“The left,” Ildaria answered and shifted H.D. to one arm so that she could retrieve her keys from her pocket and hand themto him. She waited patiently as he unlocked the door and slid inside to check the apartment, but her gaze kept sliding tothe door to the stairway as she waited, half afraid another South American Enforcer would come rushing out and try to grabher. But nothing like that happened before Valerian returned to tell her the place was fine.
“Keep your door locked and call if you have any problems. Lucian will probably order Tybo and I to watch the building for any more trouble, but it could take us an hour to get back here. Of course, Tybo is probably calling to report in right now, and Lucian might send another team rather than risk leaving you alone. I will have Tybo text you either way so you know what is happening,” he promised as he handed her the keys and ushered her into her apartment.
“Thanks,” Ildaria called as he closed the door. The minute it was shut she locked it, and heard Valerian’s satisfied grunton the other side. She suspected he’d waited purely to be sure she locked it, but he needn’t have worried. Damn right shewas locking that door, Ildaria thought as she set H.D. down. Her problem now was deciding if she shouldn’t pack a bag andrun. Juan had found her.
Ten
G.G. rolled over in bed and opened his eyes, feeling just wonderful. Well rested, and well sated from the dreams he’d sharedwith Ildaria. Damn, if life mate sex was ten times better than that as he’d once heard an immortal claim, it might kill him.But what a way to go, he thought with a grin and closed his eyes to savor the memories still swimming in his head.
The dreams had changed since Ildaria had told him they were shared and told him he was a possible life mate. She no longer just came along for the ride. She was starting to instigate things and really get involved. Last night she’d taken their dream to a beach he suspected was in Punta Cana. They had been alone, the sand soft as silk beneath them, the moon and stars bright overhead and a balmy breeze caressing their bodies as they’d kissed. She’d been wearing the pirate costume she’d described to him, explaining with a grin that it was just for him. However, his costume, she’d added, was just for her and he’d looked down to see that he was in boots and tight black pants, a blousy, white cotton pirate shirt open to show off his chest.
“Will you ravish me, El Capitan?” she’d asked, her eyes glowing golden brown as they always did when she got excited. “Orshould I stake you out in the sand and ravish you?”
G.G. had to admit the idea of being ravished had been an exciting one. It must have shown on his face, because the next thinghe knew he was flat on his back on a blanket on the sand, his arms and legs tied to stakes in the ground. He’d been a littlesurprised to see his clothes still on, until he noticed Ildaria standing over him twirling a wickedly sharp knife in her hands.
“I will, of course, unwrap my gift,” she said with a grin and then knelt and began to do just that, slicing through the clothof his clothes with deft movements that quickly left him in nothing but the boots. But while the cutting away of his clotheswas quick, her attention afterward was painfully slow as she’d licked and nibbled and kissed her way up and down and aroundhis body, exploring every inch of him except the part that wanted her attention most. G.G. had been hard pressed not to takeover control of the dream, free himself of his bindings, grab her, roll her in the sand, and make love to her. But he’d heldback, interested to see where this would go, and most interested to see if she would find her way to his very hard cock, andlick it or freak out and bite it off.
Ildaria didn’t bite it off, and by the time she finally closed her mouth over him, G.G. was crazy close to spilling himself. It had taken mad concentration to keep from doing that, and he’d only managed it for half a dozen strokes of her beautiful mouth before losing it. Fortunately, he recovered quickly in dreams, and within moments he had turned the tables on her, and she was suddenly staked out on the ground while he stripped and loved every inch of her until she was crying out with her release too.
After that, they’d gone for a swim and ended up making love in the surf. Then Ildaria had dragged him to his feet and pulledhim behind her as she raced up the sand and into the palm trees. They were naked when they started out, but by the time theystepped out of the forest and into a crowded street, he was in his pirate gear again and she was in a lovely white dress withred and blue stripes running around it in ruffles. The top was what G.G. thought they called a peasant top. He wasn’t sure,he was no fashionista, but she wore the short sleeves off the shoulders and her hair was piled on top of her head, and fallingaway down one side in large curls that were interwoven with white, red, and blue flowers. She looked magnificent . . . andG.G. wanted her all over again, but a sudden shout drew his gaze around to see a man in the crowd clutching his behind andhowling in pain.
G.G. had barely taken that in when his attention was drawn to another man, this one dressed in a red cloak, shiny shirt, and broad trousers covered in tiny bells, ribbons, and what looked to be bits of broken mirror. This character was also wearing a horned mask with
