EdgeofEcstasy (9 page)

“Buzz three times quickly, leave a pause, then buzz once
more and hold it for a moment,” Daniel replied. “I’ll know it’s you and clear
you through immediately. Usually I ignore the buzzer, but with that sequence I’ll
know it’s you and always be able to let you in without talking over the unit.”

Melissa kissed him once more, all too briefly and far more
chastely than she could have wished.

“You sound like some sort of secret agent,” she teased him,
utterly unused to this more playful side that Daniel seemed to bring out in
her. “Sure, we all take our protection seriously, but you’re taking it to a new
level for me. Secret codes and hidden agendas, solving puzzles and talking to
contacts. Are you sure you don’t work for the government as a super-secret
spy?”

Daniel snorted but didn’t bother to reply to her verbal
poking. His fingers held her chin in place as they stared seriously at each
other for a moment as her humor ran down a little bit.

“Be safe,” he cautioned her, a sort of blessing and order
mixed together. Melissa’s heart picked up speed, not just from the obvious
tenderness and care behind his words but also at the statement itself.

A benediction of sorts, it was a phrase commonly said on
missions instead of “goodbye” or “see you soon”. Falconn, Aiden, Kelly and she
frequently used the statement when working together, as it was deemed by many
to be poor luck to actually bid farewell to a fellow crew member, as if saying
goodbye, no matter how obliquely, actually meant you would not see them again.

“Be safe” had become a commonly used phrase both as a hope
that the person would remain free of physical, mental and emotional danger, but
also as a reminder to watch themself when others were not around to guard their
back. Such a multi-layered, intimate phrase had never been uttered in this
sense by any previous lover. The warmth spreading in Melissa’s chest was
uniquely and directly related to this amazingly sexy wizard who was stealing
her heart. Daniel’s tenderness as well as his protective instincts heated her
blood as much as the mutual lust they shared and the sizzling sex they’d had.
He was a potent package and becoming extremely addictive.

Having always been able to defend herself with her marksman
abilities, not to mention her training practically from the cradle in the art
of fighting, Melissa hadn’t had many people who’d bothered to cherish her.
Daniel appeared to feel that even though she could take care of herself very
well, he still wanted to protect her.

“You too, love,” she replied softly. “Be safe. I won’t be
long, I promise.”

Daniel and she exchanged one last long, silent, lingering
gaze.

Melissa smiled as a warm blush crept up her cheeks.

“You’re looking at me as if we’ll never see each other
again,” she chided him gently, not genuinely upset but a little flustered. “I’m
perfectly capable of driving back to my place, quickly packing a bag and making
it to your apartment.”

Daniel nodded but held her gaze for a moment longer. Melissa
tilted her head to the side and her smile faded. She reached out and gently
stroked her fingers down Daniel’s cheek, enjoying the very faintest rasp from
the beginnings of stubble. After a moment the pad of her thumb grazed his lower
lip and she closed the distance between them, kissing him one last time as if
he were some sort of drug and she a completely helpless addict.

“I know very well how capable you are, Mel,” Daniel finally
said, his voice deep and husky as he pulled away and stepped back a pace to put
him inside the elevator again. “You are a remarkable witch. That doesn’t mean
you’re unconquerable, nor does it mean I take leaving you lightly, even for a
short time. In our business, we have a tendency to lose those we…care
about…quickly and violently. I was just thinking, we Assassins work best alone,
but we always seem to need a partner to watch our back. Usually we get paired
with a Sharp Shooter or an Enforcer—more rarely a Special Operative. Maybe it’s
time we began a new trend, one of pairing Assassins together, creating a
partnership between ourselves and setting a new example.”

Melissa felt her lips open in surprise. The idea made sense
but it shattered any number of usual rules of thumb. Assassins
were
a
paranoid bunch. They worked alone. Not antisocial, but certainly solitary
creatures by habit and often by choice. Working in teams, even partnerships,
did not come naturally.

However, even knowing that, Melissa had a very real inkling
that she and Daniel could be virtually unstoppable as a team. A partnership
between them would be a very powerful thing, especially if they could find a
clear middle ground when it came to their selection of assignments. A balance
between their natural independence and the need to rely on each other would
come with time and intimacy, she knew. A working partnership in conjunction
with their more personal, sexual relationship could easily pave the way for
others.

Melissa had only ever answered to her own conscience and set
of rules. After the grief and borderline emotional abuse Melissa’s parents had
dealt her for most of her formative years, she had sworn never to be under
anyone’s thumb ever again. In particular she shied away from putting herself in
a position where she needed to answer to
any
man or have her actions be accountable
to one again. It was not a rule she felt any particular need to break now. But
the idea of working in an equal partnership with Daniel…that idea tempted her
and had great merit.

“There might be some clashes we’d need to discuss and iron
out,” she warned him, not wanting to gush and give a definitive yes until they’d
worked out any potential problems in more depth. “But I really believe that’s a
great idea, Daniel. You just need to be aware there are some jobs I refuse to
do, and I don’t think I could easily work
for
anyone but myself. I’m
happy to work
with
others, and work in
association
with a team or
crew. But at heart I am a solitary contractor. I couldn’t answer to a manager
in the Enforcers, or anything along those lines.”

Daniel nodded, clear understanding in his ice-blue eyes.

“I know—in some respects I feel the same,” he assured her.
“We can talk about it more later on tonight. I work within a…particular set of
rules, myself. The people you think I answer to are not typically my bosses in
the usual sense. Like you say, I am an independent contractor. Now, admittedly
I am bound by certain rules and restrictions, but regardless of that I still
make my own judgment calls and have autonomy while out doing my job. Within
reason, what some pencil-pushing idiot sitting behind a cushy desk in his air-conditioned
office thinks about the decisions I make holds no sway over the reality of what
happens out here in real life.”

Melissa nodded. “We can talk about it, definitely,” she
agreed. “I’m sure we can find something mutually beneficial.”

Daniel pressed the button to close the elevator door and
cheekily, Melissa blew her sexy man a kiss. He smirked back at her, the closest
thing to a smile she had seen from him all day. The doors closed with a soft
thud and the cables made some noise as the elevator continued its descent.

Melissa got her bearings, worked out where she’d parked her
car and headed toward it, her mind divided. Part of her listed the items she
would need for an overnight stay with her, while another part mused what it
would be like to work as a full and equal partner with Daniel.

Pros, cons and all sorts of questions popped up in her mind,
craving answers. If her wizard had meant to pique her curiosity, get her brain
running along several different tracks and make her hunger for more discussion
about his suggestion, he had been a genius and his plan had worked to a tee.

After unlocking her car, Melissa got in on automatic pilot
and clicked her safety belt on. She started the engine and headed back toward
her apartment. All the time she drove, her mind whirled busily. A new and
intriguing problem had been factored into her thoughts for the first time since
her sleep had been interrupted to hear about her best friend’s murder.

Melissa parked by the curb only a few doors down from
Daniel’s apartment complex. The address he had given her turned out to be a
nice residential area that appeared to have been fairly recently built. Melissa
smiled. The vast majority of wizards and witches preferred to live in older-style
houses and condos. Regular electrical wiring rarely turned out to be high-tech
enough to be affected by the essences of magical folk, but wizards in general
were a group who detested change.

Off the top of her head, Melissa couldn’t think of many of
her acquaintances who would voluntarily choose to live in a new complex such as
this one. So as a secure, well-hidden safehouse, it was damn near perfect.

A lightning-quick shower had been her first priority upon
returning home. She’d needed to wash the grime from the day off her body with a
fierce urgency. Melissa wanted to start her first evening with Daniel fresh and
clean, not feeling grungy.

After that, Melissa had packed a satchel in a few minutes,
making sure to include an extra change of clothes, her gun and holster, two of
her throwing knives and a few other work-related items in case something should
come from Ryder’s probing and they needed to act immediately. Packed and ready,
regardless of what life threw at her, she had slowly gone over her mental
checklist to be certain there wasn’t anything else she might require over the
next day or two.

She’d dressed in a pair of tight, skinny-fit dark-blue denim
jeans, her black thick-heeled boots—dressy enough that she could enter most
restaurants or clubs with ease and blend in, but solid and sturdy enough that she
could run in them should the need arise—and a flattering black lacy camisole. A
brand new sheer lace demi-cup bra and barely-there see-through thong panty set
completed her outfit.

Her curls hung in loose waves most of the way down her back,
and a tiny amount of black eyeliner and a swipe of mascara and lipstick had her
ready to face the world—and win. Even though this wasn’t precisely a first
date, Melissa nevertheless wanted to visually pop for Daniel when he opened the
door for her.

She had been tempted to wear a sexy, seductive, full-skirted
halterneck dress over to his apartment. After some serious consideration, she
had reluctantly discarded the idea. Not only had it seemed a little over the
top for a “come spend the night with me” invitation, but also rather pointless
as she would almost certainly have to leave the dress at Daniel’s when they
left the following morning. Unlike the jeans and shirt she had decided to wear,
the dress wouldn’t fit in the satchel without irreparable crushing.

While she would have looked drop-dead sexy and definitely
set the mood of the evening, she could look just as hot in far more flexible
outfits, such as what she’d chosen.

Melissa locked her car and quickly walked the short distance
down the street to Daniel’s apartment complex. She looked curiously at the
locked mailbox for his apartment—number 4C—and was not in the least surprised
to discover that it had no tag or name on the front flap. As instructed, she pressed
the buzzer for his unit three times quickly, waited a couple of heartbeats,
then buzzed it a last time for a few seconds before releasing it.

She heard the electronic-sounding
snick
of the front
door being unlocked remotely and quickly pushed the door open and entered,
making certain it closed and locked behind her, cautious as ever. Part of her
brain realized that one reason Daniel might have chosen this particular
complex—apart from its newness creating an automatic skittishness in the
majority of wizards—was that the buzzer and electronic locking system of the
complex as a whole would fry fairly regularly should witches and wizards
suddenly inundate the place.

As Daniel was probably the only wizard in the complex, and
also probably usually used the elevator from the parking garage up to his own
floor and apartment, the doors would be fine for now. As an extra layer of
protection, warning and security, Melissa realized it was excellent, and subtle
enough that many wouldn’t even think of it.

Melissa had a private snicker over her lover’s understated,
twisted thinking, and her own, as the lift carried her up to the fourth floor.

Melissa took a moment to orient herself and finally rapped
her knuckles on the wooden door with a discreet C on its surface and nothing
else. She heard the muffled sound of faint footsteps, but only because she had
purposely listened for them.

A moment later, Daniel swung open the door and smiled a
genuine, warm smile of welcome. Automatically, Melissa smiled in return,
Daniel’s joy infectious. The rarity of his broad grins made them that much more
special, though Melissa realized that the closer they became and the more
intimate their acquaintanceship, the more regular his grins were too.

“You made good time,” he greeted her.

Melissa entered as he stepped back and cast a brief, curious
glance around the large, airy living room.

The main entrance opened immediately into a combination
living and dining area. A few couches were placed to make a conversation area
around a sturdy-looking, glass-topped coffee table. Bookshelves were stacked
along one wall with a stereo system and TV in an entertainment section of the
main room. Windows let in the gathering twilight, floor to ceiling along one
wall and giving a clear view out over the beautiful vista of the city.

A dining table with matching seats filled another corner,
the large room feeling spacious and lived in, comfortable and clearly set-out.
A corridor led off to where she presumed the kitchen and private rooms were. A
soft, classy jazz came from the speakers, the piano being played smoothly and
by someone she didn’t recognize but who was clearly talented.

“I’ve set up the grill on the patio,” Daniel told her as he
crossed over to a wet bar cleverly concealed within one of the bookshelves. Melissa
smiled as he opened one of the cabinets and revealed shiny cut-crystal glasses
and bottles of liquor.

“But there’s no rush right now,” Daniel continued. “Would
you like a drink?”

“Please.”

The electric attraction she felt for Daniel still sizzled
between them and ran through her body like a live wire. Her pussy was slick,
her nipples tingling and she desperately craved to feel his hands everywhere.
But the reality of standing inside his home, looking at his possessions and
realizing that this was his private sanctuary, his lair, the place he spent his
spare time to relax and possibly dream, made her feel a little unbalanced and
off-kilter.

A drink would help to settle her nerves, she decided. Daniel
opened a different panel lower down and she saw a tiny bar fridge underneath
where the bottles and glasses were neatly lined up. He gestured to them and
Melissa crossed over to where he stood. Not usually a big drinker, she eyed the
wide range with appreciation for their variety. Most of the bottles were more
than half full, with a few still unopened.

“I’d love half a glass of that chardonnay,” she requested.

Daniel pulled the cork from the miniature bottle and poured
her a glass. Then he unstoppered a decanter, filling his own glass with scotch
over some ice. After replacing the scotch bottle and leaving the wine bottle
out, he picked up both glasses, handed her the wine and they clinked them
gently together.

“Cheers,” she said.

A smile quirked the corner of Daniel’s mouth.

“To a memorable night,” he agreed.

Melissa let out a puff of laughter, toasted with her glass
and took a smooth sip of her wine. She rolled it around her mouth for a moment
before swallowing it.

“That’s lovely,” she said.

The jazz continued to play in the background and helped the tense
muscles in her neck and shoulders relax. Daniel led the way over to the couch,
where Melissa dropped her satchel at the end of the overstuffed seat and sat on
one of the cushions. Daniel sat beside her, leaving a space between them, and
with one bare foot pushed the glass-topped coffee table back somewhat to give
them room to stretch out their legs and relax.

“I thought it best if we got that faintly awkward ‘first
time in someone else’s home’ bit out of the way,” Daniel explained.

Melissa raised an eyebrow, curious, but didn’t actually
speak.

“That whole my turf, your turf and how we interact in more
intimate surroundings,” he said. “With the jazz, a drink and a bit of
comfortable talk, hopefully it will help us to feel more at ease with each
other. Then, assuming you’re amicable, of course, we can
really
enjoy
ourselves.”

Melissa chuckled and took another long sip of her drink
before gently putting it down.

“You do realize I’m not a virgin anymore,” Melissa stated
sexily, her grin naughty. Smoothly, she brought one leg up, bent at the knee,
and leaned her weight on it on the couch cushion, moving her body closer to
Daniel so their heads were level with each other.

“I don’t need the music, the atmosphere, the alcohol or any
of the pretty trappings,” she murmured, dropping her gaze to look hungrily at
Daniel’s soft lips. “I don’t mind if you set out to seduce me or work with
something…
harder
, rougher. A girl with a bit of experience can enjoy
being taken just as much as the slow, sensual striptease of learning her
lover’s body inch by inch.”

Melissa noted that Daniel’s breathing had increased, his
lips parting slightly to drag more air into his lungs as she crowded his
personal space. Balanced on her leg, leaning her weight forward, Melissa
touched the third button of Daniel’s shirt, the first one that was closed in
the line down his chest. Nimbly, she undid the button and let her fingers
slowly trace down the soft material to the next one, then the next, as she half-exposed
the clear, well-muscled lines of his torso.

They were both panting now and it didn’t slip past Melissa’s
attention that Daniel’s eyes, while they had started by gazing at her own eyes
and her lips, had promptly fallen to her well-displayed cleavage. She had
purposely chosen this particular demi-bra and lacy camisole because they showed
off her pale skin and heavy chest to deliciously tempting advantage.

“I’m not a virgin,” Melissa repeated, “though I wouldn’t
mind pretending sometime if that gets you hot. But for now, love, why don’t you
try asking…or better yet just
taking
what it is you crave? I’m here of
my own free choice and more than willing for pretty much anything you can come
up with. You’ll see.”

Daniel moved forward, cupped her jaw in one of his large,
rough hands, and Melissa met him halfway. Their lips fused together in a clash
of heat, hunger and fiery passion. They devoured each other as their hands
moved in a blur of motion.

At first Melissa unbuttoned the rest of Daniel’s shirt as he
tugged the spaghetti-thin straps of her lacy camisole down over her arms and bared
her barely clad breasts and naked torso to the cool night air. Then Melissa
fumbled with the buckle of Daniel’s belt as he tried to pull her top down over
her jeans and they both got a bit stuck.

With harsh breaths they pulled apart for just a moment as
Melissa stood up and pulled her boots, jeans and camisole off. Daniel shucked
his pants, boxer-briefs and shirt. Both standing now, they came back together
in a heated rush, even those bare sixty seconds more time apart than they were
willing to cope with.

Daniel moaned with delight as he cupped her large breasts,
squeezing them more tightly together and delicately tweaking her nipples
through the thin, lacy gauze of the bra. Undulating her body slightly in time
to the smooth music, Melissa reached her hands around her back and unsnapped
the bra, slowly letting the see-through black material fall away from her body
inch by inch.

She watched Daniel as his gaze clung to the fabric. It
revealed her full, naked breasts and she palmed the mounds, lifted and raised
the globes to create the full depth of her cleavage. Heat prickled along her
skin, both desire and a faint shyness as she kneeled on the hard wooden floor
and brought herself level with Daniel’s thick, long, hard erection.

Moisture had pooled around his head, thin streams of pre-cum
already lubricating his tip to prove his eager anticipation and arousal at the
sight of her naked body. Watching his face carefully, noting the faint flush of
pink across his cheeks and down his neck as she brought her breasts close to
his fiercely jutting prick, Melissa didn’t need to read his mind to know what
erotic vision danced in front of his eyes.

Firmly, she grasped his thick shaft at its base, moved her
palm up and down his length and spread his juices over his soft, warm skin. A
few strokes had him moaning, his eyes glittering with cool desire and a hint of
near desperation as her breasts swayed nearer and farther, undulating in a
teasing dance toward his cock.

Giving in, Melissa brought her breasts around Daniel’s prick,
surrounding his shaft in a tight package of her flesh, and held her body close
to his.

“Fuck me,” she murmured thickly, her voice barely
understandable in her arousal.

Daniel didn’t need to be further encouraged, thrusting hard and
eagerly toward her, his prick barely peeking between the tops of her breasts as
she held herself as firmly closed around him as possible.

“Circe, but you’re stacked, Mel,” he cried, desire making
his voice ragged. Clearly on the edge, Daniel continued to fuck her breasts in
long, jerky, barely contained strokes as his arousal grew with each energetic
movement.

“Keep going, lover,” she encouraged him. “Don’t stop until
you’ve covered me with your cum. I want you to brand me—all of me.”

Daniel moaned again and placed a hand on her shoulder,
whether to hold himself steady or bring her to a better angle, she didn’t know.
Melissa lowered her head as his prick once again penetrated her cleavage. As he
pushed between the tops of her mounds, she opened her mouth and sucked the tip
of his head into her mouth. She flicked out her tongue and licked over him
before he withdrew on a ragged cry once more.