Chapter 30
Bastian led Eleanor into Vortex. He kept a hand against her lower back, his fingers itching to creep beneath the hemline of her top. “I’ll be around, sugar. You do what you need to do. Business as usual, like we discussed.”
“Right.” She’d been tense all evening. Even now, her muscles were bunched beneath her uniform. She wore black slacks, a black button down, and a deep purple blazer tailored to fit her curves just right.
He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. “He won’t lay a finger on you, baby girl. Even if he’s here. You’ll be safe.”
She bit her lip, obvious nerves pouring off her.
The soft waves of her pink hair tickled his cheek. “Do you trust me?” Part of him was afraid to know the answer.
“Yes.” Her throat bobbed.
“Good.” His shoulders relaxed. “Now, have a good shift.” He let his hand slide down to the curve of her ass, gave it a gentle squeeze, then smiled at the sound of her hitching breath. She threw a sassy glare at him then sauntered off.
The gold ring he'd given her still circled her finger. He could use it to warn her, if necessary. The vantage point he selected up on one of the balconies made it easy to track her pink hair as she wove through the growing crowd, tray in hand, delivering drinks.
He watched, eyes transfixed, as she smiled and spoke to a group of customers.
One of them, a tall male, said something.
She threw her head back and laughed. His gut tightened and heat burst through him.
He forced the jealous feelings aside, pushed them down deep, and did what he needed to do. His fucking job.
He knew the moment he’d decided on this plan, it wasn’t going to be easy.
If circumstances were different, he’d have tied Eleanor to his bed for the next week and claimed her thoroughly.
Claimed her the way his instinct demanded.
Instead, he was stuck watching her give her attention to others during the most volatile time in his life.
It was unlikely that Luke would show. Still, he needed to take the opportunity, just in case. If it wasn’t tonight, eventually word would spread that Eleanor had returned to work. He’d come. Someone stupid enough to go traipsing around a goblin’s property was stupid enough to come looking.
“Do I want to know why you’re lurking in my club, Enforcer?” Eaden appeared beside him, keeping to the shadows. He offered a low, warning growl. His only answer. “Work business, then? Because you haven’t taken your eyes off her.”
“It’s none of your concern, Shifter.”
“My employees are my concern, Goblin.”
“She’s not yours,” he bit out.
“Whether you like it or not, she’s mine to—”
“No,” he hissed, rounding on Eaden. “She is mine. She works for you—and probably not for too much longer, if I have any say. But she belongs to me.” The words were out before he could stop them, and they revealed too much. This was what he’d tried to warn Eleanor about—this side of him.
Eaden wasn’t slow. The shifter saw the words for what they were. He inhaled, nostrils flaring. Sudden realization passed over the shifter’s features. He backed away a step and nodded.
“Keep her safe, then, Bas. And let me know if you need anything.” With that, he was gone.
The next six hours passed painfully slowly.
Bastian’s muscles were aching and tense.
Every new interaction between Eleanor and her customers had him fighting the urge to jump from the shadows and interfere.
His eyes darted to every face, every head of shaggy blond hair, searching.
Luke did not appear. He wasn’t sure if he should be furious, or relieved.
When last call was announced, the club’s patrons began filtering out.
Then the music died down, and the remainder of lingerers were ushered from the building by Eaden’s bouncers.
They’d given him one look and steered clear, leaving him to the shadows where he waited as Eleanor did her closing duties and side work.
When she emerged from behind the bar, untying her apron and hanging it up, he crept out. She stood speaking to one of the other servers. Both their eyes fell on him and her co-worker’s widened; she elbowed Eleanor.
“All done, sugar?” he said at the same time Eleanor whirled to face him.
“Oh. Bastian, this is Kaylee. Kaylee, Bastian. Kaylee is one of my friends,” she added, by way of explanation.
“Nice to meet you, Kaylee.” He held out a hand, which he didn’t usually do around skittish females. Kaylee eyed it for several moments, swallowed, then tentatively reached forward. He gave her a gentle shake then turned back to Eleanor.
“Ready?”
“Right. Yes. See you around Kay?”
“You’ll be here tomorrow?”
“Yup.”
Kaylee nodded, then reached forward and pulled Eleanor into an embrace. “Take care of yourself, then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She threw a glare at Bastian as she said it, as if he were some kind of liability to Eleanor.
He snorted and started walking away. Eleanor caught up a moment later.
He nodded at several lingering bouncers who waited around to walk the employees to their cars.
Awareness crawled over his skin, and he glanced over his shoulder.
He caught sight of Eaden in the shadows near the back hallway, his arms crossed.
The club’s owner watched him, then nodded.
He gave one in return, then placed a protective hand at Eleanor’s lower back and ushered her from the building.
“No Luke, I take it?” she asked, once they were out of hearing distance.
The street was silent. His bike appeared and he pulled on a bit of magic to summon her helmet and then his.
She fitted it onto her head. She always looked so damn sexy in that thing.
He summoned his jacket next, even though there was no danger of crashing.
She’d been worried about it the first night.
What he hadn’t told her was that his magic was capable of protecting her if anything were to happen.
So, technically, she didn’t need the extra gear.
The helmet was great simply for the com system.
But the jacket? He just liked seeing her in his clothes.
He made a point of helping her into it, knowing she could damn well put it on herself.
It smelled like him, and the idea of her wrapped in his scent triggered something primal in his brain.
She huffed but didn’t complain. After spending an entire evening watching her, he wanted to put his hands all over her—could hardly wait to get her home.
“All set?” he asked, his words strained. She nodded.
They sped through the city. He took the curves gently, even with her arms wrapped around him, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
Every shift of her thighs against him, every time she tightened her arms, or rubbed her palms up and down his abdomen, he practically growled, tempted to pull over and rut her on the side of the road.
When her hand sank down and palmed his cock over his jeans, she discovered the truth. He was hard as iron; it was entirely her doing. “If you’re trying to tease me on purpose,” he bit out, “it’s working. Obviously.”
Her gentle giggle made him shiver with anticipation. He revved the bike and accelerated. She squealed. A grin spread across his face.
They entered Kentwood and soon he was pulling up the tree lined drive, then into the garage. He hit the button to close the door behind them.
His heart kicked up a notch as they climbed off and he removed his helmet. She removed hers, shaking out her hair. His cock twitched. He studied the sensual movements of her neck, his mouth watering at the sight of her.
“I’ll take that,” he said, his voice gruff. The helmet disappeared, followed by the jacket, which he hadn’t bothered giving her time to remove.
“Fancy trick for a fancy goblin,” she cooed. “Are my clothes next?”
“Saucy female,” he purred. The thought of removing her clothes with the sweep of a hand was too tempting. His glamor wavered. Before he could stop himself, he pulled energy from his metals and channeled it into magic.
She shrieked as her clothes melted into nothing. “Bastian! I was—fuck. I was joking!”
Her hands went to cover her breasts, and her legs crossed together, thighs pressing tight. A brief flash of regret overcame him. Had he gone too far? Damn it. “I’m… I shouldn’t have done that. I can give them back.”
She blinked a few times. Then a grin spread across her features. She dropped her arms and closed the distance, sauntering up to him. “No need.”
The sight of her naked, standing beside a two-hundred-thousand-dollar car, made him groan. His glamor wavered for a final time before disappearing entirely.
“Oops,” she pouted, looking him over, taking in the changes like his pointed ears and gray skin. “Did I do that?” She ran a hand down his chest lower and lower, her path obvious.
He slapped a hand over hers, halting her motions, pinning her palm against his abdomen. “That’s far enough,” he managed.
Her eyes lifted to his and she caught her full bottom lip between her teeth, suddenly looking shy.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” he whispered. “You know what happens next, I hope?”
She licked her lips and nodded. “I… Yes.”
“I would warn you, but I’m not sure there’s any stopping this.”
The corner of her mouth twitched and she said, “You mean, now’s not the time to run?”
“Running is the absolute worst thing you should do around me right now.”
“Is that a dare?” Her words came out breathy.
“It—”
She ripped her hand from beneath his and darted around him, breaking into a sprint for the door leading into the house.
For a split second, every coherent thought slid from his mind.
A primal roar rose from his chest then burst free.
He lunged for her, catching her just as she reached for the doorknob.
His arms wrapped around her, dragging flush against him.
The feel of her naked, soft skin beneath his palms short-circuited his brain.
A delighted giggle burst from her chest and she all but collapsed into him. He wanted to devour her, to possess her, to fuck her until he was imprinted between her pretty thighs, so that every time she saw him, her pussy tightened in memory of him.
“That, baby girl, was a very bad decision.” He was already walking them forward, keeping a tight hold on her, until her body was pinned flush to the door, his chest pressing tight against her back.
Her breathing turned to panting, and damn.
He lifted her hair away, then licked up the column of her neck, covering her in his scent, tasting her skin, nuzzling against her.
“Are you wet for me, little female?” He already knew the answer. His voice was pitched lower, a goblin’s voice.
“Maybe,” she whispered, half-heartedly squirming against him, as if she were going anywhere. No, he wasn’t letting her go.
Not now.
Not ever.
He blinked, regaining a modicum of rational thought.
What the fuck was he doing?! Was he going to fuck her right here against a door in the garage?
Growling, he wrenched himself backwards.
He hauled her from the door, keeping her firmly tucked against his chest, and opened the door, walking her in, guiding her through the house and up the stairs, then into his bedroom.
She kept giggling the whole way, tiny bursts of delight escaping her. She hadn’t been drinking—he’d watched her closely. No, these little giggles… They were because of him. Heat radiated from his chest. She was happy because of him.
He turned her to face him. Using more restraint than he thought possible, he said, “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. I would never. So if you don’t want this, you need to tell me now, because the moment I get started…”
“You won’t stop?”
He ran a hand over the shaved side of his scalp. “I would never hurt you, Elle, baby. If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop. I’m not that much of a beast.”
“Well, you look like one, and I’m completely here for it,” she said. “I’m serious, it’s freaking hot. You know that right? Like—” She twirled her pointer finger in circles. “This whole goblin thing. It makes me wet.”
He groaned. “Not helping, baby girl. Just answer my question before my control snaps. And no talking of—that. Not until I can unleash myself.”
She huffed, reigning in a smug smile. “I didn’t lie this morning when I told you I haven’t been properly fucked in a while. In case you’re wondering, a while translates to years. Like, zero sex at all. So, I don’t know why you’re still standing there when I’m dripping onto my thighs—”
He was on her in a blink, his mouth fitted over hers, silencing her, turning her words to gentle mews and sighs as his tongue claimed hers.
His arms wrapped around her body, lifting her to bring her closer, until she wrapped her legs around his hips.
The warm heat of her bared pussy pressed against his jeans, left him cursing under his breath.
He carried her to the bed and gently deposited her.
She was naked, and flushed, and entirely his.
His movements turned urgent as he jerked out of his shirt and shucked off his jeans. He stood motionless, letting her look her fill. This little female had no fucking idea what she was in for. But she was about to find out.