He lifted her off him, shuddered with her at the pain of separation. “And you’ll have more, Kara. I’m only halfway through fulfilling my promise.” He reached for the coat she’d discarded on the bench, helped her put it on over the clothes he’d ripped apart. He adjusted his own clothes with difficulty before standing up, pulling her to her feet. “I pledged the night, too. And that’s still young.”
As soon as they exited the club, she tugged at him. “Where are we going?”
He hadn’t even considered where. But he could only think of one destination. “My place.”
She stopped, pulled her hand from his. “No.”
He frowned. “Your place?”
She shook her head. “Neutral ground.”
She was right. This had to remain…neutral. And it had to end with the night. It didn’t matter that something corrosive was eating away at his euphoria and reason. A voice that demanded he override her, take her to his place. And keep her there.
He wouldn’t. For all the reasons there were.
He forced a smile to his lips. “Neutral ground, it is.”
Chapter Five
Vidar chose said neutral ground with care.
Instead of doing what he could to ensure that she’d relegate this night to the shelf of her one-night stands, he was going out of his way to give her a night to remember.
He wasn’t doing what he’d done with his own one-night stands, either—keeping them out of focus, so that by the time day dawned, his memory of each had blurred before it was mostly deleted. He was committing Kara’s every nuance to the damned indelible part of his memory.
He watched her greedily now as she looked around the twenty-thousand-a-night suite of the zillion-star hotel. Not that he’d pay a cent. He had money, too much of it, but he almost never needed it. As a Lokian, everything this world had to offer was his for the taking at the flash of a locket. Loki’s Locket. The manager of this establishment, a wannabe Legion recruit, had taken one look at it and given them the suite that spanned half of the uppermost floor. They could stay here forever if Vidar wished.
They’d stay only tonight.
She turned to him, her expression whimsical. “So you’re obscenely rich as well as criminally sexy.”
“Look who’s talking.” He bent and swept her up in his arms. She clung immediately, met his kiss halfway, dueled with his tongue with the same urgency and ferocity, giving him back his hunger on the same level.
She murmured into his mouth. “I’ll spend the night with you anywhere. Don’t spend that much money here. Donate it to the hospital instead and let’s go to a motel or something.”
“I’m not taking you to some sleazy dump.”
“Not coming with an astronomical bill doesn’t mean it would be a dum
p.”
“I’m not paying a cent here. Money isn’t the only way to pay for things. And I’ll donate to the hospital, anyway.”
“Should have known you’d have influence and connections, too. Okay, you may proceed.”
He grinned, pinched her buttock. “Yes, ma’am.”
In seconds he took her across the threshold of the expansive en suite bathroom. He placed her on her feet in the middle of its marble floor, brooded upon those clothes he hated. She’d commented on his animosity with amusement, insisted she loved his “bodice-ripping” tendencies, was delighted when he’d insisted only she had inspired them, but was adamant about not accepting replacements. Knowing she relished his ferocity, he had her standing in a heap of tattered clothes in seconds.
Then he looked down at her. Towering barely a foot shorter than himself, her breasts were a feast, her waist and tummy trim and firm, her hips lush with femininity. Her limbs were long and smooth, her shoulders square and strong. Every curve and line and swell of her was the epitome of womanliness.
He skimmed his hand from the curve of her shoulder to her breast, blood roaring in his ears, his loins, as its warmth and resilience overflowed in his large hand. “You wear those clothes like I do my disguises.”
She thrust her breast into his hold, inviting a more aggressive possession. “But you saw through them.”
He pinched her nipple, bent for a compulsive suckle. “I didn’t see anything near the truth.” He raised his head, gathered her against his length, groaning as she melted into him. “You’re beyond glorious. A goddess.”
Her face flushed with pleasure as her hands treated his clothes with the same hostility. “Look who’s talking.”