Yet now Stryke Saint-Pierre had strolled into her life.
Her reflection frowned. She had been attracted the moment shed laid eyes on him walking the gallery floor. And the attraction had been like nothing she had ever felt for a man before. Shed wanted to feel his hands roaming her skin, his mouth tasting hers. And shed gotten that.
She wanted it again.
No. He is just the diversion.
Right. Stick to the plan. She had to see him again today. In order to retrieve what shed planted on him, she needed access to his personal things. She must get close to him without raising suspicion.
Seduction would be necessary. And while seduction should prove a simple taska job, nothing moreBlyss knew once she again stood in Strykes arms, all bets would be off. Shed fall into his beautiful brown eyes and sexy smile and wish only for his masterful kiss. A kiss that had left her breathless in the gallery office.
A kiss she wanted to taste again.
Shaking her head furiously, she battled with the devil and angel hovering above each shoulder. She would never be an angel. She tried not to be so devilish. But this afternoon she must tempt and seduce. And win back her standing with her supplier.
Because if she did not, she must then face her beast. And that was something she could not bear.
* * *
Outfitted in hazmat gloves and a face mask, Rhys Hawkes had been waiting for the delivery in his office. Stryke had chuckled, but then asked when he would be issued his own safety equipment.
Sorry, Rhys said as he took the silver scepter from the cardboard box. I knew it was silver, but the thought to warn you didnt occur at the time. Ill have the company car outfitted with some precautionary equipment.
Precautionary, Stryke repeated as he followed Rhys into an open vault that stretched back about twenty feet and featured an aisle four feet wide. He strolled his gaze up and down the security boxes, each fronted by a digital entry pad. What all is in these boxes?
Gold, silver, coins from ages past. Magical items. Demonic accoutrements. Personal possessions that hold such great power the owner fears keeping them too near. Everything you can imagine. This is the preliminary holding cell for items the owners intend to retrieve instead of having them stored long-term. As well, I keep items Ive purchased in herelike this scepteruntil a spot can be coded for them below. Ive a marvelous warehouse underground this building. Ill show it to you sometime.
Kind of Warehouse 13, eh?
Hmm? Rhys punched in a code and pulled open a drawer. He hadnt gotten the reference to the sci-fi show Stryke caught on replay every so often that featured a massive storage shed for items and devices of supernatural origin.
So that wasnt a very dangerous job, Stryke commented. You know I am capable if youve a particularly harrowing task.
Oh, indeed. Rhys closed the drawer and tugged off his gloves. You looking for some danger, Saint-Pierre?
Always.
Your father told me youre the wise one of his children. Sort of the calm center amid a storm of fur and trouble.
Trouble being the key word in that statement. My brother definitely lives up to his name.
Malakai also tells me hes encouraged you to start a pack?
Yes, Dad wants to retire. And we could use a more varied pack where I live. A mixture of families.
Always wise to integrate the pack with new blood. So you are married?
No, but Im looking.
Heh. Id introduce you to my granddaughters at the weddingTrystans girlsbut no. I dont want you taking any from my family across the ocean.
Thanks. I do have my eye out while Im in town.
Rhys patted him on the back and led him back out to the office. You enjoy the show last night?
It was interesting. If not curious. And a boost to his ego. Until Blyss had shoved him out the door, and then his ego had fallen onto the concrete. Met a gorgeous woman.
Ah? Werewolf?
No. Doubt Ill find such luck so quickly.
You two have a date, then?
I think weve done the date, the first kiss, the Lets say it was sweet while it lasted.
Parisian women can be baffling. Such pretty baubles to admire, but try to nudge beneath the sparkle and learn them? Rhys shook his head. I am thankful for a long and loving relationship with my wife. Dating nowadays would stymie me. People dont even talk anymore. They text. What is that about?
Stryke offered him a shrug. He wasnt much for texting. A long talk and hand-holding were more his style.
But if youre looking for a hookup in town, Rhys continued, talk to Johnny. He knows a lot of
Vampires arent really my style. But thanks, Rhys. Im going to head out. Unless youve more work for me?
Not at the moment, but Im sure I will in a day or two. Thanks for helping out, Stryke. See you at the wedding this weekend.
On the way home Stryke stopped for a crepe from a food stand across the cobbled street from Notre Dame. Hed been eyeing this stand every day since arrival. Worth the dive into unhealthy. Sickeningly sweet chocolate oozed out around thick slices of banana between the folded crepe.
Bananas were always healthy, right?
He consumed the crepe and wandered in through the lobby of the apartment building. Knocking on the door to the apartment his brother Blade was staying in, he waited, but no answer. Must still be out with the twins.
His parents were likely helping with the wedding stuff. And Kelyn had been serious about seeing the sights. The youngest Saint-Pierre brother had left the building this morning with a map in one hand and his iPod set to a city tour.
Shaking his head in admiration over Blades roguish prowess, Stryke headed up to his place. He surfed the television but couldnt understand French or the Indian-language stations, though the talk shows that emulated the confrontational style so popular in the US were a hoot.
After fifteen minutes all the hair-pulling and shoving annoyed him. Time to head out and explore the city. Maybe he could pick up Kelyns scent and join him. He scanned out the window and eyed the row of shops across the river. Hed start there because he was pretty sure one of them was a bookshop.
A knock at the door must be a family member. Expecting a brother or even his mom or dad, Stryke answered the summons and chuffed out his breath at the sight of who it really was.
The sexy siren stood with one arm raised, her hand grasping high on the door frame, while her sinuous body slinked and seduced in red velvet. The dress hugged her from breasts to curvy hips. A party this early in the day? Stryke decided that every dayall daywas a party for this glamour girl.
Blyss?
She winked and strode across the threshold, handing him a filmy black scarf. He fumbled with it, not sure whether to scrunch it up and toss it aside or press it to his nose to inhale her scent. He compromised and brushed it over his face as he tossed it aside to land on the kitchen table littered with toast crumbs from a hasty breakfast.
Following the click of her high heels into the living room, which was bare of furnishings, save for a baroque couch and chair set that looked as if it hailed from the eighteenth century, Stryke waited for her to announce her reason for the visit.
Did he need a reason? Hell no.
The woman hed thought to never see again stood not six feet away from him, looking like a sex goddess wrapped in red. Her dark hair was pinned up again, with a few wispy tendrils drawing his eye directly to her elegant neck. Right there. That was where he really wanted to kiss her.
She turned and crooked her finger at him and he almost lost it right there. But he was cool. Mostly. He got an instant hard-on, though. No fancy suit today, just a T-shirt and loose blue jeans that had gotten remarkably tighter.
Howd you find where Im staying? he asked as he padded up to her and didnt dare touch her. Yet. She smelled like flowers. And again he got lost in a meadow of blossoms.
You told me you live above the candy shop. Only one on the island.
I didnt think Id see you again after that hasty send-off last night.
Excuse moi. I sometimes slip out of hostess mode, and then when I realize my guests are untended, I refocus with a vengeance. Its a thing with me.
You often slip out of hostess mode at such gatherings? Meaning, did she screw strange men in the office much?
Blyss tilted her head and fluttered her lashes.
Did he care what she did with other men? She was here now. She smelled like flowers. Looked like sin. And it was obvious she hadnt come for a chat.
Stryke pulled her to him in a swift move that married their bodies at hips and chest. He felt her nipples harden beneath the velvet and his hand glided to one breast to squeeze. There was something about a woman intent upon getting exactly what she wanted. And he sensed this flawless piece of female was here on a seek-and-have-sex mission.
He dipped his head to her breasts. The dress was cut low, and he dashed his tongue under the velvet. She gasped and leaned into him, asking for more with her body.
I hope youre not busy, she whispered. I dont normally stop by without first calling, but I didnt have your mobile number.
Mobile was what the French called the cell phone. He lashed his tongue over her firm breast. Was only planning on sightseeing. Mmm, Blyss, you are incredible.
Her hand slid up under his T-shirt, fingernails gently clawing his abs. And you are trèsfantastique, Stryke.
He slid the thin red strap off her shoulder and pulled down the dress to expose her breast. Kissing and suckling her erect nipple, he moaned at the pleasure of the surprise. And his inner wolf stirred, sensing the connection tohmm...to what?
Something about her called to his feral instincts in ways that no woman ever had. It puzzled him, but then again, he couldnt question it too much. Maybe later.
Her leg hooked about his and she gripped him at the back of his neck, pulling him hard against her breast. When he nipped her skin she gasped. She liked that. A little rough? Hed always thought himself a gentle lover, but he could amp up the intensity if that was what she wanted.
Squeezing her other breast while he sucked in her nipple, he gripped her ass and lifted her so she wrapped her legs about his. The bedroom door was five steps away. Moving blindly, he managed to miss the door completely and crush her up against the wall. He knew she liked this position.
Sorry, was aiming for the door.
Your bedroom is through there? Yes, lets try it on a bed this time, mon amour.
My love? Oh yeah. She was here for more than a social call.
This time he made it through the doorway and they tumbled onto the king-size bed made with simple white linens and a scatter of fluffy pillows. He didnt let her go, though. Instead he pulled down the other dress strap and the dress fell to her waist. Burying his face against her breasts, he breathed in what was surely expensive perfume. Hed fallen into a rose garden.
She tugged at his shirt and he slipped it over his head. Cooing, Blyss ran her hands over his chest, setting his nerve endings ultrareceptive to all things good.
So ripped, she murmured. American men are so much more than the French man.
When he was about to foolishly say it was the wolf in him, she pressed a finger to his lips. Lets not talk. Lets taste. She lashed her tongue under his jaw. And touch. Her fingers slid over his crotch and curled about his erection. And devour.
Devouring sounds good to me.
Stryke made quick work of his fly, unzipping and shrugging out of his jeans. Boxer briefs hugged his erection, but they didnt stay up for long. Blyss shoved them down his hips and grasped his aching hard-on. The contact felt like fire singeing him in the sweetest way. He hissed.
She coiled her fingers about him and squeezed. Oh, yeah, that was twenty kinds of all right.
Stryke was about to kiss her mouth, but the red lipstick stayed him. She was so pretty, so perfect. She deserved mussing, but hed do it in another way. Planting the kiss on her neck, he nuzzled there and gently bit down along her shoulder. Her hands busied themselves with his cock and he would come too fast if she kept it up.
He grabbed her wrists and pinned them up by her shoulders. This time, he intended to orchestrate their liaison. No coming for him until she did first. He owed her one. She cooed, her tongue dashing out to lick those teasing red lips. Hed caught her. Now what would he do with her?
Indeed, what to do with this gorgeous bit of glamour that surprised him at every turn and whom he wanted to figure out. And yet, he did not. The surprises were what made her so exciting.
Rocking his hips against hers, he teased at her hot, sticky wetness with his cock. She moaned and murmured, Yes, but he was inclined to tease a bit longer.
The dress hugged around her waist. Her thigh-high stockings glided like silk against his legs. She still wore the shoes, and thinking about those spiked heels hardened his cock even more. He wanted to feel her softness and her dangerous sharpness all over his skin.
So when she struggled against his hold on her wrists, he relaxed his grip and allowed her to push at him. He rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him in a smooth movement. Straddling him, she pulled off the dress and tossed it to the floor.
Afternoon sunlight beamed across the bed and her body glowed as if she were a sun goddess. Stryke glided his hands up her stomach. When he cupped her breasts, she tilted her head back, offering her succulent fullness to him. She wiggled, her moistness heating his cock. And with a shift of her hips she managed to take him inside her.
I dont have any Stryke never had unprotected sex. Werewolves could get mortal women pregnant.
She tutted him. You didnt last night either, no?
Right. Shed said she was on the pill.
Lover, you are steel between my legs. Mmm...
He closed his eyes and fell into the exquisite rhythm of her rocking above him, feeding off him, milking him, pairing with him. Bondingno.
When two werewolves had sex together in werewolf form they bonded for life. It was a serious deal. And while he hoped to someday bond with a werewolf and make a family together, this woman was merely human and he just wanted to have fun with the glamour goddess.
Blyss cupped his hands, still wrapped about her breasts, and squeezed. Murmuring an approving sound, she quickened her pace, up and down, bringing him to climax with expert skill. Strykes hips bucked up against her, and when she pressed her hands to his chest and watched him ride out the pleasure, he thought surely she was looking inside him for some secret.