Ruthless Creatures (Queens & Monsters, #1)

by J.T. Geissinger

This is insane. You’re too sensible for this. Get up from the table and walk away. I manage to ignore the voice of reason in my head. “How long will you be here?” “A few days. I need to kiss you.” “No.” It’s faint and not altogether convincing. “Then come sit on my lap and let me finger fuck you while I feed you dinner.” To manage the explosion of shock and lust that astonishing sentence caused in my body, I sit back abruptly in my chair and look away, choking out a disbelieving laugh. “It must be all the champagne I’ve had. There’s no possible way you just said that.”

“I want to taste every inch of you. I want to hear you scream my name. I want to make you come so hard you forget your own. I don’t have time to fuck around—excuse the pun—with the kind of wooing I’d usually do to win you, so that’s why I’m being so blunt. “Ask me to leave you alone and you have my word I will. But until I hear that, I have to tell you, Natalie, that I want to fuck your sweet cunt and your perfect ass and your luscious mouth and anything else you’ll let me fuck, because you are the single most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“He said that?” “Verbatim.” “Holy shit.” “That was pretty much my reaction, too.” Sloane pauses. “And you didn’t throw yourself to your knees, rip open his zipper, and latch onto him like a sucker fish?” Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “And they say romance is dead.”

Oh, fuck it. I run up to him, grab the front of his jacket, stand on my toes, and kiss him on his cheek. My words come out in a breathless rush. “Thank you.” After a beat, he says gruffly, “For what?” “For making me feel something. It’s been a long time since someone did. I wasn’t sure I could anymore.”

“I want everything you have to give, Natalie, for as long as you want to give it to me.”

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met. I’m not someone who obsesses over things, but I’ve obsessed over you.

“For a guy who claims to be such a bad scary criminal, you’re a big softie.” “Only for you.”

“So either don’t tell me your secrets or don’t make me fall in love with you. Because once I fall in, even death can’t make me fall out.”

He ignores that and stalks closer. “I’m serious, Kage! Or is it Kazimir? I don’t want to talk to you right now!” He growls, “I don’t want to talk to you, either,” and grabs me. My yelp of surprise is cut off by a hard, demanding kiss. He drags my head back with a hand fisted in my hair and ravages my mouth until I’m breathless. He’s got one of my arms pinned behind my back, holding me firmly by the wrist, but my other hand pushes against his chest. It’s useless. He’s too strong. He kisses me until I make a small, pleading sound in my throat. Then he pulls away, breathing just as hard as I am. He says roughly, “You knew I wasn’t a choir boy.” “If you think that’s getting you off the hook, think again.” “I told you I wasn’t a good man.” “You didn’t tell me you were the head of the Russian mafia.”

“Yes, you do.” When he pinches my swollen clit through the cotton of my panties, I jerk, moaning. It makes him even hotter. He whispers, “Yes, you fucking do. You want my tongue and my fingers and my cock all at the same time. You want me exactly as much as I want you. You want to give me all of you, and that makes me fucking crazy because I know you don’t give that to anyone else.” He slides his fingers under my panties, stroking my wet folds, teasing the bud of my clit with his thumb. “Say the word and I’ll get on my knees and make you come. I’ll make you come with my mouth, then I’ll fuck you up against this wall and make you come on my cock while I suck on those perfect tits of yours.”

“You’re thinking the term ‘ravishing beauty’ doesn’t gel with your blistering machismo, am I right?” “I mean, I guess it’s flattering.” He sounds disturbed. I stifle a laugh, trying to play serious. “Except?” “Except it makes me sound like a debutante in a regency romance novel.” It’s my turn to be disturbed. “How the hell do you know what a regency romance novel is?” “I have eclectic taste in literature.” Incredulous, I rear up onto an elbow and stare at him. He’s smiling at me lazily, looking smug. I say flatly, “You read romance.” He pretends innocence, widening his eyes. “Why? Is that not something a ‘real’ man should do?”

My god, the way he talks. The man is the Shakespeare of smut. “You just did that.” “Eons ago.” “It was like twenty minutes.” “Like I said. Eons.” He grabs me and growls into my neck, making me squeal. Then he rolls on top of me, giving me all his substantial weight. I exhale with an audible oof. “You weigh a ton!” “You love it.”

A little alarm bell goes off in the back of my mind when I realize he’s avoiding my eyes. But this is what it is. What we are. What I’ve agreed to. Secrets. Not lies, but secrets—a lot of them—and distance, all in the name of keeping me safe. Screw it. If that’s the price for being with him, I’ll pay it. I spent too long walking through my days as a zombie to pass up this electric new life, even if it does have its dark sides. All fairy tales do.

His voice sears along my nerve endings. He pushes the dildo in and out with increasing speed until I’m moaning and writhing, bucking against the bed. The sensations are overwhelming. The vibrations, the fullness, his finger teasing that sensitive, lubed-up, forbidden bundle of nerves— The orgasm hits me with such force I can’t make a sound.

He pulls out the dildo and replaces it with his cock, shoved in hard to the hilt. Then he curls a big hand firmly around the back of my neck and holds me down as he fucks me. I love it so much I moan his name. He winds an arm around my waist and drags me up to my knees, then pushes my head down so my cheek is on the mattress but my ass is in the air. He drives into me over and over, his balls slapping against my pussy, a hand pulling my hair. The other hand is busy between my legs, tugging on and stroking my throbbing clit, replacing the toy that fell out from under me when he hiked me up. “Kage … oh god…” “Take it, baby. Take every inch of me.”

Ummm, yes please!!!

Just because he’s bigger and stronger doesn’t mean he’s the one in charge. I might only be a middle school teacher with a shitty car and a pathetic dating history and an inability to multiply single digits without a calculator, but I’m his queen now. I intend to throw on my crown and show him who he’s dealing with. When he opens his eyes and gazes down at me, his brow furrowed and his expression one of intense concentration bordering on pain, I smile. “How you feeling, big boy? You look a little strung out.”

“I’ll try to be back for Christmas, but I can’t guarantee it. In the meantime, relax.” His voice turns hot. “And keep out of that toy drawer. I want you wound tight as a spring the next time I see you. I want you to come on my cock the second I shove it inside you.” The line goes dead. I stay in the same position for a long time, thinking, until finally I rouse and take Mojo outside for a pee. Then I get dressed and go to work. Life goes on, even when it’s bizarre and confusing. Even when you’re the new obsession of a rich, sexy, dangerous criminal. Even when you’re in way over your head.

He kills people, Nat. For a living. That’s his job. That’s what they call him: Reaper. You know, as in the grim reaper? As in, the skeleton in the cloak with the scythe who comes to get your soul?” Reaper.

“So you’d … you’d let me spank you?” His lids lower. A muscle flexes in his jaw. On another roll of his hips, he says, “Yes. Then I’d fuck you so hard after, you wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.” “You’d let me tie you up and blindfold you? Make you come when you were restrained?” His eyelids flutter. He says roughly, “I’ve never let anyone do that to me before.” “Would you let me do it?”

“Would you let me touch you where you touched me … in the back? You know.” He does know. His eyes are so hot and dark they’re almost burning a hole in my head. He growls, “I’ve never let anyone do that, either.” What is this strange sense of power coursing through me? I feel like I could order a mountain to get out of my way, and it would. Looking up into his eyes as he continues to fuck me, I whisper, “But you’d let me do it, wouldn’t you?” In a move so fast it’s a blur, Kage withdraws from me and drags me off the bed. He sits on the edge, pushes me to my knees between his spread legs, grabs his jutting erection in his fist, and stares down at me with eyes like fire. He says through gritted teeth, “Yes. Do you want to?” I smile at him. “No. I just needed to see if you’d let me.” “Little witch. You really deserve that spanking. Now be good and suck the cum out of my dick.” He slides a hand around my neck and pulls my head down to his hard cock, glistening with my wetness. I open my mouth and take him in, as far as he can go, all the way down to the root.

When I glance up at her, Sloane is staring at me with the constipated look she only wears when she’s worried about me. “What’s that face for?” “I just hope…” “What?” Glancing down at her wineglass, she slowly traces her finger around the rim. Then she raises her gaze to mine and says softly, “I hope he’s worth it, babe. Because it sounds like you’re giving up a lot just to ride the guy’s dick.” “Hey, you’re the one who wanted me to sleep with him so badly.” “Yeah, sleep with him. Then move on, like a normal person.” “I told you this would happen! I told you I’d fall in love with him if I slept with him, and you laughed at me!” “I didn’t realize your heart was located inside your vagina.” I say bitterly, “We can’t all be as lucky as you and have a shard of ice for a heart.” As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I regret it. I reach over and squeeze her hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” She squeezes my hand back, then sighs. “It’s okay if you did. Because you’re right. But don’t think I’m lucky, because I’m not. I’m…” She struggles to find a word, then twists her lips. “Defective.” “You’re not defective.”

“Pavel, there’s a big shipment of Asif’s livestock headed your way. Make sure it doesn’t arrive.” He nods, not needing to be told that the cows he’ll be hijacking have up to a hundred pounds each of Asif’s cocaine carefully packed in their intestines. I turn to another member of the circle, an older man with a long beard, crazy eyes, and discolored teeth. His real name is Oleg, but everyone calls him the Cannibal due to his fondness for carving open the chest of every man he kills and taking a bite of his bloody heart. They don’t call him that to his face, of course. No one is that stupid. “Oleg, Zhou’s containers arrive at the docks in Miami tomorrow evening. The police should get there first.” He narrows his eyes, angry that I’m not giving him permission to take the contraband in the container for himself, but because he wants to stay head of the Miami family, he keeps his mouth shut. I move on. “Ivan, Rodriguez has a dozen body packers on a flight into LAX from Mexico City. I’ll get you the details. Pick them up as soon as they clear customs.” “And after we extract the product?” He wants to know what to do with the bodies. “Make sure Rodriguez sees his dead drug mules on the evening news.”

It’s a prolonged, bloody process. The other men watch with varying degrees of boredom and interest. Pavel checks his watch. Oleg licks his lips. When it’s over, Aleksander is panting and the breast of his suit is soaked in blood. I gesture for him to stand. He does, spitting blood onto the floor. “As I was saying. Our Armenian friend, Mr. Kurdian, has a freighter packed with AKs and ammo arriving into the Port of Houston in two days. The arms will go onto a train headed for Boise. Derail the train. The bigger the explosion, the better.” He nods. His face is pale and he’s sweating, but he won’t make a peep of pain or show disobedience in any way. Normally, that would please me. Right now, it just makes me tired. After spending a week in Natalie’s arms, this life I lead tastes sour.

“Are you okay?” I answer truthfully. “No.” Her voice rises. “What’s wrong?” “I left something in California.” “What?” “My heart, baby. My cold, dead, worthless heart, which didn’t even beat before I met you.” There’s a period of silence, then she whispers, “I’m in love with you.” Now I do groan out loud. She just shot an arrow through my chest. I’m fucking dead. “I didn’t say it when you were here because … well, mostly because you were telling me to. Demanding, actually. You know how you get—” “Say it again.” Her laugh is soft and warm. “See? Demanding.” “Please. Please, say it again.” She must hear the pain in my voice, because all the laughter and teasing is gone when she speaks next. Her voice is solemn and quiet. “I’m in love with you, Kage. I love you. Hopelessly. I thought I knew what it meant to be in love before, but it was never like this. It’s like the lights go out when you walk out of the house. Like my lungs only work when you’re with me.

The woman I can’t live with, but I also can’t live without. We’re quiet for a moment, until she says softly, “It’ll be here, waiting for you. Your heart, that is. I’ll take care of it while you’re gone. But you need to do me a favor.” “Name it.” “You have to take care of mine, because you took it with you when you left.” After I recover, I murmur, “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell me you love me again.” I hear the smile in her voice when she answers. “I love you, bossy man. You’re my life now. Come back to me soon.” I have to disconnect without answering. I can’t. Because for the first time since I was a boy, I’m fighting back tears.

“I can’t go easy.” “I’d kill you if you tried.” He crushes his mouth to mine and shoves deep inside me. We groan together. Shudder together. Pause for a moment to enjoy it. When I open my eyes, he’s gazing down at me with so much need and adoration, it takes my breath away. He cups my face in his huge hand and says gruffly, “Every day I’m without you I die.” I say his name, struggling not to drown under the wave of emotion swamping me. “You’ve wrecked me. Ruined me. I can’t think of anything else but you.” I inhale a hitching breath. He flexes his hips, withdrawing slightly then shoving back into me. He starts to fuck me with hard, shallow thrusts. “Tell me what I need to hear.”

“I’ve done terrible things, Natalie. Things I can never undo. Things you would hate me for if you knew about them.” My heart thundering in panic, I try to roll off him. He doesn’t let me. His arms are a vise. Voice shaking, I say, “There’s someone else. Is that what you’re telling me?” “No.” “Are you sure? Because it sounds like—” “I’m yours until the day I die,” he interrupts, his voice hard. “You wear my ring. You own my heart. Never question that.” I examine his expression. Convinced he’s telling the truth, I relax a little. But, still. What is he saying? Hesitant, I say, “Do you want to tell me about these things you’ve done?”

“Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do anything that could get you killed.” His laugh is short. “Every minute of my life could get me killed.” “You know what I’m saying, Kage. Don’t put your life at risk for me.” Eyes glittering in the dark, he gazes down at me in silent intensity, until he slowly shakes his head. “It already is, baby. It already is.”

I also wonder how this tragedy we’re brewing will come to a head. It’s inevitable. I know deep in my soul that we’re a rudderless ship with torn sails in high seas, headed straight for a treacherous reef filled with flesh-eating sharks and razor-sharp rocks. I feel it. Something bad is coming. A storm is headed our way.

“Sit down. Let’s have a chat.” I’ve never been so terrified in my life. It’s not only the gun pointed at me, or the phone call I just received, or the obvious fact that the head of the Russian mafia has put out hits on me and Kage both. It’s also the smile on Viktor’s face. That warm, eager smile, like he’s about to engage in one of his favorite hobbies. When I remain frozen in place, clutching the kitchen counter and hyperventilating, Viktor says, “Sit down, Natalie, or I’ll fuck your corpse after I’m done with you and send the video to your parents.”

“Then he … he was weird. He wanted to know where you lived. If we’d been in contact. He acted like you weren’t working for Maxim anymore. I didn’t understand what he meant. Then it didn’t matter because he was going to shoot me. I tried to run … Mojo bit him … then it all happened so fast…” I open my eyes. Kage kneels in front of me, squeezing my hands, looking anguished. Looking guilty. “Why did he come? What did you do? What’s happened?” He’s silent for a moment, then he releases my hands and stands. He turns away, walks a few steps, stops, then turns back. His expression has been wiped blank. When he speaks, his voice is hollow. “He came for the money. Like I did.”

I’ll go live in Antarctica, where the only single males are penguins.

“I left Mojo with Sloane.” “I’ll bring him here. Along with all your things from your house.” After a moment, she whispers hoarsely, “Just burn that damn house down. Burn it to the ground.” When I take a step toward her, my heart throbbing, she holds up a hand to stop me. “Not yet, Kage. You need to leave me alone for a while.” Her voice is broken. Her eyes shine with unshed tears.

“Tell me what to do. I’ll do anything.” With her face hidden in my shirt, she sighs. “You can start by getting me a glass of wine. I can’t deal with this shit sober.” “Are you gonna run away as soon as I go into the kitchen?” “I had the thought. But I know you’d follow me, so…” She sighs again. “I would. I’ll always follow you. You’re my north star.” She makes a strangled noise and burrows her face deeper against my pec. My heart soaring, I kiss her throat and hold her closer. “Stop sniffing my hair, pervert.” “I can’t help it. Your scent is my favorite drug.” “If you say one more romantic thing, I’ll throw up.”

She says, “Thank you.” “For what?” “Saving my life.” We stare at each other. The air between us crackles. I say softly, “I told you, baby. It’s my duty and pleasure to take care of you.”

“Will you please come in and—” He pushes off the wall and grabs me, crushing his mouth to mine. The kiss is desperate. Devouring. When we come up for air, I say breathlessly, “Hold me?” Walking me backward toward the bed, he growls, “Hold you? Sure. Right after I fuck you.” “Kage—” “Red or green, baby.” He pushes me onto the bed, kneels, plants his hands on either side of my head, and kisses me again, ravenously. It’s like my hands have a mind of their own, because they instantly tangle themselves into his hair and start pulling. He breaks away from my mouth, chuckling. “That’s what I thought.” He rears up to his knees, pulls his shirt over his head, and tosses it away, grinning down at me. He’s so beautiful I lose my breath. His grin dies and he growls, “I fucking love it when you look at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like you’re mine.”

“I’m yours, Kage. Even when I hate you, I love you. Whatever happens, we’ll work it out.”

“Oh, nothing. Just wondering how many conversations exactly like this one are in my future.” “You mean conversations where you owe me an apology for being so headstrong?” “Headstrong? You’ve been reading your regency romance novels again.” He pulls me upright and gathers me into his arms, smiling down at my flushed, happy face. I wrap my arms around his waist and lean into him. He teases, “I have. It’s where I got the idea of putting your ring into the pocket of my sweats. Those romance novel heroes always have such creative ideas.” “I wouldn’t know. I only read nonfiction.” “Ah. Well, maybe I should tell you to look into my pocket again.” “Um, honey, I don’t think it would be the greatest idea to get busy right now, with all the guys outside and whatnot.” He shakes his head, chuckling, then kisses me. “I don’t want you to grab my dick, love.” “Since when?” “Just put your hand into my pocket.” I look at his beautifully fitted suit and frown. He says softly, “Coat. Left side.” My heart starting to flutter, I slide my hand into his coat pocket, searching until my fingers close around something small, round, and metal. Unlike the last round metal object I retrieved from a pocket of his, this one has a substantial square chunk of something smooth and cool on one side. His voice rough, Kage says, “If ten carats aren’t enough, I’ll return it for a bigger one.”

My heart in my throat and my soul flying, I whisper, “Ten carats? So tiny. God, you’re a cheapskate, gangster.” He hugs me, hard, kissing the top of my head, my earlobe, my neck. Into my ear he says softly, “Marry me.” Of course it had to be a command, not a question. My voice cracks when I answer. “Let me get a look at this tiny ring first. I’ll let you know in a minute.” “It’s a flawless cushion-cut diamond on a platinum band. Harry Winston.” I press my cheek against his chest, listening to the comforting sound of his pounding heart. “Ugh. Sounds hideous.” “Is that a yes or a no?” When I don’t answer, he prompts impatiently, “Use your colors, stubborn girl.” A tear slipping down my cheek, I whisper, “Green, honey. All the green in the universe.”