This was helping them, Kalina thought, resigning herself to her mission. Finding out what exactly her assignment had been would help when she attempted to clear Rome’s name. Figuring out what his father had to do with Raul Cortez would go a long way to helping Rome let some of his guilt about his parents’ death rest. He hadn’t told her much about his past, but she sensed that pain in him, that sense of loss that only another person who’d lost loved ones could relate to. Knowing he’d seen those papers on his computer, she could only imagine the sense of betrayal he would have felt reading them. So she was helping Rome, helping the man she loved by sneaking out and going against his wishes.
That didn’t really make her feel better.
With an excited gleam, she raked her nails down his back. Once. Twice. Third time being the charm, streams of crimson blood bubbled from the broken skin. Below her he moaned and she shifted her hips, let her naked clit rub over the base of his back. He said something but she didn’t understand him, didn’t really care.
She’d been doing this guy for almost a year, giving him whatever he craved, taking what she needed and getting everything Sabar wanted as well.
“Harder!” he yelled this time, and she dragged her claws down his back once more. He got off on this, the pain. Each time she was with him it was all about causing him more pain.
Truth be told, she got off on it, too. Something about the smell of blood, the feel of power rushing through her each time she made him scream, had her coming all over the place. Take now for instance; she was creaming all over his lower back as she watched the blood from the fresh wounds trickling off the side of his torso to land on the white hotel bedsheets.
“Your friend didn’t pay up. Sabar’s not happy about that,” she said then rubbed her clit over his rough skin, loving the friction the movement created. “You’d better talk to him or he’ll end up just like Baines.”
“Come here, baby,” he grumbled and turned so that he was now lying on his bloodied back.
She adjusted herself, lowered her body until his short, fat dick managed to slide inside her wet pussy. He moaned, his dull gray eyes rolling back into his head. With pudgy hands he gripped her hips, holding her still as he pushed upward, believing he was driving deep inside her.
There was no real feeling, that’s why she had to get off in other ways when she was with him. Leaning forward slightly, she clawed his chest with deep angry strokes. His eyes opened wide just like his mouth, and the scream that ripped free made her come instantly. Then she began to ride him, being careful not to pull up too much or his puny length would slip right out of her. He was breathing heavily, the flab from his second chin vibrating as she worked him.
“You gonna get your people to pay up?” she asked, flattening her hands on his chest to feel the blood on her palms.
“Shit … shi … yes … yesss. I’ll tel … yeah … I’ll call him. Fuck!”
“That’s right, if you wanna keep being fucked by me and keep breathing long enough to make that run for the Senate you just announced, you’d better make sure all of them pay up when they’re supposed to.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it. I’ll do it,” he panted, his fingers pinching her hips. “Just fuck me harder. Harder! Harder!”
She moved quicker, knowing he was only good for another minute or so. Watching his face contort she leaned forward, felt her canines extend, and bit him, right on his nipple. He yelled and came at the same time. She slid off his sweaty, bloody body and went to the table where her cell phone was. Punching in a familiar number, she said, “I’m done.”
“Good. Now go get my mate,” Sabar’s gruff voice replied from the other end.
After grabbing a quick shower and slipping back into her business attire Melanie was on her way out when a half-dressed Ralph Kensington puffed on a cigarette and glared at her through the ring of smoke he’d just released. “You’re a wild one. But I can tame you,” he said.
She slipped her purse on her shoulder and chuckled. “Not in your wildest dreams, old man.”
“Marry me?” he asked.
“Can’t, I’m already mated.” She opened the door and stood there a moment. “Besides, you’re not my type.” Closing the door behind her, she missed his ending comment.
“You’re right,” he chuckled, scratching his protruding belly. “I’m not a cat.”
The second she approached the gate Kalina knew she’d made a colossal mistake.
Mel stepped out of a black car looking absolutely nothing like the woman Kalina had spent a Sunday afternoon with. Gone was the supermom, the housewife, the dedicated employee.
What was before her now was like a total transformation—and not like those Oprah makeovers, either. This was deeper. Mel looked at her with eyes slanted just slightly and lips poised, shoulders squared and hips that swayed with the wind. She wore a shorter-than-short skirt tight enough to choke a dog and halter top that put her breasts on display through its sheer material and sky-high heels. Her red hair seemed brighter and was pulled up so that her long neck was bare.
“So nice to see you again, Kalina,” she purred.
That’s right, her voice, her movements, everything about her said cat. Okay, so maybe Kalina was overreacting. Just because Rome admitted to being a cat shifter didn’t mean that everyone she saw was one now. Still, this was a different Melanie.
“Hey, Mel. What’s up? You sounded like it was urgent.” Kalina talked and measured the distance between her and the house. Mel was on the other side of the gate in a car with tinted windows, which told Kalina she was probably not alone. Besides that, it was a luxury car worth much more than the meager salary Mel was making at the law firm. This entire situation was off, and when Kalina inhaled she could swear she smelled a setup.
“Just wanted to see you again. You haven’t really been in the office. I asked Nick about you.” She was walking, touching her fingers along the gate and looking at Kalina with a sultry sort of smirk. “He seemed convinced you were all right. I guess if you’re staying at the boss’s place, you would be considered all right.”
Kalina shrugged, trying to remain calm. She didn’t have a gun on her—nothing that vaguely resembled a weapon. Still, her fingers flexed at her sides as if preparing for a fight. “It’s a temporary situation. Why did you call me?” Kalina decided to just cut to the chase.
“I said I wanted to see you again.”
“Why? We just met.”
Mel stopped walking. “Well, I thought we’d made a connection. You know, like you connected with Rome and with his … kind.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Mel tilted her head, thin wisps of hair circling her face. Her eyes did something funny, changed color. No, it’s the sun, Kalina told herself, but she knew better.
“I think you know, Kalina. You know a whole lot,” Mel said, coming to stand by the section of the gate where Kalina was.
“Listen, maybe we should have this girls’ day another time,” Kalina said. She was about to turn and leave when something behind her made her freeze. She couldn’t see but she knew there was something there, something that wasn’t human. She could feel the slow movement, knew the eerie eyes that would be watching her back.
Looking to Mel she asked simply, “Why?”
The she-cat tossed back her head and laughed. “So naive, little cat. So fucking naive. Well, that’ll all change in time.”
Before Kalina could say another word Mel had reached a hand inside the gate, grabbing her arm and pulling it until her shoulder slammed painfully into the iron. Next there was a stinging sensation in her upper arm and then there was blackness.