Page 15 of Kiss of Steele (The Royal Occult Bureau #9)

FIFTEEN

I DIDN’T LIKE the look on Norton’s face after Oliver had cleansed his memories for the second time in the span of a few days. The good detective’s eyes were glassy, and the pale colour of his cheeks wasn’t reassuring.

Even Mrs Morrison and her husband were ashen and hollow-cheeked after the memory cleansing was over. It hadn’t escaped my notice that, if the lamia had turned into Rennie to charm Mrs Morrison, it meant she’d been fantasising about him. I wasn’t being jealous, but she was a married woman, for Pete’s sake! It was hardly appropriate behaviour for a wife, especially during her honeymoon.

Also, I didn’t like the way Oliver yelled at us as he paced in my cabin. Drops of spittle shot out of his mouth every time he shouted. “How could you have let the lamia escape?” he roared. “You had the perfect opportunity to trap it.”

“It’s bloody fast!” Rennie roared back. “And if you had come to Norton’s office, as Monia had asked you, you would’ve been there to join the fight.”

“How the hell are we going to find it now?” Oliver’s eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets. If he kept it up, his brain was going to explode.

But I had to admit he had a point. We hadn’t guessed Norton was the lamia until it was too late, and we had no idea how to catch the beast. We were unprepared. The only good news was that at least the lamia was still on board, obviously.

“We have time,” I said. “The lamia is still here and is still following me. It followed me to Tunis. It might follow me even to Catania when we arrive in Sicily.”

I wasn’t being completely honest. The SS Florentia was approaching the port of Catania, and after the awful night and Oliver’s yelling, my wish to take a stroll on terra firma and leave the ship had little to do with catching the lamia. Also, I had no intention of undertaking another useless inspection of the ship. I was steering Oliver’s attention away from our failed attempt.

“What do you suggest then?” Oliver asked.

“I can take a stroll through Catania and see what happens.” I shrugged.

Surprisingly, Oliver nodded. “Don’t make mistakes this time.”

Rennie shot forwards. “You bloody cur?—”

“It’s all right.” I grabbed his thick wrist and tugged at it. “We’ve already had a fight. The sun is going to rise in a few hours, and I’d rather sleep for a while before we arrive in Sicily.”

Nostrils flaring, Oliver and Rennie faced each other until their bodies slackened.

“See you later then,” Oliver said, striding out of my cabin.

I exhaled and sat on the bed, kicking off my shoes. “What a night.”

He sat next to me and took my hands. “Are you sure you’re all right? Do you need anything?”

I smiled. “Actually, I do.”

“Tell me.” His lips brushed a sweet kiss over my knuckles.

Before I lost my nerve, I kissed him, pulling him closer by the lapels of his jacket. His chest rose, and his lips parted. I slipped my tongue inside his mouth and caressed his, enjoying the delicious shivers his touch sent down my body. He broke the kiss, cupping my face. “I’m on duty. On duty to protect you, and I haven’t done a good job so far.”

“I understand,” I said with forced sweetness, because I didn’t understand at all.

He’d done an excellent job so far. I was alive and well. So I rose from the bed and undid my chignon, letting my long strands of hair fall to my waist. He watched me with big eyes as I unfastened my skirt. I swayed my hips in what I thought was a suggestive manner and not the movement of someone who had sprained an ankle. My skirt and petticoats fell to the floor and pooled in a froth of silk and satin.

“Monia.” The warning lacked strength though.

After I unbuttoned my shirt, I lowered the sleeves down my arms until I was standing in only my drawers and chemise in front of him. Judging by the way he was focused on me and his trousers growing tighter, my seduction plan was working. I strolled to him, slowly, trying to control my breathing.

“You promised to do a lot of wild things to me,” I whispered, removing my chemise. Cool air hit my breasts, hardening their tips.

He licked his bottom lips. “Monia.” There was only passion in his voice this time.

I stopped in front of him, then turned around and bent forwards, smiling at his groan. With trembling fingers, I unfastened the drawers and let them slip down my legs. I stepped out of them. It was the first time I’d stood naked in front of a man. His arms wrapped around me from behind, tearing a gasp out of me.

“You don’t know what you’ve started,” he said, brushing his lips against my neck.

I moaned when he cupped my breasts and caressed my nipples while biting the curve of my shoulder. A storm of pleasant tingles ran through my body. His hand travelled lower, over my belly, to stop between my legs. He parted my wet folds and groaned when he stroked my nub, pinching it between his fingers. The hard wall of his chest and his erection pressed against my back. His arms caged me and his hands roamed over my body, touching, caressing, and teasing.

He slid one finger inside me, then another, stretching me. When he added a third finger, I sagged against him. With his thumb rubbing my nub and his other hand rolling my nipple, I didn’t last long. A scream ripped out of my lips. My inner muscles clenched with little spasms that amplified the release. I sagged against him, utterly spent.

He kissed my neck. “Are you happy now?”

“You promised to take me from behind.”

A low chuckle rumbled from him. “Oh, I will, Monia. I will.” He lifted me and laid me on the bed, face down. Taking me by the hips, he pulled me onto all fours.

“What are you—” The rest of the sentence was cut off by my gasps as his hot mouth found my wet entrance.

Pleasure was going to kill me. He didn’t show any mercy as his tongue delved deeper, teasing, licking, and stroking. My arms were growing weaker the more he lapped at me until I shivered with a release powerful enough to make me scream. As I dropped to the bed, shivering with pleasure, he kept up his sweet assault, adding two thick fingers and hooking them inside me. It was a battle of tongue, lips, and fingers as he rubbed at me endlessly. I writhed underneath him as a new release started to get closer.

I grabbed a fistful of bed sheets as the combined attention of his tongue and fingers sent me over the cliff. The pillow muffled my scream. Slowly, Rennie withdrew his fingers and gave one last stroke with his expert tongue. He kissed his way up to my neck and pulled the quilt over me.

But I wanted to touch him.

“You should rest.” Whatever else he wanted to add was cut off by his gasp as I closed my hand around him. He was about to say something else, but I stroked his length gently, up and down, from the smooth tip to the base.

He closed his eyes and reclined his head, and I loved watching him lose control because I was touching him. He was so thick that I could barely contain him in my hand. The more I worked his shaft, the more he growled. I sped up, and his reaction was immediate. Every muscle in his body became taut. It was mesmerising to watch.

A shudder went through him as the warm ribbons of his release soaked my hand. He bared his teeth, his body shaking with the power of the pleasure I was giving him.

“Did you like it?” I asked.

He let out a raspy laugh. “Perfect.” He kissed my temple before taking a towel and the basin with soapy water.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say her was embarrassed as he wiped my hand clean.

“I want to do it again,” I said, scattering kisses to his face.

He returned the kisses. “’Tis but the beginning. But I need to stay focused now.”

“Rennie,” I complained.

“Let me do my job.” He wrapped his arms around me and lay on the bed next to me. “I promise I’m going to take you properly.”

With his whispered words that promised all sorts of debauchery, I closed my eyes.

WAKING UP IN Rennie’s arms, my body deliciously sore, I couldn’t stop beaming. Instead, Rennie wore his usual frown as he finished buttoning his waistcoat.

“Why are you so forlorn?” I asked, taming my wild hair into a bun.

He exhaled without releasing the tension in his neck. “I just wish this situation was over and done with. Between the lamia and Oliver, the mission is turning out more stressful than necessary.”

I stood up and hugged him, resting my cheek over his heart. “We’ll find a way to catch the lamia, and Oliver will get what he deserves. May I ask you something?”

“Of course.” He kissed the top of my head.

“If the lamia shows our desires and our most desperate fears, then who is the tall, bald man who attacked us? What does he mean to you?”

He opened his mouth, but a knock on the door cut him off.

“Miss Fitzwilliam, Rennie?” Oliver’s voice came through the door. “We’re about to dock. Are you ready to leave?”

Rennie’s gaze shot skywards. “Curse him.”

I waved a dismissive hand. “Ignore him. Tell me what bothers you.”

He took my hands and pressed them against his chest, letting me feel the steady beat of his heart. “Let’s catch the lamia.”

Twenty minutes later, we were waiting in line to leave the SS Florentia and land on Sicilian soil. I’d seen the Andes when I’d travelled with my parents in South America. Tall, majestic volcanoes topped with snow. Nevertheless, the sight of Mt Etna, towering over the city and blowing out white puffs of smoke, captured my full attention. The scent of orange blossoms and seawater filled the air. Warm sunlight stroked my cheeks, and a breeze cool enough to be pleasant shuffled my hair.

Rennie smiled and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You look happy.”

“Thanks to you.”

He inched closer and paused before kissing me. Clearing his throat, he drew back. “Let’s not cause a scandal.”

“Oh, I’d love a scandal. Afterwards, we’ll have to—” I coughed into my closed fist. Dash it, what was I thinking? Trapping Rennie into a marriage wasn’t something I wanted.

“We’ll have to?” he asked, squeezing my hand.

“Nothing.” I straightened. “I don’t want you to have the wrong impression.”

His warm breath feathered over my cheek. “I would marry you, anyway. Scandal or not.”

A warm, fluttery feeling filled my chest. He beamed, the sunlight gilding his skin. It wasn’t a proposal, but at least I knew his intentions. I kept smiling while we walked along the gangplank and reached the city. Oliver would follow Rennie and me at a distance not to alarm the lamia. A useless precaution, but I was glad he wasn’t close enough to hear us.

Buildings made from black lava stones gleamed like obsidian jewels in the bright sunlight, reminding me of the Royal Occult Bureau but with sunshine. There were palm trees and hedgerows, fountains, and flowerbeds like in any other garden I’d visited, but with a touch of wildness. The flowers showed intense colours. The scents were too strong. The trees were too tall.

Oliver brushed past us, hissing. “Don’t play tourist. Focus on the mission.”

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, he marched away.

“Oliver is obsessed with that lamia,” I said, as we promenaded along a path in Bellini Garden, through pine trees and manicured flowerbeds.

“The lamia killed a woman and is threatening to kill again,” Rennie said. “Any agent worth his salt would want to catch it. But I agree, he’s too obsessed with it.”

I scratched the back of my neck, a nagging sensation tugging at it. “I don’t like the fact the lamia could be anywhere without us realising it. It could be watching us right this minute.”

“That’s the point of our stroll.”

A wide gravel path snaked its way through tall trees and trimmed bushes. We took a lateral trail leading to a folly. Ivy covered several alcoves, the green leaves and stems coiling around the marble pillars. A sign written in English, French, and Italian informed us that we were in the lovers’ nooks. My word, it would be impossible for a couple of lovers to be spotted inside one of those nooks. Two people would be perfectly protected and hidden from prying eyes. Wonderful.

I nudged Rennie with an elbow. “Would you like to try?” I was becoming insatiable.

“We should be careful.” His warning lacked anger, but he wasn’t gazing at me. He was searching the bushes.

“Spoilsport. Only five minutes.”

He frowned. “No.”

Annoying man. “You can be very boring when?—”

He took my elbow and dragged me towards a nook.

“Yes!” I giggled when we were both tucked inside a nice alcove.

“Shush.” He pressed a finger against my lips and tilted his head towards the path.

I peeked through the dense vegetation, but aside from statues and more bushes, there wasn’t much to see. “What is it? I don’t see anything.”

“Wait.” His arm coiled around my waist and pulled me closer to his hard body.

Oliver emerged from a corner. The lapels of his jacket were pulled up over his face. Another man came out from behind the hedgerow. Rennie’s fingers tensed around me. The two men threw glances around, loitering.

“I told you not to contact me here,” Oliver hissed.

“Have you found it?” the man asked.

“Not yet. There has been a complication.” Oliver shoved his hands into his pockets, searching the path.

The man spat on the ground and shook his head. “I can’t wait forever. The deal is going to end in a few days. I’ve been patient, but you haven’t given me any results. You won’t see a penny unless you bring it to me.”

A hard glint flashed in Oliver’s gaze. “I’ll find it. Don’t worry.”

They lowered their voices, and I didn’t understand what they were saying. After a quick nod of their heads, they strode away in opposite directions.

“What was that?” I whispered, even though Rennie and I were alone.

“I have a hunch.”

“Do you think the man was talking about the lamia?” I turned around to stare at him.

“We can’t be sure, but it makes sense. I guess Oliver doesn’t want to catch the lamia because the bureau ordered him to, but to sell it.”

“What a crook.”

He wrapped his other arms around me. “He should be expelled from the bureau.”

“Do they expel agents who kiss on duty?” I ran my hand over his chest, wondering how it’d feel without his clothes.

“Careful.” His usual warning note rang in his voice, but I ignored it and kept touching him.

“Just one kiss.”

“I don’t think I can give you only one kiss.” His hand slid down my bottom. “If I start kissing you, I won’t stop. You know that.”

There was only one way to test that. Flexing up onto my tiptoes, I pressed my lips against his. He didn’t yield. His lips remained sealed. I ran the tip of my tongue over the seam and pried his mouth open. Still, he wasn’t reciprocating, and I felt like I was forcing him. I didn’t want to—Oh, my word! Passion erupted out of him with a deep, hard kiss that stole my breath. His expert tongue punished my mouth with long lashes while his hands grabbed the globes of my bottom and squeezed, pulling me to him and making me feel the strength of his erection.

He shoved me against the wall of the nook and kissed me with his teeth, tongue, and punishing lips. It was almost a fight for control. We were both breathing hard when we broke the kiss.

“My Lord,” I muttered. “Why do I shake with pleasure when you kiss me?”

Rennie tugged at the hem of his jacket to cover his trousers where a growing problem was evident. He took my face in his hands, his chest brushing mine. “If I didn’t know you were human, I’d believe you were a succubus who ensnared my senses.”

Perhaps I was a shallow girl, but the fact I had that power over him made me feel beautiful and graceful. He rubbed his thumb over my bottom lip slowly, squashing the soft skin as he went.

“We’d better leave this nook before I do something we’ll both regret later,” he said.

He held my hand and dragged me out of the nook. As we walked along the path, he laced his fingers through mine in an intimate gesture. A small fluttery feeling blossomed in my chest.

I rested my head on his shoulders. “You look brooding. Not that I don’t like it, but what bothers you?”

He stopped under the shadow of a baroque building. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

The seriousness in his voice caused me to whip my head up. A cold sensation dropped into my stomach. “Oh, dear. You have a betrothed, don’t you? A wife? A child?”

“No!” His eyebrows knitted together. “I would’ve never kissed you if I’d had an intended. What kind of cur do you think I am?”

I let out a breath. “Don’t be offended. I just thought you were too good to be true.”

His expression softened. He kissed my cheek, his stubble scratching my skin. “It’s not about another woman.”

“Then what is it?” I kissed his hand.

“It’s about the question you asked me earlier, about that man.” He stiffened.

“Yes?” I prompted him when he didn’t add anything.

He searched around. “The lamia looked like one of my tutors at Sheltenham Academy. Not identical, or I would’ve realised he was an Unnatural, but it had the same slimy features as him.”

Future occult agents were admitted to Sheltenham Academy at the age of eleven. A brutal training practice would turn them into junior agents by the age of seventeen. Father had told me horrifying stories of having been beaten by his teachers, left in the cold for entire nights, or flogged. Speaking of which, now I understood why my parents had put ‘flogging’ into the contract with Rennie. Father had been raised in Sheltenham. Punishments and threats were something he understood. Female agents were trained in a girls’ college no less brutal.

“What did he do to you?” I asked, as we strolled along the pavement in Via Etnea.

He shrugged. “Nothing the other students didn’t also endure. The usual. Beating, hitting, and whipping.”

Usual? I didn’t like the way he so casually talked about abuse. “But?”

“He was particularly brutal to me.” He clenched his jaw. “I reacted once when he was beating me, and he never forgot it. One night he...” He glanced at me. “I’ve changed my mind. You don’t need to know it.”

“I want to.” I wanted to share whatever burden he was carrying. “We decided to know each other better, remember?”

“Maybe certain things are better left unknown.” He stroked my cheek.

“What did that monster do to you?”

He remained silent for a few minutes. I worried he didn’t want to speak further. His Adam’s apple bounced up and down. “He dragged me out of bed and beat me with a wooden stick until the only thing I could do was kneel in front of him.”

“Oh, Rennie.”

“That’s not all.” His hand shook, and his lips paled. “He said I was weak and pathetic, and if I wanted to be a real agent, I had to toughen up, do as he said, and accept my punishment. And so I did. Only it made me feel even more alone and afraid of him.”

Horror burned like acid in my veins. A flare of anger flushed to my head. “Did you tell?—”

“Of course not!” he said.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I should apologise. I didn’t mean to be brusque to you. It’s just I’ve never talked about it with anyone, and although the education in Sheltenham is brutal, it’s never been like that. I should’ve reported him, but I was twelve and didn’t want to disappoint my parents by whining about my tutor. So I steered away from him and learnt not to attract attention to myself. I didn’t realise what had happened was wrong until later on when I understood what he’d done to me. I can’t say the knowledge made things better, but...” He swallowed again, a tendon in his neck throbbing.

I cupped his cheek. “I understand. You don’t have to add anything else.”

He nodded. His lips pressed in a grim line, and eyelashes fluttered over his cheeks.

“What happened to him?”

“He was killed by an Unnatural years later. I didn’t shed any tears.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. He held me back, burying his face in the crook of my neck. Something cracked in my chest. Guilt for having ever considered him harsh and cold gnawed at me. Tenderness towards the boy, who had been abused, and a desire to comfort him caused my pulse to stutter. The urge to protect him from further pain surged.

He didn’t say anything, but held me, gripping me close to him. His embrace was nearly painful, but I wouldn’t ask him to release me for anything in the world. We held each other until our breaths mingled, and our heartbeats became one. The hug was more intimate than the fumbles we’d shared, more touching than our passionate kisses, and more binding than a promise of marriage. There was no doubt in my mind or in my soul. I was his. I belonged to this man and his brave heart. I wanted him in my life.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when we released each other, slowly and without being able to untangle our fingers, but it seemed the embrace had lasted both too long and not enough. Our souls exchanged a conversation in the hug, more precious than any token of love.

We boarded the SS Florentia in silence, walking hand in hand. His shoulders were hunched, and his head hung over his chest.

I kissed his cheek. “Don’t be embarrassed.”

“What do you think of me now?”

Oh, Lord. He looked like a lost boy, seeking approval.

“That you’re a wonderful, brave man,” I said, kissing him softly on the lips. “And I hope to spend more time in a lovers’ nook with you.”

A slow smirk, not boyish at all but all manly, quirked up a corner of his mouth. “It’s a deal.”

I nodded. “A deal.”

He gave me a quick kiss. “Now, let’s search Oliver’s cabin before he returns on board.”