"What are you doing?" she asked. He knew his chant was still clinging strong to her psyche by the calm tone of her voice and years of past experience. People sounded different when they were under the influence of his talents, and he'd laid it on pretty thick. It hadn't been intentional. He hadn't used it in a long time and had let it slip out a bit too strongly as a consequence. It would take a while longer for her to come out of it.
"Keeping you warm?" he asked.
When he'd climbed into bed with her, he'd known she'd remain relaxed. He knew she didn't have a worry in the world right now. He'd been very good at walking a resistant soul toward their death. His talents were underutilized in a situation such as this.
But he didn't expect what she did next. She arched against him and then turned toward him, still in his embrace. Her lips were parted as she slid her hands up his chest and then ran one into his hair. She tilted her face to him, with lips parted.
He reacted instinctively, taking what she had to offer and then some. He flipped her onto her back, his rock-hard dick pressed snug between her legs. Resting his weight on one forearm near her head, he plunged his tongue into her mouth and she sucked on it in a way that made him think of having her sweet lips wrapped around other parts of his anatomy.
With his other hand he yanked up her shirt. A flimsy white lace bra cupped her perfect breasts, causing a slight unease to clench at his gut. One of the guys had picked that out for her, maybe imagined her in it. The thought of it spurred him on from the small taste of what she was offering to something more, as if he needed to brand her as his.
He tugged at the button on the jeans she was wearing and then pushed them down off her hips with her panties. His fingers, first one, than two entered her and his desire grew even deeper when he felt how wet she was for him.
Even in her relaxed state, her hands were frenzied as they unzipped his jeans. When he felt her fingers wrap around his hard cock and the other hand cupping his balls, he knew he needed to pull back or this wouldn't end here.
She'd just discovered her brother was dead and although what he'd done to her wouldn't cause her to desire him, it lowered inhibitions in a similar way to if she were drunk. She might want this but if she were in a normal state of mind, she might not act upon it.
He pulled his mouth away, leaning up on his forearms, which only made him press more firmly to the juncture between her legs. She let out a low soft moan that told him it was exactly what she wanted as well. Her legs wrapped around his hips as she arched off the bed. Her hands went to his shoulders, trying to bring his lips back to hers. Her face flushed and lips parted, and pulling away was the hardest thing he'd done in a long while.
He paused. She was clinging to him. Would it really be that wrong? She was practically writhing under him and the desire she was feeling was pure lust, conjured up by her alone. Nothing induced there.
Eyes half lidded with lust … or half out of it because of what he'd done?
He rolled off her, hearing a soft sigh of disappointment as he did. He headed straight for a cold shower before she could say or do anything else that would have him throwing his good intentions straight to hell.
Chapter 21
When Lars walked into his shop, Angus, Cutty, Bic and Fate were already there waiting for him.
"Where's Faith?" Angus asked, looking behind him. Lars knew it was a precaution to make sure she wasn't close behind, not that he wanted her there. This was a conversation strictly for the guys.
"Upstairs, sleeping," Lars said.
"Yeah, more like sleeping it off," Cutty added, speaking softly as if to himself. His comment didn't go unnoticed, and the three not in the know all turned to him, waiting for further explanation.
Lars shot Cutty a look that told him to shut his mouth. He knew what he'd done had rattled Cutty but did he really have to turn into a blabbermouth now? Lars was fairly certain Cutty hadn't meant to. His disapproval of Lars using the voice on her had just gotten the best of him and leaked out into nervous chatter.
Angus took a step toward Cutty when Lars failed to explain. "She got drunk?"
"Yeah, she looked drunk," Cutty said, trying to cover up his slip of the tongue.
It was a good attempt but Lars knew it was too late. Faith hadn't touched a drink since she'd met them, so the idea of her getting blasted in the middle of the afternoon didn't ring true to anyone's ears. He confirmed his thoughts with the skeptical looks he was getting. No choice left, he launched into damage control. "She was really tense after what happened. I helped her out a bit."
"You helped her out?" Fate was instantly on his feet and getting in Lars' face. "When Karma was having a near breakdown, you wouldn't do shit to calm her. You were there, you saw what she was going through."
Everyone considered Karma and Fate an item except Karma and Fate. And here Fate was again, proving that everyone else was correct.
Instead of getting right back in Fate's face, like he would've normally done, Lars took a step back. He remembered exactly what Karma had gone through. This afternoon, when he'd seen Faith like that, if one of his guys could've helped and hadn't, he'd have gotten just as angry.
"I'm … man, I don't know what to say." Lars knew there wasn't anything that could take back how Fate had felt.
The room, which was already subdued, seemed to become more so. Normally, a confrontation like this would end up in a brawl and then a drink together afterward, but never an acknowledgment right out of the gate.
Fate, knowing him better than anyone, seemed slightly taken aback. His brow scrunched a bit as his head tilted. After a long pause, Fate said, "Shit happens. It's okay."
"If I had known at the time what it was like, I … " Lars put his hands up in bewilderment, not able to express any more on a moment that still felt sore to him.
"I get it. I … you know … " Fate shrugged and nodded. When he looked at Lars now, there was commiseration in his eyes. "So, it's like that between you two?"
Lars shrugged back. "No, I don't know. I just felt bad."
"Yeah, man, I get it." Fate let out a long sigh as if he understood all too well.
Cutty walked over to the two of them. "When you two are done braiding each other's hair, can we get back to the matter at hand?"
Lars and Fate cleared their throats at the same time, while Cutty took the floor. "So, we've got a bloody ring, a note and a positive ID on Keith being the one who supplied said ring. Where do we go from here?"
Lars perched himself on the edge of one of the work counters that lined the walls of the shop. "He still wants her but he can't get to her here and he knows it."
Angus who had taken a seat on the tattoo bench spoke up. "You're sure?"
"Positive. He crosses on to my territory and he's dead. He can't bust through my wards, which is why he sent that kid. Plus we all know he's scared to get within fifty feet of me, just in case I might be able to escort him along to somewhere he doesn't want to go." Lars was the only one of the guys who was always avoided by Malokin and his men. Even Fate had gotten into range, but not Lars. Not Death himself; that was too risky. They must have suspected his full range of talents even if they had no proof.
"The problem I have is why does Keith want her so bad?" Fate asked. "I know all you guys have taken a liking to her," Fate shot an awkward look at Lars as he said that, as if trying to apologize for throwing his girl under the bus, "but you can ask Karma, good people don't get messed up and involved with these guys. Why is Keith infatuated with her? Lars, he came right up to your sidewalk. They've never gotten that close to you before. This isn't sitting well with me. At all."
Lars remained quiet. He couldn't imagine Faith doing anyone wrong but he couldn't trust his opinions anymore, not when it came to her.
He'd used the voice on her. What if he really wasn't thinking clearly? No, he needed to sit out on this one. He couldn't go to bat for her when he couldn't trust his gut. This could jeopardize them all.
When no one disagreed, Cutty spoke up. "We only have a small sampling of who he's gone for. Karma herself was one of his victims. What about that? Don't tell me you think Karma is evil," Cutty said, directing the question at Fate bit looking at Lars.
Lars knew what he wanted, back up defending Faith. Lars looked out the window instead. He couldn't defend her, even though it was killing him. The more he thought about how he'd used the voice on her, the more he realized his judgment really might be impaired when it came to her.