Pandemonium Read online

  He lifted one hand and trailed it down her cheek. “And what does my music have to do with that?”

  Kris shivered. Get a grip, woman! “Since you’ve come on the scene, they’ve all turned back into needy women who think the only way to happiness is through a man. You’re ruining my business—worse than that, you’re giving the women who hear you false hope, since obviously you’ll not love them all, and you’re destroying the steps they’ve achieved towards self-reliance! I don’t know what it is, but somehow you’ve mesmerised them. Probably with that damned music you play.”

  He lifted the pan-pipes in one hand and blew gently into them, releasing a soft trill of music designed to tug at the soul. “Does this make you feel enthralled, sweet Kris?” He trailed his other hand from her shoulder to the upper swell of her breast. Then he lowered the pipes and dropped a quick kiss on the edge of her mouth.

  Kris gasped. Music had nothing to do with it. This was more to do with the reaction Pan himself caused inside her. Hunger surged, and all she could think of was grabbing his face and sealing his mouth with hers. Plunging her tongue deep to taste him. Drawing his woodsy scent deep within. She curled her hands into fists until her nails dug into her palms. Using the pain as a cover for the wonton desire surging through her blood, she pushed him back. “Do me a favour?”

  “Sure.” His lips turned up at the corners.

  “Say these words for me—I need to hear you say them.”

  Pan frowned. “Okay. Shoot.”

  “The pussy is a muscle that needs to be exercised.”

  He burst into laughter, coughing and gasping for air. “That’s your favour? You want me to talk dirty to you?”

  “It’s an experiment.” She drew herself to her full height and took a deep breath. “Humour me?”

  Pan set his jaw, still chuckling. “I don’t know that I can.”

  “Try!”

  He bit his lip and avoided her gaze for a moment then put his hands on either side of his face, fingers just beneath his eyes, against his nose, cupping his nostrils and mouth as if to keep laughter from escaping. “You know, I could do so much more for you if you’d just lower your guard and get off of your defensive, feminist high horse.”

  “You arrogant ass!” She grabbed her leather jacket off the motorbike and shrugged into it, zipping it to the neck to hide the telltale sign of her arousal. “I should have known this wouldn’t work.” She pulled on her helmet, dropping the visor to hide the expression of regret in her eyes. Gloves followed next, then she was ready to beat a hasty retreat.

  “Not so fast.” He grabbed her wrists and pinned her arms behind her back, his face hovering, dark, above hers. “Who sent you here?”

  She could barely breathe, much less speak. “No-one.”

  “Bullshit. Did CB send you?”

  “I don’t know anyone with that name or those initials.” She cleared her throat and blinked, fighting off a panic like none she’d ever known. He was so near and so sexy, and despite being pissed off at him, she desperately wanted to feel those lips against hers, his arms holding her tenderly rather than defensively.

  He released one arm but dragged her with the other to a secluded area of the parking lot.

  Kris resisted, tugging against the pull. “What are you doing?”

  “Your bike will be fine—just come with me. I’m not about to molest you within shot of the security cameras.”

  “What?” He was going to molest her? She knew by now that she was a decent match for him physically, that while he might be able to overpower her, she could hold her own through most of a physical altercation with him. But she wasn’t worried, for some reason. What was the old saying? Can’t rape the willing.

  Lifting the visor, he pulled off her helmet and tossed it on the ground. “Tell me something, Dr. Kris. Do you believe in lust at first sight?”

  “I believe…my patients believe in love, but they’re under the mistaken idea that lust is a good substitute for love.”

  “They’re right!” He stopped and pushed her none-too-gently against the outside wall of the radio station, well out of sight of the parking lot. Then he moved forwards and claimed her lips with a searing kiss.

  His tongue mated with hers, both teasing and tormenting, tantalising her and drawing her into a vortex of emotion she’d never experienced. When the kiss ended, he raised his face a fraction from hers. She could see his eyes glittering in what little moonlight slanted through the bushes.

  “I don’t believe you’ve ever been in love or in lust, Dr. Kris.” His voice sounded more surprised than arrogant.

  “Love takes time and patience.”

  He nodded. “And lust is instantaneous, which is why I believe in it. Love turns lust to dust, which is why I prescribe to a life full of the pursuit of what turns us on.”

  “You’re awfully sure of yourself.” Her breath came in such quick spurts that she could barely speak.

  “And you sound very unsure. Care to put your theories to the test?” He traced her lips with a thumb and slanted his mouth against hers once again, this time more sensuously, more slowly.

  Kris moaned and turned, trying to free herself, to catch her breath. Once she had, she asked, “What theories?”

  “You seem to think that lust is no substitute for love, that love must be present for you to enjoy yourself. I’d like to prove that you’re wrong, that I can bring you to a screaming climax without one iota of love involved.”

  She was fucked no matter what she did, and the realisation that he’d trapped her infuriated her. “Of course, you could make my body respond—I’m human, after all. Somehow I doubt you are, though.”

  “Another challenge?” He divested himself of his jacket and stripped her of hers, all the while kissing her—her lips, cheeks, eyes, throat, neck, and breasts.

  Kris mindlessly ticked off the reasons she should kick him in the balls and leave him gasping for more than just her kisses. “You are despicable.”

  “Yet you want me anyway.” He placed his hands on her breasts and massaged her nipples, insinuating his legs between hers and pressing his cock against the fabric of her pants.

  “Feel the heat between us, sweet doctor?” he asked, raising her shirt and lowering his head to suckle her breasts through her bra. “Deny it if you can.” He cupped her ass and lifted her so that her nipples were in perfect alignment for his tongue and lips.

  Kris arched, feeling the brick wall against her back and head, not caring that she’d probably have bruises to show for her lack of restraint. She placed her hands on his shoulders, bracing herself, thrusting her body towards his mouth, melting with each swipe he made with his tongue, heating to every movement of one hand as he unzipped her pants and his while he held her aloft with the other.

  He set her firmly on the ground and knelt, pulling her clothing from her hips, his hands alternately helping her step out of what bound her legs and thrusting between her legs to feel her wetness.

  “You’re not complaining,” he murmured, leaning in to taste her juices as she plastered herself against the wall.

  She collapsed, her legs unable to hold her any longer, and he sank to the ground with her on top of him.

  Kris was mindless, unable to think, much less rationalise her behaviour. What power possessed her that she could so easily lose herself to someone she’d just met, someone who, for all intents and purposes, she supposedly despised?

  He sprawled onto the ground with her astride and guided her hands to his shirt pocket. She fished out the foil wrapper and ripped it open with her teeth, hastily fumbling with him to get him sheathed, giggly to the point of hysteria by the time they had his magnificent cock encased and ready for her to mount.

  “Come here, baby,” he cooed. “I need to feel you.” His cock nudged at her pussy relentlessly, searching, demanding. His fingers parted the folds of her pussy lips, and he lightly pinched the hard bud of her clit before he inserted himself.

  Kris nearly passed out, both exhaus
ted and exhilarated. She lifted her body enough for him to flex and grab her ass. Once, twice—he thrust not to fuck her but to insinuate himself, to get comfortable, to allow her body room to stretch to accommodate him. Then he gave a deep groan that resonated throughout his body, and she knew he was primed, ready for her to ride him, more than willing to fuck her until she gave him what he wanted—complete compliance.

  It was then that Kris realised his full intent, not just to fuck her and prove that he could make her come, but to make her a slave to her own desires. The awareness that he might be right, that sex was more powerful without love, pissed her off more than anything else he might have said or done. Too late now.

  She rode him unmercifully, slamming her body against his with a vengeance that she hoped would make him think twice before assuming anything else about her. If she were to explode, attaining the height of sexual recognition, then so would he.

  And she’d be damned if she’d come before he did.

  The man beneath her bucked, his stomach muscles taut with tension, his arms and neck corded with restrained force.

  “So?” Kris managed to whisper. “Are you a god or are you a man? Are you able to merely give, or are you able to receive as well?”

  “What?” He blinked owlishly through the dark at her.

  Kris grinned. “You seem so impervious to all of this. I was wondering if you were getting anything out of our venture other than bragging rights.”

  She reached behind her to stroke his balls, knowing how the gesture generally affected other men she’d been with and hoping…yes. That was it. He wasn’t immune to her, after all.

  Pan exploded with such force that she’d bet he nearly destroyed the condom, and Kris breathed deeply, shaken to her core, and joined him.

  “Tell me, Doctor Kris, are you a man-hater?” Pan asked breathlessly. “Given how you just reacted to me, I wouldn’t have thought you were a woman who preferred other women, but who knows? I have been wrong in the past.”

  “No, I’m not a man-hater, and I’m sure as hell not a lesbian, if you can’t tell by now, although there’s nothing wrong with that.” She jerked off of him and reached for her scattered clothing.

  “What was all of this about?” he asked.

  “You made it clear that you didn’t think I could handle sex without love.”

  He rose to grab his own clothing. “No. I said I doubted you knew anything about love or lust. Big difference.” He grimaced. “You proved me wrong, obviously. I just don’t know what else you hoped to do, because I don’t think it was your intent tonight to fuck me.”

  “I had hoped to appeal to your sense of humanity, that you’d develop a conscience, that you’d help me with my cause.”

  He spoke slowly, softly. “Humanity. Interesting choice.”

  “What? Is that word not in your vocabulary?” She grabbed her helmet from the ground and marched back to her bike, Pan trailing behind. Once there, she slung one leg over the machine and kicked the stand up. She tried to ignore him, but he wasn’t about to let her.

  “Are you telling me that you fucked me just to get me to help you with this damned project you mentioned?”

  “Jerk. Of course not.”

  “Ah, are you sure you can handle a bike that big, Kris? Seems to me it might be too heavy for a woman.”

  “I’ve handled bigger.” She hoped he caught the double entendre.

  “Whoa!” The son of a bitch laughed. “I suspect nothing that gave you real pleasure.”

  Despite the turmoil inside her, she managed to grin. “If you’re talking about yourself, I doubt you could handle the job. You seem more horn than drive shaft to me.”

  “Oh, I think I’ve already proved you wrong on that one, sweetheart.”

  Kris switched on the ignition and tucked her long blonde hair into the helmet. Revving the engine, she took off, roaring out of the parking lot.

  Chapter Two

  Kris braced herself on the edge of the desk and folded her arms across her chest. “Come on, ladies, you can’t all be drooling after the same man.” She held up her hand. “Before you say anything, let me finish.”

  She pushed away from the desk and crossed to the window overlooking the front garden. “The way I see it, it’s like lusting after a film or rock star. Someone we’ve seen on the screen. Someone who pushes our buttons and allows us to dream and fantasise. We’ve all done it at some time in our lives. It’s healthy, normal, safe. Provided we don’t allow it to become our reality and take over our lives.”

  “But it’s more than that,” Sue, one of the women responded. “We’re going to meet him.”

  Kris turned to face the group. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, we’ll see him anyway. And who knows? He might actually speak to some of us.” She paused then pointed to Iris, one of the shyest members of Kris’s group. “She gets a front row seat regardless!”

  All eyes turned to Iris, who shrugged.

  “I just work at the mall,” she explained. “I don’t have any clout, any inside knowledge. All I do is manage floor displays.” Her pretty face puckered with worry. “And I’m about to lose my job.”

  Kris was immediately concerned. “Why, Iris?”

  The young woman shrugged. “Lack of creativity, I suppose. My displays have had little enthusiastic response for weeks. I think management is replacing me if I don’t have something spectacular by this weekend. I imagine I’ll be spending the night tonight working on the primary exhibit.”

  “Surely, someone like Pan Arcadia will bring women into the mall. What ‘s your current assignment?” Sue asked.

  Iris blushed furiously, and she looked about the room nervously before admitting, “Bedding. You know—sheets, that sort of thing.”

  The women roared with laughter. Once they’d calmed, another member hugged Iris. “Perfect combination, the love doctor and sheets. You’ll have inspiration. He sounds so hot.” She turned towards Kris. “Wouldn’t you at least like to meet him?”

  Kris decided to come clean with her therapy group with what little personal knowledge she had of Pan. “I have met him. Last night in fact.”

  The six women in the room immediately crowded around her, begging for information on their idol. Kris shook her head. So much for a therapy session to teach them how to function without focusing on a man, without needing a man to bring them contentment in their lives. She waited until they’d run out of steam before she answered their questions.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll admit he’s downright sexy.” Oh, yeah, he was that. “But he’s so damned arrogant. Ladies, we can rise above that. I’m not saying relationships aren’t important. They are. What I’m trying to teach you is not to depend on a man to make you feel complete. We are responsible for our own happiness. That’s a hell of a burden to put on any man.”

  “His voice makes my toes curl, and his music is to die for,” Sue, the oldest member of the group, piped up.

  “That’s what draws you to him?” Kris frowned, trying to understand.

  Sue shrugged. “It’s the whole package. His voice is sexy as hell. You get the feeling he knows just what a woman wants. Add in those hauntingly romantic melodies, and I’d fall at his feet and do anything he wants. With someone like that, I could be happy again.”

  Kris shook her head and struggled for a way to get through to them. In the face of all the raging lust floating about the room, any mention of self-reliance was a total waste of time. Maybe it was time to come up with a different approach.

  “Okay, ladies, how about we close up shop now, and you all get off to the mall so you can check out your idol? We’re not going to achieve anything today. But…” She paused, one finger up to make her point. “I want you all back here for the next session, and you can tell me what you got out of the experience.”

  Sue punched a fist into the air. “All right! Let’s move it, girls, or we’ll miss out on a place down front.” She grabbed her handbag and rushed from the room, the rest of the women
, with the exception of Iris, following in her wake.

  Iris held back until Kris met her at the door, and the two walked down the hall to the front entrance together.

  “You liked him, didn’t you?” Iris asked quietly.

  “I thought he was quite charming.” Kris chose her words carefully. “He was also an arrogant ass at times.”

  “But you liked him.”

  Kris was intrigued. Iris had arrived promptly each session and had been a faithful attendee, but she’d rarely opened her mouth to say hello, much less offer comment, so even though group time was over, Kris recognised the opportunity to connect with her patient.

  She linked her arm through Iris’s and slowed to a halt. “Yes, I liked him.” She battled with herself on how far honesty should prevail, but the look that crossed Iris’s features let her know that truth was precisely the right prescription.

  “Good.” Iris stared ahead a moment, as if she was trying to get her emotions under control, which was highly likely. Many of Kris’s patients who were the quiet, serious-minded types kept their feelings barely under wraps, which was why they refused to speak up.

  Kris let go the other woman’s arm, sliding into psychologist mode once again. Reaffirm then give breathing room. “What’s on your mind, Iris?” she asked softly.

  Iris seemed to have gotten herself under control. She turned back to her therapist. “Sometimes it seems as though you’re suggesting to us that all men are to be avoided and that good-looking men in particular are bad news.” She wet her lips. “It helps me to hear that not all men are bastards.” She offered a tight smile.

  Kris swallowed a sigh, treading lightly since she could tell that the other woman was battling serious issues of her own. “Then I need to tell you all more often that men are marvellous creatures and that when the right one comes along, we need to nurture the relationship, not shut ourselves off from it.”

  That seemed to satisfy her patient, whose lips widened to a full-out grin, but the possibility that she had become a Nazi-feminist ball-buster made Kris grimace.