Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  I didn’t fight it the next time he pressed forward. My body widened to accept him, though the pressure still felt enormous. Inch by inch he filled me until we were fully joined. He wrapped his arms around me and held us locked together in the way men and women had been doing since the beginning of time. Neither of us moved.

  Vulnerability assailed me with the realization I’d finally given in to him. I had the man I’d always considered an enemy inside of me right now. It scared the crap out of me, but it also gave me a sense of power I’d never known before. Lucas didn’t know the meaning of gentle and yet he was taking extreme care not to hurt me. Somehow, I’d gained the ability to tame the lion.

  My body relaxed as I grew accustomed to his size. I wiggled a little, letting him know he could move again. He didn’t need any further encouragement. Slowly at first, he thrust in and out, but when he heard no protest from me he picked up the speed. I knew he could have torn me apart if he wasn’t careful, but he kept his movements smooth and precise. Nothing had ever felt better. My head tilted back and I angled my hips toward him to get more.

  He kissed my exposed neck, nipping lightly, before lifting me off the counter. I wrapped my legs around him and went along for the ride. The friction built higher and higher as the power of his movements grew. I reveled in the feel of his strength as I gripped his back. Our breathing grew heavy as intense pleasure rode us to a new high.

  Our eyes met just as I reached my peak. Seeing his passion-filled gaze sent me over the edge. Knowing I’d done that to him brought me incredible satisfaction. I screamed as my orgasm hit, tightening my muscles around him. He pumped harder, his movements growing jerky. When he let out his own shout, I knew I’d driven him over the edge as well.

  It took a few minutes to regain my senses, but when I did I realized we were no longer alone. I unburied my head from Lucas’ shoulder to find the bathroom door wide open. Micah, Aeson, and Aniya stood in the corridor looking anywhere but at us. Their innocent faces didn’t fool me. I knew they’d been out there all along. Lian stood just within the room with an outraged expression on her face. She was the more recent arrival.

  I’d only lost focus on my surroundings during my orgasm, but otherwise I’d been tracking supernatural movements the whole time. After having the ability for so long it had become second nature no matter what I was doing.

  The vampire woman looked about ready to spit nails. I smiled at her, reached up to Lucas’ neck, and pulled him down for a kiss. This time he didn’t hesitate to make it a good one. By the time we finished he was growing hard inside me once again. Our gazes met and I saw the message in his as he glanced toward her and back at me. Oh, sure, now he was encouraging me.

  I turned to look at Lian. “Who’s got his attention now, bitch?”

  If steam could have come out of her ears, it probably would have. In the blink of an eye she raced straight for me. I’ll never know what she planned to do since Lucas caught her by the neck. She struggled to free herself, but his hand didn’t budge.

  “You will never threaten Melena again,” he growled out. “She is and always will be under my protection. Come near her again and I’ll rip your limbs off one by one before taking your head. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she squeaked out.

  “Micah, get in here and take this piece of garbage away,” he shouted.

  By this point, I was starting to get embarrassed. The arm Lucas wasn’t using to grip Lian’s neck was still holding me to him. Not to mention we were still very connected elsewhere. I’d never been caught in a compromising position like this.

  Micah came in with a swagger and a grin. “Sorry, she got past me,” he said, shrugging. “She’s a fast little thing.”

  I gave him the “I know you’re lying” look, but he didn’t appear repentant. He simply grabbed Lian by the hair and dragged her out kicking and screaming.

  “Theirn is going to hear about this,” she threatened as her feet disappeared past the doorway.

  “Is that supposed to concern me?” Micah replied. “Because I’m fairly certain he’s not going to be happy with you once he finds out you threatened Lucas’ woman.”

  Whatever Lian might have said after that was cut off by Aniya pulling the bathroom door shut. She’d had a gleam in her eye when she did it. I’d be in for a grilling by my friend later when she could catch me alone.

  Lucas set me on the counter without breaking our connection. “I don’t think anyone is going to doubt my preferences now,” he said.

  I blushed. I’d known he’d dropped the silencing spell as soon as we’d started having sex, but had been too caught up to care. “I think everyone out there with enhanced hearing would have heard us going at it.”

  His cock twitched inside of me. “Good. Maybe we should give them more entertainment.”

  My body grew warm at the idea. I’d never fully come down from the aftereffects of our last time. When Lucas caught me in another kiss I welcomed it, only to jerk away. My eyes turned frantic since he didn’t have the spell up.

  “Lucas, if I had a glass right now, I’d be dropping it.”

  Chapter Twenty-six

  He pulled away as fast as he could without hurting me and yanked a condom off that I’d suspected had to be there. No time to ask him about the necessity of it now, but I sure as hell would be later. It went flying into the garbage can even as he closed up his pants and redid his belt. I stood up, wavering for a moment due to newfound soreness, but managed to get my dress straightened out. My underwear was a lost cause. I yanked them off a stall door where they’d gone flying and tossed them in the garbage can.

  The process of us getting ready took no more than ten seconds since Lucas didn’t bother with putting his shirt or jacket back on. He grabbed me by the arm and we went flying out the door. Micah met us in the hall with an urgent look on his face. Lucas had already warned him through their mental connection.

  The demons hadn’t reached the restaurant yet, but they would soon. I could sense them fighting with the guards outside. At least our side was hanging in there and one demon was already down. Being in my head right now was a lot like watching an aerial dog fight on a radar screen.

  A dozen demon hosts had shown up so far, assuming none were outside my range, and only four sups were fighting them. I gave Lucas the numbers as soon as he put a silencing spell up. We needed to get out there now.

  “You’re staying here,” he ordered. We were walking toward the entrance.

  “Forget it,” I said. “I can help.”

  “No,” Micah said, stopping at the door. “He’s right. We need you to keep an eye on things inside. It’s your job to protect everyone in here.”

  I ground my jaw. Sure, give me the job that sounds important, but keeps me away from the main battle. They wouldn’t help the guys outside until I agreed, either. I could see it in their eyes. “Fine, but try to leave a few alive if you can.”

  The two men nodded and raced outside. I turned around and saw all the guests looking at me. Kristen met me as I moved to the middle of the room and gave me a questioning look. “They’re here,” I whispered. “We need to start salting down the place.”

  She took a long look at the surrounding windows. “Shit. It’s going to take a lot.”

  I grabbed her arm and started dragging her with me to the kitchen. “Then we need to get started.”

  We didn’t have any time to waste either. I’d just felt the life force of one of the vampire guards outside go out. With him gone, it left a gap near the back door where we weren’t protected from the outside. To make matters worse, another dozen demon hosts had just arrived.

  “Here,” Kristen said, handing me a canister of salt. She grabbed several more and passed them around to a couple of witches in the kitchen.

  The head warlock came over to us. He didn’t look happy. “What are you two doing?”

  “The demons are attacking outside. We’ve got to get the salt laid down in case they try to get in,” Kristen
explained.

  He put his hands on his hips. “We don’t need salt. Our coven can handle a few demons who aren’t even in their natural forms.”

  Now I knew who’d refused my request to salt the place. The excuses Aeson told me had sounded lame, but it hadn’t been my call.

  “Tell you what,” I said, guiding the idiot toward the dining room. “You and your coven can protect the front. Kristen and I will handle the back. It’ll make your job easier that way.”

  He’d have the help of all the powerful guests that way as well. I’d sensed a couple of them go out to help with the fighting outside, which had reached close enough at this point they must have noticed it, but most were still inside. We’d spread the news the alpha had been taken down without a fight. That had scared most people from wanting to face the demons head on. The last thing we needed was too many heroes until we knew how the demons were killing sups. Who knew what their magic was doing?

  “But…” the warlock started to say as I guided him out the door.

  “What? You can’t handle the front?” I asked, lifting my brow.

  He huffed. “Of course I can.”

  “Then don’t worry. We’re all set back here,” I said, smiling and letting the kitchen door swing closed.

  Kristen smiled. “You handled him better than I would have.”

  “Let’s get that back door salted. The demons are getting closer.”

  We raced over and poured the salt along the threshold. Once we finished, I went over to the closet where they’d said the roof entrance was. “Watch the door, just in case. I’m going up to see how things look outside.”

  Her brow creased. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  I pulled the door open to find a ladder attached to the wall. “One of Lucas’ vamps is up there. He’s more than strong enough to handle anything that might come our way.”

  “Okay.” Her eyes darted to the back door. “What do I do if they try to get in?”

  I put my foot on the ladder. “They can’t cross the salt. If they manage to knock the door down they’ll still be stuck outside. You might line the kitchen entrance with some too in case they somehow get through all the guys up front.”

  She continued to stand there as I climbed. I could feel her worry, but I needed to get a look at what was going on outside. Another sup from our side had gone down. However the demons were taking them out it wasn’t through killing blows, but I still couldn’t identify the magic they used.

  The chill air hit me as soon as I reached the top. It had to be below freezing, but compared to Fairbanks it was a heat wave. A few minutes outside wouldn’t kill me. I made my way over to Fallon where he paced along the roof’s edge. The vampire had agitation written all over his face. His steps faltered for a moment when he spotted me, but a piercing scream drew his attention. I moved to stand next to him and saw the battle raging a short distance down the street.

  The demon ranks had grown since my last mental check. At least thirty men and women, young and old, fought against our front line of defense pushing them back toward the restaurant. Their glowing red eyes sent chills down my spine in a way the cold hadn’t. The swords they swung with impressive skill didn’t give me a good feeling either. Where in the heck had they gotten those? Most of their hosts wouldn’t have had them in their homes.

  Our side had brought swords as well, but their strength advantage seemed diminished. It was as if they moved in slow motion compared to their lightning-fast opponents. The expensive tuxedos they’d worn to the opening were in tatters except for Lucas, who had streaks of blood coating his bare chest. My breath caught at the sight of him. He couldn’t die, not even at demon hands. The fact I had to remind myself of that said how much he was growing on me.

  I looked over the nearby businesses and didn’t see any with lights on inside. The street didn’t have any inhabitants on it either except the combatants. The coven had activated all the wards they’d set up ahead of time so humans would stay away. Aeson also had one of his people keeping the police out of it. I’d been filled in on the full plan before coming.

  Something was niggling at my senses as the fighting drew closer. My head had begun to ache from too much information coming at it, but I knew the demon hosts felt stronger than they should for being in human bodies. It didn’t feel natural. They had to be getting a power boost somehow. Lucas could usually kill off anything with little effort, but he’d only managed to take out one of them since I’d come to the roof.

  I closed my eyes and focused my senses, pushing past the nearby spells the coven put up for protection. My gaze narrowed in on the rear area. A high fence separated it from the front. Most of the demon hosts had come to the restaurant from the street, but a few in the first wave had circled around to the rear. They’d killed the vampire guard before someone got to them—I thought I remembered sensing Lucas go back there. The strange part was the vamp’s body hadn’t turned to dust. Something prevented it.

  My senses could detect dark magic emanating from the body. Every instinct said I had to nullify it. I raced back to the roof entrance and climbed down the ladder. Kristen stood at the bottom with my coat draped over her arm. She must have planned to bring it up. I took it from her, grateful to cover myself with something that went down past my knees. Running around with no underwear on during a battle didn’t feel all that comfortable. Damn Lucas.

  Kristen followed me across the kitchen as I explained the situation.

  “You can’t just go out there by yourself,” she said.

  “I have to stop the spell.” I pulled my gun from my purse. “If they get close, I’ll shoot them.”

  “Maybe I should go with you,” she said as I jerked the back door open.

  “Stay here and keep an eye out. Whatever they’re doing, it’s taking powerful guys down without a fight. I’m immune to that crap, but I don’t want them getting to you.”

  She started to say something else, but I took off down the stairs without waiting to hear her. At the bottom I turned and headed toward the vamp’s body. The dark magic coming from it almost choked me. An ashy taste coated my mouth and the pain in my head took a turn for the worse. I’d faced some dark stuff, but not at this level.

  The body had no sign of life, but the spell kept it in a sort of stasis. I cursed when I realized the reason. In a steady stream, the vampire’s energy leaked out and fed the demon hosts nearby. I could almost follow the tendrils of it going in their direction. Variola had planned to do a similar spell for Nik last year—until I messed things up for her. She’d wanted to boost her power level and chose the master vampire as her potential source. It sickened me to think he’d almost gone down that way.

  I knelt next to the vamp’s body and ripped the silk shirt covering his chest open. The same burn I’d seen earlier on the dead werewolves was there, except it looked a lot darker and nastier than theirs. I took my knife out and made a small cut on my finger, letting the blood well up before pressing it to the burn. It didn’t stop the flow of magic. That left the stone which had to be inside. I’d really hoped to avoid cutting another chest open.

  A glance in the direction of the fighting told me I didn’t have much of a choice. Lucas and the others were wearing down. I could feel their energy dropping the longer they fought without time to recover from their wounds. Another twenty minutes and they’d be done. Nephilim and Cambions couldn’t be killed by black magic, I didn’t think, but they could weaken to the point of losing consciousness. Everyone would be left vulnerable then, including the sups hiding in the restaurant.

  I took a deep breath and cut into the chest the same way I’d done earlier in the day. The blade sliced through the skin without a problem but got stuck on the ribs. My strength alone couldn’t break though. I looked at the vamp still pacing the roof. Lucas had kept my sensor abilities a secret from his men, but I needed Fallon’s help more than his ignorance.

  Standing up, I waved my arms at him. His head jerked in my direction. I gave him the univers
al “get your ass down here” sign since I didn’t want to shout and draw the wrong kind of attention. He hesitated for second, but then he hopped down from the two story building, landing with a slight bend at the knees. Sometimes I really envied the sups their abilities.

  He stalked over to me. The annoyance on his face said what he thought of having to leave his post. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, they’re having trouble up front. This guy’s body has a spell on it that’s helping the demons. I’ve got to stop the magic, but need to get to his heart to do it. Can you cut it out for me?” I handed the knife to him before he even had a chance to say yes.

  He gave me a look that said I should be checked into the nearest mental facility ASAP. “How do you know there is a spell?”

  “Look at this.” I pointed at the dead guy’s chest. “That burn mark on his skin is caused from the magic emanating out.”

  Fallon bent over the body. Sometimes physical evidence got through to people faster than trying to explain how I could sense things. Even those who were familiar with my kind didn’t understand us that well.

  He straightened up. “How do you plan to stop the spell?”

  Now to explain the part that would give me away. I lifted my cut finger and smiled. “With my blood.”

  “How’s that going to do anything?” he asked.

  I’d really hoped to avoid saying it out loud. “I’m a sensor,” I said in a low tone. “Now cut the damned heart out.”

  A look of shock went over his face. “But my master would never…”

  “I’m the exception to his bigoted rule,” I interrupted. “Get over it and please do as I ask before your master weakens any further. They’re losing out there.”

  With one last look of uncertainty, he gripped the knife and cut the chest open. “You want me to take the whole heart out?” he asked.

  Did he think I only needed the right ventricle or something? “Yes, pull it out and put it on the ground.”