Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1)

by Lola Taylor

  Hector and I didn’t retire until nearly dawn, and even then we didn’t go to sleep right away. Too tired for much else, we lay in each other’s arms, talking and laughing and enjoying one another’s company without the threat of death hanging over our heads. Life was bliss.

  At least, until eight a.m. the next morning.

  My head was pounding almost as hard as the person at Hector’s door. Irritably, he got out of bed and barked, “What?” at the poor person. Hushed voices followed. Hector came back into the bedroom looking troubled as I sat up and tried to focus on not throwing up. I don’t know why I thought practically inhaling tequila would be a good idea, but hell, I was just so damn happy Damien was gone, I took down whatever was handed to me. And everyone had wanted to buy this girl a drink last night.

  “What is it?” I asked, the words distorted from a yawn I couldn’t hold back.

  He started pulling on his pants and a shirt. “We’re being summoned.”

  My brows shot up. “By who?”

  “The new dean.”

  That was fast. Last I’d heard, Dean Prescott was locked away in Stonegate, awaiting trial. I knew they’d eventually replace him, but I didn’t think it would be so soon.

  I sighed and climbed out of bed. Might as well get this over with.

  After rinsing my face and brushing my teeth, I quickly dressed and followed Hector out the door. We walked silently toward the elevator that would take us to the dean’s office. It felt odd but nice not to be shadowed by guards. “What do you think he wants?” I asked, starting to grow worried. I felt like I was in high school again, and I’d just been sent to the principal’s office.

  “Don’t know,” Hector said. He didn’t look as tense as I felt, but his eyes narrowed in thought. “Guess we’ll find out.”

  We didn’t speak the rest of the way to the dean’s office. Once there, we paused before the doors, and a guard announced us. After a moment, the doors opened and we were ushered inside.

  The interior had been completely redone. It looked like a different room. Where Prescott had favored drab browns and grays, resplendent reds and gleaming pinks and pearl shone from every surface of the office. It was exotic and feminine, much like the spectacular woman who stood to greet us.

  She looked like an empress, with her elaborate Oriental hairstyle and silk kimono. Hector stopped and blinked, as if stunned, then his face broke into a wide smile. “Musashi,” he said warmly, extending his hand. “It has been too long.”

  She shook it and smiled back at him. “It is good to see you again, Hector.” Her voice was like wind, gentle but carrying an undercurrent of strength that said she was far stronger than she appeared. Her eyes drifted to me. “You must be Sally, the demon-slayer.”

  I took her hand and shook it. “Um, yes, ma’am. Nice to meet you.”

  “The pleasure is mine,” she said smoothly, inclining her head. “Not many denizens of the Underworld have the kind of power it takes to take on a demon.” She smiled. “Nor the gumption.”

  I felt my face heat. “It was nothing.”

  She laughed. It sounded like bells, delicate and light. “I’m sure that it was no small feat, though that is a story that will have to wait for another day. Now, as for why I’ve brought you here…” Her gaze turned serious. “I know about the two of you. You’re romantically involved.”

  Hector and I froze, but not before I’d sucked in a breath.

  Musashi’s head snapped my way, her eyes narrowing.

  I stared back at her, mouth open and lost for words. My mind combed through possible ways out, but at this point, there was no use trying to cover up my reaction. Busted. Way to go, Sally.

  “Miss, I can explain,” I started, but she raised a hand.

  “Do you deny it?” she asked quietly, as if daring me to call her a liar. I knew she was a Wind Witch - or Gray Witch - from the breeze that picked up around the room, but I hadn’t yet gauged her power.

  I held my tongue, unsure how to respond, when Hector took my hand and squeezed. “No,” he said firmly. “You’re correct. We’re in love.”

  “I see,” she murmured, tapping her crimson nails across the desk. She folded herself in the chair like a ribbon, her movements flowing and easy. “Please, sit.”

  We both did as we were told. I couldn’t relax. I sat with my spine rigid, unable to stop tapping my foot.

  This was it. She was going to exile us for sure. That or demand we break up, and I’d frankly would rather never be welcome in the Underworld again than bid Hector an eternal farewell.

  I was about to tell Musashi as much when she said, “I have a proposition.”

  Both our eyes snapped up.

  When she was sure she had our attention, she said, “It has come to my attention that there is a rather large educational gap in the curriculum here.”

  I frowned. What was she talking about? I didn’t know about the other sups, but Hector had kicked my ass. He was a phenomenal teacher.

  Musashi got up and gazed out of the large bay window behind her desk. “There was one good outcome from the demon, and that was pointing out a critical flaw in our self-defense system. Or rather, lack thereof. It is clear the students - and supernaturals, in general - don’t know how to protect themselves.” She turned and looked at me. “I’m told you’ve had training in self-defense.”

  I looked at Hector. “Yes, some.”

  “And that you’re quite good at it,” Musashi said, a mischievous sparkle in her startling blue eyes.

  I shrugged. “I’m okay.”

  She smiled. “More than ‘okay.’ It takes courage to take on a demon. The students need that kind of role model.” Pause. “Which is why I’ve petitioned my pupil, Elias, to let you stay on here as the new self-defense instructor.”

  My jaw dropped. “Okay, one, you were Elias’s teacher? And two, did you just offer me a job?”

  She sat down and ticked off her answers on her narrow fingers. “Yes, I taught that boy everything he knows about magic,” she said smugly.

  I almost snorted at her calling him “boy.” I wondered how old she really was but knew better than to ask.

  “As it was,” Musashi said, lowering her voice, “he was quite inept at magic when he was brought to me for reformation.”

  This had to be a record for number of times a person could be struck speechless in one meeting. “No shit. Elias had to go through reform school.”

  I couldn’t picture that. Powerful, brooding Elias, a reject. Like I had been.

  I couldn’t help it. I smiled.

  Musashi smiled back. “I thought you may like that. As for your other question, yes, I am offering you a position – on one condition.”

  There it was. I knew all things good had a price. “Name it.”

  “End your relationship with Hector.”

  Hector’s face turned grim about the same time I shot out of my chair. “What? Why?” I yelled.

  “Sally,” Hector said, reaching for my arm, but I jerked free.

  “No,” I said firmly. “I’m not backing down. I’ve backed down from people my whole life, because I was too scared to defend myself. Well, that’s changed, sister. If you want me, you can get both of us.”

  Musashi pursed her lips. “I’ve been ordered to dismiss Professor Aurelius, on charges of inappropriate conduct.”

  I placed my hands on her desk and leaned forward, coming eye level with her. “You can’t afford to lose him, and you know it. He’s too damn good at what he does. Tell you what, I’ll work for you, but only if Hector stays on too.”

  “As her partner,” Hector piped up, surprising me. “I won’t be a glorified gigolo anymore. You get both of us or neither of us.”

  If I’d talked to Elias this way, he probably would have set me on fire while pitching me out the door. I half expected a gale to rip through the room and blast us out the window, but Musashi was surprisingly calm.

  Slowly, she smiled. “I’m impressed. You called my bluff and stood your
ground.”

  I stared at her. “You mean you were just screwing with us the entire time?”

  She shrugged. “I had to be certain I was making the right choice. We’re making some staffing changes, and I like to surround myself with people who have an iron will. You more than proved that in your rather passionate display.” She snapped her fingers, and a contract appeared on her desk, along with a fountain pen. “Very well. It is agreed. Aurelius, you will be moved from training succubi and incubi to self-defense, along with Sally. And I-” she pointed to herself - “will keep my mouth shut about your little love affair.”

  “Wait,” I said, “you mean, the board doesn’t know?”

  “Not unless I tell them.”

  It was a buried threat not to cross her. I got it. So long as we helped her, she helped us. Didn’t mean I trusted her, but staying here with Hector, having him all to myself, sounded a hell of a lot better than exile or returning to my miserable day job at Vixens.

  I looked to Hector. “We have a deal?”

  He smiled and took the pen. “Where do I sign first?”

  It took a few minutes to sign all the contracts and swear a blood oath - a magically binding contract - to Musashi. Once it was all said and done, Hector and I returned to his room.

  No sooner was the door closed than he swept me up in his arms and kissed me with a fervor that left me dizzy.

  I grinned like an idiot. “I can’t believe this is happening. I get a new job and we can be together.”

  “We’ll still have to keep things hidden between us when we’re around everybody else.”

  I shrugged. “Then things won’t be any different from how they’ve been now, except we don’t have to worry about us having to shag other people for energy. We get that from each other.”

  He cupped my face and gently stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I would have done it, you know.”

  “Done what?”

  “Left this all behind.” He gestured to the opulence around us. “You’re the first woman in years to help me feel alive again. You saved me from a lonely existence.”

  I twined my fingers with his and kissed his hand. “We saved each other. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come for me in that awful place Damien took me. I’ll have to think of a way to repay you.”

  A sexy grin spread on his face. “Oh, I can think of a few ways.”

  With that, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me into the bedroom. As he tenderly laid me down on the bed and started kissing my neck, I was overwhelmed by the feelings stirring in my chest. “I love you,” I said softly.

  He paused, as if astounded, then kissed me fiercely. “And I love you.” He started unbuttoning my blouse. “And I plan on showing you just how much every day, for the rest of our lives.”

  I smiled, tears welling in my eyes. “Sounds good to me.”

  Then I said no more as he finished tugging down my top and his mouth met mine in what I knew was one of many kisses to come.

  END OF BOOK ONE

  Curious to see what Sally and Hector are up to next? Turn the page for a sneak peek at their next adventure in Sinful, Book Two of Her Dark Desires.

  Coming early 2014

  Excerpt

  SINFUL

  *subject to slight changes in the final publication

  Things are looking up for succubus, Sally Sanders. She has the man of her dreams, delicious incubus, Hector Aurelius, and she finally has a job she cares about as a self-defense instructor at Elysian. But danger seems to have an appetite for Sally, and it’s coming back for seconds.

  When the dean sends Hector and Sally on a mission to a sister school to help “whip things in shape,” Sally and Hector quickly discover things are not as they appear. The students are odd, willful at times and zombie-like at others, and the headmaster, supposedly one of the most powerful vampires in the world, doesn’t seem to be very concerned about the situation at all - though he is keenly interested in getting into Sally’s pants. At the center of it all is a Red Witch named Carmen, a former protégé of Hector’s who seems hell-bent on getting him all to herself, even if that means killing everyone in her path - Sally especially - to accomplish just that.

  Vengeful crushes, handsome vampires, and romantic thrills await in the second installment in the Her Dark Desires series.

  Chapter 1

  His hand trailed up my thigh, sending a cascade of shivers across my bare skin.

  I sighed as he caressed me, my nails biting into the silk sheets of our bed. “Closer.”

  Hector’s lips gently kissed my jawline as he slowly lowered himself over me, grinding the tip of his swollen shaft against my aching sex.

  I moaned, arching my hips up, ready to beg him to take me.

  He chuckled and nuzzled my neck, the deep, wonderful sound rumbling through me. “You’re impatient tonight.”

  “Well, I haven’t gotten to see you this week. My schedule’s been so crammed, and Musashi is keeping me busy as more students enroll. Even with Angela’s help, it’s all I can do to keep up with their courses.” Hector also taught, as Musashi had promised, but it was during an opposite shift, so we rarely saw each other. If I wasn’t sleeping, he was, and vice versa.

  He put a finger to my lips. “What did we say about talking about work during sex?”

  I pouted. “Maybe if we were actually having sex, I wouldn’t want to talk.”

  One of his dark brows arched in amusement about the same time he drove himself into me.

  I gasped from surprise, moaning as he filled me up. God, it felt so good to feel him inside me, stretching my walls, stoking the growing fire within.

  He began pumping his hips in a steady rhythm as I loosened up. I grabbed his hips and adjusted my position so as to take him in more deeply.

  I cried out at the sharp burst of pleasure, and he growled, greedily taking one of my bare breasts in his mouth and sucking on it. It felt like ages since Hector and I had gotten to be with each other like this. I reveled in it, in the pure, carnal nature of our lovemaking.

  “Yes,” I rasped. “Harder. Faster. I want all of you.”

  I grabbed his hips and began pressing him against me, urging him to go faster and deeper. In one swift, fluid motion, he rolled us over so I was straddling him. He never lost the rhythm. I rode him, bucking my hips, stroking his long length with increased fervor. Energy began to siphon from us, him taking mine away only to have it pour back into me with each thrust.

  I could feel the fire in me burn hotter, increasing in intensity. My eyes closed shut as I focused on the sensations stirring within me.

  Hotter, faster. More. I want more.

  The temperature of the room suddenly felt as if it had gone up by about twenty degrees, but I didn’t care. All I could focus on was the feel of my love inside me, and the rising tidal wave of pleasure that burst with a few more fervent stokes.

  I threw my head back, screaming his name because I knew no one would hear, thanks to the soundproofing spell.

  Hector came shortly thereafter, and I slumped against him, our breathing hard.

  “That was something else,” he said huskily, still drunk off our climax. “You were a lot warmer this time, almost like - what the hell?!”

  My eyes fully snapped open, and I bolted upright.

  My jaw dropped.

  Our sheets were literally burning.

  Leaping off the bed before I could get burned, I stared at the burning silk.

  With a wave of his hand, Hector calmly doused the flames.

  I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. That’s right. In my panic, I’d forgotten Hector was a fire user, or a Red Warlock.

  The smell of burned material filled the air. “What the hell happened?” I asked.

  Hector’s dark gaze roved over the singed sheets, the frown on his face deepening. “I don’t know.”

  “You’ve never lost control before,” I said, stumped. “And we’ve had some pretty wild sex.”

 
; “That’s just the thing,” Hector said, his eyes meeting mine. “It wasn’t me.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  Just then, a knock interrupted us. The neat thing about Hector’s soundproofing spell was it allowed us to hear summons like this, while keeping our, um, sexual escapades quiet. “Professors Aurelius and Sanders? Dean Akimura would like a word with you.”

  I groaned. “Great. Exactly the witch I hoped to see,” I said, going to the closet we shared and pulling on a navy blue cotton dress. It had been three months since we defeated Damien, and spring was one of the welcome changes, mostly so I’d have an excuse to wear cute dresses.

  “Be nice,” Hector chastised playfully, getting up and also dressing. I watched him in the mirror, admiring the way the candlelight hit his lean muscles. “She’s the main reason we’re able to have a relationship at all,” he added.

  “I know,” I said, sprucing up my smeared makeup and mussed hair. “But I still don’t trust her.”

  “We don’t have much of a choice,” he said, coming up behind me and wrapping his strong arms around me, holding me close. He kissed the back of my neck, making me shiver with longing.

  “Careful,” I murmured, turning around and giving him a big kiss. “You’ll make me horny again.”

  “Good,” he said, nibbling my lip. “Then it’ll keep you ready for later.”

  I smiled. “I like the sound of ‘later.’”

  He took my hand and started toward the door. “Come on. You know Musashi doesn’t like to wait.”

  “What is it with deans being so impatient?” I grumbled, following him out the door. We’d had to wait on her plenty of times, but oh, no, we couldn’t afford to dawdle.

  He let go of my hand once we were in the hallways and in the sight of students and other faculty. Though Musashi didn’t mind our relationship, anyone else could report us to the board and that would be the end of “Hector and Sally’s Epic Love.”