Grinning, Dallas pushed damp hair back from her cheek. "Yeah, that got a little out of hand. I can't seem to keep my cock out of you."
"I've noticed," she teased. "I was talking about all the damn water on my floor."
"It does seem like there's a whole lot less of it in the tub."
As if she really gave a shit about the water with him inside her and hot aftershocks still pulsing through her. "You wrecked me and my bathroom. And I feel pretty good about it."
He leaned up to claim a lazy kiss before biting her lip. "Hope you still feel good when I give you homework to do while I'm out conquering."
"Will I get detention if I slack off?"
"Sector Four-style detention. You'll be bending over the teacher's desk for sure."
She smiled slowly. "I'll be sure not to do my assignments, then."
"Bad girl." Dallas caught her chin and gave her a faux-stern glare. "A good girl would spend the night thinking of more fantasies. And if getting bent over a desk counted, it could top what needs to be a very long list."
"How long of a list are we talking about here?"
"Fewer than ten would be disappointing."
"And what do you plan to do with all these fantasies?"
He smiled.
No words, but the question had been rhetorical anyway. There was only one thing he'd ever do with a literal list of her deepest desires clutched in his fist.
He'd make every single one happen.
Lex arched an eyebrow. "Should I have Noelle help me with them?"
Chapter Fourteen
Dusk was a perfect time to survey his new empire.
Standing atop the tallest building left in Three, Dallas watched the twisted maze of alleys and broken-down streets come to life as the sun dipped behind the distant hills. Eden was already alight, of course, its looming walls dominating the skyline, a constant reminder of the avalanche of power waiting to descend upon them.
Not that Three needed a reminder. Entire city blocks were nothing but rubble-filled ruins here, silent testament to what happened when councilmen felt threatened. The first man to claim Three had moved too fast, consolidating profit and power with blind greed. He'd thought possession of the largest surviving electronics factory made him immune to reprisals.
And it had--for as long as it took Jim Jernigan to bring a competing factory online in Eight. The next night, Eden blew a third of Sector Three back to the Dark Ages.
And most of the sector hadn't managed to claw their way out of it yet. Dallas watched fires spring to life in barrels up and down the uneven roads. Here and there, signs of electricity flickered on, a soft glow spilling from windows or the flickering neon of a prized bar sign. But the streetlights remained dark, even in sections that clearly had power.
Fucking figured. Nobody who'd set foot outside after dark in this hellhole would want the streets well lit.
Dallas glanced at the silent man at his side. "Quite a prize I won us, huh?"
Jasper snorted and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's a pile of shit, but now it's your pile of shit. Time to get to work, I guess."
True enough. "Don't worry, Jas. If these guys we're meeting aren't complete idiots, you'll have plenty of time left over to play with your girl."
"Tonight's business. I'm good with that." Jasper surveyed the growing darkness. "Ace got that intel on Gareth Woods from his friend with connections in the city. You won't like it."
"Yeah?" Tension knotted Dallas's shoulders, but he refused to let it bleed into his voice. "So rip the Band-Aid off."
"Looks like he's back in play."
"Fuck." His hands ached, and he realized he'd clenched his fists. All the time he'd spent chasing the ghost Woods had become, and of course he surfaced now, when there was no time. "What's our old friend up to?"
Jasper met his gaze, grave and serious. "The rumor? He's climbing in bed with Fleming over in Five."
It would take all night to untangle the implications--and the enemies. Trent, who'd died trying to kill Dallas. Fleming, who'd always been a knife at Dallas's back. Gareth Woods, who'd tried to settle a score with Noelle's father by framing the man for his own daughter's death.
How the hell were they all connected? Woods and Trent had attacked within a week of each other, but had that been a sign of collusion or merely coincidence? Trent had had a backer, no doubt, someone with access to city resources.