Page 47

Kara pulled her kimono on, then paused with one arm in a sleeve.

“Damn. I really liked this thing.”

The rip ran down the seam, splitting the material along her side and offering up more of her golden honey skin than was usually on display.

“I do too, but now I think I like it more.”

She made a face at me and put it on anyway. “Iyoni will get an eyeful.”

“To go with the earful she’s already had.” I paused in the act of pulling on my jeans, then did up the buttons thoughtfully. “We should probably talk about that.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Master. You’re a warlock.

” She hesitated, her brow furrowing. “All right, you’re not a warlock.

Or a half-warlock or something. An angel-lock?

” She shrugged. “Anyway, the point is, I knew you were going to bond others. I told you to. I knew this time would come, and … to be honest … I’m glad it’s Iyoni, and not someone off Vera’s list.” She paused again, thoughtfully biting her lip.

“Although we will need to add to your chorus to make sure you’re as strong as you can be. ”

“My chorus ?” The label she’d used was a safer thing to focus on than the comment about adding more.

“It’s what a warlock’s coven was called, back in the day.” She waved a hand like it wasn’t important. “What matters is I’m fine with Iyoni.” She gave me a smile. “I’m still glad I was first, though.”

“You’re not worried what Iyoni will think?”

“Her?” Kara gave a laugh. “Not in the slightest. You should’ve heard some of the things she was telling—” She stopped. “Actually, probably better if you don’t know. Or if she tells you. Yeah … I’ll let her tell you.”

“You can’t leave it at that.”

“Oh, I really can. That girl’s sex life is … something else.”

“So that’s it, huh?” I said, stepping closer to take her into my arms. “You, me, Iyoni, and no one has a problem with it?”

She placed a hand gently on my bare chest, right over my heart. “We’re bonded, Master. It’s a bit late to worry about … sharing toothbrushes.”

“Right,” I said slowly, still absorbing the reality. “And you’re sure you’re okay with this?”

She went up on her toes to kiss me. “Very sure.”

“Brave new world, huh?”

“Or a very old one.”

“Good point.” I turned away and pulled on a T-shirt. “Let’s get food, and … face the celestial in her den.”

We walked out to find Iyoni lying on the sofa, playing with her phone—of course. She glanced up, eyes sparkling in playful amusement. “Oh, are you done?” she said, setting the phone down theatrically. “That was quick.”

I gave her a look. We’d been in there almost ninety minutes, and we hadn’t spent that long talking. I shrugged and decided she was teasing. Hoped she was teasing.

“We thought we’d get some food,” I said, then paused as the two women in my life faced each other.

Iyoni sat up quickly, running her eyes over Kara’s kimono.

It occurred to me she hadn’t seen it yet; Kara hadn’t worn it out of her room since she’d arrived.

The tear down one side showed a tantalizing hint of Kara’s left breast, her cleavage was as prominent as ever, and I really did like how short it was.

“I need me one of those,” Iyoni said softly, with a note of breathless admiration. She glanced sideways at me, eyes alight, as if gauging my reaction.

Kara smiled and gave her a twirl, the hem bouncing suggestively. “I was going to get a new one anyway,” she said, inspecting the tear again, not seeming to care as she flashed quite a lot more breast in the process. “May as well get two while I’m at it.”

I made a noise that was half groan, half protest, and they both turned amused, mischievous eyes toward me. The thought of Iyoni wearing something similar had my pulse rising alarmingly. “Both of you, wearing those things? You’re going to torture me.”

Iyoni’s lips curled in a slow, provocative smile. “Half the fun is taking them off.”

*

Sunlight streamed through the open blinds, but that wasn’t what had woken me.

Kara’s mouth slipped down again, warm and wet, and I groaned with the intensity of it. Her head bobbed under the duvet, and I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sensations.

She slid her hand between my legs, cupping my balls as she took me in deep enough to touch her throat, then forced herself to take another inch.

My hips twitched in reflex, and she moaned around me, sending vibrations through my length. She rose up slowly, licking as she came, took a quick breath and sank back down again.

I pulled the duvet away so I could see her, crouched on the bed beside me, and ran a hand along her flank in appreciation. She licked up my shaft and swirled her tongue around the head of me, and gave me a smile.

“If you keep doing that, I’m going to come,” I told her.

“That’s the idea,” she said, and took my cock into her mouth again.

I gave a soft sigh and watched her eyes as she continued to pleasure me.

I clenched a fist in the sheets, focusing on resisting the temptation to thrust up, letting her go at her own pace.

It was tempting to hold back and prolong the experience as best I could, but the combination of her mouth and the gentle caress of her fingers soon had my body tensing.

“Kara …” I gasped, giving her a second of warning, but she kept licking and sucking. I came hard, erupting into her mouth, and felt her swallow around me.

When I’d finished, she lapped softly, making sure she captured every last remnant, then placed a gentle kiss on the top of me.

“Good morning, Master.”

“That’s a nice way to wake up.”

She smiled, sliding up the bed to snuggle in against me. “Then I’ll do that every morning from now on.”

I slid my hand down her back to play against the top of her ass. “I wish we could spend the morning relaxing in bed, but, alas, work calls.”

Kara rested her chin on my chest. “It won’t be long until I’m sharing you with Iyoni.”

I tensed. That had come way out of left field. Or maybe it hadn’t … had they been talking about that, too?

Kara sensed my hesitation. “This will work, the three of us. I like her, I trust her, and now that she’s judged you, she’s only got your interests at heart.”

I supposed that was true. “So long as she doesn’t get jealous, or weird.”

“She does get weird,” Kara said dryly, then softened. “But in a good way.”

That was true too. “She keeps us off balance.”

“And grounded, somehow,” Kara added, frowning faintly. “It’s strange—she’s the lightest one of us, but sometimes she’s the anchor.”

I ran my hand through her hair. “We’re all strange. Maybe that’s why it works.”

Kara gave a small smile. “She’s growing on me.”

I kissed her forehead. “You’re both growing on me.”

She gave a pleased little hum, then lifted her head. “We have time for a shower, if you would like to join me?”

“That sounds like a plan.”

She propped herself up on my chest, looking down at me. “I really quite like you, you know.”

I took in the playful sincerity in her gaze, expecting my claustrophobia to rear its head again, but it didn’t. And I realized I was quite okay with that.

“Good,” I said, “because I quite like you too.”

Her eyes widened and her breath caught. “You do?”

“Yeah. I do.” I smiled. “Even though you’re enough of a trouble to need regular spankings.”

She lowered her head and kissed my chest. “At least daily, Master.”

“Only if you’re good.”

“That’s … not how it’s supposed to work.”

“Uh-huh. From now on, no spankings if you’re bad.”

She pouted, then kissed my chest again. “I’ll be good.”

It was barely seven o’clock, and we had plenty of time to enjoy a long shower together. The temptation was to get distracted again, but after a while, I turned her to the door and gave her ass a slap. “We’re done, let’s get going.”

“Ow,” she gasped, rubbing her butt. “That hurt.”

“I couldn’t resist. Your ass is too cute.”

“No, I mean … that actually hurt .” She gave it a rub where I’d spanked her, then turned so I could see. “Do I have a mark?”

“Yeah, you do actually. A nice handprint. Want me to kiss it better?”

She gave me a puzzled look. “It never hurt before. Are you stronger?” Her eyes widened in understanding. “You’ve grown in power because we …”

I came to the same realization at the same time, and checked my power levels. They’d definitely nudged up, maybe into the very bottom of the midrange. “Friends with benefits,” I said. “Does it increase if we do it more?”

“Um … I don’t know. But in the interests of science, we should probably test it.” She chewed her lip, running her eyes over me. “At least daily … for a while.”

I focused my senses on her. My ability to sense aether didn’t exactly come with a score chart, but she felt stronger. She’d always been powerful, but now she’d edged into the top quartile of supes, not far behind Iyoni.

“You’re stronger too,” I said.

She called her nimbus, her horns curling back over her head. Her tail flicking behind her, black and smooth like a panther’s. Her golden skin tinted a little darker, giving her an exotic vibe, and her eyes flared with their usual demonic red.

“Damn,” I breathed, taking her in. “You’re hot like that.”

“Am I?” she said, turning to give me a show, even manifesting her wings. “Do you prefer me like this?”

“Prefer? No. I like you both ways, just as much.”

“Charmer.” She smiled, then reapplied her glamour, her demonic aspects all disappearing. “I might be stronger, I’m not sure. I feel good, though.”

“So do I,” I said. “But if you don’t get some clothes on, we’ll be late to cut ribbons at work today.”

She gave me a flirtatious look and walked naked out of the en suite, swaying her hips more than was necessary. I let out a low breath, trying not to get distracted, then followed her.

“We should do something special tonight,” I said, as I pulled on my clothes. “Maybe I’ll cook.”

“Oh, I’d love that. We could—” She frowned, looking to the shirt I’d worn yesterday, discarded over a chair. I hadn’t taken the cufflinks out of the sleeves, and one had begun vibrating against the wood.

“Shit,” I said, walking over to answer Dacien’s call. I pressed my thumb to it, and it clicked on with a slight hiss. “Morning, Dad.” I winked at Kara, who looked shocked, then grinned.

“You’ve not married her yet, Xan,” Dacien said, his voice tinny in the quiet of the bedroom. “And you won’t, either, unless I can depend on you. It’s been five days without a word. I didn’t give you these cufflinks to improve your dress sense.”

“I’ve been busy dodging assassination attempts and ingratiating myself with SPAR.”

“All very touching, but last night, another of my warehouses was hit.”

I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kara. She shrugged.

“By SPAR?” I asked.

“Of course by SPAR. Who else?”

“Have you ruled out a rival faction?”

“They rocked up in SPAR vests driving SPAR Humvees, so I’m guessing it was SPAR. If you recall, you’re there to discover the agent they’re using. Are you making any progress?”

“Have you determined there are no leaks inside your own organization?”

“I don’t need you telling me how to do my job, I need you to do yours.” His irritation came through clearly. “My patience has limits, Xan. You have until the end of the week. After that, the wedding’s off. Permanently.”

The cufflink clicked as he ended the call, and I clenched my jaw as I resisted the urge to throw them through the window. I really needed to buy another pair.

Kara watched me, her eyes wide with concern. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” It was true, even if it took an effort to say it with civility.

“He’s my father.”

“Yes,” I said through gritted teeth, “and that’s not your fault either.”

“I’m still sorry. Maybe Firth has had some luck tracking down the agent that leaked the patrol route.”

“Yes, we can—” I broke off in the act of reaching for a shirt. “What if the mole Firth is looking for and the asset used to target Dacien’s warehouses are one and the same?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Then that would mean it’s Moreau that’s undermining my father.”

“Exactly.” I thought about it as I got dressed. “Well, it’s all speculation. No reason for them to be the same person. Hell, SPAR is probably lousy with moles, compromised agents, and those working with various factions. Does Moreau have a reason to target your father?”

“To be honest, I’d be expecting him to have Moreau as a client. Less so for drugs, more for money laundering. But I haven’t exactly been involved in my father’s underworld dealings.”

“Drugs and money laundering.” I shook my head. “The kind of father-in-law I’d always aspired to.”

Kara winced. “I’m really sorry, Xan.”

“No, I’m sorry. That was a callous thing to say.

” I crossed the room to her, lifted her chin with a finger beneath it, and brushed my lips against hers.

“I can’t promise I won’t make disparaging remarks about a man who keeps threatening to kill me, but I can promise I don’t blame you for any of this.

If anyone is to blame for this mess, it’s me.

You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. ”

“I’ve come to think of it as the right place at the right time,” she said softly, and wrapped her arms around my neck.

We kissed again, slower this time, and I glanced at the clock out of the corner of my eye.

There was just enough leeway, if we were quick.

I unhooked her bra.