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+Trevor likes his life simple. He has a decent job at a bank, a good place to live and a nice boyfriend. Or at least, that's what he likes to fool himself into believing. In reality, his job is full of backstabbing pit vipers, the roof of his apartment leaks and his boyfriend left him two weeks ago for the mailman. So the last thing he wants or needs is yet another complication in his life. Then one day as he's working his teller window, in walks a huge complication in the form of a dark-haired stranger named Drake. Before he knows it, Trevor's life is anything but simple as he finds himself falling hard for the man. But can Trevor let go of simple long enough to learn to embrace extraordinary or will he be forever destined to be alone?
+The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
+Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.
+This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
+Out of Balance
+Copyright © 2010 Stephani Hecht
+ISBN: 978-1-55487-554-2
+Cover art by Angela Waters
+All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
+Published by eXtasy Books
+Look for us online at:
+www.eXtasybooks.com
+Out of Balance
+By
+Stephani Hecht
+To Val, Micki, Edwin, Phil, Michelle, Tammy and Jules.
+Five more minutes and he'd finally be free of this prison. Trevor felt such joy at the prospect, he almost broke out into a jig while singing The Safety Dance. The only thing that held him back was the series of cameras filming every inch of the small bank he worked at. The last thing he needed was to give the guys in the security department yet another show. They were all still sending him smartass emails over the time he'd accidently blew up one of the branch's die packs. Trevor shrugged, hey, who knew you couldn't put those things on copy machines?
+Since he'd already locked his drawer up, Trevor hung out in the vault room and gulped down a candy bar. Since he'd once again been forced to skip his lunch break, his stomach had decided to protest with grumbles and hunger pains. Not that the candy bar would do much to satisfy him, but it would hopefully take the edge off until he got home. One of those trashy, celebrity gossip magazines sat on the counter and he couldn't resist the urge to glance down at it as he ate.
+He'd just tossed the wrapper in the garbage when the door opened and his favorite teller, Vicki, poked her head in. "Slacker!"
+He didn't even look up from the latest news on Angela and Brad. "Bite me."
+"Don't I wish," she shot back and gave a long-suffering sigh.
+Not that Trevor believed for one second she was pining for male attention. With big blonde hair, big blue eyes and an even bigger rack, she had all the male customers drooling over the teller counter. Plus, she had a doting husband at home who never failed to assure her of her hotness. "What do you want?" he asked as he shut the magazine.
+"You have a customer."
+"Sorry, I already put up my drawer." He nodded to the battered vault that took up half the room.
+"This is somebody wanting to open a new account and he specifically asked for you." Her red lips twisted in an apologetic smile.
+"I'm supposed to be leaving in just a few minutes," Trevor griped as he pointed at the clock hanging from the dreary, yellow wall. The color never failed to add to the prison-like feel of the vault room that also served as a break room. To make it worse, there were no windows or decorations unless you counted the Labor Law posters that all businesses were required to post.
+"What? Afraid your new roommate will miss you?" Vicki quipped in her usual sarcastic manner.
+"You never know. Rocky has become quite attached to me," Trevor shot back, not willing to be outdone.
+"From what I heard, rabid raccoons don't like anyone."
+"We don't know if Rocky is rabid, just that he's an intruder." Trevor let out a small shiver as he recalled waking up last night and finding an actual, living breathing raccoon in his kitchen. He'd gone all caveman, waving his arms and yelling, only to have the small creature hiss and charge. Trevor spent the rest of the night, clutching a baseball bat as he hid out in his room. Not his most macho moment in life--cowering from a creature that probably didn't even weight fifty pounds.
+"Seriously though, you have to come out and help this customer." She hitched a thumb over her shoulder.
+"Give me one good reason," Trevor challenged even though he already knew he'd cave and go.
+"I'll give you two," she ticked off on her fingers. "It's a business account and if you don't grab it quickly, Sally is going to snatch it up faster than last night's quickie."
+Trevor hated to admit it, but Vicki did have a point. Not about the quickie, since he hadn't had sex since Patrick left him, but about Sally stealing the account. That backstabbing viper wouldn't hesitate to grab up that new business customer in order to increase her sales.
+"You need it more than she does." Vicki pointed a red-nailed finger in his direction. "As the assistant manager, you're the one who has to answer to cooperate when the monthly new business account goals aren't met. Besides, with the two she stole from you last week, she's already way ahead. Don't let her get away with this one, as well."
+It was no secret that Vicki despised Sally with a heavy passion. Truth be told, Trevor couldn't stand her either. Not only did she flaunt policy and procedure, but ever since he'd been promoted, her new favorite hobby had been to make his life hell. From her annoying habit of keeping her cell phone down her bra, to the way she flirted with anyone who had a heartbeat and a decent job.
+That motivated him enough to push away from the counter and follow Vicki. Their small bank was located in the corner of a busy supermarket, so as soon as he walked out loud noises and bright lights assaulted him. Even though he'd worked at this branch for over two years, he'd never gotten used to the constant beeping of scanners, the crying kids or the crashing grocery carts.
+Sure enough, Sally was leaning against the corner of the barrier dividing the new accounts' desk while she chatted with the unseen customer. Dressed to seduce, she wore a bright red dress that had to be at least three sizes too small and black spiked heels. Her glossy, dark hair hung free, the curls tumbling down her shoulders.
+"Are you sure I can't help you?" she crooned as she thrust her chest out so far, Trevor half-expected a boob to make a break for freedom.
+"I'd rather wait for Trevor," a deep masculine voice replied.
+"Oh, I'm not even sure he's still here. He got off a while ago." She twirled a lock of her hair as she swayed back and forth.
+Liar! You know I'm still here! He exchanged expressions of outrage with Vicki. Now there would be no way he'd let the backstabber take this account. To hell with his hunger pains. Brushing past Sally, he took a seat at the desk. Not looking at the customer yet, he turned to Sally, "I got this."
+"Trevor!" She gave him the fakest of smiles. "I thought you'd left already."
+"Nope, still here." He returned the false sugary smile before turning to the customer. As soon as he got a good eyeful of the prime-A piece of man meat in front of him, the grin fled Trevor's face as desire slammed into him so hard, he momentarily forgot how to breathe.
+Tall, with dark hair and dreamy brown eyes, the customer could have been a supermodel or played a starring role in Trevor's wet dreams. Trevor gulped as he tried hard not to gawk. The task proved difficult though, since, with each passing second, he noticed even more of the guy's damn-he's-hot assets. Although he was sitting, Trevor could tell the man was tall and built just right--not that many muscles, but not all skin and bones either. The fact he had an amused glint in his gaze as his full lips turned up into a sensual smile, made him all the more attractive.
+Trevor's mouth went dry as he scrambled to figure out how this guy knew him. Vicki had said he'd asked for Trevor by name, so obviously they'd met before, but for the life of him he couldn't remember where. There had to be a mistake, because no way in hell Trevor could ever forget a god like this.
+"Vicki said you asked for me?" Trevor nervously fiddled with an ink pen as he continued to drink in the man in front of him.
+"You bet. I only want the best, handling my account." The man shook Trevor's hand. "Drake Ward."
+"Nice to meet you." Trevor didn't offer his name in return since the man already knew it. Usually he got halfway out of his seat so the customer didn't have to stretch across the counter. This time though, he had to remain sitting because ever since he'd laid eyes on Drake, Trevor's cock had been snapping a salute and it wasn't showing any signs of going at ease any time soon.
+Still though, who actually went by the name Drake? The only time Trevor had seen it was in soap operas or vampire books. This guy had to be punking him or something. "I need to see your driver's license, please," Trevor requested.
+Not only did federal law require him to get a picture ID for every account, but he'd be able to see if that truly was the man's name. As soon as the plastic hit his palm, Trevor glanced down at it, mildly surprised to see that it really was tall-dark and studly's name.
+"No, it's not a nickname or anything, I promise you," Drake said with a warm chuckle.
+Trevor flushed as he realized how transparent his actions had been. "Sorry."
+"Why? You're not the one who saddled me with a porn name. I place the blame solely on my mother for that. When she was pregnant with me and the rest of my siblings, she stayed home and watched way too many soaps. Finally, my dad got so sick of it that when she was carrying my baby sister, he banned TV altogether."
+"What's her name?" Trevor asked, relieved he hadn't insulted Drake.
+"My mother or sister?"
+"Your sister."
+"Beth."
+"Ouch, that name is so perfectly normal. She must have felt left out." Trevor grinned.
+Drake smiled, showing off the perfect set of dimples.
+Trevor had to bite back a groan. He'd always been a sucker for dimples. All of a sudden, it didn't seem like such a hardship to be working overtime. "Vicki said this was going to be a business account?" He nervously cleared his throat as he got back on task.
+"Yeah, I have the papers right here." Drake reached into a leather portfolio and pulled out the small stack.
+Trevor stretched over the counter to take them, taking great care not to let his fingers brush against Drake. If there happened to be some actual skin-on-skin contact, he couldn't guarantee he'd be able to hide his reaction.
+"I have to make copies of these. Just give me a second and I'll be right back." Trevor shot out of his seat, praying if he moved fast enough, the bulge in his pants wouldn't be obvious.
+Drake bit the inside of his cheek to hold in the smirk as he saw the proof of Trevor's desire pressing against the fly of his black dress pants. Not that the sexy-as-shit banker was the only one with a hard cock. Ever since Trevor had walked out of the back room, Drake had been dealing with his own erection.
+Drake causally leaned forward in his seat so he could watch as Trevor worked the copy machine. Damn, Drake couldn't get enough of that view. With sandy brown hair, the sweetest set of green eyes and a cute, innocent charm, Trevor had to be one of the best looking guys Drake had ever seen.
+The best thing about Trevor had to be that he didn't seem to notice his own appeal. While Drake never engaged the guy in conversation before a moment ago, he had done enough Trevor watching to see that the banker wasn't one of those vain types. If anything, Trevor lacked having enough self-confidence.
+Drake first noticed Trevor a few weeks ago. He'd come into the grocery store to pick up some beer and spotted the man working a teller window. After that day, Drake every excuse possible to go shopping, just in the hopes of getting a glimpse of his newest obsession.
+Trevor returned to the desk and slid into the seat before he began to study the business papers. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "You own Ward's Restaurant?"
+"Yeah, is that a problem?"
+"It's the most successful restaurant in the area. Why in the heck would you want to open an account here at our small bank?" Trevor shook his head.
+Trevor must have realized how bad that question sounded because he let out a short gasp as his mouth opened and closed several times. "What I meant is, since you've been around for so many years, I just assumed you would already have an established account."
+Drake almost applauded Trevor's recovery. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and gave Trevor a lazy wink. "Maybe I came here because I was hoping to get the attention of a certain teller."
+Without pausing a beat, Trevor turned his head to look over at Vicki.
+"No, it's not her." Drake shook his head. When Trevor's gaze shifted over to Sally, Drake exclaimed, "Oh God, it would never be her."
+Trevor looked back over to Drake. "Well, then who is it?"
+Drake didn't answer straight away, instead giving Trevor a heated stare.
+After a few seconds, Trevor's eyes grew wide, letting Drake know his silent message had been received loud and clear.
+"Oh," Trevor finally replied softly, as he looked back down at the paperwork, but not before Drake noticed that cute flush had covered his cheeks.
+The next several minutes became more formal, with Trevor asking questions and inputting Drake's information into the computer. Once they were wrapping things up, Drake realized he had only a few more minutes of Trevor's undivided attention. After a deep breath, he took the plunge. "So, since Sally already thought you left, I must have came at the end of your shift. Sorry about the forced overtime."
+Trevor shrugged. "No, big deal. I didn't mind."
+"You didn't have any plans tonight?" Drake strived to keep his voice casual, even as his stomach worked itself into knots. Why he felt so nervous around Trevor was a mystery since Drake had dated plenty of guys before.
+"Just a frozen dinner and watching TV with my roommate, Rocky." The corners of Trevor's lips twitched as if he wanted to smile.
+"Are you and Rocky a couple?" Drake winced as he realized how telling that question probably was.
+Trevor wrinkled his nose in disgust. "No way would I ever be with Rocky. I don't even want him as a roommate, but he just kind of barged his way in."
+A wave of relief hit Drake. "Is he messy or something?"
+"You could say that. Plus, he's always eating out of the garbage."
+For the first time in a long while, Drake did an actual double take. "Gross."
+"Exactly."
+Drake wiped the image out of his mind of some guy eating trash so he could ask another question. "Since I kept you late, why don't I take you out to dinner?"
+Trevor narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "If you're doing this to get free checks for the new account, you can save it. Even though we're not supposed to tell customers this, the first box of checks is always on the house."
+Drake burst out laughing as he said a silent prayer of thanks that Trevor had a great personality to go along with a hot body. It was rare to find both of those assets in one hot, tight package. "I'm asking because I want to spend more time with you." Drake paused. "Unless, of course, you're already seeing someone? Maybe a guy who doesn't nibble out of garbage cans."
+"My boyfriend broke up with me three weeks ago, so there's nobody else in the picture." Trevor lowered his gaze to the desk once again.
+From his reaction, it obviously hadn't been a smooth separation either. Drake wondered who would be crazy enough to let a great find like Trevor slip through their grasp. "So, does that mean you'll go out with me?" Drake pressed.
+"I don't know. They don't like us dating customers." Trevor nibbled on his bottom lip as he cast a nervous glance Sally's way. Ever since Trevor had taken over opening Drake's account, the witch had been shooting the evil eye their way.
+"Okay, then I'll close my account and there won't be any conflict," Drake teased.
+Trevor's eyes grew so huge they seemed to take up half of his face. "No, you don't need to do anything that drastic."
+"Fine, you want me to keep the account, then you'll go out with me tonight." At this point, Drake wasn't above using just a smidgen of blackmail. He'd do just about anything to get to know Trevor better.
+"That's playing dirty," Trevor accused, but there was no real anger behind his words.
+Drake leaned forward and whispered, "Kid, you have no idea how dirty I like it." A thrill went through him when he heard Trevor let out a loud gulp in reaction. It gave him a heady feeling to know he'd finally broken through some of those layers of smartass and gotten under Trevor's skin.
+"Just give me five minutes and I'll be ready to leave," Trevor whispered back, his voice so low it almost got lost in the usual noise coming from the grocery store.
+Trevor tried hard not to fidget as he sat in the passenger seat of Drake's Camaro. He still couldn't believe that he'd actually agreed to go out with a guy he'd only met an hour ago. For all he knew, Drake could be some raging, serial killer who had a fetish for nerdy assistant bank managers.
+He knew he should have insisted on driving himself, but once they hit the parking lot, Drake had skillfully maneuvered things to go his way. Something that Trevor was willing to bet the guy did quite often. With an uneasy sigh, Trevor pulled out his cell phone and started to type in a text message.
+"What are you doing?" Drake demanded.
+"I have to let Vicki know that I got a ride home. If she sees my car in the parking lot, she may get worried." He didn't bother looking up from his phone as he answered.
+"Why? Is she your bodyguard or something?" Drake smiled.
+"No, it's bank protocol to be on the lookout for stuff like that. A few years ago, a teller was kidnapped as he left the bank at the end of his shift. The guys who took him, forced him to give up the alarm codes and vault combos."
+"Damn, was he okay?"
+"No, they shot him after they got the needed information." Trevor finished his message and snapped the phone shut. He glanced over at Drake, mildly surprised to see the look of horror on the man's face.
+"This happened at your branch?" Drake asked.
+"No, it wasn't even our bank and it was in another state, but after that, everyone changed their safety procedures."
+"I never realized how dangerous your job can be."
+Trevor laughed. "I wouldn't go that far. Most days, the only dangerous thing I face is an angry customer or two. I'm sure my profession is nowhere near as exciting as owning your own restaurant."
+Or profitable either, Trevor added silently as he took in the rich leather interior of Drake's car. He'd be willing to bet Drake's house was just as nice. No way he had a leaky roof and an intruding raccoon. A bit of unease hit Trevor as he realized Drake was way out of his league.
+"So, where are we going?" Trevor asked as looked down at his work-wrinkled clothes. He said a silent prayer that it wouldn't be Drake's restaurant since that place was high class. The last time Trevor had gone there had been two years ago and that had been for his godparent's sixtieth wedding anniversary.
+"I was thinking about McCorbin's pub."
+Trevor let out a sigh of relief. That establishment had more of a sports bar vibe and he'd been there plenty of times. Drake shot a concerned look his way.
+"Is that okay? I'd take you back to my place, but I just didn't think that would really count as me taking you out to dinner since I don't have to pay there."
+Trevor smiled at Drake's twisted logic. "I love McCorbin's and tonight is dollar brew night, so that makes it all the better."
+"Good, I'll get you all liquored up so I can take advantage of you," Drake said with a wink.
+Desire coiled its way through Trevor's body as he thought about how much he'd enjoy Drake seducing him. Not that the good-looking man would have to work hard at getting into Trevor's pants. While Trevor wasn't a whore, he wasn't about to let someone as hot as Drake walk away without a sample either.
+Drake pulled into the parking lot and they didn't say anything until after they'd been seated in one of the corner booths. Trevor looked around, taking in the atmosphere of his favorite place to eat. Three large screens took up one entire wall of the bar, each of them showing a different sporting event. In the center of the table was a speaker that had a switch that allowed the patrons to choose which of the three events they listened to at the time. It pleased Trevor when Drake left their speaker off. Right now, the only thing he was interested in hearing was the man's smooth voice.
+When Trevor didn't even bothering opening the menu, Drake raised a dark brow and asked, "Do you eat here a lot?"
+"About once a week. More often if there's a hockey game on." Trevor didn't add that most of those times had been with Patrick. Even he knew it was never a good idea to bring up exes on a first date. That is, if what he and Drake were doing could really even count as a first date. Drake could have just asked him to dinner out of pity or guilt.
+"What do you usually get?" Drake glanced down at his own menu.
+"Usually the wings or a burger."
+Drake raised his gaze. "Boy, you sure are a cheap date."
+So...this was a date. Trevor had to hold in the happy grin as a warm feeling coasted through him. "I'll probably skip the wings tonight though, since they're kind of messy." Talking about food reminded Trevor all he'd had to eat since breakfast was that one candy bar and his hunger returned in full force. He just hoped the service was a quick as usual before he did something drastic, like eating the cardboard drink coasters.
+One of his favorite waitresses, Grace, came over to the table and plopped down a basket of chips and salsa, plus a couple of beers, before reaching out to lightly ruffle Trevor's hair. "Hey, baby, I figured you'd be starved as usual so I brought this to snack on while you waited."
+Grace was old enough to be his mother and she liked to act the role. Trevor was just needy enough to allow her to get away with it. They'd grown even closer after Patrick left. Grace had never made it a secret she hated the jerk. Now, Trevor wished he'd gone with her gut instinct and ended things with his ex a long time ago.
+"Who's your new friend?" She tilted her head in Drake's direction.
+"Drake Ward." Trevor eyed up the chips hungrily and wondered if it would be rude to just dig in. While he wanted to be polite and do the whole chitchat thing, he also had progressed from hungry to near starvation. Instead, he turned to look at Drake. "This is Grace. She likes to boss me around."
+"Someone has to take care of you." She pulled out her order pad. "What's it going to be tonight?"
+Trevor ordered a burger and Drake followed suit. After Grace left, Trevor found himself once again focusing on the chips. The food was calling to him as a bucket of chum would beckon a Great White. Drake seemed to catch on and pushed the basket closer to Trevor. He blushed, realizing he'd been busted. "Sorry, I haven't had a chance to really eat today."
+Drake watched Trevor munch for several moments before he asked, "Didn't you get a break today?"
+"Well, sure, technically I did, but since I was the main supervisor on duty, I never really got a chance to take it." Trevor shrugged, acting as if the whole issue was no major deal.
+Meanwhile, Drake fought hard to hide his outrage. "How long was your shift?"
+"I got in around nine this morning." Trevor continued to burn a path through the chips.
+"You know, it's against the labor laws for them to do that. They have to give you a lunch break if you work that many hours." Drake knew that because he'd always made it a point to abide by all the rules with his own employees.
+"It's no biggie. I'm used to it."
+"Why can't Sally take over for awhile? I thought she was head teller." Drake didn't understand why this bugged him so much, but he couldn't help but feel angry on Trevor's behalf.
+"If I'm there, Sally just let's me handle everything. Besides, she's not that great on policy and procedure, so my teller errors go way up whenever she's in charge. It's bad enough that I have to let her open or close a few days a week," Trevor explained between bites.
+"Don't you have a manager or someone who is higher up than you?"
+"There used to be a branch manager, but most of them got laid off a few months ago when the bank made budget cuts. So now, it's left up to me. They like it better that way, since I can do all the work the manager used to, while still pulling in a lower salary."
+After what little he'd heard about Trevor's higher ups Drake wasn't surprised a pay raise hadn't come with the added responsibilities. "Can I ask a personal question?"
+"Sure, I never thought we'd get to that part of the conversation," Trevor replied with a wicked grin.
+"Do you have a college degree?"
+Trevor seemed disappointed that the question wasn't of the down and dirty type. "Sure, in Accounting. I graduated a couple years ago. I know I look young, but I'm not fresh out of high school or anything."
+"I wasn't trying to insinuate that," Drake hastened to add. He hoped he hadn't insulted Trevor because that was the last thing he wanted to do. "I'm just wondering why you just don't tell the bank to go to hell and get a job somewhere else."
+"Have you looked at the unemployment rate in Michigan lately?" Trevor cocked a brow. "It's not easy to get work. I'm just glad I have something."
+"I guess so," Drake conceded, far from satisfied. Even though he'd only truly known Trevor for about an hour, Drake felt like the guy deserved much better than what his current situation had to offer.
+Trevor leaned across the table and ran one finger lightly against the back of Drake's hand.
+Even though the touch was light, Drake still felt the air leave his lungs as his cock came to life.
+"You didn't bring me here to talk about boring stuff like work and Accounting degrees though. Or at least I hope you didn't," Trevor said as he looked up from under his lashes.
+Drake found himself caught up in that penetrating green-eyed gaze. "No, I didn't. I have a little confession to make."
+"Is this the part where you fess up to being a serial killer or something else equally as terrible?"
+Drake let out a soft laugh. "Nothing that will land me on the Top Ten Most Wanted, I promise."
+"Too bad. I would have made a great prison wife," Trevor continued to tease.
+Drake felt grateful for the light tone the conversation had taken. "I've been watching you for a while."
+"Creepy, building a secret shrine for me watching, or just noticing me?"
+"Just noticing. I swear I haven't been taking secret photos of you or rummaged through your garbage." Drake grabbed Trevor's hand and twined their fingers together. While he'd never been a PDA kind of guy, it just seemed natural to crave Trevor's touch.
+"Bummer, I always wanted a physco stalker." Trevor didn't pull his hand away. If anything, he tightened his grip.
+"Let me guess...you like being the center of attention."
+"What can I say? I'm a product of middle child syndrome." Trevor's mouth curled up into a smile.
+Drake watched the movement, wondering how those soft looking lips would taste. "How many siblings do you have?"
+"Seven, but enough about me. You haven't told me much about you besides the fact that your mother likes to give her kids strange names and you get off on watching me."
+Drake felt himself flush. "You have to let me explain that a little better. I think it came out wrong. What I should have said was while I was grocery shopping the other week, I noticed you working at the bank."
+"And seeing guys count money gets your rocks off?"
+"Actually, you looked sad that day. All I wanted to do was go over there and comfort you--hold you until everything seemed better." Drake sucked in a huge breath, horrified at what he'd just copped to. He'd be lucky if his needy confession didn't send Trevor running for the hills.
+Then Trevor smiled and some of Drake's anxiety faded. "I probably would have let you hug me. I was going through some crap then and I wasn't exactly in a happy place."
+"What happened?"
+Trevor shook his head. "I'll tell you why later. This is supposed to be your time?"
+"Okay," Drake conceded. "What do you want to know?"
+"What's it like having your own business?"
+"Actually, I'm only partial owner. My parents help me run it."
+"Are you close to your mom and dad?" Trevor asked, as he fanned his thumb over Drake's knuckles.
+"Really close. My mom practically runs the kitchen on her own, and we have the good sense to stay out of her way and let her do it." Drake smiled as he spoke of his dominating, yet loving mother.
+"How many brothers and sisters"
+"Three brothers and one sister, I was second to youngest."
+"That made you the youngest son. You must have been spoiled rotten," Trevor tskd.
+"I wasn't spoiled much. I will admit one thing though. If I see something I want, I'm not afraid of snatching it up. I'm not very good at sharing either." Drake knew the double meaning of his words weren't lost when Trevor's eyes grew wide in shock. Under all that surprise though, was the underlying hint of arousal, which let Drake know Trevor liked the sounds of that plan.
+The rest of the meal went smoothly and Trevor found himself enjoying Drake's company. The man was easygoing and funny--both big assets as far as Trevor was concerned. After they finished eating, Drake paid the bill before they walked back out to his car.
+As Trevor climbed into the passenger seat, he started to feel awkward again. When Drake got in behind the wheel, Trevor directed his gaze to his hands as he wondered how he should handle the next move. While he wanted nothing more than to find the nearest bed and get naked with Drake, Trevor was afraid of rejection, too. After the whole Patrick incident, he didn't know if his ego could stand another blow.
+"Trevor, look at me," Drake pleaded in a near whisper.
+After drawing in a deep breath, to steady his nerves, Trevor obeyed, turning his head in Drake's direction. A low groan was his only warning before Drake moved in for a kiss.
+As soon as he felt the warmth of Drake's lips, Trevor closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into the sensuous experience. If felt dark, erotic, decadent--in short everything he'd hoped it to be. Desire pooled in his stomach as Drake playfully nipped at his lips, seeking entrance.
+"Fuck," Trevor breathed right before he parted his mouth and let Drake's tongue slide in.
+The need to feel the heat of Drake's body pushed against him grew so strong that Trevor tried to move in closer. He let out a frustrated grunt when the consol impeded his progress. In the end, he had to settle for fisting both hands into the front of Drake's shirt.
+Drake let out a low growl of approval before he cupped the back of Trevor's head and deepened the kiss. He carefully started to stroke the inside of Trevor's mouth. The movement reminded Trevor of a slow, hard fuck. His cock instantly responded, growing hard and pushing against the zipper of his pants. He was so caught up in the passion, he let out a small whimper of shock when Drake pulled away. "Why did you stop?" he asked, his voice was no more than a husky whisper.
+"Because if I didn't put the brakes on soon, we'd be in danger of giving a very X-rated public show," Drake panted.
+It sent a thrill through Trevor to know the kiss knocked the breath of out Drake, too. "I guess that makes sense," Trevor agreed, trying hard to hide his disappointment. He let go of Drake's shirt and settled back into his seat.
+"I just have one question for you." Drake looked up and pinned Trevor with a look so hot--so full of need, it sent shivers down his spine.
+Trevor nervously licked his lips, noticing they were kiss swollen. "What do you need to know?"
+"Are we going back to your car or my house? It's your call."
+Well, that question was a no-brainer. Trevor smiled as he pressed the heel of his hand against his own cock. The action was totally slutty and unlike him. It didn't matter though, because for some reason, he felt he didn't have to hold back anymore. Something about Drake made Trevor feel very comfortable in letting his desires and needs be known as all his worries about rejection fled. "I want you drive me to your house, lead me to the bedroom and then fuck me so hard, I won't be able to walk straight."
+Drake's eyes briefly flared in surprise. "Wow, you're not shy."
+"Not when I see something I want, and right now, there's nothing more I want than you. Now hurry up and get this car moving."
+It gave Trevor a heady thrill to see Drake's hands trembling as he fumbled to put the keys in the ignition. Deciding to up the ante, Trevor offered, "Do you want me to blow you while you drive?"
+Drake shook his head before giving him a stern glare. "You stay over on your side of the car and be good. If you even try to touch me, I'm going to get so distracted that I'll crash this car."
+Trevor complied, getting all the way back into his seat. He was even a good boy and buckled up. "Where do you live?"
+"Too far away," Drake replied between clenched teeth.
+Damn, it shouldn't have excited Trevor so much to see the effect he had on the other man, but it had to be biggest high of his life. Staring at Drake, Trevor slid the zipper down on his own pants. He made sure to do it slowly, so there was no way Drake could miss it. "Well, if it's going to take that long, maybe I need to find a way to entertain myself to pass the time." Trevor pulled out his cock then started to pump his hand up and down the shaft. All the while, he let out loud exaggerated moans to get his point across.
+Drake's mouth opened in shock as he did a double take. "Are you trying to get us killed?"
+"I'm on my side of the car and not touching you," Trevor replied with false innocence.
+"How in the hell am I supposed to concentrate on the road when you're stroking that beautiful cock?" Drake tightened his grip on the steering wheel so hard, Trevor could hear the man's knuckles crack.
+"Does that mean you want me to stop?" Trevor ran the pad of his thumb over the head of his cock, collecting a bead of pre-cum. Bringing the digit to his mouth, he sucked it in while he waited for Drake's answer.
+Drake directed his attention to the front, but Trevor could still detect the raw passion radiating from him. "Hell no, I want you to keep going. Just make sure you don't come, yet. Save that pleasure for me."
+"Are you always this bossy?" Trevor asked before he let his head fall back against the seat while he started to pleasure himself again.
+"Just shut up and keep working that cock."
+Trevor started to laugh, but halfway through, it turned into a groan. It's not like he didn't jack-off on a regular bases. Hell, ever since Patrick had taken off and regular sex had become a very, sad distant memory, self-gratification had become Trevor's favorite new hobby. However, he'd never dreamed that he'd ever have the courage to do it for an audience, let alone for one of the hottest guys he'd ever laid eyes on. What's more, Drake acted as if he was getting as much pleasure from this act as Trevor was.
+When more droplets of pre-cum collected at the tip of his cock, Trevor collected them on his fingers again. This time, instead of putting it into his own mouth, he leaned over and offered it to Drake.
+Drake moaned low in his throat before he parted his lips and sucked Trevor's fingers in. Trevor watched from under hooded lids as Drake carefully cleaned every digit, his tongue leaving behind a heated path. After every bit was gone, Drake let Trevor's fingers slide from his mouth before saying, "You have no idea how fucking hot you look right now."
+"How soon before we get to your house?" Trevor's voice so shaky it would have embarrassed him under different circumstances.
+"I'm just getting ready to turn into the driveway right now."
+Trevor glanced up, not surprised to see a posh, two story condo that probably cost more than what he'd make in an entire lifetime of working at the bank. Wow, this place made his piece of crap apartment look even more dismal than normal.
+Drake hit a remote on his key chain and the garage door slid up, revealing yet another sports car, this one an Audi R-8. Trevor let out a low whistle, "Damn, you must like nice cars." Duh, no kidding, Einstein. Way to sound like a gawking small-town hick.
+Luckily, Drake didn't seem to notice Trevor's flub. He just shrugged as he pulled in to the garage and shut off the engine. "It's kind of fun collecting them."
+"I get you. I have a collection of my own." Trevor went to move his fingers away from his cock, but Drake's hand shot out and stopped him, his firm grip adding to the already painful-pleasure shooting down Trevor's shaft.
+"You do? What kind?" Drake asked, his dark gaze fixated on Trevor's dick.
+"Mostly Matchbox and Hot Wheels." Trevor let out a gasp when Drake tightened his hold. "You keep that up and I'm going to come and that'll be hell on your interior."
+"It'd be worth it just so I could hear the noise you make when you shoot off. I've been dreaming about you so long, wondering how it would be to touch you, to listen to your screams of passion, to feel your tight ass clamping down on my cock. I still can't believe you're here with me."
+"Fuck, Drake, I'm just hanging on by a thread here," Trevor panted as he moved his hand so Drake could have complete control.
+"If you come now, will you be able to do it again soon?"
+Trevor tried to say You bet, but all that came out was a soft cry of pleasure because Drake's hand started to pick up speed. Since Trevor knew there would be no stopping things now, he just gripped the sides of the seat and held on for the ride. It only took a few passes before an orgasm slammed into Trevor so hard all the breath left his body. He let out a silent yell as hot waves of cum shot from his cock, some of it hitting his shirt while the rest covered Drake's hand.
+As soon as he came back down to earth, Trevor became horrified as he realized how out of control he'd been just moments before. Worse yet, he'd made a mess while doing it. Had this happened with Patrick, Trevor would already be on the business end of an ass chewing. "I'm so sorry. If you just give me a second, I'll go get something to clean you up," he babbled as he felt a rush of heat come over his cheeks.
+"Shhh..." Drake soothed before he pressed a soft kiss to Trevor's temple. "Since the mess is my fault, it's only right that I tidy it up."
+Before Trevor had a chance to argue, Drake brought his cum-covered fingers up to his mouth and started to lick them clean. Trevor watched, transfixed by the sight of Drake's tongue lapping up the sticky essence. Drake even closed his eyes with a soft moan, as if he actually enjoyed the taste.
+"Now, that's fucking hot," Trevor said, repeating Drake's earlier compliment. Even though he'd just come and usually needed at least an half hour of recovery time, his cock started to get hard again. Not very surprising considering he'd never been this turned on in his entire life.
+Drake opened his eyes, his dark gaze so passion infused he almost looked dangerous. "Inside. Now."
+Trevor nodded, probably coming off as an idiot, but damn if he cared at this point. Drake opened the door and got out in one fluid motion while Trevor fumbled with his seatbelt. No matter how hard he tried, his fingers just couldn't seem to work that one simple, damn button which would set him free. "Come on," he whispered.
+Great, wouldn't it just be his shitty kind of luck to get this close to what he was sure to be the fuck of his life, only to flub it up at the last second. He got so caught up in his battle, he jumped when his door opened and Drake looked down at him. "Problems?"
+Trevor grinned, feeling sheepish. "Just one."
+"Why do I get the feeling life's never going to be boring with you around?"
+"Boring?" Trevor let out a dorky, sounding snort. "I'm the assistant manager of a bank and an accountant. I think I could be the National spokesman for dull and predictable."
+Drake leaned in to undo the seatbelt, his massive body stretching over Trevor. Since the object of his arousal was so close, Trevor couldn't resist the chance to breathe in deep. Who'd have thought Mr. Dark and Dangerous would have a spicy, citrus scent? It held such a special allure to it that Trevor had to hold back from bending over and burying his nose in the crook of the man's neck.
+"There, all free," Drake said as the seatbelt clicked open.
+"Thanks," Trevor whispered, still a bit embarrassed that he was too much of a loser to fricking unbuckle himself. He tensed in anticipation when Drake didn't immediately straighten. "Is there something wrong?"
+"Yes, you haven't zipped up your pants," Drake observed before he lightly ran his fingers over the tip of Trevor's cock. The touch somehow managed to be gentle, yet still sent hot lashes of desire up Trevor's body.
+"With as clumsy as I am tonight, maybe you should handle that. I'd probably end up hurting a vital body part." He finally gave into temptation and leaned closer so he could drink in Drake's scent.
+"We can't take that risk. I have plans for this baby." Drake caressed said part one last time before he abruptly stepped back. His hand shot out and grabbed Trevor's tie, his strong fingers looping through the thin piece of fabric like it was a leash.
+Trevor allowed Drake to lead him like a naughty puppy through the garage. He tripped up the stairs leading to a side door. Once inside, he realized they were in the kitchen. Trevor paused, shocked at how classy it looked. Black floors and countertops contrasted tastefully with white walls and cupboards. Even though most of his cooking was done in a microwave, Trevor could tell the huge, stainless steel stove was top of the art. The matching fridge and dual ovens stood several feet away. "Nice," Trevor complimented as he thought, once again, about the shit hole he lived in.
+"The floor is even nicer." Letting go of his tie, Drake put his hand on Trevor's shoulder and nudged him down to his knees.
+Even before his body hit the cool tile, Trevor's hands were reaching out for Drake. With shaky fingers, he undid the thick leather belt before opening the fly on Drake's pants. When he finally had the zipper down, Trevor couldn't hold back a chuckle. "How did I know you'd have black underwear?"
+"What can I say? It's easier to pick out a matching outfit that way." Drake moaned before his eyelids fluttered closed.
+Trevor pulled Drake's briefs and pants down enough so his cock sprang free. He let out a moan of appreciation as he ran his fingers up the shaft. Drake's dick was thick, long and...perfect. A pearl of pre-cum collected at the tip and Trevor gave it a tentative lick. Not that he was unsure of himself or his ability to give a good blow job, he just wanted to play around and tease some first. Looking up at Drake, he ran one finger along the underside of Drake's cock before giving the head another brief flick of his tongue.
+"You really are trying to kill me," Drake panted. "First with that show in the car and now with this whole timid act."
+Trevor opened his mouth to fire off a comeback and Drake used that opportunity to slide his cock in. At first, Trevor gagged a bit until he forced his throat to relax. Then he really got into it, even letting out a moan of pleasure. He couldn't help it though. Drake's cock was a pleasure to suck. Hard, smooth and warm, it deserved to be idolized, so that's what Trevor did.
+He pulled back enough to swirl his tongue in the slit at the head, drawing out more pre-cum. When rewarded with the sweet tang of fluid, Trevor hummed, making Drake jerk in reaction.
+While he would have loved to linger, to savor each moment, Trevor hurried. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he felt the rough pull of his hair as Drake took over. Once more, looking up at Drake, Trevor took him all in again, flattening his tongue so it rubbed along the underside of Drake's shaft along the way.
+"Fuck, you're good at this," Drake breathed. His hand reached down and Trevor flinched with the expectation of pain. Instead, what he got was a tender caress along his cheek.
+Before he could stop himself, Trevor turned slightly into the touch. Strange emotions battled inside him--confusion, desire, shock and even a little fear. Never had someone touched him this tenderly while he'd been on his knees in front of them. All he usually got was an open wider and then a slap on the ass as thanks when it was over.
+Drake did none of those things though. Instead, he continued to softly stroke Trevor's face. In turn, Trevor repaid him by giving him the blowjob of a life time. He sucked, licked and teased until Drake was letting out breathless pants.
+"Baby, I'm going to come," he warned.
+Trevor let out a hum to acknowledge he heard, but he didn't pull back. Instead, he reached in with one hand and gently squeezed Drake's balls, throwing the man over the edge. Drake yelled before he shot off, hot waves of cum hitting the back of Trevor's throat.
+Trevor pulled back a little so he could get a taste as he greedily drank in every bit of what Drake had to give him. Once it was over, Trevor stayed on the ground for a few moments, catching his breath before he stood back up. He flushed when he realized his own pants were still undone and his cock hung out. With a muttered apology, he tried to tuck it back in, only to have Drake reach out and stay his hands.
+"Don't bother since I'm just going to be taking them back off once we get to the bedroom." Drake tried to kiss him, but Trevor ducked back.
+"I don't have a toothbrush here, but if you've got mouthwash, I'll use that instead, if you want."
+Drake gave him a confused look. "Why would I want you to do that?"
+"My ex, Patrick, always insisted on it whenever I sucked him off. He didn't like to taste his own spunk when he kissed me." Trevor felt a fresh rush of heat go over his face. Great, with all this blushing, Drake probably thought he was some stumbling idiot. Trevor decided to cut his losses before he made a bigger mess of things. "Forget it. I should just leave."
+Before he could make good of his threat, Drake put a hand on his chest and started slowly walking forward, forcing Trevor to backtrack until his ass hit one of the counters. Leaning forward, Drake slowly licked the outside of Trevor's lips before giving him a heated kiss.
+"Whoever this Patrick is, he's an idiot. I love tasting myself on you. Feeling your soft lips under mine and knowing they're all swollen and tender from sucking my cock."
+The look of shock and lust that flared through Trevor's eyes would have been funny had Drake not been so pissed at this Patrick. Since he didn't know how Trevor would take it if he voiced his real opinion of the jerk, Drake decided a little distraction was in order instead. Cupping Trevor's chin with his fingers, Drake swooped in for another kiss.
+He hadn't been lying earlier. The feeling of Trevor's bruised lips, the lingering taste of his own essence--all of it sent fresh waves of desire through Drake's body. At first, Trevor tensed up, but after a few seconds, he relaxed again and started to return the kiss in earnest.
+"How can you be bold enough to jack-off in front of me and then in the next minute be so shy that you can't even meet my gaze?" Drake asked between kisses.
+Trevor moaned, but otherwise refused to answer.
+So Drake did it for him. "You know what I think?"
+"What?" Trevor grabbed Drake's shoulders and started to rub his body against him.
+"I think that you have this nasty side that's just dying to come out." Drake reached between them and grabbed Trevor's hardening cock before adding, "Lucky for you, I love nasty."
+Trevor hissed in pleasure as he rocked into Drake's touch. Licking his lips, Trevor then spoke the words Drake had waited weeks to hear. "I want you to fuck me, please."
+After signing a silent halleluiah, Drake took Trevor's hand and led him back to the bedroom. Trevor was silent as he followed, but Drake could still feel the man's heated stare boring into his back.
+Drake still couldn't believe this was actually going down. After all that time of watching Trevor, praying that he'd someday have the courage to approach the sexy banker, Drake finally had him mere feet from his bed. Once Trevor got in between the sheets, he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon if Drake had his way.
+"Do you use any other colors besides black and white?" Trevor asked as he took in the large four-poster bed.
+"My mom did all the decorating," Drake explained as he started to loosen Trevor's tie enough so he could slip it over his head.
+"I could use her at my place." Trevor started to unbutton his dress shirt, his nose wrinkled in disgust when he got to the cum-covered part.
+"Does Rocky do all the décor?" Drake paused, an unwanted wave of jealously hitting him. "You and Rocky aren't fuck buddies or anything are you?"
+For some reason, Trevor found that amusing. He laughed as he shrugged off his shirt, then started to shimmy out of his pants and underwear. He left his socks on and Drake almost laughed when he noticed one was dark green while the other was black. He decided that Trevor must have dressed in the dark.
+"No. Rocky is more the rustic type. Besides, you're way sexier than he could ever hope to be," Trevor said.
+"He sounds interesting. I can't wait to meet him." Despite Trevor's assurances, he still felt a bit of animosity toward this mysterious roomie. Pushing that aside, he focused on getting naked.
+"Trust me, you can wait," Trevor drawled. Only he could pull off being sarcastic while nude.
+Drake quickly got rid of the rest of his own clothes. As soon as he was naked, he went over to Trevor and kissed him, holding him in a tight embrace so Drake could feel the warm slide of the man's flesh. Trevor instantly melted into Drake's body as he let out a happy humming sound.
+"I'm so glad I didn't leave," Trevor confessed as he rubbed his cock against Drake's hip.
+"So am I." Drake ran one hand down Trevor's spine so he could caress the sweet ass that had been teasing him all evening. He made slow lazy circles, letting one finger slide between Trevor's ass cheeks. He grazed the tight opening, but didn't penetrate it, yet. "Get into bed while I go get the supplies."
+After one parting kiss, Trevor nodded, then scrambled onto the large mattress.
+Drake paused on his way to the bathroom, entranced by the sight of the fully aroused man. "You're so beautiful."
+Trevor snorted. "You're just saying that to get into my pants."
+"News flash. I'm already well on my way to being in them, so I don't need to resort to false flattery. I mean it, you are fucking gorgeous." Not giving Trevor a chance to argue, Drake ducked into the bathroom to get the condoms and lube. He cursed under his breath when he noticed his supplies were running slow. Not because he used them on regular bases...if anything, he'd been going through a dry spell, which accounted for him not realizing how dire his condom situation was. It would be enough for tonight, but first thing in the morning, he'd be making a run to the pharmacy. Drake grabbed what little he had and went back into the bedroom. He found Trevor lying on his stomach as he waited patiently. "I only have a couple." Drake held up the condoms.
+Trevor's mouth curled up into a sensual smile. "I guess we're going to have to make them count then."
+"I guess so," Drake agreed as he got on the bed. "Turn over for me. I want to be looking into your face when we fuck."
+Trevor's brows furrowed as if he were confused, but obeyed.
+It made Drake wonder if this Patrick he'd spoke of had ever taken the time to really make love to Trevor or if he'd just used him as a screw toy. Drake vowed then that if nothing else came from this night, Trevor would finally know what it was like for someone to treasure him. "You have a nice body," he observed as he swirled his tongue over one of Trevor's sculpted pecs.
+"I'm scrawny. Working the teller line doesn't exactly build up muscles."
+"You need to learn to take a compliment," Drake admonished as he gently pinched one of Trevor's nipples.
+"Sorry," Trevor hissed as he arched up into the touch.
+"Don't be sorry, next time, just say thank you when I tell you how hot you are." Drake reached between their bodies and fisted Trevor's cock.
+"M'kay," Trevor agreed, the word more a moan than anything, no doubt because Drake had started to pump his hand up and down.
+Drake stopped long enough to crack open the top of the lubricant. Coating the fingers of one of his hands, he used the other one to start stroking Trevor's shaft again. When Drake slid one well-slicked finger inside Trevor's hole, the man let out a gasp as his eyes grew wide. "Easy, babe. I'm just getting you ready," Drake soothed as he started to saw in and out of Trevor's ass.
+"You don't have to. I can take you in right now," Trevor protested before he let out a soft cry of pleasure.
+Drake made a mental note to track down Patrick and beat him senseless for not doing better by Trevor. "Just let me take care of you. Trust me. I'm enjoying this as much as you are." He added another finger, spreading them out, so he could stretch Trevor even more. Trevor let out another loud groan, his cock jerking in Drake's hand.
+"I'm going to come," he warned, his green eyes almost black with passion.
+Since Drake didn't want the fireworks to happen until he was buried balls-deep inside Trevor, he pulled his hands back. When he reached for the condom, he wasn't overly surprised to see he was trembling from pent up need. He somehow managed to get the wrapper opened. He slid the latex covering over his cock, using the leftover lubricant on his fingers to slick himself even more.
+Drake gave Trevor's sweaty brow a brief kiss. "You have no idea much I want this." He pressed the tip of his cock to Trevor's hole and slowly slid in, all the while watching Trevor's expression carefully for any signs of discomfort. It was hard to hold back though. Trevor's body closed on his cock like a tight, hot fist and Drake wanted nothing more than to give over to that sensation and just pound into that sweet ass.
+"Harder. More," Trevor nearly whimpered as he thrust his hips up.
+Drake smiled, taking some satisfaction in knowing he wasn't the only one hanging on by a thread. "Are you sure?"
+"God, yes!" Trevor yelled as he hooked his heels around Drake's calves.
+"You sure are bossy," Drake observed, but he did obey, plowing into Trevor's ass. He reached between them and started to give Trevor's cock some strong strokes.
+Hell, if Drake had thought Trevor looked good before, it was nothing in comparison to how he looked in the throes of a good, hard fuck. His eyes glazed over, the lines on his flushed face more pronounced and his hair messed up perfectly.
+One thing missing, however, was some old fashion cries of passion, so Drake shifted the angles of his thrusts until his cock brushed against Trevor's sweet spot. That got him the reaction he'd been looking for. Trevor let out a loud shout of surprise as his hands reached out to grab Drake's shoulders. So Drake rewarded him by hitting the spot more times, loving how with each thrust, Trevor seemed to come apart a little further.
+Soon the sounds of Trevor's moans and pleas for more filled the room. Each small noise filled Drake with a sense of power since he knew that they were for him and him alone. Patrick be damned.
+"I can't hold it in any longer," Trevor panted.
+"Then don't. Just let it go."
+Trevor let out one last groan, his eyelids fluttering shut as his cock erupted, hot waves of fluid spilling between them. At the same time, his ass clenched tightly around Drake's cock. The added pressure was all Drake needed to find his own orgasm. His balls grew tight to his body, right before he shot off, filling the condom.
+Drake collapsed on top of Trevor. At the last second, he made sure to brace himself on his forearms, so as not to crush the smaller man. Trevor's hard pants of breath fanned Drake's ear and neck for several moments while they both recovered. It wasn't until Trevor's chest was rising and falling at a slow, even rhythm that Drake pulled his cock out and sat up on his knees.
+"That was...well, it was...wow! There's no other way to describe it," Trevor declared before he let out a happy sounding sigh.
+"I think that's the perfect word for what we just did." Drake ran the tip of his finger along Trevor's cheek. "Wait here, I'll be right back." He dashed to the bathroom, got rid of the condom, cleaned up and then soaked a washcloth with warm water. Going into the bedroom, he climbed back onto the bed and started to wipe the drying cum off Trevor's stomach.
+"That feels so good. Thanks," Trevor murmured, his eyes closed.
+"Do you have to go to work in the morning?" Drake asked.
+"Not until noon. Why, you trying to get rid of me?"
+It wasn't lost on Drake that Trevor's question didn't have the playful edge to it that it should've had.
+"No, I was hoping you'd stay the entire night. Call me a girl, but I like to cuddle after."
+Trevor cracked open one lid and gave that sweet smile of his. "I like it, too. Sure, I'll stay."
+Drake laid down, then wrapped his arms around Trevor's waist. Trevor hesitated only for a second before he scooted in closer and rested his head on Drake's chest.
+The breath caught in Drake's throat. This felt good, right and he never wanted it to end. If he wasn't careful, he could easily fall for Trevor and risk the chance of getting his heart broken. "That first day I saw you at the bank, when you looked so sad, was it because of him?" Drake idly played with the curls at the nape of Trevor's neck.
+"Yeah, he dumped me a few weeks ago," Trevor replied shortly.
+"Why would he be such an idiot to leave someone as wonderful as you?"
+"You'll laugh at me if I tell you." Trevor gave a slight shake of his head.
+"No, I won't," Drake assured him as he continued to play with Trevor's hair.
+"Promise?" Trevor's voice sounded muffled because he'd buried his face further into Drake's chest.
+"Do you want me to pinkie swear? Spit on my palm and shake on it? Lock my mouth up and mimic throwing away a key?" Drake teased in hopes of soothing Trevor's nerves.
+"He left me for the mailman," Trevor blurted.
+"Huh?" Drake felt positive he must have misunderstood what Trevor just said.
+"He left me for our drop-dead, gorgeous postal carrier," Trevor spoke slowly, enunciating each word.
+"Oh," Drake said, because really how did one respond to something like that?
+Trevor tilted his head and locked gazes.
+In that heart-pounding moment, Drake feared that he'd lose it and start laughing. Not that he'd ever find Trevor's heart break funny, but Drake had never thought he'd meet anyone who'd actually been cuckold by the mailman. Then he saw it--the faintest of twitching at the corners of Trevor's mouth. Drake bit the inside of his cheek to hold in his own reaction. Then it finally became too much and they both burst out laughing.
+"It's not funny," Trevor protested between gasps.
+"Not at all," Drake agreed, his voice just as breathless.
+"I still can't believe he left me for fucking Ardy though."
+Drake started to crack up harder. "That's his name?"
+"Yeah." Trevor rolled on his back and threw an arm over his face. "Oh my God, my life has become a plot line for Desperate Housewives or some daytime soap opera. You want to know what the saddest part is though?"
+It actually got worse than Ardy? Drake thought. Going to his side, he went up on one elbow and stared at Trevor. "What?"
+"When Patrick left, he went so low as to take our dumb-as-shit dog with him. The bad thing is, I miss that damn mutt more than I do Patrick. What kind of person does that make me?"
+"One who's a good judge of character." Drake reached over and used his finger to trace a path down Trevor's sternum.
+"I should care more though. Patrick and I had been together since our senior year in high school. He's the only real lover I've ever known before tonight. Yet, when he left, the only thing that upset me was the fact he took Barkly and the Wii."
+Drake felt more than a bit guilty that the jealous side of his personality was doing the Happy Dance over the fact Trevor didn't have any lingering feelings for Patrick. "From what little you've told me about him, Patrick didn't deserve your devotion. I feel sorry for Barkly the dog though. I think he'd be much better off with you."
+"He would have kept Rocky away. That's for sure," Trevor grunted as he scooted closer to Drake.
+Drake put his arms around Trevor and shifted around a bit until they were in a comfortable position. "I have got to meet this Rocky."
+"Trust me, you don't want to. He's stinky and a bit of a bitch," Trevor mumbled, his voice getting heavy with sleep.
+The sound of a phone's ring tones woke Drake out of a heavy sleep. For a second, his sleep-addled mind paused, wondering why he had a heavy weight on his chest. Then the memories from the night before came back to him and he smiled as he gazed down at Trevor.
+"Is that your phone or mine?" Trevor asked, not opening his eyes. He still had his head on Drake's chest, using him as a makeshift pillow.
+Not that Drake minded, even with the nice size puddle of drool he'd left behind, Trevor made for a nice wakeup call. "Since I've never been a Falco fan, I'd guess it's yours," Drake teased.
+Trevor groaned before he rolled over and got out of bed. "Come on, who doesn't like, Rock Me Amadeus?"
+After a few seconds of searching, Trevor found his pants and pulled his cell phone out from the front pocket. Whatever he saw displayed on the screen must not have been good, because his nose wrinkled up as if he'd smelled something rank.
+"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he bitched under his breath before he flipped it open and started taking to the caller. "Let me guess, you lost the keys to the branch again?"
+He paused, probably so the caller could talk back, as he went around the room collecting his scattered clothes. Drake looked over at the clock and grimaced when he saw it was only seven in the morning. So much for having those last few hours with Trevor because from the looks of it, he'd be going into work early. Drake let out a heavy sigh before he got out of bed, then headed for the walk-in closet. Along the way, he grabbed his large, terry cloth robe and shrugged it on.
+Behind him, Trevor continued with his conversation. "Fine, I'll cover for you, but that means you're going to have to take my Saturday. Corporate will have a hissy, girly fit if I get overtime again."
+Drake selected a pair of black, pants, shirt and tie and went back into the bedroom, just as Trevor was hanging up the phone. He let out disgusted sound as he rubbed a hand over his face. "I've got to go. Sally called in."
+"There aren't any other supervisors?"
+"No, the only ones with branch keys are me and Sally. So, if I don't get there soon, the bank will open late. I'll just have enough time to run back to my apartment and change my clothes." Trevor paused, then let out a muttered curse before adding, "I forgot, my car is still at the bank. I don't suppose you could give me a lift?"
+"I think it would be easier if you just used my shower," Drake tilted his head in the direction of the bathroom.
+Trevor's eyes got a wicked glint in them. "As much as I would love to get wet and nasty with you, it would make me late."
+"You'll be the only one in there, hornball." Drake gave him a playful shove. "You can clean up here and borrow some of my clothes. That way you don't have to rush home."
+"I couldn't do that." Trevor tried to refuse, but Drake shoved the clothes into his arms.
+"Yes, you can and will. Now go get started and I'll throw on a pot of coffee, then get dressed so I can drive you there."
+"Thanks, I'd do just about anything for a cup of coffee right now." Trevor wrapped his arms around the clothes, taking the offering.
+He looked like it, too. His usually well-groomed hair was sticking up in places, he had a night's growth on his jaw line and his eyes had an impressive set of bags under them. None of that mattered to Drake though. As far as he was concerned, he'd never seen anything sexier.
+Drake ducked into the bathroom long enough to get out a spare toothbrush, towels and other essentials before he ushered Trevor in. "Here's everything you'll need except for a razor. I keep all the extras in the other bathroom, but I can go grab you one if you want."
+Trevor nodded and retreated to the bathroom.
+Drake pulled on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt before he ran down to the kitchen to start the coffee. By the time he snagged the razor and returned to the bathroom, Trevor had already started showering.
+Drake knocked before he entered. "Here, I have..." he trailed off as he became struck-stupid by the image in front of him. Never had he been more grateful that his shower door was clear instead of the usual frosted kind. Even though a bit of steam covered the glass, he could see every inch of Trevor in his glory. His eyes were closed, head tipped slightly forward so the water beat on the back of his neck. Streams of water cascaded down his tan, tight body. Some of the droplets traveled down his pecs to his taut stomach, while others ran a path down his spine before traveling the curve of his ass.
+Drake's cock swelled to life as he imagined how it would be to strip and join Trevor. He licked his lips as he fantasized dropping to his knees so he could drink up all the water that was presently caressing his lover. He realized then that one night of sex hadn't come even close to scratching the itch he'd developed for Trevor. "I'm in so much trouble," he muttered.
+Trevor's head whipped to the side. "Did you say something?"
+Drake cleared his throat, nervously. "What time are you getting off tonight?"
+"I'll have to close, so around six." Trevor turned off the water, then grabbed a towel.
+Drake stared as Trevor dried himself. As his hands ran over his body, it made Drake think of the previous night in the car, when Trevor had been rubbing his body in a whole different way. Coughing to hide his moan, Drake forced himself to look away.
+"Can I pick you up?" Drake asked, praying he came off as casual even though his heart pounded. There had been nothing spoken last night by either of them to indicate whether this had been a one-night hookup or not. Trevor gave him that lopsided grin. The one that had never failed to turn Drake on.
+"I'll have to set my DVR to record the Murder She Wrote marathon I've been looking forward to."
+"Really? I took you more as a Golden Girls type."
+Trevor wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. He moved in close to Drake so they were only inches apart. "You may have a point there. I always did love Sophia's spunky attitude."
+"The fact you even know one of the character's names gives you away," Drake pointed out.
+"Oops, I guess I'm busted now." Trevor leaned in and brushed his lips against the corner of Drake's mouth.
+"How long until you have to leave?" Drake fingered the top of the towel.
+"In about fifteen minutes. Not nearly enough time to have some fun."
+"I wouldn't say that." Drake tugged on the towel until it came loose. Trevor's hard dick sprang free. Never one to resist a temptation, Drake wrapped his hands around the shaft.
+"Fuck, I wish we could, but I really can't be late," Trevor groaned, disappointment clear in his voice.
+Drake dropped to his knees, so his face was level with Trevor's cock. "Give me less than five minutes. That's all I need to make sure you go to work feeling very relaxed." Before there could be any further argument, Drake ran his tongue over the head of Trevor's cock. The tang of pre-cum mixed with the taste of freshly, showered skin filled Drake's senses. It made him hungry for more, so he parted his lips and sucked the entire length of Trevor in.
+While Trevor wasn't hung like a horse, he wasn't small either, so Drake had to force his throat muscles to relax as they adjusted. When he heard Trevor let out a soft cry of pleasure, Drake knew a small bit of discomfort on his part was a small price to pay.
+"I guess I have five minutes to spare," Trevor said as he speared his fingers into Drake's hair.
+Drake smiled around Trevor's dick. If it took him the full five minutes to get Trevor off, then something was wrong. Never one to back off from a challenge, Drake attacked his man's cock in earnest, bobbing his head up and down as he used his tongue and teeth to tweak all the right spots.
+"Oh God, you're doing this on purpose aren't you?" Trevor asked as he bucked his hips forward.
+Since his mouth was full and he couldn't respond verbally, Drake just shot him a what? expression.
+"Trying to get me off in a couple of minutes, just so you can prove you're the boss."
+Drake responded by sucking hard before taking Trevor in so deep, no inch was left untouched. At the same time, he reached behind and ran his finger around the puckered flesh of Trevor's hole. That added bit of stimulus was what threw Trevor over the edge. Moaning Drake's name, his hips thrust forward one last time before hot spurts of cum shot from his cock.
+Drake pulled back, so he could savor the taste of his man's essence as he swallowed. Even after Trevor had finished, Drake stayed on his knees for a couple extra moments as he licked the now nearly flaccid cock clean.
+"What about you?" Trevor asked as Drake stood up.
+Drake gave him a brief kiss. "You can take care of my needs tonight. If you have a favor to return, I'll know for sure you'll come back and not stand me up."
+Trevor tilted his face down so their foreheads pressed together, "As much as it scares the hell out of me, I don't think there could ever be time where I don't want to be with you."
+Drake didn't reply, but internally, he agreed. He couldn't think of ever not wanting to be around Trevor and, yes, that scared the hell out of him, too. Even though they'd only truly known each other for only a day, Drake was certain that Trevor already held a special place in his heart.
+As Trevor ran around the branch, doing the usual closing duties, he had to resist the urge to whistle happily. The high from waking up in Drake's arms still hadn't worn off and Trevor felt so good, he hadn't even minded working an open-to-close shift.
+"Oh, stop that smiling crap. It's getting disgusting," Vicki grumbled, good naturedly as she pulled on her coat.
+One of the part-time tellers, Skyler added, "I happen to think it's wicked cool that he went home with a customer and did the nasty."
+Vicki rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. Skyler may be nineteen, but she often acted more like a high school girl than a woman. She even dressed like a teen and wore her red-hair in a high pigtail that was reminiscent of Pebbles Flintstone. Still, she was a good kid and both he and Vicki had taken a liking to her.
+"Just make sure I never catch you doing something like that. It's dangerous to go off with guys you don't know," Vicki lectured Skyler.
+Skyler wrinkled her nose. "So, how is it okay that Trevor did it?"
+"Because I know karate." Trevor grinned.
+Skyler flicked a dismissive glance over him, making Trevor feel scrawnier than ever. "Uh-huh, I can just see you going all Jean Claude on someone."
+Skyler and Vicki were still laughing at him as they walked out of the branch. Trevor shook his head before he set the alarm, then locked the door behind him. As he walked past the row of cash registers, Vicki and Skyler joined him again.
+"So what are your plans for tonight?' Vicki asked as she wiggled her brows in a lewd manner. Maybe Skyler wasn't the immature one after all.
+"I don't know. He said he wanted to do something tonight, but we never made any solid plans." Secretly, Trevor started to get a little worried that maybe he'd misunderstood Drake earlier and there would be no tonight. The guy no doubt had all kinds of hot men throwing themselves at him. An overly skinny, poor-as-dirt, accountant like him probably didn't even register a blip on Drake's Man-dar.
+They walked through the automatic doors, leading to the parking lot and Skyler let out a loud gasp. "OMG! It's just like Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles."
+Even as he wondered how Skyler would know anything about a movie that came out before she was born, Trevor followed her gaze. When he saw the source of her reaction, a surge of happiness went through him.
+Leaning against the door of his Audi R-8, dressed in head to toe black, was Drake. He even had one hand in his front pocket, just like the movie and damn if Trevor didn't have a little Molly Ringwald in him at that moment.
+"Please tell me that he's bi and when you're done with him I can have a turn. He's so hot," Skyler whimpered as she all but drooled.
+"Sorry, he's all mine and I've never been really good at sharing." Trevor patted her arm sympathetically before he trotted off to join Drake.
+"Wow, I love that outfit. Where did you get it?' Drake teased as Trevor approached him. A pair of sunglasses covered Drake's eyes, but Trevor could still feel his heated gaze traveling the length of his body.
+Trevor glanced down at the clothing in question, noting he didn't fill out the garments half as nicely as Drake did. "Some sexy stud lent them to me out of appreciation for a good time."
+"Correction, it was a great time." Drake grinned, showing off those dimples that never failed to make Trevor weak in the knees. "Get in the car."
+Neither of them spoke until they'd left the parking lot and were on the road. "So, where are we going?"
+"I thought I'd show you my restaurant."
+"Cool, I've haven't been there in a while." Trevor shifted in his seat so he could stare at Drake better. Skyler had been right about one thing--Drake was damn hot. "Can you swing me by my place first? As nice as this outfit is, I'd like to change into something a little more comfortable."
+"Sure, you can change while I make a quick trip to the drug store," His lips curled up into a grin that could only be called wicked. "Remember, we used up all the condoms last night?"
+"Damn, I'm proud of us. I don't have any at my apartment either because Patrick took them when he left."
+"He took Barkly and your rubbers?" Drake tsked. "He really is a prick."
+Trevor sobered. "I guess I should have realized he was cheating on me when he still insisted on using protection even though we'd been together for years. He probably assumed that since he cheated, I did, as well."
+Drake reached over and ran the back of his knuckles along Trevor's cheek. "I'm sorry he treated you that way."
+"I'm not, because it led me to you." As soon as that confession slipped past his lips, he wanted it back. They had only known each other for a day and the last thing he wanted was to move too fast and scare Drake away.
+Desperate to change the subject, Trevor recited the directions to his apartment. It only took a few minutes before Drake pulled in and parked in front of Trevor's door. Trevor tried not to flush in embarrassment as he took in the shabbiness of his place. Once a one story home, it had been divided into few smaller living units. The entire building looked like it'd been rode hard and put up wet--from the cracked, chipped paint job, to the sagging roof. Trevor started to get out of the car, hoping that if maybe he made a quick dash for it, Drake wouldn't stick around long enough to get a good gander at the dump.
+Drake blurted, "I feel the same way. I'm so damned glad that we got together"
+Trevor paused, fingers looped around the handle of the door as his heart pounded in anticipation. "Really?"
+"Yeah, I do. I know it sounds crazy because we just met, but I already know that I like you a lot. It's not just because you have an amazing body and the sexiest set of green eyes I've ever seen either. You're also funny and smart."
+Trevor wanted to believe that so much so it made his chest ache. However, after being burned so badly by Patrick, he hesitated. How long before Drake realized that Trevor was just an over-glorified check casher who made less than fifteen bucks an hour and had no real prospects in the future?
+"Thanks," he grunted, for lack of anything better to say. Escaping the car, he gave a feeble wave before unlocking the door to his apartment. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the foul stench of urine and garbage hit him like a fist to the face.
+"What the hell?" he gagged. He may not be the best at housekeeping, but he wasn't lax enough to have a place that smelled like the seat of a bum's pants.
+He noticed the leak in his living room ceiling had progressed so much that a huge crack took up almost one corner. It had a gray water stain surrounding it like a halo. He didn't even want to think about what kinds of mold were growing in the space of the ceiling. Edging over to the bucket he had under it, he wasn't overly surprised to find it almost filled with a brown, sludgy liquid.
+While he wanted to run the other way, screaming like a girl, he knew he couldn't. Not only because he wasn't willing to lose man-points for being a scaredy cat, but if he didn't empty it, then it would overflow and he didn't relish the idea of the crap soaking into his carpet. So, he grabbed the bucket and held his breath as he dumped the contents into the toilet.
+Once that unpleasant task was over, he rushed to his closet to find something to wear. He hoped to make it quick enough, so he could meet Drake in the parking lot instead of the door of his apartment. While he knew the stench wasn't probably from something he did, he didn't want Drake to think his newest boy toy lived in complete squalor.
+His breath caught for a second as panic shot through him. What if all his clothes stank from being in the apartment? "No, no, no," he pleaded as he brought a couple sleeves up to his nose for a sniff test.
+Thank God, none of them smelled. The fact he kept the door to his closet shut must have helped. He looked for something that would be dressy yet comfortable. Finally, he settled on a pair of khaki's and a red polo. He'd just slipped his feet into his loafers, when a low growling noise came from the other side of the bed.
+"Rocky," he whispered as fear skated down his spine.
+He froze as adrenaline coursed through his body, making him tremble as his breathing grew fast and labored. Another growl, this one much closer and then Rocky waddled around the corner of the bed. Trevor found himself locked in a battle of wills as he stared into those beady, black rimmed eyes. "I don't want any trouble," Trevor said as he held his hand up in a peaceful gesture.
+The raccoon responded with a snarl as it bared its sharp looking teeth.
+"You don't want to bite me. I haven't had a rabies vaccine."
+Rocky must not have thought that comment very funny because he let out another growl and went up on his hind feet. For a second he stayed that way, teeth bared, eyes full of menace as he staggered like some kind of drunken Frankenstein. Then he lunged.
+Trevor screamed, then ran for the door. To hell with the man-points, he just hoped to make it out without the raccoon attacking him.
+Rocky let out a grumble-like roar as he gave chase.
+At least Trevor thought it was a he. At this point, he wasn't about to stop long enough to study the anatomy to be sure. Just as he made it to the door, it swung open as Drake stepped inside, "Are you okay?"
+"No! Killer raccoon!" Trevor yelled, too frigging scared even to form a complete sentence. He landed in Drake's arms and they both turned to look back into the apartment.
+Rocky paused by the couch and went up on his hind feet, so he could do the whole look-at-how-scary-I-am dance again.
+"Let me guess, this is Rocky." The corners of Drake's mouth twitched, but at least he had the decency not to laugh outright. "Is he your pet or something?"
+"Pet?" Trevor echoed, outraged. "Do you honestly think I would willingly harbor something as evil as that. The little shit is a squatter and I can't seem to chase him off."
+"What's that noise?" Drake cocked his head.
+"It's Rocky. He sounds like a pissed off dog if you ask me."
+"No, not that. There's something else. Like a groaning or something."
+Trevor strained his ears for a few seconds before he finally picked it up. As he scanned the room to figure out what it could be, his heart nearly skidded to a stop. The crack in his ceiling was now a bulge and as he watched it grew lower. "Oh, fuck," he exclaimed.
+No sooner had the k in that last word left his mouth, then the bulge burst. Stagnant water poured out in one great rush, covering his couch, carpet and HD flatscreen TV.
+Drake gasped, Trevor cursed and Rocky screamed in horror, then ran as fast as his bushy ass could manage. The smell in his apartment became ten times worse and it dawned on him that Rocky had been using the ceiling as his toilet.
+"Damn, you Rocky. That's a bad, bad raccoon," Trevor yelled.
+Rocky responded with another loud screech.
+Trevor lifted his face to the sky, half-expecting to see God perched on a cloud, all robed up and white haired as he pointed his finger and chanted, "Neener-neener-neener." How else could he explain this horrible and unbelievable chain of events?
+He buried his face in Drake's chest, too horrified to make eye contact. If he had his way, he'd just stay this way forever--hidden away from the shame.
+Drake held him tight before giving him a kiss on the top of the head.
+"I just want to die. I don't think I've ever been this humiliated. Even the time I stupidly did a lip-sync to Cher at my seventh-grade talent show." Trevor closed his eyes as he wished for a hole in the ground to open up so he could do a swan dive down it.
+"It's okay, this could have happened to anyone," Drake soothed.
+Trevor pulled back so he could give Drake a look of disbelief. "No, it couldn't have."
+That seemed to be the final thing that broke Drake's control. He started laughing so hard, tears ran down his cheeks. "No, I don't think this could have ever happened to anyone but you. I'll give you this, babe, like I said before, life is never boring with you around."
+"I'm so glad I could entertain you so well. Make sure to tip the waitress on your way out," Trevor drawled even as he fought back a smile.
+"Go in real quick and pack a bag," Drake urged. "You're coming home with me until they can get this mess cleaned up."
+"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Trevor hedged.
+"I'm not about to let my boyfriend live in these kinds of conditions. Now go get enough clothes to last for as long as you think it will take them to fix this mess."
+Trevor stilled, all the horror and embarrassment leaving him as a strange giddiness took over. "Did you just call me your boyfriend?"
+Drake answered that question with a kiss so hot, Trevor almost melted into a puddle on the filthy carpet. "Go get your stuff and while you're at it, tell Rocky he's going to be on his own for a while."
+"Damn it, Sally, your boobs are ringing again," Trevor snapped as he strained to look through the window of the manager's office.
+"Sorry," Sally sang as she plunged her hand down her deep cleavage and pulled out her phone.
+"You know you're not supposed to have cells behind the teller line," he admonished, without any real enthusiasm.
+He'd been worried ever since Margie, the regional supervisor of the bank, had come in and requested a meeting with Vicki and Skyler. That had been a half hour ago and they were still in the office. While he couldn't see his co-workers, he could observe Margie. She looked mean and stern, with her gray hair pulled back into a tight bun. That didn't really tell him much though, since Margie always looked that way. She was a perfect example of what one looked like when they lived with a stick up their behind.
+"Are you and Drake going out tonight?" Sally asked as she pulled up a game of Solitaire on her computer. The fact she had the guts to play a game while the big boss was within feet of them, both shocked and impressed Trevor.
+"Yeah, it's our two month anniversary." While that was already common knowledge with Skyler and Vicki, Sally didn't know since they rarely chatted about anything other than branch issues.
+"Are you still shacking up with him?" She popped her gum. Another no-no activity for behind the teller line, but he felt to apprehensive to call her out for it.
+"Yeah, my apartment is a mess because the super is dragging his feet on the repairs and Drake doesn't want me to live there until it's safe." Trevor's heart jumped to his throat when Margie got up from her seat and motioned for him to come in. This could not be good. Something told him she hadn't driven all this way to give them a pat on the back and an 'atta boy. When he walked into the office, his worst fears were confirmed. Vicki's eyes flashed with fury, her spine straight as a rod as she pressed her lips together into a hard line.
+Skyler, on the other hand, had sunk into her seat and her nose looked red and puffy from crying.
+"What's going on?" he asked, a surge of protectiveness going over him. How dare she come into his branch and upset his staff?
+"I've just terminated Skyler and Vicki's employment with us," Margie replied in hard, brisk tones.
+"What? Why?"
+"They've failed to make their sales quotas for the past six months and we can no longer tolerate it."
+God, even her speech was uptight and cold. This lady didn't have a warm bone in her body. "With all due respect, I think that would be a horrible mistake. Vicki and Skyler are my two best tellers," Trevor argued, trying hard to keep his voice even and steady. Inside, he wanted to yell and kick the filing cabinet.
+"No, Sally is a good employee. She makes her goals every month and has never let us down."
+That made Trevor lose his last bit of restraint. "The whole reason Skyler and Vicki aren't making their quota is because Sally keeps stealing their damn accounts! I told you that on the phone last week."
+"We're tired of excuses and the decision has already been made. Now I need you to count down their drawers and escort them out."
+Trevor felt sick to his stomach. This could not be happening. This should not be happening. Vicki had a family to support, kids and a husband who counted on her. Skyler may be young, but she was trying to pay her way through college. Both of them worked their asses off and the customers loved them. In that moment, Trevor made a life-changing decision and for once, he did it without one ounce of fear. "No," he replied as he went to stand behind their chairs.
+Margie arched a brow. "What do you mean no?"
+"If they go, then so do I." He put a hand on Skyler and Vicki's shoulders.
+"Are you sure you want to do that?" Margie demanded, her eyes turning stormy with anger.
+Trevor doubted very many people challenged her authority the way he just had. "I've never been more certain of anything."
+Drake sat at his desk, trying to muck his way through payroll. Even though he'd just started, his head had already started to pound. He'd never been good with numbers, always doing much better dealing with employees, customers and vendors. Damn, he hated this part of the job. So much so, that he'd begun to dread Thursdays.
+The door burst open and Trevor raced in, his eyes wide and a huge smile on his face. "You're never going to believe what I did."
+Drake pushed away from his desk, glad for the distraction. "Did you go back to your apartment and finally have it out with Rocky?"
+"No, better...I quit my job."
+"You're kidding me? What made you finally do it?" Inside Drake was cheering. He'd been sick of watching that place take advantage of Trevor so much.
+"Margie from cooperate came in to fire Vicki and Skyler. So I told her I was leaving, with them." Trevor let out a relieved sounding laugh as he came across and straddled Drake's legs and sat on his lap.
+The new position put their faces inches apart and aligned their cocks perfectly. Drake reached around and grabbed Trevor's ass to steady him. "How did she take it?"
+"Not so good. I never realized there were so many ways to call someone irresponsible and foolish. I don't think I'll be getting a job with that bank again." He sucked in a breath and for the first time, looked worried. "Shit, what am I going to do? I don't have a job."
+Drake kissed the worry lines on Trevor's forehead. "You can come and work here with me. I'm thinking of opening another restaurant and I need help with payroll and scheduling."
+Trevor rolled his eyes. "It's bad enough I've been living with you rent free. If I completely sponge off you, we may as well fit me for a banana hammock and make me your own personal cabana boy."
+"As much fun as it would be to see you in a skin tight Speedo, I think you're overreacting a bit." Drake knew that'd been the wrong thing to say the instant Trevor's eyes darkened with anger.
+"I didn't go to college for four years just so I could be a kept boy toy for some sugar daddy. I can take care of myself," Trevor snapped as he tried to pull away.
+Drake tightened his grip so Trevor couldn't wiggle free. "That's not what I meant." He sighed. "Shit, I'm really fucking this up."
+"Yeah, you are," Trevor replied tartly.
+"Before you even came in here and told me about your job, I'd planned on asking you to move in with me permanently."
+Trevor paused, his face softening. "You were?"
+"Yeah, I don't just want us to date anymore. I want us to be partners in everything. This restaurant included. It's not a handout either. Trust me, you'll be working your ass off, starting with fixing the mess I made with payroll."
+"Why would you want to do that?" Trevor slowly shook his head, but at least he wasn't trying to bolt anymore.
+"Because I've grown to care for you. I love when you're at war with raccoons, how you always seem to wear mismatching socks, the way you laugh at bad horror movies. Most of all, I just plain love you."
+Trevor's mouth opened in shock before he recovered, "I love you, too. I think I have from the very first moment I saw you sitting at the new accounts desk."
+"Thank God," Drake breathed as he pulled Trevor in for a deep, passionate, heartfelt kiss. He'd been so afraid that Trevor would reject him. Now that he knew the love went both ways, he didn't think he'd ever be able to let go.
+"I do have one question?" Trevor asked, that sly glint coming to his eyes. "Does this mean I can hire new employees? I know a couple of gals who are great with people and they could really use a job right now."
+"You can call Vicki and Skyler in a second. I need you to do something for me first," Drake said as he gazed into Trevor's face. His heart soared as he realized they'd be looking at each other for the rest of their lives.
+"What? You need me to do the payroll?"
+"No, I need you to kiss me again."
+Trevor smiled. "That's something you'll never have to ask twice for."
+About the Author
+Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book.
+Stephani's email:
+archangelwriter@yahoo.com
+Stephani's website:
+www.stephanihecht.com
+Stephani's MySpace:
+http://www.myspace.com/stephanihecht
+

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+
+THE HUNTERS: BYRON AND KIT
+An Ellora's Cave Publication, May 2004
+Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
+PO Box 787
+Hudson, OH 44236-0787
+ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-934-7
+Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):
+Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) & HTML
+THE HUNTERS: BYRON AND KIT © 2004 SHILOH WALKER
+ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
+This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors' imagination and used fictitiously.
+Edited by Pamela Campbell.
+Cover art by Darrell King.
+To my editor Pam, the Wondrous One.
+To my kids Cam and Jess---my world revolves around you two. I love you both.
+And to my husband Jerry. My real life fantasy... I love you.
+Byron stared down at the pain-racked body of Kristof Beauchamp and wasn't sure if he could fight off his rage much longer. The man responsible was in this house and Byron would see to it that he paid. But his duty, through friendship, was here, by his dying friend's side.
+"Katrine...will you take care of her? So young, she is, and now alone..."
+Byron held tight to Kristof's hand and broke a promise. The Inherent was so battered in body, so injured---the vampire doubted the shifter would even notice. As Byron slid inside and separated the pain from the man, Kris was able to breathe and think without the pain caused by the silver and poison.
+"I'll take care of the girl as though she were my own," Byron promised, smoothing back Kris's sweat-tangled hair. The air stank of the poison that was eating through Kris's body and Byron shoved his fury under control again. Wolfsbane...the poison served only one purpose, and it was exactly what it sounded like. It had been put inside a hollow silver bullet that had exploded on impact with Kris's body and even now was eating away at him like acid.
+"She will not be a girl always. What then?" Kris asked, his accent thick with his weariness.
+"I'll see to it that Kit has everything her heart desires," Byron promised. "She will want for nothing."
+Kris laughed, and when he did blood leaked from his mouth. "My Bella is telling me...da, you had best remember that. Kit will want what she wants. Da." His combined French and Russian upbringing made his accent, at times, difficult to understand. Bella? The lady had died in childbirth three years earlier. "Ah, my Bella. I see you now. But Katrine. To leave her, my bebè, my heart breaks."
+"Go to Bella," Byron whispered roughly, feeling tears sting his eyes. He could hear the baby crying. The hearing of an Inherent child was sharp, and she had heard her father. One of his people should have taken her away. They'd be lucky if heads didn't roll for letting the baby be upset this way.
+"I will take care of Kit, I promise. I will do everything in my power to see her happy."
+Twenty-four years later...
+Kit tapped her pen on the table and stared at the disheveled woman in front of her. "I warned you, Melissa. Byron doesn't like women placing themselves naked in his bed unless he invites them. He chooses his women and his feeding companions. If he sent you away, then it is your fault. I am not intervening for you," Kit said wearily.
+How many times before had she done this? Of course, Byron didn't exactly help much. He had been known to walk into a room and just take one of the women by the hand and lead her away without even speaking a word. The sexual pull a vampire exuded was always intensified after he'd touched one particular woman, and for a little while Melissa had been his favorite. Byron's call seemed to be rather strong for a vampire who was just over a century old, but then, Kit had only known a few. She was very drawn to Byron, so maybe she wasn't the best of judges.
+Melissa sat staring at Kit with heartbroken eyes.
+Kit hated her. Not for any particular reason. Melissa was nice, pretty, she had a sweet heart, she was sharp, and she had been through a rough time, otherwise she wouldn't be here.
+A Hunter's home tended to be a fortress on the outside, but the inside where the Hunter brought people when he wasn't sure what else to do with them, held a veritable enclave of wounded souls.
+Enclave---that was what they were---an enclave. Made up of the warriors who surrounded the outside and protected the vampire during the day while he slept, and those who acted as food and sex partners while he was awake.
+Byron had brought Melissa here three years ago. For a year, she hadn't been able to even look at another person without fear in her eyes. She had moved past that. In the second year, she had learned that she could take care of herself, and in the third, Byron had taken her into his bed.
+That was why Kit hated her.
+And Byron, being the bastard he was, had even made sure Kit saw it. She had walked into his office thinking he had business to discuss, and instead she had been audience to a blowjob. Granted, somebody had given her the wrong fucking time. He had wanted to talk to her in a couple of hours, but for crying out loud.
+Well, it really wasn't his fault.
+She could still remember it, how Melissa had sucked on Byron's cock, and how much Kit wanted to be the one doing it. Byron had opened his eyes---he had known she was there---and glared at her. "Do you mind, Kit?"
+"Not at all, Byron. I like to watch," she had drawled. Well, she hadn't ever really watched anything like that before, but she hadn't really been able to leave either. Her eyes were drawn to the length of his cock as Melissa slid her lips up and down, pulling back to stare at Kit with wide eyes before resuming what looked to be a very pleasant task.
+His fangs flashed and she suspected part of him wanted to tell her to get the fuck out. But another part was aroused. He had gripped Melissa head's tightly and started to rock his hips faster, forcing his cock farther and harder into her mouth until he came. Kit's sharp sense of smell caught it in the air and she stared at him, so hot she burned.
+He'd made his human pass out. "That's the bad thing about humans, Byron. They just can't handle as much," Kit said, tsking a little, clucking false sympathy.
+That was when things had started to change, at least on his end.
+Things had been changing on her end for a long time. Byron was her soul mate. She knew it. She had told him so when she was nineteen, which had been a mistake. Apparently. He had taken her for a love-struck kid and he had laughed, patted her on the head, and sent her off to college. Six years ago. And she still felt the same.
+After her little peep show, Byron had gone out of his way to antagonize her, and she couldn't figure out if he was angry at her or trying to tease her. He was so...skilled with women, but he was acting so crudely toward her. He was her boss, signed her paychecks, but he was also her Master. She had gone into service to a Hunter, and sworn to abide by the Council law. That meant something, damn it. She not only was a Hunter in her own right, she was his first Lieutenant, his guard, his servant, the highest honor a Master vampire could afford a member of his enclave.
+Kit guarded him while he slept; she ran the household and his people while he was away.
+She owed fealty to him until she decided that she was going to leave, or he decided to send her away. It was still her decision---although one hundred years ago, it wouldn't have been. A hundred years ago, she would have been Byron's until he was tired of her, or until she died. The Council had changed things. She would have to appeal to them and they would allow her to leave, providing she did things appropriately. All she had to do was state her case, basically her unhappiness with the situation, and they would let her leave. The Council didn't like any of their people being unhappy.
+Kit just couldn't seem to make herself do it. Yet.
+But, for now, he was her Master. Although she was not subservient, if he gave her an order, she must follow. She was not a slave. She actually had a position of power in his enclave. All obeyed her as they obeyed him. Nobody could question her orders, for her orders came from Byron. She acted as his second, and if she expected others to follow his orders, then so must she.
+So when he sent for her, she went, even though she knew what she was walking into. It had been Byron and Benjamin Cross, his other lieutenant---a very mysterious, unusually powerful were---who were fucking Melissa. Benjamin was buried to his balls in her pussy, and Byron---oh, hell---he was bent over her and thrusting deep inside her ass.
+The blonde was screaming with delirious pleasure and Kit hated her. She stood staring at them, unable to speak, but unable to leave until Byron gave her permission. And what she wanted was to rip the bitch away and take her place.
+She had strolled over to a chair and flopped into it, sliding her hand inside her panties and starting to rub her clit, meeting Byron's eyes over the bodies of the others. Bastard, she had mouthed at him, as she stroked and massaged.
+If she closed her eyes---her mental powers were strong enough---she was almost able to imagine it was her they were fucking. But just almost. After all, Kit was still a virgin. She had never even had sex, much less the pleasure of a threesome.
+Byron heard Melissa crying in Kit's office, and he fought the urge to break the door down and drag the little bitch out. She had been flaunting herself in Kit's face for weeks. Had she thought he hadn't seen it? The bitch went around whispering that 'the little bitch dog was in love with the Master' but that he only wanted her.
+He had wanted her, for a little while.
+But he craved Kit.
+Kit thought he was blind as well. He knew how she thought she felt. She was still a child though, and she hadn't really experienced life outside his territory. How could she know if she was in love with him? Even when he had sent her off to college, she had done it in her own way. She had completed in less than thirty months the courses it normally takes four years to do. She had stalked back up to the house one late summer night, on a full moon, wearing that beautiful wolven form. She had thrown back her head and bayed at the moon, and she had been laughing at him.
+But he had made a promise that she would have what she wanted, and he wasn't it. No matter how much he might want to be.
+The tiny little dark-haired child had grown into a woman he wanted more than he wanted to see another sunrise. After more than a century of darkness, he would never have thought anything would beckon to him more than that. But if he could chose between being able to walk in daylight again without harm, or having one night with Kit?
+No contest.
+He forced himself to walk past Kit's door.
+She would handle it. She handled everything. Every fucking thing he threw at her. And he hated himself more each fucking day. He kept waiting for her to grow tired of the orders, the commands, but she never did. She never told him to shove it, never once threatened to walk. He kept waiting to hear that she had petitioned the council to revoke her pledge to him, kept waiting to see her walk out the door. He wouldn't even be surprised to see an older Hunter come to claim her, even though he would fight to the death before he allowed it.
+He kept waiting for her to leave him.
+That was what he needed her to do.
+He didn't have the strength to make her leave.
+And she was so fucking stubborn.
+Byron remembered every challenge he had thrown at her, the most recent was when she had walked in knowing full well that he was fucking Melissa. He had expected her to rage and storm out, giving him reason to rant and rave at her for not following orders. Something to anger her, maybe drive her away. Instead she had settled down and started to masturbate, staring at him all the while. He drove himself harder into Melissa's butt, imagined it was Kit's and watched the movement of her fingers in her panties, smelling her arousal in the air over that of Melissa's and Ben's.
+That had been a month ago.
+And it had been that episode that had pushed Melissa over the edge. Melissa hadn't realized Byron had sent for Kit just to taunt and torment her. She had rolled from the bed, furious as Kit hummed and pleasured herself. The ignorant little blonde had even tried to launch herself at Kit but Ben had caught her around the waist, while Byron flopped onto his back, still hard and aching, and watched Kit.
+Melissa saw the look on his face and fumed.
+Ben dragged her out of the room just as Kit erupted into her own hand with a cry. Byron slid from the bed, crossed the room and took her hand, unable to stop himself, lapping her sweet cream and burying his face between her thighs. Shoving her skirt high and ripping her panties away, he licked her folds, suckling her clit, and taking her into another orgasm before he moved to the fold between her groin and thigh and pierced her flesh to feed.
+Her blood pooled in his belly, hot, potent and sweet, and he shuddered. Byron was ready to stand and take her there when she suddenly struck out, cuffing him across the head, and rolling away from him.
+"Bastard," she rasped out, her voice thick and husky.
+"Kit, I---"
+"You think I want you to touch me after you've just been fucking her?" she snarled, her dark gray eyes swirling like thunderheads in her dusky face. He moved toward her, the heady taste of her cream and blood lingering on his tongue, and he didn't care about anything else. He couldn't keep fighting this need he had for her---he just wanted to love her, to feed from her, to touch her.
+She moved away, wolf-quick.
+He shifted to mist and reformed just as she tried to leave the room and he grabbed her, pinned her by the door, catching her face and trying to kiss her. She jerked her face away and snarled at him, snapping at him with sharp teeth. She caught his chin hard enough to startle, and she used his surprise to move away.
+She shifted, her clothes falling to shreds around her as she changed from human to full-wolf form, not the half-wolven, half-human form she sometimes chose. She chose the wolf---the better to run with, my dear.
+And Byron had to watch as she ran away from him.
+He had stopped taunting her after that.
+Three days later, Melissa had started with her little petty tricks. It shouldn't have angered him the way it did.
+But it was one thing for him to try to drive Kit away before he lost it.
+It was another for a woman he slept with to taunt her with that fact.
+He ignored it for three days, thinking she would grow weary of it. She did not. Then he thought Kit would take care of it. She did not. After it had continued for a week, he stepped in and told her it would stop or she would be sorry for it.
+Melissa had learned just how sorry when he had led her to her bedroom, tied her down, teased her to the point of excruciating pleasure, and then just walked away. It had been Kit who had dared to disobey him hours later by untying her. When Melissa had thrown herself at Byron, begging to know why he was angry, he had stared at her in dismay before he realized she was putting on a show, solely for Kit's benefit.
+He hadn't touched her since.
+Then last week she had placed her naked ass in his bed and now, a day before her time was up in his home, she was crying on Kit's shoulder because she was getting kicked out. Byron was tired of her. And as always, Kit was handling the clean-up. He paused briefly, wondering if he should just take Melissa into town and give her some money and get her on a plane back to her hometown. But that would mean walking in and seeing Kit.
+Kit.
+Damn it. He was losing it.
+He stalked out the door.
+He had a fucking job to do, and it didn't include mooning over a sweet little shifter with eyes like storm clouds.
+By the time he returned that night, he had found the proof he needed to execute a feral vampire who had been running a human slavery ring. Well, slavery wasn't a good word. What was? Fast food? Byron grimaced. His morbid sense of humor was growing worse the older he got.
+He heard a soft gasping cry and his cock hardened with need, his fangs dropping down in rage. That was Kit. If one of his men had dared to touch her---
+His ears pricked and he vaulted up the stairs before he realized he heard only one voice, one person breathing raggedly. His people were talking, some were sleeping, the low hum of conversation buzzing...but there was just one person in that room. Just one.
+He felt like a fucking pervert, but he shifted to mist anyway and moved to hover outside her window, where she couldn't see him. She lay on her bed, ass up, while she rode a thick vibrator, quick and hard. He groaned, glad he made no sound in this form unless he chose to. Then he heard her cry out his name and shove her hand between her thighs, probably to massage her clit.
+Kit had never taken a lover while in his house. She most likely had in college...hell, she had been gone three years. And too many times, she had come home late from the few dates he had allowed her in high school, smelling of sweaty sex, semen, and teenage lust. The first time...he hadn't been home, although he had earlier been pacing the porch and waiting. Benjamin had taken his stead and waited for her when one of the younger Hunters was hurt.
+By the look in Benjamin's eyes when Byron arrived home, Byron had known simply not to ask. It had happened that night, he suspected. Though she was washed and bathed by the time he saw her the following night, something that damn well hid the evidence, her eyes flashed and sparkled and she blushed at any mention of her date.
+It had happened. She had given her virginity to some high school boy who had no idea what a precious female he held. And she had glowed with it.
+It had been all he could stand not to kill the boy she had been dating then.
+But there had been no lovers in his house. Not once.
+He didn't know if he could have allowed it, but she had never even tried.
+He wasn't being fair to her. She climaxed with a soft, muffled wail, while he stared hungrily at her sweet, exposed butt and watched as she rolled onto her back and continued to play with herself, obviously not satisfied. She took the vibrator in her hand and started to drive it deep, her eyes glassy and wild as she used her other hand to stroke her clit.
+He tore himself away and reformed to his mortal self inside the hall and walked away.
+He wasn't being fair.
+"You're what?" Kit asked, almost soundlessly. She cleared her throat and spoke again, only slightly louder. Byron was sitting at his desk, looking for all the world like an upper-class businessman. He was wearing a white silk shirt, a black vest, unbuttoned, and a pair of black, trim-fitting pants. His hair would look ridiculous on some men---like a man trying to follow the trends---the way he kept it cut brutally short on the lower sides and the back, letting it fall long on the top and upper sides. Kit loved his hair, loved how thick and soft it looked, loved the midnight blackness of it. She knew his feet were bare and she knew he couldn't do a damn thing with a computer. She did that for him, but he was a fucking genius when it came to mathematics, and he ran a small empire from this little enclave.
+He was the youngest Hunter in America, and the youngest Master with his own enclave. There had been others in history, but they hadn't lasted long. So far, Byron had not only lasted, but thrived. He dismissed those facts as he dismissed his wealth, attributing it to luck.
+Byron was more than a Hunter, even if he didn't acknowledge that.
+Kit knew it even if he didn't. Byron was amazing. And together, they could be more so. But he didn't want that. He didn't want to share his life with her. He didn't want her.
+He was sending her away.
+"It's time you go to France and find out more about your mother's people," he said, forcing himself to ignore the wild pain in her eyes.
+"You're sending me away."
+"I'm not sending you away, Kit," he said quietly. "It's for two years."
+"You are," she argued, keeping her voice level. He wasn't going to appreciate another wailing, sniveling female. She couldn't stop the pain from showing, but she'd be damned if she cried. "You're sending me away, just like the rest. But I haven't done anything."
+"No," he agreed. "You haven't done anything. It's France, Katrine. Don't you want to see France? And Russia, where your father came from? Doesn't that matter?"
+Not unless you are with me, she thought. She just stared at him, bleeding inside. Finally, through her tight throat, she asked, "Why?"
+Byron stared at her and said nothing.
+She swallowed, the sound horribly loud in the silence of the room. Her body felt terribly bruised and battered---strange. All she had done was walk in here and stand in front of the desk for a mere three minutes. And her whole life had just been irrevocably changed.
+She turned and slowly walked away.
+"Fuck," she heard him say quietly. "You've never been anywhere else, sweet. You have to go see other things, try other things before you commit yourself to my world."
+"I've committed myself to this world already, Byron. Or have you forgotten?" she asked wearily.
+He hadn't, no. How could he forget the delirious, shameful pleasure that had filled him when she had petitioned the Council to join his Enclave, to join his world? It had given him the right to keep her, for always. But Byron knew he really didn't have that right, because of the promise he had made to her father. He shouldn't have agreed to take her in. But if he hadn't, she would have been sent to another Hunter.
+"Kit, you don't belong here."
+She laughed---a horrible, wild sound that echoed through the room and it made them both wince. "Yes, I do," she said. And then she left.
+Byron felt shaken to his soul. He had never seen her eyes look quite that empty. Damn it, it was France. For a year. Then Russia. Another year. Then she was coming back. He'd damn well see to that. She didn't truly think he'd let her leave him forever, did she?
+She'd go, experience a little more of life than she could here, and then, when she returned, he'd---
+Fuck, what in the hell was going on? Byron paced the room, hungry, mad, furious with himself and with her. She had looked so hurt, so unlike Kit.
+He left his office for his rooms, ignoring Ben, the Inherent who lived with him, and Mathias, the vampire who served as his third in command, under Kit. All were under Kit. Kit was the only one he trusted with everything, and he had to send her away. Damn it all to hell and back, he thought furiously.
+Byron tore off his fine clothes and donned tougher, darker clothes that would blend with the night as he hunted. He was a young Hunter and though he was strong, he wasn't as arrogant as some. He wasn't going to trust only his vampire abilities to save him. He knew how to fight, and he trained regularly. He made sure all his people did as well, in case anyone ever tried to bring a battle onto his territory.
+He wanted a bloody fight tonight and he doubted hunting was a wise choice. He should, if he was smart, find Eli and just have a bloody brawl.
+But Byron took to the woods and went searching for prey. He had set up his territory in a wooded area, buying enough land to provide himself and the wolves some privacy, but keeping them close to the city so he could hunt easily. He had known his duty was to keep his chosen prey near by.
+As always, he found it in Chicago. This, of course, was why he had chosen it as his territory. Even in his former life, this had been a large city and trouble had always been brewing. A few decades had not changed that. The method of madness had changed. More guns and drugs now, instead of fistfights and alcohol, but it was there.
+He found his preferred prey in a rough neighborhood. They had been stalking a pretty young girl in a nurse's uniform who was now fighting wildly against the two men who held her. There was a third, and Byron waited until the third had moved a little closer before he reformed and moved in, taking the man's neck and snapping it like a twig before catching another in a mental hold and freezing him.
+The third one hadn't realized what was going on until the girl took off running. He started to go after her when Byron caught him and threw him against the wall with his inhuman strength. The blow caused the man's head to split and start to bleed while Byron stared down into the man's dazed eyes. "She doesn't want to play, my friend," he crooned, catching the man's head and jerking it to the side before he struck. He took only a little, enough to establish a mental connection while he laid a path.
+The next time this bastard tried to prey on any creature, it would be his last. If he faltered in any way, it would lead Byron back to him. Drawing back, staring into his eyes, Byron promised, "I will know. And I will kill you," he promised roughly, a tiny drop of blood on his lower lip.
+Then he turned to the third man. Because this one was already dead. He was the girl's brother. She had gone to the police about her brother---she suspected he had something to do with another girl's rape and murder. She'd been right---Byron saw that before he even touched the man's mind. But she'd not been careful enough and her brother had found out.
+This would have been her last night on this earth.
+Byron smiled seductively, even pleasantly at the younger man, stroking his face as he listened and made sure the girl was far away. "A brave girl, your sister. She'll prosper now. I'll make certain. Ah, Max, isn't it? Your sister is about to come into some money and she will find her way out of this hellhole, as you like to call it. I want you to know that, to know she will live a long and prosperous life."
+"Who the fuck are you?" Max tried to snarl. Not very effectively, since he was all but whimpering with fear.
+The vampire flashed his fangs. Max tried to scream, but Byron pressed his thumb against his windpipe and cut off his air supply. Max was trying to tell his body to run, but Byron had already taken control of his mind and the human couldn't move. "Why are you doing this?"
+"Remember the girl you raped?" Byron murmured, pushing Max into the shadows, listening for any sign of another watching. "She was young, wasn't she? Just a child, really. All that youth and innocence, and you destroyed it. What is that saying? Oh, yes. Payback is a bitch." Byron took the memories that Max had been relishing and turned them back on him, only now, Max was in the girl's position and he experienced the horror. Byron's psychic skill wasn't enough to make him actually suffer as much as the girl did, but he made sure the pathetic piece of scum had some inkling before he broke the link and grabbed him up from where he had fallen on the ground.
+"Now do you know why?" Byron purred menacingly. "Do you know why I am going to kill you? You stalked and killed a child and would have done the same to your own blood."
+"You can't just fucking kill me," Max sobbed.
+Byron laughed. "Yes, I can." He wasn't even going to feed here. He reached in with his mental hands, grabbed the man's mind and crushed it, watching pitilessly as blood started to trickle and flood from the man's eyes, ears and nose. He heard pounding footsteps and he knew company was coming.
+He watched and waited until the last breath shuddered out, and then he let his mental grip go and the corpse fell at his feet.
+Then he shifted and the mist drifted up and away as people started coming out to investigate the noise.
+He was tired when he returned to the house, though it wasn't even midnight. It had been an easy night as far as hunting goes. Sometimes, he was given an assignment, like the feral. Other nights, he just trolled, looking for scum like those he had found tonight.
+Normally, on a night such as this he would have gone for more, but he was too fucking tired, and he knew it wasn't the hunt.
+It was Kit.
+He could even smell her, the sweet, intoxicating scent of the soap he ordered for her directly from England. She went through bottles of it, then after she climbed from the bath, she would smooth oil onto her wet body, and her scent always lingered---
+She was in his bed.
+Naked.
+It was not an odd thing for him to find a naked woman in his bed.
+But a naked Kit, that was odd.
+"Have a nice hunt?" she asked, her voice rough, soft, her eyes chilly.
+"Kit---"
+She pushed onto her knees and lifted a finger to her mouth. Then she trailed that finger down her body to trace over one nipple, then down her slim, golden torso before sliding through her naked folds.
+"Damn it, Kit, don't." Byron stared at her hand, at the naked folds of her sex. She had waxed. The soft curls he had nuzzled the last time were gone, and the plump lips were naked and smooth. He could smell her over the distance that separated them, wet and hot, and still angry.
+"Why not? You're sending me away, that's what you do with a woman, once you sleep with her. Eventually. Only I haven't had that pleasure, so why not?" she asked, moving around again, this time to lie on her back, knees bent. "Won't you give me just one night, Byron? Just one?"
+His jaws ached and throbbed in time with his cock as he watched her start to stroke herself, her slim little fingers rubbing her wet, swollen clit until she was rocking her hips and moaning weakly in time with her movements. "I'm not sending you away," he rasped, haltingly taking a step closer.
+"Come and play, Byron," she teased.
+He moved closer, following the movement of her fingers, drawn by the scent of her body. Damn it, he loved her. He wanted her. He had for years, but this was Kit, Kris's little girl, and he had promised to take care of her, not fuck her like she was some whore.
+This was Kit. Not any other woman. She wasn't for fucking.
+"Come on," she cajoled. Her lashes fluttered closed and she whimpered when he rested one knee on the bed and brushed her hand aside, replacing it with his, lowering his head to catch one large, dark nipple in his mouth. She had large breasts, especially for a woman as tiny as she was, with big, dark nipples that always seemed to be erect. He bit down carefully, and groaned when she cried out and pressed harder against him and he started to pump two fingers in and out of her wet sheath.
+Damn it, he couldn't fight this any more.
+He sat up briefly, jerking his clothes off, before covering her and using his thighs to open hers. She brushed her hair aside, baring her neck, and Byron shuddered at the simplicity of the gesture as he licked her, sucking the fragile skin deep into his mouth. He started to enter her, probing the hot, wet entrance to her core, his body tensed and aching. She was tighter than he had expected. As he pushed the first two inches inside, her snug, silky little pussy convulsed around him and Byron groaned as she arched up, taking him slightly deeper.
+Much tighter, but she was wet and creamy around him and her pulse beat madly against his mouth. Byron was so fucking hungry for her---for her sex and her blood. He drove deep, his fangs breaking through her skin just as his cock tunneled through her tight wet passage while she screamed in surprised pain at his rough invasion.
+Kit, he reached out, touched her mind, felt her surprise---the pain, the shock, the need---as he drew one of her knees up over his hip, shuddering at the sweet, wet grip of her virgin pussy around his cock. Her blood rolled down his throat, ripe, powerful, rich. Kit, why didn't you tell me?
+"Why? So you could turn me down?" she asked bitterly.
+I don't think I could have, not any longer, he answered, a groan vibrating up from his chest. She felt the vibration of it through her neck as it shuddered down her chest, tightening her nipples, and pooling hot in her belly. He pulled his cock out, then surged back in, one big hand cupping the cheek of her ass lovingly. So sweet, Kit. So tight.
+He pulled reluctantly away from her neck, licking away the drops of blood before leaning down, wanting to kiss her, but settling for rubbing his cheek to hers. He was surprised when she sought his mouth, surprised when the lingering taste of blood didn't bother her. He started to pump his shaft inside her, loving the way she hugged his cock---tight, wet, snug, and only his. She rocked up to meet him, eagerly, hungrily, and he slammed into her harder, control forgotten. He moved and shifted her so that he could reach her clit and play with it while he fucked her. He felt her response when she cried out, the vibrations reaching down through her body and up through his cock, spreading over him, tightening his balls, heating his blood until he was certain his entire body would go up into sweet, hot flame.
+Her bud was slick and swollen and hard. Byron shuddered as he pushed back inside her, keeping one hand on her thigh, holding it high, and open, watching as he drove in, almost hypnotized by the erotic sight of his own cock invading the wet little cleft. He couldn't tear his gaze away as he pulled out---the flesh wet and gleaming from her cream---then pushed back between those plumps lips. The smooth flesh of her naked mound taunted him and he left her clit briefly to stroke the smooth lips, his gaze traveling her sweetly curved little body to meet her eyes as she moaned and reached for him.
+Byron bent over her and caught her seeking hands, pinning them high over her head. "Are you mine tonight?" he asked her gutturally, driving deep inside the wet clasp of her pussy, feeling his orgasm rushing up. He had wanted her for too long and he couldn't fight this. "Are you staying with me all night?"
+"I've been yours for years, you idiot. I'll be yours for always, if you'll just open your eyes," she hissed, her eyes blind and dazed as she lifted her head and tried to catch his mouth. He let her and shuddered as she sucked his tongue into her mouth greedily, biting down gently and wrapping her strong legs around his hips as he shafted her virgin body roughly. He kept her hands pinned with one of his and slid the other down, palming her tight little ass and lifting her higher against him, moving harder, more roughly into her as she started to convulse around him. The satin confines of her pussy tightened around him, growing wetter and hotter, until she started to come.
+He swallowed her scream and pumped her full of his come, before he let his body fall briefly to rest on top of hers.
+But only briefly.
+Then he was carrying her into the bathroom, into the shower, where he started to soap her clean. He knelt in front of her, holding the hand-held nozzle, while the double wall-mounted sprays pounded them from both sides as he lifted her. Holding her weight in his hands easily, he admired the naked mound she had prepared for him. "Always teasing me, Kit," he murmured as he nuzzled the sweet little mound. He slid his tongue through her folds and then he lifted his face and looked up at her, water beading on his lashes. "Open yourself up, baby," he whispered.
+He watched her swallow nervously and then her hands moved and she did it. Using both hands to spread the plump lips of her sex, she exposed the swollen bud of her clit. Byron turned the hot, massaging spray on her, grinning hotly as the sound of her wails echoed off the walls. He had dreamed of doing just this to her, for years.
+Always teasing him, he had told her. She had loved to use his shower, even after he installed a similar one for her. He had walked into his bathroom once, thinking one of the human girls was in there. He had every intention of joining whoever he heard moaning so sweetly.
+Kit had only just turned eighteen---he had known she had been experimenting, but how was he to know she had been masturbating in his fucking bathroom? She had been using the massaging showerhead on her clit and screamed in hoarse pleasure while Byron stood frozen, shocked, aroused, and hungry. She had opened her eyes, but instead of being embarrassed, the way an eighteen-year-old should have been, she had grinned at him, hot and sweet and inviting.
+Now she started to rock against the pulse of the water, humming low in her throat, sobbing as the stimulation brought her to the edge hard and fast. Byron had lowered one of her small feet to the ground, still bracing her weight as he slid two fingers inside her, pumping deep as she keened and cried out. Each time she came a little closer, he backed off. And he started to work the natural lubrication of her body lower, pressing against the sweet pucker of her ass, wishing she wasn't a fucking novice.
+He was finally taking Kit, but he couldn't take her the way he wanted.
+Her eyes flew open at the alien caress but instead of pulling away, she pushed against him, and slid down on him, oh, fuck, taking his index finger completely up her snug little ass as she shuddered and screamed, flinching at the pain but riding it and rocking against the caress of the water.
+Byron threw the shower nozzle away and leaned forward, catching her sensitized clit in his mouth. She screamed in startled, pained pleasure. Coming instantly, she rocked up and down, riding his mouth and riding the thick finger he had buried inside her ass. The shivers were still racking her when he stood, moving awkwardly to keep from dislodging her as he lifted her one-handed and drove inside, groaning as she continued to quake and shudder around him.
+"Byron..." she sobbed, reaching up and tangling her hands in his wet hair, staring up into his face, her eyes hot and pleading.
+He murmured softly, "Sweet little Kit, you feel so good. I've wanted this." He punctuated it by driving deep, pounding into her, alternately with thrusts of his cock into her pussy and thrusts of his finger into her ass. "Will you let me fuck you here? You're such a little thing, Kit. You're so tiny, so tight."
+"Anything," she gasped, hot little chills racking her body as he invaded her from both front and rear. His large body covered hers completely, possessed her completely. His thick, long cock left her then burrowed back inside and she wanted to cry at the pleasure of it. Then he worked his finger back inside her ass and the hot, painful little pleasure drove her mad. Her nipples ached and burned and throbbed, his water-slicked chest rubbing against them as he fucked her.
+His dark blue eyes stared into hers, full of need and something that looked like tenderness. Kit was bewildered. She tried to think past the need that fogged her brain. How could he care for her and still send her away? He lifted her mouth and kissed her roughly, one of his fangs nipping her lip. He caught the lingering drop of blood hungrily and sucked it away before he muttered, "Stop thinking and feel. Feel this, feel me." Driving inside, he held there, throbbing and still. Finally, he started to lift her, working her small, light body up and down his length. Reluctantly drawing his finger from her ass, Byron gripped her hips and stared into her stormy eyes.
+He moved slowly at first, until she started to wriggle and squirm eagerly. Then he started to move her faster and faster until he pinned her against the wall and plundered her tight little pussy, filling her with hard, rough digs of his cock that had her screaming his name.
+"I love you," she wailed as she creamed around him.
+Byron shuddered against her and groaned as he came, whispering in her ear, "I love you, Kit."
+Moments later, she struggled out of his arms, and away, moving out of the shower. He tried to hold her but she was nearly as strong as he and if this wet, angry woman didn't want to be held, well, she wasn't going to be held.
+"If you love me, then why are you sending me away?" she demanded, shoving her wet hair out of her face.
+Byron turned off the water and moved out of the stall, staring down at the tiny, defiant woman in front of him. "Kit, your father was my best friend. I swore to him that I would see that you were happy. You've never known anything outside of this. How can you know if this makes you happy if it is all you've ever known?" he asked wearily.
+Kit pounded her fist against her chest. "I know how I feel, Byron. I look at you and I feel my heart. My other half. My soul mate."
+He cupped her face but she knocked his hand away. Sighing, he prayed for patience. "This is only for a while, Kit. To make sure you know this is what you want."
+Nastily she said, "So I guess I'm to go out and fuck as many men as I need, live however I see fit, experience life to make sure this is what suits me."
+Byron shoved down the insidious anger. She was trying to piss him off. He didn't have to let her know it was working.
+"It's for a short while, Kit. And I've made up my mind," he said firmly.
+She smiled sweetly. "And I've made up mine," she replied. She turned her back and started to walk away but Byron grabbed her and snarled, "You told me I could have tonight," as he pushed his cock against her.
+"Go fuck yourself," she snapped, squirming.
+"Why? You're here, and you're mine, and you're what I want," he said, reaching down and cupping her. She was wet from him still. He started to pump his fingers inside, laughing when she stiffened against him before helplessly starting to ride his hand. He pushed her down to her hands and knees and drove inside. Ignoring her furious cry, he focused instead on how she pushed back against him, and closed around his cock even though she wanted to walk away.
+Byron focused on the sweet keening wails that fell from her lips as he hunkered low over her body and fucked her slowly, wetting his finger again and sliding it inside the snug fit of her ass. She rocked back against him and he laughed. "Still want me to go fuck myself?" he asked, slapping her ass.
+She jumped and cried out, startled. He did it again, and she clamped down on his thick cock and came, quick and hard. She started pushing back on him hungrily, looking for another spank, another climax. "See?" he teased. "It's more fun to fuck you." He shoved her to the floor and wrapped her hair around his free hand, baring her neck before he struck. His fangs sank through the fragile skin, through the marks he had made earlier, and he fed again, groaning in rapture against her sweet skin.
+She cried out and arched up, pushing her ass against him, and he gripped her hip, riding her hard until they both came.
+They argued again.
+They fucked again.
+They showered again.
+They ended up in her room, where Byron went through the sex toys she had bought and he had decided he would use them on her until she saw reason. Kit had already seen reason. And she wasn't giving in to him just because he was a big, sexy vampire who was used to getting his way.
+"For crying out loud, I'm not sending you away!" he shouted. "It's just for a while. It doesn't even have to be two years. A year. Okay? One fucking year. And if you're still so fucking sure after it's over, then so be it."
+She glared at him and said, "If you send me away, I won't come back." Point blank.
+Byron froze. "Don't say that."
+She lifted her chin and repeated herself. "I mean it. I'm sure the Council can find something for me. If I leave here, that's it. I'm gone for good."
+He snarled at her and pinned her to the bed, taking her hands high over her head and tying them tight. Even an Inherent needed to be able to have leverage in order to take advantage of her strength, and he had just taken that away. He picked up one of the sex toys, the larger dildo she had bought out of curiosity but hadn't used. Spreading her legs wide, he drove it halfway inside her without even preparing her, staring at her with cool, blank eyes. "Say it again," he rasped. "Tell me you won't come back to me."
+"I won't---"
+He pushed it harder inside and lowered his head to suck on her clit until she was screaming and hoarse from it. Then he stopped suckling her and started to fuck her with the big dildo, watching her with those cool, almost clinical eyes. "Are you coming back to me?"
+"Not if you make me leave," she gasped.
+"Wrong answer," he growled, his fangs flashing in his fury. He flipped her onto her hands and knees, spread the cheeks of her ass and licked her there, listening to her embarrassed little shriek. He used his legs to pin her in place while he picked up another toy, this one a slender wand-shaped dildo with a flared base that was designed for anal use.
+He lubricated it and slid it inside her, listening to her hungry cries as she tried to muffle them in the bed. He steadily slid it in even when she tried to squirm away. "Stop moving---you're making it worse, Kit," he told her impassively. Once it was lodged inside her ass, he moved her onto her back and resumed fucking her with that ridiculously long dildo and flicking her clit with his tongue. And every few minutes, he said, "Tell me that you'll come back."
+Finally, she sobbed out, "Damn it, I don't want to leave! But your sending me away will kill me. If I leave, I am not coming back."
+He moved up on her, taking the toy out and driving his cock inside. She whimpered in pain, in pleasure, in need, taking him deep inside. "Say you'll come back to me," he ordered roughly.
+She sobbed out his name and screamed as the climax rolled through her before he was even halfway inside her. Byron shuddered and worked his cock completely in, pulled out and burrowed back in. She wouldn't truly stay away, not Kit, he thought as he rode her, her sweet wet pussy hugging him tightly as he slid back inside.
+She belonged to him. She belonged here.
+Then why are you sending her away?
+Byron drove desperately into her, as the sunrise came ever closer. Kit's bedroom was full of windows and he could sense the lightening in the sky outside. Her silky cleft was swollen from being ridden all night, but she still lifted for him, still clung to him eagerly. Byron buried his face in her neck and groaned as his climax raged over him, building at his spine and burning through his balls and his cock.
+Byron gathered a slumberous Kit into his arms and carried her back to his room. A niggling little doubt was in the back of his mind as Kit nestled into his bed next to him. He clamped both arms tightly around her waist and asked, "Stay here?"
+"Can't," she evaded. "Hungry. Need another bath."
+A vampire's sleep wasn't one that could be fought off until he had several centuries behind him. Byron only had one and a handful of years. "I love you," he said, kissing her roughly.
+"I love you," she said quietly, stroking one small hand down his arm.
+Byron listened to her steady heartbeat as sleep caught and held him. He should have made the others watch her. If he ordered them to make sure she stayed---he woke up remembering that was a foolish thought. She had agreed to come back.
+Then he froze as he climbed from bed.
+No.
+She hadn't.
+Of course, he hadn't told her when she would be going. And now he was thinking he really didn't want her to go at all.
+So the sensible thing to do was---
+"The sensible thing? Now? When my bebè is gone he wants to do the sensible thing?" The voice that rolled through the room was one he had not heard in over two decades. Kristof was gone. Dead and gone. Of course, it was unmistakable, the odd blend of Russia and France. "Da, that is much sense you make now. The sensible thing."
+And the voice that followed was also one that belonged to somebody dead. All French elegance and fancy French sex. Byron turned slowly and saw the two very solid, if somewhat, well, ghostly, forms hovering by the door.
+"Shit."
+Kris laughed, his head falling back, that familiar joyful laugh that he had passed on to his daughter. "So eloquent, my friend. Da. You have stepped into shit, you have. She say what she mean, my Kit. She will not come back to you."
+"I didn't send her away!" Byron shouted.
+Bella smiled sympathetically. "That is how Katrine sees it, Byron. And if you want her back, then you will have to go to her and bring her back. Now."
+"She needs some time to---"
+"Bah," Kris spat. "Time? For what? To be lonely and miss you? Is that what you would have my bebè do for two years? Is this how you take care? By letting her be lonely? She is your mate. Bella tells me this, long before I died. I try to tell you, when I died. And I tell you now. Go to her now, or you lose her."
+It was then that Byron remembered something he had forgotten. "My Bella is telling me...da, you had best remember that. Kit will want what she wants."
+Kit will want what she wants.
+After searching quickly through the room, Byron dropped to sit on the bed, staring at his big rough hands.
+Shit.
+It would have been nice if Kit's parents had bothered to tell him where their daughter had gone.
+She hadn't taken the tickets he had purchased for her.
+She hadn't taken the car he had given her when she had come home from college, or anything else he had given her. Just her own things, her own clothes, and her anger. He could still catch her scent in the house as he prowled through it later that night. Ben eyed him warily as he continued to search for Kit via the web. She hadn't used her credit cards to purchase any tickets, which made it even harder to track her.
+She wouldn't go to France, Byron suspected. She would know he'd come for her eventually and she would not be where she could easily be found or brought back. So she'd either go to ground or go someplace where she would be protected.
+And then he felt like pounding the wall with his fist.
+She'd already told him where she was going.
+The fucking Council.
+Byron stared at Agnes and fought the urge to blush. She always made him feel like she was trying to imagine him naked. The fact that she was born the same year he was didn't change a damn thing. She looked like she was his great-great-grandmother. She was an amazing witch, and one of the most respected members of the council, but she was also downright mischievous.
+"Don't tell me she isn't here," he warned, trying hard to keep his tone respectful. "I can hear her breathing and I can smell her. I won't leave."
+Agnes smiled and took her long cloak from the peg beside the door. "I'm thinking I'll be going into town. For a day or two. The inner rooms are safe from sunlight and you are free to enter at your own will, now and forevermore, Byron Matthews of America, Hunter of the Council." With that formal final remark, she threw the cloak over her shoulders and moved away, much quicker than a woman of her age should have been able to move.
+Byron crossed the threshold and moved inside. He was tired, he was fucking hungry and he was pissed. The council hadn't told him a damned thing and he had been reduced to asking individuals. Fortunately the first one he had asked had known him, vaguely, but known him all the same. Malachi had looked at him, narrowed his ancient eyes and said, "You're a friend of Eli's."
+"Yes," Byron said cautiously, staring at the ancient in front of him. There was something about the red-haired vampire that commanded attention, commanded submission. Byron didn't realize what a mark it was of his will that he didn't fall and submit. He didn't realize how much it set him apart from other, lesser Masters who were already centuries older.
+Malachi saw it, though---he recognized it. And wasn't surprised at all at why Eli had befriended the dark, towering American. He'd be a powerful Master, a powerful Hunter. And like all powerful Hunters, he'd need powerful friends while he was young like this. The young ones tended to be targets early on. Better to take them out quick, before they became too powerful.
+Malachi's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Fucked up, did you?" he asked. "Go ask Agnes. She has a woman at her place. A wolf, if my sense of smell serves me. And I'd say it does. I'm smelling the same woman all over you."
+Byron had dashed out without even hearing Malachi's soft, "Good luck. Lucky bastard."
+Now he was searching for her. Her scent filled the large house, it was everywhere. And she was nowhere.
+"What are you doing here?"
+He turned and saw her staring at him, wearing a big man's shirt. Narrowing his eyes, he realized it was his shirt. He moved and had her around the waist without even realizing it, kissing her hungrily, greedily, his hands sliding up the shirt to find her naked little body warm and soft.
+"You left me," he accused, pulling away to glare at her.
+"You sent me away," she snapped, her eyes hot with indignation.
+"You weren't supposed to leave yet, and I'd changed my fucking mind," he snarled back, catching the hands she was shoving against his chest and pinning them behind her back. "I hadn't told you to leave yet, had I? Stubborn little brat. Have you forgotten yourself? Forgotten me?"
+Kit refused to struggle once she realized she wasn't getting away. His big, heavy body had her effectively pinned against the wall at this point, his cock cuddled against the softness of her belly, one hand pinning her wrists behind her back. Staring at his chest, refusing to look at his face, she said, "I wasn't going to be thrown out on my ass. I've got more pride than that."
+"Damn you," Byron snarled as he released her wrists and caught her face in his hands, tangling them in her short hair, kissing her roughly. "I wouldn't have thrown you out. You would have been put in a fucking limo, driven to the fucking airport, and flown to fucking France on my fucking plane. And you fucking know it! Why are you doing this?"
+She tore her eyes away from his chest and made herself meet his furious eyes. They were hot, wild and gleaming. His fangs had slid down and were flashing in his anger. The air in the room felt thick with it. Her own anger had burned out on the flight here, but staring at him now was causing a different kind of heat. "Why?" she asked softly. "You want to know why?"
+"Yes. I want to know why," he growled, lowering his face until they were mouth to mouth. "I did not want to take you into my service. You were my ward, and I did not want you to have to serve and obey any Master, even one who would indulge you. But you chose to enter our world and now you are openly and flagrantly violating our laws. You left me without my consent. You could very easily be punished by the Council, whether I will it or no, so, yes. I want to know why."
+"You had already made the choice to send me away, Byron. The fact that the act wasn't yet complete doesn't mean that much. You didn't want me anymore," she stated simply. "I couldn't stay there anymore."
+"After the night we spent together, you can actually think I don't want you?" he rasped, his fingers tightening in her hair to the point of pain.
+She smiled sadly. "Not enough to keep me."
+Byron felt his heart break as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Damn it, Kit," he rasped, bending down and catching it in his mouth. "You're coming back. You're mine." He grabbed the edges of the shirt and jerked it off of her, exposing her body.
+"I won't come back if you think you can just send me away for a year. Two years. Even two fucking weeks," she swore, folding her arms over her breasts and glaring at him.
+"You haven't heard a thing I've said, have you, Kit?" he muttered, taking her wrists and forcing them down to her sides. He knelt in front of her small, sweetly scented body and caught one rosy nipple in his mouth, raking the plump globe with a sharp fang and groaning when a drop of blood beaded on her flesh. He licked it away and suckled on the tiny wound until no more flowed. Then he pulled away and stared up into her eyes. "I changed my mind. You're coming back with me. You belong with me, to me. As much I belong to you."
+He released her wrists, grabbed her hips and pulled her to the floor, feasting on the sweet cream from her cleft, catching her clit in his mouth and suckling it until she was moaning and crying his name. He stroked downward from her cleft, using the natural lubrication from her body to probe her rosette and he shuddered when she opened for him, when she started to rock helplessly against him as he drove his tongue inside her pussy while he screwed his finger in and out of her ass, then added a second.
+He worked her close to orgasm before he turned her onto her knees and shredded his clothes. A hot musky power seemed to be filling the room, pouring from him, and Kit shuddered with it as it washed over her. She knew too much about vampires not to realize what it was. Byron was coming into more of his power, and his call was increasing. She just hadn't realized how very susceptible she would be to it.
+Her body was too hot, too tight, too hungry for him and she was certain she would die if she didn't get him inside her. When she felt him probing the tiny hole of her bottom, she quivered and tried to shift, force him inside her pussy, where she needed him. He snarled at her and she felt his dominance roll over her, just like his call and she stilled, her head falling forward, her torso dropping to rest on the floor while he continued to draw the cream from her cleft to her anus.
+Byron hadn't ever felt anything like what was breaking loose inside him---he couldn't fight it, couldn't question it. He had to be inside her, had to do it this way, had to do it now. The shuddering, creeping power inside him was almost as arousing as the sight of her slick, wet folds and the scent of her cream and sex as he prepared her ass for his invasion. It rolled from him, like waves from the ocean, and it affected Kit almost as much as it affected him.
+He gripped the cheeks of her ass in his big hands and pulled her apart, stretching her a bit as he pressed his cock against her. She whimpered. Byron said roughly, "Hush, now, Kit. Give me this now. You can take it, I promise." As he spoke, the subtle power increased, and when it did, she became more aroused and forgot the burning pain as he pushed inside the tight virgin hole that he had lubricated, using only the sweet cream from her body.
+He whispered to her again, and when he did, she cried out, as though his voice was touching her. "You're tight, hot, sweet. Push against me. You will like it." She bore down and he slid deeper inside.
+Kit screamed softly. The more he talked, the hotter she became. It felt like his voice had developed a hand of its own and was touching her clit with every word he spoke. As he pushed deeper inside her ass, he spoke and whispered and she whimpered and cried, until he was completely seated inside her. He was too big, stretching her too tightly, too full and even his whispering roughly to her didn't help. Then he started to pump inside her, and the burning tearing pain increased. Kit screamed and said, "Byron, stop, please!"
+She started to beg as the pain turned into sweet, glorious pleasure with each hot, deep thrust as he pushed her hips lower and filled her with hard, rough digs of his cock. Bending his body over her, he licked her neck before sinking his fangs into her, his weight carrying her to the floor.
+Her hot blood flooded his mouth, rolled over his tongue and down his throat as his balls grew tight and tingled as the orgasm rushed closer. She felt like silk around his cock, dragging and clinging with each thrust, pushing that sweet little ass against him, moaning and crying and begging, "Harder, Byron, oh, please, again!" He lifted them back up a little so he could drive deeper inside and he shuddered as she screamed. She gripped his cock like a silk fist, tight, hot and he pushed back inside as he reached between her thighs and pinched her clit, found it tight and hard and swollen, and he drew his fangs from her neck so he could rumble at her ear, "Next time, I'm going to find somebody to fuck your sweet little pussy while I fuck your ass. Will you like that?"
+She shuddered and pushed harder against him, clenching her buttocks around his cock and mewling when he started to fuck her dripping vagina with his fingers. "Tell me, Kit, will you like it?"
+"Yes!" she screamed as he drove his thick cock inside just as she started to come, screaming in short, hard peals that echoed off the walls.
+Byron pulled his hand from her pussy and shifted, crouching over her on his knees so he could drive inside her, hard, deep and fast, as his climax built and exploded out of his cock and he flooded the tight, hot little rosette that held him so snugly. Something inside him broke open, echoed inside her. He roared out her name and she cried out his while her convulsive climax milked the semen from his shaft.
+Byron came to rest atop her body and then he rolled to the side, drawing her into the curve of his body and burying his face in her hair. He felt something inside his heart that hadn't been there before.
+Her. Kit.
+Kit smiled sleepily. Through the new bond, she felt his surprise. "I told you," she said, squirming against him. He still hadn't withdrawn from her and she could feel him pulse inside her.
+He pushed against her and she felt his renewing arousal, then his alarm as he felt the burning pain that she was feeling. She clamped down on his arm and held tight. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Need a bath. Then you can take me to bed and put your cock to use in a little more traditional manner."
+"You really did know," he whispered as he braced a hand on her hip and gently pulled out of the sweet embrace of her ass. She flinched, tried to hide it, and Byron cursed himself viciously, then he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bathroom. "I'm sorry, sweet," he murmured against her hair. He knew now what had happened. It wasn't just the mate-bond, but his own power increasing. The call tended to get stronger with age, and usually happened gradually, not in the middle of sex. His shouldn't have increased for a good fifty years. But that was what had happened. His had just taken the mother of all leaps, and with Kit, of all people. He couldn't fight it, neither could she, but he damn well could have just found a better way to fuck her.
+"No, you couldn't have," she said as she gingerly settled down on the edge of the bathtub. He glared at her.
+She grinned cheekily at him. "Not very fun having somebody know your every waking thought, is it, Master Vampire?" she asked. Then she slid him a hot, smoky look from under her lashes and purred, "You know how hot it made me, dreaming of you doing just that to me some day? I loved it, every second. How hot you were, the way it felt when you opened me and just stared at me before starting to slide your cock inside me---"
+Byron felt himself harden as she spoke and he growled, "Enough, Kit."
+"Even the way it hurt at first, and how you told me I could take it," she whispered.
+"Enough," he groaned, glaring at her. "Right now, I can't," he snapped, moving closer and jerking her hips against him. He stroked one careful finger against her bottom and she arched against him, crying out at the burning pain and he said, "See? You can't do this again, not here. Not yet. So stop teasing me." The signs of her very obvious pain and the sympathetic backlash through their new bond were enough to cool his burning lust, and he released her slowly.
+She pulled away and went for the cabinet where Agnes kept some of her more basic ointments and brews. She found the oil she needed and added it to the bath. "I'll be right as rain come morning. Between this, and my own healing---"she ended with a shrug and started to step into the bath but he lifted her and gently put her down into the slowly rising water.
+She watched with lifted brows as he started to shuck his own clothes. "You're going to smell like slippery elm," she told him, admiring the long, muscular lines of his body. He had the widest damn shoulders, with a vee of hair on his chest that thinned down to a fine line over his muscled belly before widening just over his sex. His cock was long, thick, softer now, and smooth, hanging over his furred sac. As she stared, his cock started to harden and Byron snorted out a muffled half curse, half laugh.
+"Damn it, Kit, how am I supposed to not fuck you again if you keep looking at me like that?"
+She tossed him an arch look and said, "I expect you to fuck me again. I just said we'll use your cock in a more traditional manner." She scooted forward a little as he moved into the tub and eased down behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her crown.
+"I'm sorry if I hurt you," he whispered.
+She knew he wasn't talking about the sex. He had finally gotten it through his old-fashioned head that sending her away had damaged her pride and her heart. A smile curved her mouth. "Did it make you mad when you realized I had left?" she asked.
+"Mad? No. Insanely furious? Yes." He gripped her tightly and rasped, "You won't do that again, Kit. I mean it."
+"I'm your mate, now, Byron. You're no longer my Master. The Council will no longer recognize that tie," she reminded him.
+Byron groaned and slammed his head back against the wall. "Are you trying to drive me crazy?" he demanded.
+"No. I'm trying to get you to see you'll have to start treating me as your equal. Shouldn't be too hard. You're only a century old. You're not as antiquated as some of the other vampires. But I'm your mate, your equal. No longer your second, or your servant," she said, squirming and wriggling until she was facing him. Then she kissed him, pushing her tongue hungrily into his mouth, reaching down and massaging his cock. She blindly sought out some soap and added it to the massage and once she was certain he was clean, she straddled him and drove herself down on him, sucking his tongue into her mouth and shivering as his hands came up to cup her breasts.
+He drove his thick shaft up inside her, head falling back so that he could stare up into her sweet, heart-shaped face as she rode him, her slim, muscled thighs lifting her body up and down, working her pelvis against his. He reached between them and stroked her clit and she sobbed out his name.
+He felt her orgasm and he started to push harder up into her sleek wet pussy, water splashing onto the floor over the rim of the tub. Her eyes swirled and glowed in her lust, burning hot with her power and her need, her nipples stiff and hard. He groaned and leaned forward, catching one in his mouth and biting, suckling, feeling her pleasure through the bond until it mingled with his own as their combined orgasm rushed at them.
+She was still gasping for breath. He had something he wanted to ask her, but he was going to wait. He'd let her rest. He'd rest. They'd go into town tonight and he would buy her dinner at some fine restaurant, where he could watch candlelight dance on her mellow-gold skin. Maybe dancing. And he needed a ring. Maybe Agnes could help---
+Her slim fingers threaded through the longer hair that fell from the top and sides of his head and she tugged his face up from her breasts where he had been pondering how to propose. After more than a century of living, he wanted to make sure the one time he did it, he did it right.
+"Byron, I was thinking...you want to get married?"
+Her laughing eyes met his, and he started to laugh. Equals. She had beat him to it.
+He kissed her and laughed into her mouth. "Why the hell not?"
+About the author:
+Shiloh was born in Kentucky and has been reading avidly since she was six. At twelve, she discovered how much fun it was to write when she took a book that didn't end the way she had wanted it to and rewrote the ending. She's been writing ever since.
+Shiloh now lives in southern Indiana with her husband and two children. Between her job, her two adorable and demanding children, and equally adorable and demanding husband, she crams writing in between studying and reading and sleeps when time allows.
+Shiloh welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora's Cave Publishing at P.O. Box 787, Hudson, Ohio 44236-0787.
+Also by Shiloh Walker:
+Coming In Last
+Her Best Friend's Lover
+Her Wildest Dreams
+Make Me Believe
+Mythe & Magick
+Once Upon A Midnight Blue
+The Dragon's Warrior
+The Hunters: Delcan and Tori
+The Hunters: Eli and Sarel
+Touch of Gypsy Fire
+Voyeur
+Whipped Cream and Handcuffs
+Discover for yourself why readers can't get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora's Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.
+Table of Contents
+

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+Girl in the Beaded Mask
+Amanda McCabe
+England, 1922
+David Carlisle believes no woman would want to marry the broken and isolated man who has returned from the trenches of France. Especially vivacious Lady Louise Hatton, better known as Lulu---the one woman who makes his heart begin to thaw with her bright smile.
+What David doesn't realize is that Lulu has been fantasizing about him her whole life. And at a scandalous masked ball, she's determined to show David just how badly she wants him....
+I was so excited to have the chance to write a story set in the 1920s! I've been fascinated by the era ever since I was a teenager---I blame The Great Gatsby and old silent Louise Brooks movies. The music, the fast cars, the cocktails, and above all the gorgeous clothes! It's a fascinating time, filled with enormous change and upheaval, dashing men, and spirited, independent women. It's the perfect setting for a romance.
+Before I jumped into David and Lulu's story, I watched silent movies and various versions of Gatsby over and over, and did a lot of reading. Here are a few great sources I came across:
+Nathan Miller, New World Coming: The 1920s and the Making of Modern America(2003)---my story is set in England, but this book was huge help in tracing trends and fads of the era
+DJ Taylor, Bright Young People (2007)---an account of the high life in between-the-wars England
+Humphrey Carpenter, The Brideshead Generation (1989)
+Ronald L. Davis, ed., The Social and Cultural Life of the 1920s (1972)
+Marion Meade, Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin (2004)
+Lucy Moore, Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring '20s (2010)
+"Mum is going to absolutely kill you if she catches you with that," a lazy young voice said, punctuated by the slow turning of a magazine page.
+Lady Louisa Hatton---known by everyone as Lulu---looked down at the cigarette between her fingers. It was dyed a stylish peacock-blue, and sent curls of silvery smoke out the open window into the warm summer breeze. It looked terribly chic and sophisticated, but... "And she would be absolutely right. They're perfectly vile. I'll have to learn to be glamorous without them."
+She extinguished it in the crystal bowl set on the window ledge. The foul thing disposed of, she tightened the sash on her dressing gown and turned around to face her younger sister. Jessica lay sprawled out in the middle of Lulu's bed, her feet propped on the carved headboard as she read the latest issue of Town Talk.
+Town talk---that all seemed terribly far away in the middle of a quiet country summer. Her London debut season seemed ages ago, even though it had just ended. Beaded gowns, tea dances, trips to the theater, masquerade balls...and the disappointing, fumbling kisses from men behind screens and potted palms. How could something be so exciting and so dreary at the same time?
+She had waited so long to be grown up, to be part of the real world at last. She was so tired of being pushed to the side, of being "protected" from things considered "unpleasant" for her own good. But being a woman wasn't all it was cracked up to be, either. She still wasn't really allowed to have fun.
+And the young men she met at those carefully orchestrated dinners and dances---they weren't what she had hoped for, either. Years of reading stuff like Jane Eyre and those delicious sheikh novels from America didn't prepare her for the truth of English courtship. For young men whose palms were damp as they danced with her, who talked on and on about cricket and house party pranks. They weren't Rochester or Mr. Darcy. They weren't...
+Well, they weren't him. They weren't David Carlisle, which was so silly since she hadn't seen David in nearly four years. Even before that, all those summers when he would come to Hatton Hall to visit his school friend, her poor brother William, she had only been Bill's pesky kid sister to him. He teased her, laughed at her, loaned her books, and then went off to dance with beautiful debutantes.
+But Lulu built a whole dream around David Carlisle, with his crooked smile and bright blue eyes. He became her ideal, and she was sure that once she really grew up, once she was one of those debs, with their satin gowns and upswept hair, he would see that they were meant for each other. No one was as handsome and smart and sophisticated as he was. No one made her feel the way he did when he just looked at her.
+Then the war came, and all her girlish dreams were just one of the millions of lost things. After the Armistice, David visited Hatton Hall once more, to tell them about Bill's last days. He wasn't the same David at all. His eyes were dark and haunted, and he walked with a stick. The left side of his face was red with scars. He had kissed Lulu on the cheek and said, "You've grown up while I was gone." But she could tell he was not really there, that he had left his old self far away.
+She looked for him in London, hoping he would appear at some party or at the opera. He never did, and she heard little gossip about him.
+Lulu pushed away sad thoughts of David Carlisle. It did no good to dwell on him and on all that was lost, on old hopes and loves. It was just summer here at Hatton Hall, stirring up memories. In London, where everything was new and blindingly bright, she could hide from the past. Here it was everywhere she turned.
+"What's going on in Town Talk, then?" she asked brightly. She went and perched on the edge of the bed beside Jessica, peering over her sister's shoulder at the glossy photos of Bright Young People at various parties. Dancing in elaborate fake Watteau gowns, swimming on the French Riviera, riding in sleek cars, champagne glasses always aloft and painted mouths laughing.
+"Oh, heaps," said Jessica as she turned the page. "Or at least there was, until everyone left London for the summer. Is it always like this in the city?"
+Lulu studied a photo of party-goers dressed as pinafored babies for a theme party, riding in giant prams. "Not under Mum's watch it's not," she said. "London is all staid tea dances and the opera for a deb like me."
+"I shouldn't like London anyway," Jessica said decisively.
+"Wouldn't you?"
+"No. I'm sure I couldn't take Angel there and I can't live without her."
+Angel was Jessica's favorite pet, a smelly lamb she dressed up in little jackets and took around on a silk cord lead. "It's true Mum wouldn't let you take Angel to London, which is too bad. She'd be a big hit at parties."
+"Would she? Maybe London wouldn't be so bad after all then." Jessica gave her a shrewd look. "But you didn't seem like you'd had much fun there when you got home."
+"I had fun," Lulu protested. "It just wasn't entirely what I expected."
+"And now you're back at Hatton Hall, where nothing happens at all." Jessica suddenly sat up straight, staring down at the magazine. "Or maybe sometimes things do happen."
+"What do you mean?"
+"I'm talking about Lord Finch-Granley's summer masked ball, of course! At Granley Park. It's only a few miles away, and it's..." Jessica turned the page. "Next week! Oh, I've always wanted to see the Granley Ball."
+"You and everyone else." Lulu snatched the magazine out of her sister's hands to see the article for herself. The Granley Ball was famous, not only in the neighborhood but also throughout English Society. Lord Finch-Granley, who had also once been a friend of Bill's, had been holding his "start of summer" party every year since the end of the war, and it was legendary for its lavishness and style, for the wild times to be had there. Invitations were hotly sought-after.
+Not that an invitation was required. Plenty of people just piled into cars and went. There was always copious amounts of food and champagne to go around.
+"Mum would never let me go," Lulu murmured. Her mother was always pursing her lips when she talked of the "goings on" at Granley Park, which was never a good sign. And their father always went along with her. It made life easier that way, he claimed.
+She turned the page to read about who was expected to attend the ball. Lords and ladies, of course, and writers and film stars, shady American businessmen, musicians, maybe even a European prince. There were photos of a few of them, shining with jewels and wide, white smiles. Of course they smiled---they were going to have loads of fun at the Granley Ball, while she stayed home and played mah-jongg with Mum.
+Then a small image at the bottom of the page caught her attention. It was David, dressed in a sharply cut white suit and leaning against a Bentley. His face was shadowed by the brim of his hat, but she could tell right away it was him. The grim set to his jaw and the expressionless look on his chiseled, handsome face were just the same as when she last saw him on that sad day here at Hatton Hall.
+A slender woman in a dark satin drop-waist dress and feathered cloche hat clung to his arm. Unlike David, she smiled happily for the camera.
+And will the Granley guest list include the elusive, reclusive and oh-so-gorgeous David Carlisle, seen here with Lady Elizabeth Ashley at a rare appearance at the races? the caption said. We're betting the merriment can lure him out of isolation at last!
+David was going to the Granley Ball?
+Feeling all in a daze, Lulu put down the magazine and rushed over to her dressing table to study her reflection in the oval mirror. She had at last managed to persuade her parents to let her bob her hair, and the dark red waves curled around her ears and the nape of her neck. Her wide green eyes shone back at her with sudden hope and excitement. She was fashionably slender under her silk robe---surely she could be just as pretty as that Lady Elizabeth what's-her-name!
+And the hateful freckles over her nose, long the bane of her life, could be powdered away.
+Maybe, just maybe, if David saw her again he would realize she really was grown up. That she could be the one to help him live again at last. It was a silly scheme, a real long shot, but she had to try it.
+And she knew just what to wear while doing it. The perfect armor to battle for David's heart.
+"I have to find the Poiret," she said, and whirled around to pull open the carved doors of her wardrobe. All her London clothes, unworn since the return to Hatton Hall, hung there. A jumble of creamy satin, inky chiffon, shining rainbow beads, fur trim and delicate lace ruffles. She found a box at the very bottom, and threw the lid back.
+"Yes," she said. "This is definitely the one."
+Jessica leaped off the bed, clapping her hands. "Are you going to sneak out to the Granley Ball? How exciting!"
+"Yes," Lulu answered. "Yes, I really think I am...."
+David Carlisle sat by the window in his dimly lit library, a half-full glass of whiskey in his hand. He didn't see the sunset outside that streaked the sky with glorious pinks and oranges, turning the overgrown gardens to a shimmering gold. He didn't hear the click of the door as the housekeeper peeked in and then scurried away again, leaving a dinner tray on the table outside.
+He stared down at the invitation on the window ledge. The white card was so heavy the warm summer breeze didn't stir it. The black engraving was dark and stark.
+A midsummer masked ball. A night of champagne, music, gardens crowded with tipsy revelers in feathered masks. Noise and light and heat. Nothing sounded worse.
+David took a deep drink of the whiskey, rough and hot at the back of his throat. But it didn't make the card disappear.
+Most people knew better than to send him invitations now. When he first came home from the war, his mother still lived here at the abbey with him and she urged him to go out to balls and dinners, to meet people---especially marriageable young ladies. She wanted things to go on just as they always had, in the orderly, pretty, Edwardian world she grew up in. Eventually she gave up and moved to the south of France.
+Her world was gone, and no amount of parties would erase what had happened in the trenches of France. Nothing could bring back the friends he had lost, or his old self. And no young lady in her right mind would want to marry him.
+As he sipped at the whiskey, the image of one lady in particular came into his mind and she wouldn't go away. Lulu Hatton. For some strange reason she often came to him at weird moments, the vision of her bright smile and vivid red hair. The sound of her laughter. She had always been laughing, always rushing out to grab life with both hands.
+She had been a part of his life for years, the kid sister of his Eton friend Bill Hatton. A cute, funny girl who followed him around and played ridiculous pranks on him.
+When he was in the horrors of France, that hell of mud and blood and rot, the memory of Lulu and the joyous life of Hatton Hall was like a sunny dream he could take out and hold on to. A lifeline.
+But then, when the war was over and he had hobbled home with his scars and nightmares, he made himself do his duty and go visit Hatton Hall to pay his condolences over poor Bill. He had barely stepped out of his car when the doors opened and Lulu ran out. The sun was brilliant on her autumn-colored hair, even brighter against the stark black of her dress. To his shock, she had run down the steps and thrown her arms around him, holding him tightly.
+And there, in her embrace, he felt his frozen heart begin to thaw just a bit. But he wasn't ready to let go of the numbness. He couldn't heal, not then---maybe not ever. So he held her away and said something about how she had grown up.
+He hadn't seen her since, except in glossy photos in magazines. Lulu at dances, at flower shows, at tea parties and tennis games, surrounded by eager young men.
+Soon she would probably marry one of them, and have a brood of rowdy, red-haired children at some country estate, and she would be happy. And he would still be here at the abbey, watching her in the magazines.
+David put down the empty glass and reached for the invitation. A handwritten note was scrawled across the bottom of the card.
+David---I know you'll say no, as you do every year, but do come this time. Enough of being the Hunchback of Notre Dame! Your friends miss you. P.S. Lady Elizabeth Ashley will be there. Sincerely, Bertie.
+David laughed ruefully. Bertie Finch-Granley had been another friend of David's and Bill's at school, a funny, flamboyant character who forgot his own war experiences in wild parties. His midsummer masked ball had become legendary.
+But Lady Elizabeth was not the lure Bertie thought. Giving in to the whim of going to the races with her had been a mistake. Better he should stay home and play the Hunchback.
+He reached for his walking stick and rose from his chair to go out the glass doors onto the terrace. The sun was just sinking below the horizon, leaving the gardens shrouded in a shimmering dark blue haze. Even in the shadows he could see the overgrown flower beds and the cracked marble benches, the silent fountains. The abbey was crumbling around him.
+He made his way down the gravel pathway, crushing the weeds with his stick. What would Lulu say about such a place? Maybe she would like it. He remembered her love of Gothic novels about haunted castles and fair heroines in peril.
+It seemed he did need to get out in the world. Hiding had solved nothing, had not erased the memories. Maybe noise and crowds would. The excursion to the races had been a mistake, but Bertie was a friend. He should pay more attention to his friends.
+And besides, he could wear a mask to this particular ball.
+Lulu could hardly breathe as the car turned in at the stone gates of Granley Hall and joined the long queue of vehicles snaking their way up to the house. She peered out the window to see a kaleidoscope of lights, turning the old stone manor into a blazing fairyland glory. She could hear the faint strains of dance music.
+She pulled a silver compact from her little beaded handbag and looked anxiously into the glass. She had powdered over her freckles and rouged her lips, and her bobbed hair was held back with diamond clips shaped like leaves. She had filched them from her mother's jewel case in the hope they made her look older, more sophisticated.
+Tomorrow, they would go straight back and hopefully no one would be any the wiser about this whole secret excursion. Mum would think she had spent the night with a school friend, and Lulu would have a glorious memory.
+Hopefully.
+She carefully smoothed the skirt of her beaded silver satin Poiret gown and straightened the straps of her silver dancing shoes. She was almost there now, almost to that enchanted fairy-ball.
+The car drew to a halt at the front of the house, and a footman in a powdered wig and white satin knee breeches and jacket opened her door. As she stepped out, she saw the host, Bertie Finch-Granley, hurrying toward her with his hands outstretched. He wore a black velvet cape and a red-and-black feathered mask, like a large, dramatic bird.
+"Darling Lulu!" he cried. "At last you've been able to come to my little soiree."
+Lulu quickly slipped on her own silver beaded mask and took his hands as he kissed her cheek. "I'm so excited to finally get a look at it! It's gorgeous."
+"You haven't seen anything yet." He gave her his arm and led her around the side of the lit-up house.
+A smooth, green lawn sloped away from the back terrace, ending in a shimmering lake. Two huge, open-sided tents were set up there, one of them with a dance floor and a jazz band and the other with a buffet and a champagne fountain, interspersed with large flower arrangements of exotic lilies and orchids.
+Both the tents were crowded with people, men in elegant black evening suits and black masks, women in butterfly-bright beaded and embroidered gowns. They twirled around the dance floor to the raucous strains of "Ain't We Got Fun." Shrieks of laughter filled the summer night air.
+"What do you think, darling?" Bertie asked.
+"It's absolutely wizard," Lulu answered, trying to look at everything at once. "It's definitely no staid deb dance!"
+"Just a little soiree I throw together at the last minute," Bertie said happily. He led her into the buffet tent, which was just as packed with people as the dance floor. The long, white-draped tables were covered with trays of smoked salmon, caviar on blinis, stuffed mushrooms, lobster patties and glistening French chocolates, all presided over by a huge ice sculpture of Poseidon.
+A bartender was busy mixing up sidecars and pink ladies, but Bertie snatched two glasses of champagne from a waiter's tray and handed one to Lulu.
+She sipped at it, giggling as the bubbles tickled her throat. "Delicious," she said.
+"Now, darling, there is someone I particularly want you to talk to," Bertie said. "He desperately needs cheering up, and I think you are just the one to do it."
+Lulu studied the crowd around her, but she didn't see the man she had come to find. David had to be here somewhere, and she had to find him. "I don't know, Bertie...."
+"Trust me. I have a sense of these things." Bertie led her out of the tent and down a winding pathway toward the edge of the lake. A few couples strolled there, and some people were even in boats out on the water.
+There were fairy lights strung in the trees, twinkling through the thick leaves, but they cast only a little light and everything was in shadows. The moon shone on the lake.
+"Over there," Bertie whispered. He gestured at a figure standing at the water's edge, next to a pavilion-shaped swimming cabana.
+Lulu gasped. Even in the shifting moonlight, she knew it was David. No one else had such broad, strong shoulders, or stood so straight and still. The stars glistened on his glossy dark hair, and he looked so lost in solemn thought even in the midst of the wild party.
+He was there, right there in front of her. Lulu's heart pounded in her ears, and she gulped down the rest of her champagne. It warmed her down to her toes and gave her courage.
+"I'm sure you remember David Carlisle?" Bertie said. "He was friends with poor Bill, too."
+"I remember him," she whispered.
+"He's become a terrible recluse, I'm afraid. But I managed to lure him here. Hopefully we can make him have a little fun."
+"I do hope so."
+Bertie beamed at her. "I knew you would see it my way, darling! Now I must run and do my duty as host. You go and see what you can do with our friend there." He took her empty glass from her hand and rushed away with a swirl of his cape.
+Lulu looked back to David. He hadn't moved from his place by the water. He still stared out at she knew not what, shutting out the merriment of the party.
+She took a deep breath and walked toward him before she could change her mind. This was what she had come for, to find David.
+As she reached him, he finally looked over at her. He didn't wear a mask---the scrap of black satin dangled from his hand. The silvery moonlight flowed over his face, etching the austere, elegant angles of his cheekbones and knife-straight nose. In the darkness she couldn't see the scars on his left cheek.
+One dark brow arched, but Lulu wouldn't be scared off by his quiet stillness. He surely couldn't know it was her, not in the darkness and with her mask. She didn't have to be herself, not yet. She could be a sophisticated temptress, like in a movie.
+She pitched her voice low and gravelly, like an actress she had once seen onstage in London. "It's beautiful out here tonight, isn't it?" she said. "Like a whole different, peaceful world."
+He raised the glass in his other hand and took a long drink. Then he smiled at her, a crooked, wry smile that made her heart pound all over again. She had forgotten the power of his smile.
+"I think most people would rather be back at the party, dancing," he said.
+No, Lulu thought. This was exactly where she wanted to be.
+"I like it here," she said. "You can find dancing and jazz at any old party, but places like this are harder to come by."
+"A different, peaceful world," he said quietly, echoing her earlier words.
+"Yes." Lulu edged closer to him, until she could feel the heat of his tall, lean body reach out to wrap around her. Everything else faded---the music, the laughter of the people out on the lake, even her own nervousness---and there was just him, there with her. David, the man for whom she had been waiting for so long.
+"I don't think I've seen you at one of Bertie's parties before," she said.
+"I don't venture out from my house very often these days," he answered, giving her another smile.
+"Really? Why ever not?"
+David drained the last of the liquid from his glass and put it down on a stone railing that separated the bank from the lake. "I suppose I'm not the best company."
+"I think you're doing just fine." Lulu carefully edged even closer until her bare arm brushed the soft sleeve of his evening jacket. "I like being here with you."
+He looked down at her, and his face was blank and smooth in the moonlight, no expression at all. "Do you?"
+"You don't chatter on and on, like all those London boys who only want to talk about cricket," she said. "It's quite exhausting."
+Finally, that smile touched the edge of his lips again. It was slow and careful, as if he were out of practice when it came to smiling, but Lulu thought it was beautiful.
+"You've come to the right place, then," he said. "I have no interest in cricket at all. I don't think I've been near an organized sport since school."
+"Oh, I know."
+His brow arched. "How do you know?"
+"Oh," Lulu stammered, quickly trying to cover her little slip. "You just don't look the type. I like that."
+She brushed her hand against his, and to her delighted astonishment he took her fingers in his cool clasp. "And you're the first lady I've met who prefers quiet to dancing."
+"Well, not always," she admitted, hardly able to think with his touch on her skin. Vaguely, through the glittering haze he created around them, she heard music, loud and rhythmic. She grabbed on to it like a lifeline, a last chance to think clearly again. "In fact, why don't we dance now?"
+She stepped closer to him and slid one hand to his shoulder, taking the other tightly against her palm. At first his movements were stiff and uncertain, as if he didn't quite remember the steps. He laughed ruefully, and Lulu laughed, too, even though her heart was pounding so loudly she could hardly hear anything else. She was with David---he was right here, holding on to her. It was like a wonderful dream, and she didn't intend to let it go.
+She carefully guided him in the slow dance steps until he found the rhythm again. The grace and agility she had once admired as he danced with other, luckier girls on the Hatton Hall terrace was still there, hidden, just waiting to come out.
+But she was the lucky girl now. As his arms closed around her, Lulu rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. The music swayed and turned slow and languid. She let that music slowly wind around her as his warmth seeped into her heart and she didn't know anything but him. It was all she had longed for so long.
+She had never felt so safe in her life, and she never wanted the music to end.
+Their steps slid together perfectly, their bodies fitting as if they had always been just like that. This was the dance she had always been waiting for, and the one she would always want. With him.
+If only David could feel the same.
+But as the song wound to a close, his arms slipped away from her and he took a step back. Lulu shook away the shimmering clouds of her dream and looked up to see a wry, humorless smile twisted his lips.
+"I think you've done your duty now, my dear," he said.
+Lulu blinked at him. "My...duty?"
+"Didn't our host urge you to take pity on the poor, lonely man hiding in the shadows?"
+"Certainly not!" she said indignantly. How could he think that of her, of himself? Didn't he see, didn't he know?
+But she knew that he didn't know. He couldn't. Whatever terrible things had happened to him, however dark his heart had become, he was still David. She didn't know how to tell him that in a way he could believe.
+She had to show him.
+Lulu stepped closer to him, one inch at a time as if she feared he would run from her. He stood very still, as wary as a jungle tiger, as she wrapped her hands around the lapels of his jacket and went up on tiptoe. Gently, softly, she kissed the scars that marred his face below the edge of the mask. One, then the other, to show him how beautiful he was to her.
+She ended with a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth. "I'm here because I want to be," she whispered. "This is the only place I want to be---with you."
+He gave a deep growl, and suddenly his arms were around her, pulling her close and setting his lips against hers.
+Lulu's mouth parted on a startled gasp, and she felt the touch of his tongue on hers, tasting, exploring. When other men had done that it seemed somehow vile, and she had pushed them away with impatience. But with David, it felt wonderfully delightful, creating a heavy, delicious heat deep inside of her. Was he convinced of her true feelings now?
+She twined her arms around his neck and went up on tiptoe, letting him deepen the kiss. It felt as if she had dived into a warm pool of water, deeper and deeper, until all there was in the world was him. His touch, his kiss, the way he made her feel.
+It was even better than she had ever dreamed it could be.
+She buried her fingers in the rough, waving silk of his hair and held him close to her. She felt him groan against her lips, a ragged sound of need that echoed her own. She pressed herself tight to his body, and there was the hard proof of his desire, she could feel its weight against her belly through the thin satin of her gown.
+He did want her! David Carlisle actually wanted her, as she wanted him.
+He spun her around in his arms without breaking their frantic kiss and she felt him lift her up onto the wide stone railing. She instinctively parted her legs and he stepped between them. One of his hard, strong hands swept under her thigh, on the bare skin above her sheer stocking, and raised her even higher against him. She wrapped her legs around his hips as their kiss slid deeper and deeper into burning, desperate need.
+Things were moving so fast, like a car roaring free through the night, but Lulu didn't care. She wanted this, had wanted it for what seemed like forever. It felt exactly right.
+And he wanted it, too, she could taste it in his kiss, feel it in the tension of his body against hers. Once he knew it was really her he kissed...
+Knew it was her! Lulu suddenly drew back, shocked to remember she wore a mask and it was dark, that David didn't know who he kissed. But he slid his kiss from her mouth to her cheek, to the soft, sensitive spot just below her ear. He bit lightly at her earlobe and then soothed the sting with his tongue, his breath warm in her ear, and she forgot her fears.
+"You're so beautiful," he said hoarsely as his lips traced the arch of her throat. "I don't know what madness has come over me."
+"Moon madness," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let her head fall back to his kiss. "I feel it, too. It's wonderful."
+He raised his head to stare down into her eyes behind the beaded mask. His hair fell over his brow, and his eyes glittered in the dark night. "Who are you? Are you some kind of sorceress?"
+But Lulu wasn't ready to let the spell break, as it surely would if he knew who she really was. In answer she covered his lips with hers again, and poured all her heart and all her hopes into the kiss.
+His arms tightened around her and he lifted her up, her legs still twisted around him. She felt him carrying her, but they didn't break the kiss. The world whirled around her, and she landed on her back on something soft. Only then did David slip out of her arms.
+Dazed, Lulu opened her eyes. They were in the swimming cabana, moonlight filtering through the canvas walls to reveal the silhouettes of changing screens and chairs. She lay on a low chaise, the peaked roof high above her.
+She raised herself up on her elbows to watch David as he stripped out of his jacket and tugged his tie loose. She kicked off her shoes as he lowered himself against her again for another frantic kiss.
+She fell back, closing her eyes to absorb every sensation, every feeling of his body on hers. It was like a wild, wonderful dream, one she never wanted to wake from! He kissed her throat, the hollow at its base where her blood pounded with desire for him.
+She felt his open mouth on the swell of her breast just above her satin bodice, and she moaned at the electric rush of sensation.
+He reached for the strap of her dress and slowly eased it down, kissing each bare inch of skin he revealed. He slipped it down over her hips and completely off her body, letting it fall to the floor in a clatter of beads. She wore only her silk knickers and stockings.
+For an instant, she turned her head away in a fit of shyness and tried to cover her breasts with her hands. But he wouldn't let her. He twined his fingers with hers and held her hands against the chaise.
+"So, so beautiful," he said, and her shyness vanished. He lowered his head and took her aching nipple deep into his mouth.
+"Oh!" Lulu cried, her back arching. She had read about men doing such things, but she hadn't imagined it felt like this! Like sparkling lights showering down all over her body.
+He let go of her hand to reach for her other breast. His long, hard fingers curled around its softness, caressing, molding. He plucked gently at the nipple, and she sobbed at the feeling. No wonder people didn't want girls to read novels---it gave them such ideas. If she had known it felt like this, she never would have waited so long to try it.
+But she also knew that she had to wait. That this had to be with David and no one else.
+She reached out blindly for his shirt and crumpled the fine, starched fabric in her fists. She pulled him back up to kiss her lips and fumbled to unfasten the buttons.
+She managed to slip the buttons free and finally touched his bare skin. It was smooth and hot under her eager hands, like satin over the hard steel of his muscles. It felt slightly damp in the heated evening, and the sprinkling of crisp hair that arrowed down his torso tickled her skin.
+He felt so wonderful.
+Her fingertips skimmed his left side and barely touched the roughness of a network of scars when he pulled away. He shrugged out of his shirt and let it drop beside her gown. Then he slid down her body to slowly, provocatively, unroll her silk stocking from her leg.
+He kissed every inch of skin he bared, from just behind her knee to the arch of her ankle. As he tossed away the stocking, he bit lightly at her toe, making her laugh and moan all in the same breath.
+He did the same with her other leg, and when she thought she couldn't bear it any longer he eased away her knickers and she was completely naked.
+And somehow...she didn't even care. Not when he looked at her with that hungry, avid look in his eyes. She knew now that this was how she could help David, how she could bring him to life and the world again. With her body, her love.
+He lowered himself against her again and she wrapped her whole body around him, welcoming him.
+He kissed the curve of her shoulder and whispered, "I don't even know your name, and yet I need you more than I've ever needed anyone. How is that possible?"
+"I feel it, too," Lulu answered, her throat thick with unshed tears of joy and emotion. "I want you."
+His palm caressed her hip, the curve of her waist. She closed her eyes and felt his hand on her womanhood. Shocking and utterly delicious. One finger dipped inside of her, sending hot friction through the very core of her.
+"You're so wet," he whispered. "So...tight."
+"Please," Lulu begged. Surely she would explode if he didn't do it now! She had waited so long already. "Please!"
+"I'm sorry, sorceress," he said hoarsely. "I can't wait."
+She felt him unfasten his trousers and then he was sliding into her, his penis thick and hard, velvet-soft and rough. He thrust forward...and her haze of delight shattered in a momentary rush of pain.
+Lulu instinctively turned her head away, tears pricking at her eyes. David reared up above her, and she could feel his stare piercing down into her.
+"What...?" he growled.
+But the pain was fading now, and Lulu didn't want him to leave her. Not now. She tightened her hold on him and wouldn't let go when he tried to pull back.
+"Don't go," she whispered. "Finish, please."
+She could tell from the taut tension of his shoulders and back that he wanted to pull out---and he wanted to stay.
+"It doesn't hurt now," she said.
+Finally he groaned a curse and thrust forward again. He braced his arms to either side of her body and moved slowly at first, carefully, letting her body adjust to his.
+The pain faded completely, and slowly, gradually, something else built up inside of her. Something warm and pleasurable, something that grew and grew as he moved faster and faster. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to it, letting it sweep her away. She felt as if she were floating up into the sky among the burning stars, higher and higher, the real, dull world left far behind.
+Then those stars exploded, and she held on to David to keep from burning up with them. She cried out wordlessly, and above her she felt his body arch. He threw his head back and cried out along with her.
+Then he collapsed beside her on the chaise, their arms and legs all twined together. She could feel herself floating back down, weightless and light as a scrap of chiffon. She smiled happily and snuggled close to him. That had been amazing, just like in the novels---no, better, because it was with David.
+He untangled himself from her and sat up on the edge of the chaise, turned away from her, his back ramrod-straight. She could feel the tension vibrating from him, the anger he held in check. For a moment she was confused---how could he be angry about what had just happened? It was stupendous!
+But then she remembered. He didn't know who she was.
+She slowly sat up against the high, scrolling back of the chaise and drew her knees to her chest. She felt cold and shiveringly vulnerable, where only a moment ago everything was stars and flowers.
+David reached for his shirt on the floor and handed it back to her. As she put her arms into the sleeves, he said roughly, "Who are you? What kind of game is this?"
+"It---it's not a game," Lulu stammered. She hadn't planned out this bit of the scene. "I just wanted..." You. All she had ever wanted was him. Surely she had shown him that now.
+She had to tell him the truth now. He deserved that, and she needed to know how he really felt. If he rejected her, if he were furious...at least she would have this one memory.
+She slowly untied the mask and let it fall to her lap. "It's me, David. And this isn't a game. I just didn't know how else to reach you."
+David looked back over his shoulder, and for an instant his own grim, stone-like mask fell away and his eyes widened. He looked shocked, appalled, furious. And for just one glimmering second...happy.
+Or maybe that was her wishful thinking. In the next moment he grabbed her arms and gave her a shake, the mask back in place.
+"Lulu Hatton, you crazy little fool!" he growled. "What on earth were you thinking?"
+David stared down at Lulu's pale, heart-shaped face as he held on to her arms. In the chalky starlight filtering through the canvas walls, her eyes were huge and glowing green. She bit her lip as if she were scared or nervous, but she looked back at him boldly and didn't turn away. Her body was warm and as pliable as a willow branch, and he remembered all too well how it felt naked and pressed against his.
+This was a wild dream---a nightmare he would surely snap out of at any minute. He had seen her like this so often in his troubled sleep, it couldn't be real.
+But this was no dream, no fantasy. It was much, much too real. He had just taken Lulu Hatton's virginity. In a lakeside cabana at a noisy, drunken party. All because he was overcome with lust.
+No---no, not lust. When she had danced with him, when she had so tenderly kissed his hideous scars as if she were not repulsed by them, something had seized hold of him. Something warm and soft, and full of a powerful longing. Something he had thought long dead inside of him.
+Tenderness. A great, aching tenderness. For her. His newfound angel.
+But the angel was Lulu Hatton.
+He let go of her, practically thrust her away from him, and turned around to run his hands through his hair. He had to make this right, but how? He would make her the most appalling husband. She deserved so much more.
+"Please, David, don't be angry," she said, her voice trembling. "This is my fault. I just...well, I just wanted you so much, I grabbed the moment. I shouldn't have deceived you."
+"No, you shouldn't have," he answered.
+"Would you have kissed me in the first place if you knew it was me?"
+He gave a humorless laugh. "No. I would have dragged you back to Hatton Hall immediately."
+"Exactly. So I lied. And I'm sorry for that." Her voice was thick with tears, but she added defiantly, "But I'm not sorry you made love to me! It was just as I dreamed it would be. And I won't tell anyone, I promise. You won't ever have to think about me again, if that's what you want."
+David laughed again. Not think of her anymore? As if he could think of anything else! Even now, in the midst of his anger, he could smell her lavender perfume, feel the soft warmth of her against his back, and it nearly drove him mad. That tender longing crept back onto him.
+He wanted to taste her again, feel her arms around his neck drawing him close to her. He felt like a starving man, trapped in a lonely desert, who was given one sweet taste of nectar, and now it was gone again.
+Lulu, Lulu---what had he done?
+He turned back to her and took her gently into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and gave a choked sob. He couldn't hurt her anymore, he had to do the right thing. If only he knew what that was. He never had when it came to Lulu.
+He smoothed her tousled red hair and murmured, "Shh, Lulu, don't cry. Everything will be okay. I've lived like a hermit bear in my cave for so long I can't remember how not to roar at people. I got carried away, I'm sorry."
+"I'm not sorry," she whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as if she would never let go. "Not for making love to you. I've been waiting for a long time."
+Waiting---for him? David could hardly believe it. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and said, "You would make a terrible movie vamp, Lulu."
+She tilted her head back and grinned up at him. "I know. I lack the wardrobe for it, for one thing. But I'm getting better. I just need a little practice."
+"Minx."
+"What are you going to do now? Take me home?"
+"Do you want to go home?"
+She shook her head. "Who knows when I'll get to see Bertie's party---or you---again. I think I'd like to dance."
+"Dance?" he said in surprise.
+She nodded. "Of course! I've been learning the Charleston, it's the latest thing from America you know."
+"I haven't danced in a long time," he said doubtfully. He rubbed at his leg, but the old pain had long turned to numbness. He wasn't sure it could ever feel again, certainly not enough for the kicks and leaps of the Charleston.
+But then he had also thought his frozen heart was dead. And now it felt as if it were touched with a sunny, thawing warmth as Lulu smiled at him and he longed for her so much.
+"Even bears can be trained to dance. You did so well before, by the lake," she said. She let go of him and leaned down to pick up her dress. He caught a tantalizing glimpse of the pale skin of her upper thighs under the edge of his shirt.
+She gave him a teasing grin over her shoulder. "Come on, David. We need to live a little."
+Live a little---that was exactly what he was afraid of....
+Lulu leaned toward the bathroom mirror as she carefully applied her lipstick. She was almost shocked that she didn't look completely different, that her face hadn't changed to match her heart. But aside from a flush in her cheeks she looked just the same.
+Yet she wasn't the same at all. She had just made love. With David.
+She wanted to shout the words out loud, to throw out her arms and twirl around. The bathroom was too small for that, though, so she just grinned at herself in the mirror. She tossed the flannels she had used for washing into the covered basket, dropped the tube of lipstick into her handbag and patted her hair into place before she replaced the mask.
+What would happen now? She had no idea. David had looked so angry and appalled by what happened between them. She thought her heart would shatter until he took her into his arms again. She didn't want to think about the future. She just wanted to think about tonight, with David, and how all her hidden, secret dreams were coming true.
+She unlocked the door and stepped out into the corridor, where a short line of women in pastel silk dresses waited for the bathroom. As she made her way down the wide, winding grand staircase, she saw that the party had spilled from the tents and into the house itself. Knots and rivers of people, loudly laughing and shrieking to each other in greeting, flowed in and out of open doorways and around carved pillars. The smell of perfume and champagne was heavy in the air.
+Lulu slid past them, catching up a pink cocktail from a waiter's tray as she went back out to the gardens. There were even more people there, and a row of cars with their headlights blazing still made their way up the drive. The strains of "Lovin' Sam (The Sheik of Alabam')," her sister's favorite novelty song, drifted out from the tent along with the click-clack of dozens on high-heeled shoes and the rattle of beads.
+She stood at the top of the front steps and sipped at her drink as she scanned the crowd, looking for David. She couldn't see him at first, and her heart sank. Had he already left?
+But then she glimpsed him, taller than the crowd that milled around him. He drank a glass of champagne as he stood there at the entrance of the tent, watching the party with a bemused half smile on his face. And her heart pounded all over again with joy to see him there.
+She hurried over to him, dodging around the staggering stream of people until she stood by his side. He looked down at her and his smile widened.
+"Are you sure you feel brave enough to jump into that?" he said, and gestured to the dance floor with his glass.
+It was so packed, a kaleidoscope of black evening suits and bright gowns, that she could scarcely tell one person from another.
+"Maybe I need to finish this drink before I give it a try," she answered. What she really wanted was to be alone with him again. But she didn't want him to vanish from her life once more.
+"You must go to parties like this all the time," he said.
+Lulu shook her head. "Deb parties are much more staid and quiet! We have to fox-trot with boys down from Oxford while our mothers keep a close watch."
+David gave her a wry smile. "I'm surprised you're not already engaged to one of those Oxford boys. They must be lined up outside your door with offerings of orchids and boxes of chocolates."
+"Not me," she said with a laugh. "I can't listen to long stories about shooting parties and cricket games for the rest of my life. I think Mum and Dad might like to get me off their hands, though."
+"I can't believe that. I never saw such fond parents as Lord and Lady Hatton. Your house always seemed so warm and welcoming, full of fun." David's voice sounded sad and distant.
+Lulu gently touched his arm. "It still is. We'd love to see you there so much. Mum and Dad and Jessica talk about you so often. I think Mum worries about you."
+He laughed. "Does she?"
+"You know what a mother hen she is, always feeding people and tucking shawls around them. Won't you come and see us sometime soon?"
+He gave an unreadable look, and for an instant she dared to hope he would come. But then the music slid into a slow, lilting song, and he turned away from her to watch the dance floor. It cleared of the thickest crowd, leaving couples clinging to each other as they drifted in slow circles.
+David took her empty glass from her and deposited it along with his on a tray. "Come with me," he said, and offered her his arm to lead her out of the tent and into the house.
+David held on close to Lulu as he slowly led her up the stairs. With her he forgot about his limp, his scars, he even forgot the terrible nightmares that plagued him. The guilt that never left him.
+In her shining, hopeful eyes everything looked new, and made him feel new, too. Made him look at the world in brand-new ways.
+Come back to Hatton Hall. Her soft plea echoed in his mind. Once Hatton Hall had been his favorite place in the world, so full of laughter and fun. So different from the cold, quiet rooms of his family's house. He had thought of it so many times over the years, thought about going back and seeing them again. Seeing Lulu.
+But then he would remember his last visit there, the black wreath on the door and Lady Hatton's red-rimmed eyes. He knew only one thing then---he lived, and Bill died. Hatton Hall was gone for him.
+Lulu didn't seem to think so, though.
+He looked down at her head on his shoulder, the glow of her red hair in the golden light. Sweet, passionate Lulu. Did he dare hope? Could he let himself?
+They stopped on the shadowy, quiet landing and he couldn't stop himself. Seeing her, holding her, it was like a force of nature he couldn't hold back. Lulu swept over him like a hurricane.
+He bent his head and covered her mouth with his. Her lips parted in surprise, and he swept his tongue past them to taste her deeply. She was so sweet, like lavender and cocktails and the country night air. She was the innocence and wonder he had lost, and found again in her tonight.
+She curled her fists into the front of his jacket and pulled him closer to her as she answered his kiss with a passion of her own. Their feet grew still and he forgot where they were, who he was, he forgot everything but her, and how it felt to make love to her.
+To come alive again with her. She was his magic sorceress.
+Suddenly he desperately needed to see her face, to hold her and know it was her. To show her the life-changing tenderness she had shown him.
+His kiss slid from her lips, skimming over her soft, pink-flushed cheek until he could whisper in her ear.
+"Come somewhere quiet with me," he urged. She went still, glancing over his shoulder to the crowd downstairs, and at first he was afraid she would refuse. That she would leave him alone again.
+Finally she nodded and gave him a smile. "I will."
+Lulu heard the click of the door as David closed it behind them, leaving them in the darkness of a deserted bedchamber. She nervously smoothed her gown as she studied the room, the shapes of the old-fashioned four-poster bed, the chaise, the tall carved fireplace, all shadows in the moonlight that streamed from the window.
+Up here, the noise from the party was muffled, like the distant echo of a constantly moving ocean tide. She could hear the soft sound of his breath, the roar of her heart. They were alone again, and this time it was different.
+Now he knew who she really was.
+She heard the lock turn in the door and his soft footsteps on the thick carpet as he crossed the room to stand right behind her. His arms slid around her waist and drew her back against his body.
+Lulu's eyes fluttered closed as she felt his hand slide, hard and hot, over her belly and he lowered his head to kiss the side of her neck. His breath was hot and quick against her ear, and she thought she could feel his heart pounding through her. He held her close, and they were all alone, the only two people in the whole world.
+She had never felt more wonderfully alive than she did in this moment! Everything sparkled like fireworks, and the world was a beautiful place again for one night.
+The tip of his tongue lightly touched the nape of her neck, and she shivered. His kiss slid ever so slowly to the curve of her shoulder just where it was bared by the thin strap of her dress. He nudged it out of his way and it drifted down her arm.
+"So beautiful," he said hoarsely, and in his words she suddenly felt beautiful.
+She spun around in his embrace to wind her arms around his neck. He pulled her up against him and their lips met in a hot rush of desperate desire. She had needed him so much for so long, and now she wanted him to need her, too!
+She held on to him tightly and felt his tongue trace the curve of her lower lip, lightly, teasingly, before he pressed inside to taste her fully. She opened eagerly to welcome him.
+Through the blurry, hot haze of their kiss, she felt him lift her up in his strong arms. The room tilted and swayed as he spun around, and then she found herself lying back on the bed. The velvet bedspread was soft under her, and the canopied posters enclosed them in their own warm, intimate space.
+He pulled back from her, breaking their kiss, and she cried out with incoherent need. He rose up above her to shed his jacket and tug his tie free before coming back into her waiting, eager arms.
+Their mouths met again in a hungry kiss, full of the vital need built up over years, the hunger for love and belonging, for each other. He tasted of champagne and clean mint, of that darkness that was only his and that she craved so much.
+Her legs parted as he leaned into her body and she felt the hardness of him through their clothes. It sent a thrill all through her, that sign that he wanted her, needed her, just as she did him. Once wasn't nearly enough for them.
+He slid her gown away from her skin, slowly easing it down as he kissed each inch he bared. His lips and tongue touched every curve, every freckle, as if she were a beautiful, exotic goddess he worshiped. As the beaded satin slipped away from her breasts, he captured her aching nipple in his mouth, rolling it over his tongue as she cried out with the pleasure of it all.
+She reached out blindly to unfasten his shirt, ripping away one of the buttons in her haste, until finally his chest was bare. She tossed the linen away like a drifting ghost into the darkness, and as he slid slowly down the length of her body she traced a light caress over his bare shoulders, his chest. She marveled over the texture of his bare skin, so hot and smooth over his lean muscles. He was so gorgeous---and he was hers, all hers, even if it was only for tonight.
+He drew her dress and her knickers all the way off and they drifted away to join his shirt. She only wore her stockings and her dancing shoes, and it was a very naughty sensation indeed.
+David gently parted her legs even wider and lay between them. As she watched, gasping for breath, he kissed the flare of her hip, the soft, sensitive bare skin above her garter.
+And then, to her shock, his fingers gently parted the hot, wet folds of her womanhood and he kissed her there. His tongue plunged into her, tasting her deeply, and a hundred fiery sensations raced through her.
+"David!" she cried out. She tangled her fingers in his hair, but whether to pull him away or draw him closer she didn't know. He wouldn't leave her. He was relentless, kissing her deeper and deeper until she shattered into exquisite pleasure.
+Only then did he slide back up the length of her trembling body. He lowered himself over her, his face pressed to the curve of her neck and shoulder as he unfastened his trousers and then slid his body into hers in one smooth thrust.
+Lulu gasped at this new and yet now wonderfully familiar sensation of delicious fullness. She arched her back to meet him fully, to be as close as she could. He drew back and plunged forward again, faster and faster, deeper, until she was sure their very souls touched.
+She closed her eyes tightly to feel every single touch, every movement of his body against hers. She had to remember this, to keep it with her always. His hands traced down her bare arms to take her hands in his, twisting their fingers together as if to bind her to him. But she was already with him, completely.
+She wrapped her legs around his hips as he thrust again, even deeper. She could feel that knot of pleasure unraveling inside her, expanding, flowing, until it filled every inch of her. Even her toes and fingertips tingled, and she thought she would burst into flames! Sparks exploded behind her closed eyes---red, white, green---and she cried out as her climax washed over her.
+"Lulu!" he called out as his body arched over hers. Then he collapsed beside her on the bed, one hand still tangled with hers as his shoulders heaved and he tried to catch his breath.
+She couldn't breathe, either. Her whole self felt so deliciously weak, and she didn't want to leave this very spot. She gently caressed the taut, damp line of his shoulder, his bare back.
+After a few silent, stunned moments, David reached out to turn back the sheets and helped her slide beneath them to keep the encroaching chill at bay. For an instant she was afraid he would leave her, but then he laid beside her in their soft cocoon of linen and velvet and took her into his arms.
+She wrapped her arms around his chest and felt his fingers move slowly, caressingly, through her hair. She could hear his breath, and the faint strains of dance music from the party. There had never been anywhere she wanted to be more than this, in David's arms, safe and warm.
+But what would happen when the dawn came? Would this dream shatter like a beautiful, delicate bubble and be gone?
+She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him, studying him in the moonlight. A faint smile curved his lips, and his eyes were closed. She thought he might be sleeping, but then suddenly his eyes opened and he looked back at her.
+"What are you thinking about, Lulu?" he said. "It must be something very important for you to have such a fierce frown on your pretty forehead."
+"I was just wondering---why did you never come back to see us at Hatton Hall?" she said. "We've all missed you so much."
+"Did you? I would have thought you never wanted to see me again."
+"Of course not! Why would that be?"
+"Because I'm a reminder that I am here, and your brother is not. Because you shouldn't have to look at my scars and remember what happened."
+"What rubbish!" Lulu cried, throwing herself back down to lie beside him. "Mum and Dad would never blame you for what happened. In fact, Mum always says you were Bill's only comfort in France, his only friend from home, and how much worse it all would have been if you weren't there with him in the trenches. Didn't you get her Christmas letters and all her invitations?"
+"Your mother is a saint," David answered. "And I do hope I was some comfort to Bill in those nightmare days, as he was to me. But maybe there was something else I feared at Hatton Hall."
+"Like what?"
+His arms closed around her again and he rose up above her to press her against the mattress. Lulu laughed in surprise.
+"I was afraid that I would lose control with you," he said with a growl. "And I was right. Look what happened tonight."
+"But I wanted you to lose control," she said. She wound her arms around his neck and summoned up every bit of deep-down courage. "I love you, David. I've been in love with you for years and years, and I've missed you so much."
+"Oh, Lulu." There was surprise in his voice, and sadness, too. But there was also a hint of hope, and she clung to that. "You shouldn't waste your time loving me."
+"Why?" she demanded. "Because you don't care about me?"
+"Because I care about you too much." He bent his head and kissed her, a soft, gentle kiss that spoke of longing and sadness. "Because I think I've loved you for years, too. Once, when I was younger, I thought that when the time was right I could court you, but after the war... You deserve much better."
+Joy flooded through Lulu at his words. He loved her! She was not alone in this crazy emotion. She had hope again. She tightened her arms around him, not letting him leave her.
+"There is no better," she declared. "All those silly boys I met in London, they were nothing compared to you. I knew I could help you, that we could be happy together. Just give me a chance to show you, to prove it to you."
+He smoothed her hair back from her brow and gently held her face between his hands. "I'm absolutely sure I would be happy with you. But my life is a quiet one, and I would never want to make you miserable for a moment. To see all that light go out in your eyes would kill me."
+"I only want you and a life together," she said. "I don't want silly parties! I don't want crowds. Only you, David."
+He kissed her again, a wild, openmouthed kiss full of happiness and joy, a dream kiss. Lulu held on to him and kissed him back with everything she held in her heart, everything she hoped for. It was a kiss to end all kisses.
+Suddenly she heard an explosion, and for an instant she thought it was her heart, bursting with too much happiness. But then there was another bang, and another. She opened her eyes and turned to see fireworks bursting in the sky outside the window.
+It seemed like the perfect sign. Everything was different now; everything was going to be full of light from now on.
+"Look!" she cried. She climbed out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around her like a toga as she hurried to the window.
+She could see the shadows of the party-goers, clustered at the edge of the lake as fireworks shot high above the water. Plumes and comets of sparkling red and white arced across the black sky like beacons of victory, and Lulu clapped her hands in delight.
+She heard David follow her from the bed, and his arms slid around her to pull her back against him. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, and everything in that moment seemed perfect and right.
+"Isn't it beautiful?" she sighed.
+"Absolutely beautiful," he answered.
+And Lulu knew that from that moment on, no matter what happened, they would be together. That was surely the most beautiful thing of all.
+Enjoy more passion through the ages with the sensual Harlequin Historical UNDONE titles on sale now:
+Bound to the Wolf Prince by Marguerite Kaye
+Claimed by the Wolf Prince by Marguerite Kaye
+A Disgraceful Miss by Elaine Golden
+An Imprudent Lady by Elaine Golden
+The Perfect Concubine by Michelle Styles
+Seduced: The Scandalous Virgin by Deborah Hale
+Wanton in the West by Lisa Plumley
+Unmasking Lady Innocent by Ann Lethbridge
+Temptation is the Night by Marguerite Kaye
+Summoned for Seduction by Joanne Rock
+Craving something a little longer? Find more historical romantic adventure from Harlequin Historical at www.eHarlequin.com or your local bookstore.
+Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send your submission to undone@harlequin.ca.
+Amanda McCabe wrote her first romance novel at the age of sixteen in Algebra class, an epic starring all her friends as characters! That story will never be published (and she nearly failed Algebra), but now she's the RITA-nominated, award-winning author of many other books and novellas. She lives in Oklahoma with two cats, a Pug, and a bossy miniature Poodle, and loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network---even though she doesn't cook. Visit her at www.ammandamccabe.com for Behind the Book information, contests, and upcoming releases, and at riskyregencies.blogspot.com.
+ISBN: 978-1-4592-0010-4
+Girl in the Beaded Mask
+Copyright © 2011 by Ammanda McCabe
+All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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+All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
+This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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