Ties That Bind: The Bellum Sisters 3 (paranormal erotic romance) (22 page)

“What happened to your eyes?” she asked in a rush. If he was leaving and going to take her most precious belonging then at least she wanted that much answered.

Those dark eyes narrowed on her. “What did you expect? That one night with you would cure me?” He shook his head then slammed open the door, leaving her standing there gaping after him.

Arianna growled in frustration and slammed the broken door shut. The insufferable man was driving her crazy! She wanted to yank out her hair and scream until her voice turned hoarse. Cure him? Cure him? She had no thoughts to curing him. Where the hell did that even come from?

Arianna paced back and forth across her room, slapping her hand against the post of her bed in her anger.

“What is he
talking
about?” she asked to no one.

That rotten, irresponsible, jackass thought he could come in here and command her around. While he technically had every right to do so, that didn't make it right. And his response still didn't come close to answering her question. Why had his eyes turned even darker now? Why had they reverted in the first place? Wasn't he curious? Didn't he want to know?

“Obviously not,” she bit out and kicked a chair, knocking it over.

It wasn't until night fell and she'd calmed down that a thought struck Arianna. Did
he
think that being with her would cure him? The thought staggered her so much, she righted the chair she'd kicked over and sat in it. Did their...experience together somehow help to bring him back from whatever dangerous cliff he stood on?

“What if I can help him?” she whispered, her wide eyes trained unseeing on the wall. What if he wants me to help him?

Arianna tucked herself into bed that night with an all new perspective on the wicked king.

CHAPTER 28

Kearnyn waited in the small living room of Rosa's shop feeling more nervous than he ever had. He hadn't even been this nervous on his wedding day. All of that had been planned and understood. He and Moira knew exactly how the day would precede even leading up to the consummation of the marriage that night. Even then, he hadn't been so nervous.

Now he pulled a kerchief out of his suit jacket and dabbed at the sweat beading his temples. God damn. He had to get a hold of himself. He'll be a pile of sweat by the time she got out here.

After the meeting at Tyrian's today, he'd asked her on a date tonight. They both understood it'd be a real date, not some out-in-the-daylight-at-a-cafe date. He told her to wear something nice. Already he was thinking this was all a shitty idea. He wore his best suit and, god, did he hate it. It made him feel like a giant fucking penguin with the matching jacket and pants and tie. Still, he wanted to do something nice for her. He wanted to get her to loosen up and talk to him. He craved hearing her voice, knowing more about her.

He froze in the process of dabbing his sweat when he heard footsteps. No, not footsteps. The soft tapping of heels. He almost groaned at the thought of her in sexy shoes. God, this was a really bad idea. How was he supposed to talk to her when he had a hard enough time keeping his dick under wraps, and that was when she wore a loose unflattering dress. Heels...dark long legs...were they slender, muscular, or rounded and curvy? God, he didn't even care. He just wanted to runs his hands and tongue all over them.
Pervert
.

The soft sound came closer and he actually forced his eyes closed as she came through the beaded partition. He didn't want to see. He didn't want to know how difficult this night was going to be.

“Kearnyn?” she asked in a shy voice.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes. And nearly groaned. This was going to be a
really
long night.

“God...wow. Uh, Rosa, you...” he sighed as he fumbled for words like an idiot. “Yeah, you look really great.” He hoped that didn't sound as lame as he thought it did, but his tongue didn't feel like cooperating just yet.

A sultry smile lit up her face as her head bowed at his look. She wore a white dress—if that little scrap of clothing could be called as much. Was she trying to make him lose control?

The top of the dress stopped at the top of her breasts—completely strapless—and it fitted to her surprisingly curvy body in a way that made him drool. The white dress contrasted perfectly to her darker skin, seeming to make her glow. And it didn't stop there. The dress stopped at the top of her thighs and he couldn't help but think that if she bent over, he'd see her bare ass. Another thought rammed into his skull: did she wear panties under that dress?

Breathing became difficult, but he forced his gaze back to her eyes where they belonged. Beautiful, chocolate eyes that watched him with a sultry tilt. He couldn't help but wonder if their shared kiss had broken some defense in her. Shit, he couldn't even say honestly whether he was happy or not about the change. Right now, he just knew that he was happy he wore his tight briefs or else his cock would be pitching a damned tent right now.

Her hand ran down the side of one hip. “Do you like it?” she asked shyly.

He opened his mouth to reply but closed it, afraid he'd garble nonsensical words at her and instead he nodded, quickly. He wanted to ask her if she was ready to go but just jerked his head toward the door instead, not trusting his mouth to form real words.

Thank God. She got the picture and crossed the floor to him. Every muscle in his body tightened at the sight. Her long hair sat around her dark, creamy shoulders in curly waves that he wanted to bury his hands in. And those heels—dark red like blood—only brought out the white of her dress even more and ruby at the end of a necklace around her neck.

She reached his side and smiled up at him. The look in her eyes said she knew exactly the effect her dress had on him. Suddenly he laughed, grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the shop. He waited for her to lock up before he helped her into the SUV.

Moving slowly as she got in, the short skirt riding way up her thighs, revealing more smooth leg. Once she got situated, he closed the door and went around to his side, pausing for a moment to take a breath before he got in.

Starting the engine, his eyes skipped over to her legs, then up to the swell of her breasts that peaked out generously from her top. Holy hell. The date hadn't even started and he was ready to jump on her.

“You look very nice, too,” she said.

He couldn't help but grin. “I feel ridiculous.”

“I'm not surprised, but the look suits you.”

He smiled at her compliment and her cheeks colored until she looked away, blowing out an uneasy breath.

“So where are we going?”

“Food, drinks, and then we'll see.”

She turned to him, one knee coming up on the seat. He ripped the kerchief out of his pocket and scrubbed his face with it. God, he could just see her inner thigh. She had slender legs with curves and thickness in all the right places.

“And anything else?”

He cocked a brow. “What else would you like to do?” If she said have sex, he'd pulled the car over right now and bury his face between her legs. Shit.
Get a grip.

She shrugged a bare shoulder. “It's just that last time...you said you'd kiss me.” She didn't sound as shy now but curious.

“I'd love to do that again.” His husky voice showed just how much. He'd had to yank himself away from her last time. Her lips had been so soft and pliant, her gentle tongue meeting his eagerly. She'd made this throaty noise, somewhere between a growl and a moan. It'd nearly made him take her right then, push her right up against the bookshelf and plunder. So he'd torn himself away from her and beat feet out of there. It was too soon, even he knew that.

“So would I.”

They drove in silence the rest of the way to the club. When they arrived at the brightly lit club her eyes widened with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

“
The Grind?
I've only ever heard of this place,” she said.

“Good, then I'm the first one to bring you here.” And hopefully the last, his mind finished for him. He tensed as he reached her side of the door, but hell, he was right. If he could keep this intriguing creature for the rest of his life, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Tucking her hand in his elbow, he cut to the top of the line and handed a stack of Benjamins to the security guard.

“Nice to see you, my man,” the guard said and let them through the partition.

The Grind
was a classy club, not one that many youngsters could get into. The dress code was elegant, the music smooth but good, and the drinks were never free or on sale. But for the atmosphere alone, the price was worth it. A maitre'd led them down a short hall painted in deep browns and black creating a classical and romantic atmosphere with the soft sconce lighting and murals on the walls. They took a seat at a small table with a white tablecloth and two candles with a little bundle of flowers in the middle.

Kearnyn ordered a bottle of wine and let Rosa over her dinner.

She looked up at him after he finished. “Aren't you going to eat something?” She blushed beautifully. “Oh, never mind.”

Kearnyn waited until their wine came before he leaned his elbows on the table. He wanted to be closer to her, he couldn't help it. “How long have you known Lily Bellum?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Geez, a long time it seems.” She laughed at her own joke. “I guess it's been close to ten years now. I met her at one of the succubus balls they throw each year. Her father took her and her sisters.” She sipped her wine. “How long have you known the demon Telal?”

Kearnyn laid his hand flat on the table, halfway across. Was it obvious he wanted her to put her smaller hand on top of his? Probably, but he didn't care. He wanted to touch her. “Oh, I met Telal in the mid-fifteen hundreds*. He'd come for a meeting with Commander Tyrian and while he was there one of the warriors picked a fight with me. Don't even remember what it was about. Telal saw my fighting skills, then coerced me onto his team.” He grinned at the memories.

“What did he do to persuade you?” She finished her glass of wine so he refilled it for her.

“Money.” He flashed a wicked grin. “Sounds petty, I know, but it's the truth. I came from poor stock; the kind of money he was talking about was nearly enough to convince me with just that.”

“Nearly enough?”

He shrugged and finally pulled back his hand. “Even I needed a bit more than that. He told me his future plans of getting the rift back open. Though I'd been a member of the Atal Warriors for a long time, I knew that keeping the demons in the rift was wrong. Next thing you know, I'm switching sides and guarding the big demon himself.”

Her meal came and then Kearnyn had to sit there and watch her eat. Who knew that could have been a kind of torture? Fuck, it was, though. Each little bite sent her eyes fluttering shut and a soft moan from deep in her throat. Even the way her throat tightened, convulsed after each dainty bite fired his blood.

Her eyes flicked up to his, and for a moment, he panicked.
Busted
. But then her eyes softened, blazing with what could only be pleasure, and this time she had no food in her mouth.

“Come on, let's dance.” He stood and held his hand out for her. She took it and he led her past the tables and onto a dance floor where a soft passionate song about love and loss played. Kearnyn tucked her head under his chin and swayed with her to the soft beat. She fit against him perfectly, chest to chest, hip to hip.

Growing warmth filled him. It was a comfortable, good feeling that she stirred inside him.

“You feel good, Rosa.”

She pressed her cheek to his chest. “You do, too.”

After four more songs, he led her back to the table . Her eyes shined bright with excitement and energy. Kearnyn couldn't hold back the question that had been rattling around in his head for days.

“What did you see between us in your vision, Rosa?”

She choked on her wine.

“Damn,” he cursed and came around the table to pat her back as great whooping coughs came out of her. “I'm sorry. I wasn’t trying to kill you.” He cringed at his own poor joke.

She chuckled as she got her voice back under control and took a tentative sip of her wine. She looked up at him with a big grin. He realized he must look possessive—or worse—because her grin quickly faded.

“Sorry,” he mumbled and took his seat again. God, he was going to ruin this. Maybe it was time to call this whole thing quits and just take her home.

“It's fine. You're question just surprised me.”

Kearnyn flagged the waiter down and asked for his bill. Rosa sent him a wide-eyed look.

“We're leaving already?”

He paused reaching for his wallet. “I thought you'd want to. I'm not...good at this.”

“Oh.” Her dejected look cut straight to his heart.

“Come on. Let's dance some more.” He tossed some bills on the table and led her once more off to the dance floor.

The soft song that had been playing changed to something much more rhythmic and upbeat. Rosa's eyes lit up and she spun around in his arms, her hips swaying, knees grinding as she writhed up and down his body in time to the music.

Kearnyn's cock lengthened, turned hard as stone watching her move. She grabbed each of his hands and wrapped them around her squirming waist. He couldn't dance for shit like this, but still he found his body moving with hers until they created an undulating sensual rhythm and he forgot all about not being able to dance. He simply moved with her flexible little body, curving around her as she dipped and bent.

The first press of her ass against his cock made him groan. There was no way she didn't feel that. She had to have noticed it but didn't care because now she pressed herself against it again and again, rhythmically undulating her hips against his cock until breathing grew difficult. He found himself moving back against her, thrusting and rubbing himself as his hands rubbed around her stomach, catching her hips and feeling her muscles flex and move under his grip.

The song neared the end, slowing the pulsing beat, and she swayed one last time in his arms before spinning around and wrapping her arms around his neck. Their eyes met, locked. Passion and desire clung to them. She kept her hips pressed tightly against his; until his cock dug into her. She didn't seem to mind though, at all. The song ended and they stopped dancing but their eyes didn't leave each other’s.

A loud shrilly laugh cut the connection. Kearnyn's gaze flicked to the drunken woman giggling madly at something her date said, and glared.

“Why don't we go?” asked Rosa.

Nodding mutely, he took her warm hand in his and led her back to the SUV. Getting her into the vehicle turned out to be one of the most erotic adventures of his life. As he opened the door and stepped back to help her inside, she turned to him, stepping close. Her body pressed against his, soft breasts flattening against his chest and pushing them up and out of that dress. It took effort not to stare at the delicious swell of flesh.