Page 13 of Kept in the Dark
Looking slightly bewildered, and glancing around to see if anyone is watching, she allows me to guide her leg up and place it gently on my knee. The motion parts her skirt at the deep slit on the side, and I get more than a flash of golden skin. The head of my cock pulses.
“I’m not very good on heels because I don’t usually wear them,” she explains distractedly as her hypnotized stare tracks my movements.
Frowning at the broken skin on her smallest toe, I wrap the straps around her foot, then ankle, tying a bow when I run out of ribbon length. I am careful not to tie it too tightly. Her attempt to balance and not lean too hard on me fails as she switches to the other foot and must now stand only on her toes. Her hands press into my shoulders, and it fills me with enormous gratification as she gives me more and more of her weight, trusting me to support her.
This side is the one with the slit, and I push the dress over her thigh to reveal the entire length of her leg. The silky material cascades, swishing into place and remaining there.
“Give her a compliment, but don’t be creepy. Something not about her body.”
Perhaps James does know what he is doing.
“I like this dress,” I murmur, as I slide my hand from ankle to knee, then back down her calf to rest around her heel.
“I’m… coming around to it.” Goosebumps rise on her flesh from my touch. I exhale noisily, wishing to run my tongue along their texture.
I take as much care with this shoe, wrapping and then tying neatly, wanting to draw out the anticipation for as long as possible. When finished, I stand, brushing off the knee that was in the grass, and replace my hand on her lower back. “Ready?”
“Definitely,” she croaks, then clears her throat of the desire making it raw. “Th-thanks for doing that. No one’s ever… that was… um, thanks.”
There is a loud hollering in my left ear.“See? She can’t even think straight. I fuckin’ told you so!”
“That was smoothly done, Dimitri. I’m impressed.”
“Is she hot? Can you see her, Wes? She sounds hot—”
There is no real cause for it, but anger rises swiftly in my throat, and I tap the comms in each ear in turn, severing the connections. I will open the lines again with just a touch if anything comes up, but some things are best done alone, without a devil whispering in each ear.
I do not want James and Wesley to listen to us anymore, to know more about her, or to be there as she gives in to me. That passion is forme. Her hunger ismine.She stirs something deep and primal that has been lying dormant in my chest—jealousy, possessiveness, the urge to take and hide her away, because no one fuckinglooks atwhat is mine.
Perhaps James had a point. There is such a thing asafter hours. This job will be over soon enough—perhaps I can convince her to give me her phone number.
“Shall we?”
4
Nicole
When you meet a Russian guy, don’t assume he’s in the mafia.
The music from the wedding sounds much louder as we get closer to the estate house. The party is still going strong, and there’s some kind of call-and-response happening right now on the dance floor that I have no interest in being a part of. I dread the noise and the crowd, like it’s going to break the spell I feel like I’m under.
I’m honestly not sure what to do with all six-foot-freaking-eight of the guy ushering me around the fountain. I’m actually getting a little flustered because I’m so unused to having to crane my neck this much,especiallyonce I put my heels back on. The sheer size of him is making me feel some kind of way, and it’s more than his height. I got a good feel when he let me use him for balance, and his shoulders are almost unbelievably wide, and so firm even under layers of fabric. I don’t think my fingers would meet if I tried to circle his bicep with both hands. His neck is thick, and even his Adam’s apple is a prominent bulge that feels oppressively masculine.
I’m not used to feeling small around anyone. Frankly, it’s a new feeling. And frankly, I like it more than I’d ever admit out loud.
His face suits his powerful frame. The shadow of stubble growing in, and his thick brows are dark, as is his short hair. White, straight teeth set behind thin lips give him a severe air that’s undercut by a slightly rounded nose. He’s got that big, old, deep scar that throws off the balanceof his features, but it’s not enough to distract from the cut line of his jaw, high cheekbones, and slightly hollowed cheeks.
He’s not handsome exactly, but his face is so interesting. Interesting things are always the most fun to look at.
But I can understand why he holds himself like he keeps expecting to find me staring. I’m a nurse—I’ve seen scars—and honestly, they just make him feel more… raw. They fit him becausehe’sfucking intense.
I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, even as I assess them for potential concealed weapons in the ER. But he’s intimidating. I’m intimidated, even if I’m doing a B+ job of not showing it.
Some people just have an intensity about them. From years of working in a super high-pressure job, I like to think I’m fairly immune to it, but Lev is on a different level entirely. He feelsdangerous, and I’ve never thought that of someone before with such certainty.
Not that I think he wants to hurt me… in a way I don’t want, anyway. It’s kind of thrilling just being near him.
If it were just one thing—the height, or the quick, dark humor, or the sheer size of him—maybe I could deal. But then he had to have all this predatory charm on top of it? And he’s pointing it directly at me?
