I would have to bargain with something other than my body; the man was a Siren, he had no use for me, and I had no intention of using that form of compensation ever again. "How much is your honor worth?"

He chuckles, grinning broadly; it almost looks contorted on his long face. The olive skin and facial hair on his slender cheeks look out of place against the bright white teeth. The colors contrast too starkly. 

"I am not a lycan; honor means nothing to me. But. What I would like, my dear, is a free pass. I quite like this place; I wish to stay. But, as a Siren, I must feed on some... souls.." He flips his hand casually. "At my concerts, I get to keep a soul or two... You keep the peace and allow me free passage; I'm old; I won't take in excess."

Lives. Countless lives for the rest of our time on this earth in exchange for information. It seemed like a meager offering for the rest of the world. "I'd have to ask Randy-"

Holding up one finger, he raises his eyebrows. "He listens to you." His voice is calm; he watches me intensely as his tongue rolls over his upper lip, "You decide, Mr.Matesscu." 

I allowed my gaze to fall on David Malcom, surprised at how quickly Tiberius had discovered who had the final say between my dynamic with my warlord. While it was true that he was a major driving force, he had recently proven that my word was his gospel. The man loved me; if I told him to pardon Tiberius, I was confident he would do it. "You must deliver. If we get no information, then there is no deal."

Tiberius chuckles, patting me firmly on the shoulder. "Of course, of course. So.. it's a deal."

Feeling like I'd made a deal with the devil, I shake his hand in one firm gesture. Standing up, we approach the infamous agent, who glances up from a mouth full of food with a wave of disinterest. Swallowing, he dusts his hand off on his coat and offers it to me.

"Good to see you, Nicolas. Good to see that you're done pretending to be dead." I refuse his hand, and he winks, elbowing me in the side. "I'm just kidding. Ya take everything so seriously. Hey, who would have thought that ol' Ronnie would have gotten the golden goose with the gray one, am I right? I bet he's rollin' in the dough. Ya did good for yourself, good ta see. Universe be damned, am I right?"

A good political leader does not allow their face to convey their plan. A good leader remains composed in the face of idiocy. Forcing a smile, I cross my arms neatly over my chest. "Quite." I allow, drifting closer to Tiberius for the mental support. "Mr.Malcom, can I ask you a question? For old time's sake?"

"Sure, bird. Whatever ya want." He says over the sandwich he crams in his mouth.

Lowering my voice, I take a step closer to him. "Do you take me for a damned fool? Did you think I wouldn't find out you were working with Red?"

He drops the sandwich, staring at me before flicking his attention to Tiberius with a hard swallow. Nervously, he starts to laugh.

"And you show your damn face here as if you own the place? I must say, Mr.Malcom, I wish I had your balls and sense of entitlement."

Tiberius laughs, "Would you like me to get them for you? His balls? We could bronze them, maybe."

The thought amuses me as David tries to slip past me, but I stop him, standing in his way, only to have Tiberius block him from the other side. But David was no fool; he understood what I could do to him. "So what, you are gonna torture me, too?" That accent slips out, and I sigh heavily.

"No, David, we've proven that that doesn't work with you. Instead, I have a better idea. You will accompany Tiberius to the hotel and extract the files I require about Master Gabriel." Rapidly, he starts to shake his head, and in a fit of rage, I grab his tie and harshly yank him down to my level.

"Listen here, you common filth. My patience is at a record low. You will do this; you will do this with a damned smile because if you don't, I will hand you over to this Siren, and he will have you fucking your damn grandmother on Times Square. Do you need a demonstration?" 

Horrified, David's mouth hangs open, his gaze shifts to the Siren, who looks as if he wants nothing to do with my threat. On my last thread, I promptly grabbed the man's face. "Do I look as if I have the bandwidth for you today? Or would you rather I hand you back over to Mr.Mercer?"

Relaxing back from my form, he nods, raising his hands in quiet defeat as he finishes chewing the bit of bread in his mouth. "Alright, alright. I hear you. Alright. I will do it."

I released him with a firm shove; this sexual frustration was driving me crazy, to the point where my stomach was beginning to ache. My pants felt too tight, my body had begun to sweat, and my nipples were hypersensitive to every shift of my shirt against them. I was losing my mind, slowly going insane, and these people were pushing me closer to my breaking point. 

"Disappoint me, betray my friend, do anything beyond what is expected from you, David, and I will personally see to it that you're alive to see this universe burn to the damn ground. Now get out of my face."

Tiberius snags his arm and drags the man away; I run a hand through my hair in frustration, and my body practically quivers from the restraint. I catch a glimpse of Verando as he walks offstage, speaking with the producer. He looks too relaxed for what he was putting me through. I

 turn on my heel and cross the short space to him, snaking my arm around his in an attempt to look the part of the doting husband. The producer greets me with a nod. "Such a thrilling story, gentlemen. A true modern-day love story..." Clasping his hands, he sighs dreamily. "I wish you the most happiness in France."

I thank him, forgiving myself for the rude departure, as I drag Verando away, unable to stand it any longer. Verando attempts to slow our pace, but I'm unyielding, pulling him to one of the dressing rooms to shove him in and slam the door. Surprised by my boldness, his eyebrows raise as I tackle him onto the hard couch.

With a grunt, he breaks the fall as gracefully as he can while I straddle his hips and claim his mouth. Pushing my fingers under his coat, I yanked it off his shoulders and fumbled with the buttons on his suit before giving up and working on my own.

"Get naked," I growl at him.

With a chuckle, he unhooks the front buttons on his suit before resting his hands over mine. I jerk on his belt. "Are you struggling?"

"Never.Again." I tell him shortly, cursing under my breath as I clutch his face once more and press my lips to his, savoring the taste of him, the feel of his mouth against mine. "I'm not asking."

"I had plans, you know." My warlord manages, sliding his tongue against my lower lip, I groan as I deepen the kiss before I defiantly grasp his belt and unhook it. Working to unzip his fly, I desperately pull him free of the confines of his boxers.

"Me too." I can tell by the impressive erection that he wants me just as badly as I wanted him. I stand to unfasten my pants, remove the toy with an embarrassingly desperate noise, and throw it in the trash with as much malice as possible. Verando looks at me with such adoration as I stand before me that it brings color back to my cheeks once more. "What?" I manage, climbing back onto his lap to rest my forearms on his shoulders and tangle my fingers in his hair.

With a slight smile, he brushes his nose against mine, making me pause as I position myself, stroking upward on his shaft with my palm. He's as slick and hot as I am, throbbing against my fingers as our eyes meet. "I just think I need to get more of those. You're positively ravishing when you're out of your mind, begging for me like this."

I lower myself onto him and inhale sharply. Verando curses under his breath, and for a moment, I wonder if he'd already finished. "Absolutely getting more of those. You feel incredible. Your whole body is shaking."

Unable to scratch the itch deep within me, I force myself lower until I'd taken every last inch of him, desperation with every breath, my head rolls to the side as I relish in the feel of him filling me. "God, you feel so good." I manage, "Next one goes inside you, and I get the remote."

Without my permission, my body starts to move, losing myself as I rest my palms on his knees. His hands rest on my hips, allowing me to take my revenge as my overcharged body sings. In this position, every thrust feels like it is shooting through me, raw, hot, so deliciously deep. My body was on fire, my nerves in overdrive, I gasp as his hand wraps around my cock to stroke with the motion of my hips.

I can't help but get caught up in the fantasy, "Question me." I plead. "Make me tell you everything."

His hands grasp my wrists, holding them behind my back so he can see me. I clench my teeth at the restriction, my shoulder throbs, my lips part as he uses my wrists as leverage to thrust within me. "I saw you talking with the Siren. Were you plotting against me?"

I shake my head, refusing to talk, only to flinch as he bounces me in his lap mercilously. Much as I was enjoying myself, my warlord was on the edge of his tolerance. Verando moans low in his throat, "You're so damned tight." He manages, "Relax."

I fight to keep my volume low, biting my lower lip as hard as I can stand it. "So hot." I plead, digging my nails into his thighs as my hips roll against him. "We were just having a chat-"

"Don't lie to me." My warlord snarls. The angle is too intense, I fight against his hold on my wrists, wanting to lean forward, wanting ot kiss him. 

"I was talking about David Malcom!" This piques his interest, and he tilts his head. I feel him grow within me, "God, I'm so close. Please don't stop." I'm climbing, moving quicker against him as I shut my eyes and savor the feeling.

"Why were you doing that?" He inquires, gripping my hair, forcing my head back to look at him as he captures my lips, invading my mouth with his tongue.

"He knows something about Gabriel. Tiberius is taking him to the hotel for information."

I can hardly contain it, my chest heaving. Breaking free of the bonds of his slack hands, I throw my scarf into my lap as I finish; I didn't want to come on his suit and risk anyone finding out about this atrocity. For his trouble, I should have used his face, I think quietly to myself.

Once I come out of the fog, I notice he's not as enthralled with our lovemaking as I am.

"What?" I pant, brushing my hair out of my face. Verando's expression is hard to read as he watches me with concern, confusion, and frustration over my acting without his approval.

Finally, he unthaws. "And you trust David Malcom and Tiberius to go, together, to the hotel with all this knowledge?"

When he says it like that, I lose some confidence in myself. He wasn't there to hear the conversation between Tiberius and me. Steadying my breathing, I tried to clear my head and focus on soothing this situation. "Did-" He pinches the bridge of his nose with a grumble before sighing, shaking his head in exasperation. "Did you consider what that could do to our plan? For the love of the gods, Nic, I wish you had waited."

"I was trying to help!" I retort, unable to believe his reaction to what I thought was a good plan. He often did things without consulting me; he should be thrilled. I took this off our plate. "Don't be such a jerk! I'm more than capable of making decisions for myself, even with you torturing me!"

With a scoff, he moves to stand, but I shove him back against the couch, feeling the taut muscle beneath my fingertips. We were stuck in limbo, upset with each other, yet so close that stepping out of the scene and back into reality proved difficult. He hadn't finished yet; still inside me, I can't help but move my hips once more.

My warlord rolls his eyes heavily, "You're a brat. I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"Then stop being an ass and fuck me."

"Right, that's what you're really after, isn't it? To hell with anything else." The complaint falls short as he stands, pushing me off his lap before spinning me around, slamming my chest against the wall as he yanks my hips backward. I shove myself onto him as he thrusts inside of me, overwhelming me with a whole new level of need that brings me to another earth-shattering orgasm.

The free hand grabs the nape of my neck, lowering me as I use the wall for balance, and he uses me for his pleasure. I feel like I'm in a daze, yet my body can't stop responding as he takes me so entirely. 

Sore and aching, I push him backward for an attempt at a break, only for him to throw me over the back of the couch, leaving me exposed to his will.

Bent over, legs forced apart, I struggle to right myself, as I feel him spread me, shoving the hard member back into my depths while I cry out at the discomfort. Clutching the back of the couch, I can hardly glance up at him as he lifts my leg to hook my knee to the top of the furniture. His other hand clutches my throat, kissing the base of my neck as he moans so deliciously in my ear.

Snaking my hands backward, I hold onto him however I can, gripping at his hair, neck, shoulders, and jacket. "Slower, it's too much." I plead, gritting my teeth as his hand leaves my knee to grip my hip, pulling me back against him in punishment for daring to ask for mercy.

"Shut up and take it." His voice is hard against my neck. "Cry if you need to cry, cum if you need to cum, I'm not done with you."

I didn't dare change my position, clinging to him, coming apart at the seams as he sheaths himself to the hilt with every thrust. Those strong hands pin me against him so firmly as he loses himself inside of me, cursing, struggling with the concept that maybe I was not too fond of it when he sank his teeth into me. 

Instead, he opted to nearly crush me with the force with which I'm held.

My feet weren't even touching the floor; I clung to him for dear life. As he surfaces from the ecstasy, he must realize the position that I'm in, for he puts me down almost too quickly. My legs don't work, and I slump onto the back of the couch, finding him in much the same position, his hands on either side of mine. As time went on, I was seeing more and more lycan traits in my lover, traits that continued to catch me off guard. 

Verando was always gentle with me; if it weren't for his size and physical differences, I might even forget that he was a man harboring a wolf. Yet moments like this reminded me just how much he withheld, how careful he truly was with me, the bruises he'd left on my skin would melt into the others. I wouldn't dare tell him just how much I liked the way he lost himself, for I could sense the worry before he even spoke.

He bows his head as he rides out the fatigue, and I don't bother trying to right myself. Kissing the base of my neck, my cheek, and the top of my head, the regret lingers below the surface as he pants. "Are you alright? I don't know what's come over me.. this, gods, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I think I'm starting to understand how one could become a masochist." I manage, cupping his cheek with my hand to kiss his neck. "You can impale me whenever you want; I'm a willing participant. If I die, I'll die happy."

It isn't often I can make him blush; the man widens his eyes and clears his throat as he takes a step back from me to pull up my pants and then create some distance as he attempts to get himself back in order. My eyes rake over his back, admiring the cut of the jacket as I fumble with my belt. "We can trust Tiberius."

His silence is deafening; I've caught him off guard. He doesn't have a rebuttal, but I'm satisfied with the evident embarrassment I've laid upon him. I'd genuinely caused him to be shy; all of this was worth it. "We're not finished discussing this, but I have another interview I'm now quite late for." 

Unapologetic, I stand to fix his hair. "There was a time when you would have taken me for at least one more round-" He covers my mouth, eyeing me sharply. I giggle against his hand as he releases me. "Well, we will have quite the story to tell them." I hook my arm in his and kiss the point of his shoulder. "I bet good money that we've terrified the staff."

Much as he might wish to argue, my banter had had the desired effect, and his expression softened just enough to assure me my request was being considered. With my favorite look, he kisses the top of my head. "Reassured, my love. There is no question of when you're enjoying yourself. Despite your crude behavior, during and post, I have to say I'm thoroughly smitten."