Werewulf Journals 4: Sated Pleasures (4 page)

She thought she heard him murmur a quiet good-bye but she wasn’t sure and didn’t have time to ponder it with both Pavel and Rickard bending over her, taking turns to invade her mouth with kisses just as hot and loving as the one they’d just shared. Their cocks lengthened and firmed in her hands and she let go with a panicked gasp, shaking her head

“no” and meaning it. “I’m not just saying no, guys, but a great big adamant hell no! My ass and pussy are way too sore.”

With rueful sighs and murmurs of what sounded to her like grudging sympathy, Pavel dropped butterfly-soft kisses on her cheeks. Whispering, “My drouch, I love you,” he spooned her back against his furred chest, cradling her breasts in his rough palms.

Rickard snuggled up to her front, one arm going over her waist to include Pavel in his sleepy hug. Leaning close enough she could see the moisture gleaming in his eyes, he kissed her deeply, passionately. Finally, he pulled back, one finger brushing her full bottom lip. “I wish this night would never end. When the dawn breaks…so will my heart.”

“Oh, Rickard…” Kaila hurt for him, but she wouldn’t encourage his maudlin brooding.

“You’ll find someone to love, and laugh when you look back on this. Believe me, I’m not all sweetness and light. Ask Pavel. He’ll tell you I’m not the easiest person to live with.”

18 Camille Anthony

Pavel’s gravelly voice sounded in the darkness. “She’s telling the truth. I love her dearly, but Goddess knows she can sure act ugly.”

She elbowed him for his trouble, muttering, “Thanks for nothing, you turd!”

She felt Rickard’s quiet laugh all along her front. “Perhaps I’d better settle for kissing cousins, after all.”

“Kisses are a good way to shut her up, that’s for sure.”

“All right, guys, that’s it!”

Muffled male laughter had her shaking her head.

“You two are just like kids.” Kaila grasped Rickard’s softened cock, reached back and found Pavel’s still hard penis. With gentle pressure, she tugged them closer by her grip on their cocks and snuggled up to the warmth given off by their big bodies. “Now cut it out and go to sleep. Tomorrow is already here and you two need to be on your game.”

A second later she thought about what she’d just said and smothered her own smile.

“Hell, if I didn’t have two stiff dicks in my hands, I could pass for a den mother!”

Werewulf Journals 4: Sated Pleasures

19

Flirting With Fire

The predawn was a shimmering purple haze smearing the rim of the world. Streaks of blackness still edged the golden clouds of sunrise as the plane raced on toward the small isolated tropical island of Paradise. Aricles unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced across the aisle at his quiet companion.

It didn’t take a Greek demigod to know something about her latest vision had disturbed Indigo. On second thought, maybe it did. When she had risen on shaking knees to make her unsteady way to the bathroom, he’d ached for her, wishing he knew how to help her. Being a demigod of lust didn’t give him much insight in matters not pertaining to the flesh.

Earlier, he’d thought she needed time alone more than she needed his sympathy, so he’d pretended to be preoccupied with his music. Now he wasn’t so sure his decision had been the right one. Instead of trying to spare her feelings, maybe he should have made her open up, share with him what was troubling her so much.

He knew when she became aware of him watching her, for her somber expression lightened and those long legs uncurled. She sat up and faced him, batting her miles long lashes at him.

Indigo was a multimorph, a shape-shifter not confined to one particular animal or thing. Over the years they’d worked together, Aricles had seen her take on numerous forms…and hold them for days. He’d thought he’d seen all of her preferred disguises, but this one was new to him.

Silvery blonde wisps of hair feathered her cheeks and nape, giving her a gamin look belied by the full womanly curves of the long-legged body seated across the aisle from him.

He noted in passing the pale blue eyes, a full three shades lighter than her usual cerulean, twinkling at him, engrossed by the impressive display of double D mounds, plump and firm, barely restrained by the pale green form-hugging camisole.

20 Camille Anthony

He swallowed sickly. This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be responding like this. Not to Indigo.

“Why the disguise? Who do you plan to distract today?”

“I’m not sure. I’m following my instincts here.” She primped a little, smoothing her hands over her abundant bust line and flashed a set of pearly whites. The gamin grin stretched full pink lips. “Do you like what you see?”

He easily saw through her act. Of all the members of their team, he was closest to Indigo. She was a lot like him, aloof, never allowing anyone to get too close. Aricles knew what she suffered whenever her visions went wrong. Being a precog was not easy. Having knowledge of the future was a heavy burden. No matter how she tried, no matter what she learned, more times than not any attempt at changing the events proved futile. Often, she had to face the disappointment or accusations of people she tried to help. It was a thankless job.

Aricles gave a soft laugh at her antics. “I like you in all your guises, little sis, but I hope you did not don this particular face and body to impress me. So I ask again, who are you and why?”

She dropped her playful demeanor and became all business. “How much do you know about this situation?”

Aricles gathered his thoughts. “I know there’s been a murder of a human by a wulf. No witnesses, no evidence other than signs the killer had moved the half-eaten corpse from the place where death occurred. Other than that, Hunter didn’t have time to fill me in before I left, since he was on his way to an urgent meeting and I had to hurry to meet you at the plane. Circumstances precluded receiving our usual briefing. He said only that the Alpha in charge would bring us up to speed on arrival.”

She nodded. “Much of the info I have was what my vision revealed. The island we’re approaching belongs to the ruling prince of Drestovia, Rickard Orloffberg. It’s the setting for his new health spa, Sated Pleasures. They’re using a new twist on weight loss. Sex.”

Aricles felt his eyebrows rising. He couldn’t control the wide grin that took over his face. “What kinds of sex…?”

Indigo shook her head at his response. “Lots of sex.”

“That’s the best kind!”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“What?” He tried for an innocent look.

“You can cut the act, Ari.” She tried to hide her grin. “It really doesn’t matter what breed you are, all you men are alike.”

He dramatically placed hand over heart. “You wound me. Would you condemn us because we all like sex?”

“No, because you all think sex is the answer for everything.”

Werewulf Journals 4: Sated Pleasures

21

“Being a demigod of lust, I happen to know that isn’t so, but I find the concept intriguing. I would be interested in finding out how successful the program is proving.

Meanwhile, fascinating as all this might be” -- he trained a stern eye on his protégé -- “why don’t you stop changing the subject. Stick to the report.”

She grimaced. “Sorry. Where was I?”

Aricles grinned. “I believe we were engaged in sex.”

“Of course, how could I forget?” Shooting him a teasing glance, she answered her own question with a tongue-in-cheek, “Must have been those boring orgasms.”

He graciously overlooked her sarcasm.

“The spa is designed to be an intimate environment, catering to no more than fifteen clients at a time. The women or men pay an exorbitant amount of money. For that privilege, they receive strict monitoring of their daily activities, and when indicated, punishment or reward for missing or making their goals. Needless to say, these are people from the higher echelons of society, able to take two months from their normal lives in order to become slim and trim.”

“When you say exorbitant, what exactly are we speaking of?”

She chewed a corner of her bottom lip. Watching any other woman mauling juicy pink flesh like that, would have proved too tempting to pass up. That the thought even crossed his mind disturbed him. Aricles did not think of Indigo in such terms. He almost missed her next words.

“Oh, I’d say in the vicinity of five hundred thousand dollars a pop. There’s no sliding scale.”

The number surprised him and he pursed his lips in a soundless whistle. “Half a million dollars is pretty steep for a fat farm.”

Indigo nodded. “Sated Pleasures is not your average calorie counting community. Here one can enjoy total anonymity, be pampered and indulged, encouraged and fucked by the hottest men either side of Chippendales. Throw in a get-out-of-pregnancy-free card, freeing you to enjoy all the clean, unprotected sex you can handle, administered by said males (did I mention all the staff are werewulves?), and you’ve got what most women would call paradise.”

“Only women…?”

“See, that’s what I love about you Ari…always thinking about the guys.”

That got a laugh. No doubt, as she’d intended. “Look where your mind is, missy. And don’t call me Ari. I’m not into guys, as you know, however. I meant, are there only female patrons?”

“This time around, I think, yes. I believe this was the test group -- the shakedown session. But it is a female-driven market, which I’m sure Orloffberg has taken into consideration.”

22 Camille Anthony

Aricles gave another whistle. “First time out, huh? Tough luck for it to fall out like it did, then. Murdered clients can break an operation like a high society spa.”

“In most cases, I’d agree with you. With Orloffberg at the helm, I’ll wait to see what occurs. If he stays true to form, he’ll pull this off and come out smelling like caviar while someone else would stink of fish eggs.”

She sobered. “The vision changes every time I relive it. It’s showing me possibilities, which tells me we might be able to affect this future. Sometimes it’s set in stone, but this time, it’s malleable. In each one, though, somebody close to me…dies. Or at least, that’s what it looks like.”

That alarmed him. “Someone close to you…?”

“Relax, you don’t die. Well, in a way you do” -- she paused, pushed shaking fingers through her already wild hair -- “see, at the moment, there are three possible futures. In one, our relationship undergoes a change when we disagree over how to manage this assignment.

We become estranged, so in a sense, you die. In another, the murderer targets someone I’ve fallen in love with. I’m there when it happens, but the vision didn’t show if I’m somehow to blame. Is the killer’s motive payback or expediency? The third scenario is the one where I die.”

Aricles frowned. The thought of not having her in his life wasn’t one he wanted to dwell on. “Numbers one and three are not acceptable to me. How feasible is number two?”

The corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile. “None of them are acceptable to me, especially not the one where I die. And for the record, Ari, using innocent bystanders to win the day goes against the NHP Mission Statement.”

“Anyone you fall in love with would probably run screaming at the word ‘innocent.’

And don’t call me Ari.” Seeing his absentminded correction had the same effect as always, he ignored her outthrust tongue to ask another question. “So what’s our game plan?”

Her luscious breasts lifted in an artful shrug. “The usual song and dance, I guess…gather the info needed to apprehend the murderer and save the day with minimal fireworks since we’ll be operating around flat-footed norms. Keeping the humans unaware is almost a higher priority than catching this rogue.”

Aricles managed, just barely, not to fidget in his seat. His brows lowered in sudden suspicion. “Indi, are you playing around with pheromones? Because for some reason, I’m having some hellacious reactions to the juicy body you’re wearing.”

To his inner shock, he surprised an expression of guilt in her eyes just before she lowered her lids, evading his glance. A wash of hot color started at her creamy shoulders, flowed over her face and then receded, leaving her pale and shaking. She glanced up at him in helpless confusion. If he hadn’t caught that glimpse of conniving, he might have bought her act.

Werewulf Journals 4: Sated Pleasures

23

His jaw hardened, eyes narrowed. “Don’t bother trying to trick me. You don’t want to walk down this road. Whatever you’re doing, shut it off,” he snapped, not caring how harsh his voice sounded.

Her eyebrows rose in disdainful query. “Just what is it I’m supposed to be doing to you, Ari?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you.”

“Some god you are…oh, wait, that’s right! Your power is lust, not omniscience.”

He didn’t appreciate her sarcasm. “If you weren’t the second in command of the NHP, I’d be tempted to spank your ornery butt. You know the danger of tempting me. Your playful antics could backfire. I haven’t had time to arrange a session with my usual woman and I haven’t indulged for quite some while. Now is not a good time.”

He stopped, ran agitated fingers through his thick hair and cursed when the clinging curls snagged his fingertips. Damned unruly stuff. Cutting it off would be a waste of time since it always grew right back in. Immortality meant never having to be bald.

“Indi, you’ve always been like a sister, but there’s no blood between us to protect you.

If you would remain as a sister to me, do not play female games with me. I couldn’t be casual with you. If I fucked you I’d have to touch you, kiss you…and there’d be no going back once I did.”

Her face stilled even more at his words, and Aricles had a moment’s regret for his harsh stance. It pained him to do it, but she had to know, had to understand the danger she courted trying to awaken his desires.

As a demigod of lust, he was no gentle lover, no Eros to court a woman with hearts and flowers. He was a sexual dominant who took his sex rough and raunchy. Playing with him would get her more than burnt.

Indigo didn’t answer, kept her chin tucked tight to her chest. What he could see of her face was tinted an embarrassing red.

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