by J. C. Diem
Passion ignited when our tongues met. It flared inside us both, warming me all the way to my sluggish heart. My bra came free and he dropped it to the floor, then he pushed me back so he could stare at my naked torso. “So beautiful,” he murmured, then pulled me down and took my breast into his mouth.
Rocking against him, I wanted him naked and inside me. He wanted it too and rolled us over so he was on top. Unzipping my jeans, he stripped the rest of my clothes off and dropped them to the floor. For a few seconds, he just stared at me as if mesmerized. “Take your clothes off,” I demanded and he obeyed.
Pulling his shirt off, he wasted no time divesting himself of his pants and boxer shorts. He wasn’t hugely built, but his lean muscles were enough to make my desire flare even more. “You’re gorgeous,” I said, running my hands from his abs up to his chest, then back down again. His eyes slid shut when I wrapped my hand around his hardness. I wasn’t exactly the most experienced girl when it came to sex, but I knew the basics.
His breathing became even more ragged when I stroked him. He groaned in what sounded like anguish, then pulled my hand away, pinning it to the mattress. He lay down so our bodies were touching, supporting himself with his elbows. There was a feverish glint in his eyes as he kissed me. I opened my legs to give him access to my body, silently urging him to take things to the next level.
Letting go of my arm, he ran his hand up and down my side, lingering on my breast before moving lower. He found the juncture between my thighs and I shuddered when he began to stroke me. “Yes,” I moaned. “Please.”
“Tell me what you want, Arienna,” he said in a hoarse voice.
“Take me,” I whispered. I didn’t care how he did it, I just wanted us both to feel pleasure.
He nipped at my breasts while rubbing me until I was writhing in torment. Knowing I was ready for more, he positioned himself, then thrust inside me. I gave a strangled moan of sheer pleasure. He pulled my legs around him until I was holding on tight, then set a steady rhythm that quickly gained speed. When I neared my peak, he leaned down until his neck was brushing my mouth. “Bite me,” he commanded.
This time, it was my turn to obey him. I bit down and he slammed himself into me. I took a mouthful of his blood and was awash with power and desire. The final damage inside me healed and I’d never felt so alive. Connor groaned in need and I knew what he wanted. I drank deeply and he shuddered in pleasure. It triggered my climax and I pulled my fangs out of him, throwing my head back and arching against him as I clenched around him in the most intense orgasm I’d ever experienced.
Connor went over the edge after me, holding me tight as he thrust in helpless desperation for release. His lips grazed my neck when he collapsed on top of me, utterly spent. Proving he was far from human, his bite marks healed until his skin was flawless again. Rolling onto his side, he stared at me in a daze. “What just happened?” he asked.
Hearing the puzzlement in his tone, I rolled off the bed and began gathering my discarded clothes. “You told me to bite you,” I reminded him. “I didn’t know that was going to happen.” Using my clothes to shield myself, I waved my hand at his naked body.
“Did you bamboozle me with your vampire magic?” He seemed genuinely bewildered that we’d just been naked together.
“I didn’t force you to have sex with me,” I said, but now I was wondering if that was true. “You were the one grinding yourself against me.”
“It was your bite,” he said, looking away. “Something strange happened when you bit me. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
What had been the best sex of my life had just been an anomaly for him. “Well, it won’t happen again,” I said. “The next time I get staked, just let me bleed to death.” Inordinately hurt that he wasn’t as blown away by the experience as I’d been, I stomped off in search of a bathroom before he could reply. Thankfully, the water was still running. I took a long, hot shower and refused to give into the tears that wanted to fall. His puzzlement made me wonder if I had ensnared him with my vampire abilities. While I’d never heard of the undead seducing their victims, I figured it was possible.
I’d composed myself by the time I finished showering. Connor took a quick shower as well, then found me in the living room. “We can’t let Quin or the others know about this,” he said.
“They won’t hear about it from me,” I replied distantly.
“Nothing has changed between us,” he added.
Letting out a small sigh, I turned to face him. “You have nothing to worry about, Connor. My vampire nature took over and we both got carried away. That’s all there is to it.” I’d rather have my tongue pulled out with pliers than admit I had feelings for him. Now that I’d experienced what he was like in bed, it was going to be even harder to push those emotions aside. Remembering he thought I’d enthralled him into having sex with me would help. Now that I knew what could happen when I drank from someone, I would have to be careful not to get carried away again.
“Good,” he said, but he didn’t sound like he believed me. “Do you have your cell phone on you? I need to call Quin.”
Checking my pockets, I found my phone and pulled it out. To our relief, it was intact. I tossed it to Connor so he could call our boss, then turned my back on him so I could brood in private.
Chapter Forty-One
Connor called Quin and told her what had happened. My hearing was so acute that I could hear both sides of their conversation. “Were either of you hurt in the crash?” she asked in concern.
“A few scratches and bumps that have already healed,” he lied with a guilty expression. “We’re fine, but Ari’s car was totaled.”
“Mirra and I are coming to get you,” she said. “We’ll meet you on the road where you crashed. If any more assassins appear, run.”
“Okay. We’ll see you when you get here.”
We had plenty of time to get back to the crash site. Filled with energy from Connor’s supercharged blood, I could have sprinted the whole way in less than a minute. My spirits fell when I saw the state my car was in. The roof had been flattened and the sides were badly dented. It was a miracle we’d escaped with our lives.
Feeling my pockets, I was relieved to find Mary-Sue’s locket still there. I reached through the smashed side window and opened the glovebox. The folder full of information about Jonah had been tossed around. I gathered up the paperwork and notepad and walked around to the trunk. Connor helped me to remove my stash of weapons and we placed them in spare duffle bags. There was more gear than I’d realized by the time we were done.
We took turns hauling the bags up to the road, leaving them in the bushes so passing motorists wouldn’t see them. By the time I climbed to the road for a final time, I’d burned off some of the energy I’d gained from drinking Connor’s blood. “Now I know why Alakay targets supernatural creatures,” I said as we waited for the cavalry to arrive.
Connor glanced at me, then returned to scanning the road for enemies again. “Our blood makes him stronger,” he said flatly. “He’s not the first vampire to attack our kind.”
“I feel almost invincible,” I confessed. I had a feeling that if someone tried to stake me now, the wood would just bounce off.
“It won’t last,” he warned me. “Your strength will fade and you’ll return to normal soon enough. Feeding on other supernatural creatures is addictive.”
“I know,” I said morosely. “I’ve seen Alakay’s memories in my dreams. He’s hunted hundreds of paranormal beings over the centuries.” It was probably more like thousands, but I couldn’t be sure about that and I frankly didn’t want to know. “There has to be a way for us to track him down. He lost all of his minions when I burned the cabin down. He’ll be making more to replenish his nest.”
“Quin is working on it,” he said. “She was waiting to see if you were going to become a permanent member of our team before taking any steps.”
“When is she going to figure out if I’m going to be permanen
t?” I asked with a hint of impatience, then spoke again before he could answer me. “I’m not used to having someone telling me what to do all the time. I’m not even sure I want to be part of the Hunter Elite.”
He turned to look at me and his expression was grave. “You don’t get to choose. That decision will be made for you.”
That made me angry and I put my hands on my hips. “Quin has no right to hold me prisoner forever.”
“She isn’t the one who makes the final decision.”
“Then who is?” Even as I asked, I realized what the answer was. “Spencer Von Hades,” I said before he could. “I think he’s already made his decision, but he hasn’t told Quin yet.”
“What makes you think that?”
“He told me he thought I would make an excellent addition to the team.”
He nodded slowly, then returned to perusing the road. “I’m sure it will become official soon.”
“Then my imprisonment will become permanent,” I said flatly. “I can’t come and go whenever I like, or visit any of my friends or the people who are like my family.”
Impatience flowed across his handsome face before he could control it. He gestured at the broken guardrail where my car had crashed. “Wasn’t our near-death experience enough warning for you? We have enemies who are determined to kill us and we still don’t know who they are.”
“How did they find us anyway? They shouldn’t have recognized my car.”
“I don’t know. It’s almost like they were tracking us. They couldn’t have chosen a better place to ambush us.”
“My car has been locked in the garage since I joined the team. There’s no way it could have been bugged.”
We shared a look, realizing one of us must be carrying a tracking device. I searched my pockets carefully while Connor did the same. Finding nothing, I knelt and began looking through my backpack. A small tear in the seam of a front pocket caught my eye. I used my knife to make the tear larger and slipped my hand inside. Pulling out a silver disc about the size of a dime, I held it up. “Bingo,” I said in dread.
Connor’s mouth turned into a grim line. He took it from me, then tossed it deep into the undergrowth. “We have no way of knowing when that tracker was placed in your bag, but we can assume one thing.”
“They know where our base is,” I said bleakly. I took my backpack with me everywhere and I didn’t always keep a close eye on it. It would have been easy enough for someone to slip a bug inside it.
“We’re going to have to increase our defenses,” Connor said, already planning on how to deal with this problem.
“Aren’t we going to leave the mansion and find a new base?”
“Both Quin and I are from similar species, even if she can’t actually transform into her wolf. Once a shifter has claimed a territory, it isn’t easy for them to abandon it. We’ve been living in the mansion for a decade and it’s our home now. Neither of us are going to be able to just walk away from it.”
“Our enemies could be counting on that,” I pointed out.
He nodded reluctantly. “It will be Quin’s decision in the end. Whatever she decides, I’ll abide by her orders.”
“Why do you let her boss you around?” I asked curiously. “You’re nearly four hundred years older than her.”
“Even though Quin can’t shift, she’s an alpha. Werebeasts and true shapeshifters have a lot in common. We naturally defer to alphas, even if they are from a different species.”
Somehow, it didn’t surprise me that Quin was an alpha. It now made more sense why Connor deferred to her. She was his boss in more ways than one. “So, you’re not an alpha panther?” I asked, curious about his species.
“I will be,” he said quietly. “My parents were both alphas, or rexes in feline terminology. One day, I will feel the call to follow my instincts. When that happens, I won’t be able to deny them.”
“What will your instincts tell you to do?”
“To find a mate and to procreate. To locate other young shapeshifters and forge them into a clan.”
Now I truly realized that I could never be his type. I also knew that my fantasy of being his girlfriend would never come true. He’d succumbed to the urge to sleep with me, but we could never have more than that. I turned away and pretended to scan the road, hiding my face so he wouldn’t see my pain. I’d finally met a man I cared about and who could bring me exquisite pleasure. To him, I was just a bloodsucking leech who could seduce him to my bed.
Chapter Forty-Two
Connor tensed when a black SUV appeared, then relaxed when he recognized it. Quin must have sped all the way here. Only an hour had passed since he’d called her. It should have taken her another half an hour to reach us.
She pulled over on the side of the road, then exited from the SUV. Her light green eyes were intense as she examined us both for injuries. I’d changed my t-shirt and my black jacket hid the bloodstains well enough. She could probably smell the blood, but Connor had torn the assassins apart and it had been splashed all over the place. We’d had to wade through puddles of it while carrying my gear up to the road.
“Has there been any further sign of them?” Quin asked. Mirra joined us, looking slightly concerned when she saw where my car had been forced off the road. Or as concerned as she could make herself appear anyway.
“Not yet,” Connor replied. “Ari found a tracking device in her backpack.”
Quin cursed beneath her breath, then bent and grabbed a couple of my bags. “I figured that was how they’d found you. The security system at the mansion will notify me if anyone enters the grounds. They’ll have to be able to fly to avoid the sensors and cameras that are in place.”
Somehow, that didn’t make me feel very secure. For all I knew, there could be enemies out there that could fly. So far, the assassins had all been human. That didn’t mean they didn’t have supernatural allies they could call on for assistance. We needed to know more about them, but I was sure Quin had already unearthed all the information she could find.
We all took a couple of bags and heaved them into the back of the SUV. When everything was stowed away, we climbed in and Quin drove away. She drove faster than I was comfortable with, but I knew she was itching to get back home to protect her turf. That was the werewolf inside her. Just as Connor had warned me, their instincts ruled them.
“Did you discover anything new about Jonah?” Mirra asked, turning around to face me. She and Connor took turns riding up front. As the newbie, I was always relegated to the back.
“Not really, but Mary-Sue gave me something.” I took the jewelry case out of my pocket and handed it to her.
Flipping it open, she smiled when she saw the locket. “This is pretty.”
“Jonah gave it to Mary-Sue on her sixteenth birthday. It has both of their photos inside it.”
She opened the locket and examined the photos. “It is good to finally know what Jonah looks like,” she decided. “His fiancé was quite attractive.”
“She has no idea her late husband murdered Jonah,” Connor said. “She thought his death was an accident.”
“You’re sure the husband was responsible?” Quin queried.
“It was Bill’s idea for him and Jonah to make their speech from the balcony at the top of the grand staircase,” I told her. “They stood right where the banister had been tampered with.”
“He’s guilty,” the siren declared, then closed the locket and handed the jewelry case back to me. “I don’t envy your task of letting Jonah know about his past.”
I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew it was necessary. He had a right to know why his life had been cut short. While I was glad I’d solved the mystery that had plagued him ever since he’d found himself haunting the mansion, I hoped it wouldn’t have a dire result. Ghosts stuck around for a reason. Usually it was due to unfinished business. Sometimes, the phantoms became twisted with rage. They were the ones that turned into poltergeists and had to be banished with holy magic.
Jonah was my best friend and I didn’t want to hurt him. Either the truth would set him free, or it would devastate him utterly. His future was in my hands. It was a heavy burden that I hadn’t asked for, but it was one I’d been lumped with.
Connor sent me an enigmatic look, then stared out the window. We’d had mind-blowing sex that I personally would never forget and he apparently wanted to pretend it had never happened.
Slumping back in my seat, I was torn by conflicting emotions. My instincts that my life would change forever when I’d first met Connor had been correct. But it hadn’t worked out the way I’d expected. Instead of going on the run and being alone forever, I was now a part of the Hunter Elite. I’d been drawn into their team and had no choice but to stay with them now.
Unknown people were trying to kill us and now they knew where we lived. It was only a matter of time before they descended on us in force. I wondered why they’d chosen to attack just the two of us and why they’d sent such a small group. A part of me wondered if it was a test of some sort. If so, what were they trying to discover about us? They’d apparently been hunting the H.E. since its creation three hundred years ago. We were just the latest members who had fallen beneath their crosshairs.
My mind whirled with thoughts about the past, present and possible future. If we didn’t figure out who was sending the assassins after us, we might not have a future at all. We would die and other supernatural beings would be chosen to take our places in the exclusive unit of monster hunters. We would have to work together to make sure we didn’t become their next victims. With the tension that was now between Connor and me, that probably wasn’t going to be an easy feat.
Titles by J.C. Diem in chronological order:
Mortis Series
Death Beckons ♦ Death Embraces ♦ Death Deceives ♦ Death Devours ♦ Death Betrays ♦ Death Banishes ♦ Death Returns ♦ Death Conquers ♦ Death Reigns