Seduced by Chaos (10 page)

* * * * *

After another half hour of questioning, Teo saw Lacey begin to space.

She was frustrated, heartsick and hopeful—a combination that exhausted her.

By the time he flashed Cam a cease-and-desist look, her body had sunk into his and he literally had to hold her upright.

He knew she wouldn’t ask Cam to stop. Not if there was the slightest hope that anything she told him could help them find her sister.

With a quick look at Stella, who nodded, Cam rose. “We’ll start first thing in the morning, keep you informed of anything we discover. Try to get some sleep.” Cam held out his hand and Teo took it. His brother clamped on hard. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

Stella brushed a kiss along his cheek, gave Lacey a hug then Cam whispered the spell that made them disappear.

Lacey gave a little start. “Wow,” she murmured. “That’s some trick.”

“Yeah, Cam’s full of surprises and he’s damn good. If your sister’s out there, he’ll find her.”

She lifted her head up to look at him, the dark circles under her eyes making his chest hurt. “But you don’t think she is, do you?”

He wanted to tell her yes, wanted to make those blue eyes shine with something other than tears. But he didn’t want to lie either.

Yeah, like you’re not lying by omission? When are you gonna tell her about the
amentia
?

“Honestly,” he said, “I don’t know what to think. I just know we need to get some sleep.”

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Seduced by Chaos

Taking Lacey by the hand, he double-checked the lock on the front door and the side emergency door. In the kitchen, he made sure the security system was set and that the kitchen door to the back alley was bolted.

She watched him with a mysterious half smile on her lips as he drew her up the stairs to her apartment.

What was she thinking? Did she think he was taking over? Would it scare the shit out of her if she knew he wanted to bind her to him so she couldn’t get away?

And he still hadn’t told her about the
amentia
.

By the time they’d reached her bedroom, he’d decided it was past time for the reveal.

“Lacey.”

She gave him a distracted “hmm” as she shed her clothes, her movements lethargic.

He watched as she grabbed clean underwear and a tank top from a dresser drawer, then head for the bathroom.

He was trying not to get a hard-on, trying to stay focused on what he wanted to tell her, but the sway of her ass enticed him to follow.

She bent to start the shower and his mouth dried. He stood a little taller and put his hands in his pockets to adjust his now-throbbing erection.

“Lace, I need to—”

“Teo, can you make me forget all of this for a little while?”

She turned to face him, her expression full of longing.

His first instinct was to grab her and take her hard and fast.

But he knew that wasn’t what either of them wanted.

He reached to pull her into his arms. His mouth eased down onto hers, soaking in the feel of her soft lips. Her naked body pressed against his in increments. First her breasts then her stomach then lower. Her naked mound pressed into his throbbing cock, her warmth seeping into him.

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Stephanie Julian

As the shower heated the air, he slid his tongue into her mouth in a lazy glide, for once feeling none of the urgency he normally associated with sex because of the
amentia
.

Instead, all he wanted was to make her feel wanted. Comforted.

One hand moved to her head, but not to hold her. He settled his hand on her neck and rubbed at the tense muscles as he kissed her. His other hand slid around to her back, stroking up and down.

Her hands, caught loosely between them, began to knead at his chest like a cat, slowly working their way lower until she reached the hem of his t-shirt. Hands pushing beneath, she moaned into his mouth as she stroked along his skin.

His entire body shuddered beneath her touch. He wanted to be naked against her, gave brief thought to spelling away his clothes. But then she began to work his shirt up his torso until he had to break their kiss for her to lift it over his head.

Her smile as she met his gaze made his gut clench but brought out his own grin in return. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled so much. And he liked it.

When she dropped his shirt on the floor, her gaze moved to his chest, watching as her hands began to stroke and pet from his shoulders to his waist, brushing against the waistband of his jeans.

She made teasing strokes around the button, his erection throbbing with each pass.

He let himself enjoy the feeling, almost shocked when he realized the
amentia
was calm.

Hell, it almost seemed absent, which made no sense but he didn’t dwell on it.

How could he when she finally eased the button on his jeans open and released the zipper. His aching cock had two seconds of relief from confinement before she pushed his jeans and underwear down and wrapped her fingers around the base. His breath caught in his throat as her warm hand began an agonizingly slow pump.

He began to stroke her in time with her hand, letting her set the pace until he came to his senses.

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Seduced by Chaos

She’d wanted him to make her forget. She should be the one lost in sensation, not him.

On the next downward stroke, Teo let his hands dip down a little further each time until he was caressing her ass.

Her head fell back, eyes looking into his, asking him for…something. He lowered his mouth over hers again and she sighed, igniting his desire with her warm breath, and her hand tightened on his shaft.

His groan made goose bumps erupt on her skin and she squirmed closer, the hand on his cock trapped between them.

With an effort, the sound of running water a reminder of what she’d come in here for, he eased her away from him and quickly stripped off his clothes while she watched.

A half smile on her face, she let him pick her up and set her in the shower stall, crowding in with her. The hot water poured over them, soaking them, darkening her brown hair and making her skin glisten.

Kneeling in the confined space was difficult but he got down, his hands lifting to cup her breasts. Her skin felt like silk in his hands and against his tongue as he strung kisses from the spot just below her breasts to the top of her mound, covered with fine brown hair. She had no hair on her pussy and he spread her legs just enough to be able to lap at her clit with his tongue.

Her hands sank into his hair as he teased her. She leaned against the tiled wall and sighed. That small sound eased inside him, calming whatever urge he may have had to rush her. Instead, he made a feast of her, licking, kissing, nipping. Taking his time to savor every sigh, every subtle thrust of her hips, every slight sting as her fingers tightened in his hair.

She tasted amazing and he could have lapped at her all night but he knew she had to be tired.

Rising, he caught her under the arms and lifted her, sliding her up the wall, watching her sleepy blue eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiled. Wrapping her arms 79

Stephanie Julian

around his shoulders and her legs around his waist, she relaxed into him, poured over him with the water.

His cock slid into her sex as if he’d been lubricated, she was that ready for him. He seated deep and full, and she clenched around him with a firm grip that made his breath catch in his throat. He didn’t even want to move at first, just let her hold around him, milking him with tiny contractions.

A slight whimper was her only clue that she was about to come. Then she turned her head, bit his ear and convulsed around him. Caught up in her climax, he barely had time to thrust once before he began to come in a rush of heat that seemed to start in his chest and move up and down at the same time.

Groaning, shuddering, he tightened his arms around her as he felt her go limp in his arms.

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Seduced by Chaos

With Teo asleep in her bed and a smile on her face, Lacey padded down to the bar’s kitchen to raid some of Fred’s fresh strawberries.

Her stomach had been rumbling for the past five minutes and she didn’t want to wake Teo. The poor guy had to be tired.

Her smile widened.

Humming to herself, she had her head stuck in the fridge when the phone on the kitchen wall rang. She started, knocking her head against the top of the fridge, and frowned at it. Who the hell would be calling at—

She lunged for the phone as it started its third ring.

“Hello.” She barely got the word through the lump in her throat.

No one answered right away and she held her breath. Vaguely, she heard the sound of breathing on the other end.

Then… “Lacey?”

Her heart began to pound so hard, she pressed her free hand over it. “Cara! Blessed Goddess. Cara, is it really you?”

“Oh Lacey, it’s so good to hear your voice. I missed you so much.”

Gods be damned, it
was
her sister. It had to be. It sounded just like her.

“Where are you, Cara? What’s going on? What happened? How did you survive that fall?” Lacey felt tears streaming down her face and swiped at them with her free hand. “Can I see you? Where are you?”

“Oh Lacey, I have so much to tell you but—” Cara broke off and the line went silent. Lacey’s throat closed in fear that she’d lost the connection but then her sister came back on the line. “Yes, I want to see you. And I’m close. I know where you are but 81

Stephanie Julian

I can’t come to you. I’m too—it’s just too dangerous. But I had to talk to you. I miss you so much and I’m so sorry I left you.”

Lacey heard tears in her sister’s voice now and the sound tore into her chest like claws. “Where are you, Cara? Let me come get you. Just tell me where you are.”

“I can’t. It’s not safe. But…I can bring you to me.”

“What? How?”

“Do you trust me, Lace?”

Yes, she trusted her sister with her life. She’d had to.

But that niggling doubt was back. Was this truly her sister?

A sigh came through the phone line as she stayed silent. “Lacey, do you remember the dolls we got for our birthday when we were five years old? Do you remember what I did with mine?”

Lacey closed her eyes and held her breath, her answer a bare whisper. “Yes.”

“I shaved all the hair off its head because it was blond and I wanted it to be brown like yours. And I colored its eyes blue with a marker so it would look more like us.”

Her mouth opened to gasp for air. “Cara.”

“Yes, it’s me. Will you come, Lacey? Please. I need you.”

“Yes. But—”

“Stay right there, Lacey.” Cara sounded so excited, Lacey couldn’t help but get excited as well. “We’re going to bring you here. Right now.”

“Oh wait—”

The line went dead with a click. Stunned, she pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the Caller ID screen again. No number, no name.

She needed to run upstairs and tell Teo. Turning, she took two steps and felt her skin tingle as a spell wound itself around her.

“Oh no. Wait—”

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Seduced by Chaos

Her body dissolved, transported into molecules that the spell moved through a hole in reality. In a few seconds, the spell transported her from the kitchen to somewhere else.

When her body rematerialized, she blinked at her new surroundings, a living room with comfortable furniture and a color palette of browns and greens made the room seem safe. Warm.

And the woman standing before her made her cry out with amazement.

“Cara!”

* * * * *

“Lacey.”

Teo pushed open the bathroom door, already knowing she wasn’t in there.

Kitchen and living room, the same.

Down the stairs in the bar, a spell rubbed against his
arus
in the kitchen. He recognized it immediately. Translocation spell.

“Lacey!”

Fear fell on his shoulders, crushing down on him.

He stepped farther into the kitchen and tripped over the phone on the floor.

Grabbing it, he hit the button to show the last call. It was blank where there should have been a name and a number.

“
Vaffanculo
.”

The
amentia
rose up with a black rush, choking him with its fury and his fear. She was gone. He didn’t have a clue where. But he knew there was only person who could have enticed her to leave.

And he had no idea where to find her.

His lungs strained and his hands ached. He glanced down to see his hands clenched into tight fists.

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Stephanie Julian

Call Cam.

The words cycled through his brain on an endless loop. Cam could find her. He could get her back.

But Cam hadn’t even started looking for Cara yet.

What if Lacey had left of her own free will? What if she really was with her sister?

She’d hate him for interfering.

Why hadn’t she told him she was leaving?

Tinia’s teat, he needed answers. And he knew someone who might have them.

* * * * *

“Sal, you home?”

Teo used the silver key around his neck to open the door to the nothing-special row house south of Penn Street, several blocks from Lacey’s bar. From the small entry hall, he could see up the stairs to the second floor landing, back to the TV room and to the left into the living room.

He didn’t see Sal.

The
amentia
wanted him to panic, to scream and shout. He managed to wrestle it back to a manageable level and take a deep breath. In the silence that followed, he heard movement above.

“Sal!”

“Yeah, yeah, I can hear you,
scassacazzo
. You don’t need to yell.”

The clip-clop of hooves on the wooden floor above sent relief shooting through Teo like adrenaline.

And when the little goatman appeared at the stop of the stairs and began to stomp down, Teo wanted to meet him halfway and kiss the guy’s bearded face.

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