Shadow Hunter (The Execution Underground)

by Kait Ballenger

  But the faint scent of antiseptic from the hospital still lingered on his skin, a crude reminder of his still-healing shoulder. A tense knot gathered in her chest. How could she have been so stupid? She ran her hands over the muscles of his shoulders. Because of her negligence, she’d nearly lost him.

  Propping himself up on one arm, he suckled on her lower lip, then kissed her long and deep. The sweetness of his tongue sent a rush of heat straight to her core. A gruff moan escaped his lips as she slickened against him. His pleasure empowered her. The man holding her was a fierce warrior who fought against the strongest supernatural beings in the world. He could massacre monsters with his bare hands, but she longed to be the one to make him as weak in the knees as he made her.

  Slipping his hand between them, Damon fingered the soft flesh between her legs. She cried out as he rubbed against her soft, sensitive folds. Pressure built inside her until she teetered on the brink of ecstasy.

  He ran his lips over her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine as he whispered to her, “Come for me, Tiffany.”

  He drove into her in a hard thrust that launched her climax.

  She cried, “Damon!” Heat rushed to her core. She bucked against him as wave after wave of pleasure rolled over her. Grabbing his face with both hands, she met his eyes. “Kiss me, damn it.”

  He smiled and playfully nipped at her neck. “Only if you come for me again.”

  She gasped. He didn’t have to ask twice. He continued to pump into her as he kissed her so hard her head spun with desire. Another pulse of heat flooded through her, igniting a blazing fire.

  As she finished riding the last remnants of her climax, she pushed hard against Damon’s chest, fighting to roll him over onto his back. He grinned at her feeble attempt before wrapping a single arm around her waist and rolling her on top of him. He lay back as she straddled his stomach.

  Her eyes widened as she drank in the sight of him. The toned muscles of his arms and chest flexed as he reached out to cup her behind. She squealed and wiggled against him as he tickled her. She fell forward, her breasts pressing against his pecs before she moved up and gave him a short kiss on the lips that was so intimate in its familiarity it made her breath catch.

  Slowly she drew herself down the length of his body, her skin sliding over the hard ridges of his abs. Resting her head on his stomach, she snaked her fingers over his mouthwatering hips and belly, a delicious triangle of muscle with a small trail of dark hair leading down to his erection.

  A low growl escaped his lips as she continued to move downward. “What mischief are you up to?” he purred.

  He groaned as she brushed her lips against his arousal. “You pleasured me,” she said. “Now it’s my turn to pleasure you.” She ran her tongue over the length of him, and the sound of his deep moans filled her ears.

  Crawling up the length of his body, she left tender, soft kisses around his bandage. But a tinge of pain filled her heart. The image of his pained face, his unmoving chest and the paleness of his cold lips were seared into her mind forever. His pain had shattered her. Something inside her crumbled to pieces at the thought of losing him.

  Not again.

  Twice she’d nearly shoved him from her life forever, but now, after seeing him so close to death, she knew she would never be able to live without him. She would show him pleasure and entice him to stay. Though deep down, she knew she shouldn’t worry. B would never abandon her.

  After trailing kisses across his collarbone, she followed the line of his chest to the muscular curves of his abdomen. Her mouth practically watered at the sight of his abs. She imagined all the hard work, the training, the dedication it had taken to tone his body. He was perfect, like a piece of art.

  He moaned as she massaged and caressed every inch of his body, from the crook of his neck and the bulk of his shoulders, all the way to his legs, hips and feet. He melted beneath her touch, and the look of ecstasy that crossed his face sent a rush of heat between her legs. She snuggled her body against him, her head resting on the tightness of his belly.

  She whispered to him, allowing the heat of her breath to brush against his skin. “What can I do to please you? I’ll do whatever you wish.”

  Tangling his fingers in her hair, he played with her long curls. “Your pleasure is more than enough.” His ice-blue irises blazed in the dim light of her bedroom. That fire told her exactly what he wanted, though he refused to ask. He was too sweet, too much of a gentleman, to express desire for anything but her pleasure.

  Another moan escaped his throat as she stroked her hand over his shaft. “Tiffany...”

  She placed a finger over her lips and hushed him. “Shh. No protests.” She placed her lips on him, and it was his turn to buck beneath her mouth. “I want to make you come,” she whispered.

  * * *

  DAMON GROANED AS Tiffany’s lips wrapped around him. The warmth and wetness of her mouth enveloped him despite his considerable size. She slid her lips up and down the length of him, her hands working in tandem with her sweet, sweet mouth. When she finally released him, he was so close to finishing that the delay was pure torture.

  She straddled his hips, rubbing her soft flesh against him. He ran his hands over her porcelain skin from her breasts to her narrow waist, all the way down to the delicious expanse of her hips.

  The perfect hourglass.

  A low feral growl grumbled deep in his throat. One single curl fell into her face, highlighting her gorgeous smile. She looked so good it hurt. He couldn’t take it anymore.

  “I need to be inside of you.”

  She flashed him a coy smile and bit her lower lip. That was all the answer he needed. He spread her legs to reveal her sweet pink center, then wasted no time. He filled her, and she threw back her head and cried out. She rocked her hips against him as he continued to pummel into her. A shiver shuddered through his body as he neared his finish.

  Tiffany ran her hands over his arms. Her glowing honey eyes locked with his. She was barely able to speak through her labored panting. Her chest heaved in and out, and she moaned as she neared her own peak.

  But a mischievous grin crossed her lips as she mimicked his words. “Come for me, Damon.” The sound of her whisper drove him wild.

  In one final thrust, he emptied himself into her. They both cried out; ecstasy the likes of which Damon had never felt before billowed through him in a mind-blowing release. She collapsed on top of him, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled the coverlet over him. Elation filled him as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck.

  Gently, he kissed her forehead before he buried his nose in her hair. They lay there in silence as the energy subsided. His heart thumped hard against his chest. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came as she relaxed into sleep.

  If he’d told her then that he loved her, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her in his arms, he wouldn’t have been lying....

  CHAPTER 12

  IF BONES COULD talk, Tiffany’s would have groaned and said, That. Was. Amazing. She stretched and twisted herself out of the tangle of bed linens, grinning like a fool as she mentally replayed the passion she had shared with Damon. She inhaled deeply, the scent of his skin filling her nose. He lay on his stomach next to her, mouth cracked open and arms spread, one over his head, the other dangling off the side of the mattress as he slept. She listened to the sound of his breathing, and watched his chest rise and fall.

  Her fingers itched to run over the brand across his shoulders. The dark black ink contrasted with his lightly tanned skin. Watching him sleep, seeing him so totally relaxed, sent her heart racing faster. He was so sexy, so perfect. She bit her lower lip and fought to restrain herself from waking him, from pushing herself against him, kissing him deeply and seeing if what she’d heard about a man’s sex drive upon first waki
ng was true.

  Before she could stop herself, she brushed the smooth skin of his face with her thumb. The sharp chiseled lines of his cheekbones and face stunned her. Even while he slept, he was breathtaking, beautiful in his intensity. But when he was awake, nothing gripped her more than the icy-blue depths of his eyes. They pierced through her, wild and ferocious, and sent chills down her spine. Like an angered Siberian tiger, both hypnotic and terrifying.

  Still dead to the world, he responded with a low grumble. He leaned into her touch, then settled into sound sleep again. She smiled. Being with him for a second time had been so different from the first. When she’d given him her virginity, the pain had been minimal, and he had impressed her with how quickly he’d assuaged her fears. But the second time had blown her away with how familiar it had been in its intimacy. And unlike the first time, this time she’d known that the man she lay with was her B, the man she’d dreamed of for years.

  Rolling to her side of the bed again, she stared up at the ceiling. For someone so distant, calculating and sometimes downright cold, Damon’s capacity for tenderness had touched her, revealing the man behind the mask, the man she’d come to know through letters. There was no doubt in her mind that he cared for her. The same feelings coursed through her when they touched.

  Whether he knew that or not, she wasn’t certain.

  She clenched her jaw. Anger built inside her as she thought of how stupid she’d been. How could she have been such an idiot? She should have known that the man she knew, her B, wouldn’t intentionally have left Mark for dead. Damon still blamed himself, but after nearly losing him in the same way, she didn’t blame him anymore.

  Her mind wandered to all the letters she’d never answered. How deeply had she hurt him?

  Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood and padded across the room to her desk. She slid the bottom drawer open and dug underneath the piles of school papers until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the large stack of envelopes—not a single one opened.

  She set the letters down, then quickly cleaned herself up and got dressed, then pulled on a black pea coat. Finally she grabbed the letters, walked through to the living room and stepped out onto the fire escape.

  The cold winter air stung her cheeks. She sat down on the top step, her favorite quiet place. She glanced at the sky. Not a single star in sight thanks to the overwhelming lights of the city. She exhaled a long breath.

  She had to know.

  After removing the rubber band holding the letters together, she shuffled through them, reading the dates. One letter each day for over a month. A large lump caught in her throat. Her breath swirled around her face as she held the last letter Damon had ever sent her.

  Tucking the rest of the pile under one knee, she opened the envelope. The paper made only a small ripping noise as it tore, but in her ears the sound was amplified by a factor of ten, a noise nearly as painful as a blaring alarm clock during an awful hangover.

  Her hands trembled as she removed the single piece of paper, and pain filled her heart at the sight of B’s familiar handwriting. She paused. For a moment she almost released the paper into the wind. It would be so much easier not to know.

  But she had to.

  Hands still trembling, she unfolded the letter and slowly read the scrawled words.

  Dear Tiffany,

  I have so much to say, but little time to say it as I start to search for Mark’s killer. I doubt you will even read this letter, since there’s been no response to the others I’ve sent for the last month. But I have to write this in the hopes that maybe someday you’ll open this envelope.

  No matter how much you may hate me, no matter how much you may wish me dead, you will always hold a place in this cold heart of mine. I never intended to care for you, but I do. We both know I do, and for that I have no regrets.

  Losing Mark, and now you, has driven me to the brink of insanity, and the pain is more than I can bear. You know how difficult it is for me to admit this to you, but I’m not okay.

  I can never be okay.

  Nothing I can say or do will ever express to you how sorry I am. I’ll bear the guilt of what I’ve done for the rest of my life.

  This isn’t something I can just get off my chest, and as much of a relief as it would be for all the pain of what’s happened to be taken away, I don’t deserve any relief. I wish there were something I could confess to you that would turn this around, something that would make this better. I wish I knew the perfect lie.

  Tiff, I’m begging you.

  Tell me what it is you want to hear and I’ll make sure you hear it. I’d say and do anything to have you back in my life again. I’ve got no family to fall back on, and my heart is so rooted in our friendship that even if I did, their love would never be enough to heal me without you in my life.

  It’s amazing how we got this far, how a one-line letter could turn into these feelings I have for you. Maybe it’s meant to be this way, because Lord knows I don’t deserve a woman like you in my life.

  We both know what I want to say. It’s always been on the tip of my pen, waiting for me to write it. But I’m too much of a coward.

  You know how I feel, and if I could just say it to you in person one time...I could die knowing I’d had something meaningful in my life.

  Yours always,

  B

  With still-shaking hands, Tiffany attempted to refold the letter, but it was no use. Tears blurred her vision and spilled over onto the paper. She trembled at the thought of what she had to do.

  He has to know.

  * * *

  DAMON SAT STRAIGHT up in bed, heart racing as he gasped for air in the aftermath of the dream. His pulse beat in a heated rhythm, and he clutched the sheets in his hands. His eyes darted around the room. Tiffany. Where was Tiffany?

  He launched himself from the bed and threw on his jeans. Rushing into the living room, he spotted a hunched-over figure on the fire escape. He ran back into the bedroom and threw on his shirt and boots before he strode to the living room window.

  In his dream, Tiffany had changed her mind and decided that she did blame him for Mark’s death. She’d said she’d been wrong to forgive him.

  He wrenched open the window and climbed onto the fire escape. A blowing northern wind hit his arms like hundreds of small needles pricking his skin. Damn, it was cold outside. Tiffany was sitting on the top step, completely still.

  “Tiff?” he said.

  When she didn’t respond, he walked up behind her. His heart stopped as he saw what she held in her hands. His letters. He brought his hand to his mouth and lightly bit his thumb so a string of profanities wouldn’t fall from his lips. One letter lay open on her lap, and it was the letter, his final letter.

  The letter that told her he loved her.

  Shit.

  He opened his mouth several times to speak but couldn’t find any words.

  He was still too much of a coward. Every time he tried to find the right thing to say, his mouth went dry and the words dissipated. What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he tell her? For fuck’s sake, he knew exactly why. Because admitting he loved her would make him vulnerable. Though he’d often refused to admit it to himself, he’d been in love with her for years. They both knew it. She already held his heart.

  But if he said he loved her, he would be defenseless and exposed. She would have even more power to hurt him than she did now, and damn if that wasn’t the scariest thing he could ever imagine.

  Tiffany patted the spot next to her, motioning for him to sit. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, completely unable to speak. The pain in his chest overwhelmed him. Everything inside him wanted to grab her, tell her that he loved her and kiss her senseless, but he just couldn’t do it.

  She let out a long sigh. “I
don’t think I need to tell you that I was wrong. I think you already know it.”

  Damon’s stomach churned. Suddenly nothing else mattered but the words that had just left her lips. The cold weather ceased to chill him, and the wind stopped burning his cheeks. She wasn’t saying what he thought she was...was she?

  “Here.” She pushed an overstuffed, unstamped envelope toward him.

  “What is this?” he choked out.

  She bit her lower lip and stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his eyes. “The letters I wrote you. I never sent them.”

  He watched her in disbelief. She’d written to him?

  She turned toward him. Tears streamed down her face, staining her porcelain cheeks. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “You need to know—I need you to know—that I never stopped loving you, not for one second.”

  Damon tangled his fingers into her hair and encircled her waist with his arm. He pulled her into him so fast that he barely realized what he was doing before his lips crashed against hers. He kissed her deep. Their tongues swirled against each other, the heated passion radiating over both of them. The feel of her body pressed against his sent his heart racing into overdrive.

  Slowly he released her hair but never stopped cradling her head. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “I never stopped dreaming of you,” he whispered.

  A single warm tear slid onto his cheek, falling from her face as he kissed her again. He scooped her into his arms and carried her into the warmth of the apartment toward the bedroom. If he couldn’t say he loved her, he could at least try his damnedest to show her in whatever way he could.

  * * *

  DAMON COULDN’T HAVE been more content. Tiffany lay against him with her head nestled into the crook of his arm. His eyes ran over her naked form. She was so damn beautiful. Angels couldn’t compare.