“It’s six a.m.,” he spoke briskly with a glimmer of humor in his bright sapphire eyes. “The Concierge morning shift begins promptly at six, which is when I start for the day. You are expected to be on-time, fed and properly dressed, and arrive with exquisite poise and punctuality to the main desk near the lobby.”
“Where is the lobby?” Layla drank the water, feeling her mind begin to clear at last. Enough that irritation began to surface that Dusk had just busted into her rooms at six a.m. And now expected her to jump out of bed naked.
Like that’s going to happen.
Dusk gave a sly chuckle as if he’d somehow heard her thought, though again, it held no sexual vibration today. “I will show you. But first, we need you dressed and fed. Breakfast is already on the table. Catering brought it at five-forty, so it’s probably cold, but it’ll do.”
Layla had finished her water and Dusk’s midnight-ridged hands plucked the glass briskly from her fingers, setting it aside. Before she could so much as move, he had suddenly tossed the covers back, then reached in and scooped her up, hefting her effortlessly off the bed. Sliding her nakedness down his well-clad body until she was standing, he clasped her close – his incredibly warm hand cradling her back as the other caressed down over her ass.
“Hey!” Layla was fully awake now, and pissed. As her inner fire roared, she tried to get a hand up to slap him, but he seized it before she could – his indomitable strength arresting Layla as he continued to hold her pressed close to his body.
“You will be on-time to work.” Dusk’s searing blue eyes pierced her, unforgiving as the noontime sky though a small smile haunted his lips. “Or I will come wake you like this every morning. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.” Layla growled, fuming as a searing heat rioted through her body, a wave of vicious prickles flooding over her skin. “Let me go.”
But Dusk’s only answer was a rumbling chuckle – and this time there was sex in it, making Layla breathe fast as her knees became weak. Holding her close against his dove-grey Italian suit with a midnight blue tie and polka-dot pocket square, Dusk was not about to let Layla go. Up close and personal with her new boss for the second time in as many days, she could feel the sensual heat of him, pressing against her. She could feel his rippling lower-than-sound vibrations passing through his body, shuddering deep into hers. She could feel the tension of his clothed groin pressed against her nakedness – and it was arousing, and infuriating.
And fucking hot as shit as he pulled them even closer together by his hand on her low back – bringing his pelvis tight against hers.
“You bastard,” Layla breathed hard, flushing and shuddering with delicious sensation. Something inside her roared, devouring Dusk’s presence and loving it even though she was pissed. His magic shuddered deep into her, better than the best vibrator, and she found she was pushing him away less, sinking into him as he held her up from collapsing. Her eyelashes fluttered; her body bucked against his and Layla cried out as he moved a hand up to corral her behind the neck, holding her firmly as her eyes rolled back and her body arched with pleasure.
“Master your body, Layla,” Dusk spoke low at her ear – his voice absent of vibration but his body filled with it still. “I know you can. Master my sensations right now, for you will receive worse if you come into contact with any unhappy guests today. Or even very happy ones, for that matter. Concierge Services, more than any other position at the Hotel, is all about poise under stress. Stress assaults our position and triggers our bodies and emotions, which for Dragons, triggers our magic. As a Concierge, you are a problem-solver, a quick wit, and the best confidante any guest could ever have. Be that now. Deepen your breath. Get your body under control from my vibrations and then we will continue. Start with breathing into your rage – that I hold you bound, that I arouse you, that I control how you feel and you cannot get away. Start there and the rest will follow.”
Layla was still furious, trembling from the sensations rioting through her, not to mention the hard press of his groin on hers. But suddenly, through all her rage and sensation, she realized Dusk’s words made sense. He wasn’t in her room this morning to simply give her hell, and some part of Layla cleared, understanding that he was trying to teach her something. Something that would help her in this world; that would help her with her new position in Concierge Services in a hotel where most guests weren’t even close to human.
Through her shuddering, Layla remembered Rikyava’s words, that Dusk was a pain in the ass but the Hotel had never had a more competent Head Concierge – and Reginald’s words, that there was no one better who could teach her to control her newly awakening magic. Through her shuddering pleasure, Layla somehow managed to gasp a deeper breath, letting it flow through her rather than be trapped in her roaring passion and blistering anger. Somehow, that first breath sent coolness into her beast, and upon the heels of that breath, she gasped another. At last, she was able to get more air, drinking it with enormous breaths as she felt some of her pent-up rage and frustrations begin to clear at last.
“That’s it. Keep going. Focus on the coolness of the air; send it deep into your body. Deep into that rage and heat…”
Dusk’s words were low by her ear and strangely comforting as he cradled her close. The slow, subtle movements of their bodies suddenly seemed like a dance to Layla as she deepened her breath further. Dusk was leading the dance right now with his magics, but Layla realized she had a choice. She could choose to go down the passionate rabbit-hole of their twined magics and end up who-knew-where with a man she’d hardly met. Or, she could breathe through the throbbing heat that dove into her from every touch of his body on hers – and let it pass away.
Layla suddenly knew she had to embrace Dusk’s thundering energy and her own vicious passion. Not give in, but let all those sensations and emotions passthroughher rather than get trapped inside and feed her beast. As soon as she thought it, it happened. All at once, she was flowing with her own passions and Dusk’s – and Layla’s fury began to sigh away. As she began to cool, the beast inside her settling, she felt Dusk’s lips smile at her temple. He followed her lead in the dance now, easing his sensations – letting them dissipate upon the tide of their locked breathing until both partners came to stillness.
Not furious, not sexual anymore – just calm as they breathed together.
“There.” Dusk pulled back, setting his impossibly smooth lips to Layla’s forehead and kissing her softly between her brows. His fingers stroked the nape of her neck and the sensation was divine; soothing as they breathed together in a moment of peace. His hand at her lower back eased, his touch suddenly not making Layla hate him anymore, even though she was still cradled naked to him.
A vision rose in her mind then; of caverns deep and old, filled with the light of towering crystal columns. She smelled a scent in the air like clean river water purified in underground waterfalls, ancient. It was peaceful; clear and calm. Layla heaved a sigh, releasing her emotions into that ancient, still space. As soon as she did, Dusk lowered his chin, using his cupped hand to raise her face. As Layla breathed deep, his soft lips settled to hers – kissing her oh-so-gently and letting her go.
“Well done.” Releasing her, Dusk stepped back with a small bow, his summer-blue gaze arresting. There was no trace of teasing on his lips now, only a small, pleased smile. “Learn this well, Ms. Price; it’s the most important lesson anyone will ever teach you in the Twilight Realm. Any Twilight creature that can get the drop on you, will. You are a striking woman and guests will notice you. They will want to taste you, to devour your scent and try to get inside you and figure you out. Your passions, your weaknesses – everything. I am lucky: I wear my Lineage upon my skin. All who see me know what I am and have no need to test me unless they want to get royally bitch-slapped for their trouble. You, however, are like Adrian – and those who meet you will test and seek until they figure you out. Best that you figureyourselfout before that happens. Are we clear?”
Layla hadn’t expected Dusk to be a keen strategist, and she was struck silent a moment. Still standing before him naked, she suddenly saw why Adrian listened to him. Dusk was far more intelligent than he seemed – and far more shrewd than he let on. Out in plain view he was rash, impetuous, highly sexual, and impossibly cheeky. But here, right now, he was showing his true nature through that sleek dragon-hide skin and piercing blue eyes.
And Layla found she respected it – immensely.
“We’re clear,” she spoke, feeling suddenly ready for whatever it was he had to teach her.
“I do believe we are.” A genuine smile lifted Dusk’s lips at last. His gaze raked down her body with a calculating detachment before he lifted his summer-blue eyes to her again. “What do you have in your wardrobe to wear at work?”
“Let’s find out.”
Moving from the bed and feeling oddly comfortable being naked around her boss now, Layla stepped to the massive walk-in closet and threw open the gilded double-doors. The space was nearly a fourth the size of her apartment and lit by chandeliers with a cobalt carpet woven in golden dragons. Sleek mahogany cupboards were built-in, containing everything from shoe racks to dress busts to drawers of small squares where Layla could put jewelry. Her clothes from Seattle took up hardly a twentieth of the space, and Layla stepped to her meager offerings, pulling on her cobalt silk robe as she went.
“This is everything. I had to leave a lot behind.”
Immediately, Dusk marched to Layla’s clothing, inspecting everything with a critical eye. The only two items he pulled out for a more thorough look were Layla’s crimson mini-dress and her black one that she used to wear bartending. With a hard sigh, Dusk eyeballed both, then held out the black.
“It’s far too plain, but we’ll spice it up with some jewelry. The red is too challenging. Learn this: wearing red excites many Twilight Lineages, just like it does humans. That’s not something you want while you’re working. Most of us in Concierge tend to stick with greys with a splash of color – or in your case, autumnal jewel tones from forest greens toauberginepurples would go nicely with your skin tone. We’ll find you something better today in the House Wardrobe so you at least have items for the week. After that, you’ll need to do some shopping in Paris,onlyat the best boutiques. I’ll be sure to give you a day off so you may, along with a list of recommended shops.”
