The Darkness Calls (The Transfigured Ones 1)

“Oh, totally,” Lilly said, laughing. “I’d really like to be there when you do.”

“That,” Talan said, grinning, “can absolutely be arranged.”

The frown on Lachlan’s face was tempered by the humor in his eyes. It made Talan even more glad that he’d staked his claim on Lilly. He had no doubt Lachlan would even now be trying to talk her into bed.

Talan said, “Be right back, Lach,” and then turned his attention to Lilly. “I’ll walk you out.”

She gave one last smile and wave to Lachlan and then followed him out of the office. As they passed the darkened alcove that contained a copier and a fax, he immediately spun her around and pressed her up against the wall, taking her mouth with his. Talan kissed her with all of the pent-up frustration from earlier.

Lilly’s gasp of shock melded quickly into a moan. Her fingers slid up from where they had gripped his shirt to brace herself, to rest on his shoulders. Her body pressed into his as their tongues duelled.

When he felt her hips rock against him, his cock hardened in response. He tore his mouth away from hers and said, “Bloody Lachlan. I want nothing more than to take you upstairs and love you until neither of us can see straight.”

Her laugh was somewhat thready when she said, “I’d be up for that. I’m just saying.”

“Tomorrow,” he promised, leaning back in to take her mouth with his again. He indulged himself, nipping at her lips until she sighed. His hands slid from her waist to her shoulders, but regretfully, he softened the kiss.

Lilly let out a groan of disappointment and then said, “Enjoy your meeting.”

Talan ran a finger along her pouty lower lip and said, “I’ll be thinking of you.” He leaned in and gave her one last kiss before he said, “Good night, Lilly. Let me know you’ve arrived home safely, please.”

Her facial expression softened and she said, “I will. Night.”

Talan watched as she walked back toward the entrance to the executive offices. He took several deep breaths, willing his erection to die down.

When he managed to get himself under control he wandered back into his office.

Lachlan grinned at him and said, “She’s a wee slip of a girl, but she’s a fireball, Talan.”

“Lilly is something else,” he agreed, unable to stop himself from grinning.

Over the next few hours, they went over the progress on the Miami casino, discussed the excess expenditures in another one of their co-owned properties, and then talked at length about the firing that had taken place in the nightclub.

Talan had been convinced after their initial conversation following the arrest that the night manager was somehow involved in the drug dealing. He hadn’t had the proof, though, until security had managed to catch him red-handed. Idiot.

The moment he’d walked back into the building after seeing Lilly out, his security team had alerted him. He’d spent the rest of the morning going through the remainder of the bar staff, deciding who he needed to interview next. It was unlikely that they’d been the only ones involved.

Somewhere around eight this morning, when he’d been cloistered in his suite with the blackout panels activated, he’d had the bright idea to nudge Lilly toward the job. Perhaps he should have discussed it with her first, he realized in hindsight. It nagged at him that all of her concerns had been so valid and yet he’d not been able to see them.

He feared, where Lilly was concerned, he wasn’t exactly objective. If tonight’s blow-up was any indication, it wasn’t likely to get better anytime soon. The more time he spent around her, the more out of his depth he felt.

Chapter Eleven

Lilly felt strange using the key card that Talan had given her. He’d stopped by shortly before the end of her shift and dropped it off, citing issues with the night cleaning staff. He told her to go on up to his suite while he dealt with some staffing issues. The housekeeping manager had apparently under-scheduled for the day, as there was some sort of Transfigured accountants’ convention happening on-site.

When he’d stopped in, both Daniel and Rob were at the bar. He had called her down to the end of the bar, passed it to her, and then given Daniel a stony glance. When she had raised her eyebrow at him, he’d merely smiled at her and then left.

She flipped on the light, then slid her shoes off. Glad to have the opportunity to clean off, she slipped into the gigantic bathroom and turned on the mammoth shower. Stripping off her clothes, she stepped into the shower. One of the taps had been acting up tonight. She’d ended up covered in beer foam. She could think of nothing less sexy than smelling like stale beer.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around herself. Talan opened the partially ajar bathroom door the rest of the way and asked, “Hmm. What do we have here?”

Lilly jumped and said, “Jesus, you scared me. Did everything work out with housekeeping?”

“Fine, fine,” he said, barely hearing her question as he took her in.

She could feel his eyes on her even as she stepped past him and walked into the bedroom. As soon as she reached the edge of the bed, where her overnight bag sat, she turned to look at him over her shoulder. When she was absolutely certain she had his complete attention, she let go of the towel.

Before Lilly’s towel had finished hitting the floor, Talan was pressed against her, his lips licking and sucking hungrily at her neck. Even through his clothes, she felt every inch of his warm, hard body against her back. She moaned softly when his hands slid up her rib cage to cup her breasts.