by C. M. Owens
“It’s a woman,” Dice announces. “It’s always a crazy bitch who wants to end the world with such dramatic flair. A guy just blows shit up and drops bodies until he’s killed. Only women are this cunning.”
Ella flips him off, and Roslyn glares at him. The incubus doesn’t give a damn.
“The blood-starved night stalkers will feed on anything—mortal or immortal. The blood isn’t nourishing; it just sustains them. And the hunger never goes away. The only thing they live to do is hunt and grow their numbers so they can hunt more. They have no fear. They don’t care if you’re stronger or not. They can’t understand strength, only hunger,” Roslyn continues.
“How did you find all this out?” Ella asks. “They said you were starved and locked away for two years in solitude.”
Zee elbows her, and her eyes grow wide when she realizes just how callous that sounded.
“It’s fine,” Roslyn says just as Ella starts to apologize. “I was locked up. Which is why I listened to every sound and every conversation there was whenever they dragged me out for the… cruel times. When you’re starved for contact, you soak in everything, even when they don’t realize you’re paying attention.”
That has me pulling her until she’s forced to turn and lean against me from the side. Her forehead touches my neck, and I run my fingers up and down her arm, hoping I’m doing all I can to keep her from going back to her broken mind.
“I think that’s enough talk for tonight. We already have a lot more info than what we did,” I tell the group.
“No,” Roslyn says, leaning back up. “There’s more. Whoever is running the show, they’re after something. I only caught glimpses of men in cloaks, but they were always covered in dirt, as though they spent most of their days digging. One day, I heard them mention Pine Shore. I guess it was buried somewhere in my subconscious while I was spelled, which is probably how I ended up here.
“I don’t know what they were digging for, but Gavin was pissed one day. He punched a guy out right in front of me, killed him on impact. The guy had brought something back that was apparently big news. Gavin lost it. I only saw a spark of glowing red blood in a bottle before Gavin carried it up the stairs.”
Something shatters, and my head pops up to see a pitcher has just been dropped to the floor, and Chaz’s eyes are wide. The hell?
“What?” Gage prompts.
“You’re sure that’s what you saw?” Chaz asks her, looking a little too pale to be immortal.
“Yeah. I remember it because it was so beautiful, almost weirdly seductive. I blamed it on the fact I was so hungry, that anything blood related would look amazing.”
His hands actually make a grinding noise when his fists tighten too much.
“What the hell, dude?” I prompt.
He’s younger than everyone in this room except for Ella. How could he possibly know more than the rest of us?
“It could be nothing, but I should check something out.”
“Where are you going?” Ella asks as she stands up.
“To see my mother.” He disappears before anyone can argue, and I notice the absence of gold glitter in his wake. There’s always a gold glitter trail.
Considering that’s the least of my worries, I return my attention to Roslyn.
“I think that’s enough chat for now.”
Kissing her head, I prompt her to stand up, and she laces our fingers together as Ella studies her. Why she looks so skeptical, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to believe the object of her school girl crushing deserves to die, and she’s looking for a fault in the victim he keeps terrorizing.
“So they did give you blood, and they let you out a lot?” Ella asks her, fishing for information.
“Drop it, Ell. Stop looking for redemption. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Her eyes meet mine, and I see a flicker of regret.
“I wasn’t—”
“They kept me in solitude until the last six months. I was given a collar and a leash after that, and they drug me around in wolf form. The collar was magical, able to keep me in wolf without the ability to shift back. It had the power to kill me if I disobeyed. And I was starved,” Roslyn tells her with more patience than I could show if the roles were reversed. “They only gave me drops of blood for tracking purposes. And they only gave them to me in spacious intervals. I need a few pints a week to feel satisfied.”
“But you never tracked, right?” she asks, still being a bitch.
“Ella,” I growl, and she immediately backs off.
“Sorry. I’m just trying to catch up. How do you use your witch powers so well? Reese said he trained you to fight, but he couldn’t have trained you to use that side of your powers. Considering you were raised by various humans, you shouldn’t be too good. And you’re damn good, according to what Zee told Chaz on the phone.”
Roslyn’s body relaxes, and a ghost of a smile crosses her lips. “That’s because—”
The door blows open, and Reese practically runs in, eyes searching wildly for Roslyn.
“Dad,” Roslyn says on a choked sob, and I watch something I never thought possible. I watch Reese, the biggest, baddest asshole in the world grab his daughter and hug her like she’s the most precious thing that has ever existed.
Chapter 27
ROSLYN
“We should stay near town instead of in town,” Dad says for the hundredth time.
Everyone is sick of arguing, but arguing is all he’s done since he found out I have a Gemini wanting me dead.
“We can keep her safe here,” Thad says, wrapping his arms around me from behind.
It’s all so much better now—his touch, his scent, even the sight of him is better. I can’t wait until we’re alone and he can make good on his word to—
“Shit,” Dad says, snapping me out of my inappropriate and ill-timed thoughts.
A crazy, lethal Gemini wants me dead, and my head goes to getting Thad’s fangs in me. And getting mine in him.
Stop, Roslyn!
Dad is typing something into his phone, turning his back on me for a moment. I crane my head so I can see up at Thad.
“So you’re a gatekeeper?” I ask him, and he nods in response, seeming more interested in running his hands over my body rather than answering verbally. “Does that mean you can open gates anywhere you want to any plane?”
His hand slides up my side, and his fingertips graze the side of my breast. Why do I always freaking shiver? It’s not like I’ve never been touched before.
“Depends on the gate. Some gates can be opened anywhere. Some have specific locations where the gate has to be opened. Depends on what plane you’re seeking. And some planes can only be reached through a gate. It’s really impressive to be as rare as me. You’re a lucky girl to be with such a rare fey,” he jokes, winking as the heat rises to my cheeks.
He makes me a little crazy, but I think I love it.
“Damn,” Dad says under his breath, completely oblivious to everyone around him.
Ella and Chaz are whispering in the corner, and he looks pissed. Zee and Gage look like they’re plotting murder, which is a little scary; so are they. Dice is on his phone, calling someone—hopefully Karma—a sex kitten and asking her how wet she is for him.
Ew. Does he not know what privacy is for?
“What’s wrong?” I ask Dad as he puts his phone away finally.
“I have to get back to my pack. Blood-starved night stalkers have been found running savage in the woods behind town. A few townies have been attacked.” He stares at me a minute longer before adding, “If you’re staying here, I need to tell you something. In private.”
Before I can answer, Gage appears, his eyes trained on Dad. “I need your help with something. We need to go now, though.”
Dad curses, but he nods toward Gage before grabbing my phone. He punches something in, and then hands it back to me.
“My number is in there. Call me so I have yours. I’ll call you the se
cond I’m free.”
He pulls me close in a hug before whispering, “Don’t say a word about…”
The last part is whispered so low that I can’t hear it, and Gage is dematerializing them from the room before I can ask what it was.
Thad’s arms slip back around me, and he moves my neck to the side.
“What’s on your mind, sweet girl?” Thad asks in a whisper, running his tongue across my neck in a way that has my inner wolf begging to come out and play.
I turn in his arms as a vixen’s grin tugs at my lips. “I was thinking about that blood play you offered.”
The hunger heats in his eyes as they flash to changer yellow, and I feel my eyes shift in response.
“Much better than sweet,” he murmurs seconds before his lips crash down on mine and he lifts me up.
My legs wrap around his waist, and suddenly we’re materializing inside the bedroom we were in earlier. His tongue teases and toys with mine, and my body continues to heat, growing hotter by the second.
Without any effort, we’re suddenly naked—feeling skin on skin. It feels so much better now. Thad breaks apart from the kiss, looking down before grinning.
He waggles his eyebrows while telling me, “Fucking love having a witch.”
A tinge of jealousy spikes, because now I’m wondering how many witches he’s been with, but he’s kissing me again suddenly, destroying any part of my mind that wants to sabotage this with pointless questions.
He growls low in his throat before shoving me against the wall, cracking it behind me, and my legs clamp down harder on his waist. The kiss becomes carnal, and I smile to myself.
I’ve only ever been with human guys, and I had to hold back. With Thad… he can take all I have to give.
The wall cracks harder, and the wolf in me wants to tear the place apart. There’s something seductive about chaotic destruction.
Thad grinds his hips against me, but it’s not enough. I want him inside me, owning me, ruling me… possessing me like no one else has ever had the power or ability to do.
The kiss becomes savage, violent. The taste of blood teases me when I cut his lip, and he groans when I suck his bottom lip into my mouth, savoring every small drop.
When I moan, he moves, adjusting his body before thrusting inside me and driving me up on the wall, causing it to crack more. A garbled cry escapes my lips, but he swallows most of it when he starts devouring me again, thrusting harder and deeper than he did before.
My nails dig into his back as his lips trail down to my neck, sucking, nipping, and finally biting. The sharp points of his fangs press deeper, and an erotic mixture of desire and need explode when he breaks the skin.
He growls as his movements grow rougher, and I cling to him harder as he drinks. Loud cracking doesn’t register until we’re falling, getting pummeled by debris as the wall collapses.
Thad lands on top of me, losing his hold on my neck, but he doesn’t stop taking me. My wolf tries to take form, and I feel her calling to his beasts, begging for more, relishing the raw, carnal need.
When my tongue rakes over my teeth, I feel the sharp points descend, and I lean up to latch onto his shoulder. The second his taste hits my mouth, I’m moaning, clawing at him harder to get closer, and his pace quickens just barely as he pounds into the cradle of my thighs.
He tastes like sex and honey, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough.
“Fuck,” he groans, fisting my hair as he pulls me closer, offering himself to me as he rules my body.
With a hard tug, he jerks my head away from his shoulder, and his mouth reclaims mine. More debris continues to fall, slapping against us, as the floor underneath us starts to creak. But neither of us give a damn. It’s like noise in the background, because right now, he’s all that exists. Just like I’m all that exists to him.
The floor cracks more as his rhythm grows brutal, punishing, until finally the floor collapses, giving way. Before we drop through the hole, I’m dematerializing us, and we suddenly land on the bed just as my stomach muscles tighten, warning me.
But before I can fall over the edge, he flips me over, staying inside me, while forcing me up on my hands and knees. One of his hands fists in my hair as he holds me right where he wants me, pulling my head to the side as his teeth sink back into the flesh between my neck and shoulder.
I don’t know if it’s an act of dominance, and I don’t care. I just know it’s hot as hell as he keeps me pinned in place, forcing me to feel each incredible sensation.
Thad’s hands move to my hips, and his fingers dig into my flesh, as my eyes roll back in my head and fireworks detonate behind my eyelids. I don’t just fall over the edge; I explode over it.
His name comes out in a scream that doesn’t sound human, and he fucking roars as I feel him go off inside me. My entire body feels like a noodle once it stops being completely rigid, and I lie boneless beneath him as he drops to lie on top of me.
I turn my head to the side so I can see him, but his head is facing the other way. Our breaths exchange in pants, and I try to suck enough oxygen into my lungs to slow down my heartrate before I accidentally shift.
“You two done up there? Because we could use some help cleaning up, and there’s only one witch in the fucking house right now.” Dice really knows how to embarrass a girl.
I laugh nervously, even though Thad remains busy with trying to resupply his lungs with air. We sure as hell made a mess.
“I’ll fix it,” I tell them, since Thad obviously isn’t up to responding.
Chapter 28
THAD
Dice continues bellowing from downstairs about fixing the floor, which is the ceiling down there. All I can do is try not to shift.
I’ve never fucked someone and had to fight off the beasts. Then again, I’ve never fucked anyone without having to use any restraint. Not even immortals can handle me going at full strength.
Roslyn could take it all. Hell, she could have taken more, and I would have given her more if I hadn’t been worried about shifting right in the middle of fucking.
Her fingers leisurely move up and down my hand as I stay inside her, not ready to pull out just yet. Turning my head toward her, I nuzzle her neck, kissing it softly as our legs stay tangled. She tilts her hips back, pushing me back inside her the few inches I’ve moved out.
A growl forms without my permission, and I feel her smiling because she knows what she’s doing to me.
“You can turn wolf, right?” she asks randomly.
I just nod, because I’m afraid I’ll only be able to make animal sounds right now, and that would be a little embarrassing.
“We can hit the woods next. I’ve never been with another shifter—well, not even another immortal, for that matter. Maybe we should take advantage.”
Ah, fuck. Maybe I do love her.
Roughly, I tug her head to the side, giving me a better angle at her mouth. I kiss her hard as I start moving inside her again, but Dice—the soon to be dead incubus—strikes again.
“The entire house will collapse if you don’t fix it before going at it again, damn it!”
Roslyn groans, but I continue kissing her, thoroughly tasting her lips over and over as my hips continue to rock. She’s squeezing my cock to death in the best possible way, and the pressure is as divine as it is addictive.
“Thad!” Zee yells.
“You fix it!” I yell back, smiling when Roslyn starts to giggle.
“Let me go fix it, then you can take me to the woods.”
That almost has me getting off again, but I manage to hold it back. What’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done? Pulling out of Roslyn when all I want to do is keep her right where she is for the rest of the night.
But considering she just offered herself to me in shift form, I manage to do it since there’s something to look forward to. She’s smiling when I start to pull on my pants, and she slowly stands.
All of her bruises from the fight with Slade have healed, and so
has the wound that was on her side. Fuck. I didn’t even think that I might have been hurting her.
“There’s not even a mark,” I say more to myself than her.
“Oh, there are marks. Especially on your back,” she says before her clothes suddenly appear on her body.
She really does have excellent control over her witch powers.
I glance over my shoulder at the mirror on the wall to see her claw marks all over me, and damn it feels good.
“I meant you,” I say while turning back to face her.
She tugs her shirt up, checking her side. “I heal fast if I have immortal blood. Most blood drinkers don’t need it until after immortality, but I’ve needed it all my life. And only immortal blood appeals to me. Does that freak you out at all?”
Her eyes find mine, and I see a vulnerability there that wasn’t there before. She’s afraid of me rejecting her?
I pull her to me, kissing her as she slowly relaxes in my arms.
“I actually think it’s hot that you’re going to be drinking from me regularly, so I’m not freaked out, but I am curious. How did you get it when you were a kid?”
She runs her hands down my chest, but just as she opens her mouth to explain, the floor crashes down, and she’s squealing instead of talking while my stomach slaps my throat in a free fall.
Right before I hit the floor, a weightlessness hits me as shadows dim my vision, and then suddenly I’m outside, staring at the house instead of on the floor.
Roslyn curses while looking around. “No one saw. Shit. I can’t believe I just threw us outside.”
Dice storms out, and I barely stop my laughter when I see him covered in sheetrock dust. He shakes his head, trying to knock out some of the powder-like residue, cursing the entire time.
Zee walks out looking just as fucked up as Dice, and I start laughing.
“Fucker. I tried fixing it, and I ended up tearing the rest of the floor out,” he gripes. “I don’t have that sort of control yet. Fighting? Got it down. Fixing shit? Not so much.”
Roslyn snickers while walking inside the dusty house.