Burn

by Suzanne Wright

  “The practitioners said that someone wanted rid of Harper. What reason would her mother have to do that?”

  “Carla got rid of her once before,” Levi pointed out.

  “Abandoning your child and killing your child are two different things.”

  “Stop thinking of them as mother and daughter. From what I can tell, the only thing Carla Hayden ever did for Harper was give birth to her. She didn’t want her, she dumped her onto someone else, and she didn’t look back. Yes, there are many parents out there who’ve given up their children for one reason or another. But Carla did it coldly. She’s had no relationship at all with Harper since then, despite them not living all that far away from each other. And didn’t Harper tell you that whenever they’ve crossed paths Carla dismissed her?”

  The more Knox considered Levi’s words, the more his theory sounded very, very plausible. “Carla got rid of a baby she viewed as a mistake and then built a new life in which she pretended Harper didn’t exist; then she could forget what a fool she’d been to believe she could trap Lucian,” he mused aloud. “But now she can’t pretend Harper doesn’t exist any longer. Harper now has a certain fame among our kind.”

  “Yes. People are curious about her. Carla could worry that someone will find out she’s her mother. Other than for Kendra and Carla, our lair feels naturally protective toward Harper because of who she is to you. They were seriously pissed with Kendra for what she did. So imagine how they’d feel about Carla. I don’t think her mate and sons know about Harper. Bray loves kids; he has two from a previous relationship and he’s been a constant, steady presence in their lives.”

  “It still seems farfetched for Carla to try to kill Harper. It’s not as if Harper wants Carla’s recognition, is it?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Carla’s carefully constructed world could very well fall apart if people find out the truth. Bray might be unable to understand and forgive her. Carla might feel it’s a lot easier to get rid of the threat to her world than to risk it. She dumped Harper coldly. Why couldn’t she end her life just as coldly? Some people are just callous through and through.”

  Knox knew that well. “The day Carla came to my office, she painted the picture of a woman who made a mistake, regrets it, and would love nothing more than to fix it. But it’s possible that what she was really doing was making herself seem the least likely person to cause Harper harm so that no one would suspect her.”

  “Yes. And that’s why she needs monitoring closely.”

  “Get some of the Force on it.”

  “As for Harper’s other enemy…” Levi sighed. “I don’t think Kendra would put herself through all the trouble of compulsions and hiring practitioners. She’s too lazy.”

  “But she’s jealous of Harper. And it’s not just because Harper’s my anchor.”

  Levi narrowed his eyes. “What don’t I know?”

  Glancing down at his anchor, he lowered his voice. “It’s possible that she and Kendra are sisters.”

  Levi gaped. He wasn’t a man who was easily shocked. “Are you shitting me?”

  “You know I always do a background check on demons who request to join my lair. So when Kendra joined two years ago, I had one done on her. She comes from a high profile family in a lair in Alabama, though she very quickly shed that accent when she came here. It turns out that there was a scandal many years ago; her mother, Beatrice, got pregnant with Kendra by a demon who later left her for a much younger female, a sphinx. That female sphinx turned out to be Carla. It would explain why Kendra seemed to dislike Carla on sight.”

  “How can you be sure Lucian is the demon who got Beatrice pregnant?”

  “I wasn’t sure, I hadn’t originally asked Tanner to dig that deep. But when I realized Harper’s father was Lucian, I had him do some more digging. He confirmed it was Lucian.” Knox paused as Levi cursed. “If Kendra knows Carla lured her father away, she knows who her father is – a father that also played no part in her life. Yet, in his way, he raised his other daughter and, in fact, Harper’s the only living being he seems to have any true regard for. That can’t make Kendra feel good.”

  “It’s a shame you can’t punch your way into her mind to find out if she’s responsible.”

  It was a shame. But Kendra was a breed of demon known as a ‘nightmare.’ There was only one thing he would find if he invaded her mind: his worst nightmare.

  “You could still invade Carla’s mind. I mean, I get that if the lair thought you’ll happily go around forcing your way into people’s minds, you could lose their trust and loyalty. But you have good reason here. They would understand if you explained the situation.”

  Knox curled a strand of Harper’s hair around his finger. “There would be no point. I lightly touched Carla’s mind when she came to my office. It seems that Harper inherited her unusual shields from her mother.”

  “Unusual?”

  “They have the psychic equivalent of steel barbs. No one could get through them without doing major damage to their own psyche.”

  Levi winced. “Then I guess we’ll just have to keep an eye on both Kendra and Carla. Have you told Harper that Kendra could be her half-sister?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I know Harper. Maybe better than even she does. And she already had plenty of reasons in her pretty little head to not form the anchor bond. I didn’t want to give her another. Now, it could be that it wouldn’t have bothered Harper to know that her anchor had an extremely brief fling with a half-sister she doesn’t even know. But anchors can be very possessive of each other, and it does apply in our situation. So there was a chance it would have bothered her. In any case, she would have undoubtedly grasped onto it as another reason to avoid bonding.”

  Levi gave him a knowing look. “And you didn’t want to give her a reason for it to maybe feel a little weird to get in your bed.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “When are you planning to tell her?” There was a hardness in Levi’s voice that told Knox the reaper fully expected Knox to do so and would be thoroughly pissed if he didn’t. Knox arched a brow at his sentinel’s tone.

  Levi shrugged. “I like her. I don’t want her upset.”

  Neither did Knox. “I’ll tell her tomorrow. Hopefully she won’t make me pay too harsh a price for keeping it from her.”

  Levi grinned. “Oh, she’ll make you pay.”

  He was probably right. As Harper’s body shifted restlessly, Knox sighed. “I better put her to bed before she rolls off the couch.” She didn’t fuss when he scooped her up and cradled her against his chest, but her mouth did settle into a cute pout that he wanted to kiss right off her face. Four hours. He’d give her four hours to recover, and then he’d take her the way he’d wanted to for the past four days. He’d developed an addiction for her hot little body, and he fully intended to indulge it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Wake up for me, Harper.

  Harper’s eyes snapped open as a hot tongue licked at her. She wasn’t sure whether it was the telepathic call that woke her or the talented tongue that was now swirling around her clit. A moan slipped out of her, earning her a growl of approval from the male settled between her thighs.

  “For four long days, I’ve thought about this pussy, about how it tastes.” The thickly spoken words rumbled against her slick folds. The tip of Knox’s tongue flicked at her clit just before his teeth gave it a light nip. She bucked, and his hands firmly pinned her down by her hips. “Be still.”

  “It’s a little hard not to move when—” A gasp flew out of her as ice-cold fingers pinched her nipple. “Shit.” Like last time, the fingers made her flesh burn and tingle in the best way. They pinched, tweaked, plucked, and circled her nipples while Knox licked and sipped at her pussy like it was some kind of delicacy. Then he plunged a finger inside her; every thrust was slow, deliberate, and a taunt that made her pussy ripple and clench.

  It was a sensual assault, and she couldn’t tak
e anymore. “Knox, I need to come.”

  “Not yet.”

  “Then you need to get in me fast.” She shuddered as he blew over her clit while his psychic fingers plucked at her nipples again. “Motherfucker.” Chuckling, he rose above her…and his hot mouth landed on her taut, cold, tingling nipple. “Oh, fuck.” Making it worse, two icy psychic fingers slid deep in her, burning her from the inside out as her pussy began to blaze and quiver.

  Knox suckled on the hard bud, watching as she trembled beneath him from the onslaught he was subjecting her to; she writhed and arched, curving her restless, delectable body into his. She was so fucking sensual and responsive. So fucking his. He bit the curve of her breast, sure to leave a mark. Her head shot up as her eyes swirled from a soft violet to an electric blue.

  “Enough teasing!”

  “But I like teasing you.”

  “If you expect to ever fuck me again, you’ll get inside me now.” Harper stilled as Knox’s demon suddenly took control. It was hard to read those eyes, but she could swear the entity was pissed. “Um…”

  A hand clamped possessively around her pussy. “Mine. Mine to fuck whenever I want it.”

  Then she felt a familiar prickling beneath the hand as her skin began to heat, and she knew exactly what it was doing. She shook her head. “No. Not there.” The flesh under its hand suddenly felt like it was on fire. Yet, what should have been sheer agony was sheer pleasure; she arched into the hand, so damn close to exploding.

  The icy psychic fingers pumped hard and fast as the demon pressed down on her clit with its thumb. “Come. Come for me.”

  Her release crashed into her, ripping a scream from her throat. The psychic fingers dissolved, and the demon seemed happy enough to then subside. “It did it again,” she told Knox. She inhaled sharply as he ground against her sensitive newly branded flesh, sending a shockwave of pleasure sizzling through her.

  “I know.” Knox licked his lips as he donned the condom he’d placed on the bedside drawers. “You taste better than I remembered. Let’s see if you feel better than I remembered.” He flipped her onto her stomach, pulled her to her knees, and slammed into her. She was swollen from her last orgasm, but he forced his way inside until he was balls-deep. He groaned through his teeth as her inferno-hot pussy tightened and contracted around him. “You do feel better.”

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She was so sensitive inside that it was almost painful to have his cock filling her. But even if she’d wanted to move away, she couldn’t have; his fingers bit into her hips as he held her still and took her with brutal, powerful thrusts. His pace was feral and unrelenting, and Harper could only fist her hands in the bedsheet as he became absolute male domination.

  As ice-cold fingers began to toy with her clit, she almost sobbed. “Knox, no, I can’t take anymore.” Her pussy was filled to bursting, her nipples still tingled, and her branded flesh was throbbing. Having him play with her clit on top of all that…It was too much sensation.

  “You’ll take it,” he said into her ear before licking over the wing marks on her back. “You’ll take it because I want you to, and you want to please me.” He ferociously hammered into her slick, tight pussy, the way he’d needed – craved – to do for four long fucking days. He had to face that he was as obsessed with Harper as his demon was.

  A sharp tug on her clit made her whimper. “Seriously, I’m gonna come.”

  “Fight it.”

  “I can’t. I really, really can’t. I’m too close.”

  He knew that, because her pussy was fluttering and squeezing him. “Wait.” Raking a hand into her hair, he pulled her face to his and dominated her mouth; swallowing her whimpers as she fought her orgasm. “Good girl.” He cupped her pussy, rubbing the heel of his palm over the new brand there. “That’s it, come.”

  She didn’t come, she went up in flames – screaming and milking Knox, who slammed home with a grunt and pulsed deep in her. When his body finally left hers, she sagged forward so that she was lying fully on her stomach. She’d felt a little refreshed after waking up from only a short sleep, but now she was completely boneless. “I’m not sure if I can move again.”

  “Then I’ll move you.” Knox gently rolled her onto her back and pressed a light kiss to her mouth.

  As he slid down her body, she guessed his intention. Groaning, she threw her arm over her face to cover her eyes. “I’m not going to look.”

  Knox chuckled. “I like it.” The V of her thighs was now a triangle of intricate black swirls. Of course, the swirls featured thorns. He followed the swirly thorn branches with the tip of his tongue, smiling when she helplessly bucked beneath him.

  Her curiosity got the better of her. “Fine, let me see.” Bracing herself on her elbows, she studied the brand. “Your demon doesn’t do anything by halves, does it? It’s not funny.”

  “I’m not laughing.”

  “Not out loud.” But his amusement was right there in his eyes.

  “What does your demon think?” he asked, snaking a hand up her soft thigh.

  “The brands don’t bother it. Your smugness, however, pisses it off.”

  He smiled. “Can I help it if I like it?”

  “Don’t you realize I can’t ever again go to a spa for a Brazilian? It’s not funny.”

  After they’d taken a shower during which Knox had fucked her hard against the tiled wall with her luscious legs locked around him, they sat down for the evening meal. Once they’d finished, Knox leaned back in his seat. Truth time. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

  Harper froze with her glass halfway to her mouth. “What’s that?”

  Bracing himself for her anger, he said, “There’s a possibility that Kendra is your half-sister.”

  She blinked. “Oh. Yeah, I already knew that.”

  And for what was probably the millionth time, his anchor had managed to surprise him. “You knew?”

  “Well, I wasn’t sure. She doesn’t look anything at all like a Wallis.” Harper sipped at her wine. “If you think I’m the only kid Lucian’s fathered and abandoned, you’re wrong. There are plenty of ‘possible’ offspring of Lucian Wallis. If Carla hadn’t handed me over to Jolene who then forced him to play a part in my life, he wouldn’t have.”

  Knox was looking forward to the day he finally met Lucian; he fully intended to give the selfish prick a well-deserved lecture.

  “I don’t know the names of the others he could have fathered,” continued Harper, putting down her glass. “But I knew about Kendra. I heard my family talk about how although Lucian left Carla while she was pregnant for another she-demon, they had no sympathy for her – they said she’d gotten a taste of her own medicine after luring him away from Beatrice, who’d been pregnant with Kendra.”

  “So…from minute one of meeting Kendra, you knew she could be your half-sister?”

  “No, I didn’t make the connection.” Harper crossed her legs beneath the table. “To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about her much over the years. It was Jolene who figured it out. When I called to tell her that you and I had formed the anchor bond, I mentioned my little encounter with Kendra in the restrooms. She asked me to describe her. When I did, Jolene told me it was possible her mother was Beatrice.”

  “You never said anything.”

  “Neither did you.”

  Fair point. “I thought you would find it strange to be—”

  “Yeah, I get it. For a few minutes, I did find it a little weird knowing I’d slept with a guy who had also fucked someone who could be my half-sister. But then I thought, ‘So, what? It doesn’t change anything.’ And if she and I are related, it’s not like we’re sisters in an emotional sense. We don’t know each other, and believe me when I say that Kendra hates me. I could see it in her eyes.”

  “If she is your half-sister – and I think it’s probable that she is – her jealousy of you probably runs very, very deep. Lucian publically acknowledges that you’re his daughter, he did his own poor version of
raising you, and even now he remains in contact with you. Kendra, however, has had none of that.”

  Harper sighed, feeling bad for her. “It’s no wonder she’s pissed.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for her. Being upset about her situation with Lucian doesn’t excuse her taking it out on you. It’s understandable if she wants his recognition and attention, but in that case it should be him that she expresses her anger on. Not you.”

  “I guess her distaste for imps is more about her distaste for Lucian. But despite hating him, she’s jealous of me. I don’t understand that.”

  “Why?”

  “Carla has two sons. I’m not jealous that they had her and I didn’t.”

  Knox leaned forward. “Because you and Kendra are totally different creatures. You’re not capable of bitterness.” Harper wasn’t what anyone would term pleasant or cheerful, and she could often be rude and aggressive. But he’d come to realize that beneath all that was a kind, loyal, accepting person who loved from the soul.

  “You suspect she might be behind the attack earlier,” Harper deduced.

  Knox shrugged. “It’s a possibility that I’m not willing to rule out. Look at the facts: she’s jealous of you and she resents you, which is enough. Add in that she’s probably embarrassed by how you reduced her to a puddle of misery in the restrooms, and she certainly has plenty of motive to hurt you.”

  “Any other suspects?”

  Her expression told Knox she had a good idea of who else he suspected. “Levi and I talked about it earlier. We came up with three possible suspects: Kendra, Isla, and Carla.” Shadows entered her unusual eyes that were currently a soft plum in color. “I’m sorry, baby, I know it has to hurt to know your own mother might wish you harm. I’m not convinced it is her, but I won’t take chances with your life. That means keeping an open mind. I agree with Levi that the person who hired the practitioners is the same person who sent Silas to test me.”