Midnight's Master

by Cynthia Eden

  Holly gasped his name and strained against him.

  In. Out. The fingers plunged in a wild rhythm.

  His teeth scored her neck.

  Oh, damn, oh, damn, oh, damn…

  She was going to come again. Holly could feel it. The tight, clenching buildup. The aching rush of blood in her muscles. So close—

  Niol wrenched his fingers away. “Get on the bed.” Guttural. An order.

  Please—like she was gonna argue when another mind-blowing orgasm was seconds away.

  “On your back, get—”

  Now, she’d argue. “On yours, demon.” She shook her head, sending her hair rocking against her face as she climbed onto the bed and waited.

  His gaze held hers. So black and deep.

  Not evil. Not cold.

  How had she ever thought that?

  Such fire in the darkness. Such need.

  He jerked open the nightstand drawer. When she heard a faint rip, Holly knew he was suiting up with another condom.

  A man with serious stamina—what a perfect dream.

  The bed squeaked beneath his weight. Holly slid away from him, on her knees now as she waited for him to follow her order.

  His taunting smile was a white flash that made her heart pound too fast, but he stretched out, folding his hands behind his head. “You want me?”

  Hell, yes.

  “Then take me.”

  A taunt. A challenge.

  She’d always loved a good challenge.

  Holly straddled him, positioning her wet folds right over the bulging length of male flesh. Her nails raked over his chest. Teased his nipples.

  She arched her hips, rubbing lightly. Not taking him in, not yet.

  Enjoying the game too much.

  Her head bent and her tongue swiped over his left nipple. The nubbin was hard and erect and when her tongue touched him, she heard the harsh inhalation of his breath.

  “In…side.”

  Another order.

  One the clenching of her sex wanted her to follow.

  But…not yet.

  She turned her attention to his other nipple and rocked her hips again.

  He moved in a blur, hands flying down, almost bruising as they curled around her hips. “No play, love.” His lips peeled back from his teeth. “Not…this time. Too fucking hungry.”

  Even after the first—

  Oh, wow.

  His cock pushed into her opening. Squeezed just inside.

  The heavy, too-tight feeling rushed over her again, but she was more than ready and after a brief moment, the full length of his erection slipped right inside, seeming to drive all the way to her womb.

  He lifted her with his grip, slid that cock out, then pushed her down in a relentless drive.

  Again and again.

  Holly didn’t need his urging. She shoved down on him as hard and fast as she could, the climax again tantalizingly close.

  The slick slide of their bodies pushed them toward a wild release.

  Deeper.

  Faster.

  Harder.

  Her hands were on his chest, pushing down with her weight as her hips rose and fell and she rode him with all her power.

  His eyes were closed, jaw clenched.

  Never, not like this, not like—

  When she came, she breathed his name and she shattered. The starlight disappeared for a moment. Darkness seemed to surround her and the thudding drumbeat of her heart echoed in her ears.

  He shot up beneath her, rocking her body. Holly blinked and saw his face.

  Tense. Savage.

  His hips hammered at her, and the long length of his shaft jerked inside her sex.

  Niol’s eyes widened with his release and she saw the pleasure flood his features.

  Then he kissed her.

  She was lost.

  Dammit, lost.

  And in the worst trouble of her life.

  Chapter 8

  When Holly woke the next morning, sunlight blazed through the windows, too bright and hard, and she blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the sight and remember where she was because this was not her room and—

  And a tongue licked over her sex.

  Holy mother of—

  She shoved up on her elbows as memories of the night before flooded back through her mind.

  Niol.

  Sex downstairs.

  Sex upstairs.

  More sex.

  Oh, yeah.

  His black head was between her thighs. One strong hand held each leg spread. Open wide.

  He was tasting her. Licking. Taking his time. Sucking. Stroking with that clever tongue.

  He growled against her core and the vibration had the back of her knees tingling.

  His tongue thrust inside her.

  Damn.

  She climaxed. A hot, hard explosion that broke through her body.

  Her eyes were on him as she came. His head lifted. He licked his lips, taking the last of her essence into his mouth. That wicked tongue—

  His eyes widened as he stared at her and she could only shudder.

  What a hell of a way to start the day.

  So much better than her clock radio.

  And that hadn’t even given her any bad memories. Hadn’t made her think of—

  No. She wouldn’t go there. Not now.

  As the contractions of her inner muscles faded, she reached for him. The guy was more than ready to go, definitely aroused and turnabout was more than fair—

  “What the fucking hell?” Niol’s eyes narrowed to chips of black ice. He shot up the bed, grabbing her arms and glaring down at her.

  Holly’s mouth dropped open. Tender lover to pissed demon in two seconds flat. “Niol, what are you—” His fingers dug into her arms. “You’re hurting me!” And he was. A too tight, too hard grip.

  His hold eased, just a fraction, but the look on his face became even darker. Uglier. “What kind of game are you playing?”

  Was the man insane? Holly could only shake her head. Her body still vibrated with pleasure. Her thighs trembled and Niol looked at her like he hated her.

  Great sex. Best night of pleasure ever.

  Now the morning from hell in a split-second change.

  Was this what life with a demon was like?

  “Answer me. I see you now.”

  Uh, he should have seen her the entire time. Her chin came up. “Take your hands off me.” She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she was getting…scared.

  Her heart wasn’t racing from passion anymore. No, that pumping came from fear. Because the air in the room had thickened again. The lamp on the nightstand was shaking as if—

  The lamp exploded, sending shards of glass flying in the room.

  Holly yelped and jerked away from Niol.

  “I see you,” he said again, a muscle jerking along his jaw.

  “Yeah? Well, big damn deal.” She jumped from the bed, yanking the sheet up and wrapping it around her body. Being naked was all fine and dandy until your lover had a freak-out after some oral sex.

  She could pick ’em. “I see you, too, asshole.” Every muscled, naked, furious inch of him.

  No, uh-uh, not gonna get distracted. The guy was flipping out—and she needed to get out.

  She turned, storming for the door.

  “You’re a demon.” Soft.

  Her jaw dropped. No way. No. Way. Holly glanced over her shoulder. “What is your problem? You know I’m—”

  “I saw your eyes when you came, love.” Not a term of endearment then. More of a sneer. “Can’t hide anymore.” The mirror near the closet shattered.

  She shook her head. “That’s impossible.” Not the broken shards of glass. His accusation. “I’m human.”

  “Fucking lie.”

  And she realized that sex with a demon could be very, very dangerous.

  Niol bounded across the room and locked his arms around her.

  He was losing control.

  Niol knew it. He cou
ld barely hear Holly’s voice, telling him he was crazy, that he was screwing up what could have been something great—

  All he heard was the thundering beat of his heart and the roar of fury that came from his soul.

  Demons had souls. Demons could love.

  Demons could hurt.

  Her eyes were grass green now, but he’d seen that flash of black when her face went slack with ecstasy.

  Total darkness. Iris. Sclera. Everything.

  Demon eyes.

  The way his always looked.

  The way a demon’s eyes looked without glamour.

  A climax was a weak moment for a demon. Power fluctuated then. A glamour could slip, for a few precious moments.

  As hers had slipped.

  She’d played me. All along. From that first night.

  No helpless human. Not by a long shot.

  For a demon to be able to hide her true self from him, she had to be very powerful.

  He, of all people, sure knew how dangerous a powerful demon could be.

  What if it was a setup? Everything? Carl? Sam? What if she’d been trying to get close, so that I could be her next victim?

  Shit.

  He hadn’t been this angry, this fucking furious since—

  Since he’d been twelve and his mom had dumped his ass on his grandmother’s doorstep. She’d been terrified of him, his power, and desperate to get away from her only child.

  He’d begged. He’d pleaded. But she’d left him with a brown paper bag full of his clothes and the taste of salt on his tongue.

  She’d driven away and never looked back.

  “Niol.” Holly’s sharp voice jerked him from the past.

  He blinked and stopped seeing the flash of red taillights disappearing over an old, broken road and saw Holly, face pale, lips red, as she stared up at him, a faint line between her brows.

  “Let. Me. Go.”

  No. Not until he found out what she—

  Holly kicked him in the shin.

  Swearing, he dropped his hold. What kind of attack was that? A demon wouldn’t—

  “You’re twisted.” With a quick, snakelike move, she tightened the sheet around her, toga-style. “I thought we had—screw that.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know what kind of crazy shit you’re talking about, but I do know you just ruined the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  The best sex I’ve ever had.

  Her words calmed the fury.

  It’d been the best he’d had, too.

  And he’d sure had plenty of comparative experience.

  But nothing like being with Holly. The pleasure had ripped through him—no, seemed to rip him apart.

  And that’s why it had hurt so much when he’d learned the truth.

  He’d had her body, thought he’d touched more in the darkness of the night.

  Only to find out everything was a lie.

  A trap.

  “You’re good, I’ll give you that.” She’d slipped right under his guard, and he’d never even suspected.

  “And you’re crazy.” Her gaze darted around the room. “Shit. Where are my clothes?”

  Scattered.

  “Why are you pretending? The game’s over.”

  Her glittering stare shot back to his. “I’m not playing a game with you, jerkoff. I’m walking out on you. There’s a difference.”

  She found her skirt. Yanked it up under the toga. Discovered her shirt near the door. He’d brought it up for her at some point in the night, trying to be a gentleman. Fuck that from now on.

  Swearing, Holly pulled the shirt over her head, not bothering with a bra, and finally let the sheet drop.

  Then she looked at him and shook her head. “I thought finding my fiancé with his face between a grad student’s legs had been hard. Hell, Niol, you’ve just ripped me apart.”

  Tears gleamed in her eyes for a moment.

  The taste of salt on my tongue.

  She grabbed her shoes and flew out of the room.

  And it felt like someone had punched him in the chest.

  Niol took an instinctive step forward, wanting to go after her.

  A lying demon.

  Just like me.

  No, no, Holly wasn’t like him. He’d been watching her too carefully, seen the way she interacted with others.

  His teeth ground together.

  He’d also seen the flash of her eyes.

  Niol heard the thud of her footsteps pounding down the stairs.

  Hell. As fast as he could, Niol jerked on a pair of jeans.

  Then, no choice—he took off after her. The lady was fast. She was yanking open the front door, his car keys in her fist, when he caught her.

  He slammed the door shut with the palm of his hand, caging her between the door and his body.

  Her smell, that rush of lavender and the warm scent of woman, teased his nostrils.

  Her back was straight, shoulders tense, and the soft locks of her hair brushed against his cheek.

  For just a second, he closed his eyes and inhaled.

  The memory of her in that pit of an alley flashed before him. Terrified eyes. Pale face.

  Helpless.

  Trapped.

  The demon bastard had controlled her, nearly killed her.

  Niol’s eyes flew open. That didn’t make a lick of sense. One demon couldn’t control another, especially not one as powerful as—

  Holly turned, her body brushing against his, and her eyes stared up at him.

  So green…

  And lost.

  I’ll be damned. Understanding dawned and had him rocking back on his heels. “You don’t know.”

  Because no way, no way, could he have been that wrong about her.

  He was never wrong about people. He could sense evil and deception—that was part of his nature.

  He hadn’t sensed a lie from her. Still didn’t.

  One demon couldn’t control another.

  Not a full-blooded demon, anyway. But a hybrid—those rules didn’t apply with a hybrid demon.

  The line was back between her brows. “Know what?” Holly licked her lips. “Niol, stop jerking me around. I’ve got enough crap to deal with—”

  His mouth crashed onto hers. A deep, hard, I’m-taking-you kiss that—

  Holly shoved him back a good foot.

  Because he let her, not because she had any enhanced strength.

  “I’m not the kind of girl who likes it when a guy plays asshole one minute and lover the next.” Her lip curled in disgust—no dimple—as her eyes narrowed. “Even when the sex is good.”

  She doesn’t know.

  Niol realized he had to tread very, very carefully now.

  If he hadn’t been so pissed earlier, he would have realized—

  The woman had been thrown into his world months before, a lamb to the slaughter.

  Some reactions just couldn’t be faked.

  He’d remember her fear in that alley until he took his last breath.

  “I’m sorry, Holly.” The words were rusty and felt funny on his tongue. Because it was the first time he’d ever apologized.

  Judging by the look on her face, she knew it, too. “Uh, run that by me again.”

  “I. Am. Sorry.” He wouldn’t plead. Wouldn’t beg. Had sworn years ago never to do either again.

  “Sorry you called me a demon? Well, you should be—”

  “Not for that.”

  Her lips parted.

  “You are a demon, love. But the crazy thing is…I don’t think you even know it.”

  She rubbed her hand over her eyes and growled. “I’m not a demon—”

  He caught her hand, pulled it gently down, and kept a loose grip around her wrist. “Yes, you are.”

  A startled laugh burst from her lips. “You’re actually serious. You believe—”

  “I’ll prove it to you. Just give me some time.” An investigation of her background, her family history, would take a few days—maybe less, depending on who he hir
ed and how much money he tossed around, but Niol knew he would find the proof.

  He just had to look hard enough.

  “I can’t be a demon, I think I would know—”

  “I thought so, too,” he murmured.

  “My parents would have told me, don’t you think? But they didn’t because they’re not demons. They’re perfectly normal people—” A shadow drifted over her face. “My dad was, anyway, but he had a heart attack and—” Her chin lifted. “He was an accountant, for goodness sake! And my mom, she’s an engineer at the car plant in—”

  “Maybe she doesn’t know.” Maybe neither of her parents had known the truth.

  Adoption, one possibility. Or maybe somewhere far back in the family tree, one of Holly’s relatives had been tempted by a demon in disguise. “Make no mistake, I know what I saw upstairs.” When he’d had her naked and open to him and he’d been seconds away from thrusting into that slick pink flesh.

  Then he’d met her stare and the world had stopped.

  And started again in a red haze of fury.

  “You’re wrong.” A whisper. “I’d know.”

  He brought her hand to his lips. He’d screwed up with her, lost valuable ground, and he wasn’t sure how to repair the damage he’d done.

  The idea of Holly betraying him—

  It had shattered his control and let the fury rage.

  “No, love,” now, spoken as the endearment it was, “you wouldn’t.”

  And that was the whole damn problem.

  Holly paced her office hours later, Niol’s words still spinning in her head.

  A demon. The guy actually thought she was a demon.

  Insane.

  Ridiculous.

  Wasn’t it?

  But Niol wasn’t the joking type and the fury she’d glimpsed in his eyes had been all too real.

  Because he thought I’d played him.

  Shit. Holly stumbled to a stop. It just wasn’t possible.

  Holy Christ…what if it were true?

  From the beginning, she’d been so fascinated by the idea of demons, drawn, almost helplessly, back to Paradise Found.

  Back to the demons.

  Because she was one?

  No. Not. Possible.

  Her hand slammed onto her desk. She was grade-A human, through and through.

  No matter what Niol thought he’d seen.

  Someone rapped on her door.

  Holly sucked in a cleansing breath and turned around. “Kim, do you have those tapes—”