JaguarintheSun (2 page)

The edges of the soft leather
parted, and in his peripheral vision Xbal saw the lush contours of her body
come into view. He tried to keep his gaze on her face, struggled for what
seemed like eternity to resist looking, but willpower seemed to have grabbed
his control by the balls and taken off at a gallop. With his body once more
frozen with hunger, his gaze was the only thing able to move, and it snapped
down to her breasts then did a slow, thorough sweep south.

He’d seen the majority of Cassie’s tattoos before, or most
of them anyway, at The Midnight Café anniversary party where she’d worn a dress
so minuscule he swore he had pocket handkerchiefs larger. It had been
impossible not to notice the delectable inner curves of her full breasts, the
smooth lines of her back, arms and legs. He’d found himself staring, lusting
and almost panting with the urge to touch, to trace the myriad sun signs
dancing across the creamy skin with fingers, tongue and magic.

Now, seeing her body displayed,
just for him
, tiny
wisps of spidersilk hardly masking her most private flesh, awoke the primitive
part of his soul and brought his libido to snapping, snarling life.

Why then did his brain, even while struggling with the kind
of craving a man feels far too infrequently in life, urge caution?

It was only when he forced his gaze up, away from her body
and back to her face, the full extent of what he was up against was brought
home to him. Cassie’s eyes were still sparkling with laughter and a sweet hint
of desire, but it was the underlying emotion making him pause, searching, to be
sure he was reading it correctly.

She didn’t really care, one way or the other, if he said
yes.

That wasn’t quite right. She cared, but only because she
wanted him physically. If he said no, Cassie would shrug and walk away without
a second glance.

Not surprising the knowledge should rouse his competitive
spirit. In a way the challenge she presented with her thinly veiled nonchalance
only increased his own determination to have her. Why it should also bring a
spurt of anger, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was he wanted her to want him with
as ferocious a need as he felt for her. Wanted her yearning, maybe even
begging, for him to satisfy her lust.

He sat back, willing his body to relax.

“Well, that’s the best invitation I’ve had in a long time.”
Despite his best efforts, his voice was still growly, and Cassie’s smile
quirked higher. “Let’s discuss it over lunch.”

Various expressions cycled across her face in quick
succession. Surprise, disbelief, annoyance and, finally, hurt. She masked it
all with notable efficiency, but not quickly enough to hide the emotions from
his watchful gaze.

“Oh.” Amusement still lingered in her tone, but now was completely
absent from her eyes. “I didn’t know I’d have to use bribes to get you into
bed, but I guess food is as good a one as any.”

As she spoke her hands were already reaching for her sash,
preparing to close her dress, but Xbal sprang up to stand in front of her
before she could even get the chore properly started. She froze, her eyes wide
and a little gasp of surprise escaping her lips at the suddenness of his
movement.

“Not a bribe.”

He was close enough the sweet scent of her filled his head,
made him want to pounce, to take, to gorge on her delicious body with ferocious
greed. It took all his considerable control to remain still, staring into her
now-flashing eyes.

“If not a bribe, Xbal, then what?”

He bent to brush his lips over her warm, moist, enticing
mouth and whispered, “Foreplay.”

And the shiver that rippled through her was highly
gratifying.

Cassie wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the turn her
encounter with Xbal had taken. It was one of those situations where you go in
thinking you know what’ll happen but the script you have in your head turns out
to be completely wrong. She’d been envisioning an immediate response—either a
polite “no, thank you” or a crazy, gotta-have-it-now fuck on his couch or desk.
Nowhere in her imagined movie was there banal conversation on the way to a
restaurant, the prospect of lunch as a build-up to the actual deed getting
done. He’d turned her plan on its head, and she felt as though she was upside
down with it.

If she weren’t so completely rattled, the entire situation
would be hilarious.

But she was rattled. Not to mention frazzled. Oh, and throw
in a wild, inescapable side order of horny.

Yeah.

Hard to laugh when the sensation of Xbal’s lips on hers
wouldn’t go away, when she kept remembering the timbre of his voice as he said,
“Foreplay.” Then there was the slow, careful, terribly controlled way he’d
closed her dress and tied the sash as she stood there trying hard not to
tremble each time his knuckles brushed her skin.

Yes, it was all so ridiculous.

Yes, he was amazingly sexy.

Of course she’d wanted to sleep with him for years.

But, in the final analysis, it was still just Xbal, her
friend and occasional business associate, a man she admired and genuinely
liked. Just because she’d opened the door to them sleeping together didn’t mean
any of that had changed, did it?

She glanced up from the menu she’d been pretending to peruse
and another wave of need flashed over her skin and through her veins at the
sight of him across the table. As though sensing her stare, he looked up too
and smiled. Just a small tilt of one side of that beautiful mouth and her
insides melted, need sending a hot, hard signal to her clit, which throbbed in
response. Refusing to let him see just how affected she was by the entire
situation and knowing from experience just how good she was at hiding these
things, she smiled brightly back.

“So. What about this foreplay you promised me?”

Good. Nothing in her tone to indicate anything but light
amusement. It was all she was willing to reveal.

Xbal waved an expressive hand, as though subtly brushing the
words aside, and tilted his head a little, his eyes never leaving her face.

“We’ll get there, but I have a couple of questions for you
first.”

“Oh?” Cassie tilted her head too, mirroring him, giving back
as good as she was getting. “Like what?”

“Why me?” Nothing but curiosity in the words, but his eyes
had darkened, his gaze turning sharp and probing. Cassie suppressed a shiver.
Somehow that predatory stare was just so damn
hot
. “Why now?”

The urge was to look away, sever the sense of intimacy
suddenly binding them together, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She
was about to lie to him, by omission if nothing else. Breaking eye contact
would be too much an admission of…what? Insecurity? Dishonesty? Vulnerability?
A mixture of all three?

She shrugged lightly, pushing those thoughts aside.

“Am I the only one to feel there’s a certain…” She lifted an
eyebrow, drawing out the last word. “Chemistry between us? If I am—”

Again came that wave of his fingers, less subtle this time.
“You know you’re not. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I set eyes on you,
and you know it.”

No, she hadn’t really known it. She’d thought it, hoped it,
even dreamed it, but he was such a cool customer she hadn’t been one-hundred percent
sure. Hearing the words gave her an aching thrill she couldn’t—didn’t want
to—fully suppress.

Arching both brows this time, she shook her head slowly.
“Well, if that’s the case, what more is there to say?”

“A lot,” came the succinct reply. “Why me? Why now?”

By Sol
, he wasn’t giving up, was he? What could she
say to satisfy him that didn’t involve things like, “You’re on my bucket list”
or “I couldn’t put it off any longer, lest I miss the chance”? The truth would
lead to far more questions and admissions than she was prepared to allow. What
could she say to fend that off and satisfy his curiosity? She settled on part
of the truth.

“You’re a sexy man and I want to sleep with you.” There was
some satisfaction in seeing eyes widen just enough to show surprise. “As for
why now? It’s the right time for me, as I hope it is for you.”

His eyes still locked on her face, Xbal leaned back in the
booth and, just from that motion, she knew he wasn’t satisfied with her answer.
Mentally scrambling, she watched him for a second or two, waiting for him to
start digging deeper, before inspiration struck.

“Of course, hearing you’re a master practitioner of sex
magic doesn’t hurt.” She found herself licking her lips and didn’t stop the
movement, knowing he’d seen the motion by the flicker of his gaze. When she
continued she let her voice fall low, into a sexy whisper. “The combination of
you and
atraspa
is too much for me to resist any longer.”

Now she had him.

Xbal’s stillness was complete, only his eyes flickering
slightly, a big cat sighting his prey. Cassie suddenly realized she could
hardly breathe, so caught up in the intensity of his gaze air seemed
superfluous.

Foreplay.
It occurred to her Xbal didn’t need to
touch her, with hands or lips or magic, to turn her on. It was all in the eyes.
The expression and concentrated focus.

Sol, he’s sexy.

There was a part of her wondering why she’d waited this long
to initiate a sexual encounter with him, another urging her to run away. It was
overwhelming, being the object of his attention in a way she hadn’t expected.

I didn’t expect any of this.

She’d thought it would have been over by now. The scenario
seemed simple enough. He says yes, or no. They have sex, or she walks away.
Now, mesmerized by the dark, compelling eyes, it all seemed a hell of a lot
more complicated.

“Are you folks ready to order?”

Thankfully the arrival of the waiter gave her a moment to
catch her breath, and diverted Xbal’s attention.

It also seemed to break the tension between them, and by the
time they’d made their choices and the waiter left, they slipped back into the
easy friendship they’d enjoyed for years.

Xbal leaned forward and took a sip of his
raicilla-and-passion-fruit-juice cocktail before saying, “Hervé came to see me
a few weeks ago. He wanted to tell me in person he wouldn’t be selling the Café
after all.”

Cassie grinned just at the mention of her boss, mentor and
friend who had recently, and totally unexpectedly, found happiness with a man
from his past. “Isn’t it great?”

She’d been devastated when Hervé told them he’d be selling
the tattoo parlor and entertainment venue he’d made such a success of, despite
knowing she wouldn’t be around to continue on as a part of it for much longer.

Xbal’s lips quirked at her enthusiasm. “When he offered it
up for sale, I was tempted to buy it. Actually, I was going to ask if you’d be
interested in going into partnership with me.”

That rocked her and Cassie stared at him, shock stealing her
breath and voice for a long moment. As far as she knew, Xbal’s businesses were
one-man operations. The thought of him being willing to partner with her was
somehow both amazing and flattering.

Xbal chuckled, obviously amused by the expression on her
face.

“Why so surprised? I think we’d make a great team. You
handling the tattoo side of the business and me taking on the entertainment
side. Maybe hiring someone to manage the day-to-day operations so neither of us
got too bogged down in the minutia.”

He paused as the waiter came with their meals, neither of
them having opted for a starter. Once the waiter left he perused his plate for
a moment, seemingly with appreciation if his expression of near-lust was
anything to go by. Why wasn’t she surprised he’d ordered a thick steak, rare,
with sweet potato fries and a melange of mushrooms on the side, or that he was
clearly a man who loved his food?

“Ula,” she said absently, still watching him as she picked
up her fork, preparing to dig into her pasta.

Xbal looked up, knife and fork now poised over the plate.
“No. Not unless she were willing to remain an employee. I wouldn’t take her on
as partner.”

It didn’t surprise her when he immediately understood what
she meant, but she was a little miffed by his dismissing the suggestion without
considering it. No matter that it was all hypothetical at this point. “Why not?
She knows that place inside and out. It would make sense.”

He shook his head with a firm, decisive motion. “Just you
and me. No one else.”

And while she was trying to digest that, strangely warmed
and gratified by his pronouncement, he turned his attention back to his food.

Neither of them said much for a while as they tucked in to
the delicious meal. Partway through Cassie realized how nice it was to feel so
comfortable with a man there was no pressure to make conversation, allowing her
to enjoy eating the way she liked to.

As she was sopping up the last of her sauce with a heel of
crusty bread, Cassie glanced up and found herself once more the focus of Xbal’s
considered stare. Immediately, between one heartbeat and the next, her body
went from contented to red-alert as a rush of awareness prickled across her
skin.

“What?”

She knew she sounded both defensive and a little breathless,
but there was nothing she could do to quell the knee-jerk reaction.

“So my ability with
atraspa
is what made you decide
to proposition me today?”

It was just a bonus, a happy happenstance, but Cassie wasn’t
going to admit that to Xbal—not in a thousand years.

She shrugged slightly, quirking an eyebrow at him, letting a
hint of a sultry smile tip the edges of her lips.

“I’ll admit to being curious about how a master practitioner
uses it. There aren’t that many around, are there?”

“No.” He was once more leaning back against the cushions of
the booth, slowly twisting the almost-empty cocktail glass in front of him on
the table back and forth between his fingers. From a distance he probably
looked completely relaxed, but Cassie knew otherwise. The predatory gaze was
unmistakable, and it took all her control not to fidget, to touch her hair or
squirm beneath that look. “Not many people have what it takes to make it to
master status.”

“Oh?” She made it a subtle goad, wanting to distract him,
rile him maybe. Anything to break that unwavering stare. “And what does it
take?”

“Control. Dedication. The willingness to keep at it, even
when you think it’s impossible to go one step past where you are.”

“You make it sound so difficult.”

That made him smile, just a little, and he looked down at
where the glass still twisted between his fingers. Cassie took a deep, silent
breath, trying to recover from the force of his gaze while she had a chance.

“Learning the basics is easy enough, if you have the ability
and the will. Mastering it, without allowing it to master you, is the hard
part.”

She wanted to question him on it further but once more the
waiter interrupted, bringing dessert and clearing away the used dishes. When he
left, before she could pick the conversation up again, Xbal beat her to the
punch.

“Have you ever experienced
atraspa
?”

Looking down at the decadent chocolate lava cake in front of
her, Cassie quipped, “Shame on you. I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Tell me.”

The low, demanding growl took her by surprise and she looked
up, was caught and effortlessly held again by his glittering stare.

“Once or twice.” Was mind control a part of
atraspa
,
or was it just him, his presence and insistence, forcing her to answer?

“And did you like it?”

There was something in his voice, the set of his mouth, that
released her from whatever spell he had her under and, with a fortifying, mind-clearing
breath, Cassie was once more in complete control.

Leaning back against the padded seat, she replied, “It wasn’t
bad, but it wasn’t great either.”

Xbal seemed to relax as well, although he didn’t appear to
move. “What was wrong with it?” He held up one hand. “I’m not asking for
details, just your general impressions.”

Tilting her head, Cassie tried to read him, to see what he
was getting at, but Xbal was giving nothing away. There wasn’t any reason to
refuse to answer, so she mentally shrugged and said, “In one case it
was…interesting, but didn’t last very long. In the other there was a sensation
of it not being
right
, as though there was something lacking.” Picking
up her fork, she stabbed at the cake with a wee bit more force than was
absolutely necessary. “I don’t think he really knew what he was doing.”

She didn’t add that she’d demanded he stop and the warlock
had gotten so angry he’d stormed out of his own apartment and left her there.

“I agree.” Xbal picked up his glass and drained the last
little bit of his cocktail. Setting it down, he lightly pushed his untouched
orange-sunflower gelato aside. “
Atraspa
should leave the one it’s
practiced on sated and satisfied.”

“Huh.” She didn’t look up, not wanting to get snagged by his
gaze again. “Jasmina told me the one time she tried it, she got a horrid
headache.”

“Another amateur.” The inflection in his voice made it clear
just how he viewed those who didn’t measure up to whatever mark of excellence
he had in his mind. “If done correctly, a woman should scream and moan and beg
for more, not for it to stop.”

The laugh that broke from Cassie’s throat wasn’t planned but
she couldn’t suppress it. In fact it was such a relief after the strangeness of
the entire encounter between them, she made no effort to rein in her mirth.
Only when she was spluttering, using her napkin to wipe her eyes, did she
suddenly wonder what Xbal was thinking of her amusement and felt a pang of
guilt. If he were like most men he’d be glaring, annoyed she was laughing at
him. Getting herself under control, blotting the last few tears, she peeked at
him over the linen serviette.