Immortal Hunter

by Kait Ballenger

  It didn’t matter that there had been no way for him to know what would happen when she left his apartment. All she could focus on was how, if he had just loved her enough to come after her, maybe their son would still be alive. A sense of pure loneliness washed over her as she lay there in David’s bed. She hated times like this when she was alone, when she missed not only David but the baby she’d lost, and her now-deceased mother, as well. She wished she could feel good about herself the way she did before losing her son. She should have been able to protect him, but she’d been incapable. She’d failed him as a mother.

  It was her own fault, too, for not telling David the truth, for running off instead of facing her problems, even though she’d had no more idea than David had of what was to follow. Years later, she still had so much pain, yet no true target for the blame other than the way she felt about herself.

  She lay there, allowing the tears to flow freely until she had no more left. She gave herself the chance to cry not only over her current situation but over everything. The demons who were coming after her, the family that had been murdered, and the awful things Robert had done to her. When she couldn’t shed another tear, she wandered into the bathroom and cleaned up her face, using cold water to reduce the puffiness around her eyes. When she was finished, she returned to the bed, but no matter how long she lay there, sleep evaded her.

  She lay in the silence, listening for any sound of David moving around in the living room. She thought about the kiss they’d shared, about how the last time she could remember feeling something so electric, so emotional, was the first time they’d made love. She couldn’t deny that she wanted him on a physical level. It was the emotional baggage she wasn’t certain she could handle.

  Hell, just kissing him sent her into a fit of tears, thinking of all the things she regretted and wished she had done differently. That could only be a sign that sleeping with him was a terrible idea, right? Even if sleeping with him meant she could get her light back.

  She tried to convince herself of that, but her heart kept telling her otherwise. Yes, she was crying for so many reasons, but the one that wouldn’t leave her was that no matter how she looked at it, kissing David had made her realize just how much she really missed him.

  What in Morgana’s name was she doing?

  Exactly what got me into this mess—not following my heart.

  “David?” she called out. When no response came, she swiped the back of her hand over her eyes one last time before she padded into the living room. “David?” she said again.

  Through the darkness, she saw David stir.

  A moment later he sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyelids and stretched before turning toward her. “Hey, Allie. You need something?”

  “Yeah, actually, I do. I...uh...I changed my mind.”

  Before she realized what was going on, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deep. She fell on top of him, her body pressed flush against his. His tongue met hers, and his erection pushed against her hips. She ground her hips into his, eager to feel him inside her. He moaned beneath her lips and kissed her harder. Slipping his hand around the back over her neck, he cradled her as their mouths met.

  An electric pulse, the likes of which she’d only known the first time they kissed, rushed through her. Heat flooded between her legs. His length pushing against her sent waves of heat through her body, arousing her most sensitive flesh and preparing her for his touch. With ease, he ripped the T-shirt from her body. Her nipples hardened in the cool air of the apartment, sending a chill down her spine. The whole situation was all wrong, but damn, did he feel right against her.

  Continuing to kiss him, she snaked her hands down his sides until she could hook her fingers beneath the hem of his shirt. He sat up, allowing her to pull it over his head, then wrapped his arms around her and slid his hand down to her behind. He shifted out from underneath her, then scooped her up into his arms, laying her flat on the couch and straddling her. Eagerly, she unbuckled his leather belt.

  He kissed her again, sucking on her lower lip, then pulled back and whispered against her mouth, “Not yet. I want to make you come first.”

  She smiled and kissed him again. She had forgotten what that felt like, a man wanting to pleasure her first, who was willing to take her into his mouth. Tom was too vanilla for oral sex. She found herself blushing suddenly, as if this were her first time.

  David stopped midway as he slowly traced light kisses down to her navel. “Am I tickling you?”

  She shook her head. “No, I was just thinking about how long it’s been since a man has done this for me.”

  He raised a brow. “Who wouldn’t want to? You taste divine.”

  He trailed more kisses down her stomach until he rested his head on the soft skin of her mons. A wave of heat rushed through her as he gently drew her clit into his mouth. He rolled his tongue over her, and she bucked against him. She reached down and ran her hands over his head, his buzz cut smooth yet coarse beneath her fingertips. Running his hand over her inner thigh, he positioned his fingers at her entrance before easing them into her. She cried out as he immediately began massaging her g-spot. She slickened and rocked against him, moving with the rhythm of his fingers as he brought her closer and closer to the brink of ecstasy.

  The flick of his tongue over her flesh sent shivers through her. The warmth of his mouth radiated over her core and heated every inch of her body. He increased the speed of his movements as her arousal rose. She rocked her hips, meeting each thrust of his fingers. The sweet ache between her legs built as she came closer to climax. The vibration in David’s fingertips rippled through her, the nerves in her g-spot shooting electric waves all through her body. Her back arched, and she moaned as her pleasure peaked.

  “David!” she cried out as she felt herself shatter.

  A feeling of pure bliss flooded her, and for the first time in years she lost herself completely in the heat of the moment.

  * * *

  DAVID’S COCK JERKED with need as Allsún’s honey flooded his mouth. He lapped up her sweetness like a hungry animal. The warm flesh of her thighs pressed against the sides of his face as she ground herself into his mouth. She tasted like nirvana on his tongue. She gasped when the last shudder of her climax rolled over her. He released her, pushing himself from the couch to strip off his jeans. His pants and belt hit the floor with a thud.

  He couldn’t wait to be inside her again. It had been so long. How many nights had he dreamed of a scenario like this? He met her gaze and smiled as he lost himself in her gorgeous emerald eyes. Within a heartbeat he was on top of her, their tongues swirling together as he positioned himself just outside her entrance. He dipped his head and captured her taut nipple in his mouth. A small moan escaped her lips as he rolled his tongue over the hard peak. He palmed her free breast. She was small enough that she could fit in his hand, and he loved the ease with which he could cup her breasts and pleasure her. When he released her, he kissed her once more.

  “I’m going deep,” he said.

  A naughty grin crossed her lips, and he took that as a sign.

  He sheathed himself inside her, and she cried out as the wet warmth of her walls tightened around him. He filled her completely, pushing her to the max. She threw her head back as he thrust into her. Holy shit, she felt phenomenal. He’d missed this.

  “Do you like it deep like that?” he asked as he pushed into her again.

  She moaned and bucked against him.

  “I’m guessing that’s a yes.”

  Sitting up, he lifted her legs, placing them over his shoulders. He knew exactly what she liked best, and he intended to give it to her. He leaned forward. A low growl escaped his throat as he saw how flexible she was. Man, he loved that. He could bend her like a pretzel, and she always welcomed it. He intended to leave her begging for more.

 
“Take me,” she whispered.

  He growled and nipped at her ear. “What did you say?”

  “I said take me.”

  “You don’t have to ask me again.” He slammed into her, cupping her sweet behind as he moved. His cock jerked with pleasure as he penetrated her hard and deep. Tilting his hips, he aimed for her favorite spot. The one he was certain would make her climax explosive. The sheen of her wetness coated him as he watched himself slip in and out of her. He loved seeing the way she took the full length of him. He felt all her muscles tense as she neared her orgasm.

  “David!” she cried out as the first shudder of her release overcame her. He watched her ride wave upon wave of pleasure, knowing his own climax wasn’t far behind. Her walls squeezed him tight, the final clench sending him over the edge. He rode the radiating pleasure of his own finish, pumping her full of his seed. As the last shudder rolled through him, he pulled her into his arms.

  He wanted to tell her he missed her and still loved her more than she would ever realize, but instead he only kissed her again.

  * * *

  MISTRESS WOULD WELCOME this addition to the mix. Seeing the look of terror in the woman’s eyes as she pleaded sent a jolt of pleasure down his spine. Sammael existed for this. The warm blood drained from her terrified face and on to the shard of glass buried in her womb. That alone was enough to excite him on a level far beyond what these pathetic humans could know.

  Too bad he wasn’t wearing one of his victims this time. Using a family member’s body to kill the other victims was always so much more fun. The first family had been priceless. But now he was wearing the first family’s neighbor, who was being forced to watch helplessly as he became an instrument of slaughter, and that was almost as good.

  The woman’s pulse quickened, then slowed as she fell further into shock, slowly bleeding out. He enjoyed the husband’s stupid, undignified expression as he watched the woman he loved gradually slip closer to death. He snapped a chunk of the glass shard from her abdomen. What fun could he have with this? The look of panic in the husband’s eyes as he lay tied up with no hope of saving his wife told him enough. He admired the bloodied shard before slicing it across the woman’s open eye just to see the husband cry harder. The woman convulsed. A final gurgle escaped her lips, but he frowned as the last note of the sound was drowned out by the husband’s obnoxious caterwauling.

  No matter, he wouldn’t be making noise for much longer. He had slit the man’s liver after binding him. He would bleed out slowly, over a period of hours, forced to look at his wife’s eviscerated corpse before him. To take in the grandeur of his suffering. To give him time to question what he could have done differently to save her, whether if he had taken her home just a few minutes later, she would still be alive. For Sammael, the scrumptious second-guessing, self-blaming psychological hell this man was going through was pure bliss.

  Black blood. Dirty human liver blood.

  It was a filthy, wonderful sight to see him wallow in it as he died. His favorite parts were the sounds: the squelching, the screaming, the pleading, the wet pitter-pattering of blood on overpriced hardwood flooring. His Mistress would be pleased.

  Those pieces of shit, the hunter and his worthless faerie bitch, they would just love this. The exorcist, that sentimental little cocksucker, would just boo-hoo as he sat on that fancy motorcycle of his, and it would make this all the more worthwhile. If Aronowitz only knew what he and Mistress were planning.

  And then his Mistress would tear them to shreds, and there would be nothing they could do about it.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  DAVID WASN’T SURE which was worse, the sound of the alarm or the prospect of getting out of the bed they’d moved to at some point in the night. The alarm blared in his ears as he lay there with Allsún wrapped in his arms. He held her just the slightest bit tighter, wishing he didn’t have to let her go. Damn these early-morning Execution Underground meetings. He didn’t want the night to end. The alarm continued to whine, a constant reminder of the duties he’d sworn himself to perform.

  Damn, this sucked.

  After thirty more seconds of working himself up to it, he finally eased Allsún out of his embrace and slipped from beneath the sheets. He watched her lie there, peacefully asleep, while he shut off his alarm. Her ability to sleep through anything had always amazed him. He hadn’t expected last night to go the way it had, but there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t grateful. He’d been dreaming of a reunion like that with Allsún since the night they’d broken up. Sure, her initial rejection had been painful, but all the pain had been erased from his mind as soon as she woke him. He glanced over at the alarm in his hand, then back at Allsún.

  Yup, it was official—the way she woke him up last night...best way to wake up ever.

  He grinned. It killed him to have to leave the apartment, but he dressed, put on his artillery and prepared for the day. Grabbing a notepad from the fridge, he scrawled out a message letting her know where he would be. He made certain to shoot the dead bolts and the bottom lock on his way out. She would be safe there, he was certain of it.

  Within twenty minutes David strolled into the warehouse with his head down and shoulders tensed. It didn’t matter that he’d just spent an amazing night with Allsún; he knew that more than likely the news waiting on him was not of a happy nature. He trudged into the warehouse and flopped into his usual seat at the table. Damon, Trent and Ash already sat waiting.

  “Any news?” he asked.

  Damon shook his head. “We all hear it at once.”

  Great. He would be held in suspense until everyone got there, including Jace. “Where’s Shane?”

  Ash leaned back in his seat, all relaxed. “Teachin’ one of his classes. He said if we need him, call.”

  “I gave him the okay to be absent. If we need him, we’ll call,” Damon said.

  “So we’re just waiting on Jace, then?” David asked.

  Damon frowned as he nodded.

  About ten minutes later Jace kicked open the door to the warehouse and waltzed inside as if he made it a habit to be late to major covert meetings...oh, wait, he did. He was carrying a large brown paper bag.

  A scowl crossed Damon’s face. “You’re late.”

  “What else is new?”

  “What’s with the bag?” David asked.

  Jace reached inside and pulled out a large bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and a large wooden box.

  “What’s this about?” Damon practically growled.

  Jace flipped up the box lid and removed a large, fat Cuban cigar. He bit off the tip, pulled out his lighter and puffed. He grabbed the Blue Label by the neck and exhaled smoke.

  “What it’s about, you crazy motherfuckers, is that I’m going to be a fucking dad.”

  David was pretty sure his jaw hit the floor before he smiled from ear to ear. “J, you crazy son of a bitch.” He stood up and grabbed Jace for a handshake that turned into a hug. “Congratulations, buddy.”

  “You and Frankie are having a baby?”

  Jace shook his head. “Not a baby. Babies.” He held up two fingers.

  Trent gawked. “She’s having twins?”

  Jace nodded.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” Ash stuck out his hand. “Congrats, man.”

  David imagined Jace with a family of his own. He knew how loyal Jace had been to his mother before she’d passed and how much family meant to him, which was why the way his father had been had been such a blow in his childhood. Having kids with Frankie was a great thing, giving him something to look forward to. He wished he hadn’t been too much of a coward to do the same with Allsún.

  David shook his head with a smile. He couldn’t be more pleased for his friend. “Wow. That’s great news. I’m really happy for you.”

  Damon stood, wa
lked around the side of the table, and held out a hand to Jace.

  Jace stared at Damon’s hand as if it were covered in poisonous snakes before he finally lifted his own and they shook.

  “Congratulations,” Damon said.

  Jace gave a single nod. “Thanks.”

  To David’s surprise, Damon didn’t demand they all get to work. David had never so much as seen a drop of liquor touch Damon’s lips, but all five hunters shared a drink in Jace’s honor. David relaxed in his seat, listening to his best friend talk about his plans to move to a nicer area of town, perhaps out in the suburbs, somewhere that would be a good safe place for their growing family. Watching his friend be so happy and his fellow hunters sharing in that joy, with the thought of Allsún lying in his bed at home, naked and gorgeous from the night they’d spent together, for a second, he almost forgot about all the problems at hand, about all the horrible shit he was up against.

  When they’d all finished their drinks and stripped off their artillery, they headed toward the control room. The atmosphere immediately changed from one of lighthearted happiness to strictly business. Suddenly it was impossible for him to forget about the shitty news he was sure lay ahead of him.

  His suspicions were confirmed as soon as Chris’s face appeared on the monitor. Chris was their contact at HQ. “Hey, guys. You’re not going to like the news I’m about to deliver. Especially you, David, since it’s about your case.”

  David swore. Damn, he couldn’t catch a break, could he? “Rip it off like a Band-Aid.”

  “Well, I got pretty much nothing from the samples you sent me.”

  A collective groan from all five men filled the room.

  “All the blood samples were normal, except for the father’s. Obviously he had an unusual amount of sulfur in his bloodstream, since he was possessed. Everyone else, the infant included, had completely normal tox screens. The only medication I found even traces of was an asthma med in the teen’s blood. There were also high levels of estrogen and progesterone in the mother, which probably meant she was still breast-feeding the baby.”