Seducing Death

by Cassandra Lawson

  “Well, that settles it,” Kyleigh said mostly to herself. Being back here was enough to make Ian realize what a mistake it had been to become involved with her in the first place.

  After she stripped out of her clothes, Kyleigh slid between the sheets and wept.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ian was in a piss poor mood, partly because he hated waking up without Kyleigh. Feeling her warm body pressed against his had been much too easy to get used to. His stupid dick also seemed to miss sliding into her body to wake her up. Unless she had a summons, Kyleigh slept much longer than him. When he’d teased her about it, she’d explained that her dreams were the only place she was truly free. After saying those words, she’d tried hard to pretend she was joking, but he knew she’d been serious. Guilt washed over him. There was no way he should be thinking about sex with Kyleigh while lying in the bed he’d shared with Kate. It was wrong, and was the reason he’d put Kyleigh in a different room.

  The other reason Ian was in such a bad mood was lack of sleep. Hearing Kyleigh crying had nearly broken him. All he’d wanted to do was go into that room and hold her, but he couldn’t seem to make his feet move in that direction. Instead, he’d stood in the hallway like some twisted voyeur and listened until her tears faded into soft hiccups and then silence. After that, he’d finally gone to his bed, feeling like a complete bastard, knowing Kate would be disappointed in him for his behavior.

  Forcing his lethargic limbs to move, Ian climbed out of bed and padded into the bathroom for a shower. As the warm water slid down his skin, Ian closed his eyes and imagined Kyleigh in the shower with him. Unlike her shower, his had plenty of room for them to fool around. That thought was a bad idea because his cock began to throb. He had two choices— either handle things on his own or turn the water all the way to cold. Neither option sounded very good at the moment.

  There was a tentative knock on the bathroom door, followed by Kyleigh’s voice, which sounded hoarse from crying. “Ian?”

  “Yeah,” he called out, regretting the impatient tone of his voice. His brain wasn’t working well after the lack of sleep. Then he’d been thinking about Kyleigh in the shower with him, and now she was standing right outside the door. Would she join him if he asked? Shaking his head, he tried to put the brakes on that idea because it was a total asshole move.

  Kyleigh hesitated. “I’ll talk to you later,” she said.

  “Wait!” Ian called out because, asshole move or not, he needed Kyleigh.

  There was no answer, and he wasn’t sure she was still standing outside the door. “Would you like to shower with me?” he asked hesitantly, knowing she had countless reasons to tell him no.

  “I already took a shower,” she said, not catching his meaning.

  Ian couldn’t help his smile. Kyleigh sounded so innocent, and he loved that she didn’t have any idea what he was asking. “I meant, would you like to join me so we can do other things in the shower,” Ian clarified.

  “Oh!” Kyleigh said, and the door cracked open. “Are you sure?” she asked without looking at him.

  “Yeah, I really want you to come in here,” he said.

  This time, Kyleigh looked up at him, and he saw her indecision. Hurt and anger mingled with desire. In a heartbeat, desire won out, and she slipped out of her ill-fitting borrowed clothing. Kyleigh looked almost shy, which he attributed to the tension between them. All of that tension melted away when she stepped into the shower and allowed him to pull her against his body.

  A groan escaped Ian’s lips when Kyleigh’s full breasts came in contact with his chest. Without any hesitation, she melted against his body. Ian took full advantage of her yielding to him by claiming her mouth; no, he devoured her mouth with a hunger he shouldn’t feel after only one night without her.

  Kyleigh’s hands reached between them to grip his cock, eliciting a low rumbling sound like a growl from Ian. “If you keep that up,” he warned against her mouth, “I won’t be able to control myself.”

  “Who says I want you to control yourself?” Kyleigh asked with a sexy smile that made him even harder.

  “Fuck!” he hissed out when she squeezed his cock again.

  Grasping both of her hands, he pinned them against the wall of the shower, one on each side of her head. He opened his mouth to reveal his fangs, which were aching to sink into her flesh. Before he lost control, Ian made eye contact with Kyleigh, asking permission and hoping she wouldn’t deny him.

  “Please,” she panted out and closed her eyes.

  Ian sank his fangs into her delicate throat and nearly came the second her potent blood hit his mouth. No one had ever tasted quite as good as Kyleigh. This time, he wasn’t doing anything to make it pleasant, but Kyleigh was arching her hips and moaning. He moved one thigh between her legs, and she immediately started to ride it, writhing against him wantonly. Her hand reached down to grip his dick.

  Sliding his fangs out of her throat, Ian licked the tiny droplets of blood from her neck while Kyleigh continued to ride his thigh and pump his cock. He was close to coming, and he hadn’t even gotten inside of her yet.

  “I need inside of you,” he said urgently and set her away from him. “Turn around and put your hands on the ledge,” he ordered.

  Kyleigh bent over and wiggled her ass at him. Ian gave her sexy ass a slap, which made her shriek and glare at him over her shoulder. “What was that for?”

  “Tempting me,” he murmured as he ran one finger along her wet folds before reaching forward to spread her legs more. Squatting slightly, he positioned his cock at her entrance. “Every single thing you do tempts me,” he said before entering her slowly.

  Kyleigh obviously wasn’t in the mood to take things slow. She pushed back against him until his cock was fully inside of her. “No teasing. No games,” Kyleigh said desperately.

  Ian groaned, his fingers digging into her hips to hold her in place. “Slow down some,” he said desperately.

  “I don’t want slow,” she said.

  Ian released her hips. “Fine, you’re in charge.”

  Kyleigh went completely wild, pulling forward and pressing back against him almost violently.

  “Fuck,” Ian hissed. “You feel so incredible.” Leaning forward, he cupped one of her breasts and tugged at her nipple.

  Kyleigh stopped moving and arched her back, giving him better access to her breasts. One of Ian’s hands continued to play with her nipple as the other slid down to stroke her clit. At his first touch, she tightened around his dick so much that he thought he might explode. All thoughts of letting her be in charge went out the window, and he started to roll his hips in time with the circular movements of his finger.

  Ian removed his hand from her breast and increased his thrusts as he gripped her hip. Kyleigh let out sexy little whimpers while moving desperately against his finger on her clit. It wasn’t long before she was screaming and spasming around his cock. Soon, Ian found his own release.

  They stayed like that for a long time as the last of her spasms milked his cock. Fully sated, reality began to return fast, reminding Ian of what a bastard he was. He felt guilty for having sex in Kate’s bathroom, and he felt guilty for treating Kyleigh like some kind of whore.

  Reaching forward, Ian turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Without making eye contact, he passed a towel to Kyleigh.

  As he wrapped a towel around his waist, Ian tried to find a safe topic of conversation. He was pretty sure Kyleigh was as uncomfortable as him at that moment, since she was doing her best to avoid looking at him. “Would you like me to see if I can get someone to take you to the business district to get some clothes that fit better?”

  With a shrug, Kyleigh clutched the towel around her like he hadn’t already seen her naked dozens of times. “I’m going to talk to Oriel today and see what the rules are about us staying here, but he may say we have to leave immediately.”

  Ian nodded. “Will you get in trouble for this?” He didn’t like the idea of her ge
tting into more trouble from helping him.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Probably not since there isn’t a rule against this sort of thing.”

  “That doesn’t mean they won’t make one up to fuck you over,” Ian said.

  “Oriel seems fond of me,” she said. “I’ll have to find a way to get him to come to me, since I can’t leave this realm while you’re here.”

  “So, if I refused to go through a portal, you’d have no choice but to stay here?” he asked.

  She glared at him. “Was that a threat? Eventually, the Fae will take offense to me hanging out here, and there will be consequences.”

  Ian put both hands up in surrender. “That was a joke, Kyleigh. I’m not so much of an asshole that I’d let you get hurt.”

  Kyleigh let out a frustrated breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just that things are so tense, and you seem like a different person.”

  “I’m the one who should be sorry,” Ian said quietly. “This is just really hard on me.”

  “I understand,” Kyleigh said, and Ian could already feel her withdrawing from him. There was a part of him that felt like he should go after her and hold her close, but he didn’t do that. What he did was turn away from her.

  “I’m going out on patrol today, but I should be home by dinner,” Ian said. “I’ll make sure someone comes by to teach you how to use everything in the kitchen so you can have a hot meal. To be honest, I don’t know how to use most of it.”

  “Okay,” Kyleigh said softly.

  That’s when he realized what a bastard he was for thinking Kyleigh would stay at the house all day. His reasoning for going out on patrol was ridiculous. Quite simply, it was easier to pretend he was back here for good if he fell into the pattern of his old life.

  “I’ll get someone to show you around the settlement while I’m gone,” Ian suggested.

  Kyleigh hesitated and shook her head. “I actually have some things I need to take care of.”

  Ian nodded and watched her walk out of the bathroom, the sound of her feet growing fainter as she moved out of his bedroom and down the hall.

  Hating himself a little for the way he’d just treated Kyleigh, Ian quickly dressed and got ready to head out. Having consumed Kyleigh’s potent blood, he could skip grabbing a bag on the way out. That realization made him feel like an even bigger bastard because he hadn’t even thanked her for sharing her blood with him. No, he’d used her and turned away from her.

  The temptation to find her and apologize was strong, but knowing his self-control, he’d end up inside of her again. He’d find some way to make it up to her when he got back from patrol.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Being out on patrol felt almost surreal, and while it hadn’t technically been that long since Ian had been out, it sure felt that way. He figured Connor was trying to punish him for something by sending him out with Simon and Danny. Then again, Connor had seemed surprised when he’d shown up and asked to be put on rotation that day, so maybe Connor hadn’t planned this.

  “I swear, you’ve gotten more annoying since I’ve been gone,” Ian said to Danny, who’d been grilling him on Kyleigh for the last twenty minutes.

  Simon, who was checking all of his weapons, snorted when he heard Ian’s comment. “Actually, he’s been quiet and moody since you’ve been gone. I’m beginning to think it’s your fault he’s acting this way.” Then Si looked over at him again, and Ian was annoyed to see his friend looking all emotional.

  “If you start talking about how much you missed me, I’m going to shoot you with your own fucking crossbow,” Ian warned.

  Simon laughed. “But I really did miss you. It’s these warm fuzzy talks I missed the most.”

  “You seriously need to get Layla to give your balls back,” Ian grumbled.

  Danny laughed. “Yeah, I’m kind of glad I got over my obsession with that woman. She’s scary sometimes.”

  “Especially now that she can tear you limb from limb,” Simon added. “So, when did you decide to start using her name? Is our new friend encouraging you to treat humans as equals?”

  Ian shrugged, refusing to give in to the obvious baiting. “Layla isn’t human, so it seems silly to call her the little blonde human. I’ve been too busy to figure out what else to call her, and she’s kind of scary now,” he admitted.

  Ian climbed out to change the jeep’s battery. If they went farther out, they always did this before starting their patrol, just in case they needed to leave in a hurry. Injuries could make it necessary for them to get back to the settlement quickly, and a battery dying on the way back would be bad.

  Ian was impressed that they’d added coolers to all the jeeps and stocked them with blood. That hadn’t been the case before because the dry ice packs were hard to come by. After Shelby had been badly injured on patrol, Connor had decided they needed blood available immediately. That decision had likely met with some resistance because it was packed in regular ice and had to be tossed at the end of most patrols.

  “So, what have you been doing while you were gone?” Danny asked.

  Ian shrugged. “Recovering. This outing was the first one Kyleigh felt comfortable taking me on. Well, comfortable might not be the best word. She’s not sure if she’ll get in trouble for this.”

  “With who?” Simon asked. “You have yet to tell us what she is or who she’s so afraid of.”

  “We know she’s not human, vampire, shifter, or nymph,” Danny said. “Zane called her Death Fae, but she says that’s not what she is. Raven is kind of scared of her too.”

  “And Layla likes her, but she’s a little tweaked about the way she smells,” Simon added.

  “I don’t blame Raven for being a little afraid,” Danny said.

  “Kyleigh isn’t going to hurt anyone,” Ian said irritably. “That’s not what she does.”

  “She made it impossible for me to move twice,” Danny said. “I thought I was going crazy when it seemed like she just disappeared from your house and then mine, but that’s what she did, isn’t it?”

  Ian sighed and nodded. They weren’t going to let this go, not that he blamed them. If the situation were reversed, he’d be demanding to know what kind of creature had been brought into the settlement. “Kyleigh can transport herself places. She went to my house after I regained consciousness because I needed clothes. It shocked the hell out of me when she decided to take them from my house, but she didn’t want to guess on sizes. The second time you saw her was because I pressured her into warning you about those turned vamps. Since you’d already seen her, she figured it was best to go to you.”

  “How did she even know where I live?” Danny asked.

  “That I can’t tell you,” Ian admitted. “If I had to guess, I’d say she’s been at the settlement before, since people die there. Some of it still doesn’t make much sense to me, like why she saved me. That’s not really what she does.”

  “You still haven’t told us what she does,” Simon reminded him.

  “Are we going to stand here and talk about our feelings all day, or get moving?” Ian asked, still unsure how much he could reveal about Kyleigh.

  “Yeah, we’d better check out these settlements,” Simon said with a nod. “Kyleigh’s warning was right. There’ve been a lot of humans being rounded up, and quite a few people have been killed by turned vampires. We’re assuming those two things are related but aren’t ruling out the possibility of a Moon virus outbreak we don’t know about.”

  Ian gave him a condescending smile. “You do realize I was in the same room as you for the briefing this morning, right?”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Si said. “Having you back is just still strange to me.”

  “Last warning,” Ian said. “If you can’t get the emotional crap under control, I’m going to beat the hell out of you.”

  Simon laughed and clapped him on the back. “Thanks for the warning, and I might take you up on that offer to try to beat the hell out of me when we get back to the settlement.”


  Ian grinned; he’d always enjoyed sparring with Simon. That’s when he spotted Seth moving along the edge of the path, looking like any other skinny kid out for a walk alone. Everyone would consider it foolish, but kids his age did that sort of thing all the time. Ian suspected Seth’s presence had nothing to do with the kid’s desire to go for a walk.

  “Seth!” he called out.

  The boy looked startled, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What are you doing here? Where’s Kyleigh?”

  Ian walked toward Seth.

  “They can’t see me,” Seth said, gesturing to Simon and Danny, who were cautiously approaching him.

  Ian looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, his friends were looking at him like he’d lost his mind. He turned back to Seth and shrugged. “This won’t be the first time they’ve thought I was crazy.”

  “Is Kyleigh okay?” Seth asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

  Ian’s voice softened. “Yeah, she’s fine. I’m out on patrol, and no, I’m not sure how long I’ll be back on this side. What are you doing out here?”

  Seth’s head dropped. “I just needed to walk around some after everything. Kyleigh always says it’s not my fault, and I tell her she’s right because Kyleigh doesn’t need to worry about my shit,” he said and then flushed. “You probably don’t believe that since I bug her about stuff.”

  “I believe you,” Ian said, “and it’s okay that you talk to Kyleigh.”

  Seth had visited Kyleigh twice while Ian was in her realm, and Ian got the impression it was a regular thing.

  “Uh, Ian,” Danny said cautiously. “Are you about done talking to the tree?”

  Ian glared at Danny over his shoulder. “Mind your own fucking business. I’ll be done in a minute.”

  “Sorry,” Seth said. “I’m obviously causing problems for you with your friends. I should have just made myself visible to them.”