by JL Madore
“Austin!” The demented voice that shattered the night was not his own. His inner beast called to her enraged.
In his gut, he knew it was too late.
Austin screamed as the daemon hurtled into her. He caught her across the shoulder and threw her delicate frame into the air. Arms flailed as her head kicked back and the two fell to the ground in a tangled mess.
They all converged on the punk at once. Zander flung the fucker back and the kid bounced off the brick wall with a bone-breaking crunch. Austin lay as still and lifeless as the first moment he’d found her.
The smell of her blood knocked him back.
Zander’s vision hazed crimson. He lunged at the crumpled heap of punk. His dark side in control once again. He watched his tattooed hands moved before him. His Crystalline dagger severed the kid’s neck with such force that the blade wedged into the asphalt. Still, his beast craved blood. Diving at the other two who’d tackled him, he ripped them apart. Tore limbs from bodies, crushed their skulls under his boots and dropped them in a sticky heap.
He swelled with power. His energy burst from him in a sonic boom of electricity.
He watched Danel, Kyrian, and the others fly backward, heard them yell for him to stop. He couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop. Danel grappled him, his eyes bugged so wide the whites were showing all the way around. Zander wasn’t tracking.
D drove an uppercut to his jaw and stars flashed before his eyes. His hearing fritzed back online. “Zandros, she isn’t dead. Calm the fuck down. She’s alive. She’s down but alive.”
Zander whirled and froze.
Kyrian’s hands skimmed over her, strips of his Abercrombie button-down tied around her arm and stained red. He helped her sit up.
“Austin?” Zander sagged to his knees beside her. “Kyrian, tell me she’s all right.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
Kyrian exhaled. “She’s fine. A graze on the arm and a bump on the head. As far as I can tell, she’s just rattled.”
Zander moved to sweep her into his arms but froze. Covered in the venom of the dead, he stripped off his muscle shirt, cleaned himself the best he could, and pulled her against his bare chest. “Is that it? You’re shaken but okay?”
“Right as rain,” she whispered against his skin.
He kissed the top of her head and tried not to crush her as he gripped her silky hair. “Okay. That’s okay. Scared is fine. Hurt is bad. Scared is perfection.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Austin bit her lip and stared straight ahead as they walked back to the club. All she saw in her mind’s eye was Zander’s aura bursting into black as he knelt over her. Something dark and dangerous had taken him. Was it the prophecy? She breathed in and smelled the unimaginable stench of burning flesh. The fight still rang in her ears, weapons clashing, the grunt of men, and the gurgle of life ending.
Killing. Death. This horror he’d been bred for, this had been his world for five thousand years. “I’m gonna be sick—”
A firm grip supported her elbow and rushed her between two buildings. She braced herself against the brick wall as her stomach heaved. Zander bent beside her, holding her hair, resting a solid hand on her back. When she’d finished fertilizing the pavement, he pressed a handkerchief into her palm.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I just—”
“Don’t,” Zander said in a hard rush. “Don’t apologize.”
Kyrian and the others said nothing as she reclaimed Stetson’s harness and they fell into step once more. The violence sickened her. The things they killed might not be human, but they had been human. She couldn’t wrap her head around how these men slaughtered living beings and considered it nothing more than a night’s work.
When at last they got to the club, they ushered her through the kitchen and straight into the freight elevator. The gate clacked shut and then the metal screen doors slid together. On the third floor, the hair on her arms stood upright. The atmosphere snapped with electricity and everyone knew the source. Zander led her from the elevator and stopped in the outer foyer.
“You all right, Z?” Danel asked.
Zander snaked his arm around her side. “Take Stetson and excuse us, would you boys?”
“Sure, Z,” someone said with a thick Scottish brogue.
“Whatever you need, Zandros,” Kyrian said. Austin unhooked Stetson’s harness and handed him the leash.
Zander led them inside and straight back to his room and into his ensuite. Pacing the space, he rubbed his glowing arms like his skin stretched too tight. His wild, dark expression reminded her how she’d felt the afternoon before when she’d discovered his world.
Caged. Miserable. Hopeless.
She opened her mouth to say something and caught the smoldering scent of demon blood. In the enclosed ensuite, it permeated the air. He’d smelled like that when she’d first woken up handcuffed to him. He’d likely smelled like that every night of his life. He killed for a living. Not just killed—he cut off heads and burned bodies.
One by one, he pulled his weapons out and placed them on the granite countertop. The weight of the metal chinking against stone struck her every time. “I never wanted you to see that—to be any part of what I am or what I do.”
She folded her arms across her chest to still her trembling hands. “Those people—”
“Not people,” he said, his voice husky. “I understand that they seem like people to you, but they’re not. Daemon are the evil your world warns you about. Your life means less to them than a rat on the street. Don’t feel sorry for them.”
“How can you stand it? The burning?”
“If we don’t burn them, some races come back as undead. Decapitation releases the souls and burning the bodies cleanses the earth of the evil.”
His jaw flexed as he stepped closer. He hesitated, his weight shifting. Brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek he swallowed. “They engaged in assault and knew the consequence. They targeted us, not the other way around. It guts me, though, that you got caught in the ugliness of my life yet again.”
She raised her hand. “You didn’t know we’d be ambushed.”
His jaw flexed, his hair flowing in long waves down his chest as he shook his head. “I’m sorry too, for what happened before the confrontation.”
Their argument seemed so stupid now. Reaching onto her tiptoes she pressed her lips to his cheek. “Chalk it up to our first lover’s spat.”
Zander held her against his chest for a moment far too brief. A tremble had invaded his embrace, his heart pounding beneath her cheek. He stepped back.
“Zander? What’s wrong?” Had he realized her weakness in his world? She would never stand on her own against the evil he faced every day. She stared at him, waiting, hoping he wasn’t ending this.
“I’m not afraid of dying,” he said at last. “I want you to know that. I would give my life to fulfill my duty. But when that punk threw himself at you, I knew I’d never get there in time. Something happened. Inside me. It can’t happen again.”
“It was a traumatic moment. It’s normal that you might be scared.” She reached for him and again he pulled away. Gawd, she hated the dissolution on his face. “What happened inside you, Zander? Did I do that? Was it the Prophecy? Tell me. You won’t let me touch you and I’m freakin’ out.”
He was there in an instant, his hands gripping her wrists. “Forgive me. I’m standing here and all I see is the blood and ichor on you. I can’t bear their filth touching you.”
“Consider it gone.” Austin tugged and unbuttoned until she stood before him wearing nothing but her panties and bra. “Better? Can you tell me what’s happened now?”
Strong hands ran down her injured arm and across her ribs. He turned her to stroke every inch of her back, her butt, and her thighs. He growled at the bruises she felt taking form, but when his inventory was complete he seemed to relax a little.
Backing her against the vanity, he ran the tap and wet a towel. Inch by delicate
inch he wiped away every trace of violence. When he finished, she took a fresh cloth, and despite his protest, cleaned his face and started working her way down. He hissed when she rubbed the side of his neck. Fingering the damage, she found a wound where one of those creatures had gnawed on him. “This feels like ground chuck. Does it hurt?”
“No. I think I’m still numb.”
Austin knew that feeling. She’d felt that way for months after her mom and brothers had drowned. She knew how to banish it too. He needed to connect, find something grounding. For her that had been rodeo, until that was taken from her too.
Tightening her fingers in his hair, she pulled his lips to hers. Her mouth caressed his, probing, teasing. She rubbed against him until the connection they shared took hold.
In that instant, the world melted away and left just them. His body still trembled and the desperation in him broke her heart. Without pausing their kiss, she unbuckled his belt and worked his fly. Clothes rained to the heated tile floor as Zander discarded his boots and pants. The growl that rumbled from his chest wasn’t human, but didn’t frighten her.
It resonated with her.
Her head spun as he turned her to face the vanity and more than two hundred and forty pounds of solid warrior pressed against her from behind. Her hands shot out and braced against the wall. Her nipples pebbled firm and her pulse raced, exploding in pure need.
Zander didn’t mince words. He seemed to be in control again, but there was something powerful growing in him. Something dark and hungry. Running his hand over her skin, he dropped to his knees. Broad, strong hands traced her curves. They tickled her ribs, eased over her hips. He kissed the small of her back, nipping at the sensitive skin before lifting her leg to gain access. She went wet in a rush.
“Don’t move, cowgirl.”
She tightened her grip on the counter just in time. He latched on to her core with such sweet ferocity her knees buckled. “Oh, sweet Texas—”
An animalistic moan rumbled in his throat. His tongue circled, stroked and then eased inside her. His fingers tightened, holding her in place. How ironic that this brutal, violent male could lap at her so gently. He was reverent as he suckled on her and his thumb began a languid sweep over the sensitive nerves of her sex. There was no end to the pleasure, the swirling, darting, driving, teasing.
Her body relented, and she convulsed into his mouth.
His growl vibrated against her flesh and magnified her explosion. Her thighs clamped, pressing her core against him, demanding more, even as he released her. She was vaguely aware as he spoke in his ancient tongue. Wrapping himself around, he nuzzled under her hair and kissed up her neck.
“I want inside you again,” he whispered. “The need for it drives me mad.”
The memory of his aura exploding off him struck her cold. She couldn’t let them get carried away, wouldn’t risk him losing his soul. “I have an idea. Are you game?”
His erection pressed hard against her back. “What do you have in mind?”
Zander activated the program for the front and back nozzles, checked the temperature, and dimmed the light inside the shower. Austin had that impish look on her face he loved so much. He didn’t care what she had in mind, the woman had free reign on his body and soul.
Closing them in, he pressed up behind her and slid his hands over her wet body. The shower was spacious for one, but with the two of them in there, it verged on cozy. He liked cozy. He liked being so close that no matter how they turned they were within reaching distance of one body part or another. Wrapping one arm under her breasts, the other caressed down her thigh.
She arched against his chest. A mewling sound escaped her throat as his fingers played in the short curls inches from where he wanted to be. His cock slid against her backside until it nestled along the crease of her ass. Despite the size difference, their bodies matched up perfectly and he was all over reacquainting himself with her nakedness. Wandering with his thumb and forefinger, he rolled and twisted ever so gently.
“Is the water all right?”
“Wonderful.” She shuddered as he stroked her from breast to thigh and back again, arching, surging, moving against the sensation of his touch. The vibration and burning inside him rose with every brush of her skin. It called out to the darkest part of him demanding he claim her.
Austin’s head dropped back against his chest as he pulled her tight and rolled his hips in a slow circle. She drew his hand up from between her legs and he felt robbed. Passing her hand under the soap dispenser on the granite wall, she lathered up. The bubbles slid between her palms and fingers, giving off a faint Shea butter scent. Her smile melted him.
“Let me wash away your night.”
Zander’s cock twitched. “You don’t have to—”
She circled him, her hands sliding across his chest and back. “Brace yourself.”
He took his cue. Reaching up, he grabbed the pipes where they emerged from the granite covered walls. Being stretched out like a sexual sacrifice was erotic as hell. Warm water spilled over his shoulders and down his body. His mark burst into a blinding blue glow.
Circling him, Austin toed the inside of his feet, to widen his stance. She watched the hard angles of his thigh muscles shift to obey her wishes. “Sweet Texas, you are one sexy man.”
Stepping tight to his ass, the mounds of her breasts pressed against his back. Sudsy hands slid over his hips. Slick and warm they skimmed around his waist and met at the base of his belly. Take her for your own. His skin burned, and his arms began to shake. He closed his eyes and focused on his breath.
In. Out. In. Out—
Austin teased through the path of fine hair below his navel. From behind, she let her fingers explore his contours. She lingered on his thighs, fondled his six-pack, played with his nipples, kissed across his shoulder blades and then gripped his lats. He breathed deep. In. Out.
The succulence of the heat ripping through her spun in his head. She laved his front and then sent her hands off to have fun. The left seemed to oversee his chest while the right had the honor of handling all the prime male territory.
His heart pounded in his chest as his head fell back and the spray ran down his back. “Fuck. That feels good.”
“You up for a little more torture?”
His eyes rolled closed. “Bring it.”
Austin worked up another lather and moved to the span of his shoulders, his torso and the dimples of his ass. She cupped his sac and ran her fingers through the hair at the base of his crotch. “You feel good in my hands.”
He thought so too.
Reaching up, she found the retractable nozzle. She rinsed the bubbles from his skin, paying careful attention to work him with the massage setting until he almost lost his mind. When the attention stopped, he opened his eyes a crack. She lathered up a new dose of soap and he broke out into a sweat.
The smile she offered him was nothing short of the sun’s radiance, the absence of tension transforming her features until she stole the breath from his lungs. “You’re about to learn the little-known pleasures of deep tissue massage.”
With their gazes locked, Austin knelt on the shower floor beside him. Lifting his foot off the shower floor, she rested in her lap. The drain-cover pinched his other foot, but he wasn’t moving for anything. Sliding her fingers over his foot she kneaded her thumbs into the tender tissue of his instep.
He tightened his grip on the showerhead. Strong fingers slid between his toes, pulling each one with a ringing, twisting stroke. As she worked, he twisted in her hands and fought for self-control. “What are you doing?”
She waggled her brow, placed the first foot down and moved to the other.
“Careful. I’m going to lose it.” Zander dropped a hand to fist his jerking erection. “It’s all I can do to breathe right now.”
“Go ahead, take the edge off,” she said, pressing his buttons. “You need the release.”
He couldn’t deny that. His balls had crawled so damn tight i
nto his crotch he thought they might implode. But as much fun as Austin seemed to be having, she had no clue how dangerous things were getting on his side. The animal in him had gained strength tonight. He’d fought his entire life to control his primal side and, for the first time, he’d lost the battle.
He clenched his teeth as she repeated that pinch-and-twist with the toes on his other foot. Gripping the pipes harder, he tried to stay level. His release tingled in his balls, building pressure in his shaft. He pushed back, walking a dangerous line.
“You still with me?” Austin stared up with a dazed pleasure that awed him. “You’ve got your focused, warrior face on. You all right there, angelman?”
“Perfection,” he rasped. “But you’re not getting near enough attention.”
“This is your turn.” With determination blazing in her eyes, her thumb dug deep into his arch. A shock wave shot straight to his cock.
His ragged cry ripped from his throat and echoed off the hard granite walls. There was no holding back. His orgasm broke free. Heated jets covered his raised thigh and dripped to the drain below. He stroked himself, easing the release. Riding out the bliss.
At least until she returned to the digging. Another round with her thumb and whatever nerve she’d hit pushed him into an abyss. Pleasure didn’t begin to cover it. His stomach clenched and rippled. He gripped harder, fisting himself through another frantic wave.
His senses reeled. His muscles convulsed. His hips thrust. Her scent filled his primitive brain with hunger. White hot lust seared every nerve-ending he possessed. By the time he managed to pull his mind back into his body she’d finished with his feet and stood beside him gathering more soap.
“What did you do to me?” he gasped. His chest heaved, struggling to take in enough oxygen so he didn’t pass out. He held his hand under the stream of water and rinsed the milky residue from multiple releases off the back of his hand.
She smiled a wry smile. “A few pressure points I’ve mastered. Wait till I get some massage oil and have you on my table. You’ll lose your mind.”