After Moonrise

by P. C. Cast

He swooped in, pressed his lips to hers and thrust his tongue into her mouth.

  They kissed for minutes, hours, days even, tasting each other, relearning each other, comforting each other. They were here, and while the rest of the world might consider them dead, they were alive to each other. That was enough.

  As passion flowed through her veins, consumed her, it was difficult for her to believe that her life had ended, that she was no more. She was on fire, aching for Levi’s total possession. How much more real could a woman get?

  He tugged at her shirt. She tugged at his. He removed her pants, and she removed his. Underwear was the next thing to go. And when they were both naked, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

  Looking down at her, he grinned. “If this is the end to a crappy day, I’m all for crappy days.” With that, he tossed her on the bed.

  She bounced once, twice, and on the second descent, he was there, pressing her down into the mattress, pinning her with his muscled weight. The heat of him had intensified, delighting her in every way. His skin was a study of masculinity, rough in some places, smooth in others, with patches of dark hair on his chest and legs.

  “You feel so good,” he praised. “I don’t think I ever want to let you go.”

  “Then don’t.” Just then he was her anchor. And she so desperately needed that anchor. She was afraid of floating away and never returning, of losing him, and losing herself.

  “Grab the headboard.”

  “Why?”

  “Because King Levi said so.”

  Unable to stop her own grin, she obeyed. The moment her fingers curled around the iron railing, he bent his head and laved her body from top to bottom. He bit, he sucked, he licked, ratcheting up her already inflamed desire. His tongue was like a stroke of fiery silk, tantalizing her, making her gasp and pant and beg for more…then plead with him to stop and finish her.

  “Levi! If you want me to start beating you, keep doing what you’re doing.”

  A warm chuckle, his breath tickling over her in the most decadent caress.

  “I’m serious.” She released the iron and waved a fist at him.

  He playfully nipped at her fingers. “Back on the railing, princess.”

  So commanding. So wonderfully carnal with her. “Fine.” She tried for reluctant, but merely came across as snippy. “But you had better do everything in your power to make this princess happy or you’ll lose your head.”

  He gave another of those sexy chuckles. “You can’t behead a king. Now do as you’ve been told before things get ugly and I have to summon my guard. He may look exactly like me, but he isn’t as nice as I am.”

  Moaning, she obeyed him. The moment she did so, he returned to his play. Only, his hands were rougher, his mouth more insistent. He worked her over, worked her just right, so that she was arching into him, following his every move, desperate, so desperate for completion.

  “Levi!” she shouted. “Enough! You have to… If you don’t…”

  “I’m a king, remember?” The strain in his voice delighted her. He’d break soon. He wouldn’t be able to help himself. “I do what I want, when I want.”

  “Well, I do damage to—”

  “He’s coming for you,” a familiar voice said from beside the bed. “Oh, uh, never mind.”

  “What the—” Harper hurried to cover herself. Levi jumped up, clearly intending to murder the black-haired girl who’d been haunting them all over again, but she vanished just before he reached her.

  He stood there for a moment, silent and naked, and clearly floundering about what to do. “I want to chase her, but I don’t want to leave you.”

  An unexpected laugh bubbled from Harper’s throat. Levi spun around and glared at her.

  “You think this is funny?” he demanded.

  Unable to speak through her giggles, she nodded. And, oh, the amusement felt as good as his touch. As dark as the day had been, she hadn’t expected to find excitement, arousal, fulfillment, acceptance, comfort or humor—much less all of those things at the same time.

  With a mock scowl, he stalked back to the bed. “Well, I’ll make you sorry for that. If I can’t tackle her, I’ll have to make do with you.”

  She laughed all the harder. He pounced.

  The air whooshed from her lungs. Without any more preliminaries, he claimed his woman. Her laughter was cut off, becoming a low groan of pleasure. She wrapped her legs around him, wrapped one arm around his waist and one around his neck, all while arching her hips to meet his next thrust.

  His lips returned to hers, and, oh, this kiss was so much better than any that had come before. The passion was rawer, the need sharper. His hands were everywhere, all over her, no place left untouched.

  “Harper,” he growled. “Yeah, just like that.”

  They strained together and breathed together and panted together, and his pace increased, faster and faster and faster, until the entire bed was shaking, until she was groaning as the pleasure split her in two and he was roaring with satisfaction.

  He collapsed on her and rolled to the side, dragging her with him. She found herself sprawled across his chest as he fought to breathe.

  “That was…that was…”

  “Worth dying for?” she said, then wished she could snatch the words back. “Sorry. Too soon for that kind of—”

  “Yeah,” he said, sounding confident. “Worth dying for.”

  Darling man. As replete as she was, sleep tugged at her. She resisted with all her might, suddenly afraid that sleeping would be the thing that pulled her out of this world—out of Levi’s arms.

  It didn’t before, she reminded herself and relaxed. “So what’s next?” she asked through a yawn.

  “Tomorrow we’ll return to the station and find out what else Bright learned from Cliff.”

  “And then visit Topper,” she said, a statement, not a question.

  Levi sighed. “I knew you’d want to do that.”

  “Yeah, because I told you so. I need to know why I painted Lana’s hair… I…” A bright flash in her mind, a memory tearing free of the darkness. Suddenly she was lying on that metal slab, cold, so very cold. She could hear a woman crying a few feet away, could hear metal rattling.

  The cage. The woman trapped in the cage. A woman who was next in line for the table…which meant Harper had to die. Room had to be made; a new toy had to be played with.

  “Well…I know you can’t see her, but the girl in the cage is—drumroll, please—your only real friend. You remember her, don’t you? Of course you do. She’s the pretty one.”

  Harper had tried to look, but she had failed. “You’re lying, trying to hurt me because you’re a miserable little runt whose heart has rotted and you can’t find any other way to get to me.”

  “You think so? Well, why don’t you ask the girl and find out whether or not I spoke true.”

  “Say something,” she had commanded the girl.

  Such terrible silence had filled the room.

  Ultimately a chuckle had broken through that silence, and it had far more terrible. “My deepest apologies, but she’ll not be saying anything. She’s mouthy, your friend. You know she is. I’m afraid I was forced to cut out her tongue.”

  Hearing that, Harper’s fury had gotten the better of her. She’d thrown taunts at Topper, and he’d retaliated with taunts of his own—followed by a brutal stabbing that had finally stolen her life.

  The pain…oh, t
he pain… She’d endured so much, those last few minutes should have been more of the same. But she had felt the sting all the way to her spine, had felt her blood leaving her, pooling around her. Had noticed her eyesight dimming. Any second now and she would—

  “Aurora Harper!” Levi shouted. “You pay attention to me right now.”

  Using his voice as a lifeline, she tugged herself back to the present. She blinked into focus, saw him looming over her, knew she was on the bed and swallowed bile. “He threatened Lana,” she croaked. “He said she was next.”

  Levi brushed his fingers over her brow. “She wasn’t in the cage, sweetheart. I promise you.”

  “But what if Cliff wasn’t the only person helping him? What if Lana is still a target? She’s in danger, Levi. I feel it. Deep down, I know it.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Against Levi’s better judgment, he decided to phone Bright later that evening and set up a meeting with Topper before he’d had a chance to check things out. What he quickly learned? All the times he’d thought he called the man he’d actually popped in and out of Bright’s office (and home). His mind had simply reworked the details.

  This time, Bright had been home, alone, in bed. The man had nearly had a heart attack when Levi shook him awake.

  With a few conditions tacked on, Bright had done him a solid and arranged for Topper to be brought into the station early the next morning for questioning about Clifford. At least, that was the official statement. Levi and Harper were testing Topper to discover whether or not he could see the dead. If he could…the real interrogation would begin.

  Levi and Harper didn’t get much sleep. They arrived at the station hours early, and waited in the interview room. Within thirty minutes of their arrival, Peterson and Harrowitz entered the room behind the two-way window. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel Harrowitz, some kind of energy pulsing off him. If either Levi or Harper became upset, they were to leave the room. If they failed to leave, Harrowitz was to vaporize them before they could harm anyone in the building.

  Levi was not happy about the threat to Harper, and was determined to keep her calm no matter the course of action he had to take. Already she was shaking, pacing and mumbling about everything that could go wrong. He reached out, latched on to the base of her neck and tugged her into his side.

  “Don’t talk like that. Why invite trouble? Why worry when everything could go right?”

  “I don’t like the word could.”

  “Because you’re looking at it through negative glasses. Try positive.”

  A pause, a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry,” she said, and up went her finger to her mouth. “I know better.”

  He breathed in the cinnamon of her scent. All night he’d held her in his arms. They’d talked, shared things about their pasts. He’d told her about waking up one day to discover his parents were gone forever and he had no place to live, the nightmare of some of his foster families and how the military had given him a purpose, a goal for the future.

  She’d told him about the formal gowns her mother made her wear to dinner to practice for her pageants, even when her friends were over, as if every evening at their house was a high-society party. She’d told him about the many classes in deportment she’d had to take, the singing lessons and the bird training—because yes, her mother had wanted her to sing Disney songs while a bird perched on her finger—and about how Lana had taught her how to laugh and stand up for herself.

  He’d promised to send Lana a thank-you card. He’d also promised to protect the girl with his (after)life. And he would. Somehow, someway, he was going to end Cory Topper’s reign of terror once and for all.

  “So…everyone’s pretty locked on the no-killing-him idea?” she asked.

  How wistful she sounded. He almost laughed. When a delicate-looking female talked about the destruction of evil, it was odd—and maybe kind of wonderful. “Yeah. Pretty locked. Otherwise, I’d be all over him the moment he stepped through the door.”

  “Darn.”

  See? She couldn’t even cuss properly. “If I have to behave, you have to behave.”

  “Deal. I guess.”

  The door opened and a chained Topper finally shuffled inside, his orange jumpsuit so bright it was almost blinding. Tensing, Levi looked him over. The chains stretched from between his wrists, which were in front of him, to his ankles, which were only allowed a few inches of movement at a time.

  Harper straightened with a jolt. Levi had been with victims facing their attacker for the first time before. He knew it could be traumatic and cathartic all at once. But he himself was a victim just then. In more ways than one. Yes, Topper had killed him, but that hardly seemed to matter in light of what Harper had suffered.

  What were you supposed to do when you faced your girlfriend’s killer?

  End him…

  “You know the drill, Topper. Sit down facing the window. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Bright met Levi’s gaze, gave a stiff nod and closed the door, leaving Topper inside.

  End him now. He’s trapped…

  The chains rattled as Topper obeyed, easing into one of only two chairs in the room. A small table stretched out in front of him. His bound wrists remained in his lap as he peered around the room. His gaze swept over Harper, then Levi, without pause.

  Levi forced his arms to drop to his sides, severing contact with Harper. It was taking every ounce of his control to behave, as he’d promised Harper. Not here. Not now.

  Not ever, he thought next, surprising himself. Not just because he would have destroyed something, and could possibly move on to a not so wonderful place, but also because he was…had been…a cop. He wouldn’t take the law into his own hands. He just wouldn’t. He’d done that before, reacting on emotions, and he’d gotten himself killed. Plus, doing so now would make him no better than the people he’d locked away.

  Yes, Topper deserved to suffer. Yes, Topper was evil incarnate. And yes, giving in to the urge to end him would be easy. Resisting would be difficult. But he would do it, Levi decided. Topper had earned a punishment, and he would just have to live with it.

  His fellow inmates wouldn’t treat him well. He was blond and as handsome as a movie star, tanned, with a straight, white smile. He was the kind of man women dreamed of dating. But his eyes…his eyes gave him away. They were bottomless pits of wicked.

  Bright had certainly nailed it with his fruit comment. Topper produced pretty disgusting fruit.

  “He can’t see you, sweetheart, and that means he can’t hear you. You’ll get no answers here. We should go.” Before I forget my good intentions and get us into trouble. “Bright will find out if he’s working with anyone else.”

  “The abuse wasn’t sexual, you know,” she said, her voice trembling. As though in a trance, she wrapped her arms around her middle. “As much as he loved dominating, humiliating and hurting, that would have fit his personality.”

  A small blessing, considering everything else she’d endured, but one that relieved him. Last night, he’d tried to replace her memory of being bound and helpless with one of being bound and pleasured. A subtle transition, yes, but he hadn’t wanted her scared of anything ever again.

  “So why did he take us?” she asked. “Why did he do what he did?”

  “Maybe he’s impotent, and was lashing out. Maybe he’s just a twisted, warped little man who enjoys other people’s pain. There could be a thousand different reasons, but no
ne of them matter. He did it.”

  “Well, I think…I think he has mommy issues.”

  The cop in him switched on. “I know you think there’s someone else involved. Did he ever bring another person into his, uh, workshop?” He’d almost said little shop of horrors, but had caught himself just in time.

  “No. He took pictures, though. Lots and lots of pictures.” Steps slow and measured, Harper moved in front of her tormentor.

  Topper continued his study of the room.

  “Look at me,” she commanded.

  His head fell back, and he closed his eyes. In and out he breathed, deep and even, as if savoring something sweet. The corners of his lips lifted into a smug smile, then he straightened, lashing fluttering apart, gaze suddenly alert.

  “Well, well,” he said in a smooth voice. “Who do we have here, hmm?”

  Harper straightened. Levi rushed to her side.

  After another deep breath, Topper laughed with apparent glee. “I think my favorite little blonde, Aurora Harper, has finally found me. I can’t see you but I can smell the hint of turpentine you carry on your skin.”

  A tremor moved through her, her hands clenching and unclenching.

  A hard knock sounded on the window.

  Levi wrapped an arm around her waist. “Calm down, okay?” He wasn’t sure whether the words were for her—or himself.

  “You stayed here, after all,” Topper said, then gave another laugh. “I should have known you’d keep your word. Where are you, darling? Give me a hint.”

  Her muscles knotted, as if she was preparing to launch over the table and choke the life out of him. Levi tightened his hold. A second later, he felt fingers of electricity stroke through the entire room. Topper didn’t seem to notice, but Harper released another gasp.

  The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as did the hairs on his arms and legs. His skin suddenly felt sensitized, his nerve endings raw.

  “Harrowitz,” he muttered. “And my guess is, that was just a warning.”