Enslaved in Shadows (2 page)

Two and a half years of service and he w
as still considered the grunt.
He was tired of the shit jobs and wanted something stable, more localized. Gallivanting around the world trying to fix people’s problems was not his thing.

He caught wind of the woman,
spotted her walking towards the beach.
Same direction he was going.
Okay, well it was the direction his dick was straining towards. He mentally shrugged.
He’d purposely left the bar wanting to escape her.
She was headed north, he was
supposed
to go south, meet up with his contact.
Shit, don’t follow, do not follow.
He said the mantra over and over in his head. He wasn’t the only o
ne who wanted in on the action.
He watched as other men walking around stopped to stare at her and her friend.
They were both scantily dressed. Bikini top and thong bottoms, his island flower had a wrap around her waist attemp
ting to cover her ass and legs.
Sheer was now his new favorite fabric. He could see all of her creamy sugar bronzed flesh. She may have thought she was covered
,
but to his
eyes,
she was on full display and his for the taking, after he finished his job.
Decided already are we?
One could dream.

He watched h
er pick a spot out on the beach. She
look
ed
around to see if anyone was watching an
d placed her bag on the ground.
A warm breeze drifted pass and he inhaled. She was awkward in her skin, could smell her nervousness. She scanned the crowd as she set up her blanket and carefully sat down before she fully relaxed. No, his fragrant flower wasn’t comfortable at all.
Yours?
Draven shook the thought from his head, she wasn’t
his,
and he wasn’t even sure if he was even going to
go-rounds
with her.
He could hurt her.

He watched closely, his insides knotting with a force proven to bring any male to their knees. The necessity to take her somewhere secluded where he could have his way with her consume
d his thoughts more than once.
This was bad for business on so many levels.
He hadn’t bedded a woman in a month, which was some record for him. He usually only got like this towards the end of a full cycle, but now more than ever he was salivating at
the bit.
He closed his eyes and took a series of deep breaths.
In …out. In… out.
It didn’t help his situation.
Instinct was taking over and before he’d even realized what he was doing he was standing over her, chest rapidly rising and falling as he silently stalked his prey. She was driving his beast crazy.

Her arousal from earlier permeated the air. It was thicker now that he was so close. Molecules of lust drifted between them. Kinetic energy moved from one body to the other, osmosis
at its highest.
He stood for several heartbeats attempting to gather his wits, and failed.
The beauty tilted her head back and flipped her sunglasses up arching a brow in question.

He watched as she got to her elbows to sit up further, self consciously pulling the wrap over her legs. It was a shame, because she had sinfully gorgeous legs. Brown sugar laced with honey. Her skin shimmered when the sun touched her body.
Her eyes a soft honey, glazed over to a deeper gold. Mahogany tresses mixed with red fell lazy on her face and spilled over her shoulders onto her bikini covered breasts.
Draven's eyes made their way back to her lips
,
and he shuffled his feet to adjust himself.

She was nervous and
aroused. He found it adorable.
Beauty personified
,
and his oldest longest fantasies come to life. Lush woman and soft eyes, everything a man could desire. His senses worked overtime.
He separated her scents from everything else around him. Giving up his good sense to be spelled by her, enchanted and trapped with nowhere to go but towards the swe
et smelling bliss of her heat.
Her friend wasn’t happy with his intentions. He was quite sure her friend was petrified,
not only for her safety but for that
of her friends.
He tried for a friendly grin, but it must have come off in a different manner.

“We better go,” her friend said.

Idiot you scared them off.

“But we just got here Bells.” His flower whispered back.

Bells
stared horrified. Why did he always have this affect on others? He was just like anybody else. Prickly sometimes, but for the most part
,
he did a
n admirable
job at acclimating.
Keep telling yourself that.
He intended t
o be nice today, would be nice.
Then you should have kept your wolf grin to yourself. Dumbass

He mentally assessed his situation. He was dressed for tropical fun. Open shirt, cargo shorts, and shoes. Who else would wear these ridiculous
flip-flops
? He was l
ucky he could even pull it off.
Draven stared at the beach and then back at the delicate flower.

“Apologies, I only wanted to say hello.”

He turned, headed back in the direction he should have taken from the beginning. Away from her, she wasn’t for him.
He’d already promised his father he’d settle down when he returned from this assignment. Would his father have been happy with his choice? Not that the choice was
all his, but a wolf can hope.
She was human,
and humans were not for wolves.
End of story.

* * * *

Jesminda was fuming from her early encounter with Mr. Hottie. Bells never cock blocked
,
so she didn’t understand what the problem was. They were here for fun but, because of
him
Bells was now acting extremely funny.
She watched as everyone around them headed to what they deemed the
nightlife
in Belmopan. It wa
sn’t, but who was she to argue?
She had a surprise for Belinda.
She was taking her to the only real club in the city. It was underground and surrounded b
y tons and tons of ocean water.
The walls were made of rock and glass thick enough to w
ithstand the pressure from the water
that surrounded it on three sides.

The Club owner
Cyrian
was a family friend and
allowed them in free of charge.
Named after his mother, Odessa’s was the place to be if you wanted to be anywhere in the city. The lights were dimly lit around the room in strategic
spots, which
left other corne
rs of the club dark and hidden.
There were no tables at Odessa’s, only the bar the length of one glass wall. The rest was dance floor.

             
“Close your mouth
,
fish.” Jes joked.

             
Belinda’s mouth stood open a few seconds more
,
and Jes was pleased she was able to show her friend something she’d never seen before. Bells was tall and statuesque with beautiful raven black hair. It flowed to her waist in straight
,
silky strands.
Multicolored feathers placed strategically in her hair all the time gave her an Indian-like quality with her warm-toned skin.
She would constantly joke her feathers made her more mysterious and alluring. Her beautiful violet eyes glowed bright with wonder and mischief. The men in the club were riveted on her model form as she walked over to the bar and sat down.

“This place is amazing.” Bells whispered eyes wide
with awe
as she took in more of the surroundings.

             
“It is.” Jes nodded in agreement, taking a seat next to her.

             
“So um, where’s the ladies, in case I need
to go? I don’t see any restrooms
.”

             
“There aren’t any, if you need to go you have to step outside and hope the jungle doesn’t eat your ass.”

             
Belinda’s eyes got big and both women laughed in a fit of giggles.

             
“Seriously,
you do have to go
outside, make a right and you’
ll see another structure and there you will find the golden throne. Don’t worry about it being dark
,
Cyrian always posts someone out there watching the restroom
s
, just in case.”

             
“Just in case?” Belinda asked.

             
“Just in case the jungle wants a piece of your ass.” The girls laughed again
,
and Bells put in their drink order.

             
No one
bothered them as they sat at the bar drinking their island version of a le
mon drop martini. Two parts Cir
oc, one part coconut, and one whole lemon. The glass was rimmed with sugar and nutmeg, the perfect combination. Her drink was smooth and tangy as it splashed on her tongue. It didn’t take long for the warmth to heat up her body.

             
The music changed and Benny Benassi’s “No Matter What You Do” started pulsing through the club
’
s speakers. Before she could stop
herself,
she was out of her seat and on the dance floor dragging Bells with her.
She loved this song. Every time it played didn’t matter where she was, she danced.
They’d put shorts on but were still in their bikini tops
,
and Bells and her moved in the wave of people as the music pumped through her body. She could feel the vibration beneath her feet as it guided her across the floor. Her body became the person she was supposed to be, sensual and comfortable in its own skin. Dancing was the only time she didn’t feel awkward. It didn’t do much for her appearance but at least she was coordinated and sure of herself.
The crowd surrounded her and Bells while the two of them danced in the throng of bodies.

The air fused with electricity and the press and pull of bodies dancing kept her occupied. Heat surrounded her, the thrall of the music hypnotized her every move. The ou
tside world ceased to exist. Jes
was in her happy place.

Strong arms wrapped around
Jesminda’s
waist and tugged her against a hard chest. Her head snapped up, the breath forced from her lungs. Jesminda noticed she’d danced herself into a dark corner, and was now in the arms of a stranger.
Fuck!
From the corner of her
eye,
she saw Belinda who’d decided to go back to the bar and have another drink.
Don’t panic.
It was probably a local who
just wanted to dance.
She tried to pull away from the stranger to get a
better look at him. But his caged
arms pulled tighter. One of his hands
grabbed and massaged her neck
. His hand spread wide, relaxed, as a pinky and thumb caressed the walls of her throat. She gasped, the hand wasn’t tight or constricting, but soothed the anger that was threatening to rise. Her breathing slowed as she tried to compose herself.
Do. Not. Panic.

“I know we don’t know each other, but I want to fuck you.”

Chapter 2

Thickly layered chocolate, with a huge helping of spice was the warm breath at her ear. It was
him.
The object of her desire was holding her in his dark embrace. This was the kind of thing she was hoping for.
Attraction, gut-deep-
spasming attraction, which caused her entire body to light up like the Fourth of July
.
He slowly let his hands fall
to her side and rest
at her waist. The way her body reacted to the possessive hold on her throat was shameful. Her insides
heated and the result pooled in
her panties. His touch was primordial. The beginning of all her arousal started from that one sole action. He was an endorphin inducing opiate,
an addiction on every level, a killer combination of man and lust.

She wasn’t one to fall for the hype, n
ot even a little bit, but in this
case,
the hype was true. Every woman’s fantasy would be granted with him at their side. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise.
Static arousal clung to the heat of her skin. She’d been thinking about him all day, fantasizing what a night in his bed would be like.
She’d found herself going through a roller coaster ride of emotions; from hot to cold,
to scorching,
and then to woozy.
His bedside manner would be that g
enerous
, extending from one physical
end to another, jacking her sense
s
into overdrive.
It would be
that
amazing
,
and she knew it.