Tall, Dark and Paranormal: 10 Thrilling Tales of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys

by Opal Carew

  Careful, Lucifer. Asmodeus pushed back, recalling the brief, but combustible, tryst between Lucifer and Zemi the Fae Queen. It had been over two millennia since those two had their fling but Lucifer was still stewing over it. Now you’re the one who sounds like he gives a shit.

  Fuck off.

  Touchy aren’t we?

  Well, the thought of enslavement does that to me. Lucifer continued. If you have any sign that the Fae are closing in, I will send the Brotherhood with all of their powers fully intact. We will get the ring by any means necessary.

  Kai is an innocent, Lucifer. Asmodeus’ chest tightened as he envisioned Kai being whisked away by the members of the Brotherhood to the Underworld. Picturing her there with the filthiest of souls made him anxious. Asmodeus fought an unfamiliar feeling of fear and kept his response even. Feeling physical pain as a mortal was one thing, but these new and uncomfortable emotions were another. We cannot harm her. She has to give the ring willingly.

  That’s true. Lucifer’s calm, bored tone sent a chill up Asmodeus’ spine as he watched Kai trot down the steps with a stack of blankets. She gave him a quick smile before going back into the house, her blond ponytail swishing behind her as she disappeared through the door. In that moment, her innocence to the hidden world around her was all too clear. The overwhelming urge to protect Kai slammed into Asmodeus with brutal force as Lucifer continued.

  She either gives it willingly... or... if she’s dead we can take it. Asmodeus, you and I know that there are plenty of corrupted souls on earth who can do our bidding. It’s one of the loopholes I’m so fond of.

  Minions.

  Lucifer was referring to the heartless human souls who were destined for Hell upon their death, but while on earth, they could be commanded by any member of the Brotherhood. Asmodeus imagined a series of psychotic, brutal killers coming after Kai and something inside of him snapped. Anger flashed up his back and his fists clenched at his sides at the mere idea of anyone harming her.

  I’ll have it in two days, Asmodeus said tightly. If you’ll recall, I’m the one who got it away from Solomon in the first place.

  Yes, but as we’ve discovered, someone else has found it. Lucifer let out a short laugh. It’s somehow appropriate that you are now responsible for cleaning up this mess. All humor left his voice. Two days or I’ll take matters into my own hands.

  As the mental connection with Lucifer was severed, Asmodeus swore. He had less than forty-eight hours to get the ring before all hell broke loose in Bliss.

  Chapter Five

  The day went by in a blur with Kai making progress lugging various items out of the attic and into the Dumpster. Zephyr, of course, spent the entire time sleeping on the window seat in the living room, only moving occasionally to adjust her position. From time to time, Kai would catch a glimpse of Aaron as he made his own trips from the barn to the Dumpster and while she did her best not to stare... she failed miserably.

  They’d shared lunch in the kitchen and she regaled him with stories about her parents and even told him a few about Babar the Elephant. She noticed that the man offered little information about himself and when she asked him questions, he artfully turned the conversation back to Kai and her family.

  Aaron Miles had been on her mind all day or, more specifically, the way she felt when he kissed her hand that morning the barn. While the gesture may have been the same as what Ben had done the previous night, her reaction had been far different. Funny how two men could do the same exact thing and have completely opposite outcomes.

  In addition to the fact that Aaron suddenly developed an aura when he touched her, there was nothing brotherly about the way he made her feel. Quite the contrary. In fact, it took some serious self-control to keep from jumping his bones right there in the barn. When Kai looked into those pale, blue eyes, something deep inside her stirred and fluttered to life, yawning and stretching as though suddenly awakened.

  Kai peeked out the window and stole another look at him. How in the world could a man look even sexier when he was covered in dirt and sweat?

  Kai had no idea but Mr. Miles sure fit that bill. The man was pure muscle, bone and sinew and his sweat soaked t-shirt clung to every sculpted curve.

  She was equally sweaty and dirty but had a sinking suspicion she didn’t look sexy, and she certainly didn’t feel sexy. A strong breeze blew through the window and the dark, menacing clouds captured her attention. She remembered the weatherman had mentioned something about a storm coming in and, based on the blackening sky, he was right. Kai glanced at her reflection in the gilded mirror in the dining room as she headed toward the kitchen and grimaced.

  “Oh my God,” she groaned and attempted to wipe dirt smudges off her face. “I’m so gross right now. So not sexy.”

  Zephyr mewled her agreement and trotted past Kai into the kitchen.

  “Oh excuse me,” Kai muttered as she followed the cat. “Not all of us spent the day sleeping.”

  Kai went to the sink to wash some of the dirt and sweat from her hands. She made a sound of disgust when she saw the amount of gunk that stuck to the ring. A sense of guilt pulled at her. She should know better than to have kept the ring on while she worked today.

  “Great. I have this thing for one whole day and it’s already dirty.” Kai pulled on the ring to remove it but it wouldn’t budge past her knuckle. “That’s weird,” she said under her breath.

  Kai looked at her hands and frowned, thinking they’d swelled from the heat, but other than being dirty, her fingers appeared normal. Squeezing liquid soap into her palm, she lathered her hands up thoroughly but still the ring would not come off.

  She puffed the hair from her face and grabbed the ring again, pulling as hard as she could. Pain shot up her arm and she released her hand with a frustrated growl.

  “Shit!”

  “I finished up in the barn.” Aaron’s deep, rich voice filled the room.

  Kai let out a yelp of surprise and spun around, sending soapy water flying across the kitchen. He was standing in the doorway with a grin on his dirty, beard-stubble face. His blue eyes stood out beneath inky, black eye brows and Kai wondered if it was possible for him to have gotten even better looking in the past couple of hours.

  “I hope you don’t mind but it looks like it’s about to start pouring, so I moved my bike into the barn.” He tilted his head and leaned against the doorjamb looking all kinds of sexy. Dirty sexy. “Problem?” His lips lifted at the corners.

  Kai knew he was tall but somehow, framed by the kitchen doorway, he suddenly seemed like a giant. Gaping at him like a stunned sheep, it took her a moment to find her voice.

  “My ring,” she blurted out as she held up a soapy hand and lifted one shoulder. She tugged on it again but still the damn thing wouldn’t budge. “I can’t seem to get it off. My hands are probably swollen from this heat but it’s weird because they look fine.” Her face heated as she looked away, knowing she was a mess. “I mean aside from being dirty.”

  “The ring won’t come off?” Aaron’s brow knit with concern as he crossed the width of the kitchen and stood in front of her. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he murmured.

  Standing this close to him, Kai got a clear idea of how tall he was. Aaron towered over her, but it wasn’t just his height. He was broad and muscular, yet there was something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He may not have an aura but he sure as shit had energy of some kind. An energy that was unlike any she’d encountered before. She’d sensed it in the barn as well, but now it throbbed through her, like a bass beat in a nightclub.

  As he took her hand in his and lifted it so he could have a better look, she felt a vibration emanating from his large frame. Kai probably should have been scared or concerned that he was going to evolve into the soul-sucking creature her mother warned her about and steal her light... but she wasn’t.

  In fact, Kai was more turned on than she’d ever been in her life. She swallowed hard as his strong fingers slid along her
s in a deliciously sexy way. Their hands tangled together amid slippery, soapy skin and it brought to mind images of the two of them in a bubble bath.

  Naked and soapy. God help her. That was all she could think about.

  Kai’s eyes widened as she watched a subtle glow start to radiate from him as his thumb ran over hers. It was fascinating. No—scratch that. He was fascinating.

  She studied the sharp angles of his face and watched as the muscle in his jaw flickered while he slowly and gently turned her hand, looking at the ring from different angles. His body radiated thick waves of heat and Kai’s gaze flicked down his neck, over his broad shoulders and along his muscular arms. From beneath the edge of his t-shirt, a long vein bulged beneath tanned skin and ran along his bicep, which she had the insane urge to lick at like a lollipop.

  Aaron’s hand tightened over hers and he stilled. Only their breathing and the ticking of the cuckoo clock filled the kitchen. Cool wind from the incoming storm blew through the open windows but Kai barely felt it. All she could feel was him.

  Kai’s body quivered as she looked at their intertwined fingers. She could tell he was staring down at her through laser-sharp pools of arctic blue. In an attempt to steady herself, she sucked in a deep breath, but his rich male scent filled her head, heightening her craving for him.

  Given the sweat covering the two of them, they should both stink to high heaven but all Kai smelled was sex and desire.

  Kai knew that if she looked him in the eye, any self-restraint she had would vanish and, Dark One or not, she would succumb to the lust that had clawed at her since the moment she met him.

  She closed her eyes, trying to think of something to say but no words came. Her mind and body were fogged by desire, heavy with need, and weak with wanting. As if reading her dirty little mind, he dragged her closer and held her hand against his chest. Jean-clad muscular thighs brushed against her and Kai felt his heartbeat pounding strong and steady beneath the surface. Calling to her, daring her to look at him.

  “Kai,” he whispered. His voice, compelling and rich, surrounded her like a caress. One arm snaked around her waist, like a band of iron as he held her quaking form tightly against his, which remained solid and steady. Soapy fingers tangled between them and the ring felt hot, almost burning against her skin. “Look at me.”

  Steeling her courage, Kai opened her eyes and lifted them to meet his. Pale, blue eyes looked down at her beneath heavy lids as his hand splayed across her lower back, pulling her closer still. She let out a sound of wonder as the glow around him brightened like a bulb, giving him an unearthly appearance.

  As the light grew brighter and the winds howled, Aaron swore under his breath and covered her mouth with his.

  On a groan, Kai opened to him as his tongue brushed along her lips, seeking entrance. His kiss was tentative at first, probing gently to see if she was ready but Kai was more than ready. She kissed him back, rasping her tongue along his, and in a flash any restraint he had shown was gone and it swiftly became a frenzy of lips, teeth and tongues.

  Kissing her deeply, Asmodeus pulled the elastic out of her hair so that her long locks spilled down her back. He tangled his hands in her hair and tilted her head, allowing him better access, taking the kiss even deeper. One large hand ran down her back and rested on her ass, pressing her against the hard evidence of his desire.

  Kai slid her soapy hands up his chest and linked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, though she knew it would never be close enough. There was something about his energy that filled her up and she knew it would become addictive—he would become addictive. This man with no light was able to stir Kai’s soul and ignite passion in her the way no one else ever had.

  He tasted like sin, sex, and seduction and... Kai wanted more.

  Aaron groaned into her mouth, and the sound of his desire and desperate need for her almost made her come apart. He slipped his hands beneath the edge of her tank top and she sighed as the rough skin of his hands rasped along her lower back. His hot flesh pressed against hers and as they stood there tangled up in each other, the cuckoo clock on the kitchen wall sounded loudly and broke through the haze of lust, bringing Kai back to reality.

  What on earth was she doing? Kai was making out like some horny harlot in the middle of the kitchen with a man she didn’t even know. Not really. All she knew was that he was a Dark One who kissed like he did it for a living.

  Since she still didn’t know what being a Dark One really meant, it would probably be a good idea to put on the brakes. Finding a tiny shred of self-control, Kai softened the kiss as her body shuddered against his with unsatisfied desire. She suckled playfully on his lip as she broke the kiss.

  “Well, Mr. Miles,” she said between heavy breaths.

  “You should probably call me Aaron,” he murmured as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

  “Right, Aaron.” Kai pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “That was not how I was expecting to finish your first day of work.”

  “I’m still getting paid, right?” he asked in a teasing tone.

  “Very funny,” Kai said on a laugh. He held her closer as she tossed her head back and let out a sound of frustration. “I don’t even know you,” she said as she stared at the tin tile ceiling.

  “This is us getting to know each other,” Aaron murmured as he trailed hot, wet, butterfly kisses down her throat.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Kai’s eyelids fluttered closed and she sank into the seductive sensations as the sound of rain falling on the roof added to the richness of the moment. She unlinked her fingers from behind his head and splayed her hands over the back of his neck and as the ring grazed his skin... Kai’s entire world shifted on its axis.

  Aaron cried out in pain, grabbed the back of his neck and shoved her away from him abruptly. Kai stumbled backward, holding the edge of the counter to keep from falling over, and gaped at Aaron in horror.

  The glow he’d had when holding her was gone, but that was the least of her problems. It was his eyes. They glowed bright red and shone at her beneath jet-black brows. When he saw the way she was looking at him, Aaron dropped his arms to his sides and squared his shoulders. For a moment, she thought he actually looked apologetic but standing in front of the open window, with the stormy sky behind him, he looked more dangerous than ever before.

  Kai’s hands covered her mouth and she watched in horrified fascination as a massive tattoo appeared out of nowhere, covering both of his arms. It was fuzzy at first, like static on a television, but within seconds a bold, intricate tattoo, black as coal, was emblazoned up those muscular arms, disappearing beneath the t-shirt. Kai shuddered because only moments ago those arms had been wrapped around her.

  “What are you?” she said in a trembling voice. Kai backed up slowly, moving around the table, needing to put something more than distance between them. “My mother was right. Stay away from me.”

  “Kai, wait.” Aaron’s voice was even deeper than before and his eyes glowed brightly. “I do not want to hurt you. Please, you have to listen to me. The ring you’re wearing is not simply some family heirloom. It’s the Ring of Solomon and carries more power than you can possibly imagine.”

  “You’re a Dark One,” she whispered through quivering lips. Tears stung the back of her eyes as fear threatened to consume her. “You have no light. No aura. B-but your eyes—”

  “I know you’re frightened but you have to listen to me. As long as you wear the Ring of Solomon you are in grave jeopardy. There are parties who are willing to stop at nothing to retrieve it.” His expression was grave but tenderness laced his voice. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, Kai. Please, give me the ring.”

  Nausea swamped Kai and everything started to spin as lust was swiftly replaced by primal fear. She had to get out of here. Now. Without thinking, she spun on her heels and ran out of the house as fast as she could. Her heart pounding in her chest, she pushed open the front door and ran down the porch steps into the driving rai
n.

  With rain stinging her face, she slipped in the muddy driveway and fell to her knees, barely feeling the tiny rocks as they cut into her flesh. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled toward the car when she realized she didn’t have the keys. They were in the house in her bag. Kai let out a strangled sob, glancing over her shoulder toward the house, but Aaron was nowhere in sight.

  She swiped strands of hair from her eyes and squinted against the sheets of rain. Lightning streaked across the sky, lighting up the property and bringing the barn into focus. Weak with fear and shaking with adrenaline, Kai ran into the barn, yanked the door closed and with all her might, pulled the lock down tightly.

  Kai spun around and leaned against the barn door. She squeezed her eyes shut and as sobs wracked her fatigued body, a familiar voice floated through the barn.

  “He’s a demon, you know.”

  Kai’s eyes flew open at the unexpected sound of Ben’s voice. She looked frantically around the now spotless barn in search of him. Movement to the left caught her eye and as another crack of thunder and lightning erupted outside... she saw him. Dressed in his impeccable suit, with not a hair out of place, he stepped out of the shadows and moved toward her slowly.

  “Ben?” Kai barely recognized the sound of her own voice. It was small, scared and shook with all the fear she was feeling. She looked him up and down and noticed he was dry as a bone. It was pouring outside and he didn’t have a drop of rain on him. Her face twisted with confusion as the ring began to burn against her skin. “Wh—what are you doing here?”

  “Did you hear what I said?” Ben’s voice, calm and even, filled the barn. He continued to move toward her. “His name is not Aaron Miles. It’s Asmodeus and he is a demon. I knew there was something different about him when I met him last night because, as I’m sure you noticed, he has no aura. But I wasn’t entirely certain of who he was until you touched him with the ring.”