Otherworldly Bad Boys: Three Complete Novels (93 page)

I pushed my panties aside and slid a searching finger between my swollen lips. I was very wet. I let his shaft pop out of my mouth. “I’m dripping wet,” I breathed.

“Good,” he said.

My mouth felt empty without him. I quickly eased him back inside, moving up and down on him.

“Touch yourself while you suck me, baby,” he said. “I’m not going to come until you come.”

I moved my fingers on my own clit, moaning at the release, moaning around his thick cock in my mouth.

“That’s it,” he murmured. “Suck me nice and hard.”

I rubbed my clit one more time, and I lost it. The sensuality of the situation was too much. I was in a bathroom on my knees. Blindfolded. My own hand stroking myself. Callum’s cock shoved down my throat. It was sinfully delicious.

I felt the first wave of my climax shudder through me.

“Are you coming?” he asked me, his voice intense.

I moaned against him, unwilling to let go of his cock, prodding myself to new heights of pleasure as I stroked him with my tongue.

And he must have understood, because he went into a spasm in my mouth, plunging deep down my throat as he did, seizing the back of my head and pulling me close.

I felt him come, but he did it so far back in my throat that I couldn’t taste him, that it was reflexive to swallow it all away before it was even there.

And all the while, my own orgasm twitched out between my legs, splintering bliss through me.

Callum tugged me to my feet. His body pressed mine into the wall of the bathroom. He kissed me, untangling the blindfold as he did so.

I felt unsteady, hardly able to stand, and I clutched him, kissing back, leaning back against the wall for support.

He pulled away.

I looked into his eyes.

“You’re so amazing,” he said.

I touched his face. “You’re…” What was the word? As a lover, he was explosive. He made me feel like I was losing myself, like I was falling apart, shattering into a million pieces. “Amazing. Too.”

He laughed. He kissed me again.

I held onto him for dear life.

“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I don’t know what it is about being Vigil, but when I put on that costume, I feel like I lose all my insecurities,” he said.

I was lying on my side next to him, my head resting on his chest, his arm wrapped around me. We were in his bed, clad in expensive silk pajamas. He’d taken me here after the charity ball. It was a place I’d never been, Callum’s actual bedroom. He was letting me in, and it was powerful to me. I knew it meant something.

I wasn’t sure what affected me more deeply. Our intense lovemaking, the way it ripped through me, so pleasurable. Or the slow, sure way that Callum was opening to me. Peeling back his layers. Being vulnerable with me.

“I can be whatever I want,” he continued. “I can fight crime. I can live out my sexual fantasies. It’s this amazing freedom.”

I snuggled close. “Well, I’m not going to say that the things you do when you’re wearing that mask aren’t hot.”

He chuckled. “If I weren’t Vigil, I wouldn’t have you here in bed with me.”

“Sure you would,” I said, lifting my head to look at him.

“No,” he said. “If I weren’t Vigil, you would hate me.”

“I’m hardly your type either, Callum Rutherford. I’m not rich. I don’t have fancy dresses or flawless makeup.”

“Are you kidding? You think I care about that kind of stuff?” He grinned at me. “Cecily, you’re so sexy. I kept running into you, and you were so fierce. I could sense how much passion was in you. And you were always wearing those skimpy outfits.”

“I was
not
,” I protested. “One time, I did. For research. The other time, I was asleep.”

He was still grinning. “The minute I saw you, I wanted you. I thought that if I were the kind of man who could have women, I’d want one exactly like you.”

That broke my heart. “Of course you can have women, Callum. You can’t really think that getting off a little too quickly keeps you from having a girlfriend.”

He sighed. He kept touching me, but he looked away. “Think about it. Of course it does.”

“It’s not that important,” I said.

“Would you be with a man who could never make love to you for longer than a few seconds? Think about it.
Never
.”

I started to say that I would be with him. Of course I would. But then I
did
think about it. “Well, I guess it could be a little frustrating.”

“A little?” He sat up, propping himself up against the headboard. “It’s torture is what it is. Sex becomes this thing that you dread. Both of you. She dreads it too. So, you don’t do it. And if you try, then you disappoint her. At first she tries to pretend like it’s okay, like she doesn’t care. But as time goes on, she gets more and more upset about it. And then eventually she’s angry. And then you’re angry with her, because she makes you realize how inadequate you are. And then… and then she leaves you.”

That was horrible. I kissed his shoulder. “Oh, Callum.”

“Eventually, I just decided I wouldn’t bother anymore. I tried with a few girlfriends, but it was always the same. So I gave up. I hired women to pose as my girlfriends.”

“And you paid them to sleep with you?”

He gave me a miserable look. “Maybe sometimes. Because at least with them I could be sure that I could do something that would satisfy them. I could pay them.”

That was horrible too.

“Do you think I’m disgusting for doing that? Taking advantage of women that way?”

I chewed on my lip. “Well, it doesn’t seem like you took advantage of them for too long, so…”

He gave me a shocked look.

I giggled.

His eyes widened, and then he started to laugh too. “It’s not really funny.”

“A little bit,” I said, still laughing.

“Okay, maybe.” He leaned his head back against the headboard. And then he let out a loud belly laugh, really letting go.

And then we were both cracking up, just laughing and laughing on the bed.

We kept going until we were out of breath. Until there were tears in our eyes. Until our midsections twinged a little.

He pulled me close, gasping, and kissed me on top of my forehead. “What is it about you?”

“About me?”

“That you can make me laugh about this.”

I didn’t know what to say. I just curled into him, enjoying his closeness.

“I can’t believe you’re real.” His voice was quiet. “I can’t believe you’re here. I never thought I’d be able to have anything like this.”

“Me either,” I said.

He pulled back. “You?”

I looked away.

“Why would you say that?”

I didn’t want to get into my shit, actually. I appreciated that he was telling me this stuff about himself. I did. But I couldn’t open up like that. I wouldn’t know how.

And I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about me if he knew everything about me.

I swallowed. “It’s like what you said. Vigil is a sexual fantasy come to life. The things that you and I do together. I never thought that I’d actually experience anything that, you know, incredibly sexy.”

He nuzzled my neck. “Incredibly sexy, huh?”

“Incredibly,” I agreed.

“So, you’ve always fantasized about men in outfits?”

“No,” I said, elbowing him. “Just… you’re so confident, I guess. Like tonight, in that bathroom, when you pushed me on my knees and…”

“Mmm,” he agreed. “That was pretty awesome. You have skills, Cecily.”

I felt my face get hot. “I don’t. I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never really done it like that before.”

He kissed my ear lobe. His voice was gravelly. “Well, neither have I.”

“But you were so… in charge,” I said.

“I can only be that way with you,” he breathed.

I closed my eyes, feeling the way his body curved around me. “Callum?”

“Yes?”

“Why is it easier if I can’t see you?”

He didn’t say anything.

His grip loosened, and I felt him roll away from me.

More moments passed. More silence.

“It’s okay,” I finally whispered. “If you aren’t ready to tell me that, it’s okay.”

Henry was sitting at his desk in his office. He’d just taken a bite of a steak sub. He chewed, motioning me inside.

I waited until he swallowed.

He set down the sub. Wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Close the door.”

I did. “You wanted to see me?”

“Sit down, Ms. Kane,” he said.

I sat down. “Is everything okay?” I didn’t have any news on Vigil, so I hadn’t written a story. Once we found out a little bit more about Davy Jones’ Locker, then maybe I’d have something to write.

“Stop being so anxious,” he said. “I’m not here to scold you.”

Okay. Good. I tried a smile.

“You’re seeing Callum Rutherford, huh?”

I blushed. “Oh, um, you know about that?”

“My paper broke the story, didn’t they? I been hearing people chattering all about him kissing you in the offices down there.”

I was mortified. I couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. It was unprofessional, and it will never—”

“Stop it, Ms. Kane. I told you I wasn’t scolding you. I was only teasing you.”

“Oh.” I tried to smile again. I managed to look at him.

He took another bite of his sub. He chewed. And chewed. Then swallowed. “Haven’t had a good article about Vigil in a while, have we?”

I twisted my hands together in my lap. “I’m working on something. I don’t have anything definite yet. I can assure you, though, that I wouldn’t let my personal life eclipse my work here. I understand my priorities.”

“Would you relax?” he said. “I told you that I’m not scolding you.”

That was funny, because it sure seemed like he was.

“You know, I wonder if Vigil has a girlfriend.”

I stiffened, sitting straight up. Did he know? Was he trying to let me know that he knew my secret?

But he just chortled to himself. “Anyone dating that guy would have to really be into freaks, right?”

I swallowed, nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Aw, Ms. Kane. You’re too serious. You need to lighten up,” he said. “Look, all I wanted to say to you was that the news moves fast. You can’t cling to one thing and expect it to keep you at the top forever. You want to stay on the front page, you need to write front page stories.”

“I know that, sir,” I said. “But I’m an intern. I don’t get assigned those kinds of stories.”

“Well, you didn’t get assigned that first story on Vigil, either.”

“Actually, I kind of…” I decided maybe it was better not to contradict him. “But I see your point, sir.”

“You dig up the front page news, and you’ll always end up there,” he said.

I nodded. “I understand.”

He picked up his sub. “All right. Well, that’s all.”

I got up. “Thanks for the advice.”

“You ever make a decision about Vigil? Is he a hero or is he a damaged creep?”

I chewed on my lip. “Can he be a damaged hero, sir?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Nicely done, Ms. Kane. Nicely done.”

Vigil was sitting on my bed. It was late at night, and I was huddled over my laptop, typing furiously. I just needed to finish my thought.

My fingers clattered against the keys, and then I turned to him. “Sorry, I’m working on a story.”

“I thought you’d like to come on a ride with me,” he said. “I miss you.”

“I’m busy,” I said. “I can’t.”

He moved across the room, a hulking dark form. He touched me, gloved hands running over my shoulders. He bent down and spoke softly in my ear. “I want you.”

My breath caught in my throat. I closed my eyes. “I want you too. But I can’t right now. The news moves fast, and if I want to stay on the front page, I need to dig up the kinds of stories that will keep me there.”

“Cecily, you’re an intern. You haven’t even graduated from college. You don’t have to be on the front page yet.”

“I do. You don’t understand. Newspapers are fading out, and very soon, there’s going to be a lot less staff for each paper. I want to be one of the people who stays. I want to have a career as a journalist. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

His hand snaked down my body, closing over one of my breasts. “All you’ve ever wanted, hmm? Somehow, I don’t believe you. I seem to remember that at some point you wanted me inside you pretty badly.”

It was hard to breathe. His hand felt good. “You know what I mean.”

“Come on a ride with me, Cecily,” he whispered. “Come with me someplace where we can make as much noise as we want. I need you.”