Lover's Betrayal: Misfits of the Lore Series (12 page)

He gently stroked her back, but the contact was not enough. He moved his hands to her front as he slowly rubbed her stomach. This time Olivia moaned and the sound intensified his arousal. He continued to move his hands upward until he felt her bra. He easily dispensed with it, finally allowing himself to touch her the way he had craved to touch her for the last 175 years.

Her body responded to his touch instantly as if it missed him and was welcoming him back home. Olivia was overwhelmed with sensation. She was so close to climaxing and they had not even kissed. It was time to remedy that. She lightly touched her lips to his, testing his reaction to see if she would welcome her kiss or reject her. His lips sought hers in return and she happily obliged. They explored each other’s mouths with a desperate hunger.

For so long she had missed his taste and touch. Part of her still believed she was dreaming. Her body’s response made it clear she was not dreaming. Lucian’s hand left her breast and for a moment she was bereft, but then she felt him tug at the button of her pants and reach inside to her moist heat. She was soaking wet and that elicited another groan of pleasure from him. His kiss became even more intense as his hand stroked her.

Lucian’s desire to feed from her, to drink her essence the way mates were intended to share, grew stronger with every moment. Her blood was calling out to him, beckoning him to taste her. He refused to submit to such desires. To taste her in such a way would awaken the bonds that embedded this woman in his soul. He could not allow her in his heart again. His body might crave her, but he would not completely surrender to its weaknesses.

He would resist her blood, but not the taste of her honeyed breasts as he gently sucked her nipples, reveling in that familiar taste that his body missed. He wanted more. Her response to him deepened his desire to savor more of his Olivia. He lifted her up further on the arm of the couch. Before she could lament the loss of his mouth on her breasts, he yanked her pants and panties off. Spreading her legs wide, he could see how she glistened in anticipation of his touch. There was no mistaking how much her body wanted him, and his painful arousal reciprocated his need for her.

Lucian gently stroked Olivia’s core, eliciting such an erotic groan of pleasure that he desperately wanted to hear more. He wanted her screaming his name. He wanted to hear how much she missed him. He needed to know she yearned for him the way his whole soul had ached for her.

The hunger was overwhelming. Lucian replaced his hand with his tongue and Olivia shouted his name. He had dreamed of tasting such bliss for years, but the reality of this forbidden fruit was more that he could imagine. His body could not cease craving the warmth and pleasure of this woman, of his mate.

Olivia was blinded by her desire. She had not been touched like this in so long that her body could not contain its excitement. Within moments, she was climaxing. Olivia would have been embarrassed by her reaction, but she felt too good to care. She was overwhelmed with this unexpected bliss, but it was short lived when she looked into Lucian’s cobalt eyes that peered into her like daggers.

Lucian was infuriated, mostly at himself for allowing this to happen. He knew he should have stopped this, but she looked so beautifully happy as he touched her. He could not deny his own pleasure at seeing her come alive in his arms, then come apart as she surrendered to her body’s passions. What happened was so wrong, but it felt like heaven. That was Olivia. She was his heaven and hell.

Olivia watched as Lucian stood there solemnly. That look of disgust in his eyes pained her heart. “Lucian…” Olivia could not find the words to say to ease the obvious tension Lucian was feeling. She knew she should regret what happened, but she could not. She could only regret that it ended before she could feel him inside her again. Her mind could not focus on anything but the memory of his touch and how her body craved more.

“Was this your plan? Distract me with sex so that I give you what you want?”

“What?” Those words awoke Olivia from her blissful reverie. She reeled back as if she had been slapped. She reached for her clothes and urgently redressed. Clearly there would be no time for afterglow. Lucian’s face was filled with regrets and revulsion. For the first time in years, she felt like she wanted to live, and Lucian regretted giving her hope.

“You heard me, Livy. Did you offer me your body in exchange for my agreement to help Kaden?”

Olivia was horrified that he would imply such a thing. “How could you say something like that to me? I would never try to seduce you like some whore. You know me better than that. Maybe I should have controlled my feelings better, but we’re mates, Lucian, and the desire between us is real no matter how hard we fight it. We can’t ignore the bond.”

“This damn bond!” Lucian shouted. “It feels like handcuffs. My body craves you, but my head knows that touching you is a grand mistake. This insidious bond makes no sense. How can I be mated to someone I can’t love or trust?”

Olivia knew he would be forever trapped in his bond as long as she lived, and this confirmed what she needed to do. She needed to free both of them of this prison. Although she loved being his mate, she hated the captivity he felt at being hers. She would free him soon. She owed him that.

Olivia waited patiently as Lucian ranted about the “mistake” they just made. She could not deny the pain in her heart as he expressed his regret about the one moment of happiness she had finally experienced in 175 years of torment.

She was so lost in thought that she did not hear Corinne storm into the room. “Tell me you guys did not just get nasty on Julian’s couch? You guys are lucky that Julian stepped out and that the crypt holding Kaden is virtually soundproof, otherwise both of them would have heard Olivia climaxing….” Corinne paused when she saw the agonizing look on Olivia’s face.

Olivia could not disguise the pain her eyes and when Corinne saw her, she erupted. Corinne saw that tortured look in her best friend’s face and knew that despite what might have transpired in this room, Lucian had managed to hurt Olivia once again. She assumed that Lucian denied Olivia’s request to give them time to investigate these murders. Well, she refused to sit back and allow him to break Olivia again.

“Listen, Lucy, you pride yourself on how ethical and righteous your Council is, but all I’ve ever seen is your precious Council using its position to bend others to its will. Well, now’s your chance to prove you guys are worth more than the crap on the bottom of my Jimmy Choos.” Corinne was fuming as she watched her best friend cowering from Lucian’s intimidation, his words breaking the little resolve Olivia had left. Corinne prayed she never mated. There was nothing worse than allowing someone to have this much control over you. She would rather die alone than live as a prisoner of her heart.

Lucian’s silence was tempting Corinne to strangle him on the spot. She hated his brooding style and his rich upper class arrogance. He represented all that she despised about the vampire elite. Those that thought everyone that lacked their wealth was worthless -- or at most, tools to help them enhance their wealth. She had hoped Lucian was different, but he was just like the rest. So blinded by his own arrogance that he could not see how he needlessly destroyed the one person he was destined to love. “Stupid!” Corinne shouted.

“Excuse me?” Lucian asked.

Corinne had not realized she spoke out loud, but she didn’t care. She wanted Lucian to know what she thought of him. “I said, stupid! You’re a stupid, arrogant, self-righteous bully and I can’t wait for someone to put you in your place. I’m sure there’ll be a long line of people waiting to get a piece of you, but I’ll be first to kick your sorry ass.”

“Cori, please don’t do this,” Olivia begged as her voice trembled. The last thing she needed was for Lucian to get angrier. She would never be able to convince him to help them.

“I’ve been silent for too long.”

“You, silent? That’s a joke. You’ve never learned to keep that trap of yours shut. You would do well to learn to stay quiet.” Lucian’s patience was fading fast.

“You’ve never learned to get your head out of your ass long enough to see what’s going on. You remain a blind jackass.” Corinne would not back down. Her temper was inflamed and when she was in this state, no one could calm her.

“Ah, but that’s better than being a hypocrite, which is something you excel at, Cori.” Despite that look in Corinne’s eyes that indicated an attack was imminent, Lucian refused to back down. “You pass judgment on me for growing up a rich, indulged, privileged brat, but that’s exactly who you are. You grew up in the same world that you spit upon now. The same world I live in now. You went to the same social gatherings, hung out with the same snobs – all of it was the same. I know you, Cori. I knew you before you met Livy. Don’t forget that. Don’t play games with me. You can’t fool me. You pretend to be a lowly peasant, when you grew up just as spoiled and privileged as I. I don’t love everything about our class, but unlike you I fight to change it rather than run from who I am like a coward.”

Corinne launched herself at Lucian, propelling them both into the wall. The force of the impact caused one of the shelves to topple over. Lucian shoved Corinne back with as much force as she went flying into the couch. For a minute Olivia thought Corinne would go through the couch, but the couch toppled over as Corinne whacked her head on the floor. She instantly rose, bearing her sharp fangs at Lucian. She was about to attack Lucian again when Olivia grabbed her arms, hoping to immobilize her enraged friend. Corinne was older than Lucian, which gave her an edge in physical strength, but he could disable her with just a simple thought -- and that unique gift made Lucian lethal.

“Enough!” Olivia shouted. Corinne just stood there staring at Lucian as if she could kill him, but she made no move to do so. Julian and Lorenzo stormed into the room in full attack mode, searching for the cause of the disturbance. Before either of them could inquire further, Olivia asked them to leave and to give them a few moments. Lorenzo was reluctant to go, but after Lucian’s nod of agreement Lorenzo and Julian returned to Kaden’s cell.

Olivia needed to refocus this conversation soon before everything fell apart around her. There was no way to penetrate Lucian’s walls with Corinne there antagonizing him. She needed to talk to Lucian alone. “Cori, please go. I need to finish my conversation with Lucian. This is between him and me.”

“You really want me to leave you alone with that bastard?”

“Yes. I need you to leave me alone with him. Please, Cori.”

Corinne was still steaming. Despite her anger, she freed herself from Olivia’s hold and stormed out of the room, slamming the door with such force that it completely dislodged from the hinges.

Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control so fast. Tensions were dangerously high. Her body ached, mostly from the pain of craving the man standing in this room. Lucian’s gaze was so intense that she did not know if he wanted to strangle her or finish what they started. She hoped for the latter, but suspected the former.

“I’m sorry about Cori. She’s a loyal friend, and very protective of me and the boys.”

“Guilt drives her, not loyalty.”

Olivia was stunned by that comment. “What do you mean, guilt? Corinne has no reason to feel guilty.”

“Maybe, maybe not. She feels it regardless. I could see the guilt in her eyes when she fought so passionately to defend you. But that’s her problem, not mine. She has her cross to bear, but no right to take it out on me. If she attacks me again, then she will pay the consequences just like anyone else who attacks the Council.”

“I’ll keep her calm and under control.”

Lucian’s doubtful expression caused Olivia to unleash a wave of laugher. Lucian joined her as they marveled at the absurdity of her words. “Stop laughing at me, Lucian. I admit Cori is not exactly controllable, but she can be reasoned with if you approach her the right way.” Lucian just laughed even more until both of them had tears in their eyes.

“This has been the craziest day. I was dreading this day,” Lucian confessed. “I knew I would see you again and have all that pain rekindled. I didn’t expect to want you so badly and I certainly didn’t expect to pleasure you. Still coping with the shock of that, I get thrown into a wall by a woman in a miniskirt and heels. I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.”

“Laugh, Lucian. Keep laughing. Crying is just an endless river of tears.”

“Speaking from experience?”

Olivia did not answer. She picked up the couch and set it upright again. She plopped herself on it and reached for Lucian. He sat on the other side of the couch, maintaining a safe distance. His body still yearned for hers, but he wanted to retain some measure of control.

“I can’t focus on the past right now when so much of the future is threatened, Lucian. I beg you to work with us. I can understand why you’re so certain of Kaden’s guilt, but I know you wouldn’t want an innocent man to be condemned for a crime he didn’t commit. Wouldn’t you want to be sure – 100% sure -- before you convicted Kaden? I’m just asking for a little time. Please, Lucian. I may not deserve your mercy or kindness, but this is about a man’s life. You can hate me and Daughton, but don’t punish our son.”

Those pleading eyes staring back at him were too much to resist. Part of him still believed that she seduced him to obedience, but deep down he knew he was as guilty as she of surrendering to their mutual desire. In spite of his anger a moment ago at Corinne, his heart could not help but soften a little for Olivia. Even though his head wanted nothing to do with her, his heart still craved her and so did his body. He still yearned to please her. Still wanted to see that smile on her face that brightened his darkest moods. He feared he would never be able to escape his feelings for Olivia.

“Three days. That’s all I can do. I’ll work with you to uncover as much evidence as possible, but at the end of that time, Kaden will be judged based on whatever evidence we have. If I’m not convinced of his innocence, he will return with me to Sorrento to be judged by the entire Council.”