Authors: Eve Langlais
I want to do bad things with her.
Or good things, depending on the view.
The soap in her eyes and her subsequent panic snapped him out of his thrall, for a moment, or so he’d thought, until he found himself in the shower, her naked curves rubbing against him. When she tilted her head back, staring at him with mesmerizing golden eyes, he’d wanted to kiss her waiting lips. Could see in her expression she wanted him to. Wanted him to take advantage of her willingness.
I can’t!
Operatives didn’t screw victims. Good agents didn’t let their lust get in the way of their mission, a mission that involved protecting Renee until better accommodations were located.
And my bedroom isn’t that location, even though her creamy complexion would look great splayed across the silver threaded comforter on my bed.
With a growl of annoyance, he fled her presence to his room, diving into his clothes in an attempt to forget her touch, but even there, she haunted him still. He couldn’t stop picturing her. Lusting after her. It made no sense. His body, usually so cold and obedient, flushed hot, as if he’d caught a fever.
Maybe she carried a virus. Something from the lab that jumped over to him. Yeah. That made the most sense. Any excuse to deny how she made him feel.
Now if only the cure didn’t involve me jumping her bones.
He’d have to speak to the doctor about a less carnal
a sparring partner, he’d have to rely on cooking, immerse himself in the preciseness of measuring and preparing a feast. Before he could make it to the kitchen, though, she appeared, wrapped in only a towel.
Fuck dinner, let’s go straight to dessert.
“Why aren’t you dressed?” he snapped. Something with buckles that went neck to ankle, preferably.
“You didn’t bring me the t-shirt you promised. And I couldn’t put back on the dirty gown. It smells bad.” She wrinkled her nose.
Instantly chagrined, he darted back to this room and grabbed the smallest shirt he could find and a pair of track pants with a drawstring. Turning around, he discovered she’d followed
Massive? He’d show her massive. He shook the dirty thought. “Yours is queen sized, while this is a king.” Plenty of room for wrestling naked. “Here you go.” He thrust the clothes at her and waited for her to leave.
To his dismay – and delight – she dropped the towel, displaying once again her curvy assets. A gentleman would have looked away, but this croc found himself hypnotized by the red curls at the vee of her thighs. Thankfully, she broke the spell when she dropped his shirt over her head, its shapeless and large size covering her to mid-thigh. But the sight of her, glorious perfection, remained burned on his retinas.
She sat on the foot of his bed, but before she could pull up her legs to yank on the pants, and give him an even more interesting view, he ran away to the safety of the kitchen, his breath coming in pants as if he’d run a race. He had in a sense. A sprint to get him away from temptation.
When Renee entered a moment later, he still had his head stuck in the freezer.
“What are you doing?” she asked from behind him.
Lowering his body temperature? Probably not the right answer to give. “Looking for dinner. Do you like seafood?”
“I don’t know. What is it?”
Instead of explaining, he showed her. The act of preparing the food kept his hands and eyes occupied. She perched on a stool, asking questions and making observations. He kept his answers short, clipped, trying to act like he normally would, but his stand-offish behavior didn’t stop her from remarking on everything in the room.
“What’s that?”
He peeked over and saw her pointing to his espresso machine. “It makes a special coffee.”
“I’ve heard of that. What’s it taste like?”
“I’ll show you in the morning. I don’t want the caffeine keeping you awake.” No. He wanted her sleeping. In her own bed. Alone.
When he finally served them dinner, he placed her plate at one end of the dining table, and his at the other. With about eight feet of wood between them – not including the extra inches in his pants – he relaxed a little, until he choked at her next question.
“Is my body repulsive?”
A coughing fit, a drink of water and a few deep breaths later, he managed to say, “What did you say?”
“I asked if my body was repulsive. Or inadequate.”
Nope. He’d heard her right. “Why would you ask that?”
“Well, while in the dungeon, I was the only one the guards never propositioned. Even the blob got some action. And then, in the shower, I thought you were going to kiss me, but you didn’t.”
So, she wasn’t raped during her tenure. Well, that was good news. Now how to explain he found her too attractive. “You’re a beautiful woman. But kissing you would be wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a victim.”
She cocked her head and regarded him with curiosity. “But you rescued me, so I’m not anymore.”
“You’re still adjusting to the real world.”
“Isn’t sex a part of that? Or is it taboo? Are there some cultural issues I should be aware of? I know the books I read when younger talked of marriage. Is that why you wouldn’t kiss
“Not everyone gets married before having sex. As for our culture, some people think intercourse is something to be shared only with someone very special. Others indulge for the pleasure of it. It depends on the person.”
Golden eyes perused him. “Am I making you uncomfortable? I don’t mean to. I just have so many questions.”
“This is something you should talk about with another woman.”
“But I don’t know another woman. And I trust you.” Her eyes suddenly widened in shock. “Is the reason you didn’t kiss me because you are married to someone? Do you already have a mate?”
“No.” He could see his terse reply didn’t answer the question in her eyes. “I didn’t kiss you because you’re not only a mission, you’re – you’re too young.” At twelve years difference, plus her naivety from her incarceration, she deserved better than old croc like him, even if he could put the younger men to shame with his strength and skill. And he didn’t mean just in
“Amelie said she lost her virginity at sixteen. That it’s almost unheard of for women in their twenties to have never been with a man.”
“She used to live in the cell next to mine until they moved her to another faculty.”
“Your friend was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with being inexperienced at your age.” By the swamp, it made her
man like that.”
“Why not? I want to learn. You said you’d teach me.”
There went that stubborn lip of hers, jutting out adorably again. Despite the innocence of her demand, he couldn’t help a
surge of lust. “I said I’d teach you to fight not to…” Get naked
and cry his name as he brought her to orgasm. “Listen, when you
and your friend had this talk, did she also explain that people
tend to choose someone closer to their age to be intimate with?”
Dammit. Would someone please kill him now? He so didn’t
want to have this conversation.
“What does age have to do with it?”
“That’s just how it is. If you decide to get involved with
someone,” over his dead, reptilian body, “then you should do so
with someone young like yourself. Not old like me.” “You don’t look old.”
The compliment shouldn’t have pleased him. But it did.
He squashed his preening pleasure. “I am though. Enough of
this conversation. It’s not appropriate. Eat.”
She stopped the questions, the oral kind at any rate, but
as she ate, he caught her stares. When the meal finally ended,
and he spotted her yawning, he jumped on the chance to put her
to bed. Alone. Cold blooded creatures didn’t snuggle. Ever. Escorting Renee to her room, he told her a gruff
goodnight before he escaped. However, even as he worked,
logging onto the FUC network to check the status reports on
their raid and other victims, he couldn’t help his gaze from
straying to the closed bedroom door.
Despite the mission, and the knowledge she latched onto
him out of a sense of relief, he couldn’t help wishing he’d met
her under different circumstances when he was younger, less
cynical, less him.
*
Renee woke feeling more refreshed than she ever
recalled, the bed she’d slept in an absolute delight. To her
surprise, despite the tumultuous day, she’d dropped right off,
and didn’t dream.
Stretching under her cocoon of blankets, she noted the
golden glow creeping around the edges of the curtain. Curious,
she slipped out of bed and tread on bare feet over to the covered
window. She peeked around the edge of the drape, and bit her
lip lest she scream and bring a panicked Viktor running. Then
again, maybe she should let loose a yodel to see if he’d arrive
naked again.
No. Despite how much she’d love to see his tanned
flesh, she’d prefer it happen voluntarily. But before that would
happen, she needed to have him change his perception of her.
He was a warrior. If she wanted him to see her as something
other than a victim, she needed to find her bravery, starting now, with one scary window. Despite her trembling, she forced
herself to look.
Bright. Blinding. Beautiful.
The sun rose over the tops of the buildings in a brilliant
array of colors that numbed the edge of her fear at the vastness
of the world outside. Her first sunrise. And it didn’t send her
shrieking and hiding under the blanket, or looking for a chest.
I’m making progress.
Eager to share her bravery, she crept
from her room and across the hall to Viktor’s. On silent feet, she
snuck to the edge of his bed and paused, breath held, as she
allowed herself to drink in the site of him, wearing only shorts,
splayed across his bed. His tanned, taut skin, so much of it, lay
before her. Her lower belly tingled and for some strange reason,
she had an urge to pounce and nibble on his inviting flesh. So she did. But she no sooner landed on him than she
found herself flipped onto her back, him atop her, a gun held to
“Good morning,” she said brightly.
“Do you know I could have killed you?”
“Could have, but didn’t.”
He sighed. “Renee, I am a trained killer. Sneaking up on
Not good for the bad guys. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. “You’re fast.”
“Is there a reason why you jumped on me?”
Because she wanted a nibble? Hmm. Maybe she should keep that to herself for now. She gave him the first reason instead. “I saw the sun rise.”
“It scared you?”
“No. It was pretty. I thought I should tell you.”
A strange expression crossed his face before his head lowered, and his forehead touched hers. “Oh, Renee. What am I going to do with you?”
A familiar nudge against her mound saw her wiggling her hips and a thrill shot through her at the rub. “I know what I’d like you to do, but you said no.”
“You have no concept of boundaries.” He sounded so
back to her. “No. Yes. You shouldn’t go jumping in to strange men’s beds.”
“But you’re not a stranger.”
“You’ve known me a day.”
“How many days need to pass before you’re not a stranger then?”
“Renee.” He said her name on a note of exasperation she knew all too well. How often did she hear it during her incarceration? ‘
What do you mean you can’t shapeshift?’ ‘Why isn’t this sedative putting you out?’ ‘This is not the time to do the chicken dance.’
“What? I’m trying to learn, but really, how do you expect that to work if you’re not going to answer.”
“I’m not the right teacher for you.”
“But I’d be such a good student.” For some reason her words made him groan.
“We need to go to the office.”
He changed the subject, and it worked. “We? You mean I get to go too?”
“That’s usually what we means,” he said. He stood and headed for his dresser to pull a shirt on. A shame. He really did look much better without it.
She clapped her hands. “Oh yay. We’re going on an adventure. Wait though.” Her elation burst. “Does this mean we need to go in a car again?”
“Yes.”
A yummy breakfast, another hot shower and a million questions later, which Viktor answered in monosyllables, they were on their way to the FUC office.
It seemed her bravery in watching the sunrise while safely ensconced behind walls didn’t extend to the reality of the outdoors and the really bright blue sky. Nor did she enjoy the chaos of driving on streets crowded with other vehicles, honking and swerving to get places. Or that was the excuse she used to justify jumping into Viktor’s lap, hugging him tight and burying her face in the crook of his neck.
Whatever the true reason, she enjoyed the haven of his arms and ignored the snickers of their driver. But she smiled to herself when she caught a glimpse of Viktor flicking a digit between the seats in a very rude gesture.
Once they arrived and parked in the same alley as the day before, Viktor slipped out of the vehicle first, a hand on the butt of his gun as he searched the area. He’d explained to her on the drive over that while only their office had access to the rear entrance, and cameras guarded the place, it still paid to be
and she slid out of the car, but her toes never touched the ground. Feet clad only in the thin slippers given to her the day before, because Viktor’s shoes were much too large for her, Renee held on and giggled as Viktor scooped her into his arms and jogged up the same steps as the day before.
One, two, three… She counted stairs as he climbed. As the number rose, higher and higher, her admiration of his stamina grew.
He is strong!
And not old as he claimed considering their unburdened driver, a young fellow, was huffing and puffing before they reached the halfway mark.