Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (11 page)

“I’m
sorry,” Becca whispered as her side continued to throb. “He started asking a
whole bunch of questions about you. I didn’t think you wanted him to know that you
loved éclairs.”

Victor
shook his head and adjusted his hold on her. She was dying.
Her
life seeping out of her for no other reason than to be a distraction.
“I
should be the one apologizing to you,” he said in a soft tone.

Her
eyes glistened with unshed tears. Even when she first went to the hospital, it
didn’t hurt this much.

Victor
closed his eyes as he embraced Becca. She didn’t fault him for Ashton’s
cruelty. The idea that he could have done something to her was not even in her
mind. Only two truths were standing out in her mind.

She
was dying, and she didn’t want to.

Victor’s
heart tore in two as the first tear slipped from her eyes. He pressed his lips
against her temple. “Do not hate me, Rebecca,” he whispered into her ear.

A
small smile crossed her face. “I don’t think I could,” she replied. Her smile
faded as he slowly turned her head to the side. Before she could question him,
something bit into her neck.

Victor
reached out with his mind and quickly soothed her. Her body jerked once before
relaxing completely in his hold. Victor drank whatever blood was left in her as
he resigned to changing her. He pulled away from her neck before her heart
stopped beating. Blurred hazel eyes looked at him as he lifted his wrist to his
mouth and ripped it open. When he pressed his torn wrist to her lips, he felt
her hands softly touch his arm. Victor looked at her tenderly. “Trust me, my
dear,” he told her. A sigh escaped him when she closed her eyes and started to
drink.

A
soft vibration in his pocket caught his attention. He pressed his lips together
and easily reached into an inside pocket and found his phone. Crispin’s face
was on the screen of the device. He quickly answered the call and put the
device to his ear. “Rebecca has been injured. I need a cleanup crew here at
Éclair’s.” Before Crispin could ask what happened, Victor disconnected the
call. He looked down at Rebecca and saw that her heart was on the verge of
stopping. He pressed his lips to her ear again. “I will make this up to you,”
he swore.

Another
smile escaped Becca before her body went lax. Victor kissed her cheek once more
before standing. This was his fault. He became attached to Rebecca, and now she
was entering the first stages of her change into a Vampire. He looked at the
shop around him and noted that the cheerful décor was at odds with what just
happened. With a roar of anger, the power Victor kept under tight control
lashed out, destroying the displays around them.

Lily
slowly came back to consciousness. She looked around and saw that she was in
her bedroom. Barry brought her back from the hospital. The last thing she
remembered was fighting Madison and the explosion of the parking garage. A soft
groan escaped her. She shifted into her Succubus form. The one thing she hadn’t
wanted Barry to see. Now there was no telling how he would treat her.

The
thought of Barry caused her body to cramp. Whenever she had to change forms in
the past, she would be drained and weak for days unless she found some poor
unsuspecting souls and drained them dry. Tears filled her eyes as the unbidden
image of draining Barry dry came to her mind.

She
heard the door to her room open. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she
was surrounded by the scent of his cologne and whatever else
that
made him smell
so good. “Go away,” she slurred.

“Not
happening, Baby,” Barry said as he crossed the room. He ignored her whines as
he sat next to her on the bed and touched her forehead. “You still have a
fever,” he observed.

“It’ll
break,” Lily moaned as she tried to push him away. After a moment she fell limp
and tired against the mattress.

Barry
frowned as he looked at her. “What’s going on, Lily?” When her eyes opened, he
remembered the way she looked that night he found her in the club. “You used too
much of your energy didn’t you?” he asked. At her nod he cursed lowly. He stood
and paced from the bed to the closet and back. His eyes raked over her frame
before he went out of the room.

If
she had the energy to cry, Lily was sure she would have right there. As it was,
she turned her back to the door and curled up into a ball. She was about to
start drifting off when Barry came back in the room and closed the door behind
him. “Barry,” she said in a whisper.

He
went over to the bed and climbed in behind her. As he spooned against her back,
he trailed chaste kisses up her shoulder. “Here’s the thing,” he started. “I
can’t stand back and let you suffer like this.” He noted the way her body
trembled against his and gently took her earlobe between his teeth. “But I also
don’t want you to think I’m a bastard for using this situation to get you in
bed again.”

“I
could kill you,” she said shaking her head. A gasp escaped her when one of his
hands grasped her breast and squeezed.

“You
like me too much,” Barry said smugly. When a laugh escaped her, he pressed his
lower body against her covered backside. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he asked as he
lavished her neck and collar with nips and kisses.

Lily
turned towards him and looked into his eyes. He was determined to help her. She
reached up, ignoring the way her hand trembled as she touched his cheek. “Yes,”
she whispered before leaning forward and kissing him tenderly.

It
was as if someone plugged him into a battery. His arms wrapped around her as he
took over the kiss. Their tongues met in a sensual dance that seemed to ignite
both of them. Her power surged as she started to taste his magic. She pulled
away from his mouth and looked at him with wide eyes.

He
frowned at her. “What?”

A
shaky smile crossed her face as she shook her head. Before he could question
her further, she sat up and tossed off the blankets covering her. A soft blush
crossed her face when she realized she was only in her bra and panties. She
looked at Barry and saw that he was already working on the buttons of his
shirt. For once she could let her nature take over, and he would be safe. She
quickly covered him with her own body and kissed him savagely. Lily could only
moan softly as he grabbed a handful of her hair. Barry devoured her, and she
enjoyed every moment of it.

Her
world spun for a moment. Barry was on top of her, his body grinding against
hers as she worked on removing his shirt. His free hand made quick work of the
bra she wore. A shaky smile crossed her face when he pulled away from her long
enough to finish removing their clothing. The look in his eyes should have
scared her, but the hunger she saw there did nothing but turn her on. She
climbed up to her knees and ran her hands over his chest. “I really shouldn’t
do this,” she said before leaning forward and gently biting one of his nipples.
“It’s not fair, really.”

Barry
quickly knocked her back and covered her body with his own. “You’re right, we
shouldn’t do this,” he mumbled before kissing her again. He moaned at the
feeling of her sharp fingernails across his back. “But I’m too much of a
bastard to let you find someone else to feed from,” he confessed. Before she
could say anything else, Barry’s mouth was attached to her breast.

Her
back arched in pleasure. Lily cupped his head to her when she felt his fingers
preparing her for him. She wanted to reach up and seduce him, but at the
moment, Barry was in complete control of her. The combination of the strength
in his arms and the taste of his magic
was
like
homemade moonshine. She felt completely drunk on the feeling of dominated
kisses and not so gentle bites that started at her breasts. She opened her eyes
when he moved away from her breasts. This time she would remember everything
that happened between them. She refused to be cheated out of being with him
again.

When
she looked into his eyes again, she swallowed. If she didn’t know any better,
she would swear that he was an Incubus. His eyes had grown darker as he lowered
his head. When his tongue licked at her, Lily’s back arched. She bit her lips
when she realized his hands were holding her pinned to the mattress. Her eyes
looked down her body, noticing that he kept himself away from her. “Barry,
please,” she moaned as he continued to tease her with his mouth.

He
gently bit the inside of her thigh and smiled when her muscles started to
tighten. At her gasp, he fastened his mouth against her and started to suck on
her tender flesh in earnest. He rode every shift her hips made. The cries that
escaped her were music to his ears. She was getting closer to climax, and he
wanted her to have as many as he could give her. Before Barry could plan his
next move, Lily had him on his back. Her eyes were glowing as she placed her
hands on his face and kissed him. He growled as she moved her body down his.
She moaned softly as she trailed kisses along his jaw. “I need you inside of
me,” she whispered into his ear.

Lily
smiled against his skin as his hands guided her to his erect member. She kissed
him again, enjoying the taste of her own juices on his tongue. Her darker
nature was feasting as he slowly fed himself into her. She opened her eyes and
smiled at him when his hands ghosted up her sides to caress her breasts.

He
pressed a kiss to her throat as he entered her. Barry groaned at the feel of paradise.
Her skin was coated with a fine sheen of sweat as she started to move and grind
her hips against him. She was every bit of the dark Succubus the legends always
spoke of. He reached up and pinched one of her nipples, earning a pleasure
filled moan. A grin crossed his face as he looked into her beautiful eyes. “Now
that I’m inside of you, what do you want?” he asked.

She
blinked at him for a moment. She wanted what every Succubus wanted. His energy,
stamina and seed would nourish her, but when he sat up and pressed a kiss over
her heart, she felt something in her crack. “Barry?” she questioned.

He
noticed the change in her. The sex kitten Lily was gone. Shy Lilavanti stared
back at him. He brushed her hair away from her face and gazed into her eyes.
“Anything you want, Lilavanti,” he breathed. And he was surprised to realize he
meant it. “Just say the words.”

Confusion
clouded her eyes as she kissed him again. This was what she wanted. She had
been so focused on having a
normal
life,
she
had pushed aside the fact that her normal wasn’t everyone else’s. Her hands
found the side of his face again. A small smile crossed her face when she
noticed that he hadn’t stopped rocking her back and forth. The delicious
friction wasn’t enough to satisfy, but it had been enough to keep them both
primed and ready. Suddenly shy, she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
She bit at his neck and delighted in the way he shivered. “I just want you,”
she whispered against his skin.

Barry
rolled them over. When he had her pinned to the bed, he looked into her eyes.
“Liar,” he said thrusting into her once. At her choked gasp, he paused. “What
do you want, Lily?” he asked again.

She
closed her eyes and bit her lip. He surged into her again, making her cry out.
“God, Barry! Fuck me!” she gasped.

He
fell against her. One hand tangled in her hair, the other holding her legs open
wide as he plowed into her with enough force to knock something off of the
nightstand. He felt her nails scratching into his skin as he moved above her.
When he turned his head to kiss her cheek, he found it wet with tears. He
slowed his assault. “Tell me,” he breathed against her ear.

Her
defenses were down.
Completely blown away by gentle words and
caring.
She closed her eyes as he pressed another kiss against her lips.
“Love me,” she whispered.

Barry
kissed her passionately as he started to move inside of her again. He savored
every sigh, moan and cry that he coaxed out of her. It didn’t take long to work
Lily back up to a fever pitch again. He smiled as she clawed at his back. His
wild Lily was a beauty to behold.

Before
long, Lily’s back arched and she screamed. Her climax of pleasure created a
backlash that blindsided Barry. They both clung to each other as they rode out
the waves of pleasure together.

Lily’s
eyes focused on the ceiling as they tried to recover. She had known that Barry
was dangerous. Everyone had warned her. He had never been the type to settle
for one woman. And yet stupidly, Lily started to care for him.

Barry
covered her with his body. With his face buried against her neck, he couldn’t
read her face. But if he knew Lily, her eyes were filling with tears of
heartbreak. His heart and head had fallen into perfect sync when she pleaded
for his love. A sad smile crossed his face as he turned to her ear. “I do,” he
whispered. He felt her slow intake of breath and kissed her cheek. “God help us
both, but I do love you.”

Lily
was frozen when he pulled away and looked into her eyes. It warmed her to see
the same uncertainty in his eyes. He was just as nervous as she was. She slowly
gave him a smile that seemed to brighten the whole room. When she opened her
mouth to say something, he leaned forward and kissed her.

When
he pulled away from her mouth, he gave her a lopsided grin. “You don’t have to
say anything back,” he told her. When she slowly nodded, he rolled to the side,
taking her with him. “We’ll deal with one thing at a time,” he said pressing a
kiss to her temple.

Lily
smiled as he snuggled next to her. “I took too much,” she said sitting up. A
look of amusement crossed her face when he made himself comfortable. “I’ll
order something for you to eat,” she said before pressing a kiss to his lips.
“You get some sleep.”

He
frowned as she jumped out of the bed and started to tuck him into it. “You’re
not still tired?” he questioned.

She
couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her. She looked into his eyes and found
herself falling for him more and more. “I’m a Succubus, remember?” she chided
gently. “Sex gives me energy.” When he turned to his side and started to drift
off, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Go ahead and rest,” she whispered
into his ear.

* *
* * *

Eric
frowned as he and Sloane made their way into the posh hotel. “And they just let
him stay with her?” he asked lowly.

Sloane
sighed as they reached the front desk. “It’s only been a little while, but they
seem to be really good for each other,” he said simply. “You said Barry was
really upset after she ran off. Maybe she’ll be the one to calm him down.”

“I
doubt it,” Eric mumbled. He looked at the concierge and painted a smile on his
face. “We’re looking for my brother. Barry Maxwell.”

Pierre
nodded at the two. His eyes glazed over as he looked at the taller man with the
walking stick. “Yes, he is in the penthouse with Miss. Dallas,” he said with a
smile.

Sloane
frowned as he looked at his husband. The tall, mocha skinned man he loved stood
in front of him. But now it was almost as if Eric’s personality had taken a
turn for the worse. “Pull back your magic E,” he whispered. When Eric turned to
him, Sloane shook his head. “What’s going on with you?”

Eric
looked at Sloane for a long moment. He pressed his lips together and turned his
attention back to Pierre. “Can someone escort us up there? It’s important that
we see him and Lilavanti.”

Pierre
nodded as he quickly entered something on the computer. He then smiled when
another young woman came in from the back office. “Stacy, I’ll be right back. I
have to escort these gentlemen upstairs.”

Stacy
looked at Sloane and Eric for a quick moment before nodding. She easily took
his place and smiled as the three men left her.

Sloane
frowned as he walked with Pierre and Eric. It had been his idea for them to
come here and stay with Lily and Barry. But now, after hearing what happened at
the hospital, and Eric’s careless use of his magic, it proved to be one of the
worse ideas he could have come up with.