Crimson Sins

by Madeline Pryce

  He shrugged. “You say that now.”

  The asshole actually shrugged at her! As if he hadn’t gotten to know her, the real her, over the past few weeks. “I’ll say that for the rest of my life. What Ronan did to Bastian, to you guys is unspeakable.”

  “Power corrupts, buttercup,” Nolan said with a bitter smile. “I’ve seen it happen time and again. What happens when you stop getting your way? Or when you want more?”

  “Fuck you, Nolan. I’m not taking your money, and I’m not leaving, so get over yourself.”

  Nolan leaned across the table with a menacing expression on his face—it took everything inside her not to lean away from him. “Love is poison, Morgan. It might start sweet, but later, when you aren’t expecting it, it’ll turn and rip your insides out. This might not happen tomorrow or next week. Hell, it could be another twenty years, but it will happen. When it does, I’m going to lose him. He won’t survive if you fuck him over. He won’t survive if you die. I like you, but you aren’t worth my brother’s sanity. It’s best to end this now.”

  “Who broke your heart?” she asked and honestly wanted to know what had happened to make him so jaded.

  He stood and nudged the packet closer to her. “Take the money.”

  Morgan rose as well. “I swear to you, I’m not going to fuck him over. He is the only thing in my entire life that I’ve loved. The only person who has loved me back. I won’t hurt him. And because I know you love him and in some twisted way you’re just trying to protect him, I won’t mention this conversation.”

  She grabbed her coffee, chugged it down, and then walked away. Over her shoulder, she said, “Take the envelope with you when you leave.”

  Nolan drew his hand through his hair and looked at her with raw sorrow. “Sometimes it’s the things we have no control over that hurt the most.”

  “You won’t lose him,” she vowed.

  The front door slammed shut behind his retreating form.

  Morgan took an extra-hot shower and mulled over Nolan’s words the entire time. Who had hurt him so badly? She went through the motions of getting ready before she went to find Bastian downstairs. Should she keep her conversation with Nolan from him? She stopped in front of the closed office door and listened for voices. She heard nothing. The bar was empty and silent. Strange when she’d gotten used to the clinking of glasses and the murmur of conversation.

  She stood there and felt her heart grow heavy. The brick-by-brick acceptance she’d come to cherish over the weeks tumbled down around her in broken, jagged chunks. To what lengths would Nolan go to get rid of her? When the time came, she didn’t expect Bastian to choose her over his own flesh and blood.

  Morgan rapped her knuckles on the door, and she waited for only a few seconds before Bastian called out, “Enter.”

  She opened the door and found him sitting behind a desk piled with folders. He looked up. A slow, lazy smile lit his face. His eyes filled with something tender.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said.

  She glanced around the office and felt suddenly nervous. “Whatcha doing?”

  “I had an early briefing with Ramirez. I didn’t want to wake you, so I had him meet me here. He had some good news about Lana. After her body was found, the boys rolled on each other the second the cops pulled them in for questioning. You did good, babe.”

  She smiled softly at him. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.” Bastian looked her over from head to toe. He took in her short skirt, tight shirt, and knee-high boots as if he were removing each item. A flush crept up her neck at the hunger reflected in his eyes. Heat burned within her. Her nipples hardened. Through the thin bra and shirt she wore, it would be impossible not to notice.

  He licked his lower lip and pushed his chair away from the desk to place his hands behind his head. His boots landed on the desk. “Come ’ere.”

  She took her time crossing the room. Every step wound the sexual tension between them tighter. When she rounded the desk, he snuck a hand out and grabbed her around the waist to spill her sideways onto his lap.

  She caressed a path along his shoulder before smoothing her fingers through his hair. “Good morning.”

  “It got even better when you showed up.”

  He closed his fingers around the back of her neck. He pulled her forward for a deep, hard kiss that demanded she give everything to him. Her pussy clenched, and she moaned. He tasted of mint and coffee. Of man and magic. His scent wrapped around her, and the anxiety about Nolan’s visit vanished.

  He grabbed her ass and lifted, positioning her so she straddled his lap. The skirt she’d thrown on rose on her thighs to expose the lacy edges of her panties. His fingers teased the lace around her ass as he drew her against the hard ridge of his cock. His skin seemed colder than normal.

  She whispered against his mouth. “After everything that went down yesterday, do you need to feed?”

  Morgan had offered her blood several times over the last few weeks, but he’d refused, saying he didn’t want to use her as he’d done with his previous bedmates. The sentiment had both pleased her and pissed her off.

  He kissed her cheek and drew a cool trail of ice along her neck with the slide of his tongue. He sucked on her throat. Nibbled. His hand stole under her shirt, and rough, slightly calloused fingers stroked her stomach.

  “Are you offering?” he asked against her ear.

  She recalled how he’d lapped at her blood, and squirmed in his lap. “If I am, are you going to say no again?”

  Using the hand already under her shirt, he pushed the fabric up. She lifted her arms, and Bastian pulled the cotton over her head. He fingered the tops of her breasts spilling from her bra before teasing a hand down the valley of her cleavage, to her stomach. Where he touched, muscles quivered.

  She licked her lips. “Will this be different from how you fed from those other women, or are you going to flip me over the desk?”

  “For you, babe, I’ll make an exception. With them, there was no kissing.” He kissed her, long, deep, and thorough. “There was no touching.” He pushed aside the cup of her bra until her breast spilled free. The cool sensation of his hand covered her bare flesh, and she moaned at the intimate contact. Bastian used his mouth to find her shoulder before he bit lightly at her collarbone. “And there definitely wasn’t any nibbling.”

  Her head fell back, and Bastian took advantage of the new position. His lips found her throat, and he set about making her tremble with nothing more than his tongue. The palm he held against her stomach grew cold, and she sensed rather than felt his magic gathering. His energy was a heavy, familiar weight pressing against her with each breath.

  “Relax,” he purred against her ear. “This isn’t going to hurt.”

  His magic rushed to the surface and caressed her skin like a kiss. He pressed harder. The wave of ice stole her breath but did nothing to dampen the flames inside her. Goose bumps rose over her arms. Her nipples pebbled tighter.

  Bastian pulled away from her neck with a frown.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t get through your shields.”

  Morgan grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”

  He ran his thumb down her cheek and leaned forward to kiss her softly. “I’ll work around them.” He tugged on the fastening of her skirt before drawing the wool up to her waist. Bastian never looked away from her eyes. “Do you know why we normally feed during sex?”

  He pulled her skirt over her head and threw it to the floor with her shirt.

  “So you can distract the hapless female who falls prey to your good looks and lack of charm.”

  He laughed and reached down to take off one of her boots, then the other. Lifting her from his lap, he set her on her feet in front of him. He looked up at her, took in the matching set of her panties and bra. While he checked her out, she took the silent moment to do the same to him. He looked different than when she’d first met him. Relaxed. Happy. There was a sense o
f peace surrounding him.

  Bastian stroked his index finger between her breasts and trailed it to her tightening stomach. “Orgasm,” he said, and her pussy clenched with want. “Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing increases. Tension builds within the pelvis and the blood flows south. It’s what makes the clitoris throb. At the moment of climax the muscles contract throughout the body. Hormones are released, and the brain shuts down. In that one moment, a bomb could go off and you probably wouldn’t notice.”

  Morgan licked her lips. She wasn’t even going to ponder why his clinical words made her want to spread her legs and beg him to take her.

  “So basically, it’s when you are at your most vulnerable,” she said.

  He reached behind her and unclipped her bra with one hand. “Do you trust me?”

  “I think I proved that the other day when you handcuffed me to the bed.”

  Bastian pushed down her panties. The second they hit the floor, he walked her back to the desk. He pressed against her, and the friction of his clothing along her sensitive skin was erotic in a way she couldn’t have imagined before she met him. Every time he made love to her was somehow better than the time before it.

  “You’re overdressed.”

  He picked her up, sat her on the desk, and bent in front of her until he was on his knees. He spread her legs slowly. The heat in his gaze, the hunger aroused her. Her tender sex pulsed in time to her increasing heartbeat. He stroked his hand up the inside of her legs in a teasing caress.

  His touch moved higher and higher. She tensed, wanting more than anything to feel him spread the lips of her pussy and push inside. Her lids lowered, and her breath quickened at the approach of a caress that never came. He backed off before he touched her sex. Instead, he trailed his fingers down her leg. Her muscles quivered. A deep throb from inside her rippled little points of pleasure all over her body. Was it possible to orgasm from anticipation?

  “If we do this and you say stop, I’ll stop.”

  “What if I don’t ever want it to end?” she asked in a smoky voice she didn’t recognize.

  He bent. His hair tickled her thigh as he pressed his lips against her knee. Looking up at her, he smirked, cupped her hips, and drew her to the very edge of the desk. Each light kiss moved higher on the insides of her thighs. His tongue caressed one hip, dragged across to the other. He stood, and the friction of his jeans rubbing along her naked thighs was almost more than she could bear.

  “Gotta say it again,” he rasped. “I love you.” He kissed her hard. His tongue spread her lips, and she chased him forward when he dared to draw away.

  He held her back. “I’m going to touch your breasts, which are perfect, by the way. High, tight, firm, and just the right size. Then I’m going to thumb your nipples into hard little peaks and suck them into my mouth.”

  Her heart hammered as the anticipation mounted. “Yes.”

  His cool lips moved down the center of her chest as he cupped both of her breasts. He pushed the mounds together, kissed one, then the other before he sucked a taut nipple into his mouth. Her pussy clenched, and a rush of arousal leaked out of her core.

  He let go of her areola and immediately sought its twin. Her breath caught, and despite the chill of his mouth, the rasp of his tongue spread fire from her belly to her sex. She needed him there, the ice of his breath cooling the heat.

  He abandoned her breasts to trail an openmouthed kiss down her stomach. He settled his hands on her thighs and spread them.

  He looked up at her. “I’m going to eat your pussy until you beg.”

  Morgan didn’t think it would take him very long to have her pleading.

  Using the backs of his knuckles, he brushed the slick folds of her sex. “Fuck, you’re so wet, babe. You know how hard that makes me?”

  She could only moan and twist under his touch, desperate for more.

  “Knowing how much you want my cock? I can’t wait to suck your clit into my mouth.” His fingers parted her lips and teased the pearl of nerves. “Flick this hard little nub with my tongue. When you are there, right on the edge, I’ll finger your tight pussy and send you over the edge.”

  “Oh fuck,” she moaned and was pretty sure she was close to climaxing. “Please, Bastian. You’re going to kill me before we even get started.”

  His hands moved to the outside of her thighs, and he squeezed her skin, drew her closer. He dipped his head and used the flat of his tongue to lap at the moisture leaking onto her thighs. His moan moved straight through her core and into the heart of her.

  “Cinnamon,” he murmured and then sucked her into his mouth.

  She gripped the back of his head and bit her lip to keep from crying out. He flicked his tongue over her clit, quick little movements that left her dizzy with pleasure. The pressure built instantly, and she rocked her hips against him.

  He pulled back to slurp at her. “Open your eyes. I want you to watch me eat this beautiful pussy.”

  She opened her eyes and watched. He fingered the opening of her sex back and forth, matching the rhythm of his mouth against the tight bundle of nerves. Her legs quivered, and when she might have closed them, he used his shoulders to keep her spread before him.

  “More,” she moaned.

  He closed his eyes, sucked her clit harder, and penetrated her with a thick digit. She arched at the dual sensation. He found a fast rhythm, curved his finger inside, and began stroking in time to the pressure against her clit.

  Pleasure built inside her. Two fingers spread her wide, and Bastian growled against her sex. The hard tip of his tongue stroked her clit, over and over again.

  “That’s it, baby. Let go. Fuck, you taste good, honey and cinnamon. You’re so warm, tight, and wet. I could do this for hours.”

  The hand on the outside of her thigh spreading her wide became cold, and she was almost too distracted by the impending explosion inside her body to notice. Magic filled the air, hers and his, until she was no longer in control of her necromancy.

  “Yes. Oh, God. Fuck.” She bit her lip and screwed her eyes shut.

  Morgan broke apart and gave in fully to her orgasm. There was the sensation of falling, but she wasn’t afraid because Bastian would catch her. Magic coursed through her veins. Instead of dampening the pleasure, the ice puckered her skin and heightened her sensitivity.

  Her muscles tightened and contracted around his fingers. Pulsing ecstasy rushed through her. She heard the distant sound of someone screaming and knew it was probably her. Morgan threw her head back and rode out the waves of her orgasm.

  Blood and magic flowed from her into Bastian’s palm. His mouth never stopped moving. His fingers never stopped their insistent fucking, and she was thrust from one climax into the next. Crests of magic and pleasure moved from her into Bastian where he drew it out and into his waiting palm.

  In that moment they were connected. His heart beat in her chest. His breath filled her lungs. Her magic moved inside him until it found the cold part deep within his core. The connection was instant, a tethering that wrapped around her in a way that left her breathless. He was hers. Body. Mind. Soul.

  “Now, Bastian,” she gasped. “Fuck me. Oh God, I want you inside me.”

  He withdrew his mouth and fingers, stood. Bastian pulled down his zipper. The sound spiked her adrenaline. Her pussy ached for him to stretch her in the way only he could. Bastian looked down at her, and something about the look in his eyes gave her pause.

  Vacant. Hollow. Distant.

  “Bastian?” she asked and sat up on the desk.

  Everything happened so quickly. He grabbed his cock with one hand and spread her pussy wide with the other. He plunged inside her swollen depths, forcing every inch of his erection in to the hilt.

  She cried out and pushed on his shoulder in an effort to get him to pull out of her. Shit. However wet she’d been, she hadn’t been prepared for his rough penetration. And then, he started to thrust. He drew out, and then slammed inside.

  Tears
spilled from the corners of her eyes, and it took her a full ten seconds to catch her breath. “Stop. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  As quickly as he’d thrust inside, he stilled. He didn’t pull out. He just stopped. Exactly as she’d told him to do.

  Her gaze met his, and horror filled her. The line tethering them together pulsed, a cruel hint of what she’d done.

  “Bastian?” she whispered and cupped the back of his head.

  Nothing. Vacant, hungry, eyes stared at her.

  Oh fuck. Oh fuck.

  “Pull out.” And he did.

  “Snap out of it.” He didn’t. “I release you.” Nothing happened.

  She hopped off the desk, tucked him back into his pants, and then pulled on her clothes. Back and forth, she paced in front of him while he looked on in a blank fucking trance, waiting for her to tell him what to do.

  Shit! She stopped in front of him and leaned her head against the hard wall of his chest. One deep breath at a time, she drew in his scent. Calm. Morgan closed her eyes and found the cord between them. Magic thrummed inside, and inch by inch, she called it back into herself.

  The tie snapped, and the force of it sent her sprawling back on her ass.

  Bastian took one step forward in the same instant the office door flew open. Nolan, a shiny gun in his hand, aimed the barrel at her head. Bastian didn’t turn at the noise. No, he had eyes only for her.

  Rage consumed him. She could see it in his darkening eyes.

  “How in the fuck could you?” Bastian’s voice was low. Terrifyingly low. “I told you what he did. I fucking told you.”

  Cold metal pressed against the back of her head, and she guessed it was Nolan’s gun.

  “Get up,” Nolan growled.

  She got up, her gaze never leaving Bastian’s. The disgust was written plainly on his face. “I swear I didn’t mean to.”

  The shards of her breaking heart perforated her lungs. Why else would it hurt so damned bad to breathe?

  “Save it,” Nolan spat.

  Bastian moved. Swift. Too quick for her to fully realize his intent. She found herself spun around and bent over the desk. His hand pressed her cheek against the hard surface so she couldn’t move. His other hand gripped both of her wrists behind her back at a painful angle.