Chapter 1: Introduction
As Joni stepped out of the elevator, she paused in the dimly lit concrete hall. "So, this is his place?" A wave of uncertainty washed over her. Revel hadn't seemed intimidating in the bar, but his invitation to his private lair was unusual and unexpected.
She smoothed her hand over her dress nervously. How had she gotten into this situation? With a deep breath, she let her senses take over. She decided she wouldn't be afraid.
She knew herself too well to let fear control her. She squared her shoulders and walked towards the massive iron door at the end of the hall.
Revel was waiting for her, leaning against the doorframe, a flicker of amusement crossing his features as he saw her approach. "You're nervous," he said, with a slow smile that sent a shiver down her spine.
"A little," she admitted, trying to sound casual. But her voice betrayed her, trembling slightly. She fought back the feeling.
Revel's eyes narrowed, inspecting her closely.
"Not for much longer," he said, his voice a purr that made her knees weak. For the first time in her life, Joni felt a strange exhilaration, as if she'd been woken from a long slumber by his voice alone.
He reached for her, a finger delicately tracing the side of her face. "I have a gift for you, my dear," he whispered. The words hovered in the air between them, heavy with promise and danger.
Joni swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his finger against her skin.
She had no idea what he meant by this gift, but she felt a thrill of anticipation creeping through her veins. Revel tilted her chin up, revealing thePersian cat eyes that she always tried to hide beneath her fringe of long dark hair.
"Look at you," he murmured, his voice low and poorous. "You didn't know what to expect when you came here tonight, did you?" He took a step closer, his chest brushing against her breasts, sending a bolt of excitement straight to her core.
Joni felt a strange sensation coursing through her body.
She was overwhelmed by the hunger she saw reflected in Revel's eyes, a deep craving that made her feel lightheaded. She didn't know what to do.
Revel smiled again, and she felt her heart thumping in her chest, faster and faster as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I can give you what you want, Joni," he murmured, his words so low they were almost a caress.
She realized in that moment what his gift would be. It was her deepest, darkest desire, lying hidden and untouched for so long.
The thought of giving in to this need frightened her, but a newfound, seductive side of her begged to unleash it.
Her reply was a mere whisper against his ear, a confession that surprised even herself: "Yes."
The word hung between them, and with its utterance, it felt as if Joni was stepping into a dance with the devil, unsure if she was taking the first steps under her own power.
With a speed that left her breathless, Revel grabbed her, slammed her against the nearest wall, and crushed his lips to hers.
It was a passionate, desperate kiss, with Revel's hands roaming her body as if he owned her.
Joni felt the lingering shreds of her composure dissolve like mist under the intensity of Revel's kiss. A heat that she'd never known before consumed her from within, pooling in her lower belly as Revel's lips moved to trail along the arch of her neck. She shivered involuntarily, her hips grinding against him with more primal desire than she had ever felt.
The spell. It was the spell.
The Dracula-like enchantment that Revel had cast on Joni. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
In the space of a few minutes, her entire being had transformed. She felt empowered, yet vulnerable. She had never felt so alive, nor so dangerously tantalized.
Revel broke the kiss, but his hands didn't leave her. He continued to roam over her body, exploring every curve with a steep, mature appreciation.
Joni gasped as his hands dipped beneath her dress, inching higher and higher on her thigh.
"I want to taste you," Revel murmured, his voice husky with desire. He sank to his knees, and she moaned, tangling her hands in his hair.
The feeling of his breath against her inner thigh made her hips buck, need flooding her core. Revel traced his tongue along the seam of her lace panties, and she cried out at the first tentative touch.
Without warning, he slipped his tongue beneath the fabric, leaving her breathless in shock.
Her senses whirled as he delved further, raising goosebumps on her cold, damp skin.
The moisture he found between her thighs grew more intense, slickening his tongue as he laved her with slow, sure strokes.
Joni felt her body arch, pleading silently for more.
Revel rose to his feet, her panties bunched around her hips in his hand, and he kissed her again, deep and demanding.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, fisting her hands in his hair, and felt him press into her/her. They moved together, slowly at first, matching their rhythm to the swell and fall of their breathing.
Joni felt a building pressure deep within her/his core, a wave of need that rose and crashed against her senses. It was almost too much to bear.
Finally, she could hold back no longer, arching her back and crying out as she climaxed, her body shivering with pleasure.
Never before had she felt something so intense, so incredibly euphoric.
As he gently set her down to stand unsteadily on her own feet, Revel's hands slid from her waist, and he looked deeply into her eyes. The intensity in that piercing green gaze sent another shiver through her.
"You are now truly mine," he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.
Joni gazed at him, dazed and overwhelmed by the experience that had just unfolded between them. She felt like a different person, one who had been awakened to a new understanding of desire and sensuality.
Revel's fingers traced down the side of her face, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Her body still hummed from the aftereffects of her orgasm, and she felt a mixture of emotions coursing through her veins. Fear, excitement, a sense of being totally and irrevocably changed.