Vengeance (7 page)

“I’m going to need clothes.” Honestly, Michelene wasn’t overly concerned about clothing. The last two weeks wearing nothing more than one of Azriel’s shirts had been just fine with her. Made the deliverymen, who brought food and bath and beauty products, do a double take a time or two. Frankly she loved seeing the possessive side of Azriel. A couple of times he actually growled at the delivery guys if their gazes kingeed in her direction a little too long. But she was starting to feel a little restless. Being confined to a home was something she had been used to four years ago, but the last few years of relative freedom had been nice.

“Perhaps,” came the noncommittal answer.

He liked her nude. Oddly she was okay with that. There’d never been an occasion in her life she’d voluntarily gone without clothing aside from showering or changing. Never had she lingered in a bubble bath as she did now, or just stroll around without a stitch one. It had never been safe. It was shocking to her how easy it was to be completely bare in front of this man. In fact, she loved the way his eyes followed her when she was nude, the way he touched her. There were times he could be so very gentle. Yet she really didn’t think he knew how to be anything other than completely dominating in bed.

Michelene found herself confessing all kinds of things from her childhood. Things she never told anyone. Some parts of her life upset him visibly, though he hadn’t told her to stop since that first night, so she never told him the worst of it. She didn’t really want to talk about those things anyway. It was weird, because he had to have seen worse. Yet that tic would show in his jawline when she spoke of her mother and some of the things Madam May had forced her to do.

When she spoke of her mother, not only did the tic bulge out of his jaw; it would begin to pulsate. His eyes would narrow into slits, burning not with hatred, or even anger, but straight death. If she were on the outside looking in, maybe she’d be terrified when he looked like that. As it was, she found it sexy. There was nothing about Azriel Michelene found frightening. It was thrilling to see him so upset on her behalf. Here was a man who wouldn’t hesitate not only to kill for her, but help her kill anyone she felt needed killing. Quite simply the perfect man for her.

Michelene also knew this unexplained thing between them mystified him at times. Some nights he sat silently in the corner, watching her with a frown marring that majestic brow. Other times when they were talking, he would tell her tidbits about his life before contract killing, things about his childhood or his parents. He seemed surprised when he caught himself doing that. And pissed at himself. He would withdraw for a little while after that, or fuck her. Hard. It made her smile because she knew what he had yet to come to terms with, and that was okay.

He showed her in so many ways the things he didn’t say. Right now, Azriel seemed fascinated with the feel of her skin underneath his fingertips. Lying on her stomach, she sighed as he ran his fingers up and down her spine, every now and then stopping to kiss one spot or another. How normal it felt; like they were any other couple just lying around on a lazy afternoon. As loath as she was to break the spell, there were cold hard facts they needed to deal with.

“You do remember people are looking for me, right?” God, she really didn’t want their idyllic existence to end, but staying here was bound to catch the attention of someone.

“There have been people looking for you for the last four years,” he replied glibly, shifting so his heavy leg lay across hers. “They either aren’t very interested in finding you or they suck at finding people.”

Well, that all depended on who was in charge of doing the searching. If it were Pierre, then no, he might not be all that interested in finding her. His efforts might be halfhearted at best, especially if her mother wanted to make an example out of her. Michelene hadn’t stayed hidden for so long because she was afraid of her brother. It was May’s underlings that had scared her shitless. Power hungry, ruthless, they wouldn’t hesitate to make an example out of her. May loved to dangle the possibility of helping her rule in front of her lovers. Had Michelene really killed her they would be chomping at the bit to try to wrestle the reins from Pierre; the perfect way to do that would be to extract vengeance for May’s death. But seeing as how Michelene hadn’t killed her mother, what she could expect was much worse. It was a damn good thing she had chosen to stay in the same city as her family, living in decrepit conditions. She was considered spoiled, never having done a hard day’s work in her life. Living a life of drudgery would be the last thing they expected.

One thing about May Brown was she never forgave a slight, and knifing her neck was definitely that. Someone was bound to talk. A delivery man, apartment maintenance staff. These were people you just couldn’t control. And the incident at the diner had probably been talked about for days. Inevitably someone would hear something, then questions would be asked. Azriel hadn’t been the least bit incognito. He’d been the opposite.

“They didn’t find me because before I actually laid eyes on you, I’d never stood out.” With an aggravated grunt, she flipped over, scooting away from his distracting touch. “I can’t stay here. Since you got rid of the only clothes I had, at least give me a lift back to my apartment.”

Like a child deprived of his favorite toy, Azriel actually pouted. It was funny as hell. She was willing to bet anything he thought he was scowling, but that was a pout on his face. Lip sticking out and everything.

“
This
is your apartment,” he stated mulishly, once again deliberately missing the point.

“My apartment is on the other side of town. It’s where all my stuff is. Like clothes. So I can find a new place to hide.”

“If you are referring to the hovel where you
used
to reside, all of the things there have been gathered up and disposed of. There was nothing personal there anyway, and I seriously doubted you wanted that sad collection of so-called gifts from the man who thought he could stalk you.”

Wow. He spoke as if it were all so simple, so reasonable. In a really twisted way, it made perfect sense because she really didn’t have a damn thing personal there. All that she’d had that meant anything to her, she'd left behind when she ran. Then again, they were twisted. For two people who lived lives so far outside the norm, this weird dynamic they had wasn’t all that shocking. Azriel was a heavy-handed kind of guy. She really should’ve expected something like this.

Still, just accepting what he’d had done would make her appear weak. It made no difference she wasn’t really upset, nor was she scared. Really, what he’d done was smart. All the people downtown knew about her were fake names and that dingy apartment. But a stand must be made on general principles. It would do him good to confuse him a little.

“You had no right to do that!” she exploded in a fair facsimile of anger. To make it look really good, she jumped from the bed to her feet, placing her hands on her hips. “Those were my things! They were all I had.” Okay, that might be pouring it on a bit thick. She had three trust funds.

“You had no personal items, and the clothes were cheap.” Oh, the genuine bafflement all over his face was priceless.

It was hard to keep up the facade with him looking all gloriously sexy, all male, all clueless. What was really funny was the way he was starting to get hard in the face of her pretend anger. It was impossible not to grow wet in response.

“It doesn’t matter if they were cheap!” she retorted, stomping her feet for effect. “They were mine! Has it ever occurred to you I might not want to walk around naked for however long it amuses you? Maybe I’d like to go out, or go to the theatre, see a play or something!”

That was pouring it on way too thick. She could care less about any of those things, though a walk in the fresh air would be nice.

It hadn’t occurred to him though; she could see that all over his face. He looked well and truly chastened. And pissed. How delicious. Holding her breath, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as he rose, just as nude as she was, to tower over her. God, the controlled menace in that tall, muscular body was intoxicating. She craved that power. Craved his darkness.

“However long it amuses me?” The low rumble of his voice was like the thunder warning of the coming storm. Yes, she wanted that storm.

“You are mine, now and forever—mine. I will provide for you. You want clothes—I will buy them. When I choose to. I prefer you naked, so you will be naked.” That hot gaze swept her, licking fire all across her skin. “No one would dare to harm you. Yes, there are people looking for you, but you are never, ever unprotected. We will leave when it’s time to do so. Not before. And Michelene, I keep what is mine. No one dares take what belongs to me. Do you understand?”

Nothing could keep the smile off her face now. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. “Yes. Thank you.”

The woman was deliberately provoking him, and this was far from the first time. Knowing that didn’t stop his blood from boiling that she would actually insinuate he would get tired of her. Or that he would allow any harm to come to her. Seriously? Like he could ever get tired of her. The woman could be four different people in one day. She was funny, sexy, passionate, caring and yet in a weird way innocent without being annoying. And she was his. All that she was belonged to him.

Looking down at that upturned face, those soulful eyes flashing outrage he knew damn well she didn’t feel, he felt a fresh wave of anger wash over him. MINE! That single word encompassed so much, but not nearly enough. No one could take her, no one could fucking touch her. He would completely lose his shit. They may not have known each other long, but that didn’t make a damn bit of difference. No one else in this world could make him feel—hell, just make him
feel
. Anger, lust, pity, an aching need that just wouldn’t go away. And this strange, undefinable warmth that radiated from deep in his gut just touching her, watching her, or
…

Fuck, he had to be inside her like now.

Reaching down, he clasped her ass cheeks and lifted, heaving her onto the bed. Damn her, she actually smiled at him, like this was what she was after all along. Maybe it was. He could never be entirely certain when it came to her. He did know she wanted him. In the few seconds it took for him to drop her on the bed, then fall on top of her, her legs were open, thighs wide to accommodate him. Later there would be foreplay. He would drive her out of her mind teasing, driving her close to the edge then backing off, playing with her soft, yielding body until she begged for him. But right now, the driving need to be a part of her—there was no way he could resist.

Pinning her hands above her head, he plunged inside her in one powerful thrust. Sweet holy fuck, how could a pussy be so tight, yet so wet? It was almost like her body was taunting him every bit as much as her words were. It wouldn’t make a difference; he was too far gone to be anything but completely entranced. Nothing mattered but this—driving his cock balls-deep inside her over and over again until they were both too exhausted to move.

“Look at me,” he growled. “Keep your fucking eyes on me.” There was something about the way she looked when they came together like this. It made him feel like a fucking god.

“Yes, Daddy.”

Shit.

His cock jumped inside her, little goddamn tease. There was something about the way she said that; it called to some long dormant part in him. He never thought he would be that guy, the one who got off on hearing his woman talk to him like that, but damned if it didn’t drive him crazy. Maybe it was sick on some level, but who had time to give a shit about conventions? When she called him that it made him want to protect her, care for her, fuck her until he couldn’t see sraight.

His hips increased speed and force. It wasn’t planned. He wanted to slow down and make it last. It was just
…
that look in her eyes; God, that look drove him out of his mind! That and the way her sweet little cunt spasmed all around him—he couldn’t get deep enough. He couldn’t get enough, period. He doubted he ever would.

“What the fuck are you doing to me?” The question was rhetorical, one he didn’t really expect an answer for. Since when had that ever stopped her, though? He got one, anyway.

“I’m loving you.”

Shit, shit, shit! He was going to come. Too soon! Way too fucking soon. But he could feel it building to the point of no return; his testicles were close to exploding no matter what he did. And there was just no way in hell he was going to pull out now. He couldn’t. Her pussy sucked him in, demanding what he was giving her. Legs locked around his waist weren’t going to let him go, and he didn’t want them to.

He had to shift so he could hold her wrists with one hand, then he reached between them to work her clit, rubbing mercilessly on the nub until she was sobbing, bucking every bit as wildly as he was.

“That’s right, baby. Come for me.” Because he couldn’t hold back. There was nothing more important right now than exploding inside her channel.

“Oh, God, Azriel!”

Her pussy convulsed, clenching down on him tight, so fucking tight. He let go of her hands, loving the way her nails raked down his back, the way her little teeth sank into his shoulder.

“Fuck, baby!” His climax started at the base of his spine, erupting from the depths of his very soul.

He was lost. Caught up in the whirlwind that was Michelene. It seemed as if he were frozen rigid inside her for all eternity before he collapsed beside her. On reflex, he gathered her in, tucking her tight into his side. His body just didn’t like to be separate from hers.

It should’ve been enough. His body was sated, and she had been satisfied. Until the next time he needed her, that should’ve been enough. But his mouth opened, and it completely shocked the shit out of him when he heard the words uttered in his own voice.

“I love you so damn much.” And he meant it.

What the fuck?