Chapter 10
V alentine’s Day gift? If anyone else had said that, Amorette would’ve rolled her eyes with annoyance. But the promise on Cupid’s tongue? Her anticipation lamented the delayed pleasure, but the thrill of his praise kept her quiet. She would wait, the ache electrifying her almost as much as their hunt.
Amorette shifted on edge as they ventured down to The Rye’s basement. Valentin walked before her, seemingly unruffled by their encounter in the dim hallway, and she glared at his back. Her heart threatened to explode just being near him. How was he so calm? Didn’t he feel the dangerous sparks flying between them, threatening to consume them with destructive flames?
Valentin strode forward, every inch the legendary warrior, brutal weapon clutched in his fists. He’d given her another arrow, and she gripped it like a baseball bat. It was so large compared to her, she didn’t need to be an experienced fighter to inflict damage with it. One well-placed swing and her enemies would regret waking up that morning, but a sudden fantasy played out in her head of her and Cupid fighting side by side, equal in their skill.
“I recognize the scent of a man downstairs,” Valentin whispered, his body stiffening with awareness. “It’s a shame. This seemed like a nice place.”
“Do you really think this is a front?” Amorette asked, stepping closer to him.
“From the upstairs appearance, I would’ve said no, but the basement feels different. Evil hangs thick in the air.”
“Is Cavitto here? Doug?”
“No… I don’t scent them.” They rounded a dark corner and came face to face with a heavily locked office door. “Stay behind me and keep your eyes open. Things are going to happen fast.”
Valentin tested the handle, but when it didn’t budge, his hand found her stomach, palm flattening protectively over her. He pushed her back as he settled into place, and nocking an arrow, he lifted a powerful leg and kicked down the door.
The wood cracked into splinters upon impact, an orchestra of panicked male voices joining the groaning hinges, and Valentin lunged through the doorway, his towering frame filling every inch of space. Through the sliver of air between his arm and the wall, Amorette watched a man grab for his gun, but before his fingers could grip the handle, Valentin loosed an arrow. With a flash of gold, the arrowhead pierced the man’s hand, pinning it to the desk, and as he roared in pain, Valentin nocked a second arrow, shooting the man racing for them. It hit his shoulder, slamming him into the wall, and with an efficient, perfunctory scan of the office, Valentin shifted so the restrained men could see who stood behind him. The man bleeding on the desk snarled when he saw her, and Amorette shuddered as her memory flashed to him punching Doug so hard in the mouth, he spat crimson onto the carpet.
“The lady has something she would like to ask you,” Valentin said, his gaze studying her as her limbs shook imperceptibly. She shot him a panicked look, but he simply raised his eyebrows and jerked his head toward the office. Their eyes competed in a silent standoff, but despite the rigid structure of his shoulders and the deadly bow, his eyes were soft and full of grace. They spoke volumes, and Amorette understood. He wanted her to speak, to seize control of the situation and reclaim what they stole from her. An overwhelming realization flooded her as he gifted her that power. She could love this man. The person who not only protected her but gave her a voice in her own fate.
Armed Cupid at her back, Amorette strode into the room, gaze avoiding the pooling blood as she emulated Valentin’s confidence. “Where’s Cavitto?” she asked, settling before the desk. The man’s cold eyes surveyed her as if she was an insect invading his space, and he lunged for his gun with his free hand.
“Where is Cavitto?” Amorette threw herself across the desk and snatched the gun from the pooling blood before he could. She’d never held one before, and his blood coated her fingers as she leaped back to safety. Panic flooded her chest. She smelled the coppery scent, felt the sticky liquid, and her breath escaped her lungs in desperate gasps. The room was spinning, spinning, spinning. She was going to pass out.
A solid chest pressed against her spine as a hand pulled the gun from her grasp. The sudden pressure of Valentin’s weight grounded her, and with a shaky breath, Amorette reached back to grip his shirt with a white-knuckled fist.
“Still the terrified little bitch we found in that asshole’s bed this morning,” the man at the desk sneered, and his cruelty snapped her out of her downward spiral. “I see you get around. Couldn’t even wait for Cavitto to kill Doug before you decided to whor?—”
Amorette smacked him with the arrow, the look of surprise on his face matching her own. It wasn’t a hard blow, barely enough to knock his head to the side, but she wasn’t trying to hurt him. Only warn him that no one talked to her like that, not anymore, especially when the man at her back went feral at the insult. A tap to the temple from her was nothing compared to what Cupid would do if he didn’t watch his tongue.
“An arrow pins your hand to the desk,” she said calmly, pulling the golden rod to her stomach. “I have no interest in running you through with another, but if you continue to act uncivilly, I’ll step out of his way.” She nodded behind her, feeling braver by the second as Cupid’s weight urged her onward. “Now, what will it be? Tell me where Cavitto is or let vengeance have his turn with you?”
“It’s cute that you think your little threats will get me to roll over like a lap dog,” the man spat. “I didn’t become who I am by running my mouth.”
A crash jerked her attention sideways, her brain barely registering the golden arrow clattering to the floor before she saw the second man rush for them. He was massive, all muscle and no neck, and he bent forward, aiming to take both her and Valentin out in one blow. Amorette braced for the pain, but Valentin’s fist shot out inhumanly fast, his knuckles greeting the man’s throat. A strangled choking echoed throughout the office as his head flew backward at an awkward angle before he crashed to the tile, writhing in agony.
“As I was saying,” Amorette turned back to the man at the desk, shocked by how calm she sounded. “Will you tell me what I want to know?”
“Go fuck yourself,” the man said. “I’m dead even if I tell you, so your threats are useless.”
“No? Well, don’t say I didn’t give you a chance.” She stepped aside, shaking with nerves and exhilaration as Valentin moved to the desk. With controlled yet threatening movements, he placed his powerful hands on its surface and leaned forward. He said nothing. He didn’t move beyond what was necessary, but something in the room shifted. The atmosphere changed. Darkness weaved through the air, carrying malice and threats on their molecules. Amorette watched in a trance as Cupid didn’t speak, didn’t flinch, didn’t breathe, yet he commanded every atom in the office. Power wafted off him, infinite and damning, and she could barely breathe through the thick fear he wove like a tapestry around the men. All were silent for what seemed like an eternity, and then the man spilled every one of his secrets.
Valentin dropped the restaurant’s phone, letting it hang from its wire after his anonymous call to the police. There had never been enough evidence to raid The Rye, but their stunt in the basement had gifted the authorities probable cause on a silver platter.
“That was amazing,” Amorette gushed the second they moved out of earshot of the dangling phone, excitement pouring uncontrollably off her tongue. “You said nothing. Not a single word, but he told you everything. I’ve never felt power like that. It was terrifying but awe-inspiring. I never knew magic existed, and to see it in action. You are incredible.”
Valentin grabbed her waist without warning and shoved her into the restroom. With a resounding click, he locked the door behind them and then walked to each stall, kicking them open. When he found no one, he captured a bewildered Amorette by the hips and hoisted her onto the vanity.
“No, you… you are fucking incredible.” He slammed his mouth to hers, and with a moan, she opened her legs for him. He accepted the invitation, pushing his painfully hard cock against her core, thrusting gently to show her just how amazing he truly found her.
“Valentin,” she gasped, biting his lip. She ached everywhere for him, her body wild and out of control in desperate need of the relief only he could give her.
“I can’t do this.” He twisted her dark hair around his fist and yanked her head back until their gazes met. His eyes traced her lips, her throat, the swell of her breasts, and Amorette felt his gaze as clearly as if it was a physical touch.
“Why not?” she asked, arousal clouding her rational brain. All she could think about was how hard he was between her thighs, how desperately she wanted him to rip off her clothes in this upscale bathroom.
Valentin started to retreat.
“No.” She locked her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. “Why can’t you have me? Is it my consent? You have it.”
“I would never take you without that, my gorgeous girl.” He lowered his mouth to hers, stopping just shy of her lips. “But you are forbidden for me. I can’t have you. I’ll ruin you.”
“I don’t care.”
“You should. A Cupid cannot get involved with a mortal. It ruins their chances of finding love, and I’m afraid I’ve already destroyed any future you might have had. I’m not good for you.”
“I don’t care.” She closed the distance, taking his mouth rough as her tongue licked his lips, begging for access.
“You only say that because it’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m Cupid,” Valentin groaned as he struggled to resist her perfection. “My power’s enhanced on this holiday, and it’s clouding your emotions. I can’t have you. I won’t ruin you.”
“I’ve felt different ever since we met in my café.” Her hand slid to his throat and gripped tight, surprising him as she took control and forced him to face her. With slow sensual rolls of her hips, she ground against him, owning his throat in her grip. “Your magic might be supernatural, but this between us is everyday magic. The kind that threads a man and a woman together. Don’t tell me my emotions are clouded, because, for the first time, they aren’t. So, ruin me, Cupid. Ruin me for any other man.”
Amorette watched his control crumble, and Valentin stepped back, grabbing the waistband of her jeans. He yanked them down until her lower half was bare and then stood frozen, studying her thighs with an almost critical expression. For a breathless moment, she worried he didn’t like what he saw, but then he knelt like a man come to worship.
“I don’t deserve something this beautiful,” he said as he gripped the back of her knees and dragged her to the edge of the counter. She yelped at the sudden movement, but her voice dissolved into a moan as his tongue found her clit. He started slowly, tasting her, licking her, sucking her. He savored her as if she was decadent chocolate, and Amorette threaded her fingers through his ice-blond hair, staring in awe at how divine he looked as he devoured her like he was starving.
“Oh my god, Valentin,” she moaned. She’d never felt a man’s tongue do that. Or that… and definitely not that. “Oh my god, I’m going to come.”
“Stop calling out to God, Amor.” Valentin pulled back, her arousal dripping from his chin as he pushed two fingers inside her, and she arched off the counter at the exquisite pleasure. “He can’t help you. No one can, for you’re mine now, and I own what is mine. I protect and care for what’s mine. Say you belong to me. Tell me I own this pretty pussy, that it’s mine alone to fuck.”
“It’s yours,” she moaned.
“Say it again, Amor.”
“I’m yours. All of me. I don’t want anyone else.”
“Good girl.” He leaned down, timing each lick with the pumps of his fingers, and Amorette’s vision blurred at the edges. “Tell me how I’m the only one who will ever worship you like this, Amor,” he growled against her.
“Valentin.” She was barely coherent as her climax raced to the surface.
“Don’t you dare come.” He pulled his lips away as he added a third finger, stretching her deliciously. “You don’t get to until I say so, and I need to hear your promise first. I want your voice, Amor. I want it filthy while I bury my tongue inside you.”
“Harder, Cupid.” Amorette fisted his hair, shoving his face back to where they both wanted it. “This pussy is yours. Please, fill me to overflowing… fuck, right there... Stretch me until I’m ready to take your cock, because if I’m yours, then you are mine and only mine. Oh… don’t stop.”
She was practically screaming as she rode his face. If his fingers were any indication of how he fucked, she would be ruined. She couldn’t take the bliss. It was all-consuming. Violent in its hunger, and her body raced for the finish line with an urgency she’d never experienced.
Without warning, the bathroom door rattled, and they both froze as someone pounded on it.
“Ignore it—” Valentin started.
“If you don’t unlock this door, I am calling the police,” a male voice boomed, and both Amorette and Valentin stifled a laugh. If only they knew law enforcement was already racing for this restaurant. “We received complaints about this bathroom. Please open this door before we have to involve the authorities.”
Valentin stood and helped Amorette into her pants with a wink as he tucked her panties into his pocket. “Guess I’m going to keep you on edge a little while longer,” he murmured against her mouth, and Amorette desperately tried to ignore both the orgasm hovering just below her surface and the knowledge that he’d called her Amor while he knelt between her thighs. Yes, it was part of her name, but the way he said it felt different. It felt like love. Love she’d never experienced before.
Valentin threaded his fingers through hers and dragged her to the door, unlocking it and shoving out so fast the restaurant employee stumbled back in surprise. “Excuse us,” he said with a wink as he pulled her close, aiming for the street.
“You’re awful,” Amorette laughed, releasing his hand to wrap an arm around his waist. She hugged him tight as they moved for his bike, and Valentin instinctively draped his arm over her shoulder. The movement was natural, so terribly normal, as if they’d walked like this a thousand times, and that odd emotion struck her again. He was wrong. This wasn’t some side effect of his power or the holiday. This was fate. He was her future, and she suddenly worried about what would happen after they found Cavitto. Amorette didn’t want him to leave her. She couldn't shake the sensation, but her conviction grew with each passing second. They were destined to find each other. They were supposed to fight together as a team. There was no other explanation for why she’d fallen in love with this man before she ever learned his name.