Powerful Moves [L.U.S.T.] (Siren Publishing Classic) (5 page)

“You have watched him today the same as I. Does he strike you as a volatile man, unable to control that which he possesses?”

“No,” Gideon conceded. “So we invite him in.”

“We return home and let him come to us,” Michael corrected. “As you said, he knows we are here. He knows who we are. He will find us if and when he is ready, but tonight is not the night.”

Gideon lifted a brow. “In a sudden hurry to get back home, are we? Elena can take care of herself, you know.”

Michael ignored his brother’s mocking tone. “There is little more we can do here tonight.”

“You’re worried about her.” Gideon straightened but didn’t move away from the tree.

“And you are not?”

Gideon shrugged. “Elena’s a big girl.”

“She’s frightened.” Elena’s mental connection to Michael earlier in the evening had been tenuous at best, her thoughts coming through to him in the static way of a bad cell-phone connection. He managed to pick up only bits and pieces. Something about a stranger appearing out of nowhere in the nature park, who claimed to be chasing a vampire and was now asking for the agency’s help. Then he had sensed the fear, something he rarely got from the strong-willed, characteristically courageous Elena Cabot.

Gideon barked a quiet laugh. “Frightened of herself perhaps. Whoever the guy is didn’t threaten anything about her but her lonely bedroom. Couldn’t you smell her arousal?”

No.
Though the bond of blood between brothers allowed for the sharing of powers few vampire and werewolf combinations could claim, Gideon’s sense of smell especially at great, metaphysical distances tended to be stronger.

“Not that I blame her,” Gideon added. “Did you see him? The frigging guy is
hot
.”

Michael shook his head and bit back a grin. “Then you take him and see that he leaves our Elena alone.”

“Too late. You told her to keep the guy close until we return to LUST HQ. Thanks to your little sun allergy, that won’t happen until tonight. In case you failed to notice the time, we’ll be approaching daylight shortly.”

“I noticed,” Michael mumbled and tipped his chin at a flash of movement some hundred feet away. “The same way I noticed the man on your six.”

Gideon’s brows lifted but, smartly, he didn’t turn around. “Any chance that’s the guy the SEALs are out here to find?”

Michael nodded. “A good chance. What do you say we give the government a small freebie tonight?”

“I say lead the way. The clock is ticking.”

Odd that Gideon would use that particular phrase when Michael felt like the clock started ticking the moment Elena made connection with him tonight. Why, he couldn’t say, but he knew with a certainty chilling even to a vampire he would soon find out.

* * * *

“There’s beer in the fridge if you want one. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Tavius watched the superb sway of you-know-you-want-me hips as Elena walked briskly down a short hall in her duplex apartment. The pull he felt to follow her like a panting puppy wasn’t lost on him. His attraction to her was powerful. Another fact he hadn’t missed.

And not one-sided, either
. He had realized that almost from the start. A sexual tension sizzled between them unlike any he felt before. It put him on edge in the woods, brought all his senses, both normal and paranormal, to a level of hypersensitivity he wasn’t accustomed to.

As disconcerting as he felt, he couldn’t fault himself for wanting her.
Not with an ass like that
. He pictured her bent over, that amazing ass in the air, poised to accept his throbbing cock, and dug in his heels to keep himself from going after her.

The hips and ass, along with the rest of her spectacular body, disappeared into what he assumed to be her bedroom. His cock whimpered from the loss. He drew his gaze away, though his mind wasn’t so easily controlled.

What was she doing in there? Likely changing her shirt for something similar to the shorts she wore, something he wouldn’t be able to use his transparent vision to see through.

“You should’ve kept that particular power a secret, knucklehead.” He knew he shouldn’t have used it on her at all. It was intrusive, and he rarely used it for that purpose in Atnalta. Although in his realm, the women didn’t mind so much.

For all the similarities between Terra and Earth, just as many differences existed. A naked body was considered the greatest work of art on Terra, and sex a joyful celebration of the mind, body, and spirit. Not so here on Earth, here in Atlanta. This might have been his first time to visit this realm, but he knew enough of it to remember naked flesh and sex weren’t treated the same.

In his defense, he’d locked in his transparent vision to scan the woods for any trace of Regulus Le Mort. Elena stepped in his path and gave him an eye full of exceptionally beautiful breasts. He remembered the sight of her large, dark nipples aroused and begging for his touch. He saw the pasty flesh surrounding those points and knew it would feel as smooth as it looked.

Gods, he loved the contrast of dark nipples and milky skin on a woman. He didn’t get that tantalizing treat on Terra. Women in Atnalta sunbathed. Tan lines were simply unacceptable.

Although, they weren’t to his way of liking. Tavius preferred ashen breasts, buttocks, and smooth pussy lips. Complement that with a sweetly golden tan, blonde hair, and deep hazel eyes and his cock rocketed to a different dimension. Then there was the spunky personality…
Oh, yeah, LUST agent indeed.

Were her pussy lips smooth? Gods, what he wouldn’t do to find out.

Tavius chuckled and shook his head. He supposed he now had warm, tempting flesh to substantiate his belief that he’d merely been in a mood. Women most certainly hadn’t lost their appeal to him. Everything about the wickedly sexy Elena Cabot sparked his interest on every level imaginable.

Of all the agencies for the woman to work for
.

She was the worst, or maybe best, he wasn’t yet sure, woman he could have met mere minutes after arriving in the Earth realm. He knew better than to mix business with pleasure. A man could find himself in a realm of shit when he failed to maintain separate categories for fun and work. He needed to keep his mind on the mission, not a long-legged, hot-headed blonde who sent his testosterone levels through the galaxy.

He didn’t understand the intensity of the need building inside him. It was useless trying to ignore it. He figured that out real fast. Maybe mixing just this once wouldn’t prove detrimental to his well-being. A second objective to his mission might not be so wrong, he considered as he rocked back on his heels.

She’d left him standing in the middle of the living room floor. It was sparsely furnished with what appeared to be second-hand rejects, tattered and faded, old and well-used. Yet, despite the frugality, the room felt cozy, welcoming. He decided to go for that beer and settle on the sofa to wait for Elena.

Yes, a secondary purpose to his mission wouldn’t hurt, he decided. He pulled an amber bottle from the refrigerator, twisted the top and drank deep as he returned to the living room. Getting Elena into bed or on the floor or against the wall—hell, he didn’t care where as long as he got his pulsing cock inside her sweet, slick heat—might even help.

Or freaking kill your stupid ass
.

How dangerous could a few hours of between-the-sheets fun with a woman like Elena be? Certainly it would ease a bit of the sexual tension between them. The freaking power crackling around them was unnerving. Sex would probably shorten the road to her trusting him. That was to say nothing of making it easier for him to concentrate. After two weeks of no sex, his ability to focus was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Pathetic, Zolan. You’re truly pathetic.” He grinned at himself around the rim of the bottle as he brought it to his lips and started to pace.

No doubt, appeal was back with a vengeance. When in another realm, why not enjoy the pleasures of the flesh? Especially when the flesh came as sweetly enticing as Elena’s, he mused. Sex with her would be a twofold win. He’d get his focus back and amp his power on-line for maximum use.

Tavius considered that as he took another long pull of his beer. Evocative mind play could prove the only way to convince her to take him to her bosses. A dirty way to play, no doubt, but he got the increasing feeling he would need help from Elena’s agency to find Le Mort before the vampire could reap much damage.

Tavius walked to a line of photos hanging on the wall behind the sofa. Hazel eyes peered at him from an angelic face belonging to a girl of about nine years old. Long blonde hair framed superb cheekbones and confirmed his first guess that the girl had to be Elena. Two men with ebony hair, powerful black eyes, and thin-set lips flanked her on either side.

Twins
? Tavius leaned closer.
Perhaps
.

He shifted his attention to the second photo in line, another of Elena, this time seventeen or eighteen. She wore a cap and gown and held a rolled piece of parchment. Again, the ebony-haired men stood on either side of her.

Tavius narrowed his eyes and studied both men. His gaze flicked back to the first photo, and then he glanced over the remaining framed pictures. All of them were of Elena at various ages and the same two men who didn’t look a day older in the last than they had in the first.

“Vampires?” It didn’t seem possible that Elena could stand between demons of the night and smile so brightly.

“Talking to yourself, hot shot?”

Tavius turned. Desire sharp and strong clawed at his gut like a vicious animal as his gaze landed on Elena. She leaned a shoulder against the wall just inside the living room, one arm crossed beneath her plump breasts and serving as a prop for her other elbow. A beer bottle dangled from her hand.

She’d changed. He almost groaned his disappointment. His hungry gaze travelled greedily down her body, feasting despite the now-covered flesh. Gone was the practical white cotton tank over a white cotton sports bra. In their place she wore a yellow shirt made of the same blasted material as the black, ball-teasing shorts she still wore.

He knew she would taste as delicious as he imagined, every part of her he could see and definitely all the parts he couldn’t.

Every muscle in his body tightened. He hid a scowl. If the devious tilt of her pale, pink lips gave him any indication, it didn’t do him any good.

“There is actually sixty-five percent cotton in the mix. I checked. There is also twenty percent polyester.”

“And what’s the other fifteen-percent?”

“The part you can’t see through.” Her smile grew until it reached her eyes.

Tavius couldn’t hold back his own grin at that. “Touché.” He didn’t tell her, but in truth he could see through it. The vision was murky, however, as if he were peering through muddy water. Of course, if she’d been naked under muddy water, he wouldn’t have had a problem seeing every delectable, wickedly tempting inch of her flesh.

She drank from her beer and smacked lips Tavius could easily picture wrapped around his cock. “It’s spandex. Guess they don’t manufacture that in your realm.”

Not yet, but give him enough time in this realm to figure out how it was made and they would. Then they could study it until they determined a way past the block on their transparent-vision powers.

“You didn’t have to change.”

She made a sound that was equal parts amusement and incredulity. “I think I did. We should start off on an even slate. Don’t you think? It isn’t fair for you to see me when I can’t see you.”

“I could’ve fixed that for you. All you had to do was ask.” He could make her ask. Maybe. Sometimes, if he became aroused enough, his evocative mind play worked prior to sex.

His cock jerked in his britches as if to say,
no problem there, Zolan
. The strength of his attraction to her stunned him.

Elena ran her tongue along her bottom lip. His balls stung as if a leather whip had been laid to their sensitive flesh. “Tempting, but we have more pressing matters to discuss.”

She was right. While he’d decided that getting her into bed would be a very rewarding, extremely pleasant side objective, his assignment was still of utmost importance.

Focus, Zolan. Focus
.

“Where would you like me to start?”

Elena moved to the square table on the far side of the adjoined living and dining room area and sat down. A bag of chips, loaf of bread and several condiments, paper plates, and two more beers sat on the table top.

Tavius lifted a brow as he joined her. “Sneaky, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “You were too engrossed in my pictures to hear me.”

“Apparently so.” He took the paper plate she held out for him. “If you sold one of these on Terra you would make enough money to pay your bills for a year.”

“A paper plate? You’re joking?” She took out several slices of bread, spread on the condiments and piled on the sandwich meat, cheese, and lettuce.

“Nope. Paper is a hot commodity on Terra. We don’t have much of it anymore.” What was it like, he wondered, to use it with such abandon? To have throwaway plates or scraps lying around with scribbled notes like the ones he’d noticed on her end tables? What was it like to have furniture, no matter how ragged it might be, made out of wood rather than stone and metal? The days when Terrians had indulged in such luxuries had vanished before he was born.