Touch If You Dare (24 page)

“So, will you help me get in the mental mindset I need to succeed? I need help.”

He palmed her back to guide her out the door, copping a quick feel. Teaching a woman violence didn’t sit well with him. Nothing like a couple centuries of in the Den to make a guy appreciate a woman with a soft side, like Reina. He didn’t want her to become like the women in the Den. Fury began to swirl inside him, anger at the choice she was making, at the one she was asking him to back.

“Jarvis?” She glanced back at him as she ran down the hall toward the front door. “I thought we were a team.”

He saw the question in her eyes, the first hint of distrust. Shit. She was the first woman who’d looked at him as something worthy, and she was the only one who didn’t hate him.

He couldn’t take any kind of negative vibe from her. She was all he had to make him feel there like there was a shred of decency inside him. He grabbed her hand and let the feel of her touch ease some of his anger. “Yeah, sure, I’ll help you become a murderer.”

She let out a breath of relief. “Thank God.”

Yeah, that.

***

Natalie couldn’t focus on the tinkle of piano keys, or the melodic tunes drifting across the hall toward her. She really didn’t care what brand of suit Elton was wearing, or who his date was for the evening, unlike some of the other gossiping patrons.

All she could think of was the Godfather.

The way his arm was resting against hers. The way his black hair was slicked back. The strong set to his jaw. The way her body tightened every time he looked at her—

He turned his head slowly, caught her looking at him, and something darkened in his eyes. Without a word, he took her hand, stood up, and headed down the floor-lit aisle, right in the middle of Elton’s song.

She followed him. She’d never been caught in a man’s spell like this. The way his body eased across the wood floor, the firmness of his grip against hers. He hadn’t asked her to leave. He hadn’t requested. He’d simply taken her and she’d gone.

They reached the maroon leather doors and he shoved them open, his silent gaze intent on hers.

They stepped out into the hall where staff were lingering or rushing past with trays of wineglasses. He leaned close, his cheek brushing against hers. “I think it’s time to leave. Unless you wanted to hear more singing?”

Her cheeks felt hot. Burning. “I wasn’t listening.”

He smiled. “Excellent.” He led her down the hallway, toward the front doors, toward his limo, the car that would take them back to his hotel and—

A tremendous bouquet of pink roses was on the table beneath a portrait of a past conductor. Pink flowers, like the one on Nigel’s cheek.
Nigel.

She stopped. She became aware of the voice in her head screaming at her to run. To hide.
Run, Natalie, run.

But she couldn’t make her body respond. She was in a murky haze, a bastion of confusion, hooked by the siren’s call. All she could do was feel the longing for this stranger.

The Godfather suddenly pinned her to the double brass railing. Her body began to tremble in anticipation of what this magnificent specimen could give her.

“I don’t want to kill you.” He nuzzled her neck. “The chocolate must work. You have it, right?”

No, no. That wasn’t right. She wanted to be tested. To prove she was all that. “No chocolate.”

He swore and stepped back, his face pinched with fury and tension. “No chocolate? You were going to make it safe.”

She set her hands on her hips. Safe sex? What was the point? Wasn’t she here for the opposite? To push all boundaries? To see how far she could fly? “You can’t hurt me.” Something in the depths of her mind shouted that yes, actually, he could hurt her, but she ignored it. Little whiners weren’t meant to be acknowledged.

“Yes, I will.” The Godfather shook her lightly. “I’ve sent hundreds of souls to heaven, and I’m done. I won’t be that playboy anymore.”

“What?” His words should make sense. She should listen. She should walk away. But she couldn’t remember why. Nigel would know. Why wasn’t he here?

Not that it mattered. She didn’t need him. “I want you to make love to me. I want you to rock my world.”

His eyes darkened. “Natalie—”

“Look at me!” She held out her arms. “Do you really think you can kill me?” She felt brilliant. She felt marvelously strong. “Sex can’t kill me.”

The Godfather swore. “You don’t understand what I’m like—”

“And you don’t understand what I’m like.” She grabbed the front of his tuxedo and tugged him close. He melted toward her like a man in a trance. “I can handle you.” She knew she could. She was the wind. She was the mountain. She was the mother earth. “Do you really want to learn to hold back, or do you want a woman who can handle all you have to give?”

Longing flashed in his face, and she knew she’d struck his truth. He didn’t want to fake who he was. “Oh, baby, you have no idea what I have to give.”

“Try me. You can’t hurt me.”

His hands tightened on her hips, and he pulled her so close she could feel his erection pressing against the front of her jeans. Heat convulsed through her, and a sudden orgasm shook her to her core. He didn’t take his gaze off her, didn’t release her as the tremor wracked her body.

He just waited.

It subsided, and she took a breath. Her heart was racing, her blood thudding through her veins, but she felt strong. Stronger than she ever had. Nothing could stop her. Nothing at all.

One dark eyebrow went up. “You’re okay.”

“Of course I am.”

Anticipation suddenly gleamed in his eyes, and he fisted her hair. “Be careful what you offer, my love, because I’m unlike any other man you’ve ever encountered.” And then he kissed her, and she knew he was telling the truth.

Her entire body was on fire, and tremors were racing through her. His mouth was magic, a seduction of fairy tale lore. His hands on her back, the heat of his body melting the T-shirt from her body. She gripped his upper arms, felt the hard core of his muscles flexing beneath her hands, and her body lurched with excitement.

He cupped her breast and bit the side of her neck. Another orgasm was coming. Like a tsunami building within her. Dear Lord, what would it be like to make love with him? How many times could he make her cross that threshold?

“Excuse me, sir.” A cultured voice was suddenly right next to her. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to relocate this activity.”

The Godfather swore and pulled back, and the wave halted, poised at the crest, ready to tumble. She pressed her face to his chest, fighting the intense pressure rushing through her, desperate for release.

“My apologies.” The Godfather hooked his arm around her waist. “We’ll be on our way.” His touch sent her over the edge, and the orgasm rushed through her like an electric shock.

“Dear God.” Her legs gave out and she started to go down.

The Godfather caught her and guided her to the floor as the tremors hit her.

“Is she okay? Shall I call an ambulance?” The young man who spoke was wearing a black suit and a white tie. He had an aura of authority about him. He was attractive, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw.

But his eyes were cold. Calculating. A man’s face that belied the youthful appearance. Raw fear rippled through her, and she felt her neck throbbing where she’d been lethally bitten so many years ago. “It was you,” she whispered. “You’re the one.” The deedub had come back to enjoy her death. “Bastard!”

He grinned and saluted her as he stepped back. The Godfather caught her chin and forced her to look at him. He searched her face. “You okay?”

“Let me go! We have to stop him!”

“Stop who?”

“Him!” But when she sat up, the man was gone. Just a few patrons sipping wine by the draperies. “But—”

The Godfather grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “I need to know if you’re okay!”

“Of course I am! Don’t I look okay?” Shit! What was she doing? She was walking willingly to her death? She leapt to her feet and started to run for the front door.

“No!” The Godfather slammed her against the wall. He was radiating excitement. “You’re the woman I’ve been searching for my whole life. You’re coming home with me. Now.”

Raw terror rippled through her. He was no longer resisting her. He was going to take her, and he was going to kill her. “No, no—”

His mouth crushed down over hers. She fought him off, trying to picture Nigel in her head. A man who didn’t want to kill her. A perceptive artist who would see past this crazy persona and feel her truth—

And then Nigel was gone from her mind. All that was left was a screaming need for completion. For pushing the boundaries. For becoming the powerful woman she’d never been before. Her hands softened on the Godfather’s shoulders, no longer fighting. Inviting.

“This is so exciting.” The Godfather was grinning like a kid who’d just gotten a new puppy. “I can’t believe I’ve found you! They say there’s a partner for everyone, but I’d given up.” He grabbed her hand and led her out the front doors.

Oh, yes, this was what she wanted. This was right.

“I’ve tried immortal women, vampires, incubi, succubi, fairies, angels, you name it. No one could handle me. And look at you! Two orgasms in less than a minute, and you didn’t even pass out.” He yanked open his limo door and tossed her on the seat. He was on top of her instantly. “I cannot
wait
to ravage you.”

She touched his face, her heart swelling with appreciation. “No one has ever treated me like I’m tough. Thank you.” After a lifetime of being afraid to walk to the mailbox, she felt as if she could fly. He was looking at her as if she could withstand a hurricane, and it made her feel like she actually could.

“And never in my life have I met a woman who enabled me to be who I really am.” He kissed the flat of her palm. “Thank you, my dear Natalie, for embracing who I am. There’s no fear in your eyes when you look at me.”

She smiled. “And there’s no worry in your eyes when you look at me.” It felt so right to have him seeing her as strong and powerful. The Godfather saw her the way she had always wanted to be, and it made her almost believe it was true.

“Just raw, unadulterated appreciation and desire.” The Godfather locked her hands over her head. “And now, it is just about us.” His mouth descended on hers—

He flew out of the car and landed on his ass on the sidewalk.

Natalie jerked upright. “Did I do that?” Dammit! She’d thought he was man enough to handle her—

“Nope.” An ostrich cowboy boot slammed down in the doorway, and a wide leather belt with a spur for a belt buckle came into sight. “I did.” The intruder grabbed her ankle and hauled her out of the car. She hit the pavement and skidded across it, landing next to the Godfather, who was coughing and trying to pry a pink star out of his throat.

A pink star? She whirled around as a hunched man in tails and a sleek, black fedora slammed the car door shut and turned to face her.

He might be clean.

He might smell of Polo instead of rotten bananas.

And he might be wearing an Armani tuxedo instead of crusty jeans.

But those merciless black eyes were the same, and the way they cut into her drove chills through her spine. “Well, if it isn’t my idol, Natalie Fleming, the gal with the best attitude on the planet.” Augustus bowed deeply. “Welcome to my game, princess. You’ve just become a player.”

Reina’s awe over her first sighting of red carpet was slightly tempered by the fact that Augustus was dragging her sister over it, toward a carriage drawn by six white, winged horses.

Natalie was fighting hard but Augustus’s progress didn’t appear to be at all impaired by the fact he’d chosen to abduct the Incredible Hulk with breasts. Nearby, Trinity was facedown on the asphalt, not moving.

Jarvis whipped the steering wheel to the right and Reina’s sweet little Prius ducked between two limos and careened up onto the sidewalk, sending red velvet rope and brass posts flying.

“Hey!” Police officers came running as Jarvis threw open the door. Lights flashed as photographers whirled toward them, snapping pictures.

“I’ll get Augustus,” Jarvis commanded. “You take care of Trinity.”

“Trin!”

She gave a weak wave. “Go get her,” she mumbled. “I’ll be fine in a second. Didn’t quite manage to stop him.”

“I need to get Natalie.” Reina dove out of the car and raced across the cement toward her sister, but they were moving too fast. She’d never catch up before they reached the carriage. “Nat!”

Her voice was drowned out by the click of cameras and the shouts of the policemen closing in on Jarvis. Hello? There was an abduction going on and they were worried about a little reckless driving? Okay, yeah, Augustus was flashing some badge with a star on it, but come on. Anyone could see that her sister was not some deviant that warranted a bounty hunter after her.

Her sister fought harder, and Augustus jerked her head, eliciting a howl of agony from Natalie.