“If you can still talk, you’ll have to let me know later.”
Letting his gaze rest at the junction between her thighs, he sent her a wee bit of heat. Just a taste of what might come her way…
Aaaand, score! Haley’s eyes opened in shock, her lips parted with a gasp of pleasure, her back arched. When she licked her lower lip, he praised God.
It was good to be telekinetic.
Turned out the two women were roommates. Good news for the four of them since no one had any more patience. The second they hit the elevator, Sean turned Sara into the wall and buried his face in her neck. Her pixie haircut provided no curtain to hide behind. Dec watched her head loll back, eyes closed, as Sean kissed her throat. He used one hand to hold her face still, the other to cup her breast. Sara’s hands moved frantically under his shirt, practically dragging it over his head even as the bell dinged.
He’d been primed from practically the second he set eyes on Haley. She was a honey blonde with sexy assets: green eyes, pert little nose, perky breasts, apple ass… and funny. She’d kept him laughing all night even with the tension building between them. She was hilarious. Smart, too. She was a quality kind of woman, true. Probably he’d appreciate that in another lifetime. Right now, he just wanted to bury himself inside her.
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him to her room, locking the door behind them. With her back to the door, she gave him a slow, sexy smile, murmuring, “I hope you can keep up with me, stud. I’m going to eat you alive.”
Mr. Crowley nearly jumped out of his pants. “Start low; it’s been awhile.”
Her eyes dropped, and she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his jeans. “Low is good.”
Backing her to the bed, he peeled the top over her head, pausing to pay respect to her breasts on the way by. Crawling onto his lap, she peeled off his t-shirt, kissing his neck, his collarbone, down his chest… lingering at his belly button…
He closed his eyes with the pleasure of her touch. Her soft hands and sharp nails seemed to hit every inch of his body. She was in worship mode---stroking him, exploring him, tasting him. It had been too damn long since anyone had touched him like this. His skin tingled. Goose bumps crawled across his belly. Her nails scraped along his biceps, up his neck, down… this was Heaven. He held his breath as she hovered above him. Her eyes challenged him to stop her, and he grinned slow and easy. Cupping the back of her head, he gave her a little nudge. Her smile lit up the room, and he lay back with his blood racing out of control.
“You just lay here and let me play. You’ll get your turn in a minute.” She’d scooted up to straddle his hips. Her clothes were gone, leaving her in nothing but silky smooth skin. That skin was rubbing all over him. If he could die from pleasure, he’d be gone in another minute.
The sound of Sean shouting brought his head up. “Sean?”
“It’s nothing. Relax, baby.” She wrapped her fingers around his shaft, stroking him slowly, setting him on fire.
He closed his eyes. She was torturing him one inch at a time. Sliding across his chest, she reached over his head, her breasts against his face. He opened his mouth and caught one tight nipple. Haley moaned deep in her throat, hips slowly circling against him with the age old rhythm. As he suckled her, she picked up his hand, nibbling his fingers one at a time, drawing them into her mouth. The entire world narrowed to the sensation of her hot, wet mouth on his skin, and he gave in to to the pleasure building…
He was about to explode. He tried to switch positions, but couldn’t move his arms. Shit. His hands were tied above his head. What the fuck? He gave them a yank. Nothing.
The door opened, and Sara walked in. Flipping on the light, she surveyed the scene in front of her with a pair of ankle cuffs dangling from one hand and a bottle of honey in the other.
Holy Mary Mother of God! “Where’s Sean?”
Her mouth curled into a sweet smile, eyes sparkling in the sudden light. She wore only a black lace thong and that sweet smile. The thong was barely a strip of material covering her creamy skin. A tiny pair of angel wings fluttered to the side of her right breast. The tat was beautifully done but didn’t compete with the round globes of womanly goodness. Crowley started to weep. He was very fond of large breasts.
“Oh, he’s just fine, Dec. Resting comfortably for now. He didn’t want to cooperate though.” Sara shrugged one bare shoulder and added, “He’ll live. Now, you don’t struggle, and we’ll help you with that delicious hard-on you’ve got there.”
He stared in confusion. It was hard to process with 90 percent of his blood pooled below his navel. What? “Exactly what are we talking about here? I’m a lot more fun when I get to move around.” He smiled for good measure. He wiggled his hands, but the silk tie wouldn’t budge. Part of him wasn’t so sure about this… but Crowley had totally different ideas. He bobbed for attention. Look at me! Look at me!
With twin conspiratorial grins, Haley perched on one side. Sara knelt on the other. His hands and feet were bound. He was naked and sandwiched between two beautiful women. One of which just produced a peacock feather from a box next to the bed. A blindfold came next. The black silk covered his eyes. He was defenseless. Okay, not really. He could teleport. He could put them to sleep with a thought. But he hadn’t had sex in three years, so he was shooting for at least one orgasm before making an escape. He really hoped no one pulled out a knife first.
“Okay, ladies. I’m all yours.”
“You suck. You know that, right?” he grumbled as he limped down the sidewalk in front of Rori’s building.
Sean strode along with his usual macho fitness. Oh, sure, he wasn’t just wrung dry by two nymphomaniacs. Damn, his balls ached. He resisted the automatic urge to cup himself. Sean was already laughing his ass off. He didn’t need more ammo.
Thoroughly unrepentant, Sean just grinned. “I love you, man! This is what real brothers do. They help each other. You needed some help. If you deny you had a good time, I’ll call you a fucking liar.”
Unbelievably, Crowley twitched with interest as Dec remembered the mouths, tongues, and other wet, warm body parts… uh, no. No way could he deny it was awesome. Now? He could hardly walk…
“Okay. We’re here. Her lights are off.”
Rori tossed and turned, struggling to get away. Massive, threatening, beautiful… they unfolded slowly, purposely in front of the glass window. Flames licked at her heels, forcing her to move towards the wings, towards him.
No! Leave me alone! She opened her mouth to scream, but he slammed his mouth over hers. Hard, demanding, rough… he used his fingers to pry her lips apart before plunging his tongue inside. His fingers dug into her shoulders as he pinned her down. She tried to thrash her head away, but it wouldn’t obey. She was paralyzed, powerless. As the fire swirled inside her dream, she sank deeper into the void. She was cocooned in him. Lost.
She was almost his. He settled his energy into its human façade and watched Rori sleep. She was dreaming again--dreaming of him. He sent her those images, this night, and every night he could. Some nights she blocked him, most nights she couldn’t. Her powers weren’t strong enough. She had no armor against him. She didn’t always remember the dreams. That was as he intended. He enjoyed these little games. It had been a bad week, so tonight he would play. He’d been showing restraint, waiting until the day he claimed her. On that date, she would be his whether she wanted it or not. No one could undo what had been done--not her, not the angels. Her weak Primani protector was so far out of his league. He didn’t even know what he was dealing with. By the time the wingless idiot figured it out, it would be too late.
Rori opened her mouth to scream. Not yet, witch! There will be time for that later. He shut her up by slamming his mouth over hers in a brutal parody of a kiss. She struggled against him, instinct, self-preservation driving her against the invasion, against the evil it sensed even during deep sleep. He hissed low in his throat as his cock responded to her pain, her fear. She fought him, her spirit scream
ing from within, head thrashing to the side. Good, Rori. Fight me. I like it this way. He pried her mouth open, forcing his tongue inside, taking hers, until she stopped struggling. With barely a thought, he willed her to go limp. Then he took his time, kissing her more softly, with more care. He wanted to taste her, feel her energy enter him. He wrapped his arms around her, cocooning her in his body in what was left of his soul. She cried out at his assault but was too far under to move against him. He held her for hours, soaking in her warmth, drawing away her soul.
Soon, she would be his. Always.
Chapter 10: Breaking the Girl
RAINE STOOD IN FRONT OF HER BUILDING gathering his courage. He was giving himself a rare day off. He had to work to eat, and he generally liked to eat every day. Normally he’d be working near Central Park since it was Friday and people would be out getting a head start on the weekend. It was warm for late September and the sun was blazing already. He glanced at his watch. Nine o’clock. Rori should be getting ready for work. Would she want to see him so soon? Last night had ended in a cluster. Dinner was Juliano’s pizza. For entertainment he walked her through the park in the moonlight. Kiss goodnight? Disaster.
There she was. Clearly late again, she slammed the building’s door before taking off at a fast walk. Sucking in a deep breath, it was now or never. He stepped out of the shadows.
“Hey, Rori! Wait up.”
Damn, she looked beat. He should’ve brought her home earlier but he hadn’t been ready to say goodnight. Man, he was an ass. Even exhausted, she made a pretty little package. She wore a yellow sundress with white sandals that had seen better days. She wouldn’t appreciate his ogling her, but hey, he was a guy and she was a cute girl… what else was he supposed to do? It wasn’t his fault she’d filled out over the past two months. She was still slender, but the gaunt look was nearly gone. Her breasts had grown enough to peek out of the neckline of her cotton dress. The lines of her exotic face were softer too. She’d gone from kind of cute to nearly beautiful since gaining some weight. Where was she getting the food? He knew she was still broke…
“Raine. What are you doing here? Aren’t you working?” Rori kept walking but made eye contact with him so he knew she wasn’t upset.
He casually draped an arm over her shoulders and loped along beside her. She didn’t shrug him off so he took that as a good sign. The day was looking up already.
“Listen, Rori, about last night--” he began.
Without missing a step, she cut him off. “Don’t. Hector is a menace. I’m so sorry you got caught in the middle of his bullshit.” She slowed down to touch his cheek. “That bruise looks bad. How are you feeling?”
Sure it looked bad. Because it hurt like hell! Mornings after a fight always sucked. Today wasn’t any different. His whole face ached. One eye was still watering… a molar was loose, and the cut on his right hand stung like a bitch. Fucking gangbanger tried to kill him last night.
Shrugging for Rori’s benefit, he said, “I’ll live, babe. This isn’t the worst thing that’s happened to me. I’m glad you’re okay. If he’d hurt you, he’d be dead this morning. You know that, right?”
Rori pretended interest in a car driving by so he wouldn’t catch her rolling her eyes at his macho attitude. He had every right to be pissed off. She definitely was. They’d had a perfectly nice date until he walked her home. Hector and his thugs were hanging out by the front door. He’d stepped out with a switchblade and his ego to back him up. She was all for turning around and heading another direction, but Raine blew her mind by going all Vin Diesel on Hector. The fight went from knife waving to ass kicking in a heartbeat. All she could do was watch in shock as Raine beat the shit out of Hector. Sure, Hector landed a few solid blows, but in the end he was down for the count, bleeding from eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
She’d been shocked and awed by the ferocity of the fight. Raine was always the easy going, fun guy. He wore dreads for crying out loud! His whole vibe was peace, love, and rock and roll. The Raine she saw last night was someone she didn’t know. He’d scared the living hell out of her, but a bitchy voice in her head cheered him on. Hector had to go. Someone had to rearrange his attitude. Dec and Sean had kicked his ass once, but apparently that wasn’t enough. He hadn’t given up on her, but had been keeping his distance. Last night he’d clearly decided Raine wasn’t a threat. Huh. Guess he wouldn’t make that mistake again. If he regained consciousness, that is.
They were still heading towards the flower shop. Pausing at a red light, she asked, “So where did you learn to fight like that?”
Raine didn’t answer. The ‘walk’ signal flashed to tell them to move forward or get run over by the crowd. He ignored her question and headed across the street. Throngs of busy people swarmed around them as they were swept along the sidewalks. The buzz of the city grew louder the closer they got to her store. Cabs zigzagged past, delivery trucks stopped with squealing brakes, street vendors shouted back and forth. Once they reached the flower shop, she unlocked the security gate and let them both inside. Angela wouldn’t object to Raine’s presence. He looked harmless.
She warmed up the cash register while he flipped the sign around to show they were open. Once the store was ready to go, she turned to grill him some more. He peered out the window, expression blank, eyes moving constantly as he studied the street. One hand curled casually against the glass, the other in his pocket.
“Raine? What is it?” She started to move to his side when he shook his head.
“Stay over there, Rori. Something’s off.”
He pulled a gun from under his shirt and circled back to the side door. Edging it open with the toe of his Doc Martins, he checked right and then left.
“Oh, my God, Raine What’s with the gun?”
Before he could respond, the front door clattered open and something flew straight towards her head.
“Get down!” Raine roared.
The explosion blew her backwards just as he raced forward to grab her. Screaming in terror, she tried to scramble out of the way just as Raine threw himself on top of her. Glass and particle board chunks rained down on them even as he beat the flames out with his bare hands.
“Wakey, wakey, stud. We’ve got work to do.” Sean flicked him in the ear.
It was too friggin’ early for this. Not even going to try to pretend it wasn’t. Dec yawned so wide his jawbones cracked. The involuntary stretch lifted him an extra six inches as his exhausted muscles tried desperately to process some oxygen. They’d slept about four hours since checking on Rori. Her apartment had been quiet so they’d traveled back to the penthouse for some rack time. He automatically healed himself while he was crashed, so at least he could walk normally again. Grimacing at the memory of that particular pain, he blindly poured sugar into his coffee and yawned again. It was too friggin’ early…
“You’re an idiot. You know that, right?” The coffee and cold wind gusts were helping. His brain was sending weak signals of reengagement to the rest of his body. The weather had turned ugly in the middle of the night. The sky was looking most unfriendly in the grey light. Clouds hung so low they covered some of the top floors of the buildings nearby. Rain? Maybe. Thunder rumbled in the distance, confirming his thoughts--a storm for sure. Guess Indian summer was a memory now. He yawned and stretched again.
Sean had already slammed his usual double espresso and predictably bounced from one foot to the other. It was annoying. He shot Dec a ‘who me?’ glance and flicked his ear again. “Come on, man. We’ve got a cold trail to blaze. We’re so close! I feel it! Let’s find Rori and get some answers. The kid’s waited long enough.”
He hated to admit it, but Sean was right. They were getting closer. The priest’s records, the vision Rori had from 1969, the little boy he glimpsed in the background… these were related. They were sure of that. Today the plan was to get Rori to open up about that vision. They needed more info than just the face of the boy. A landmark would be useful. He just hoped she’d remember
the meat of her vision. Even if she couldn’t provide any more details, they had a priest to track down. Finally, some real progress! It was shaping up to be an interesting sort of day after an interesting sort of night. For the first time in days, he was optimistic about something turning out right.
Miss DeShante Jackson gestured with the pot to get his attention. She’d been vending on this corner for weeks now, and he was just a little bit in love with her… or at least with the muscle of the coffee she served. Some kind of Costa Rican blend… it was straight up caffeine. He softened his grouch, flashing a hint of a smile at her kindness.
Holding out the half-empty paper cup, he said, “You’re an angel, darlin’, pure and simple.” Breathing in the bitter aroma, he sighed and added, “If you weren’t taken, I’d sweep you away from here.”
Miss Jackson tsked and poured more coffee. She might be all street attitude on the outside, but she couldn’t hide the faint flush of pleasure his words brought. Instead of getting all gushy about it, she warned, “Yeah, yeah, my man would wipe his ass with you, skinny white boy.”
Reaching out, he touched her wrist in thanks and smiled with all of the firepower within. “Oh, I’m sure he’d try. I’d give my life to keep someone like you!” Blowing a kiss, he grinned at her expression. Stunned would describe it.
It was a gift.
Sean cleared his throat and commented, “Glad to see you’re awake. Let’s bolt.”
“All right. Give me a sec to find her.”
He heard the explosion the second he tuned in to Rori’s location. The sound of shattering glass echoed inside of him as his heart turned to lead.
They rematerialized in the center of massive confusion behind Angela’s Flower Shop. Sirens screamed in the distance, people shouted, a stray dog howled… but all Dec could focus on was Raine’s voice. Hoarse with burns and smoke, Raine prayed for a miracle. He begged for God to help Rori. Dec found her, and the bottom dropped out of his world.
Broken Souls (Primani Book 4) Page 15