He flinched and lowered his gaze. “You want me because I’m a leader.”
“
No
, I want you because you’re fucking sexy,” I groaned, deciding not to take offense to his accusation when he was so out of sorts. “I could give a shit about your title or job besides that’s what brought me here and I have a duty to protect you. Getting you naked is
all
about our chemistry and you as a person, Torr.”
“I’ve never been just a person besides with Samantha,” he admitted as he shook against me. I nodded that I heard him but there was no way for me to truly understand what that was like. “Yes, I accept your kind offer, Hadley. I need to breathe again. It’s all too much.”
I wanted to tease him a bit so I didn’t go right to the big attack, but instead, I undid his suit pants and pulled out his cock, stroking him slowly. “Good?”
“Yes, thank you,” he mewled as his fingers tightened in my hair. He was so compliant I went for broke.
“I’m not giving the King of the felines a hand job because he’s stressed, Torr,” I whispered against his lips.
He blinked those big eyes up at me, the glaze of lust in them. “Th-then what a-are y-you doing?”
“I’m giving Torr, a man I already care for, some stress relief because he needs me. You see the difference?”
“Yes, but all my blood is in my groin so any more questions better be multiple choice.”
“Fair enough.” I stroked him faster as I kissed him and then moved along his jaw, up to his ear. “Will you be vocal for me? Tell me what you want, Torr. This is just for you.”
“Harder. Gods, do it harder. You know just how to touch me but I need more,” he begged, squirming against the wall and my body.
“I can give you that. Will you give me what I want when the meeting’s over? I want hours of passion buried in your sweet ass, showing you everything you’ve not experienced yet.”
I didn’t wait for his answer, dropping to my knees, and making two things clear. One, it wasn’t some trade for sexual favors. Two, I would get
exactly
what I wanted whether he said it now or not.
I swallowed him down, and it didn’t take long for him to blow with how wound up he’d been. Moaning at the taste of my lynx, I had a stray thought that I shouldn’t ever refer to him as that because Torr could never
be
mine.
Kind of took the fun out of the moment, but I still finished, swallowing down everything Torr gave me, taking good care of my temporary lover. Then I tucked him back in his pants and zipped them up, kissing his neck and up to his ear as he gasped for air.
“Better?”
“You have a very,
very
gifted mouth,” he panted before pulling my head to his. We kissed for a few more minutes, but then it really was time for him to get back to the meeting.
“For the record, I have lots of gifted parts and abilities,” I murmured in his ear as we stepped out into the hallway.
“Yes, your facilitating news between your leader and myself has been quite helpful.” Torr focused straight ahead as he said it, and I knew I was back in bodyguard and liaison mode.
Fine, I wouldn’t push my meaning—for now.
“King Torrance, we’ve set up several ideas of excuses that people might use to withdraw money from their accounts, as long as they don’t do it all at once, that will fool the humans,” Samantha explained, catching us up when we rejoined them. “We also believe faking a death here and there might get prime people off the radar.”
“No good,” Torr argued, wincing at the change in title. “We don’t want to draw any extra attention and we’re already taking too many risks. All it would take is one government looking into a death that wasn’t real to figure out we were onto them and it could blow the chance to get millions to safety. The problem will be getting to safety the people the governments planned to take out first. So for now they are in too much danger to risk it.
“We have hundreds in the military, watched constantly. If we slip up in any way, then they are lost to us. No, we pack and prepare to start slowly moving supplies to the new strongholds once they’re built. If we let
some
fake deaths or start withdrawing money, then others will think
what’s one more
and too many could do that.”
“That’s a good point, your grace,” one Alpha sighed. “All right, what about buying additional supplies? I would say to start buying extras of the basics and instructing people to always take out the max amount of cash back on their cards.”
“Yes, that’s good and something that’s not suspicious as long as it’s not a substantial amount in one day. Everyone needs to get everything, and we will start having to group up as a true family. Keep in mind, we won’t be moving to a subdivision of individual houses. More likely dorm-type rooms, or best case, suites and apartments. I will have to get more specifics, but for now, tell your people to sell nonessentials they
can
live
without to pawn shops.
“That’s step one along with packing. For now,
that’s it
. People start quitting their jobs or acting out of the ordinary and all is lost. I will
not
allow the felines to be the reason that millions of paranormals lose their lives.”
“Understood, your grace,” most agreed.
“If I might, King Torrance?” one woman hedged.
“Of course, now is the time for input that we can discuss and think on,” he guided.
“Samantha mentioned that there might be casters who will aid us in getting our money. I was thinking weapons. I have intimate knowledge of several weapons stockpiles that the government has, being in the Army.”
Torr ran his hands through his hair and took off his suit jacket before nodding. “That’s a good idea. I will discuss it with the directors we’re heading the effort with. I would like those locations and several plans of extracting the weapons that don’t rely solely on the casters. Their help would be welcome but there is much they will also be handling.”
“Plus the more we bring to the table the better position we’ll be in grouping up,” the Alpha chuckled.
“Precisely. I’m not averse to asking for help, but if it’s something we can handle, then I’d prefer that. Plus, getting our people to each new location will be tricky and more weapons will always be welcome. My understanding is each stronghold has several wings to the castle. We might have our own wing or floors of a wing at each location to make our own. I would like a weapons hold in our own space so we’re never only dependent on the group.”
“In other words, assume and prepare for the future as if we’re going at it as felines and we will welcome and offer aid but do not depend on it?” Samantha summarized with a raised brow.
“Yes, that’s a perfect way to brief our plan. We know of one location, possibly two by the end tomorrow. We will add more and start coordinating our people to the strongholds. Beyond that, we don’t know much and won’t have the time required for everyone to bring what’s needed to the pot luck. So the premise is everyone bring everything they can, and if we run out of batteries one day, we can trade our excess of fabric for some.”
“Got it. Costco is our new best friend,” one Alpha joked.
“Pretty much. We will offer financial help and supplies as we can, but to do that, we need inventories of what people are getting and what’s the hardest to buy undetected. Prepare for this to be permanent. Don’t get bushels of apples when they spoil. Go for the cans of fruit cocktail that last for years.”
And with that last depressing thought, they ended the call. Torr looked wiped and shared several worried glances with his advisors before giving them all a list of assignments.
Then I finally got him to let go for the night and head to bed.
5
After making sweet, passionate love to Torr—twice—I let him get some much needed rest. I cleaned up my lover and tucked him into bed, wrapping myself right around him. He didn’t push me away, but even in his sleep, he seemed to tense at the contact. I sighed as I let him go, not wanting to add to the pressure on him. I stared at his gorgeous, perfect face and features, unable to look away from his fire-shimmering hair, hoping he would turn to me.
But after an hour it didn’t happen, and I gave up, starting to drift off.
At least I’m allowed to sleep in his bed, right? We just met today after all. Get a grip, Hadley
.
There wasn’t a sound to be heard, but still, the fake screams of pleasure of
all
the people before me in that bed echoed in my head. None of them saw Torr, only his title. I was different and yet they haunted me because I couldn’t ever have him.
Not really.
And the fucking comfortable bed made my skin crawl. Not from bed bugs, of course. Oh no, it was completely mental, every spring that made it so soft and inviting was broken in by others Torr tried to be with in the hopes of finding a consort. And they all had breasts which I didn’t. How could I ever expect anything real from him?
It made me grateful that owls had a horrible sense of smell. I couldn’t even fathom what the lingering scents would be.
A grunt outside the main door to his suite had me up and out of bed in a flash. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep, still worrying about how fast I felt something for Torr. There was a slight thud next and I knew something was wrong. Moving over by Torr, I shook him awake as I put my hand over his mouth. He blinked up at me with those bright eyes, fear in them until he recognized me.
Then he shocked me by trying to pull me down to him as he tossed back the sheet to reveal his naked body. I shook my head and pressed my lips to his ear. “Something’s wrong. I heard noises in the hallway. I haven’t gotten a gun from your security yet. Do you have one in here?”
He nodded and pointed to the armoire. I quickly pulled him off the bed, stuffed some pillows under the sheets when I heard a floorboard creak in the outer room of his suite, before soundlessly getting two guns out. I could feel they were loaded from their weight and clicked off the safety one. I saw Torr hold out his hand for the other and handed it over before leaping over the bed.
There was someone right outside the door. They hesitated, and I realized they knew we weren’t asleep.
Fuck
. Damn elevated hearing.
Taking a chance, I hopped on the bed and started bouncing on it. “Oh, babe. Yeah, you feel so good. Moan for me.” I waved him on with my armed hand as I pointed to my ear and then the door with the other. Then I started smacking my own ass to replicate the sounds of sex as best as I could.
Talk about feeling
stupid
.
“I’m going to fuck you so hard,” Torr hissed. “My cock feel good in you?” I shot him a glance over my shoulder so fast I almost fell on my ass. Nice switch up there! He wasn’t looking at me, though, focused on the door. I was going to spank him so hard later. He couldn’t even admit he would take it up the ass if it was me for our fake play to draw in a threat?
Dickhead.
The click of the doorknob brought my attention back to the situation at hand. I trained my gun on the door as it slowly opened, ignoring Torr’s finishing “performance” to explain the ceasing of bed squeaking.
“Oh gods, Hadley, you’re the best I’ve ever had,” he moaned, and unfortunately my cock responded even though it was fake.
I saw the silencer first and made my move the second the gun was completely visible. “Drop it or I’ll shoot you through the door,” I ordered as I jumped off the bed, keeping my weapon pointed at the intruder. They tried bursting into the room as a last ditch effort, but I’d been ready for that, slamming my shoulder against the door and knocking the gun away from them.
There was a male cry of pain and he fell to the floor. I slammed the door closed so he couldn’t escape and moved the gun against the man’s head.
My chest heaved with adrenaline but still I kept my voice cold. “You twitch and I’ll pull the trigger. You can come out, your grace.”
“Yes, please do,
cousin
,” the man purred.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Torr growled as he got to his feet and hit the lights. “Of
course
it’s you, Ty. Let me guess. You heard about father’s demise and thought you should take out the person standing in the way of your being King. Smart. Because of
all
the threats going on right now I wouldn’t have additional security?”
“And in your bed no less,” Ty sneered.
“That was just a ploy, dipshit,” I shot back. “You weren’t as quiet as you thought you were. I was sleeping on the couch in the King’s room as his extra security, and when we realized you could tell we were awake, we put on a show to draw in your stupid ass.”
“Seriously?” Ty whined, jumping up. I yanked one of his arms behind him so he didn’t get any closer to Torr. “Awww, man! I should have known something was up. I mean, the ultimate lady killer goes dark side?
Thousands
of women have been in your bed over the decades but really all this time you’ve wanted cock? So stupid!”
“Yes,
that’s
why you’re an idiot,” I snapped, rolling my eyes even as my chest hurt as he confirmed what I’d been so worried about. Thousands?
Really?
“Not that you just committed treason by trying to off your cousin, the
King
. I’d say it was nice meeting you but it wasn’t, and I’m glad you won’t be alive long enough to get to know.”