King of Spades (Wonderland 1)

“I don’t want to hurt him. I wish I could just wake up one day and this will all be a dream. I don’t know how I got here, and if I could go back in time…”

Cora’s expression softens and her eyes seem to fade to a warm brown almost instantaneously. “I have faith that Nick knows what he’s doing. And he knows how to handle himself. He learned from the best. Me.” She takes a step closer to me, and I struggle to stand in place. I don’t want the woman to see just how much fear she’s causing. “Nick learned how to be a fighter. How to win. How to grab power by the balls. He’s a man not to mess with just as I’m not a woman to cross. So, if Nick feels it’s best to have you in his life right now, I will trust that. But I also want to make something very clear. If you have some evil plan, some devious motive that Nick is somehow blind to. I’ll find you and kill you.” She leans in closer to me and punctuates every single syllable of the next two words. “Kill. You. Are we clear?”

I nod. “That’s not my intent. I would never do anything to—”

“Good. Then you’ll never have to see the unpleasant side of me.”

Cora looks me up and down with an expression of disgust that quickly vanishes and morphs into a seductive smile.

“I should go… I have to… I’m sure Nick’s looking for me.” I manage to take a couple of steps backwards.

“Lyriope,” Cora calls out as I try to calmly leave and not run away like I truly want to. “You really do seem like a lovely girl. And I feel like we could be great friends.”

I nod my head and give a weak smile. Yeah… the woman just threatened to kill me and now she sees a long-lasting friendship in our future. Only in Wonderland, I suppose.

“Lyriope,” she calls out again in a singsong voice. “Just don’t fuck with Nick.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lyriope

“Nick’s looking for you,” Harrison says as he approaches. “He’s in his office.”

I nod, trying not to get distracted with how dancing bodies on the main floor are slowly morphing into bodies engaged in sexual acts. Dicks are being sucked, breasts on full display, moans are blending with the loud music, the smell of sex is heavy in the air, and I’ve never been so enthralled in all my life. I could stand here and watch these complete strangers have sex all night. I left early on the last visit to Wonderland. I didn’t get to see this part—

“Lyriope,” Harrison says again, breaking me from my lurid thoughts. “Upstairs. Now.”

Before I can even get the second knock to connect with the upstairs office, I’ve been told Nick is in, it flings open. Nick emerges, his body silhouetted by the light shining through the office. He grabs me by the back of my neck and pulls my lips to his. The warmth on my mouth dissolves away all thought, and every sense in my body, except for touch. Fire explodes within me, leaving me panting for air. I don’t need to figure anything out. All I know is that this is what I need, what I desperately want.

Nick’s hands are so huge, so strong. I can feel them completely encircle my waist as he pulls me hard against him. The man who is always in control brings a smile to my lips as I feel a shudder rip through him, knowing he’s as affected by this… what?

Chemistry?

Lust?

Animal magnetism?

Whatever name, whatever label is used doesn’t matter. What matters is that it has me gasping for breath, aware of the bulge of Nick’s cock pressed into my stomach, both of our bodies screaming for release.

The moan I’ve been trying to hold back, escapes me in a tantalizing rush. Nick’s hands tighten around me. He reels me into him, pulling me even closer, molding me to his solid chest with unexpectedly sensual, gentle hands. Feeling more of the hard length of his sex pressing against my body, I crave more.

I finally remember to breathe. Lifting my head to look up at him, I see nothing more than the shadowed outline of his face, backlit by the light beaming through his office.

“I know you wanted me to stay close. But Cora and I were talking—I was looking for you,” I manage to say, the words weak and breathless, and not at all what I truly want to speak.

“We have unfinished business.” He slides his hands lower, cupping my ass. “I love Cora, but she was a real cockblock. I had a goal for tonight, and I plan on achieving it.” His husky words sound like a warning—a strained voice of desire echoing amongst a storm of hungry need.