Warrior Fae Trapped: A DDVN Book

by Breene, K. F.

  Arms shaking, Charity raised the weapon and aimed. Samantha hissed, moving one second before Charity pulled the trigger. The deafening shot blasted. Sam jerked back, a puncture to the left of her heart. She shifted from beautiful to ghoulish, and she grinned, a ghastly sight.

  “Missed me, missed me,” she said softly, her horrible singsong sending shivers down Charity’s spine.

  Sobbing, Charity opened fire. Bullets punched into her former friend. But the vamp kept moving, too fast, the heart hard to hit, even from this close.

  Samantha sprang forward and backhanded her. She crashed into the closet doors, her head thumping the glass hard enough that it cracked and spider-webbed. Charity jumped up and then twisted as claws tore through the air. Searing pain bit her shoulder.

  She snatched a knife off the nightstand and dodged another claw strike. Not thinking, just reacting, Charity surged forward and slashed downward. The blade burrowed into Samantha’s chest.

  Samantha’s expression melted from rage to shock. She staggered backward and her hands drifted up. Her appearance shifted back to human.

  “Charity, what did you do?” Samantha asked, her tone achingly familiar. This was the Sam who’d gotten Charity out of the dorms. The one who’d told her friends that Charity could hang around whenever she wanted to. It hadn’t been a great friendship, or an equal one, but it had mattered to Charity.

  “I…” Charity sobbed, not knowing what to say. She stared in horror as her friend’s expression sank into a look of hurt.

  “Charity, why? I was always good to you.”

  “I’m sorry, Sam!” Charity cried, stumbling backward against the wall.

  Samantha’s beautiful face twisted into the visage of a howling, rage-filled monster. The creature she’d become turned, tearing at its ruined chest. Its cries of pain tore at Charity’s heart.

  Suddenly the vamp was ripped away, the black sludge oozing from its chest cavity dripping all over the wood floor. Devon’s handsome face filled her vision.

  “Charity, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “I killed her. I killed Samantha.” She sobbed, sickened by what she’d done. By what she’d had to do.

  Devon clutched Charity’s shoulders, looking hard at the claw marks from the creature Sam had become, before looking down her front and then turning her. He was checking for the severity of her injuries.

  “The elder is outside. He…he killed a gray wolf…” Charity forced back the sobs, praying a new friend hadn’t died tonight along with an old one.

  “I know. It was Sarge. Roger must have sent him to watch you. No one wolf, besides maybe Roger, is a match for Vlad. Sarge gave it everything he had, but…”

  “How’d you get in?”

  Devon scooped her up and carried her out of the room. She squeezed her eyes shut so she didn’t have to see Samantha’s ghoulish remains.

  Once in her room, he sat with her on the bed, cradling her to his chest. It was only then his nudity soaked into her awareness.

  “I left the Range Rover and ran around,” he said before she could guess the answer. “The elder was standing in the middle of the driveway. I didn’t want to risk pushing him through the ward with my car—if that would even work. He was too focused on you to notice my drive-by.”

  “I didn’t know I could get people inside! I… She was falling. She had dirt on her face—I couldn’t tell if she was changed or not.”

  “Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. You did good.”

  “I killed her, Devon.” Charity moaned, tilting her head up to his, wanting him to stop this pain.

  “No—vampires killed her when they changed her. That wasn’t Samantha anymore. That was a creature. You saved lives tonight.”

  Charity shook her head as a phone rang in the other room. Devon stared at her for an intense moment. “That is probably one of the pack. I need to go get it.”

  “Please don’t leave me,” Charity said, clutching his muscled shoulders.

  Devon leaned down slowly, his lips lightly touching the very tip of her nose. “Come with me.”

  Her entire body tingled. Heat sizzled through his touch. She sank into the feeling.

  She barely heard the phone call, as intent as she was on his presence. On his solid body and the ardent need that pumped through her blood. There had been so much violence, so many changes and horrifying new discoveries since that first night at the nightmare house. She’d witnessed the death of her crush, and then she’d had to kill a friend. She needed to forget, if only for a while. She wanted an act of love to push back the despair of soul-crushing loss.

  When they were in her room again, she ran her palms up his hard chest and hooked them around his neck. At his confused expression, she pulled his head—his lips—closer.

  Apprehension took over his confusion, but he couldn’t hide the burning desire in his eyes.

  He wanted this too. He needed it. But he was an alpha and a gentleman, and so he wanted to do what he thought was right.

  “Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” he whispered. She knew he was also worried that he’d sex away his regard for her. Which meant he felt something too.

  She knew about his history, but this felt deeper than lust. Still, she was a realist. She might be wrong, but if…whatever this was…didn’t last through the morning, it never would’ve lasted anyway.

  Her gaze trained on his lush, full lips.

  Slowly bending forward, she kissed his pec and ran her hands down his defined six-pack. The cool cotton of her shirt rubbed against her face as she pulled it off. Her bra followed it onto the floor a moment later.

  “You’re so beautiful, Charity,” Devon whispered. “You’re…radiant.”

  She let her eyes drift closed as he kissed down her neck, then sucked in a breath as his hot mouth closed over her taut nipple. Fire consumed her body. “Hmm, Devon.”

  His velvety hands slid over her hips, pausing to remove her pants. She stepped out and then let him walk her back to the bed.

  His kiss deepened. His taste, sweet and exotic, delighted her senses. The world around her dropped away.

  He pulled the covers down, then scooped her up and laid her on the sheets. His searing touch trailed fire along her inner thighs as he spread her open. She moaned when he followed his hands with his mouth, licking up her center.

  Shivers spread across her body, and her breathing increased. His mouth covered her nub. His fingers worked inside of her. She clutched the sheets and arched as the glorious sensations melted her bones.

  “Hmm,” she moaned, gyrating up to his mouth. Her body tightened. Her moaning increased in fervency. “Yes, Devon. Almost…” Words fled. Her body flexed as if she held an electric wire. His touch was her sole focus—nothing existed outside of his delicious ministrations.

  “Oh!” Powerful shudders rocked her. Fused her teeth together. Pure pleasure vibrated within her. She convulsed from the explosion in her body.

  “Holy crap,” Charity said, out of breath. She shuddered again with an aftershock of that incredible pleasure. “Wow.”

  Devon kissed up her stomach. His tricky tongue flicked her nipple before he sucked it in. Intense sensation speared directly through her body.

  “You’re perfect,” he said softly. Almost reverently. When he nibbled her bottom lip and settled his weight on top of her, a strange gravity stole over her. Something about this situation felt so right. Like a piece she’d been missing had finally found its place and connected to the whole.

  His searing length rested against her hip. When he moved, it dragged along her slick sex. She sighed as her body wound tighter. He rose, resting on his elbows to either side of her face.

  “I care about you, Charity,” he said. “A lot. But sometimes intimacy breaks me.” Sadness consumed his expression, and then it morphed to something else. He almost looked lost. “I want you so bad. You need to know that. But I might shut off if we go through with this. I don’t want to hurt you. Knowing what I am—how I deal with things—ar
e you sure you want to take the next step?”

  She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

  His gaze traveled her face. Longing replaced his earlier emotions. “Okay.”

  Their kiss increased in intensity, sucking her into a place she’d never been before. Her stomach fluttered with nervousness when she felt his tip prod her opening. She’d only ever been with one man.

  “Do we need protection?” he murmured against her lips. “I can’t get human diseases. You probably can’t either, because of the magic. But I can still get you pregnant.”

  A strange lightness came over her. She ran her palms along his smooth back, feeling the bulge and play of muscle as he shifted. “I never went off the pill. I’m good. Though nervous.”

  His lips curled into a smile against hers. “We’ll go slow,” he whispered. “I’ll always protect you, Chastity, regardless of what happens after…”

  He didn’t finish the sentence, probably not wanting to dampen the mood. Instead, he kissed her, a deep kiss full of a longing that stole her breath as well as her heart. She fell into the moment without any reservations. Gave him everything she had without regret. Without worrying what might come.

  Because she knew that he would stay true to his word. Even when they weren’t getting along, he always took care of her. She was confident that wouldn’t change.

  His tip parted her flesh. Her eyes fluttered, and she sighed as he entered her slowly. She squeezed his middle with her legs.

  The glorious fullness tingled through her. All too soon, it turned into a dull ache. He was way bigger than she was used to.

  Clearly reading her body’s signals, he stopped his advance and held still. His kiss turned languid as he pulled out and then pushed back in, stretching her slowly. Gloriously. The ache was a little less. On his next slow thrust, less still.

  “Hmm.” She ran her hands over his back and then moaned again at his advance. “That feels so good.”

  “Unreal good, yes. God, Charity, this is…” His voice strained as he thrust again, nearly there. He thrust again, a little harder this time, his control obviously fraying. The ache she’d felt turned into pleasure spiraling through her body. The heat surged. Her core tightened.

  “More. All the way,” she said, squeezing him closer with her legs. Needing all of him. Right now.

  He complied. His thrust took him to the hilt. He sighed against her lips.

  “You’ll ruin me, Charity.”

  She almost didn’t hear the words, they were murmured so low. And then all remaining thoughts fled as he moved. The man knew his way around the sheets. He worked her body in such a way that all she could do was cling to his broad shoulders and make unintelligible sounds. He thrust and retreated, clearly as lost in her as she was in him. The rhythmic thump of the bed competed with their frantic breathing.

  She scratched his back as pleasure pounded within her, dragging her under. Her body was wound so tight that she thought it was going to crack. The pressure liquefied and condensed, centered in her core. The compression hardened, white-hot. A few more thrusts, expert manipulation of her nipples, and the glorious rubbing of her sex, and—

  “Devon…I’m going to… I’m… Oh… God!”

  She shattered. Pieces of her blew apart. Glorious sensations vibrated through her body. Devon shook over her a moment later, breathing heavily against her lips. He collapsed on top of her and dug his face into her neck.

  She soaked in the feel of him. His warmth. His solid body pressing her into the mattress, his hardness still inside her.

  She’d never felt so safe.

  Her limbs felt heavy, but she kept them draped over him, wanting to remain this close forever. Without bothering to move, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, hoping tomorrow wouldn’t end what she’d come to feel for him. Hoping the pain from his inevitable withdrawal wouldn’t drown her.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Devon awoke pressed against a warm female body. Irritation stole over him. Waking up touching meant he’d have a harder time disentangling himself. The “I gotta go” conversation was way more awkward when he was still nude.

  As he began to disentangle himself, the sweet and spicy smell of her tickled his senses. A surge of warmth rose up, matching the feeling from last night.

  Charity.

  Sighing in relief, he lowered back down and breathed her in for a moment, hoping he’d get a few more minutes of fulfillment before his desires shifted and boredom crept in.

  The soft sunlight streamed through the window. Dust motes swam lazily. He sighed again in utter relaxation. The stress of the last few days softened. Not gone, but hazy in the aftermath of really good sex. In fact, he felt like a puddle of goo, wanting to ooze down over her.

  He ran his hand up her bare thigh and over the curve of her soft hip. He lightly kissed her shoulder and let his lips trace down to the curve of her neck. He was so hard he couldn’t stand it.

  A thought made him pause.

  He wanted her again.

  It wasn’t just sexual desire, either. He longed for the tender devotion he’d allowed himself to express last night. He wanted to revel in her. Make her moan in pleasure and clutch him with her whole person.

  Warmth pulsed in his chest, a feeling that had been growing throughout his time with her. One that had only been intensified by last night. Deep and primal, his possession of her burned hot. The thought of anyone else touching her prodded his wolf and sparked his rage. One thought blared through his brain: She is mine!

  A strange kind of fear washed over him.

  He had been prepared to suffer the guilt of hurting her. He was not prepared for this. This—whatever this was—was no good. He didn’t understand the intensity of it. The crushing need to touch her again. To hold her. To rip someone’s face off if they looked at her for too long.

  Before he knew what he was doing, he’d launched himself out of bed. Pacing the room, he couldn’t help but look at her. Her hair was splayed across the pillow in a brownish-red wave. The strange glow of her ethereal beauty entranced him, urging him closer.

  He blew out a breath, resisting. He needed time to think about next steps. He still had a job to do. Everything else had to come later.

  “Charity, get up,” he barked.

  She stirred with a small feminine mew. Her arms stretched upward and she yawned. The sheets fell to her waist.

  He gritted his teeth. It took everything in his power not to take two quick steps and taste…

  “We have a ton of stuff to do today.” Taking a deep breath, he tried to soften the hardness in his voice. “I need to speak to Roger, too. I’d like to move you into the Realm today.”

  She blinked into the sunlight and her face relaxed slightly. After wiping her eyes, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and paused for a moment. “Is this the part where we become acquaintances?”

  It sounded like a rhetorical question.

  “Just… Let’s get moving,” he said, turning to the door. “I have a lot I need to do before we get you out of here.”

  “No sweat, daddy-o. I need to take a shower. Oh wow. I am sore. I feel like I lost my virginity all over again.”

  Devon glanced back in time to see her slowly run her hands over the soft curve of her hips. His desire throbbed. He wanted to follow her hands with his mouth.

  Why did she sound so nonchalant? Usually girls were all over him the next morning, trying to cuddle and get close. He half wished she’d follow that pattern. But the other half was annoyed that last night had clearly affected him ten times more than it had her. Another first. And probably the most horrifying.

  His uncertainty finally morphed into anger, the emotion he had the most experience handling. “Hurry up.”

  Two hours later, Devon shifted from side to side in impatience as they stood in front of an ATM. His pack had taken out the newbies without him, and he’d called in someone to clean up the dead vamp and pick up Sarge’s body. Sarge had been practically ripped apart. He hadn�
��t stood a chance against that old vamp.

  A sheen of sweat broke out on Devon’s face, his body’s immediate response to the lingering threat. He would step up and fight that elder to protect Charity. One on one, if need be. Unfortunately, he didn’t have high hopes he’d emerge victorious—or at all.

  “What’s the hold-up?” Devon asked, going over his to-do list. He still had to get supplies to board up the window by the door, not to mention call a body shop about the trashed SUV. Filling out the insurance forms would be interesting. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain the claw marks.

  “Something’s not right.”

  Devon checked his phone. Still no call from Roger.

  Thanks to the efforts of his pack and Charity, all the newbie vamps had been extinguished. That part of his duty had been finished. The other part, protecting Charity, was looking direr. Something bad was brewing, and Vlad was building up to another all-out assault, one that would have a lot more bite. Rod had heard rumors of more demons filtering into the Brink. According to Roger, the closest passageways to the Realm had been blocked off. They had to get Charity out, but he didn’t know how.

  “Didn’t you get paid?” Devon glanced over her shoulder, but he couldn’t make out the numbers.

  “I mean. I don’t know. I think something went screwy.” Charity jabbed a button.

  “Can I see?” Devon leaned toward her, getting a whiff of her delicious scent. Clenching his jaw, he saw $10,011.53.

  “I had eleven fifty-three.” She threw a hard look at him, as if he might laugh.

  “So?”

  “What do you mean, so?” She thrust her hand at the monitor. “Unless you guys get ten grand biweekly, something is amiss, genius.”

  Her irrational anger scraped against his.

  Devon pinched the bridge of his nose. “Didn’t you read the emails? That’s the sign-on bonus. Obviously he gave it to you even though you’re on a trial. He probably wants to talk to you about ongoing pay and working full-time or whatever. You’ll get back pay, too. Why are you shaking your head?”

  “Just…stop babbling for a second.” Charity shoved her palm in his face in a stop gesture. “I can’t hear myself swear.”