Lover Enslaved: Thieves of Aurion, Book 1 (2 page)

“Mara,” she blurted in answer to his questioning look.
Damn it, why did I give him my real name?
His bedroom eyes and musky scent were turning her brain to mush, obviously.

“Ah, lovely Mara. One taste of your beauty is worth a lifetime of madness.” He leaned down and brushed his lips softly over hers.

His kiss ended almost before it started, but it packed one hell of a
wowza
factor. Mara clutched his shoulders, her knees wobbling like they had been injected with jelly. Crimson and white sparkles riddled the air surrounding them. She’d been around enough faes to recognize the residual effects of their magic.

Son of a bitch.
She jerked away from him and balled her hand into a fist. How typical—give a Maddoc fae an inch, and next thing you know your panties are hugging your ankles.

Loud sneezes shook the calla lily, snuffing Mara’s ire.

“What’s that noise?” A frown tugged Dashael’s eyebrows towards the bridge of his nose. He peered over her shoulder.

“I don’t hear anything.” Mara shifted, blocking his view of the trembling flower arrangement.

Dashael cocked his head, his handsome face set in fierce concentration. “Right there,” he exclaimed when Piper sneezed again. He tried brushing past Mara.

Panicked, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him hard enough their teeth clinked together. That stopped him, and the furious sneezes from the calla lily. Groaning, he tangled his hands in her hair and slid his tongue deep inside her mouth. He tasted of cherry brandy and dark pleasure. The drugging allure of sex pounded over her in intoxicating waves.

If he kissed this good, imagine making love with him. No, she didn’t want to imagine that. Definitely not.

His tongue slowly retreated. “Mara,
Sher
’
tian
…” He nipped her bottom lip between his teeth in a gentle tug. Unable to stop it, she moaned.

“Come home with me,” he murmured in a husky whisper, “and show me no mercy.”

Another sneeze issued from Piper.

If the sneezing doesn’t do her in, I will
. Hoping to distract Dashael from the sound, Mara dug her nails into his broad shoulders.

“Does that mean yes?” Humor and lust gleamed in his eyes.

Trailing her hands down the delicious contours of his chest, she nodded. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

His mouth curled in wicked invitation. “My life is in your hands,
Sher
’
tian
.”

If he only knew.

Fingers trembling, Mara handed the coat attendant her electronic ticket. After a brief glance at the locker number, the woman stepped to the wall of glass cubicles and inserted the ticket.

“Ready?”

Mara jolted at the sound of Dashael’s deep baritone close to her ear. Damn it, not good. An oversexed nympho was supposed to jump out of her clothes—not her skin—whenever a man invaded her space. “Almost. She’s getting my bag now.”

The attendant returned with her heavy black leather satchel in tow.

“I see why you insisted on checking it,” Dashael said dryly when the bag settled on the counter with a thud. “What the devil’s in there? An anchor?”

Mara slung the satchel’s long handles over her shoulder and tucked it securely against her. “I prefer being prepared.”

Dashael’s dark eyebrows lifted. “For what?”

She wet her lips before giving him a smoldering look. “Anything, lover boy.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed with a hard swallow. Mara mentally high-fived herself. Finally, the oversexed nympho made a comeback. “Ready whenever you are.”

With Dashael leading the way, they exited into the humid night. Moisture immediately beaded the back of her neck and crept towards her shoulder blades. She swept her hair into a loose pile atop her head and pinned it there with her hand. At the moment, she’d give just about anything for the crisp bite of Zalan’s northern winds.

Dashael’s fingers stroked along her damp skin. “Hot?” His voice slid like warm honey, making goose bumps dot her arms.

“It’s a furnace out here.” She flicked the lapel of his well-tailored jacket with her fingernail. “You must be sweltering.”

“I’ll shed the suit soon enough.”

The reminder put a stumble in her step. His palm cupped her elbow, steadying her.

“Damn crack.” She mumbled several more complaints, making a show of frowning at the pavement. He gave her arm a light squeeze and she risked a peek at him from the corner of her eye, catching the tail-end of his knowing grin.

A valet jogged up, distracting Dashael. He dug for his ticket and Mara dragged in a deep breath. Sooner this fiasco ended the better.

It seemed an eternity passed before the valet pulled up in a sleek black Riato tricked out with gleaming chrome side fins. Dashael lifted the passenger door and helped her inside. She sank into the butter-soft leather seat with a soft moan of pleasure. Thievery obviously paid well.

Dashael sauntered to the driver’s side and climbed behind the wheel. His dark gaze traveled to her as the hatch doors clicked in place with a faint hydraulic hiss.

The magnitude of the situation slammed into her with alarming clarity.

Great, trapped in a cramped enclosure with a dangerously seductive Maddoc fae—one whose very existence would change her life forever. No pressure there.

“You seem tense.” He stretched an arm across the center console and caressed her knee. Miraculously she didn’t jump. A hint of concern shadowed his face. “Change of heart?”

“No way.” Adopting a temptress smile, she glided her fingers over his. With a squeeze, she dragged their linked hands higher on her thigh.

His yummy lips parted on a ragged breath. “Thank the gods.” He reluctantly slid his hand free and grabbed the wheel.

The Riato pulled from the curb with a low purr. On the dashboard, the blinking fiber optic lights monitoring transit conditions flashed green, and Dashael zipped into the nearest lane. He handled the bullet-shaped vehicle with supreme confidence, hugging the tight curves of the aerial freeway like a professional racer.

“My house is just outside Helias limits.”

Mara tore her attention from the blurred cityscape outside the window. “You know, I never did catch your name.” She prayed he didn’t find her blunder odd. Jeez, what moron didn’t demand the name of the individual she was supposedly about to have wild, uninhibited sex with?

“Dashael Rhyder.” He grinned, his teeth flashing white against his bronzed skin. “But please, call me Dash.”

Surprise flickered over her. Wow, he’d used his real name. She batted away the guilt threatening to settle in her chest.
Get a grip. It’s not as if he’s entrusting you with some big, classified secret.

Time to put her head back into the game. “Tell me, Dash…” She stroked her fingers over the fine grain of the leather console. “What do you do for a living that you can afford a one hundred and fifty merca vehicle?”

He chuckled. “You’re a student of the arts and Riato fair-market value. A woman after my own heart.” His hand dropped to the shifter and punched the gear higher, rocketing them through a heart-stopping spiral that made Mara grit her teeth and white-knuckle her safety harness. “But back to your question. I acquire things people pay a hefty fee to possess.”

“You mean you’re a property broker?”

An enigmatic smile crooked his mouth. “More or less.”

How could he remain cool? He just freely admitted he stole for a living. Okay, maybe the jump from property broker to thief was sketchy at best, but close enough.

“And you? Any career beyond bewitching men’s hearts?”

“Nope.” Winding a curl around her finger, she tossed him a saucy smile. “Bewitchery is in high demand these days.”

His husky laugh rang out as he exited the freeway. Mara’s heart thudded when he took a quick right and they left the bustle of the city behind.

Holy crap, where exactly is his house?
She peered out the Riato’s glass roof, her anxiety escalating. Out in this backwoods, the stars received no competition from Helias’s garish urban lights and glowed like fairy dust scattered in the twilight. “You weren’t lying about residing beyond the city limits.” She tugged the satchel against her side. Her racing pulse calmed with the reminder of the contents tucked inside it. “Still, I wasn’t expecting the sticks.”

“We’re less than two minutes away, promise.”

He kept his word and pulled into a deeply forested driveway a minute and a half later. Up ahead, a sprawling log and stone house nestled in a copse of spruce and firs.

Apparently thievery paid
very
well.

“It’s beautiful.”

Dash’s gorgeous face lit with pleasure. “I’m glad you think so.” His attention drifted to the swaying pines. “The landscape here reminds me of Mer’daca, my homeland—rugged and untamed.”

“What made you leave Mer’daca in the first place?” It was the only information missing from his thick file.

A nerve ticced in his jaw. “Circumstances beyond my control.” Before she could question him further, he unlocked the hatch and the doors swung upward. After unclipping his safety harness, he strode to her side and helped her from the vehicle. She snatched her satchel from the seat before the doors snicked shut.

“Watch your step,” he said, pressing a palm against her waist when her heel caught between cracks in the slag stone.

Hidden path lights blinked on when they approached the wide front porch. Dash pushed aside the antler-like foliage of a stag fern sprouting from the porch’s center support beam, revealing a keypad. He punched in a code and the house’s massive oak door swung inward. A cozy glow spilled across the threshold.

Mara swore the incessant thudding of her heart drowned out the trills and chirps of the resident firewing crickets. For the sake of Gideon, her brother, she wouldn’t chicken out. Her jittery nerves were inconsequential compared to the daily cruelty he must suffer inside Zalan’s fairy prison.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside and more lamps clicked on. She stopped and surveyed her surroundings. Centered in the room, weathered leather couches grouped around a circular stone fireplace. Dash snapped his fingers and fire instantly crackled in the pit’s grate.

“You must be handy on a camping trip.”

Dash laughed before stripping from his jacket. She stared at the interesting ripple of muscles beneath his white linen shirt. He tossed the jacket over a nearby armchair. “Hungry? I’ve some excellent filet in the cooler.”

Her stomach flipped at the thought of food. She shook her head. “Not unless you want some.”

The firelight reflected in his dark eyes. “It’s not steak I’m hungry for.”

Okay then.
Swallowing past a lump of apprehension, she fumbled with the satchel, needing its reassuring weight. Dash noticed her awkward motion and stepped towards her.

“Here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Let me put that somewhere for you.”

She shifted the bag behind her. “No.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t steal it.” His lips curled in a half smile.

Very funny.
“Um…there are a few things in here I’ll need later.”

“Really?”

Mara realized there’d be no deflecting his curiosity this time. With a sigh, she hauled the satchel forward and unzipped it. She hooked a finger around the object settled on top and pulled it out.

Dash’s jaw went slack. “That what I think it is?”

She lifted the handcuffs and eyed them. Giving her finger a little twirl, she nodded. “Yep, believe so.”

Chapter Two

The breath expelled from Dash’s lungs in a whoosh. “
Sweet goddess
.”

Wariness stole across Mara’s face. He groaned, battling the urge to bite his cursed quick tongue. Did she worry he’d ridicule her desires? Mentally head-slapping himself for his lack of gentlemanly tact, he strode to Mara and cupped her chin. His thumb brushed beneath the little dip in her bottom lip, tempting him, but first he needed to ease her mind.

“Don’t fear shocking me. It’s impossible. Besides, whatever you have in mind, I’m more than game.” He punctuated the fact by sliding his mouth over hers. With some work, he coaxed her tongue into play.

“Delicious,” he whispered, nibbling along the sweet curve of her lips. His mouth lowered, discovered her neck’s graceful slope. Her breathing sped up. Ah, he’d found a sensitive spot. Murmuring in appreciation, he suckled her there, laving her skin. His hands glided along her shoulders. He brushed the sides of her breasts and she slumped into him. The handcuffs clattered to the hardwood floor, their metallic ring jostling them from their sensual reverie.

“Damn it.” Mara ducked and scrabbled for the handcuffs.

He hunkered next to her. Looking to halt the frantic motion of her hands, he cupped her chin again, tilting it until she revealed the vexation in her eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s just a floor. Far worse punishment has been thrown its way.” He gave her a teasing grin. “Though your handcuffs win top prize as the most interesting.”

The flush in her cheeks deepened. “You must think I’m a clumsy oaf.”

“No, I think you’re beautiful…” his fingers traveled down her neck and grazed the delicate ridge of her collarbone, “…sexy…” he stroked the vee between her breasts, watching them rise and fall with the sharp intake of her breath, “…and far too overdressed.”