Beyond Control(36)

"Mmm." He pressed his thumb to her clit again. "I will chain you up, love. Soon. Only question is where and how."

She couldn't hold back her pleasure--or her plea. "Yes." The first tiny waves trembled through her, and she welcomed them. Rode them higher. "Any way you want, baby."

"Fuck." His head fell back as he arched, sloshing more water around them.

The brink. He was right there with her, maybe always had been, and it was enough to shake loose what was left of her control. Enough to tumble her into the sort of ecstasy that left her clinging to the only solid thing in the storm surrounding her.

Dallas.

As if she'd said his name out loud, he answered with a groan of release.

The water settled along with Lex's frantic breaths, and she lifted her face from the crook of Dallas's neck. "Jesus."

Grinning, Dallas pushed damp hair back from her cheek. "Yeah, that got a little out of hand. I can't seem to keep my cock out of you."

"I've noticed," she teased. "I was talking about all the damn water on my floor."

"It does seem like there's a whole lot less of it in the tub."

As if she really gave a shit about the water with him inside her and hot aftershocks still pulsing through her. "You wrecked me and my bathroom. And I feel pretty good about it."

He leaned up to claim a lazy kiss before biting her lip. "Hope you still feel good when I give you homework to do while I'm out conquering."

"Will I get detention if I slack off?"

"Sector Four-style detention. You'll be bending over the teacher's desk for sure."

She smiled slowly. "I'll be sure not to do my assignments, then."

"Bad girl." Dallas caught her chin and gave her a faux-stern glare. "A good girl would spend the night thinking of more fantasies. And if getting bent over a desk counted, it could top what needs to be a very long list."

"How long of a list are we talking about here?"

"Fewer than ten would be disappointing."

"And what do you plan to do with all these fantasies?"

He smiled.

No words, but the question had been rhetorical anyway. There was only one thing he'd ever do with a literal list of her deepest desires clutched in his fist.

He'd make every single one happen.

Lex arched an eyebrow. "Should I have Noelle help me with them?"





Chapter Fourteen



Dusk was a perfect time to survey his new empire.

Standing atop the tallest building left in Three, Dallas watched the twisted maze of alleys and broken-down streets come to life as the sun dipped behind the distant hills. Eden was already alight, of course, its looming walls dominating the skyline, a constant reminder of the avalanche of power waiting to descend upon them.

Not that Three needed a reminder. Entire city blocks were nothing but rubble-filled ruins here, silent testament to what happened when councilmen felt threatened. The first man to claim Three had moved too fast, consolidating profit and power with blind greed. He'd thought possession of the largest surviving electronics factory made him immune to reprisals.

And it had--for as long as it took Jim Jernigan to bring a competing factory online in Eight. The next night, Eden blew a third of Sector Three back to the Dark Ages.

And most of the sector hadn't managed to claw their way out of it yet. Dallas watched fires spring to life in barrels up and down the uneven roads. Here and there, signs of electricity flickered on, a soft glow spilling from windows or the flickering neon of a prized bar sign. But the streetlights remained dark, even in sections that clearly had power.

Fucking figured. Nobody who'd set foot outside after dark in this hellhole would want the streets well lit.

Dallas glanced at the silent man at his side. "Quite a prize I won us, huh?"

Jasper snorted and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's a pile of shit, but now it's your pile of shit. Time to get to work, I guess."

True enough. "Don't worry, Jas. If these guys we're meeting aren't complete idiots, you'll have plenty of time left over to play with your girl."

"Tonight's business. I'm good with that." Jasper surveyed the growing darkness. "Ace got that intel on Gareth Woods from his friend with connections in the city. You won't like it."

"Yeah?" Tension knotted Dallas's shoulders, but he refused to let it bleed into his voice. "So rip the Band-Aid off."

"Looks like he's back in play."

"Fuck." His hands ached, and he realized he'd clenched his fists. All the time he'd spent chasing the ghost Woods had become, and of course he surfaced now, when there was no time. "What's our old friend up to?"

Jasper met his gaze, grave and serious. "The rumor? He's climbing in bed with Fleming over in Five."

It would take all night to untangle the implications--and the enemies. Trent, who'd died trying to kill Dallas. Fleming, who'd always been a knife at Dallas's back. Gareth Woods, who'd tried to settle a score with Noelle's father by framing the man for his own daughter's death.

How the hell were they all connected? Woods and Trent had attacked within a week of each other, but had that been a sign of collusion or merely coincidence? Trent had had a backer, no doubt, someone with access to city resources.

Sighing, he rubbed at the back of his neck. All the good Lex had done with her clever fingers was long gone. "What a f*cking mess."

"Uh-huh." Jasper stretched his neck to one side until it cracked. "First Trent in Three, and now Sector Five. Starts to look like a flanking maneuver. Like Woods wants to choke you out, nice and slow."

"I should have seen this coming." Woods had tried to assassinate Noelle--and had shot Lex instead. From that moment, he'd been marked for death, and Dallas was pretty f*cking sure he knew it, judging by how paranoid he'd gotten about his security. "He probably thinks Noelle's darling daddy and I are plotting against him. If he wasn't in bed with a sector leader before this, I should have figured he'd find one."

Jasper grunted. "He's blown the biggest advantage he had--we can see him coming."

"They always do underestimate us." He nodded to the broken streets spread out beneath them. "Which could very well make this a distraction, if Cerys is in on it."

"Eh, they handed you Three because they have nothing to lose. You take all the risks, do all the work, and they sit back and collect. It's a no-brainer."

"There's your problem, Jas. You're talking lots of sense and only a little bit of greed." Movement below caught his eyes, and he watched a group make its way through the shadows. "Do you know what it takes to run a sector?"

He answered with a low laugh. "If I did, you'd have to watch your back."

"Damn right." Excitement was building in Dallas's gut now, anticipation of the thrill that came with matching wits against an enemy. The men from Three would be here soon, and he'd get to play his favorite game. "We're all f*cking insane, and damn near suicidally obsessed with more. Nothing's ever enough for us."

Jasper leaned against the wall of a small hut that had been built on the rooftop. "So I'm learning."

More than a little chiding in his tone, or maybe Dallas only imagined it. He bared his teeth in a grin. "Is this where I tell you I can quit any time I want?"

"Come on, man. You know it's a lie. You love this too much."

It was true, but that wasn't the whole reason. "And I can't stomach the idea of taking orders from anyone dumb enough to want my job."

Jasper grinned. "We all like you well enough, raging insanity and all."

"Gee, thanks. I love you, too."

He raised both eyebrows and pulled his cigarette case out of his vest pocket. "Don't let Lex hear that. She'll get jealous."

Somehow, Dallas doubted it. "Man, she'd sell tickets. And since she's probably going down on your woman right now, I think you and I are f*cking well stuck with each other."

"So that's that. You and Lex." Jasper struck his lighter and touched the flame to the end of his cigarette. "You gonna go ahead and mark her? Enough with this collar bullshit?"

"When she's ready." Which wasn't the same thing as willing. Sometimes he thought he might be able to talk her into wearing ink now, but one thing held him back.

Do you trust me?

As much as I trust anyone.

He'd get a yes out of her. And then he'd claim her.

"She'll get there." Jasper offered the lit cigarette to Dallas and pulled another from the case. "Even when she's not with you, she's thinking about you."

Words to make any man smug. "She damn well better be."