Brady's Hellion (4 page)

Her eyes widened to saucer-size as the tremors raced
through her body. “Brady,” she whispered in his ear just before she
came apart in his arms.

He was positive the whole damn interior of the cabana
glowed the same blue light he’d seen in her eyes.

Chapter Three

“I hope you don’t think I’m normally that easy.”
Brady pulled on his shirt and shorts. There were times when it was
a good idea to go commando. That way there was one less piece of
clothing to find.

A naked Raven was curled up on the chaise looking
like a sleepy contented cat. He swore she was even purring. He was
tempted to pull off his clothes and have a repeat of the last
couple hours. But if he wasn’t mistaken, he heard members of the
security staff walking along the beach probably making sure the
guests weren’t making use of the cabana the way he and Raven just
did.

He looked down at the woman he likened to a work of
art. He learned that her skin was tanned all over and that some
kind of small shock wave occurred when she stroked his dick. Not
that he was complaining. The woman had magic hands and he wouldn’t
mind them stroking him all the time.

“While I’d like nothing better than for us to stay
here and watch the sunrise together, I think the resort’s security
people are making their rounds,” he murmured, glancing at his watch
and surprised to find it was after three a.m., which meant they’d
been out here for about five hours. He walked out to the cabana’s
opening and picked up her dress.

Raven released a soft sigh and rose up onto her
knees. The blue stones in her navel and in her ears seemed to wink
at him.

“You are incredible,” she said, slipping the dress
over her head and smoothing it into place.

Brady’s hands itched to do the smoothing for her, but
he knew it would lead to a repeat of what had been going on for the
past few hours.

While he hadn’t been a sex hound since his early
twenties, he hadn’t been a monk either. But he could truthfully
say, he’d never been with a woman like Raven.

He leaned over, trapping her between his arms, as he
slowly and thoroughly kissed her. She smothered a low laugh as her
tongue darted into his mouth, coaxing his out to play.

“Okay, minx.” He playfully slapped her on the butt
and hauled her off the chaise. “We gotta get out of here before we
get busted by Security for having cabana sex.”

“Won’t happen.” She looked smug, as she looped her
arm through his.

“Why? You gonna smile and charm your way out of a
lecture.” He grinned since he so badly wanted to point out the
sated sleepy look on her face would be more than enough proof they
weren’t out here stargazing. They slipped through the cabana’s
opening and stood outside, breathing in the night air sharp with
the scent of the sea.

“Sometimes people don’t notice me.” Raven slid her
hand down to curl her fingers through his.

“Baby, there is no way people wouldn’t notice you.”
He allowed her to take the lead.

She lifted her head, listening as two male voices
sounded closer. She looked back at the cabana with a faint hint of
sorrow on her face as if she was mentally recording an important
memory. “No, really, you’ll see.” She tugged on his hand.

As they retraced their steps at the water’s edge
where the gentle swells rolled up to cover their bare feet, they
soon saw the faint outline of two men walking in their direction
along the upper part of the beach.

“Just watch,” she whispered.

Brady was ready for at least an inquiry if they were
staying at the resort and a request for proof, but the two men
didn’t look their way. They continued talking in low voices and
walked past them as if they didn’t exist.

He knew he was good at slipping unnoticed in and out
of dangerous situations, but there was no way he could have walked
past someone the way they just had and not be acknowledged even if
it was nothing more than a nod of the head. He and Raven might as
well have been invisible for all the notice they were given.

“I get it. You’ve got super powers,” he teased.
Considering her family tree, he was positive she had way more than
super powers, but since he wasn’t supposed to know exactly what she
was, he had to play it cool.

“If you don’t want someone to notice you, they
won’t,” she pointed out.

”As a soldier aren’t there times where you need to
hide from the enemy?”

“I don’t quite think of hotel Security as the enemy,
but yeah, there’s been few times.” Give or take several thousand.
“So what do you do when you hide from Security?” he whispered in
her ear, punctuating the words with a quick flick of the tongue.
She shivered under his caress.

“Take more than five items into a store dressing
room, have more than fifteen items in my shopping cart at the
grocery store. It’s the little things. “ She bumped her shoulder
against him.

“Cutting in front of someone in line?”

“Oh no! That would be just rude!” She released the
soft throaty giggle that shot a line of heat along his spine. He’d
always thought giggling women were annoying. Raven was proving to
be the exception. But then, Raven was proving the exception to a
lot of things.

Guilt wormed its way through him. He didn’t like that
he had to lie to her when in many ways she’d been so open with him.
He hadn’t expected her to confess that her stepbrother was a dark
lord Below, but over dinner he still felt he got to know her pretty
well. While she was sexy as hell, she didn’t flaunt it and her
conversation didn’t center on her hair, nails, clothes or what she
did that day. Considering he’d been on many dates with women like
that, no wonder he’d rather go overseas for a good battle than have
dinner with a woman.

Raven was proving to be the exception all the way
around. So much so, he even considered returning Shar’s very nice
fee since the head demon was already paying for his stay at the
resort. He quickly banished that thought. A man had to make a
living and if it involved spending time with a beautiful woman, who
was he to turn it down?

They made their way past the reception area and to
the elevator with smiles that refused to quit.

“What floor?” Brady asked as a matter of courtesy
even thought he already knew exactly where her room was.

“Fourteen.” She issued a small smile that held a few
secrets.

“Same as me.” He punched the button and leaned
against the wall, watching her.

She couldn’t help but notice his scrutiny.
“What?”

“How can someone look as fresh and gorgeous at three
o’clock in the morning as they did at two in the afternoon?”

She beamed. “It’s all magic.” She held up her hands
and wiggled her fingers.

“Magic, huh?” He grinned, pretending to play
along.

She leaned forward and whispered, “Yes, lots of
special girl magic. It’s called concealer and highlighter that I
lay on with a putty knife.”

He reached out and gently rubbed his thumb across her
cheek and down to the corner of her lips. He leaned over more and
followed the same path with his lips. “I don’t taste a speck of
makeup on you. I didn’t earlier either.“ The elevator stopped and
the door slowly slid open.

Raven pulled her room keycard out of a hidden pocket
in her dress and indicated which door was hers.

“I’m down that way.” He cocked his thumb in that
direction before taking the keycard from her and inserting it in
the slot until the light turned green.

“Thank you for a lovely evening,” Raven said softly,
the smile on her lips telling him just what she was thanking him
for.

“Meet me for breakfast.”

“I usually go surfing around five.”

He grinned. “You’re not going to make it easy for me,
are you?”

Raven tapped her forefinger against her chin in
thought. “Yes. And I’m not acting coy. I meant what I said earlier.
This isn’t normally like me.”

Brady easily read the hidden words. “I didn’t think
you were, Rae. What I felt was an intense attraction that you also
felt. We acted on it tonight. I’m asking for you to meet me for
coffee, orange juice, eggs, bacon, and toast or your choice of
muffin,” he gently teased. “Maybe we could take a drive around the
island. I heard there’s a waterfall on the other side of the island
that’s worth seeing. Or we could check out the tennis court, play a
round of golf if you’d prefer that, although I should warn you that
the last time I tried golf I broke more than my share of windows. I
want to spend time with you even if we do nothing more than lay out
on the beach,” he said seriously, knowing he meant every word.

Her lashes swept down; hiding the eyes he enjoyed
looking into. “I guess I could miss surfing one morning. I’ll meet
you at the lanai restaurant at eight. “

Brady brushed his lips across her forehead. “If I
don’t leave now, I won’t leave at all,” he whispered. “Good night,
beautiful Rae. I’ll see you at eight. Don’t forget to use the
security lock.”

“Good night, Brady,” she whispered back and then
slipped inside her room.

He waited until he heard the quick click of the
security lock then moved down to his own room. Out of habit, he
checked the traps he’d laid to make sure no one uninvited entered
his room then stripped down for a quick shower. Just as he got
ready to step into the shower, he inhaled the scent of Raven’s
perfume on his skin. He reached in, turned off the water, and
walked back into the bedroom. He decided he’d rather sleep with her
scent surrounding him.

*****

Raven’s smile disappeared as she crossed the room.
She wrinkled her nose against the pungent aroma filling the
parlor.

“Not again.” She retrieved her case from the closet
and pulled out the vial of gray dust to sprinkle over the Astay
flower that lay on the coffee table in the same spot the first one
had been. “If I’d known this was going to happen I would have
brought more dust.” Within moments, the reeking purple flower from
the depths of her realm was gone but a wine colored envelope with
her name written on the front appeared in its place. Without caring
about the contents, she sprinkled dust over that too.

She opened the balcony door to let in the fresh sea
air and release the smell of burned flower and envelope.

She paused and walked out onto the terrace to view
the ocean that looked a deep navy rimmed with white foam in the
darkness. She leaned on the railing, enjoying the quiet of the
night.

She had come up here to find a way to escape family
duties. To find the kind of life she could never have Below. The
last thing she expected was to meet someone like Brady.

When she had dinner with him, she hadn’t expected
their evening to end the way it did. She thought they might have a
few after dinner drinks; flirt some more and that would be it. But
it felt so right. He felt so right. The pleasurable ache between
her thighs was testimony of that. Brady was a large man all over
and while he admitted he couldn’t wait, he still made sure she
could accommodate him without discomfort. After that first time,
they couldn’t get enough of each other. She could smell his musk on
her skin, the taste of his cock on her lips and the feel of his
heavy body against hers. Her breasts even tingled from the rasp of
his beard when he nuzzled them. Males where she came from didn’t
have beards, so it was a new sensation for her. One she liked very
much. Actually, she liked everything about Brady. And she knew
Brady liked her as well as desired her. Raven felt something warm
settle deep inside her as she courted the idea of something more
than a vacation romance.

Her smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Her
family. Especially Shar. He wasn’t fond of humans. He wouldn’t care
if she fucked a human’s brains out then threw him down Below. But
he would care if she felt emotion for one and not with the idea of
keeping one as a pet. Then there was Brady. What would he think if
he knew about her origins? She was lucky she didn’t resemble her
family members. She was considered a rarity among her kind. One
that came along only every ten thousand years or so which was why
Shar wanted her to go along with his plans for a family alliance
with Pahso’s clan. She was highly prized and her wishes were
ignored.

“Not in this millennium or the next,” she murmured,
pushing herself away from the railing and returning to her
room.

She slid naked between the sheets and snuggled down
among the pile of pillows she kept around her.

She had a month to plan a permanent escape since
there was no way she was returning Below. Thirty daysto ensure that
Pahso realized there was no way she would become his mate and bear
his ugly spawn. She knew ignoring his flowers and notes wouldn’t do
the trick, but she needed some time to make sure she worded
everything just right so there would be no discussion on the
matter.

Meeting Brady was proof her initial decision was
correct. She didn’t belong Below. She belonged right here.

She fell asleep with a smile on her lips and a mental
note to wake up at seven.

*****

“You can leave the whole pot, darlin’, “ Brady told
the waitress as she filled his cup. She gifted him with a
flirtatious smile and promised to return with a filled coffee
carafe along with a second cup.

He swore a shift in the air alerted him to Raven’s
presence. He looked toward the entrance to the patio-dining
restaurant to see he was right.

Raven wore a bright pink vest-like top that bared her
arms and flat belly and matching shorts with cargo pockets. She
smiled and headed straight for him. He noticed a glint of gold on
one toe. Damn, he always had a thing for a woman wearing a toe
ring.

As he watched her make her way between tables, he
noticed not one person, meaning male, looked up as she passed by.
He refused to believe that not one man noticed someone looking that
good. When he saw the glint in her eye he knew the reason.