Maelstrom

Chapter 35: Too Deep Now

"I can explain ..." I began.

Ivan stopped and turned to look at me. Our arms were outstretched, a bridge connecting us, our entwined fingers locked on each other as he tried to pull me into his world, and I found myself afraid enough to resist. He backtracked and set his drink on the bar, then turned out the closest barstool to face me before sitting himself in it.

"Visible tattoos are practically a requirement to tend bar in a club like Asylum," he said, tracing the black tribal ink on my forearm with the tip of his middle finger. I shivered and felt the muscles of my sex tighten. "But real tattoos are so permanent, and potentially disadvantageous in another time and place, so not a wise choice for a chameleon."

He looked up to meet my eyes. "I'm not angry; I'm impressed." He pulled me closer, until I was clasped between his open legs. I could feel the hard bulge of his erection against my core. "And I'm starting to realize that you could be helpful to me in even more ways than I'd thought."

I felt his other hand on the back of my bare thigh, and my brain exploded. What was I doing? This was insane – completely, indefensibly insane. I licked my lips nervously, and felt Ivan's hand tighten on my leg in response. He stood, his face now mere inches from mine. I felt my head tilt back, my lips tracking his.

I tensed. "I can't," I breathed.

"I'm starting to hate those words," Ivan confided.

"Me, too." I ducked my head to escape that fiery gaze, but he brought my eyes back to his with a firm hand under my chin. I couldn't breathe. I closed my eyes, but that made it worse – I practically swooned like some paperback romance novel heroine. I snapped my lids open and met his storm-blue eyes.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked.

Everything. You. The way I lose control of my body and abandon all rational thought when I'm anywhere near you. "It's just happening a little fast," I gushed, falling back on the old stalling standby.

Ivan wasn't deterred. "We can take it slow," he promised.

"I don't think I can," I confessed, my voice barely a whisper.

"I can." I could feel his breath on my lips. His hand slid from my chin to cup the back of my head and neck.

"Really?" I sighed hopefully

"Probably not," he murmured, his other hand gliding under my skirt to grab the hot flesh bared by my thong. He closed the slender gap between us, and I felt my eyes flutter closed in helpless surrender.

"Hey, are there any leftov...?"

I nearly stumbled as Ivan released me. He was glaring furiously over my head, and I turned to see Mateo uncomfortably filling the balcony's entrance.

I ducked behind the bar, my face burning. Once again, I had completely lost all sense of anything in the world outside of him. Stupid, stupid ... I grabbed the bus bin of dishes and glasses.

"Sorry, Mateo," I apologized. I couldn't meet the bodyguard's eyes. "They ate it all. Excuse me." I squeezed the laden tub and my trembling body past him to the stairs and fled to the kitchen as fast as a pair of heels and several pounds of clattering glassware would allow.

After dropping my burden next to the dishwashing station, I made a beeline for the employee bathroom and locked the door behind me. The fluorescent lights made me wince. No, it wasn't the light – it was the face looking at me from the mirror. Dilated pupils, flushed cheeks, plumped scarlet lips – my thoughts couldn't have been clearer if I'd written "FUCK ME" in red lipstick on my forehead.