Cursed by Chemistry (16 page)

Good God all mighty, what kind of orgasm was that?

Chapter Fourteen

“Take the day off.” Adrian’s graveled, sleepy tone carried just over the hum of the idling car.

The thin lines at the corners of his mouth seemed deeper today. His eyes, heavier. She’d spent the entire night next to him, his body contoured to hers. The languid stroke of his fingertips came and went along the inner curve of her arm. At times when she’d shift to get comfortable, he’d tighten the large arm that draped around her waist, and nuzzle deeper into her hair. Not keeping her still, just close.

She smiled. “I think you’re the one who needs a day off. Did you get any sleep?”

Adrian’s gaze traveled over her body, lingering at her breasts. “Too busy thinking up ways to redeem myself.” He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ll write you a doctor’s note.”

Shauna’s stomach turned a gleeful somersault. “I want to, but I can’t bail on such short notice. Besides, it’s Friday. We’ll have the whole weekend after this.”

She looked at the low profile, brick home and the windows, where her villainous mastermind would no doubt be lurking with her coffee sidekick, and stroking her treasured, wireless mouse. “I’ll just tie up some loose ends,”
disarm one loose cannon “
and I’ll give you a call around six?”

Adrian gave her a long look. He pressed a finger to the tip of her nose and then pulled away. “I don’t know. You look a little pink.”

Shauna tossed him a quiet snort. “That’s the color we girls normally come in.”

Adrian’s frown wouldn’t be persuaded.

She sighed. “I’ll get written up if I don’t show.”

“So.”

“I could get fired.”

He shrugged.

“Look, I know you live a private life.”

He shook his head. “Not the point.”

“Isn’t it?”

He pushed out an exasperated sigh. “We’ll talk about this later, okay? Do what you have to. I’ll see you later.”

“Promise?”

Adrian paused. The fine lines around his mouth deepened.

Shauna opened her mouth. An apology perched on her tongue, ready to take flight and erase the awkward silence.

She snapped her mouth shut when Adrian leveled his stormy blue gaze with hers. “As much as I’d love to make that promise. I can’t.”

Shauna lowered her head. Honesty. The most painful of his nobilities. He could do without that one.

“But I
will
do my best.” He caught her chin as she began a reluctant nod of agreement. “Hey. That night at the pond?” His gaze turned solemn. “Those were fireworks.”

Her lips spread into what could only be the dopiest grin she’d ever mustered. “Well, yeah, I knew you weren’t setting off a bomb or anything—”

“They were for you.”

Shauna paused. There had to be a punch line in there somewhere. But her stomach wouldn’t wait for it. At first hint, it erupted in an erratic, hopeful flutter. “Your dad looked ready to kill you. Though I’m not sure what he was angrier about. The fireworks or drenching me.”

The fine lines around Adrian’s mouth smoothed to the epitome of serious. He angled toward her and brushed his lower lip against hers. “It was worth it.”

The moment the car door snapped shut, Shauna raced through the tiny daggers of autumn frost that had formed on the lawn. Even though Adrian’s oversized sweats hung heavy and damp around her ankles, her steps felt lighter.

Perhaps to everyone else, the sun had come up like usual. But for Shauna, it came up with no flames, the man of her dreams, and an entirely vulnerable world left unguarded. For once, she might enjoy exploring it.

Or…not.

The mangled door handle greeted her first, though it no longer served most of its purpose. Smashed and folded over itself, it had become impossible to turn.

Not that she needed it.

Fractured shards of wood buckled near the doorframe. She glanced to Adrian’s car.

“Shauna, that you?” Kimmy called from somewhere beyond the gap in the door.

Shauna nudged the door wider. “It’s me. What the hell happened to the door? Are you okay?”

“Fine. And your stupid fiancé, that’s what.”

“Geez…he’s not my fiancé anymore.” Shauna gave Adrian a final wave goodbye, and entered. She picked careful steps through the toppled lamp, scattered papers, and cast-off clothing as she made her way to the kitchen. “What happened?”

She rounded to the kitchen table, to where Kimmy sat with a rather smarmy grin and a cartoon-worthy black eye.

Shauna gasped. “Oh my hell!”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” She pushed what appeared to be a crumpled eviction notice across the table. “He came back after you left.”

“Let’s get you some ice.” Shauna jerked open the freezer door to find frosted bottles of liquid and cartons of sticky, half-eaten ice cream.

“I used it all. Though most of it fell into my glass.” Kimmy snorted.

“Here.” Shauna handed her a half-bag of frozen peas. “Did you call the cops? We should call the cops.”

Kimmy set the peas aside. She used a tissue to dab the corner of her mouth, where it had cracked and bled. “No cops. I swear to God, the next time I see him, I’ll beat him senseless. Then I’ll be the one arrested. Did he find you, by the way?”

Shauna didn’t answer. She glanced pointedly to the bedroom at the end of the hall. “How much did you see last night?”

Kimmy’s gaze dropped to the table, and she shooed the question away. “Some of it. But your boyfriend busted in. He saw you on the video feed. Then all hell broke loose. I’m real sorry.”

Shauna’s shoulders drooped in defeat. She couldn’t build enough calluses to lecture Kimmy. She’d already been beaten to a pulp. But she had to ask. “Sorry was a start, but why did you send me to the pit?”

“Rewind your face to twenty seconds ago and tell me, was it worth it? When you’re happy, I’m—”

“Does either one of us look happy right now?” she demanded.

Shauna rolled her gaze heavenward when Kimmy bowed her head and tented her fingers under her chin. Here it comes. She knew that mystical, know-it-all gesture anywhere.

“
Some women are great; some have greatness thrust upon them
. That’s Shakespeare, darling.”

Shauna widened her gaze and her attention flicked around the room, searching for any leftover bits of sanity. “Are you kidding me? You’re supposed to be my friend.”

Kimmy nodded. Mimicking Shauna’s crazy-eyed stare, only this one hit Shauna between the eyes. “Yeah. I am your friend. I sent you there to find something you desperately needed. You found it, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then.” She turned away. “Hate me if you have to—most people do. But there’s no other way I could have set it up.”

“You didn’t need to—”

“But I never would have sent you in there if I thought you would get hurt. I
knew
you wouldn’t get hurt. I knew
he
would save you. This is what I do. My job. I align the situation and let the cards fall where they may. Sometimes the outcome is good. Sometimes not so good.”

“Okay, enough with the transcending enlightenment crap. You work for an Internet service provider. That’s your job—”

“You work at a damn make-up counter. Is that who you are?” Kimmy flailed her hands through the air as if striving to grasp the right word. “A brainless…pampered…
powder puff
?”

Shauna grimaced. “Wow. You’ve really been holding this in.”

Kimmy’s rant elevated. She slapped the table. “I have a black eye and a date tonight.” She pointed a cherry-lacquered finger toward her face. “How the hell am I going to cover this up? Granted. It’s with a boxer. So maybe he’ll understand. But still!”

Kimmy turned away, gesturing to the open window that once framed Adrian’s car. “My point is, this is who we’ve become. Not who we are. You are just as impulsive as I am. I’m just as scared as you.”

No arguing there. Shauna paused. She eased her tone. “So now what?”

Kimmy smiled. “Let your impulsivity take over your fear. You can’t have both. Choose, you must.”

Shauna closed her eyes. “What are you, Yoda now?”

Kimmy sat back in her chair. “I’m Yoda’s wet dream, sweetie. Now go put that sexy little lab coat of yours on and toddle off to work.”

“I gotta say. You’re handling this pretty well, considering.”

Kimmy held up a stopping hand. “That’s because I’m medicated, and I have a plan. Now go. I’ll take care of this mess and call a hit out on your ex.”

Shauna backed away. Kimmy wasn’t serious. She couldn’t be. “We’re talking when I get back,” she clarified.

“Damn right we are. You’ve got some ’splainin’ to do about the hot guy in that car.”

****

“I’m not going to lie to you. The cost isn’t cheap.” The Oracle rubbed the dark grease paint between his thumb and forefinger. Betrayal and disgust seeped through his veins.

He looked to the man’s lowered head. No response apart from the sporadic hitch that interjected the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

Had he passed out again?

“Wakie, wakie.” The Oracle nudged the man’s side as he circled him.

The man flinched to the left, indicating at least
slight
coherence.

Not many people could doze through a broken rib.

O gestured to the hall, to intermittent
drips
of water and a dense shadow of soot that marred the ceiling. “I don’t know who let you in. I don’t know
why
, but in a matter of minutes you’ve done irreparable damage here.”

The Oracle fought to keep his voice pleasant despite the urge to strangle the boy with the trailing end of rope that bound him to the spiked chair. If O lost control, if he evoked violence, the visions might leave him.

For weeks, the chance with Adrian had consumed his fantasies. The skin that stretched over his swollen cock had become raw and inflamed from male prostitutes, rounds of sloppy blowjobs, and ultimately, the persistent stroke of his own fist. All vain attempts to quell an unsurpassable urge. Nothing could compare to the one. Adrian Sands.

O clutched the open cell door with both hands. His palms burned as he squeezed and twisted around the rough metal in an attempt to contain his boiling rage. How could he have missed this fraud?
How
?

How could he let this man suddenly appear at his side as a trusted servant and undo all he had worked for?

The moment O slipped from his observer role, and become the catalyst, his vision of the future went dark. He knew it would happen, but the urge to take possession of his tantalizing apothecary had been too much to ignore.

Adrian would have become the puppet, and he, the master. Complete submission. An undying loyalty. Pleasure beyond anything the Oracle had known.

He paced the boy with a candy-apple ball gag in his mouth. “You can. Not. Replace what you have stolen from me tonight.”

The prisoner nodded to the contrary.

“Oh, don’t worry. By God, you’re going to try,” the Oracle agreed. “Someone’s going to pay. And right now, it’s you!”

No…no.

O closed his eyes and took several deep breaths through his nose. He allowed his chest to expand full capacity, then released his breath. Slow.

Stay calm. Callllm. Taking anger out on this poor specimen wouldn’t solve anything. Let’s not forget our strength in this moment of unease.

Serenity and pleasure and his solution would come.

The weight of the boy’s stare tugged at O’s attention. He cracked an eye open.

The boy’s pale lashes stretched high. His crystal-blue eyes widened with innocence.

O always was a sucker for blue eyes. “Oh, what is it?” he snapped.

A low, unintelligible mumbling sound formed around the ball gag. His voice came deeper than expected. With the cherub curls and all, O expected more of a choirboy tone.

Against his better judgment, O loosened the gag, and slipped the warm, moist ball around the man’s neck. This was safe. He could still strangle him this way.

If he wanted to.

“I can find Adrian Sands. I know where he is,” the boy pleaded.

“So do I.” The Oracle sniffed. “But knowing of his existence doesn’t sway him. He wanted a toy. Now he has his toy. What do I have that he could possibly want now?”

The toy kept Adrian obedient, and she’d walked right into her own cage. This fool had set her free, shifted the gears, and set an entirely new future in play. A blind path. How could O head off a future so uncertain? How could he get back the control he’d lost and mold Adrian to his will again?

“The girl.” The tip of the prisoner’s tongue reached out to inspect the dried blood at the corner of his mouth. “I can get that too.”

O’s attention followed the tender exploration of his tongue until it disappeared. “My, but you’re a willing one, aren’t you? And what makes you so sure?”

“I have connections,” the boy offered. His voice a low rumble, as though hesitant to admit his secret gift.

“Do you now?” O brushed a hand over the man’s hair, careful to avoid the large goose egg at his temple. He savored the tickle of stiff, close-cropped curls that were gelled into perfect formation.

This one didn’t flinch. Not an ounce of repulsion tugged at his full upper lip. Only hesitation and uncertainty stayed him. Then after a moment, he seemed to accept O’s strokes. He leaned into it, just enough to encourage yet hopefully avoid detection.

Charming really. The boy possessed an untouched wonder about him.

The Oracle paused. Frowned.

Images came swift and dirty with this one. The rapid-fire vision of polished leather, and starched shirts slammed into the Oracle’s mind. Almost…military. The authority that shadowed this boy evoked an awareness inside. Another image slammed over the first. The boy was turned away this time. Whether on hands and knees or simply bent over, O couldn’t tell.

Knees sound better. He’d go with that.

The stout, rowing flexion of his shoulders had the tempo of a gold-metal sculling team and all the exertion of a man on the brink of orgasm. His head of golden curls arched back. Heady breaths belabored his mounting pleasure. Then a large male hand clamped down on the boy’s shoulder. Not to stop him, but to encourage and leverage his movement.