Never ignored or made to feel unwanted, but still…not part of the intensely close bond that had formed so quickly between the lovers.
But now with Allie at his side he felt as if he belonged. She balanced them out, adding that extra wheel they all needed. Yet was it an illusion? What if she never came to accept his claim and chose someone else? Just because the two guys she'd met so far weren't the ones to do it for her, that didn't mean one of the others couldn't be the one. She was clearly a very sexual being, confident and experienced, just the way he liked his women. Hooking up with him hadn't cemented any bond between them, as far as she was concerned.
"Does Cam kn – " Allie started to ask.
Only too aware that the limo could be bugged, Colt interrupted her. "Cam who?"
For a moment, Allie looked confused. Then, from the way Colt's eyes were darting around the space, she seemed to get the message.
"Cam…eron Diaz. I read in the press that she's a big fan of yours, Alyssa, and that she's currently in London. I just wondered if she knew about this performance tonight. Can I expect to see her here? I'm not a fan or anything but…" she petered out, having made a valiant effort to cover her mistake. If there had really been a John Wayne School of Drama she would have been its leading light.
"No. It's a very select group, so I was led to believe. Mr Rothmen and his wife and son, Cameron Haversham Smythe, who invited me to England, and his fiancé, Meredith Hall. I think Cameron said something about Meredith's parents being there too. I doubt there will be many more people than that. One of the reasons I suggested Connor bring the girl he'd met today was so we weren't so outnumbered by the high-rollers. I find billionaires very intimidating. I never know whether I should bow or scrape."
"Smythe would like you bowing
and
scraping, like he's bloody Royalty," Connor couldn't help snarking, watching that his words were still in character.
"He is in line for a title, which isn't far off royalty," Alyssa supplied with a grin. She took another sip of her champagne and purred with delight.
"We live in a democracy these days. Equality for all," Connor grumbled under his breath.
"Some are still more equal than others," Colt replied with a harsh note to his joking reference to
Animal Farm.
It wasn't long before the limo pulled to the curb outside a stunning mansion. Connor craned his head so he could get a better look at the place. It made Cameron's townhouse look shabby.
A liveried doorman hurried to the vehicle. Colt and Connor piled out and, after a quick surveillance of their surroundings, helped the girls out, too. They were bodyguards, first and foremost. The press knew that Alyssa had turned to her bodyguard for support after her boyfriend, the media mogul Alzhir Akabar, was murdered by the mafia. They were now an item, but Colton still took his job seriously.
Connor, his brother, worked at his side. Yesterday, Connor had run into a pretty girl shortly after arriving in the country and invited her on a date after she'd been impressed to find out he was a bodyguard and friend to Alyssa Aimes, the
Star Quality
finalist. That was their story. It worked well because, if anyone saw Allie going into Cameron's house early that morning, that visit could be explained away by their story. The three of them, with Chase at the other end of a conference call, had worked out the whole idea in a little under an hour.
That's when they'd all gone into fast-forward; realised they didn't have Allie's mobile number; and been forced to send Connor to her door, already dressed for the night, with only a little under an hour left before they were due at the function. They were now fifteen minutes late, and considering the sex in the shower had felt like it had lasted all night, it was amazing they hadn't been even later. Had he ever known a woman who could get ready for a night on the town so quickly? And she hadn't been accessing her super-speed to do it. As yet, she wasn't aware of just what she could do.
As they entered the bright, chandelier-lit atrium, Connor couldn't help but be impressed. It felt like they'd stepped back in time two hundred years, into the home of royalty. He guessed the Guild considered themselves superior to royalty, the world-over. They certainly had more money than most royals did these days.