Victor stretched, languishing in the feel of Kimber in his arms. The past few days they’d barely made it out of the bedroom and when they had it had only been to spend time in the pool where they had indulged themselves in some very erotic waterplay. It was also where he’d found out just how long Kimber could stay underwater without coming up for a breath while she gave him the most mind-blowing blowjob of his entire life.

Kimber snuggled up in his arms with her fingers trailing down his chest and going lower, his cock twitching to life again. “You’re insatiable,” he quipped, chuckling.

“What? It’s been hours since we’ve done anything.” She pouted up at him playfully.

“That may be, but you’ve not eaten and I’m sure I heard Nellie leaving a tray a little while ago.” Victor grabbed her hand, stopping her descent. “Food first, play after.”

“You’re no fun when you’re being all serious.” She pouted even more, her plump lips moving to cover one of his nipples, biting it gently. “Food soon, play now.”

“Kimber, you’ll be the death of me.”

Rolling her over onto her back he quickly towered over her, smiling at her triumphant face. “Glad you’re seeing sense, darling.”

“You’re . . .”

Loud voices from downstairs had him up and moving before Kimber drew her next breath. He grabbed a robe and rushed out the door, cursing when he kicked the tray that Nellie had left and causing it to fly across the hallway. Plates, food, and juice went everywhere as he jumped over everything, using his speed to fly along and down the stairs, his ears picking up Flint’s outraged and angry tone and that of another voice he knew . . . Clarence Collins.

Slowing down, Victor, carried on, stopping on the bottom stair and crossing his arms to take in the two men facing off against each other.

“I told you downstairs, Flint. I’m here on official business and I must see him. This is not something I can speak to you about. I need Victor, so go and get him. Now.”

Flint stepped right up to Clarence, toe to toe, chest to chest. “And I told you, Clarence, that’s not happening. He’s busy, and not to be disturbed. Sorry, but you’ll have to deal with me. I’m his Head of Security and I can deal with anything . . . do you hear me? Anything, so just fucking tell me what’s got you so riled up?”

Victor debated remaining silent and allowing the scene to unfold. No doubt it would escalate to blows any second now, but a soft hand on his back alerted him to Kimber’s presence so he relented. “I’m here. Why don’t you two boys put your dicks away and calm down. There’s a lady present.”

Both heads swiveled in his direction, Flint reluctantly moving away from Collins with a scowl on his face as he apologized, “I’m sorry, boss, but he insisted it was official Directive business and that Magno himself sent him. Sorry, Kimber, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Kimber moved down the last few stairs, her body dressed in jeans and a baggy top, thank goodness. “That’s okay, Flint. Mister Collins, what brings you here?”

Clarence gave her a smile, tilting his head in greeting. “Miss, I’m glad to see you again, but I have some business with Mister Strong that needs his urgent attention.”

Victor saw a tic at the side of Clarence’s jaw, a sure sign the man was upset. Very upset. But it was Kimber who stepped forward again. “I asked you a question. Why are you here?”

Clarence glanced at her again and then back up to where Victor stood, locking eyes with him. “Victor, we need to talk.”

“Mister Collins, I’m not invisible and you are being incredibly rude. Why won’t you answer me? Are you here because of me? Is that it?” Kimber stepped right in front of Clarence who merely side-stepped away.

“I don’t mean to be rude but I have other business to attend to and I have a colleague arriving shortly who I need to pick up. My time is limited and I need to talk with Victor. Please, Miss, allow me to go about my business and I’ll be out of your way shortly.”

Kimber looked back at Victor then at Clarence again but Nellie appeared from nowhere and intervened. “Kimber, why don’t you come with me and we’ll get you something warm to eat? You’ve not had a decent meal in days. Come on now. The sooner we let them get their business done the sooner he’ll be away and you and Victor can be together again.”

Flint let out an audible sigh of relief as Kimber allowed Nellie to lead her away, albeit throwing daggers back at Clarence Collins. She looked at Victor. “Don’t be long.”

“I won’t, baby, and as soon as I’ve gotten rid of this idiot, I’ll be right along to get you.”

Clarence bristled but said nothing as Nellie led Kimber away and as soon as she was out of sight he opened his mouth but Victor held up his hand, halting him. “My office.”

He led the way, remaining silent until they were ensconced within the room that was far away from the kitchen, but more importantly it was sound proofed. Victor liked silence when he worked and not to be disturbed and he definitely didn’t want Kimber to hear what Collins was about to tell him. He was certain whatever it was pertained to his Bloodmate, he just wasn’t sure what it was . . . yet.

Victor stopped at the wall-to-ceiling window, his back to Flint and Clarence and took a deep breath before turning to face them. “I assume I’m not going to like what you’re about to tell me so just get on with it.”

Clarence had the good grace to look distressed as he started, “No, you won’t like it and I don’t like being the bearer of this news, Victor, but Kimber is still in danger. I’ve been interrogating Skotall these past days and he finally broke. I was only getting bits and pieces at first. His plan when he caught Kimber was to take her to a cabin in the Foothills and, not to be tactless, have his way with her. But, he was scared, and hiding something and I got to the root of that fear . . .”

Victor snarled, fear and anger growing rapidly inside him. “Just get to the end, Collins, tell me what’s coming.”

“I don’t have a name.” Clarence shook his head. “You won’t believe it but he was working for someone else and he called him, wait for it, Mister Big, yes, I know it’s ridiculous, but that’s the only name I could get from him. The other information he gave was that he was extremely powerful with magic. Now, I can’t tell you much more because he’s a gibbering mess right now. I had to use some extreme measures to get the information that I did and it might take some time for him to recover enough for me to have another go at him. But I had to tell you what I had and I’ve alerted Magno and Jana is on her way here. Magno is locating someone with magical abilities and will send them our way as soon as he can, but for now it’s just me and Jana with whoever else I can rope in from the local office. You have us at your disposal, Victor. We’ll do everything in our power to help you keep Kimber safe and apprehend this person . . . or better still, destroy him.”

Flint strode over to the wall, pressing a button and having a panel slide to reveal a well-stocked bar. “I need a drink. Anyone else?”

“Do you have a single malt? I could use one too.” Collins nodded.

Victor shook his head, processing every single word that had been said before replying, pacing back and forth. Anger and fear fighting for dominance within him at the thought of Kimber being in danger . . . or worse, being taken from him. “Fuck! Right. We can’t stay here. It’s not defensible. We can’t have someone that’s wielding magic coming here and blowing up the building. There’d be too many casualties and we couldn’t stop it. Not without others being injured, or worse.”

Flint agreed. “True. Where? What are you thinking, boss?”

Victor ran his properties through his mind quickly. “We need somewhere remote and where we can defend without worrying about humans being involved. Where we can bring the men and as much arms as we want. I also want you to source our own magician, if you get my meaning. We need someone strong and powerful and who won’t flinch at taking a life if the need arises. The only person we need to think about is Kimber. We keep her safe at all costs. Any man, or woman, coming with us needs to know that. They need to know that Kimber is their main priority and that if it comes to it, they will lay their damn life down for her.”

Flint nodded. “That’s a given, boss. They already know that. As soon as she arrived it was known. She’s your Bloodmate. I don’t need to say it but I will.”

“Good.” Victor nodded. “And I want her tagged. Today.”

Collins looked between them, frowning. “Tagged?”

Flint smirked. “Tagged.” He tapped the inside of his wrist. “We have some unique technology. Exclusive to us and no, you’re not getting your grubby hands on it. Yes, boss, I’ll get that organized and have one done by the end of today.”

“I’ve decided,” Victor said firmly. “We leave tonight for my place in the country, it’s near Lake Ozark and I have my own airstrip. It’s remote and has no neighbors. It’s set on the side of a lake, so I can say I want to show her one of my places as she loves water and swimming. She won’t suspect anything, I hope. There’s one road in and there are some extra cabins in the surrounding woods to house the men. Clarence, if you insist on being involved, you and Jana can stay in one of them but you can’t allow Kimber to see you. If she does then she’ll know something is wrong and I don’t want that . . . understood?”

“I do,” Clarence agreed. “But how do I get there without her knowing?”

“You can use my jet but don’t let Kimber see you. The airstrip is about a mile or so away from the house so you should be okay. As soon as Jana arrives, text and let us know and I’ll arrange for my pilot to bring you.” Victor turned to Flint. “Can you get Suzette to get the house ready for us? I know it’s short notice but I want it up and running, and fully stocked for our arrival. I don’t want Kimber having any inkling that this wasn’t planned.”

“On it.” Flint rushed away, tapping Clarence’s shoulder as he went. “Tell Jana I look forward to seeing her.”

“You best behave, boy. She’ll have your balls if you don’t.” Clarence shook his head as Flint chuckled before closing the door behind him.

Victor waited until Collins finished the drink that Flint had given him, reaching to take the crystal glass from him. “Remember, Kimber does not see hide nor hair of you. Jana is a different matter. She’s never seen her, but you, Clarence, stay out of her way and we’ll be fine. If my Bloodmate finds out you’re there and that she’s in danger then I’ll be very unhappy. You won’t like the outcome if that happens.”

“Victor, I’m not happy right now. Not one bit.” Clarence about turned and stalked to the door, stopping with his hand on the handle. “I’ll see you soon. In the meantime, keep your Dragon safe and I’ll attempt to gain more information from that blaggard, Skotall.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Victor ground out. “Anyone who tries anything will be blown to pieces and I won’t think twice about it.”

“I don’t doubt it. Good day, Victor.”

“No, Clarence, it definitely is not a good day,” he snarled as Collins disappeared.