The lights flickered wildly. With a pained cry, Victoria absorbed the magic into her, then released it in a power surge that snapped the rope at her wrists and exploded the lightbulb in her desk lamp. Darkness hissed through the room, coiling and slithering, then slamming into Max and rocking him back into the desk.
Victoria stumbled up and into him, catching him and holding on. Max buried his damp face in the crook of her neck and crushed her to him, shuddering as the power pulsed through him like a viciously pounding headache.
Her fingers dug into his back. “Max . . . What have you done?”
Two
Xander Barnes lifted his wineglass to his lips and looked through the restaurant’s windows to the bistro patio across the street. There, Max Westin was hand-feeding tempting morsels to his beautiful Familiar. “We’ll have to vanquish her,” he thought aloud. “She’s making him too strong. We’ll never take him out while he has her.”
“Hmm.” Sirius Powell cut into his steak. “Before I saw them together, I would’ve agreed. But I’ve changed my mind. See the way he looks at her? He loves her. It would be a waste to excise such a weakness with a single strike.”
Xander crossed his arms. A soft afternoon breeze rifled through his copper hair like a lover’s fingers. “We’ll have to use her against him, then. ”
“Yes. I think so.”
“She has Darius Whitacre’s power.”
Sirius smiled and set down his utensils. The Familiar was unique, thanks to her previous warlock who’d bequeathed her his power. That magic made her strong, which made Max Westin stronger, but it also created a novel vulnerability. “Whitacre’s power makes her susceptible to black magic. We just need to give her the incentive to use it.”
“Westin is already dabbling in it to lure us out. If she hasn’t had a taste of it yet, she will soon enough.”
“Which will give her a taste for more,” Sirius finished. “Darius’s magic isn’t her only weakness. Westin is, too. Considering how territorial Familiars are, she won’t want to be reminded about how many witches Westin has enjoyed.”
Xander laughed softly. “You want to make a Familiar jealous? You are evil.”
Sirius toyed with the long blond braid hanging over his shoulder. “And we’ll get a great show. Who should we tap to get things rolling?”
“Jezebel Patridge,” Xander said without hesitation. “She and Westin were hot and heavy for a while. When he was hunting me, I considered using her as leverage, but it didn’t pan out.”
“How do you propose getting her involved?”
Grinning, Xander leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine. “With a note from Westin himself. Easy enough to counterfeit.”
Sirius lifted his own glass in toast. “This should be fun.”
Something was wrong.
Victoria leaned into the threshold of the kitchen and watched as Max prepared dinner. From the first night he’d walked into her life with the High Council’s order to either tame her or kill her, he’d been taking care of her. She’d never been so pampered and spoiled in her long life. In return Max expected nothing but her love, trust, and submission, all of which she gave him, despite her alpha female disposition.
Her adoring gaze took in every mouthwatering inch of him, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. His inky-black hair hung to his shoulders in a thick luxurious mane, framing a face so savagely masculine it made her shiver just to look at him. His eyes were the gray of a summer storm and his lips were simply divine, so firm and beautifully sculpted.
His powerful arms and back flexed as he worked at the stove, his body unadorned except for a loose pair of silk pajama pants. His bare feet were a wicked enticement for her feline sensibilities, luring her to shift forms and twine around his ankles. His skin was the color of the richest caramel, the texture firm and satin soft. His taut ass made her mouth water, and when he turned toward the sink, she eyed the unmistakable sway of his heavy cock, her pussy clenching hungrily for the feel of him thrusting inside her.
The two days she’d spent without him had been torture enough, but the hours since lunch had been worse. A wall had gone up between them since they’d left her office. Knowing he was home but still distant was both physically and emotionally painful. He’d shut her out in a way he never had before. Although he was still affectionate and attentive, there was no doubt that he was shielding her from the truth of where he’d been the last two days and what he’d done. During lunch he’d talked about everything except what he had decided to do about the Council’s summons.
Max had always been one to use gray magic. But what she’d felt today was much more dangerous. And far more seductive.
Even now she could feel the darkness shrouding his soul and the iron control he was exerting to contain it. The hunt for sorcerers of Sirius Powell and Xander Barnes’s power would push him to the very edge. The assignment would tax his strength in myriad ways and it was up to her to support him through it. But she couldn’t do that if he wouldn’t let her in.
Untying her black silk robe, Victoria went to him and pressed her bared torso to his back, her arms wrapping around his chest. Her palms slid over his washboard abs and firm pectorals, squeezing the hot, hard flesh with greedy hands.
“I love you, Max,” she murmured with her lips to his shoulder blade.
“I know, kitten.”
She reached lower, cupping him through the silk of his pants, then loosening the drawstring to fist his thickening cock skin to skin. “I need you.”
He swelled in her grasp, eliciting a purr of delight from her. Her nipples stiffened, her pussy softening in readiness. She stroked him from root to tip, making him longer and harder, priming him to pleasure her.
Abruptly, he turned off the burner and spun fluidly. He took control with breathtaking ease, catching her hands behind her with one of his own. Excitement flushed her skin.
Max loomed over her, his eyes stormy and hot. His free hand ran down the center of her body from throat to sex, possessively cupping the pulsing flesh between her legs. “What do you want, Victoria?”
“You.” She spread her legs, inviting his touch. “I’ve always wanted you, from the moment you walked into my life.”
Parting her, he gently rubbed her clit. “You’ve had me from the beginning.”
Her entire body softened, her heart pounding at being restrained and pleasured. “I don’t feel like I have you now.”
He circled the clenching entrance to her body with skillful fingertips. “You own me.”
She gasped as he lowered his head to lick across one peaked nipple, his tongue a velvet lash. “Why won’t you talk to me about what’s happened the last couple of days?”
His silky hair brushed over the curves of her breasts. His lips surrounded the aching point, his cheeks hollowing as he suckled her. Two fingers pushed inside her. “I missed you,” he murmured against her damp skin. “I’d fuck you endlessly if I could, stay inside you forever. When I’m not in you, I’m thinking about it. Craving it. I don’t feel whole when I’m not a part of you.”
“Be a part of me now,” she whispered, her hips circling onto his gently thrusting fingers. Fire raced across her skin, eliciting a mist of sweat. Her womb clenched with the depth of her need to be connected to him.
“I’m cooking now.” His whisky-rough voice was low and firm, his fingers stilling . . . letting her feel him there, letting her crave the friction and heady rush of release. “When it’s time to play, I’ll tell you.”
“Please, Max.”
“Shhh. I’ll take care of you.” He curled his fingers and stroked over the tender spot inside her, over and over. She climaxed with a soft cry, quivering in his arms.
He gave her what she wanted without giving anything of himself away.
His lips brushed across her parted ones, her panting breaths gusting over his jaw. “Better?”
Victoria whimpered as his fingers left her. “No.” Without his pleasure, she was empty. Unfulfilled. “You’re shutt
ing me out, Max.”
His gaze slid over her face, so full of love and yet so guarded. “You have to trust me.”
Her chest tightened painfully. “That’s not fair.”
“Come to terms with it, Victoria,” he said with quiet authority.
“We’ve always worked together,” she argued.
“And we will again, when the situation warrants it.” He caught her chin in one hand. “Even with Darius’s power, there are limits to what you can do. And augmenting my magic when going after two rogues like Sirius and Xander can backfire.”
“Then let me support you at home! Talk to me. Don’t leave me in the dark.”
Max’s hand slid beneath her robe to cup her bare buttock and drag her hard against him. “Let me take care of you. That’s all I need.”
His head lowered and he took her mouth, kissing her with the possessive passion that had seduced her from the first. His firm lips sealed over hers, his tongue gliding deep to stroke against her own. A growl rumbled in his chest and vibrated against her breasts, the light dusting of hair on his chest an unbearable stimulation. He was hard and thick, his erection pressing against her lower belly.
He ate at her mouth, possessing it, tasting her with long deep licks. His fingers pushed into the short strands of her hair, cupping her scalp and holding her steady as he drank in her taste. His tongue fucked her leisurely, teasing her with the promise of what she truly wanted.
Victoria moaned, lost in him. Her lips felt swollen and hot, her eyelids heavy with the drugging effects of Max’s skilled seduction. His fervent words echoed through her mind, his declarations of uncontrolled obsession in erotic contrast to his absolute control while handling her.
When she was breathless and pliant, he pulled away. Running his tongue along the kiss-plumped curve of her mouth, he murmured, “Dinner first.”
Victoria nodded, but her mind raced. She’d already lost a man she loved once. She’d be damned if she would sit quietly while it happened again.
Three
Max speared another slice of a bay scallop, swirled it in savory cream sauce, then lifted it to Victoria’s lush lips. She purred as she chewed, her nails raking along his thigh as she swallowed. Pride and pleasure slid through him along with the heat from two fingers of fine Scotch.
She shook her head when he speared another slice. “No more. I can’t eat another bite.”
Setting the fork down, he leaned closer and licked a spot of cream from the corner of her mouth. He’d never thought he would have a Familiar. Never believed he’d want the responsibility. But looking after Victoria—feeding her, bathing her, loving her—was the reason he breathed.
“You brought a movie home,” he reminded. “Do you want to watch it?”
“Do you?” Her voice was soft and husky, her cheeks flushed with vitality.
She’d been too thin when they first met, suffering from the lack of a master to care for her. She had lost her previous warlock, Darius, two centuries before, and neglect had taken its toll on both her appearance and her temperament. She’d been near feral, taunting the High Council with random acts of mischief and outwitting the numerous Hunters they sent to tame her.
Loving that spirit in her, Max had been careful in his care of her since she’d become his, maintaining the firm hand Familiars thrived under, yet giving her enough room to continue to challenge him. It was a delicate balance, one that kept them both content. He loved her with every breath in his body, desired her with a depth of need that was unquenchable.
“Let’s watch it,” he said, wanting to hold her while he considered their next best steps. He’d gotten more than an orgasm earlier; he had gained an understanding of just how dangerous his hunt for Sirius and Xander was. The magic he’d poured into Victoria had been tainted and she had cleansed it for him, restoring his equanimity, but at what cost to herself?
Victoria carried the wine and goblets into the living room while he cleared the table. When he joined her in the vast space of their loft’s living room, he found candles flickering on every surface and his woman curled on the couch with the remote in her hand. He took a moment to study her body, gilded by candlelight, then lit the fireplace with a snap of his fingers. Sinking onto the couch, he smiled as she snuggled against him and started the movie. Her selection of The Expendables 2 had him grinning. It was just so . . . her. Reclining into the cushions, he stroked his fingers through her hair and thought of the most efficient way to lure his prey out into the open.
The movie was halfway over when he decided Victoria was due a reward. He knew submission didn’t come easy to her, partly because of her nature and partly because of Darius, who had gifted her with his magic as he lay dying from a battle with the Triumvirate. She was the most powerful Familiar the Council had ever heard of, and her pairing with him, the most accomplished Hunter, made her even more powerful. Ceding control was difficult for her, which made her doing so extremely precious to him.
Grateful for her love and trust, he stroked his hand down the graceful curve of her spine, then slipped beneath the hem of her robe to play with her.
She turned her head to nuzzle into him, her breath hot against his throat as she whispered, “Oh, Max . . . I love it when you touch me.”
He pulled her onto his lap facing the television, splaying her legs on either side of his to open her to his questing touch. Her head lolled on his shoulder, her breath quickening as he parted her and massaged her clit. Turning his head, he rimmed the shell of her ear with his tongue, his cock hard and aching against the curve of her ass.
“I love touching you,” he said softly, sliding one finger into her plush, silky cunt.
She lowered the surround-sound volume with her power, her hand covering the one he slid between the halves of her robe to cup her breast. “You need me, Max. Not just in your life and your bed, but in your work. Especially with a hunt like this.”
He withdrew his slickened finger and returned with two, thrusting gently into her trembling cleft. “They’ll gun for you in order to get to me.”
“Of course they will.” She sucked in a shaky breath as he deliberately coaxed her to a fever pitch, his fingertips massaging the sensitive tissues inside her. “But we’re stronger together than apart.”
Licking into her ear, he pressed the heel of his palm into her clit. She gasped and climaxed, rippling around him. The feel of her writhing in his lap was delicious. He wondered how he’d survived before he found her. When he contemplated his past, it seemed no more than shadows, memories that lacked clarity and definition. Worlds away from the vibrancy of his current existence.
The rest of the movie passed in a blur, his attention solely on the treasure in his arms. He slid his fingers in and out of her in a deliberately leisurely way, fucking her gently, making her come repeatedly until she begged for his cock.
When the credits began to roll, he cupped her jaw and turned her head. He took her mouth with all the hunger surging inside him, the need for her that was never fully appeased. She whimpered as the kiss grew reckless and greedy, his tongue thrusting deep and fast, lapping up the intoxicating taste of her.
Victoria twisted in his arms, facing and straddling him, her hands pushing into his hair. His breath soughed from his lungs; his cock was wet with anticipation.
“Time to play, kitten,” he said gruffly.
Victoria pulled back to meet Max’s heavy-lidded gaze. “I need more than this. I need you to need me, Max. For everything. Especially your work.”
Shadows passed through his eyes. The air around them grew charged, became heavy and electrified. Power pulsed off him in waves, lapping against her senses like waves on a beach.
His lips thinned into a grim line. “I’m not liking how you’re bringing this discussion into playtime. You can’t lead me around by my dick, Victoria. But you can damn well piss me off by trying.”
She felt the sash of her robe slither around her wrists, binding them together behind her. Her breathing quickened until her
chest was lifting and falling rapidly. Her pussy grew slick with wanting, her body preparing for the delicious invasion of his. When his hands gripped her hips, she shivered, her desire sharpened by the fine edge of fear. She knew he’d die before he ever hurt her, but his was a dark soul, his sexual hungers ferocious and insatiable, his need to dominate her an intrinsic part of their love affair.
In the time they’d been together, he’d taken her body in ways she could never have imagined, pushed her to her limits and beyond. He was a skilled lover, master of her desires and his own, his control unwavering.
With effortless strength, he lifted and positioned her, holding her aloft above the broad head of his cock. It notched into the clenching opening of her sex, then pushed in the few inches required for her knees to sink into the sofa cushions. She gasped at the teasing fullness, the taunting pressure spurring the anticipation of feeling his thick length sliding deep.
“Don’t move,” he warned darkly, forbidding her from sinking into his lap. “You’ll take my cock when I give it to you.”
Running his hand tenderly up her spine, Max cupped her nape and urged her to bend forward so he could take her mouth. Her eyes closed as their lips touched and the angle of his penetration pressed hard against her G-spot. She clenched around the plush head, hungry for the feel of it tunneling deeper and stretching her.
“Max,” she whimpered, desperate for friction.
“Milk my dick, kitten. Show me how much you want it.”
Victoria tightened down, rippling greedily, her aching sex trying to pull him inside her.
With a rough tug on her hips, Max obliged her, yanking her onto his raging erection with a force that drove a cry from her.
“Max!”
He groaned. His gorgeous face was flushed and taut, lines carved by the ecstasy of their joining. He ground his hips upward, screwing deep. “Hot, tight little fuck.”
With her wrists bound at her lower back and her canted position, she had no leverage. She could only give her weight over to Max and let him use her as he needed, let him hold her in place while he thrust into her.