Page 20

SANTORINI, GREECE

KLAUS

Hours later, I’ve shut down the house, caught up on some business correspondence, and am undressing for bed—chinos, bare feet, white linen shirt unbuttoned. I stand before the tall mirror near the window, staring impassively at myself as I undo my cuffs.

My right side is illuminated by the standing lamp nearest the bookshelves, and the effect—half golden, half shadow—seems fitting. My left eye is a hollow of darkness.

The trill of nighttime insects outside the open window is usually comforting, but tonight nothing soothes. The scent of orange trees drifts in, and the only thing it makes me think of is the fact that Natalia was gone before dessert was served.

Lovely house… empty , I taunt myself silently. Lovely life… empty.

I open the cuffs and slide the shirt off my shoulders when there’s movement behind me in the mirror’s reflection.

Elena never comes into this part of the house at night, so my assumption is that something is wrong.

I turn, intaking a breath to ask what’s happened, and find Natalia framed in the doorway.

Flustered, she lifts one hand. “So, um… hi .”

My heart lifts. “Hello,” I manage, barely above a whisper.

She steps across the threshold into my room, and the floor lamp’s glow creeps up her like a spotlight, searching.

“How are you here again?” I ask, taking a single step toward her. “I didn’t hear the car.”

Her hands twist together. “I guess Sage is used to having other people take care of whatever she drives, because the Jaguar’s tank was near empty.

I made it to the airport fine, but there weren’t any open flights.

I drove to the marina to see if I could find Sage and ask for a ride—I mean, this is pretty much her fault—but she wasn’t there.

So… I came back. The car ran out of gas at the bottom of the road. ”

We each take a step closer. Half a room apart now. I track the path of her gaze, which roams over my bare torso. Her hands stop their twisting as she clasps them hard, an upside-down prayer.

“I’m glad you’ve returned,” I confess.

She nods faintly, eyes wide and trained on mine.

“Are you glad you did?” I add.

Another nod, which morphs into a shrug, then concludes as a headshake in the negative. “I don’t know yet. That depends.”

A silent half-minute passes as we study each other.

I cross the room to stand before her. “I’m going to do two things.

First, I’ll apologize.” I cup one side of her face, barely making contact.

My thumb traverses her lower lip, which is dry as if she’s been nibbling at it.

“I’m sorry, Talia. You’re absolutely right—it was childish of me to pretend such nonsense.

Insulting to you, insulting to Sage. Will you forgive me? ”

She takes a slow breath but doesn’t offer absolution. “What’s the second thing you’re going to do?”

My gaze moves from one of her eyes to the other. “I’m going to make you say it .”

“Make me say what?”

“Your truth. No more of these games. Tell me what you want. Stop forcing me to guess, then punishing me when I get it wrong”—I move my hand to the back of her neck and take a handful of her silken hair—“and punishing me even more when I get it right.”

She steps back and I open my hand. Her hair trickles free of my fingers, and for a moment I’m certain I’ve offended or frightened her, or both.

She goes to the bedroom door and shuts it, then returns. “You know what I want. You knew it even when we were nameless strangers.”

I lift my chin, looking down at her with a touch of imperiousness, a part of me vexed that she isn’t asking for more than that.

Have I gone mad?

My left hand spreads at her lower back and I pull her close. The other hand rakes into her hair again, holding her firmly.

“No more than a tumble, delicious witch?” I ask, closing in, inches from her lips now. “ Just a repeat of our night in Abu Dhabi? ”

I can’t resist echoing the words she threw at me in Montréal—their barbs dug into me like foxtail seeds, though she couldn’t have known it at the time.

I wanted so much more from her then but didn’t know how to admit it.

Letting her walk out that evening was a mistake.

Tonight, there’s no way I’ll be so careless.

She angles her hips to fit seamlessly against me. The cautious deference in her face evaporates as she narrows her eyes, blue and alive as burning copper.

“Maybe a bit more,” she counters. “Because I’ve never had you in my mouth… and I want to.”

The phrasing may be demure, but her expression is all heat and knowing.

Without hesitation, I pick her up and carry her to the mirror where I was undressing.

I place her on the cool tile floor and rotate her to face the reflection with me.

My cock, straining against my trousers, settles into the valley of Natalia’s curvaceous ass, and I brace her hips with both hands, pulling her against me.

She watches me in the mirror as I slide one hand up her body. I trail a fingertip along the line of her buttons, caress the generous breasts beneath the filmy fabric, and spread my fingers between her collarbones to gently manacle her throat in the V of my hand.

“Why are you looking at me?” I ask. “Look at yourself . What a fucking masterpiece you are.” My thumb and forefinger trace the column of her neck. “Kings would once have launched ships to war to see this face lost in pleasure.”

Her eyes drift closed, head falling back. The fingers of my other hand dig into her hip. She gasps, and her eyes fly open again.

“Pay attention, kleine Hexe,” I say near her ear. “You love to play the little spy, yes? Peeking into windows, prying into souls, spinning your stories.” I undo the top button on her dress. “So watch yourself now. Enjoy the sight of that angel face pained with rapture as you come.”

Her focus darts back to my eyes, startled.

“Have you watched yourself?” I ask, flicking more buttons free.

A slight headshake.

“Tonight, you will. I can tell you want to very much, now that I’ve put the idea into your mind.” I graze my lips along her ear. “I’ve seen you like that—in the throes of climax, your little scowl, trying to be quiet when you’re aching to scream.”

The dress gapes open, buttons undone as far down as I can reach. The swell of her full breasts rises and falls in quick waves. I push the dress off her shoulders and over her hips. It puddles around her high-heeled feet, leaving her in a matching bra and panties—the barest lace, pale peach.

I unclasp the bra, and she twists her arms to drop it on the floor. The warm weight of her generous tits fills my palms. I stroke her nipples, featherlight. Her attention follows the movement of my hands, rapt. Even at the mirror’s distance I can see her pupils have spread into pools of desire.

“ Voyeur. Shadow. Wicked thief ,” I whisper.

The cascade of her hair is like satin against my skin as my cheek presses to the side of her head, keeping her gaze aligned with mine. Together we’re riveted to the mirror’s reflection as I tease her body.

She parts her legs a few inches in unspoken invitation, and my right hand drifts down the plane of her belly in a tantalizingly slow migration.

“Thief?” she asks. “What have I stolen?”

I give her left nipple a pinch, and she rises on her toes with a squeak.

“My sleep, my peace—”

My heart…

“—my sanity.” I cup a hand over her mound, and through the lace I feel the humid heat of her need. With a fingertip I trace a circle, and she moans.

“Touch me,” she begs in a ragged murmur. “More, please… oh God…”

When I move the fabric aside, advancing through one leg of the delicate undergarment, Natalia arches into the path of my fingertips, widening her legs further.

“That’s it,” she breathes. “Yes, your hands are perfect…”

I run two fingers along either side of her clit, diving to converge at her slick entrance, pausing, luxuriating in the feel of her wetness. She bucks against me.

“Put them inside me,” she pleads. “Do you know how much I’ve thought about this?”

I dip in just to a knuckle, then retreat, flirting with her tight pussy, which twitches with longing. The nipple I stroke with my thumb is rigid and flushed with arousal. I drag Natalia’s hot nectar up to her clit and massage, slow and slick, studying her reaction, captivated by her open pleasure.

“My God— look at us ,” I say in wonder. “We’re spellbinding together. Luscious witch… feel what you do to me.”

My cock is like marble and my heart drums against the smooth slope of Natalia’s back. My fingers work her in lazy, steady strokes, and she pants and whimpers. Against the support of my legs, her own tremble as she gets closer.

“So powerful,” I tell her, my voice rough with lust. “Right now, armies would kneel before you to share this moment. Your eyes, Talia… don’t hide. See the sweetness spill through you as you reach the peak. Take everything you deserve.”

Her breathing comes in short, musical gasps and her head nods ever so slightly in welcome as—with a faint, lascivious smile—she cries out quietly, jabbing her nails into my thighs. She squints but keeps her eyes open, locked on the spectacle of her own bliss.

“You’re radiant,” I say soothingly as she sags backward into my embrace. I wind my arms around her and kiss her damp temple. “Like a comet, tearing the night sky in half.”

She rotates in my arms and lays her head against my collarbone, her quick breathing slowing. I comb both hands into her hair and coax her to look at me.

“Do you want more, kleine Hexe?”

“Yes. Yes. ”

I angle her head to the side and place my lips near her ear. “The necklace.”

She goes stiff with startlement, eyes snapping to meet mine, and I nod.

“You have a naughty habit of misplacing your belongings,” I chide. “I want you wearing that necklace when I fuck you.”

She scrutinizes my face for long enough that I’m afraid I’ve made a misstep, but finally she speaks.

“Make me.”