by Cynthia Eden
She could still taste his hunger. “Yes.”
“Then you’re going to have a choice to make, Cara. You can keep living this new life you’ve made for yourself . . .”
The life without sex. Stolen pleasures. Empty nights.
“Or you can take a risk with a man beyond your control.”
She pictured Todd in her mind. Dark hair. Sculpted jaw. The chest she’d yet to kiss. The cock she wanted to taste.
Beyond her control.
She’d be vulnerable with him. And if he learned her secret, he could destroy her.
But demons didn’t exactly have a reputation for playing it safe. She’d been trying, but it had been hell.
Though she liked to pretend that the demon and the woman were really two separate parts of her, the truth was, deep down, she was all demon.
The demon, well, she wasn’t afraid of a risk, and she was very, very hungry for her pleasure.
A pleasure only to be had with one man.
A man beyond her control, but easily within her reach.
If she just dared to reach for him.
The demon decided she’d dare. Oh, yes. She would.
“Is the city in the clutches of another killer, one who preys on the sexual fantasies of men? The cops aren’t talking, but rumors of the Bondage Killer are rampant on the streets . . .”
The reporter’s words stopped the killer cold. He turned around slowly, his gaze jumping to the television screen. He listened to her, stunned ... and enraged.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fury nearly choked him when the redheaded bitch said she was broadcasting live from the Dayton Hotel, “the scene of a brutal murder.”
But not his kill.
“A body was discovered here last night. A male body. The man was naked, and he’d been bound to the bed.”
Oh, hell, no.
Not his.
The reporter’s eyes seemed to bore into his as he glared at the screen. She lifted her microphone. “Tune in later tonight for more details on this savage crime. Until then, this is Holly Storm for News Flash Five, signing off.”
His fingers slammed onto the top of the remote and instantly, the TV screen went black.
Not his.
He threw the remote against the wall.
This wasn’t part of the plan. No one should have died at the Dayton Hotel.
Fuck.
His fingers shook. His ears rang. And his control began to shatter.
He knew exactly who was trying to take over his game.
Not gonna happen. No one was gonna to screw with his plans. He’d waited far too long for his vengeance. Planned far too carefully.
A bitch wasn’t gonna steal his power.
Time for the game to change. Time for a solo act. Time for more death.
With the next kill, he would be the one to steal the victim’s life away.
No matter how much she begged ...
Chapter 6
He was watching her again.
That night, Cara stood on the stage, feeling the swirls of magic and power around her. Desire beat in time with the music of the band. Driving higher and higher in the crowd, and in her own body.
Todd was in Paradise. She hadn’t looked at him yet, but she could feel his dark gaze on her body and pleasure filled her.
He’d come for her.
Slowly, she began to shift her attention around the room. Singing softly, the blues carried in the air as she voiced the old lyrics.
There. He was at the bar. Staring up at her. Face hard. One hand wrapped around a shot glass. He was dressed casually, in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt.
She wanted him naked.
She was tired of pretending to be good.
Tired of fighting the need and hunger.
No more.
Giving up sex just really hadn’t worked out so well for her. One temptation, one very strong temptation, and she’d been screwed.
The song finished on a long, deep note. She drank in the energy, inhaling deeply as she bowed briefly to the crowd.
Not enough. Tonight she needed so much more.
And she’d have it.
She replaced the microphone. Nodded to the band. Moved easily across the stage, her skirt swirling around the top of her thighs as she walked. When she lifted her hand to the stair railing, she saw the faint glow on her skin. She wondered if Todd would notice it. Hoped that he didn’t, because she didn’t want to give explanations this night.
She just wanted to give pleasure—and take her own.
She felt other stares on her as she sauntered across the room. One man even reached out and touched her shoulder, but Cara froze him with a look.
There was only one guy in the bar who interested her, and he was the one she was going to claim.
Todd’s gaze never left her as she drew closer. He lifted the whiskey. Drained it in one fast gulp right before she reached him. The glass clattered against the bar.
“Hello, Detective.” She thought about asking him how the case was going. She’d heard talk in the bar about a body being found at the Dayton Hotel. She wondered if the murder was connected to the others.
“Cara.”
It was the way he said her name that got to her. Hunger. Lust. Tenderness.
She decided not to ask about the case. She didn’t want to hear about another poor soul who had been killed, not then. She wanted the few hours of the remaining night to belong only to the two of them.
These precious hours just after midnight. Playtime for the Other.
“You were good tonight.”
She motioned for Cameron to bring her usual drink. The sweet, ice-cold brew that she sipped after each performance. “Thanks.” Tonight, she’d been singing just for him. Had he noticed?
Cameron put the drink on the bar. Narrowed his eyes on her. Screw him. She neither wanted nor needed his approval. Hell, she never gave him a hard time when he hooked up with human women.
Cameron’s lips tightened when he caught her cold stare, but then he backed away. “Your choice.” The words were whisper soft.
“Thanks, Cameron.” And, yeah, it was her choice.
Or rather, Todd was her choice.
Cara leaned over the good detective, deliberately rubbing her body against his as she reached for her drink. She liked the way he smelled. The fresh scent of soap. A hint of aftershave. Man.
“We need to talk,” he told her, and his voice was harder than before. His hands lifted, caught her just above her elbows.
She took one slow sip from her drink. The icy liquid eased down her throat. Cara licked her lips and noticed the slight widening of his nostrils. He was catching her pheromones again. He knew the scent was richer, knew something was happening. She could see it in his eyes.
See the same hard lust she felt.
“We are talking,” she told him, wondering what his next move would be. She was putting on a bold front with him now, but the truth was, she was nervous as hell inside. If she had sex with him, if she gave in to her instincts, it wouldn’t just be about fun and games and a rush of sweet, sensual power.
You have a man you can’t control. Dr. Drake’s words echoed in her mind.
“You’re different tonight.” His hold tightened.
Yes. “Why did you come back, Detective?”
“Todd.” A pause. “I like it when you say my name.”
A costly admission. It gave her more power. He should know that. “Todd.” She obliged him softly. “Why are you here?”
“Maybe I like the band.” His lips hitched into the briefest of smiles and that sexy dimple winked at her. “Or maybe it’s the singer.”
Oh, but the guy was smooth. Humans were often so gifted with their words. Especially the men.
She’d known human men who could lie their way into almost anyone’s bed. But—
But Cara didn’t get the feeling that Todd was lying to her. She took another sip of her drink, conscious of the warm weight of his hands on her ar
ms. She wanted those hands on other parts of her body. She wanted them out of the bar and back at her place.
She wanted Todd any way she could get him.
Cara lifted a brow. “So what is it that you want to talk to me about?” She could hear him easily in the bar, even though voices and music surrounded them.
He brought his face close to hers. Stared into her eyes and said, “My dreams, Cara. I want to tell you all about my dreams.”
The glass nearly slipped from her fingers. “Dreams?” He remembered them?
Men weren’t supposed to remember dreams of a succubus. Pleasure, passion—those were the only impressions meant to stay in a man’s mind. The succubus herself, well, she should be forgotten.
“You’ve been in my head,” he said. “Awake, asleep, I just can’t escape you.”
And she couldn’t escape him. “Do you want to escape?”
He brought his lips down onto hers. Kissed her once. A slow, leisurely taste of her lips, then a deep thrust of his tongue into her mouth. The human sure knew how to work his tongue.
When his mouth lifted, she wanted to moan at the loss.
“No.”
At first, she didn’t understand. Was he rejecting her? Then he said, “I don’t want to get away from you.” His eyes narrowed. “I just want you.”
“Do you usually get what you want?” She bet that he did.
“Sometimes I do.” For a moment, his lips tightened.
“Sometimes I don’t. Guess that’s the way it is for us all, right?”
The way for humans.
“We can play the game, Cara,” he told her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in a rough caress. “I can be the gentleman. Take you out on a dates. Movies. Theater. Whatever you want.”
He was what she wanted. The lust between them burned too bright for a slow courtship. She needed release. Pleasure.
Him.
Was it because he was a sensitive? Was he somehow magnifying the feelings of desire? It could be possible. Human psychics were rare. She’d only encountered a handful of others. Dr. Drake was by far the strongest she’d ever met.
Todd was strong, too, but his power was different.
Maybe because he didn’t even realize he had it. If he channeled his magic—
Well, she wasn’t exactly certain what would happen.
Her gaze dropped to the hands that still held her. She lifted a brow.
With a muttered curse, he released her.
Able to move more easily now, she pushed her glass back across the bar. Gave an almost imperceptible nod to Cameron. Despite his pissy mood, she’d managed to grill him about the detective earlier in the evening. Grudgingly, Cameron had admitted that the cop was known for being on the level. Not one to take a bribe or to “misplace” evidence. And, apparently, if the gossip around town was anything to go by, Todd had quite a reputation with the ladies. Not that she’d been particularly surprised by that news.
Cameron had also said the guy was a straight-up asshole, but Cam usually said that about human males.
Judging by Cam’s continued glare, she figured he was clinging tightly to his asshole theory.
“I’ve never really had much use for gentlemen,” Cara murmured, and the words were true. Of course, she hadn’t really met that many gentlemen.
“So what do you want?”
She leaned toward him. Put her hand on his chest so that she could feel the fast thump of his heart. “I want to get out of here. Go someplace dark and quiet. And I want you with me.” Under her. In her.
Now that she’d lowered the walls around herself just a bit, the lust was bursting though her body like water that had been contained behind a weak dam.
His jaw clenched. “You sure?”
“Very.” She smiled at him, stepped back. “But the choice is yours, Detective.” He was the one taking the bigger risk. He just didn’t know it yet.
She wouldn’t hurt him. She never hurt her lovers. Well, unless she meant to do so.
And she’d only meant to kill once.
A life for a life. Primitive justice, but it had been what her sister deserved.
She shook her head slightly, trying to push away the past. Now that she’d started thinking of Nina, that terrible night kept slipping into her mind.
This really wasn’t the time to think about death and darkness. With Todd, she only wanted to think of pleasure and life.
She held up her hand. Offering, waiting.
“There’s something different about you,” he said. “I know it.”
He was right, but he had no idea just how very different she could be. Perhaps she’d show him.
He reached for her hand.
The choice was made.
The whore had the cop under her spell. From the shadows, he watched as Cara and her detective left the bar ... the human had his fucking hands all over her.
The fool didn’t know who—what—he was touching. And he sure as hell didn’t know what price he’d pay for his pleasure.
The others hadn’t known, either. They’d fallen so easily for Cara and her lying eyes. Fallen . . . then died.
A smile curved his lips even as his hands clenched into fists.
Cara should have learned by now—the humans weren’t for her.
Just how many would he have to kill before she learned her lesson?
Dr. Emily Drake stepped out of the elevator and into the dimly lit parking garage. It was late, well past midnight, but her vampire client hadn’t been able to make it into the office any sooner. And Marvin had insisted on seeing her. Seemed he’d almost taken blood from a human the previous night. The near miss had so rattled him that Marvin had been physically sick ever since.
Poor Marvin.
A classic bloodphobic vamp.
But the guy was making some incredible headway. At least he wasn’t afraid of the actual blood anymore.
No, now he could drink the blood just fine, provided he didn’t have to get it straight from a source.
As she walked, Emily clutched her keys tightly in her right hand. The garage was all but deserted, the fluorescent lights flickering above her. Her car waited up ahead, maybe fifteen feet away, and—
Someone else was in the garage.
The certainty came to her on an icy wave of knowledge as Emily’s psychic gift flared to life.
Hell. Who was—
She spotted the Jeep then. Parked behind one of the large columns. Nearly hidden from prying eyes. The perfect place to wait for unsuspecting prey.
Her shoulders slumped in relief when the driver’s side door opened. Of course. She should have known he would be there. When she worked late, he usually showed up, even if he was working on a case.
“Colin.” He stepped toward her, and for a moment, the glow of the shifter caught her stare. All shifters carried that glow, and as far as she knew, she was the only person on earth able to actually see it. The glow was a soft shine, kind of like a second skin. It was the beast glowing.
He opened his arms to her, man and beast, and she went to him without a second’s hesitation. He pulled her tight against the hard length of his body. Held her close against his heart. Just the way she liked for him to hold her.
“I thought you were going to start walking down with one of the security guards,” he growled, lowering his face to the curve of her neck and biting lightly.
Same old argument. “I can take care of myself, you know.” She was far from helpless. The guy should’ve realized that by now.
His head lifted. His blue gaze met hers. “Just do it for me, okay? For my sanity, will you promise to only come in the garage this late if you’ve got a guard?”
Emily gave a grudging nod. She didn’t like having to wait on security, but she would—for Colin. Hell, she would’ve waited that night, but she’d been in such a hurry to get home and see ... him. “If I get the guards to escort me, does that mean you’ll stop stalking the garage?”
He didn’t answer. Just kissed her. A h
ard, deep kiss that had her moaning and wishing they were far away from the cold garage and instead in a warm, comfortable bed.
Her fingers curled over his shoulders, and when he broke the kiss, she was the one who almost howled in frustration.
“I need you to come with me to the station,” he said, voice soft.
Her eyes widened. “Wh-what?” Not the sensual night plans she’d been hoping for.
His stare was solemn. “I think we may need you on another case, baby.”
At his words, and at the darkness she saw lurking in his gaze, her sexy excitement began to fade.
“The place is deserted now. McNeal asked me to bring you in, see if you could look at the files.”
Her fingers clenched around the strong muscles of his arms. “Just what do you think we’re dealing with here?”
His hands smoothed down her back. There was tension in his touch and in his face. In the faint lines around his eyes and the tightness around his mouth. “A being that can kill a man with a touch.” A hard exhalation of air. “Know anyone like that, doc?”
Yes, unfortunately, she did. The cold from the garage crept through her bones, settled in her heart.
Cara.
Todd followed Cara back to her place. She waited for him on the steps of her house, anticipation building in her and making her heart drum far too fast.
When he joined her, lust had hardened his face.
She kissed him. Because she needed to. Her tongue snaked into his mouth, teased his. Pleasured.
Oh, but the night ahead was going to be so good. Because she was finally going to be bad.
She broke the kiss, gazed up at him. “No regrets, Detective?” There was still time to call it off, if that was what he wanted.
“Not a damn one.” He grabbed the keys from her hand, managed to unlock the door, then all but dragged her inside.
She’d always loved a strong man.
His mouth was back on hers before the door slammed shut behind them. Tasting. Devouring.
Cara had known it would be like this between them from that very first moment. She’d sensed it from the first look, and she was tired of fighting a hunger that just grew every minute.