“In the beginning, I could only mess with people’s dreams and memories when they were close to me, like in the Castle or close to it. When they left the area, I lost them forever. Now, once I’ve latched onto someone, they’re mine no matter how far away they go. Isn’t that awesome?” Jill sat beside Sparkle at the banquet table in the great hall. She looked expectantly at Sparkle.

Far be it for Sparkle to disappoint her. She gave Jill what she wanted. “Wow, that’s incredible. How did you discover this?” Would the day never end? She had spent the entire morning and afternoon apologizing to cranky guests as she ushered them out the door. Her business might not survive the bad press. Grim-faced troublemakers who would pay zero for their rooms were moving in, making themselves comfortable, and waiting for the apocalypse. And what was with the women? Bad hair, no makeup, no nail color, and disastrous shoe choices. Had no one explained to them that they could be powerful troublemakers and still look gorgeous?

On the other side of Sparkle, Jerry made a rude noise. “Big deal. I can do loads of stuff, but no one asks me about it.” He shrugged. “So I keep it to myself.”

Jill leaned forward so she could see past Sparkle. “That’s because you’re so arrogant and egotistical no one wants to get you started about how great you are. You’d go on for hours.”

Jerry glared at her.

Sparkle sighed. It would be so easy to send Jill and Jerry on their way. But guilt tugged at her. No one was paying attention to them in the rush to prepare for Zendig’s attack. They were newborns in this world, and the older troublemakers didn’t give them much respect. So while the adults talked battle strategies, she’d spend some time with the kids. She glanced at Jerry’s expression. Sparkle thought anyone would be stupid to disrespect him.

Jill turned her attention back to Sparkle. “Anyway, a husband and wife from California were here. They saw the whole thing when the assassin fell from the wall and what happened after that. I know you said to erase their memories of the event completely, but I didn’t. I just made them think it was another realistic rehearsal for the fantasies.” She glanced away.

Sparkle knew a guilty expression when she saw one. Jill should look shamefaced. She’d deliberately ignored an order. Sparkle narrowed her eyes. But Jill continued before she could express exactly how totally ticked off she was.

“I did it as an experiment. How will I know the extent of my powers if I don’t test them? When they left the castle, I followed those memories all the way back to their home in San Francisco. Then I took them away.” She paused to gauge how mad Sparkle was.

“How’d you know the memories were really gone?” Jerry checked out a new young troublemaker who was carrying her bags into the hotel.

Jill followed his gaze. She frowned. “I got their number from the office, and I called them. I pretended I was doing a medical survey on how long people retain memories. I asked if they’d traveled recently. When they said yes, I asked them to tell me everything they remembered about their trip. They told me a bunch of stuff about the Castle, but neither one mentioned that memory.”

Sparkle figured she needed to word this just right. If she went with her gut and shot the kid down, then Jill might back off all experimentation. This had to be a measured response. She hated measured responses. “You do realize what you did was dangerous for everyone here? If those people had shared their memory with the wrong person, we could have been exposed. We never do anything like what you did. It’s too chancy.”

Jill nodded as she hung her head. “Sorry.”

Sparkle figured she wasn’t too sorry. But at least she might pause before doing something rash again. “I think you can help in the kitchen for the rest of the week. They need extra hands now that our human staff has left.”

Jill scowled. “Do I have to?”

Sparkle pretended to consider the question. Jill didn’t have a domestic bone in her body. She hated cooking and cleaning up. A perfect punishment. “Yes.”

“I’ll help you.”

Jerry looked as though he’d surprised himself with his offer. Sparkle tried not to smile. Men—clueless but loveable.

“Sure. If you want to.” Jill blushed.

Teens were so obvious. She watched them leave just as Eric’s wife, Donna, joined her. Sparkle noted that at least vampires knew how to dress. Donna understood the power of a sexy red top.

“I have info.” She sat in Jill’s vacated seat. “I’m getting more and more calls from listeners about sightings of strange creatures. The callers are people who live close to the energy vortices we’ve already identified as entry points for Zendig’s fighters. The sightings always happen at night, and by morning there’s no sign of them. I asked everyone to send me photos if they could get them. I wasn’t expecting much because most people would be sleeping when the sightings happened. But then I woke up to this a short while ago.” She pulled her tablet from her purse and showed her two photos. “They’re not clear because of the low light, but maybe Ganymede’s dad knows what they are.”

“Estan checked out of the hotel with the other two spies. He’ll contact Mede when he feels it’s safe.” Clear or not, the photos showed nightmare beasts. Nothing that she’d ever seen on Earth, and she’d seen her share of terrifying beings. She looked up from the photos in time to spot Jerry and Jill leaving the great hall headed toward the restaurant. Maybe there was someone else who could help. “Come with me.”

She led Donna in pursuit of Jerry. Sparkle had to push her way through the mobs in the lobby, some coming some going. She ignored people clamoring for her attention. When a large woman with appalling taste in everything almost knocked Sparkle on her butt, she thought vengeful thoughts. The ancient Egyptians believed an orgasm was the key to eternal life. Oh, the temptation. She could rip away those keys from every one of these annoying humans with just a thought. No more orgasms. Ever.

Sparkle caught up with Jerry right before he trailed Jill through the now-empty restaurant and into the kitchen. “Wait up for a minute.” When he walked over to join them, Sparkle introduced him to Donna. “Jerry, this is Eric’s wife, Donna. She—”

“You’re Donna Till Dawn. You have that cool late-night radio show where all these weird people call in with stuff about alien invasions and shadow people.” Hero worship shone in Jerry’s eyes. “I stay up to listen to you. I wish you were on more than three nights a week, though.” He paused to breathe. “And you’re a vampire.”

His expression said that being a vampire raised her coolness factor by ten. Color Sparkle amazed. Who would’ve thought anything other than himself could impress Jerry. Of course, Donna’s long blond hair and general gorgeousness didn’t hurt either. Hormones drove teenage boys no matter which planet they called home.

Donna laughed. “It’s great to meet you, Jerry. I’m glad you enjoy the show. I’ve been away visiting some affiliates, but now I’ll be back broadcasting from the Castle. You’ll have to sit in on the show some night when you’re free.”

Sparkle jumped into Jerry’s moment of speechlessness. “Jerry, Donna’s listeners have reported seeing some of Zendig’s army.” Donna handed him the tablet. “You’re the only one of us who has a complete memory of our home planet.” Our home planet. Jeez, saying that out loud sounded crazy. “The photos aren’t clear, but do you recognize either of these?”

Jerry paled. He nodded. “Zendig sent exploratory expeditions to some worlds that didn’t have any life forms with our intelligence. These creatures come from those worlds. I’ve heard they’re deadly, but not very smart. Zendig has an inner core of followers completely loyal to him. They’re thought manipulators. Primitive minds would be simple to control. My guess is they’ll send these creatures in as the first wave to soften us up. The next wave will probably be his most powerful forces. Finally, Zendig will show up. He’ll hope we’re worn out by then.”

Sparkle looked at him with new respect. He hadn’t taken long to work that out. “Do you know what those creatures do?”

Jerry shrugged. “I’ve only seen their pictures. Zendig has been pretty tight-lipped about them. No details have leaked.”

“I appreciate the info. You can go help Jill now.” He looked as though he’d rather stay here to talk but left without arguing. She turned back to Donna. “Thanks for the help. We need everything we can get, because right now we’re flying blind. Shoot me the photos.”

After Sparkle got the name of the store where Donna had bought her top, she went in search of Mede. She found him in the conference room with a group of the fighters who would be defending the castle. She frowned. Ky, Blue, and Orion were among them. Mede wasn’t ignoring the kids after all. He must intend to use them. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Mede glanced up as she entered. He grinned. And she forgot about everyone else in the room. The curve of his lips when he smiled at her. The heat in his gaze when he looked at her. They were only for her. If she ever found him giving them to another woman, she’d tear the witch’s hair out in huge unsightly clumps. Sparkle took a deep breath. Relax. She smiled back.

He pointed to the chair next to him. “We were just talking strategy.”

She sat. “Go on. Don’t let me stop you.” The presence of the three teens still bothered her. They shouldn’t be part of Mede’s battle plan. “Oh, before you go back to what you were discussing, let me show you something.” She pulled out her phone. Good, Donna had already sent the pictures. Sparkle passed the phone around while she told them what Jerry had said.

Mede tapped his finger on the table as he thought. “Jerry and Jill should be here.”

Okay, now was the time to address her concern. “They’re just kids.” She stared down Ky, Orion, and Blue. “Sorry, but you are. You shouldn’t be part of what’s coming. If the worst happens and we lose, you’re our future. Besides, we’re used to battle situations.” Left unsaid was that they were untried and untaught. Ky’s injury while trying to protect Tuna and Momo was a case in point. Sparkle ignored their sullen glares.

“If we don’t win this fight, there won’t be a future for them anyway.” Mede leaned forward. “Zendig wouldn’t leave any of his ‘creations’ alive to rise up and smack him in the face someday.”

Sparkle narrowed her eyes. “We’ll talk about this later.” She knew it sounded like a threat. She didn’t care.

Mede ignored her comment. Instead he turned back to his meeting. At the end of it, Sparkle had come to a conclusion. Troublemakers weren’t meant to be molded into a fighting unit. They didn’t have a team mentality. Each one would do his or her own thing, and the rest of the players be damned.

Sparkle caught Blue on her way out. “You told everyone you could call beasts from a bunch of different worlds to the fight, but you weren’t sure how much control you’d have over a large group of them in a battle situation. Doesn’t that sort of bother you?”

Blue didn’t even hesitate. “Nope. I won’t need perfect control. I’ll just point them in the right direction and let them mow down the enemy. Then I’ll send them back.”

“Sounds simple. What could possibly go wrong?”

“You got it.” Blue hurried away to catch Ky and Orion.

Sparkle had wasted her sarcasm. She had a mental picture of Godzilla and King Kong kicking butt as they crossed the causeway on their march toward Houston. Meanwhile, Jaws would be picking off boaters as he glided into Galveston Bay on his way upstream. Mede needed to get some kind of control over everyone.

“I’m ready for a relaxing night, just the two of us.” Mede joined Sparkle.

This was her chance. “We need to talk about the kids.”

“Not now.”

“Why not?” She wouldn’t allow him to put her off. “This is a great time.”

“Believe me, it’s not.” He’d reached their door. Instead of getting out his key, he simply walked in.

“Wait. The door was unlocked?” Had one of them forgotten to lock it when they left? What about a break-in? “Someone could be in there waiting for us.” Not that Mede wouldn’t fry their butts.

“Oh, someone is waiting.” He kept walking.

She didn’t have a clue what was going on, but she followed him in. Then she stopped. Eric sat on the couch. He waved.

“Hey, guys. You’re late.”

“Eric?” She looked at the vampire and then turned to Mede. “What’s this about?”

“I owe you a fantasy. Eric’s here to help me deliver on that.” He smiled. “But if you’d rather talk about the kids…” He held up his hands.

“A fantasy?” Now she remembered. She’d wanted one with a hot boss and sexy secretary theme. “Really?” Eric had done fantasies for others in the Castle, but not for her. For just a moment, she thought about putting it off until afterwards. What if there isn’t an afterwards? No, she wanted this. Now. “The kids can wait.” She met Mede’s gaze, allowed all her love and need to shine in her eyes. “Bring on the fantasy.”

Eric rose. “Great. Let’s go into your bedroom so you can lay down. May as well be comfortable.”

Sparkle stretched out on top of the comforter beside Mede. She tried to relax. Hah, good luck with that. She now understood the stiff-as-a-board saying. Tension thrummed through her, shortening her breath and making her heart pound so loudly she was sure Mede and Eric both heard it.

“Everyone ready?” Eric glanced at Sparkle. He smiled. “Come on, you can’t be nervous, Sparkle. You’re the queen of sex and sin. You’ve told me that often enough.”

She glared at him. This was different.

“Here’s what will happen. You’ll close your eyes on this reality, and when you open them again you’ll be someone else. You won’t remember this reality, you’ll be totally immersed in your new life. Impossible things might happen, but you’ll accept them as perfectly believable. It’ll be amazing. I don’t do bad fantasies.”

Now she understood her panic. No memory of who she was, no past, nothing to hold on to. It was too close to real life, to what Zendig had taken from her. In this instance, Eric was playing Zendig’s part. She forced herself to slow her breathing, concentrated on emptying her mind, welcoming what was to come. This wasn’t anything like what Zendig did. This would be short, sweet, and then over. She closed her eyes with the feel of Mede’s warm hand holding hers and his whispered, “We’ll make this epic, sexy lady,” in her mind.

One last thought. She would absolutely remember who she was.

“Happy birthday, Emily.”

Startled, she opened her eyes. Damn, still seated in front of her crappy computer at her crappy desk at her crappy job. Guess she’d used up all her “crappies” for the day in one crappy sentence. She steeled herself to show no emotion as she looked up. “Please don’t sneak up on me like that, Mr. Carlson. I might delete something important.” Emily couldn’t help the twitch of her lips that threatened to become a smile. The boss didn’t like to see his employees “fraternizing” with each other. Jerk. Then she relaxed. The boss wasn’t here right now.

Her boss made lots of noise—snorting, shouting, and stomping—wherever he went. A water buffalo was quieter. He would never catch her daydreaming or fraternizing.

Lucas was a completely different animal. Stealthy. He had a predator’s stalk, sort of a pad, pad, pad, POUNCE! You never heard him coming until he suddenly appeared in front of you. She grew weak whenever she thought about his pounces.

Lucas placed a vase of roses on her desk. “Happy Birthday, Emily.”

“Oh.” Speechless. Hundreds of things she could say whirled in her mind. She plucked out one at random. “Thank you, Lucas. They’re gorgeous. They’d look amazing in my castle.”

“Castle?” The corner of his mouth lifted in the beginning of a smile.

Emily wanted to bang her head on her desk. Lame, lamer, lamest. Where had the blasted castle come from? “Umm, I always dreamed of living in a castle.”

“I can’t get your castle just yet, but maybe this will hold you over. Then he handed her a small box. “Don’t worry about the boss. He’s in the conference room hooting and hollering at the sales force for at least the next hour.” He watched as she fumbled with the ribbon.

She tore away the paper and lifted the lid. Emily sucked in her breath then exhaled on a long happy sigh. “It’s gorgeous.” Nestled in the box was a necklace. The thin gold chain bore one word worked in delicate gold letters—WICKED. She looked up and smiled through tears. Jeez, she hated getting all emotional like this. But after all, it was from Lucas. Special. “Still trying to turn me to the dark side?”

“You’re almost there, sweetheart.” He leaned across her desk. “His office is empty. And no one would have the guts to go in there without permission.” His smile said they were all spineless toads. “You have classes right after work, so we may as well have your party now.”

“I don’t know…”

“Live up to your necklace.” He walked around to the back of her chair so he could fasten the chain. Then he pushed her hair aside to whisper in her ear. “Wicked is the perfect spice. It makes everything taste better.”

His warm breath against her skin scattered her thoughts and fueled anticipation. Still, she hesitated. Of course, wicked for her had a really low threshold. It meant not following rules. Her parents had raised her to be good. But “good” more and more had a lot of gray edges. She turned her head to gaze, mesmerized, at his face so close she could reach his lips without exerting anything. All six feet plus of him was a delicious temptation, a Viking in a suit and tie—long blond hair, ice-blue eyes, and sensual lips she’d tasted many times in the last three weeks. He had a face carved from light and shadow, from I’d-never-do-that to what-the-hell. And right now she was in a what-the-hell mood. She rose to follow him.

He stood aside to allow her to walk in first. He closed the door behind her. Her gaze settled on the chair behind her boss’s desk, the one that looked like a throne. “I’ve never had the nerve to ask why he has a throne for a chair.” Okay, maybe she got it. The boss was an egoist, the royal dude in his little world.

Lucas smiled and her world tilted.

“It’s an antique. It once belonged to an evil man who believed if you wanted to be a king you had to act like one. Hence the throne. The boss says the chair has a rep for revving up the wicked in anyone who sits on it. Hey, look at the boss. He’s carved a bloody trail through the business world, so I guess the chair works.” His smile widened. “How about giving it a test run?”

She knew her eyes were wide and disbelieving. “He really thinks the previous owner’s evil still lives in the chair?” Some people were so gullible.

“Oh, you’d be surprised how much of their owners still remain in lots of objects.” He winked at her.

He wasn’t giving her the reassurance she wanted. “That’s ridiculous.”

Lucas shrugged and offered her a sly smile before walking around the desk. He pulled the chair to the front of the desk then sat and beckoned to her.

A war raged inside her. This was wrong. The boss or someone else could show up at any moment. This. Was. Wrong. On the other hand, today was her birthday and she wanted him. That felt right. And his pounces were always memorable, moments to treasure for the rest of her life. That felt… Oh, what the hell. She lifted her chin before striding to him. If she was going to do this, she’d do it right, without any hand-wringing.

She’d had a chance to make love with him before, and she’d blown it. Her courage had dribbled away, something she’d regretted ever since. No way was Emily going to make that mistake again. Lucas was wicked, but maybe it was time she crawled from her safe little box and explored the dark side.

Emily narrowed her eyes to slits of delicious anticipation. Lucas would be a big dish of creamy ice cream. Her first mouthful would shock her so much her teeth would hurt, but oh god, he’d taste good.

When she reached him, he tapped his knee. She settled on to him, and if she accidentally brushed against his cock, well, she hadn’t meant to. Emily gave him her innocent “oops” look.

He lowered his lids and then watched her from beneath them. His smile was slow and evil. “So what qualifications do you have to be my secretary?”

She leaned toward him, gripped his tie, and then pulled him close until their lips almost touched. “I can be very creative in…the office. Of course, I’ll be in charge of getting your daily schedule to you each day. I guarantee it’ll be filled with stimulating events. I don’t do boring.”

“I wait with bated breath. I hope we have something innovative planned for today.” His murmur was a sensual invitation.

“Mmm. I—” Emily stopped. Was that a noise outside the door? Gasping, she prepared to leap off his knee.

He laughed as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “No one is out there. You’re too jumpy. Calm down. Allow the essence of the chair to do its thing.

Emily listened but didn’t hear anything else. This was ridiculous. She wouldn’t allow her second chance with Lucas to escape her. An army of CEOs could march through this office. She wouldn’t care. “I’m fine, and I’m channeling the chair.” She renewed her grip on his tie. “Make me forget everything outside this office.”

He cupped the back of her head and drew her to him. She wiggled a few inches until she nestled in his lap.

He groaned. “You’re killing me, woman.”

Emily smiled. Her first evil smile. She gave an extra wiggle just to watch him suffer. Now she understood how the chair worked. It was insidious, sending its wicked tendrils into her in tiny increments—first urging her to flout time-honored office etiquette and then suggesting that small tortures could be fun.

But she forgot all about the chair as he slanted his lips across hers. The magic of those lips turned her into something boneless and slightly mushy. They were firm but just soft enough. He slid his tongue across her bottom lip and she sighed against his mouth. The scent of him worked its magic. Nothing phony about him. He was heat and arousal and dark sensual places.

When the pressure of his lips increased, she opened to him. She explored his mouth, warm and welcoming, tasting of all the things she had ever wanted. And when he broke the kiss, she whimpered her disappointment. Her heart pounded so hard she almost didn’t hear his murmur.

“Feeling wicked yet?” He punctuated his question by kissing a path across her jaw and down her neck. Then he licked the base of her throat where her pulse beat hard and fast.

She swallowed hard at the flicker of heat right there, at that exact spot where his tongue touched. “I’m getting there.” She fumbled with his tie. “Get. This. Off. Get it all off. Now.”

His soft laugh washed over her. “I love an impatient woman.”

She kicked off her red heels—she’d enshrine them under glass—as he tugged her top over her head. Then he reached for her bra. Wait. “Hey, what about you? I gave you the take-it-off order first.”

“So you did.” Without warning, he slipped his hands under her bottom and stood, taking her with him. Then he set her on the chair in his place.

Aah, yes. Emily could feel the chair’s bad seeping into her. First, she’d get comfy. Reaching around, she unhooked her bra, then slowly allowed it to slide through her fingers. Next, she crossed her legs. She approved of the way her skirt rode high on her thighs. Emily glanced up at him through her lashes. She smiled.

He paused in the act of flinging his tie to the floor. His gaze followed the path of her fingertip as she circled one bare breast. “You learn quickly.”

Triumph bloomed gold and silver in her. She’d gotten the same feeling when she’d bought the red shoes even though she knew her mother would drive her crazy with her preaching about how “impractical” they were. Well, maybe not exactly the same feeling. This was a little more intense. She raised one brow—wow, she didn’t know she could do that—and asked, “So, when does the show begin?”

Lucas recovered quickly. “First a short lesson on the different degrees of wickedness.”

“Don’t you think the time for talking is done?” I want you naked against me, inside me.

He ignored her question. “Right now we’re in the middle of playful wickedness.” He paused to raise the blinds. Light poured in from the floor to ceiling window behind him. “The apartment building across the street is for senior citizens.”

Emily leaned to one side so she could see past him. “There’s a woman looking out a window. She has binoculars.”

“That’s Mrs. Graves. She’s a bird watcher.”

Emily had her doubts about that.

With his back to the window, he methodically stripped off his coat and then his shirt. His broad muscular chest narrowed down to ridged stomach muscles that narrowed down to…

He got rid of his shoes, skimmed his pants down over strong thighs and… No. Underwear. The awesomeness of his bared body left her breathless. The sunlight shining through the window outlined him in every delicious detail. Her gaze slipped and slid down his body until… She glanced away. Primitive lust warred with her mind’s need to catalogue and store data for future enjoyment. Primitive lust was into the homestretch with her mind eating dust far behind.

Speaking of sunlight… Emily leaned to the side again to glance past him. “There’re five women in the window now. They all have binoculars. And unless there’s an ivory-billed woodpecker perched on your ledge, I’d say those women are zeroed in on your butt.”

Without breaking eye contact with Emily, he reached behind him to lower the blinds. “End of playful wickedness.”

Good. She didn’t want a Greek chorus for what would come next. But she did sort of want to know, “What comes after playful wickedness?”

His lips tipped up in a sly smirk. “Cruel wickedness.”

“The difference?”

“I would’ve turned around,”—meaningful pause—“and then I would’ve lowered the blinds. But I’m skipping past the cruel stuff and going right to serious wickedness.”

“Oh.” Emily didn’t get anything else out because he’d reached her in two strides.

He loomed over her. “Words create a mood, but touch seals the deal.” He tapped her nipple with the tip of his finger.

She gasped. All the clever sexy comments she’d lined up disappeared in a cloud of sensual awareness.

He knelt in front of her. “Uncross your legs, Emily. I can’t get your skirt past them in that position.”

As though in a dream, she obeyed him. This was really happening. She tried to remember. When had they met? He was so familiar, but then he wasn’t. Frustrated, she gave up. She refused to think about it anymore as he reached for her waist.

Lucas worked fast. Before she even realized it, she was propping her hands on the arm of the throne so he could slide her skirt and panties off. She blinked at him.

He smiled back. “My naked queen.” Still kneeling, he leaned closer so he could run his hands the length of her bare body. “How about giving me a few commands?”

The slide of his fingers over her breasts, her stomach, and her thighs was heat and joy and an erotic awakening. She wanted those hands everywhere. Without thinking, she spread her legs wide, an unspoken invitation.

Lucas looked up at her, his eyes dark with passion. “This is where you belong, bathing in everything that’s sexual with an evil twist. I’ve known that about you since the first time we met.”

Emily tried to focus. How had he known? She couldn’t even remember when they first met. But then all thought disappeared as he bent to kiss a path along her inner thigh. She swore that the heated press of his mouth on her flesh would leave a permanent imprint of his lips as he drew closer to and closer to and… Her whole body clenched around the promise at trip’s end. She scooted forward in her seat to give him easier access.

Then he stopped. He freaking stopped! Emily lined up curses to heave at his head. “Is this your idea of cruel wickedness? Because if it is, I’ll cruelly lop off your head within, oh I don’t know, the next ten seconds.”

He laughed. “Not stopping. Just moving to someplace where I can reach all of you better.”

Sounded a little breathless to Emily. That was a good thing. She didn’t want to be the only one running low on oxygen.

Once again, he stood then scooped her up. This time he lowered her to the boss’s very expensive silk rug. Lucas had excellent taste.

For just a moment, she lay on the rug and stared up at him. His hair fell tangled around his Viking face. His eyes glowed amber. Wait, weren’t his eyes blue? Emily blinked. Didn’t matter. She could see layers of emotions there. She wondered what her eyes showed.

Holding his gaze, she slid one finger across her breast, over her stomach, and then hovered over the target area. Wanton. A weird choice of word, an old word. Not one she’d ever used. Or had she? She shrugged the thought away. It felt right. Maybe she was cut out to be wicked. Only with Lucas. Somehow she knew this was true.

She beckoned as she spread her legs.

He dropped to his knees between her thighs then leaned forward.

She reached up to grip his strong shoulders, then slid her hands down his muscular arms. His skin was warm beneath her touch. She was determined to remember the warmth, the smooth texture of his body, for future cold nights. Then she pulled him down to her.

Emily’s thoughts flickered and faded in and out, short-circuited by an overload of input by her senses—the soft slide of the rug beneath her, the sound of his quickened breathing, and the scent of dark forests filled with hungry predators. Okay, so that last one was a bit much, but whatever soap Lucas had used made her want to go play with the wild things.

He placed his hands on either side of her face and held her still. “We could be wicked together forever.”

With her two still-functioning brain cells, she wondered at the strangeness of that comment. She had to really focus to get her question out because now he was whispering in her ear, telling her all the delicious things he would do to her. To punctuate those promises, he kissed the sensitive skin behind her ear. She shivered. His words quickened her heartbeat, and she had to take a deep breath to steady herself. Right. Ask the damn question before you lose the power to speak.

“Who are you?” Did it matter? And where had the question come from anyway? He was messing with her mind as well as seducing her body and soul.

He reared back to look at her. “What?”

Lucas sounded surprised, but something in his eyes didn’t look surprised at all.

He chuckled, but it came out sounding forced. “Are we playing games now? Okay, deal me in. I’m Lucas Delaney. I’m head of accounting.” He lowered his lids, hiding the expression in his eyes. “Guess I don’t seem like the accounting type.” He shrugged. “Truth? I don’t feel like the accounting type. Never even thought about that until now. Strange.”

Lucas transferred his attention to her lips, leaning into her to trace them with the tip of his tongue before deepening the kiss. She welcomed him, savoring the familiar taste of him. Familiar? No, that had to be wrong.

That was her last thought before everything became right.

Finally, they broke the kiss. Emily gulped in air, trying to clear her head of the sensuality overload that was Lucas.

He sat back on his heels, staring at her. “Woman, you’ve always driven me crazy. Don’t ever go away. You’re…” Words seemed to desert him, as he leaned toward her again to brush strands of hair from her face.

“Go away? Where would I go? Besides, you don’t even know me.” Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered right now except skin-on-skin contact. She touched his nipple with tip of her finger.

He shuddered. “I’ve always known you.” His voice was barely a whisper.

Emily believed him. Right now she’d believe anything he said. She raised her head so she could slide her tongue across that tempting nipple.

He sucked in his breath as he grabbed her hair and forced her head back until she stared into his eyes. “This will end very quickly if you continue to touch me like that.”

Emily saw the heat in his eyes and smiled her triumph. “Then we’ll burn hot for the time we’ve got.”

She growled, she freaking growled as he laughed before he lowered his head to swirl his tongue around her nipple. So she wouldn’t feel deprived, he rolled her other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She clutched his hair as though it could keep her anchored to Earth. But when he drew her nipple into his mouth and gently nipped it, she knew his hair wouldn’t help her.

Emily arched her back as he kissed a path over her stomach while he skimmed her inner thighs with his fingertips. But each time, his fingers stopped just short of…there.

There became the pot of gold at the end of her orgasmic rainbow.

“Don’t creep, Lucas. If you want something, go directly to it and then take it. Like this.” She reached between his legs to wrap her fingers around his cock. The direct approach had its drawbacks, though. Heat pooled low in her stomach along with an aching heaviness. She groaned. Emily wanted to draw him to her, to put her mouth on him, to… She settled for sliding her thumb across the head, back and forth, back and forth until she felt each stroke there. She clenched around the exquisite sensation.

“Direct approach. Cancel the foreplay, and go right for the prize. Got it.” His voice was raspy, and his breathing hard and fast. “I’m glad you said that, because it’s tough holding onto the sensual and sensitive guy thing when I’m losing my mind for wanting you.”

Those words sounded like someone she knew… Her thoughts scattered as he slid his hands beneath her bottom and lifted her to meet his mouth. Oh. My. God! His tongue. It flicked across her most sensitive nub and lit a blaze that up till now was just smoldering. Then he delved deep with his magic tongue, and she came off the rug with a scream. Somewhere in the wild maze that was her mind, the wicked chair cheered.

Gripping his shoulders, she dug in with her nails. Because if she didn’t hold onto something, she’d explode and the boss would return to find bits of her all over his in-box.

As she tried to catch her breath and hear past the drumroll of her heart, he straightened and then eased his cock into her. She closed her eyes on a moan as he stretched and filled her. Deeper, deeper, and still deeper. Emily swore she felt him touch her heart.

She wasn’t sure at what point he lowered her to the rug again. Emily’s whole world lived within the thrust and withdrawal, her body clenching around him, trying to hold him there forever, knowing forever wasn’t possible. Because no human heart could stand the intense feel of him inside her, touching her in ways no one ever had before.

Tears slid down her cheeks as her body tightened, rushing towards that moment, the one that lasted only a heartbeat but would echo forever. She knew that deep inside where truths hid. She rose to meet him, pounding harder, urging him deeper.

“We could have this. Forever.” His whispered words came between rasping breaths.

“Nothing lasts forever.” One of her truths she’d yanked kicking and screaming into the light.

“You’d be surprised.”

His laughter followed her up the dizzying elevator ride to the top floor. Almost there, almost—

Yes! The elevator spit her out at the top. Not. Quite. There. Frantically, she looked for a window. Got it. Emily flung open the window and crouched on the sill. Wind whipped her hair. She glanced down. The cars on the streets below were mere ants. Didn’t matter. They had no place in her world. She could fly. Dammit, she could fly!

She met his thrust one last time and then flung herself into the wind. Emily wasn’t surprised to find him beside her. She shouted her triumph. “We’ll fly together!”

She hung there for a moment that lasted an eternity. Spasm after spasm shook her. And when they finally faded, she screamed her happiness all the way down…

Emily kept her eyes closed, savoring the last delicious tremors. Finally, she opened her eyes to see the man who had taken her on that amazing flight.

Lucas rose slowly, his gaze heavy with completion and an emotion she wanted to believe. His glance swept over her naked body one more time, making promises she intended to hold him to.

He paused, suddenly alert. “The boss is done with his meeting. Get dressed.”

How did he even know that? Reality slapped her in the face. She was in the boss’s office. Naked. Oh. My. God. She didn’t wait for him to help her stand. Once on her feet, she fumbled with her clothes. When she finally glanced up, he was already dressed, looking as perfect as he had before they made love. And he’d had the presence of mind to return the chair to its place behind the desk.

He skimmed his fingers along her jaw, his gaze soft, and for the first time, vulnerable. “We’ll find your castle. I’ll meet you on the other side. Don’t keep me waiting.” He paused before leaving. “I love you, Emily.” He closed the door softly behind him.

She absolutely wouldn’t keep him waiting. First, she’d type up her letter of resignation. No two weeks. What did protocol have to do with what she felt? Emily refused to acknowledge she was now officially an Impulsive. As she headed for the door, something poked at the back of her mind? The other side? Of what? She didn’t get a chance to explore that thought before the door swung open and the boss walked in.

Startled, he stared at her. She frantically searched for a plausible reason to be in his office. “I was just—”

He recovered quickly and laughed. “Don’t try to make excuses. I know why you’re here.”

“You do?” Damn. Maybe she wouldn’t need a letter after all.

“I’ve seen how interested you are in my chair. Bet you thought the big guy was out of his office so you could take a closer look at it. Maybe even sit in it. Am I right?”

“Why would I—?”

He searched her face and finally nodded. “You’re new here, so maybe you don’t know the chair’s history. It once belonged to Lucas Delaney.”

Lucas? The name rocked her. She gulped and stepped back. No. It couldn’t be. But… He’d never told her the name of the chair’s owner. The consequences rained down on her. Too bad she couldn’t cover her head. She blinked back sudden tears.

The boss didn’t seem to notice. “Delaney was a bit of an outlaw. Rich, powerful, and mysterious. He kept himself to himself. Lots of rumors about the roads he walked. Don’t think for a minute they were true, though. Way too strange. Anyway, when he died, his estate was sold. I got this chair. A bargain.” The boss laughed. “Seller said it was haunted. Some people will believe anything. I sit in it every day and nothing.” He glanced at his desk. “Got to get back to work now.”

“Get back to work. Sure.” She followed his gaze to the desk. No flowers. No surprise. Nothing had been real. Then why had it felt so…amazing? Emily was numb. She sleep-walked back to her own desk. Once there she just sat. I’ll meet you outside. Outside where? His crypt?

For a few minutes she fought to concentrate on her work. Forget Lucas. Forget quitting. It didn’t work. She remembered his eyes, not the eyes of a phantom. Emily had seen truth in them when he said he’d loved her. He’d asked her to make a leap of faith. She looked down at her desk and imagined endless years sitting here doing the same thing day after day after day. Then she’d retire with her memories of…

Emily took out her notepad, ripped off a sheet of paper, and wrote I QUIT on it. Then she stood, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. Maybe she’d take this leap of faith only to discover she’d jumped off a freaking cliff. But she wouldn’t retire from a boring job in about forty years with nothing to remember.

She didn’t bother with the elevator. Racing down the stairs, she swore to always wear red shoes, and she’d paint her nails red. Maybe she’d dye her hair red too. When she reached the ground floor, she ran to the revolving door, pushed her way out and…

Emily opened her eyes. No, not Emily. Sparkle Stardust. She took a moment to orient herself. In bed. Holding Lucas’s, no Mede’s, hand. She turned her head. Lucas’s face with amber eyes instead of blue. She smiled. “I love you.”

He leaned over to kiss her. “Always.”