by Trina M. Lee
I’d never known the blood magic without panic guiding its force. Its mere existence terrified me. Since the first time it had exploded out like dynamite going off in my hands, I had feared it.
Remington had possessed blood magic as well. Supernatural power tended to be passed among a vampire’s bloodline, manifesting to various degrees in all those they sired. However, his blood magic hadn’t been driven by panic and fear. He could slice his palm to amplify his power with the blood while standing there calm and smiling the entire time.
Not me though.
Of course, I hadn’t done much smiling during my time with Rem. He’d brought me screaming into this underworld. The sick affection he’d bestowed on me made sense only to him, and he always followed up with more abuse and pain. While ruminating on his abuse, the night Remington turned me threatened to flash through my memory.
I shoved Nova in an effort to flee both him and my past.
He caught me gently by the upper arms and peered down into my wide, frantic eyes. “I am not him. Despite the circumstances, you’re safe here, safe with me. I’m going to help you, Blaze. Please trust me.”
A calm settled over me, over everything. I knew he created it, but I didn’t care. I leaned into Nova, letting the coziness of his gentle vibes lull me back down to the here and now.
Placing a hand on his chest, I felt the steady, strong beat of his heart beneath my palm. I couldn’t help but wish I could find what I needed in Nova. But we couldn’t be together, and I wasn’t sure I even knew what I sought.
Holding his studious gaze, I let myself fall into the seductive pull of being so close to him. Touching him. Just for a moment. Up on my tiptoes, I kissed him, deep and yearning. A silent cry in the dark. A plea for so much more than he could give me. An apology for what I could not give him: trust.
Faith that I was safe with him.
Nova didn’t deserve to be punished for someone else’s crimes. Nobody deserved to pay the price for what Remington had done to me.
Right before I broke away, I whispered against Nova’s lips, “You have no idea how much I wish I could do that.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“Do you want me to be there next time? You don’t have to do this alone.” Rayne traced the outline of the small gash from Nova’s ice shard, which sent a ticklish jolt skipping up my arm, teasing my nerve endings. “Maybe Nova isn’t the right one to teach you.”
The steady thud of his heart against me both soothed and stimulated. I let my head fall against his shoulder. Hot water and bubbles covered all but our shoulders and heads. It felt amazing.
Between his legs, his chest to my back, I could feel the slight swell of his semi-erect cock. Dragging my fingertips through the bubbly water, I watched it swirl and separate beneath my touch.
“If Nova doesn’t teach me, nobody ever will. Rem never would, but I don’t think he understood my magic either. I don’t know anyone else who can help. The problem isn’t Nova anyway. It’s me.” It wasn’t a self-pitying statement. Just truth. A truth I was determined to change.
Since Nova had let me walk out of the library, leaving him behind, I’d replayed our final moments together. Several times. Surely Nova knew how his plea had sounded. Trust a demon? Was anyone foolish enough to fall for that? The number of people I’d trusted in my life had been non-existent until recently. People for the most part, whether human or other, were scum. Plain and simple.
Not the werewolf using a sudsy bath puff to drizzle bubbles down over the two of us. Rayne had proven himself to give a damn about others, to the point of putting himself at risk. A wolf’s loyalty ran far and deep, but it was not easily given.
I didn’t take that confidence lightly.
We’d formed a flirtatious friendship from the start, much to my surprise. He was easy going, fun to talk to, and a partner who really had my back. And for the first time in pretty much my entire existence, I felt genuine affection for a man.
It hadn’t been forced on me like the Stockholm Syndrome I’d spent decades recovering from, nor had it been obligatory like the naïve love I’d had for my father before he bargained me away. It was authentic, and it scared the shit out of me.
I told Rayne that I wasn’t looking for love. Since Nova liked to remind us that we shouldn’t get attached to one another in this house, I was wary of feeling too much. Falling too deep. I’d spent far too many years mourning a love I’d never known, longing for the deep emotion that the world promised was worth dying for.
Now I stood on the precipice of trust, asking myself if I should take the leap, and then Nova had the goddamn nerve to ask me to trust him of all people. Not just ask but plead. For something I couldn’t give him. Not now. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“Nova goes too hard on you though.” Rayne pulled me from my thoughts. “He’s a button pusher that doesn’t always know when to stop.”
“Doesn’t know? Or doesn’t care?” I smirked to myself, cupping a handful of bubbles.
“Both, although Nova has taken a liking to you. For some reason, it makes him more of an asshole than usual.” The laugh that shook Rayne’s chest lacked mirth. Reaching around from behind, he pulled my hand closer and blew the bubbles from my palm up into the air above us.
They danced overhead, breaking apart, darting in several directions as the tiny air currents in the room caught them. One small bubble floated down to settle on the tip of my nose, and I laughed it out of existence.
Some might have mistaken Rayne’s annoyance for jealousy. I knew that it wasn’t. Rayne had made his interest in me clear. However, he also knew that we were on borrowed time. Rather than carving out the details of a relationship forged under shitty circumstances, we’d opted to just enjoy one another. One night at a time.
I didn’t hide anything from Rayne. Not the one night stand I’d had with Ghost prior to coming to Mayhem House nor the encounter I’d shared with Nova after. For the most part, Rayne was cool with it. Cool enough to share an encounter with Ghost and me, before Nova had rudely interrupted, ending it before it could really start.
“He knows how to work my temper, that’s for sure. Sometimes it helps. Rage sure beats panic.” A tendril of hair had escaped my bun, and I blew it out of my eyes. The sun had risen a while ago. I was almost ready to move to the bed for some much-needed slumber. “So tell me about the new guy. Trouble already? Is that what Nova was in a mood about?” If Nova had to track the new guy down, he was a goner by now.
In the five weeks or so that I’d been at Mayhem House, several new recruits had come and gone. Some had run, taking their chances, while others had chosen death over joining our Mayhem Task Force.
Our number remained unchanged.
“Yeah. Not much to tell. Sent him out with Corr, and he took off. Nova tracked him down. I didn’t expect him to last long.” Rayne’s hands dipped beneath the water to glide over my wet body.
“You didn’t expect me to last this long either,” I pointed out. As he caressed my sides, triggering a ticklish spot, a playful laugh escaped me.
Rayne lightly teased my nipples into matching taut points before continuing his underwater exploration of my body. “Hey, I didn’t expect myself to still be here now. I guess anything can happen.” He said that last bit in a manner that suggested he meant something else. Something more.
Beneath the layer of bubbles covering the water’s surface, Rayne’s hand slid over my stomach and down between my legs. The immediate sensation of the sudden touch made me suck in a breath. With the faintest touch he dragged a fingertip over my clit, a tease before moving away to stroke along my slit.
It didn’t take much to turn me on right now. Every time I was around Nova, I left feeling like I needed half-a-dozen orgasms to rid me of the sexual tension. Rayne often served as the recipient of those urges, not that he minded.
I moaned softly as he kept up the teasing touches. Behind me his cock grew harder, making some demands of its own. That was fair.
Reaching up to r
un a wet hand along the side of his face, I said, “Is it just me, or is the water starting to get cold?”
“In other words, you want to get out and fuck now.” Rayne laughed, dragging his finger around my clit in lazy circles, never quite touching.
“What can I say? You can read me like a book.” Turning over so we were face to face, I wrapped a hand around the rock-hard shaft straining between us. “If I’m not mistaken, part of you wants to get out and fuck too.” I wiggled both brows at him, grinning when he gave a melodramatic groan.
“Nope, not mistaken,” he confirmed. “Many parts of me want to pin you to the bed right now.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
If it had been a race to see who could get out and get dried faster, I’d have lost. Not that I wasn’t eager to get into bed. Once Rayne was standing on the bathmat, dripping water while rubbing a towel over his damp hair, I took my time, enjoying the sight of him.
“Better hurry your ass up, Blaze. Last one to the bed is the first one to give oral.” To top off his challenge, Rayne whipped my bare ass with his wet towel before darting to the bed. He made it in two lengthy strides.
“Your challenges get more ridiculous each time.” Standing in view of the bed from the bathroom, I slowly toweled off, taking my sweet time. Rayne’s golden eyes followed my every move.
“You love them.”
I did. Rayne could be a total goofball, and it was adorable as fuck.
As I made my way to him, I found a number of reasons to stop along the way. Noticing a scuff mark on the floor, asking about the fisherman painting that hung above the fireplace, whatever it took to drive him a little nuts.
Sprawled out in the middle of the bed, blankets fluffed up all around him, Rayne crossed his arms behind his head and watched me with predatory wolf eyes. “You’re going to make me smack that gorgeous ass of yours, aren’t you?”
In response I paused to shake my booty at him before crawling onto the foot of the bed. “It’s all yours, baby.”
“Remember you said that.” A growl edged his warning. The weight of his beastly stare caused my core to tighten.
Following the rules of Rayne’s made-up-on-the-spot challenge, I grasped his thick shaft and sucked the head of his cock into my mouth.
The rumble of Rayne’s growl intensified. He plunged a hand into my hair, tugging and twisting as he worked my bun loose. “Sorry,” he murmured when he inadvertently pulled too hard. Once my long red locks were free, he tousled my hair so it fell about my shoulders. “Much better. I like having something to hold onto.”
I’d noticed. Rayne could be a real hair puller at times, which never detracted from our engagements. As I gave him my best oral affection, his grip on my locks tightened until he pulled me off. Even though I was happy to make him come, he wanted more than my mouth.
Seizing hold of one wrist, Rayne used it to tug me closer. Staying in his relaxed position on his back, he patted his lap with a wink. Needing no further coaxing, I straddled his hips.
Making a show of his lazy approach, Rayne laid back and let me guide his cock between my legs. So I teased the hell out of him by slipping just the head inside me before pulling back.
That’s when Rayne gave me a resounding smack on one ass cheek. Four wolf fangs protruded from beneath his lips when he spoke. “If you make me come before I even get inside you, it will be a week of climactic tease for you.”
The sharp sting on my flesh gave way to a warm pleasurable burn. Having him right where I wanted him, I slid down the full length of his shaft with a moan. Rayne’s cock stretched me wide as he thrust up into me, burying deep.
“Is that supposed to be a punishment, Rayne? Because it sounds like fun to me.” I rolled my hips, taunting as I slid down his length, grinning when it coaxed a husky groan from him.
Being with Rayne allowed me a sense of liberation I’d never had. Taking mostly humans as lovers throughout the years, I hadn’t been free to be my full self. Not like I was now, here with him. I doubted that Rayne would ever know the full extent of what he represented in my life: my turning point onto a better path.
“You won’t be saying that when it happens.” When Rayne tired of the shared effort, he rolled us over. Once I was beneath him, he railed me like the world was ending and this was our last chance at bliss before it all turned to dust.
With his face buried in my scarlet tresses, Rayne kissed my neck, hungry and demanding. His breath came hot and fast next to my ear. The passion with which he took me never ceased to leave me in a state of wonder. So deep was Rayne’s affection, it both frightened and fascinated me.
After achieving a mutually satisfying conclusion, he pulled me into his arms and tucked in tight against me. Nuzzling the side of my face in a wolf-like gesture I’d come to know and love, he quickly fell into a soft-snoring slumber with his head next to mine.
I snuggled into his hotblooded warmth. Rayne’s bed had become one of my favorite places in the house, a safe haven of sorts.
However, as I lay there in his comforting embrace awaiting the so-called sandman, I couldn’t tame my thoughts. They kept taking me back to the library downstairs. To Nova’s uncharacteristic plea.
Everybody with half a brain in their head knew better than to trust a demon. Any demon. Evil and deception came with the territory. Literally.
I didn’t even know how to trust anyone. I was learning how to do that now. In small steps.
The problem that kept me awake was, despite having every reason why I shouldn’t, I wanted to trust Nova. Desperately.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Is this really necessary?” Tavi’s tone was harsh and critical. With arms crossed she watched Dalyn and me with open judgment. “I can’t believe you’re letting Nova pimp you like street trash.”
Squeezed onto the bench seat with Dalyn in front of the vanity mirror in her room, I carefully smudged the liner around my eyes for a sultry, smoky effect. “He’s not pimping us, Tavi. We volunteered. And considering we’re little more than prisoners here, the fact that he asked instead of ordered says something.”
“Yeah, it says you’re fucking him.” From behind us Tavi lounged on the bed, running her mouth, dishing the attitude hard. The full moon was right around the corner, and the werewolves in the house were feeling it. Tavi had been more snark-ass than usual.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Not only had I gotten used to the bitchy werewolf’s candid insults, I’d grown to enjoy them. Because I knew deep down there was a lot more going on with Tavi. Something she didn’t seem to know how to deal with. I’d been there, was still there. So I didn’t take it personally. Not even when she made it personal.
Turning around on the bench, I fixed her with a calm, focused stare. “I have not fucked Nova. If I was lying, you’d know. So let that one go for a while, would you?”
The werewolf’s keen senses made it easy for her to sniff out a lie. I admittedly didn’t know how it worked, but it did. Satisfied that she wouldn’t catch me in a lie, not today anyway, I spun back around to continue my makeup application.
“Besides, we’re not posing as street trash,” Dalyn interjected, digging through her cosmetics bag for a lipstick. “We’re going as courtesans. High class escorts. The kind that secret agents hire for bachelor parties, not the kind offering ten-dollar blowjobs behind a crack den.”
Tavi eyed the blonde witch with scrutiny. “Yeah, and what happens when some sloppy Fed puts their hands all over you? Or wants to stick it to you in the bathroom? Are you willing to do that for the sake of getting information? Personally, I’d rather be dead.”
The watchdog team had received intel indicating that several FPA members would be attending a private party tonight. A bachelor party for a colleague, it featured a private penthouse suite with high security. Nobody was getting in who wasn’t on the guest list.
Naturally The Circle of the Veil saw potential in a party of drunk federal agents thinking they were safe. There would no doubt be shop t
alk.
“No one is getting screwed by a drunk Fed in the bathroom.” I exchanged a glance with Dalyn beside me, and she smiled, rolling her eyes. “We go in, get what we can, and get out.”
“Easy peasy,” Dalyn murmured as she carefully daubed a mascara wand along her lower lashes.
Tavi scoffed, shoving the pillows on the bed about until she’d created a nest of them to sprawl across. “Come on, Blaze. You’re not that naïve. And if shit goes south? What then?”
“Ghost and Rayne won’t be far. It’s not like we’re going without a backup team. If all goes as planned, they won’t even know we’re anything other than escorts.” After borrowing Dalyn’s lipstick, a tone as red as my hair, I checked out my image in the mirror. Definitely not my usual soft wing liner and little else. This look screamed sex kitten. It unnerved me.
“Make sure to push those titties up.” Tavi chuckled, a friendly sound that had started to come out more often when the three of us spent time together. “If it’s all they can see, maybe they won’t notice the fangs.”
Snatching a stray pillow from the foot of the bed, I smacked her over the head with it. “They won’t see the fangs. I’ll be using a glamour.”
Nova had promised to provide me with a locket that would house a demon spell. The glamour would make me appear as human as Dalyn who would also be using a mild glamour of her own creation to alter her hair and eye color.
Dressed in a slinky black cocktail dress with a plunging neckline and a slit up one side, I descended the stairs to the main floor, fussing with a stray curl that wouldn’t obey. Finally stuffing it behind an ear, I arranged my loose locks so they covered most of my cleavage. No point showing off all the goods until absolutely necessary.
Tavi followed behind Dalyn and me, brow set in a hard frown. When Nova approached us about this, she’d been the first to shoot him down, to no one’s surprise. The unfortunate reality was that the FPA had more people than we did. They brought them in from all over the world, some special agents born and bred for their jobs. Though the number of supernatural beings in the city was likely much higher than even the FPA knew, the size of our team didn’t compare. And most supes weren’t exactly lining up to be part of this task force.