Cado (10 page)

“Tiffany,” Moretti growled in warning.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was standing now, his gloriously chiseled body on full display. “What? I mean, that was kind of like a warm-up, wasn’t it? I’m not even sore…yet.” I dropped my eyes to his cock as it jumped at my words. I grinned at him. It looked like it would be a little while longer before he returned me to jail.

Moretti and I—he still hadn’t told me his name—had ended our sex-a-thon in his bed. His soft snores filled the air as he slept, completely spent.
I wish I could sleep.
I was exhausted both physically and mentally, but as soon as we’d stopped having sex, my mind had come back from its temporary break. I kept seeing the man and the woman on the hill, hearing their voices play on an endless loop. It was like my brain was trying to piece together a puzzle I didn’t even know I was working on. Why had Lucian wanted me to see that? And where exactly had he taken me? Even the fact that I was so accepting of all the new oddities in my life—that I was taking everything in stride—it was more than denial. It was as if some part of me deep down knew what was going on and the rest of me had yet to figure it out.

Lucian approached me, his large form illuminated by the light coming from the other room. I wasn’t even the tiniest bit surprised to see him. In fact, I fully expected it. I remained perfectly still, my eyes locked on him. How would he react to what I’d done with Moretti?

He dropped down beside the bed so I could see the outline of his face in the dim lighting. His eyes were an unnatural blue, almost as if they were glowing. “I could kill him right now, right in front of you and you couldn’t do anything to stop me.” His voice was calm. Too calm.

“You could. But you won’t.” I’d expected threats from him. And I wasn’t fool enough to think that he wouldn’t do something to Moretti. We both knew he could get away with it. Hell, he’d probably try to pin that on me too.

He tilted his head in question. “Oh? And why won’t I?” He grabbed a handful of hair and pulled me off of the mattress. “I told you I didn’t want you to fuck anyone else. I told—”

“No one orders me around, Lucian. And no one owns me,” I snarled. “You won’t hurt him because if you do—if you do—I’ll find a way to make you pay. That’s a promise.”

Lucian’s mask of fury slid away, and slowly—ever so slowly, his lips tipped up into a smile. “You are quite a surprise even after all this time.” He let me go and backed up slowly, raising his hands in surrender. “Fine. I will not hurt him. This time. But don’t think you can threaten me either, my Karma. You won’t like the game anymore if you do.”

He disappeared into thin air right in front of me. “Anymore? Who said I liked the game to begin with?” I glanced over at Moretti who was still sleeping soundly. How the hell was he a cop if he slept through that? Seriously? Unless… I shuddered. Unless Lucian had more abilities than I could fathom.

I lay back down and waited. I knew sleep would elude me but I really had nothing else to do but think. I needed to figure out a plan. The whole denial thing wasn’t working for me anymore. Lucian had made sure to take that away from me too.

After several hours of lying beside Moretti, him soundly asleep, and me not so much, I decided to give up. I stole one of his shirts, which was practically a nightgown on me, and went to explore his kitchen. I reheated a few slices of pizza leftovers and made some instant hot chocolate. While I sipped my subpar beverage, because let’s face it, instant hot chocolate isn’t that great, I opened Moretti’s laptop and clicked it on. Thankfully it wasn’t password protected. I was kind of curious what I’d missed in the past week while I’d been M.I.A. Online news sites was where I sometimes found my targets. It’s how I ended up in Pittsburgh to begin with.

Several stories caught my attention. One was of a Texas fireman who’d shot two dogs that trespassed on his property. Afterwards he’d taken a photo and proudly posted it on
Facebook
. The picture was a part of the article. My blood boiled. My gaze shifted between the dead dogs and the smug expression on the man’s face. I wished I could do exactly to him what he’d done to those dogs. Or even better, I wanted…yes… I wanted to torture him first. I wanted to look in his eyes and to see as the knowledge of what I was about to do to him and why finally dawned on him. I wanted to make him suffer.

I slammed the mug down on the kitchen table and swore as hot liquid sloshed out over my hand. I’d wanted to erase the image of the couple on the hill, and I had. I’d replaced it with the image of the man and the dead dogs in my mind’s eye.

“Hey,” Moretti rasped as he entered the kitchen, his voice still sleep laden. “I guess I should thank you for not making a run for it.” His smile was surprisingly unguarded.

“Yeah, well, where would I go and how would I get there? I don’t have my I.D. or any money.”

“There is that.” He scuffled over to the table and I couldn’t help but admire his toned body. He wore nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, which showed a whole lot of the tanned, muscled, yumminess. He picked up the mug on the table and sniffed at it. “This is not what I was hoping for,” he grunted. “The coffee maker is right there on the counter, you know.”

I chuckled. Moretti was kind of amusing when he first woke up. “I didn’t want coffee. You see, caffeine doesn’t mix well with insomnia.”

He grunted as he made his way over to the coffee maker. After it was running he leaned against the counter and studied me. “Chocolate has caffeine in it too.”

“Not enough to matter.”

“No, I suppose not.” His eyes roamed over me and lingered on my exposed legs. His thoughts were easily readable to me, especially with the bulge in his boxers.

I let my legs fall open. “See something you like?”

He ran his hand through his dark hair and groaned. “You’re trouble. I knew it from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

I smirked. “You mean when I answered my door naked?” I crooked my finger at him. “Come here. We might as well keep ourselves entertained while you wait for your coffee.”

“Trouble,” he muttered as he prowled towards me.

“I didn’t hear you complaining last night. I think—”

He lifted me up and put me on the table, pulling me to the edge. He pushed up my shirt as I slipped his boxers down his hips with my feet. “I guess I like trouble,” he rumbled just as he plunged into me.

I dug my nails into his shoulders and let my head drop back. He built a brutal pace as he slammed into me. I was already sore from last night’s escapades and wondered if I’d be able to walk after this round.

When I brought my head up to kiss him, my gaze locked onto the figure standing in the entranceway to the kitchen. Lucian stood there, still and silent, his eyes blazing with some unreadable emotion. His chest rose and fell heavily, like he was struggling to breath. His knuckles whitened on the doorframe.

Just then my body spasmed with the onslaught of my orgasm. I cried out without looking away from Lucian. I suddenly felt more connected to him than I did the man who was currently inside of me. Why was Lucian here? He’d made no secret of his jealously, so why was he torturing himself? It’s what I wanted, to give him a show, to make a point, but suddenly I felt sick about it. And not just because of Lucian. Moretti was a good man. I knew it because when I touched him I didn’t get flashes of horrible deeds. He was a good man—and therefore too good for me. I would corrupt and ruin him if given the chance. I lived to deal out my own special brand of karma, but I wasn’t cruel. I never punished those who didn’t deserve it. Even though Lucian said he wouldn’t hurt Moretti, at least for the moment, I knew I was bringing him into something that he was better left out of. I really was trouble for him…more than he knew.

I breathed heavily through my ebbing pleasure, transfixed by Lucian, even when Moretti groaned his release, spurting hot liquid inside of me. It was Lucian who I truly wanted. I knew it in that instant as I stared into his eyes from across the room. I was being just like Moretti. I wanted Lucian, but I hated what that said about me. What did I know about Lucian, besides the fact that he was a freak like me? I’d just met him, and the startling level of attraction—an undeniable pull towards him—scared the crap out of me. I’d planned on nailing and bailing him, but I was worried once I let him inside of me, he’d claim more than just my body. The sentiment was ridiculous, really. I didn’t believe in love…or I didn’t believe in love for me. There was no room for it in my life. It was preposterous to even consider having some kind of instant connection with someone that could one day lead to love.
So why am I so scared then, if it’s impossible?
Because someone like me knew that no matter how unlikely something was, most things were possible, and when it came to human emotions…well…human emotions were complicated. They rarely did what you wanted them to.

As if he was reading my mind, Lucian’s lips quirked up into a tiny smile. His fingers slowly peeled off of the doorframe and his body relaxed significantly. Moretti was a distraction, a pleasant one, but one none the less. We both knew it. Lucian disappeared, leaving me to deal with the aftermath. I knew I’d be seeing him very soon though. That knowledge both excited and…yes, still terrified me.

I drummed my fingers over the desk as I waited to be processed. I was getting out on bail, and because I had to use a bondsman to fund my jailbreak, the whole process was taking much longer than I would have liked. Since I’d disappeared from my cell in such an unexplainable manner, the theory was that someone had drugged and removed me. Suddenly, me being the only suspect in Dorothy’s death was too convenient. Suspicion still surrounded me, which was why I’d been told not to leave town, but now the whole situation was getting a second look.
Thank God.

“Here you go, ma’am.” A Pittsburgh Police Officer handed me a Ziploc bag with my earrings in it. They were the only personal effects I had on me when I’d been brought in.

“Thanks,” I said, snatching it from him. I stood and made my way towards the exit, scanning every cop as I went. Moretti had brought me in, but had pulled his own kind of disappearing act the minute we were in the station. Who knew if I’d ever see him again? I snorted to myself.
Yeah right, he’ll be back for more.
The real question was whether or not I’d be accommodating. Moretti had definitely gotten the job done, and he was smoking hot, but I couldn’t seem to get my mind off of Lucian. It felt so natural to think about him for some reason…as if I’d been doing it for a long time, which obviously wasn’t the case.

The cab that I’d called was at the curb waiting for me outside. I directed the driver to take me to Club Elite. I needed to get my stuff from the changing room, and hoped that Bert would still let me work. If I was going to be sticking around Pittsburgh for a while then I needed to be making money. My shitty furnished apartment wasn’t much, but it wasn’t free. The image of Dorothy’s body splayed across my bed popped into my mind.
Ick.
Plus I’d need a new mattress…and sheets. Maybe I’d just move.