Page 10 of Violent Things
I shouldn’t be turned on by such a blatant text, but I am. Sue me. The idea of Zeth inside me right now is enough to make me shiver in anticipation. After the stress of such a huge surgery, I need to unwind, and there is no better way to do that than to let my boyfriend have his dark, deviant way with me.
I grab my stuff and hurry out of the hospital before I can get caught up in any new patients, wondering if there will be any taxis available at this time of night. I don’t get four feet out of the building before I realize I won’t need one, though. Michael’s black sedan is parked right next to the entrance.Of course, I should have known.The driver’s door opens and Michael climbs out, smoothing his hands down the front of his pristine grey suit. The man is always so well turned out. Today, however, his look is ruined by the fact that he’s sporting a black eye and a nasty split lip.
“What the hell happened to you?”
He shrugs, smiling. “Ask your boyfriend.”
“Oh god, he didn’t try and kill you, did he?”
“Only a little.” Michael opens the passenger door for me and then climbs back into the car himself. As he drives, heading in the direction of our house on the hill as Zeth calls it, I prod my finger at the gash I can now see on the side of his head.
“You guys are really gonna hurt each other one of these days.”
“Probably.”
“Why did he make you wait for me? Has something happened?” You never know what’s around the corner when you’re dating a guy like Zeth Mayfair. Seems as though trouble follows him around like a bad smell. I’m used to the concept that people don’t like him living here in Seattle. Criminals all over the city know exactly who he is and what he’s capable of. According to Michael, no one can really believe he’s retired from the life. They’re just waiting for him to step up and claim what they presume is rightly his.
“No, everything’s fine,” Michael says. “He told me to go home, that you’d be okay, but I had to go see someone anyway. I was passing by here and thought I’d check in on you.”
“You had to see someone, huh?” I let my amusement color my voice. I’ve had a sneaking suspicion Michael has been seeing someone for a while now, but he’s a private guy. He hasn’t cracked, even under the most intense questioning. I guess, amongst other, more violent reasons, that’s why Zeth likes to keep him around.
“It was business,” he says, biting back a smile.
“Yeah. I bet it was.”
“Seriously.”
“I bet it was dirty business.”
“Which involves?”
“Your penis. And paddles. Maybe a hard-core dominatrix called Madame Payne. And probably a lot of sweat.”
“I think you’re confusing my sex life with yours.”
“Are you calling Zeth a hard-core dominatrix?”
“Not within earshot.”
I laugh, not pushing him any further. One of these days he’ll tell me. Or maybe he won’t. Maybe there’s always going to be a side to Michael I don’t know. I doubt he tells Zeth anything either.
We drive in comfortable silence up the winding roads that lead to the house; when we pull up outside, the place is dark, not a single light on inside. I can already hear the rhythmic thwack, thwack, thwack that tells me my antsy other half is out the back, indulging in his favorite pastime while I’m not around. I sigh, leaning across the car to give Michael a swift kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
“No problem. Have a good night, Ms. Romera.”
I wish he would call me Sloane. No matter how many times I tell him, it never seems to stick. Instead of letting myself inside the house, I skirt around the side, heading for the woods out back. He’s there, shirtless and sweating, a gas lamp burning at his feet, as he brings up the ax in his hands and swings it down onto the block of wood in front of him.
I don’t even have an open fire. Zeth just likes hitting things with axes.
“There she is,” he rumbles. I’ve been silent as a mouse, but of course he knows I’m behind him. He rests the ax head on the ground, angling his head toward me. I’m a hopeless case. No matter how many times I see this man partially undressed, I can’t help but stare at him. He’s so perfect. His body is perfection. The sweat-slicked muscles in his back shift ever so slightly as he leans his weight to one side, waiting for me to reach him. If I were capable of controlling myself around him, I would maybe kiss him lightly on the mouth in greeting and ask him what he’s been doing all day. The embarrassing thing is that I’m not capable of controlling myself around him, though. I find myself slowly licking the groove in between his shoulder blades, my tongue exploding with the taste of the salt in his sweat, my hands itching to touch him as he rocks his head back and groans.
“I liked your text message,” I whisper.
“Thought you might.” Zeth spins around grabs hold of me before I have a chance to say anything else. I like being tall, but I also love the way Zeth makes me feel small when he takes hold of me. Small and protected. Completely overpowered. Giving myself over to him, so that he knows he has dominion over me, wasn’t an easy task, but when he grabs hold of me like this and makes me feel like I’m his, now I feel complete. He wraps his strong arms around me and growls into the curve of skin where my neck meets my collarbone.
“You smell like sin,” he whispers.
“Mmm?”
