Deviant Knights (13 page)

Sliding her hands down her three-day-old dress,
trying to flatten the impossible wrinkles, she then ran a hand through her
unruly curls.
 
On a good day, she’d stick
out and
look like
a sore thumb.
 
Today, she was at her worst.
 
Her eyes roamed over Michel and Gabriel.
 
How did they look so fresh and gorgeous after
their hellish trip and she look like a bedraggled mess?
 
It was so unfair.

Why worry
about my dress and my hair?
 
It won’t
matter once I’m decapitated.
 
The niggling doubt that her head would be removed from her neck
hadn’t completely gone.
 
She trusted
Gabriel, and truly, she did Michel as well.
 
They were not going to chop off her head.
 
And for good reason.
 
She refused to be buried in a dirty dress and
knock-off
Louboutins
.
 

A wide door opened in the front of the home and
a man stepped out into the bright sun.
 
His eyes furrowed for a moment before accustoming to the light.
 
As he stepped closer, another man followed
him out.
 
They were both incredibly
handsome, looking as if they would be at home on the pages of a magazine.
 
They definitely fit the
Monte
Carlo
atmosphere she’d imagined from movies.
 
Tall, as tall as the men with her, they were
also as well-built, their lean muscular bodies very apparent under the
expensive looking jeans and t-shirts they wore.
 

The first from the door was slightly shorter and
more heavily muscled, with a deeper tan and dark brown hair.
 
He’d spent time in the sun, golden highlights
streaking the tousled waves.
 
The other
man was
lighter,
with sandy-blond hair and an ethereal
masculine beauty more akin to the marble statues she’d seen depicting gods and
angels in the Met.

“Thierry, it is so good to see you.”
 
Gabriel clasped the darker man’s hand and
gave him a quick hug in greeting.
 
So,
this was the friend they’d come to see.

Thierry smiled and clapped him on the back.

He then turned and gave
Kadence
the once over, speaking to Gabriel lowly in French as his eyes roamed over her.
 
She could guess what he said, a blush coming
to her cheeks at the open appraisal he gave her.
 
A light came to his pale, gray eyes, and they
sparkled even more when he smiled at her.

Michel clasped Thierry in welcome as Gabriel
moved to the other man, grasping the man in welcome.
 
“Alain, I was not expecting you here.”

The angelic one called Alain nodded and
smiled.
 
“Thierry called me.
 
Said you might need my
help.”

“Your sword would be much appreciated.”

“I’m glad you all made it here safely.” Thierry
switched to English.
 
His eyes never left
Kadence
as he spoke.
 
“My dear, welcome to my home.”

He walked over and took her hand, placing a kiss
to the top of it.

As they walked into the home, Gabriel told the
men about the Illuminati they’d seen at the train station and something about
“the gypsy”.
 
Knowing glances were
exchanged and
Kadence
felt lost in the
conversation.
 
That feeling wasn’t
unusual for the past couple of days.
 
Thierry squeezed her arm and she looked up into his welcoming face.
 
He smiled at her again, the twinkle in his eyes,
the smile on his comfortable face, they belied the strength she sensed rumbled
close to the surface.

She was overwhelmed by all the men surrounding
her.
 
She’d had a few days to grow
accustomed to Michel and Gabriel and the smoldering sexuality and raw power
they exuded.
 
But multiplying it by two,
added to her exhaustion, and she could not fight the strength that rolled off
them all in waves.
 
She needed to be on
her toes around these men, and today, she could barely stand.

She needed a shower and a bed…and not
necessarily in that order.
 
Some decent
food wouldn’t be rejected either.
  
Wobbling on her feet, she reached for the car to steady herself, but
Thierry caught her first.

“You are exhausted, ma petite.
 
We must get you inside.”
 
Thierry offered her his elbow and then led
her into the home once she took his offer.

 
She gazed
at the space as she entered, seeing the beauty and elegance that surrounded
her, but too tired to pay attention to most of it at that point.
 
He led her into a bright, airy kitchen and
sat her behind an old scarred table.
 
Once she was seated, he opened a bottle of red and poured her a
glass.
 
She took it with a smile and
swallowed half of it in one large gulp.
 
The liquid warmed her as it slid down her throat.
 
But once it reached her stomach, unease hit
her immediately.

Small hunks of cheese and a section of crusty
bread were placed before her, and she dove in, her stomach rebelling a little
at the wine.
 
It soon settled as she
swallowed a few bites of the still warm bread and a bite or two of the
Munster
.
 
Taking another piece of bread, she looked up
to see all four men staring at her.

Self-consciousness settled in.
 
Sitting back, she returned their gazes,
lowering the food and wine, refusing to take another mouthful.

Thierry refilled her wine glass as well as his
own and he took a long gulp, insisting she eat.
 
“I’ve a guest room ready for you. You will be safe here for at least a
shower and some rest.
 
I took the liberty
to acquire some clothing for you.
 
It is
also in the room.
 
As soon as you have
your fill, you are welcome to it.”

She could kiss the man for offering her food, a
shower, a bed,
and
a change of
clothing.
 
More than she’d even asked
for.
 
Rising, she wobbled again.
 
The damned heels were being thrown away at
the first opportunity.
 

Gabriel moved to her and gathered her in his
arms, steadying her.
 
His heat leeched
into her and she loved the sensation.
 
“I
will show you the way,
querida
.”

He led her from the space and she felt all eyes
on her back.
 
She was too tired to care
anymore.
 
Let them stare.

Gabriel moved ahead of her in the narrow
hallway, his hand gently coaxing her along.
 
Watching Gabriel’s strong back and ass before her, she was at liberty to
ogle him all she wanted.
 
Even as tired
as she was, she couldn’t ignore how perfectly proportioned the man was.
 
Wide shoulders tapered to a narrow
waist.
 
His ass was perfectly round, but
not too big.
 
She could see herself
holding on to it as he thrust into her.
 
Strong thighs showed power in every step.

Sleep.
 
She needed sleep.
 
Not sex.

By the time he opened the bedroom door, she was
practically in heat.
 
Fatigue
disappeared, the need she’d felt for him returned ten-fold.
 
He walked into the bathroom and she heard the
shower turn on.
 
As he returned to the
bedroom, he had begun to take off his clothing.

“You’re exhausted.
 
I don’t trust you to stay on your feet,
querida
.”

The mention of trust, or lack thereof, made her
stiffen.
 
She hated that they thought of
her as a potential threat, and now her mind drifted as to their
dependability.
 
She hoped Thierry had
answers for them.
 
Good ones.

Deciding that she was too tired to fight him,
she shimmied out of her dress and left it on the floor.
 
She kicked off the shoes and began fighting
with her garters and hose.
 
A nude
Gabriel kneeled before her and moved her hands away.
 
His eyes lifted to hers before returning to
the task at hand.
 
Shivers wracked her
body from the barely there caress of his fingers over her thighs.
 
Once done, he rose and removed her bra.

“So beautiful.”
 
He cupped her breasts in his
hands, squeezing the tender flesh in his palms.
  
“Thierry is quite enamored with you.”

She couldn’t ignore the hint of jealousy in his
voice.
 
It wasn’t the first time she’d
heard it.
 
And she couldn’t ignore the
ripple of pleasure it gave her that he felt the emotion.
 
It gave her a tiny glimmer of hope that they
could repair what was broken between them and move ahead.
 

He released her breasts and grasped her hand
softly in his.
 
Leading her to the shower,
he entered in behind her.
 
She stepped
into the multiple showerheads and let the warm water slide all over her
body.
 
It felt miraculous, invigorating
and relaxing all in the same moment.
 
Gabriel brought fingers to her scalp and began to work shampoo into her
hair, the floral scent of it reaching her nose and calming her almost as much
as his hands.

No man had ever washed her hair and it felt
wonderful.
 
His strong fingers worked
over her scalp, just firm enough to make her body soften further, the need to
moan coming to her lips.
 
Once she was
rinsed, he washed her body with a soft cloth and a sweet smelling soap.
 
His hands worked over her body, massaging as
much as cleaning, and by the end, she could barely stand.
 
He rinsed her and turned off the shower.

A towel was wrapped around her and he lifted her
off the ground and into his arms.
 
Carried to the bed, she barely heard his instruction for her to
rest.
 
She drifted off moments later as
she felt Gabriel slide in behind her.

****

Awakening,
Kadence
was
disoriented, the room around her unfamiliar.
 
Dream images came to her mind, a trip via train, Mr. Dreamy at the
fore.
 
Her dreams were really kicking
into high gear.
 
Perhaps it was time to
seek professional help to work through what it was that was making her dreams
so realistic.

She felt the bed pitch and a warm arm wrap
around her waist and pull her close.
 
A
hard cock pressed against her ass.

Light from the full moon streamed into the open
doors.
 
Calm sounds from sea and the
scent of the sea air filtered into the room.
 

It hadn’t been a dream.
 
Gabriel was lying in the bed with her.
Naked.
 

She stiffened.

“Are you awake,
querida
?”

The rumble of Gabriel’s voice moved through her,
making her shiver.

“Ah, so you are.” His hot mouth trailed kisses
down from her earlobe to her shoulder, his long fingers squeezing her breasts,
molding them to his palms.
 
“I can make
you do more than quake,
querida
.”

Rolling her over into the bed, he laid his long
body atop hers, pushing between her legs with his body.
 
His heavy cock rested against her pelvis,
throbbing with life. Gabriel captured both her hands in one of his large ones
and raised them over her head.

Kadence
couldn’t help but tremble again.
 
She loved her men aggressive, dominant.
 
She’d had fantasies of being tied up but had always been too nervous to
tell her few lovers what she wanted.
 
What she needed.
 

“You like?”

She couldn’t answer him.

“No?
 
Perhaps I should stop?”
 
He
released her hands and began to slide off her body.

“No!”
 
She
pulled him back into place.
 
“I like it.”

“Where is the bold woman from our first
meeting?
 
She wasn’t afraid to ask for
what she needed.”

“The woman you met had had too much
champagne.”
 
She lowered her lids, the
stress from their escape wearing on her deeply.
 
“And a lot has changed over the past few days.”