Talons (29 page)

Vivvie was dazed as she lay upon his
chest. He kissed her shoulders and her neck, his dark stubble
scratching her with delicious chafing. She felt so sated she could
hardly move. Little or no shame was felt as she raised her head and
looked down at him.

Eli stared up at her with a satisfied
look in his eyes, smoothing back her damp, fragrant hair, pulling
her back down to his lips, rolling her over beneath him once more.
Sighs and breaths mingled and merged as Eli moved within her once
more. Vivvie gave herself up to Eli’s passion, unable to control
her desire for him. He was a demanding, tireless lover, even
nuzzling her awake later when he arrogantly informed her he wasn’t
quite done yet.

Vivvie lay on her stomach much later,
her long hair blanketing Eli’s thighs, his hand stroking her hair.
She never felt such contentment and refused to be the one to spoil
it. Duty called, for Eli’s cell phone was buzzing
nonstop.

He looked down at her in regret. “I
would love to stay here all day, but I have to get back to work,
Vivvie.”

She sat up and watched him dress, her
eyes moving over his beautiful body in unashamed pleasure. Eli was
perfect, his body lean and muscled. The things he made her feel
made her pulses dance even now.

“
Don’t think this changes
anything,” she said teasingly as she watched him button up his
shirt. “You’re still a pain in the ass and get on my
nerves.”

“
This changes everything,
Vivvie,” he said smugly as his blue eyes traced over her nude body
in appreciation. “You will move into my room today, for one. I
won’t sleep without you again.”

Vivvie felt her hackles rise at his
high-handedness. They just sex for this first time and now he
wanted to move in with her. It was happening a little too fast for
her.

“
Now hold on a minute, pal.
I don’t feel like moving into your room,” she said huffily as she
got up, her body aching deliciously from head to toe. “I like my
space.”

“
You will have your space,
right next to me,” he said arrogantly. “This is another one of the
benefits of being Chief. I have chosen you to share my bed. It’s
quite an honor, Vivvie. Try to look pleased.”

“
You don’t have any
right!”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “I have all the
rights, Vivvie. That is why I’m Chief! So quit complaining and
prepare to be moved to my room today. I’ll send some of my sons
down to get your things.”

“
Do you even care that this
isn’t what I want?”

“
Not really,” he drawled,
rubbing his chest in delight before he finished buttoning his
shirt. “You will enjoy it. No more sneaking around in my dreams,
and we can see each other at my leisure.”

“
I don’t want to live with
you!” she snapped coming off the bed in a fury, spitting rage at
his amused look.

“
When you’re the target of
all the she cats in this hall; you will rethink the offer, Vivvie,”
he said and frowned. “They won’t like you being with me. They’re
very territorial and vindictive, worse than when you were with Ty,
I’m afraid. They will make your life Hell now. So quit complaining
and pack.”

“
How long do I have your
attentions, oh-great-mighty-Chief?” she snapped and glared at him.
“We both know this won’t last!”

“
It lasts as long as it
lasts,” Eli said and regarded her with a faint smile. “It will be
interesting to see how long that will be.”

“
I don’t plan to be here
very long, may I remind you?” she told him pointedly.

“
Yes, but you need someone
close to you when you seek out Ryken. I’ll be there to guide you.
How better to do so in bed?” he asked with a wicked smile. “Come on
don’t be so stingy with me, Vivvie. I’m a busy man and having you
in my apartments is easier than sneaking back and forth to your
room. And safer too; come to think of it. I don’t want to know what
they would do to you should they catch you alone. ”

“
This is happening too
fast,” she complained and shook her head.

“
I would have said the
opposite,” Eli said as he slid on his loafers. “I have harbored
fantasies for weeks.”

“
I know you have a revolving
door in your life, Eli, but I’m not made that way!”

“
I have never lived with any
of my other concubines before,” Eli said with a frown. “You’re the
first. Stop whining. Your face looks funny when you do
that.”

Vivvie knew there was no point arguing
with him she was no concubine. He was used to getting his way.
After he left, his two youngest sons were there within the hour to
move her belongings, eyeing her with near worship as they
transferred her things to their father’s quarters.

Vivvie felt the hate-filled eyes in the
center of her back as she followed Ethan and Evan the last trip to
move her stuff. The twin boys made her feel safe as she passed the
furious-looking female population. Hisses were faintly heard at her
back.

~~~~

Vivvie was left to unpack in Eli’s
luxurious suite while he took a conference call from Florida from
Derek. He and Jericho were the only two left behind. Ty left that
morning. Vivvie watched his Yukon leave the compound from the rock
ledge, unwilling to approach him, fearing her reaction.

She harbored mixed feelings about her
current status in Eli’s life. Part of her reviled in his
attentions, while the other was suspicious he moved her in with him
just to keep an eye on her while he developed her gift.

Vivvie hung her clothes up in the huge
closet and was amazed at the business suits she saw there, in
addition to his vast wardrobe. She had to squeeze her clothes in
and was muttering about his obvious vanity.

If she thought the closet was crowded,
his shelves under his sink were stuffed with his toiletries. He had
to have a hundred bottles of aftershave and cologne alone. She
managed to find a place for all of her things.

His bedroom was a den of hedonistic
vice. She found all sorts of things under the bed, obviously used
to entertain his female companions. She used paper towels to pick
up some of the items she found and dumped them into a trash bin,
vowing he would use none of those things on her.

The wave of possessive jealousy that
assailed her to think of Eli with another made her stiffen. Her
relationship with Eli was more of a business arrangement with
benefits. He would be there to guide her when she sought out Ryken
in her sleep, and she would be close at hand when he wanted
her.

The finding of the whips, silk bondage
devices, dildos, butt plugs, and nipple clamps was enough to put
her into a temper. Her new boyfriend would find out she didn’t plan
on sharing him with the group. He would rethink forcing her to move
in with him then, she thought in vindictive pleasure as she
summarily threw away all his sex toys.

His bed was a massive California king
with a massage function built into the mattress. She was purring
despite herself as she lay upon the bed to try it out. Smelling the
sheets and coming back with five different female scents made her
jump off the bed and strip it.

Her eyes narrowed as she found his
linen closet and remade the bed. She did a once over with cleaning
agents around the bed, dismayed to find his collection of
pornography there. She tossed his magazine collection out with a
chuckle of amusement.

A perusal under his flat screen TV
stand produced a selection of DVD’s that would make Larry Flynt
blush. She got rid of those too. He did tell her to make herself at
home. Once the suite was once more rated PG, she investigated the
rest of it.

The living room was huge with black
leather couches, marble tables, and art deco lamps. His artwork was
unbelievable, making her gawk at the original works of several
American artists on the walls.

Vivvie was disgusted to find more
pornographic DVD’s under the entertainment center there, and
giggled to find a copy of Dirty Dancing. Obviously Eli had a soft
spot for the movie or he wouldn’t be caught dead with it in his
possession. She set it out, determined to watch it with him
later.

Not an inch of her new domicile escaped
her cleaning fury. Some things never changed. She had worries; so
she cleaned. She left no rug or cushion unturned in her wake. By
the time she finished, she had bags of trash she dragged to an
indoor dumpster with glee.

Eli would regret moving her in when he
reached for his goodies and found them gone. Speaking of goodies,
she found a mysterious substance in a baggie in his bedside table
that smelled suspicious. She found it to be something else however,
when her nose kept diving into the bag to inhale it. Soon her head
was spinning with euphoria.

Vivvie giggled uncontrollably and fell
back upon the bed, her nose twitching with pleasure. Every inch of
her body was languid. She felt heavy-lidded and buzzed out of her
mind.

Eli returned home and leaned against
the doorframe to the room, an amused smile on his face as he saw
her with the incriminating baggie.

“
I see you found my stash,”
he said as he strode into the room, shaking his head at her obvious
intoxication. “Did anyone ever tell you curiosity killed the
cat?”

“
Did anyone ever tell you
how hot you look upside down?” she asked, from her position
dangling off the bed, and giggled.

Eli grinned and snatched up the baggie.
“Go easy on the stuff, Vivvie. It’s pretty potent. You’re going to
be bouncing off the walls for hours!”

Vivvie grinned and reached out and
grabbed him, dragging him down upon the bed with her, her dilated
green gaze meeting his with determination. “I’m going to be
bouncing alright. Let’s just get you undressed. I’m so horny I
can’t see straight!”

Eli chuckled and rolled her over and
pinned her down, grinning into her flushed face. “It’s raw catnip,
Vivvie. It’s an aphrodisiac for us. I think it’s safe to say we
won’t be going to dinner.”

“
Are you complaining? I
thought you were a dirty old cat!” she asked as she wiggled under
him, her green eyes glowing with desire.

Eli lowered his mouth and took hers in
a hungry kiss, his hands busily removing his and her clothes. Low
growls escaped him when he finally joined his body to hers, his
passion unleashed as she clutched him to her.

The encounter was as intoxicating as it
was prolonged. They retreated to the shower finally. Eli held her
up against the ceramic tile wall as the water sprayed over them,
taking her lustily. She came hard, her cries low and throaty,
uninhibited as he branded her with his mouth and tongue.

Once sated, they washed one another
lingeringly. She couldn’t recall a more pleasant shower. They got
out and it was only minutes before they were once again in bed.
Much later they got up dressed in pajamas. Eli grinned when she put
in the Dirty Dancing DVD.

“
I don’t know how that got
in there. One of my kids probably,” he muttered, but as soon as the
tale unfolded, he was humming the music under his breath, his feet
tapping along with the movie’s soundtrack.

Vivvie could hardly believe the
contentment she felt spooning with Eli on his couch during the
movie. He held her and stroked her hair as they watched, his lips
caressing her neck from time to time.

“
I like having you here,
Vivvie,” he said in a whisper that made her shiver from the timbre
in his voice. “For however long it lasts.”

Eli’s body was warm and surrounded her
in a cocoon of warmth. She was drowsy when the movie finally ended.
He carried her to bed, smiling as he moved in next to her, sniffing
appreciatively at the sheets.

“
Aw, you cleaned for me. How
sweet,” he said.

“
You won’t say that when you
realize just how clean,” she informed him smugly.

His face fell, and he rolled over and
looked under the bed. “You threw all my toys away?”

“
You have a live-in toy,
pal,” she reminded him with a satisfied smile. “Think of it as
cleaning out the toy chest, Eli. I did, when I threw them in the
dumpster.”

“
You’re an evil she-cat,
Vivvie,” Eli said glumly as he slid in next to her and cuddled with
her. “Remind me to take you with me the next trip I make into
Denver for more.”

“
We don’t need those
things,” she said in annoyance as his hands became everywhere at
once, easing her pajama bottoms down.

“
I’m an old cat, Vivvie,
speak for yourself,” he replied with a smile before his lips found
hers.

“
You don’t do so badly for
an old guy,” she said with a sigh as he found her with his fingers,
gasping as he alerted her he was once more aroused. “Again, you
have to be kidding?”

“
All this cleaning turns me
on,” he muttered thickly against her neck, his hands tugging off
the pajama top. His mouth left a heated trail to her chest, adoring
the flesh there with soft, flicks of his tongue.

Vivvie giggled at his words. “I threw
away all your porn too.”

Eli paused in his adoration of her
breasts and lifted his head, looking really pissed now. “Some of
those were classics, Vivvie!”