TangledHunger (2 page)

His focus increased her heart rate.
Does he believe me
yet?

“Maybe it developed more slowly and you didn’t realize
because you’re not part of the family.”

Tanasha shook her head. “I spoke to Sydney often. I was her
Maid of Honor. In and among listening to her worry about flower arrangements
and music, she would complain that none of her family were on her side, that
they didn’t understand how she felt.” Naemas were supposed to be under control
at all times, but her friend had been a mess.

Another bump and a deep male groan followed by a higher
female cry.
“Jade, again. Lick it again.”

She met the Vampire’s eyes for a moment before she had to
aim just a tad over his shoulder or turn an unattractive shade of Labayo
Lobster red. Even so she couldn’t stop heat from rising into her cheeks. “Up
until this day she complained about the lack of support from her family.”

O’Clare nodded and continued to make notes on his comp.
Tanasha wondered why he didn’t use the voice link.
Unless
he doesn’t
want you to know what he’s taking notes of.

“And when she disappeared four days ago,” she continued,
admiring the beige wall to the fullest, doing her best to ignore the
intermittent noises coming from behind it, “nobody even blinked. Not one member
of her family is concerned or worried. Marius said she’s having one last trip
and will be back very soon, ready to settle down. Everybody smiles and nods.
I’ve tried talking to her parents when he isn’t around, but they don’t listen
and tell me to talk to Marius.”

O’Clare stopped taking notes and his gaze, what she caught
out of the corner of her eye, pinned her to the chair like a cat playing with a
mouse. His eyes had gone even more silver.

Tanasha pulled her focus from the wall and faced him, her
breath rapid and her cheeks hot. Nerves or excitement? She couldn’t make up her
mind. She needed him to take the case but the atmosphere in the room suddenly
grew scorching.

O’Clare too seemed far more affected by the scene in the
neighboring office than she’d thought going by his earlier non-reactions. A
flush painted his high cheekbones, teeth catching his lower lip. His chest
shuddered as he drew a shaky and unnecessary breath. He stared at her with
hunger in his eyes, pupils wide and dark. His eyes dropped to her mouth.

Then he jerked as if calling himself back to attention.
“What about Sydney? Did you notice any changes in her behavior?” His voice
rasped over her exposed nerves. The heat still burned in the background, but
his lips pressed together in a fine line.

Tanasha didn’t know how to respond. Part of her was relieved
he took her seriously and asked an actual question regarding the case. Nobody
else had even done that. Hope curled inside her.

Another part of her was disappointed he’d reduced the fire,
which had just flared between them, to a low simmer so quickly.

Realizing he still waited for her answer she scrambled to
get her hormones under control and not appear moonstruck. She had her pride.
“Yes.” She swallowed. “At first she was just happy about her family changing
their minds, but then she became more and more withdrawn. The week before the
wedding it seemed as if her energy drained right out of her. I would invite her
to meet up and she would give flimsy excuses. If we actually got together,
she’d be pale and tired and had no interest in talking about anything.” It was
as if Sydney no longer cared for their friendship, as if everything that used
to be important for both of them suddenly no longer had meaning. That extreme
change in behavior had worried Tanasha more than anything else. “I honestly
don’t see how she could have brought up the energy to go on a trip. She barely
made it out of the house.”

O’Clare nodded. “When did she disappear?”

“Four days ago.”

“And you haven’t heard from her at all?”

Tanasha shook her head.

“Yeah, baby, suck my cock, deep and wet.”
A deep male
groan echoed through the room.

She flinched but couldn’t control the heat that had begun to
build and spread across her body as soon as she laid eyes on O’Clare.

He paused for a second but leaned back in his chair,
ignoring the interruption. “It looks like I should have a chat with this Marius
and see if I can’t figure out what happened.”

Relief nearly made her slump in the chair. “I want to come
with you.”

He snorted. Disbelief sparkled in his eyes. “And I want to
be able to fly. Why the hell would I want to have a civilian messing around in
my investigation?”

Tanasha sat up straighter. “Without me you won’t get within
shouting distance of Marius.”

O’Clare’s smile, so sexy and dark, made a shiver run down
her back. The heat inside flared to boiling point. “Really? How do you figure?”

Tanasha swallowed.
Maybe he has a way to get into the
District. He is a detective
. “You’re a Vampire. Even if you keep your fangs
hidden the Guards’ species sensors will betray you. There’s no way you’d be
allowed to move around unescorted. If I add you to my visitor list, you’ll be
able to go anywhere you wish, without hesitation or harassment, as long as I am
with you.” She wasn’t going to tell him that she could make him a Preferred
Visitor, which would give him the unlimited access he required.

O’Clare smirked. “Or I could just wait until he leaves the
District and question him then.”

She shook her head. “He hasn’t stepped outside the District
since Sydney left. Remember, he’s playing the wronged husband who’s keeping
everything together while his wife is off jetting around.”

Duncan couldn’t believe that he was actually contemplating
taking a case for a Naema. And he was in two minds about Tanasha Omeiko.

Her story sounded farfetched and paranoid. Her supposedly
missing friend might have just had enough of Tanasha’s clingy self. He really
shouldn’t even contemplate taking the gig. But something about this particular
Naema distracted his well-honed senses.

His first impression of her being mousy was incorrect. She
exuded some sort of energy that kept hitting him in the gonads. Aggravated by
his neighbor’s regular nooner behind him. He really should get his walls
insulated.

Every time he thought he’d gotten his arousal under control,
her spicy scent teased his senses or she would lean forward and her voluptuous
breasts would move.
Bam
, his cock stood at attention.

Throw in the female moaning behind him and he was in deep
shit.

He wanted Tanasha and him to take the place of his neighbor
and his partner.

Tanasha’s black bob framed a pale-skinned face with black
eyes that were gorgeous enough, but it was her body that was the work of art.
She was short, probably about a head shorter than him, which would make sex in
missionary style interesting. He grinned. He liked to hold his partner under
her shoulders while he thrust into her, but with Tanasha that would be more
difficult.

Her body would politely be described as voluptuous. Her
high-society Naema clothes covered a lot, but they weren’t enough to hide her
fantastic rack. Her breasts would overflow in his hands. He bet her hips were
well rounded and her stomach had a ripe curve to it. Maybe she even had dimpled
knees. He loved nibbling on dimpled knees.

“Harder, baby, I need you harder.”

Blood flushed her cheeks and Tanasha cleared her throat.
Even worried about her friend, her sensuality spun a web around him, drawing
him toward her.

Duncan realized he’d been staring at her ample chest for a
few minutes. Going by her frown she didn’t seem to be too appreciative. But the
way her ass wiggled in his chair showed that she wasn’t quite as disinterested
as she wanted him to believe.

“Will you take the case?” she asked pointedly.

Duncan kept her waiting for a moment. “Yes, I will. It
sounds…interesting.” Jade, he hadn’t meant to make it that easy. He grimaced,
imagining interacting with arrogant and self-important Naema jerks while
deciding if there was an actual case.

The bumping behind him took on an unmistakable rhythm. Heat
flared through him as he imagined pushing Tanasha against the wall and
thrusting deep inside her.

“Estimable O’Clare?” Her voice grew husky.

He struggled to drag his thoughts back to their conversation
but his little brain continued to take over. Duncan wanted to get closer to
her.

An orchestra of bumps, groans, moans and screams announced
the finale behind him.

She hadn’t been unaffected by the electricity sparking
between the two of them. Since entering the room, her nipples had hardened and
her pulse raced. It’d been a very long time since a woman he hadn’t even
touched had affected him like this. And a Naema of all things.

Duncan didn’t stop his mind from wandering and undressing
her, freeing those beautiful breasts. He bet her nipples were a dark-rose hue,
mirroring her full lips. He would twist those nipples lightly, gently, just
enough to make them more and more sensitive until she couldn’t stand it anymore
and demanded release. Then he would tweak the luscious tips, tweak them with
that little extra force that his women so adored. He would wrap his lips and
tongue around them and take turns pulling them into the wet heat of his mouth.

When she was ready and wet he would lift her above him. That
way he could watch his cock go inside her and her breasts move before his eyes.
Her eyes would darken and he would pant, trying to squeeze his fat cock into
her tight little pussy. She would be wet enough, but their size difference
would give that bite of pleasure-pain.

She would slowly sink down on him, all the way down until
her ass touched his balls and he bumped into the end of her. Her juices would
spill out through her stretched entrance and would drip along his cock. With
each movement from her, he would play with her tits, her nipples.

The closer she got to the end, the tighter she would grip
him until she massaged every inch of him with her clenching muscles. She would
speed up, dig her nails into his chest and push down harder.

His balls would draw up tight and he would have to hold
himself back not to thrust up, not to take over her ride. Her sweet moans would
drive him higher, both of them moving closer and closer to—

“Estimable O’Clare, I do not appreciate being the star in
this lurid little fantasy of yours.” Tanasha’s voice ripped him back to the
present and dropped him into a deep pool of freezing-cold water.

Jade, he’d forgotten that Naemas could read emotions. His
had been running rather hot. He gently readjusted himself in his pants. He’d
been sexually active for a very long time, but this was the first time since
being a horny teenager that he’d come this close to coming in his pants.

He tilted his head. But how did the Naema without Gift read
his emotions? “How would you know it was a lurid fantasy about you? I could
have been thinking fondly about last night with my boyfriend.”

She gulped and dropped her gaze but remained silent.

Duncan wanted to push for more details, but the painful
embarrassment in her eyes persuaded him otherwise. He didn’t mind Tanasha
knowing about his fantasy. In some way or another he would make sure it came
true.

And going by her racing pulse and the musky perfume she’d
acquired, she definitely hadn’t been as unaffected as she was trying to appear.
Duncan heard a slight shiver in her frosty voice.

“You could have interrupted when I started that little trip.
Instead you let it go on.” He smirked. “How about you just leave me to my
fantasies and wait for my next update. Better yet, let’s make it reality rather
than fantasy. Once we have that out of the way, we’ll both feel better and my
concentration will improve.”

She swallowed and that delightful blush covered her cheeks.
Duncan couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat across from a woman who
blushed. He knew she wouldn’t say yes, but he needed to distract her. No way
was he going to admit how much her presence threw him off balance.

“I would prefer to keep this relationship professional,” she
said.

He rested his elbows on top of his desk. “And I would prefer
to combine pleasure and work in one hot package.”

If possible her back became even straighter.

“That would be completely inappropriate. I want to be
present when you question Marius.”

He shrugged as if it made no difference to him. “Why are you
so intent on coming with me?”

She firmed her lips and pushed her stubborn chin forward but
remained silent. Duncan had no intention of moving out of his chair until she’d
answered his question. Going by her frown, she got the message but didn’t
budge.

Duncan leaned back, steepling his fingers. “Looks like we
have what is generally described as a standoff.” He pinned her with his gaze.
“Remember you came to me, looking for help for your friend. I can continue to
sit here until the end of the day, with no repercussions. Can you?”

Her frown deepened. “I don’t like your tactics.”

He shrugged. Tanasha glared at him. If looks could double as
lasers, he’d be a holey cheese by now and licking his wounds.

Duncan bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from
laughing. The sparkling anger added a gold sheen to her eyes, gave the top of
her pale cheeks more color, and the frown was kind of cute. He made sure to
keep that thought and the accompanying emotions in check. No need to drive her
over the edge just yet.

“I don’t trust you will not fall victim to his scam as
well,” she finally growled.

Duncan’s brows shot up. His amusement vanished. “I’m not
that easily duped, especially now that I’ve had warning.”

She shrugged, not meeting his gaze. “Maybe, but I want to be
there.”

“How would you explain my presence?”