Nothing but trouble

2020, February 14th

(Velora, Stormhold)

KEIRA

He broke the kiss abruptly, turning his back on me. The apparent indifference should have made me want to bolt. Instead, it turned me on. I watched him with predatory hunger curling up in my core. He dismissed the waiter who had been stationed at his table all night. Then he discreetly brought the partition around, doing away with the crack I'd slipped through to get to him.

He took his suit jacket off, turned back to me and laid it down neatly over my chair. All business and formal, like we were about to enter negotiations or something. He was exactly what I needed to take the edge off. Quiet the sadness for a while. A one and done who would do it right. And by it, I meant me.

He walked up to me while taking his cufflinks off and rolling up my sleeves. The sight of him coming towards me sent a thrill from my head straight down to my toes. I didn't believe in allowing men the power to make my toes curl. In my line of work, that shit was too dangerous. Tonight I wasn't a soldier or an assassin though. Was anyone in his presence?

I had heard the stories of Aiden's risqué exploits and eagerly awaited becoming one myself. Now that the time had come, however, I felt my inexperience with men knock me on my ass. The idea of him making me nervous was laughable and yet he did. Deliciously nervous. Hot and bothered.

His steps towards me were small but deliberate. He took his time getting closer, eyes darkening with every second. My body heated up. Pulse rose ever so slightly. Whatever he was going for, it was working.

AIDEN

Keira Dormer was the kind of woman that had anything goes, oh but be careful what you wish for written all over her. She was an untamable predator. Playing with her was the kind of thing that would come back to bite you in the ass. She'd hurt so sweetly that you'd want her to do it again, knowing she never would. I knew because I'd seen too many women react to me the way I was reacting to her.

Voices around us fought to be heard in the bustling restaurant. Somehow my belt buckle was still the loudest sound to reach my ears.

As a rule for one night stands, I avoided the Keira Dormers of the world. Femme Fatale was like looking in a mirror on a particularly disastrous night. Nothing but trouble. I was already that. The last thing I needed was to tempt fate by spending the night with her. There'd be no keeping her in check. Oh the places we could end up. Who knew what this night would look like when we reached the end of it?

Finally before her, I took the Blood Mary out of her hand and set it down on the table.

"Whatever Lady Moore said to you must really have fucked with your head. This isn't The Casanova of Caspira's MO," Keira said playfully, slipping her fingers into the front of my pants. "If it were, I imagine I'd have caught a close up of a lot more of you by now."

"Is the heat level too high for you, Killshot? If you came here to talk about her, frankly to talk at all, then you're wasting my time and this is over," I said, hiking her dress up her thighs ever so slightly.

She was right. I was discreet. One might be inclined to disagree on account of all the scandals, but more times than not that was by design. Me making a nuisance of myself to get to my parents. I took calculated risks. The public only saw what I was okay with them seeing.

Tonight I gave even less of a damn than The Casanova of Caspira ever had. The Casanova of Caspira had rules. No smart women. There were exceptions of course, but back then I didn't pick up women for long term relationships. My messed up will they/won't they situation with Elena was stressful enough.

Whomever the woman of the evening was, I spent a max of an hour getting her to a hotel. After that, it happened so fast, it often had their heads spinning. We hooked up and everything was over within half an hour. Then I was out the door, leaving her to spend the night at some or other luxury hotel by herself.

No playbook for Keira. I'd spent my entire life playing by the rules. No attachments other than my family and Elena. I worked hard. Followed insane schedules. Where did it get me? My mind stopped me mid brooding, because tonight my disaster of a life had led me to Keira.

Casanova of Caspira, my ass. How much of a player could I really have been if I spent my time avoiding chicks? Especially ones like her. Secretly I'd been craving the challenge for years. She'd be the ultimate conquest. An alpha female the likes of which I'd never bedded before.

My heated glare, her stone cold eyes. The primal energy between us. We were both blowing smoke. Her to reassert confidence and me to shut her up.

What came next was therefore inevitable. She went first, ripping my shirt open, reaffirming her desire to play as she sent buttons flying to the floor. I slid an arm around her waist and pulled her out of her chair. A soft breath left her when I spun her around. My hands went up her dress, expertly drawing her panties down her thighs.

I'd gotten them down to her knees when she turned around and threw me down into her chair. Lust mixed with the hate in my gut as she dragged her panties down legs that went on forever. Once they reached her ankles, she stepped out of said panties and kicked them over to my feet.

Blood rushed through my ears, preparing to leave my brain and head south. I was beyond tempted to collect her panties as a souvenir. Not trusting the woman I was about to fuck, however, I kept eyes on her. I rose my hips to drag my pants down, then plummeted back into the chair.