Her thumb lazily circled the engorged head, coating the top with the few drops of fluid that beaded at the tip of his cock. “Have you thought of me doing this?” She wrapped her fingers around his shaft, pumping slowly.
He flexed his hips, thrusting into her soft grip. He swallowed tightly. “Yeah.” More than once during their night at the resort she’d proven her mouth could make him shudder and groan until his throat felt scraped raw.
She continued to shuttle her closed fist up and then down. Drew closed his eyes. He lifted his hand, thinking they should talk as he’d planned when he’d shown up on her door, but tightened his fingers over hers, guiding her to stroke him faster. Harder.
Blair murmured something he didn’t catch, then took his mouth with hers. As her hand worked him over, her tongue speared past his lips. He buried his hand in her hair, holding her close to devour her more thoroughly. The taste of red wine lingered on her lips, and the kiss turned hungry.
“And what about this?” she whispered against his mouth, then bent to lick the swollen head of his arousal. Her damp lips closed over the tip, tugging mercilessly.
He gritted his teeth and pumped his hips upwards, sinking his cock a little deeper into the welcoming heat. Around and around, her tongue curled and laved, releasing him slowly only to suck him back in with long, hot pull of her mouth.
Jesus, he’d never been shoved so close to the edge so damn fast. It was all he could do to hold it together a little longer and not be reduced to a one-minute wonder. His insides shook, and his hips worked in tandem with every smooth swirl of her tongue and sweet tug of suction. He gripped the arm of the couch, a shout building in his chest. Her head bobbed, her tongue lashed, and her fingers pumped his shaft.
His shout of pleasure drowned out the wet slide of her mouth as release crashed over him.
A few moments later Blair crawled into his lap. “Stay with me tonight.”
His heart continued to hammer in his chest. He cupped her cheek. “I don’t know that I can give you what you need.” Though he wanted to—ached to—whatever it was.
She wet her lips and guided his hand between her legs. Her panties were already damp. “I don’t have a single doubt you are completely capable.”
Drew slipped a finger beneath the elastic trim and groaned at the feel of her warm, slippery folds. “That’s not what I meant.”
She bit at his bottom lip, sucking it slowly between hers. “If you’re worried you can’t keep up—”
Goaded, he rolled, trapping her beneath him on the couch. “Oh, I can keep up.”
Her lips curved into a daring smile. “Prove it.”
The sound of her phone ringing brought Blair awake. Reluctantly. Through blurry eyes she looked at the clock. Just after three in the morning. Her phone continued to ring and she tried to remember where she’d left it.
The kitchen? Or was it the living room?
Sleepy, she sat up, realizing she was alone in her bed. She had a vague recollection of Drew telling her he had to go and kissing her goodbye. How long ago had that been? Two hours? Ten minutes?
Her phone was still ringing when she dragged a T-shirt over her head and padded down the hall. She glanced at the caller display, answering before the caller could hang up. “Kenny?”
A burst of static echoed through the line, and she cringed, yanking the phone from her ear. His voice was distorted by the interference, but she made out, “I need to meet with you.”
“Now?”
Another sharp crackle over the line. “It’s important.”
She let out an indecisive breath, then went with her gut. “Our usual place?”
“It’s not safe,” he said quickly, his voice fuzzy and hoarse.
Not safe? Blair frowned. “Is everything okay?” She tried walking around her apartment to get a clearer connection. Nothing helped.
“Can you meet me downtown by your office?”
“Yeah.” Kenny must be sitting on something big if he was willing to meet her there. “Give me twenty minutes.”
Kenny ended the call.
She closed her hand around her phone, a niggling apprehension overshadowing the anticipation of learning what Kenny had for her. She replayed their conversation in her head as she changed, wondering what made her hesitate to meet him. The older man was harmless and this wouldn’t be the first time they’d met on his cloak-and-dagger terms.
She snagged her keys and purse, locking her apartment behind her. By the time she reached her building’s back parking lot and was halfway to her car, her excitement over a potential break in the Holson story was fading fast.
Why? What felt off about this?
She hadn’t taken three more steps toward her car when she caught movement in her peripheral vision. Even at the late hour, she dismissed the person headed for the building as another tenant and dug through her pocket for her cell phone. She’d call Kenny back, get more details from him.
“Blair Murphy?”
Hearing her name, she turned, a blur of movement tracking fast across her vision. She moved instinctively to the right to avoid a collision with the man who stepped directly in her path, realizing belatedly he’d meant to hit her.
He snagged her shirt when she whirled from him, and hauled her backwards. An icy fear drenched her throat, and she drove her shoulder into her attacker to knock him off balance.
He was too fast.
Drops of rain began to splatter her face, and she blinked through wet lashes, wrenching at the unbreakable grip he had on her. It was then she noticed his eyes. Deep, black pools surrounded by an eerie ring of red.
She tried in vain to scramble away, the malicious expression on the man’s face making her movements feel loose and awkward. His arms came around her from behind, and she knew she was seconds from the pressure on her lower ribs incapacitating her. She slammed her hands down on his wrists, and dropped into a squat. He tried readjusting his grip, but she’d already planted her feet and turned into him, yanking his arm across her body and pulling hard.
The momentum carried him over her shoulder, but she wasn’t able to avoid being taken to the ground with him. She rolled away from him, pushing to her knees. A hard shove from behind knocked her breathless and silenced the scream that had rocketed up her throat.
Her palms bit into the wet pavement as she fought to get back on her feet. She was too vulnerable here. The wind had kicked up, slashing the rain at her, and her heart raced with the fear no one would hear her scream over the booms of thunder that exploded overhead every few seconds. A burst of adrenaline carried her to her feet, but she didn’t get far before her attacker snared a fistful of her hair and thrust her forward, knocking her into the side of a parked car.
Pain exploded down her face and side. An alarm started to screech. People would hear it. Someone would come. Blair clung to that shred of hope, swaying on her feet. Her vision was thick and fuzzy and the bitter taste of blood ran across her tongue.
Her attacker raised his arm, and a glint of light caught the knife in his hand. Blair thrust her arm up defensively at the same time the knife slashed downward.
He knew he couldn’t sit here all night. Drew leaned forward, rested his forehead on the steering wheel. There shouldn’t have been anything to stop him from turning the key he’d jammed into the ignition twenty minutes before. Nothing except wishing he didn’t have to leave Blair’s bed. The minute that fact had become apparent, he’d gotten the hell out of there.
And sitting out here in his Jeep, alone, was so much better.
On top of the two most obvious reasons not to get involved—his friendship with Brax and needing to get the rest of his life back on track—he didn’t do long-term dating. Not because he wasn’t interested, but women rarely stuck around when they realized he wasn’t reliable. He had to cancel dates when assignments came up or couldn’t make plans until the last minute to avoid having to cancel them to begin with. Neither of which was popular with any woman he’d met. He liked Blair too mu
ch to hurt her like that.
Hooking up with her was setting them both up for disappointment, but still he couldn’t make himself start the Jeep and drive away. He’d lain in the dark for a long while, listening to the soft rhythm of her breathing, rolling more than once to his side to watch her. She’d roused enough to catch him staring at one point. Smiling sleepily, she’d snuggled closer, snaking her limbs around his until he could barely move. She’d felt too good to consider moving an inch. Dangerous territory for a man struggling to find a reason to stay when he doubted anything good could come from them continuing to see each other.
So he’d given her some lame excuse and left her bed—and regretted the sensible decision the second he walked out the door. Practically the norm for him lately.
Fat drops of rain splattered the windshield, snagging his full attention. Rumbles of thunder came next, followed by the sounds of a struggle that pushed to the forefront of his senses.
He shoved his door open, concentrating on pinning down the direction, then bolted for the driveway next to Blair’s apartment building. The rusty grunts of pleasure would have given the storm demon away if the temperamental weather hadn’t, but he didn’t take the time to turn back for his sword. The small daggers strapped to his leg—which he’d struggled to discretely remove earlier without Blair noticing—and the one at the small of his back would have to be enough.
Sprinting up the alley, he ripped at his shirt to get to the small scabbard beneath it. He spotted the demon first, a dark wet shape with its back to Drew.
“Hey,” he called out, wanting to take the hostile’s attention from its victim. The demon’s arm was poised to strike, a sacrificial dagger clutched in its fingers.
As the storm demon turned, Drew got a clear view of the victim.
His heart kicked through his ribs. Blair?
He saw the look of stark fear on her face, and for a second his feet stuck to the cement. Then instinct took over, and he ignored the panic that thickened the walls of his chest. Kicking his emotions to the back burner was the only way he could trust himself to focus solely on the hostile. To do otherwise would give the demon an edge Drew couldn’t afford.
He shot forward, needing to get between the demon and Blair. Had it been any other Destroyer but him or Quinn who had come along, they would have been too late to deflect the murderous slash of the demon’s dagger. The creature’s sadistic grin wobbled as their blades struck. Normally Drew enjoyed watching the hostile flinch from the first blow, realizing it wasn’t facing an unarmed or ignorant human this time. But not tonight.
Deflecting another shallow slice with one hand, Drew tried to break the hold the demon had on Blair. The demon was smart enough to use her to keep Drew from getting too close. It wasn’t the first time a hostile had used someone he knew and cared about as leverage, but this time that someone didn’t have Quinn’s speed or Jordan’s ability to heal, or Darcy’s telepathic skills to even the odds.
Blair needed him. Needed him to stay focused. Calm.
With a sharp slash to keep the demon’s blade away from Blair, he pivoted around, using his weight to knock the demon off balance. Another blow to the demon’s leg and swift kick to the lower back made the hostile’s grip falter enough that Blair could jerk loose.
“Run!” Drew braced as the demon swiveled to face him, a sharp slash of its dagger cutting his shirt.
Blair seemed rooted in place, then she bolted, yelling for help.
The demon staggered under the power of three swift blows but managed to evade Drew’s attempt to bury the blade in its throat. The storm raged around them, making it more difficult for him to keep a tight grip on the smaller weapon, and the hostile was counting on that as an advantage.
That and the second hostile he heard coming at his back.
He pivoted, forced to release his hold on the storm demon as he whipped around to assess the second threat. The stealth demon didn’t seem to be expecting a fight, and he used that advantage to lunge to the side at the last minute, taking out the newcomer with a well-placed slash of his dagger that caught the demon in the neck.
The bloodless body pitched forward. Blair screamed.
The first hostile caught up to Blair and snagged a fistful of her hair.
Too late.
The certainty hissed through his mind before he managed another step in her direction. Too late to stop the storm demon who had its blade at her back.
Blood roared through his brain, drowning out every sound but the frantic breaths Blair sucked in.
“No!” He darted forward anyway, heard the blade sink into her skin, watched the look of terrified agony imprison her features in a horrific tableau.
The storm demon drew its arm back to stab her again, but Drew was on him, driving his own blade down to sever the creature’s hand.
She staggered against a parked car. He turned to catch a hold of her only to be knocked to the side by the storm demon.
The hand Blair pulled from her side was drenched in blood. A sob broke past her lips half a second before she felt a searing heat rip through her body. She shot a hand out to catch herself as she stumbled. Her bloody palm slipped on the already wet car and she went down hard, crying out on impact.
She didn’t know how long she lay motionless, the cold rain beating down on her as she sucked in each breath through her teeth, knowing she had to get up. Seconds? Minutes? She blinked through the sheen of tears that had sprung to her eyes, only to find her vision was dimming even further. She had to get up. Had to get help.
Help.
Drew?
She whimpered at the pain that clawed through her middle as she planted her hand on the pavement to push herself up. The agony in her back spread until her whole upper body fluctuated between hot and cold.
She tried again, stopping when she sensed more than heard movement close by.
Almost directly in front of her, Drew fought her attacker, his defensive maneuvers so sharp and quick she could barely follow them. She blinked to clear her vision, denying the speed she witnessed even as she knew it was more than some trick of her traumatized mind.
Have to get up.
She regained her footing but only managed a few steps before staggering again. The dark and rain cloaked her surroundings, distorting even the simplest shapes until she wasn’t sure even where she was. The world tilted, muted colors running together until her knees buckled.
Where had Drew gone? Fear lined her throat like a layer of arctic ice, but she couldn’t pull herself up. Her hand hit something cold to the touch, and she shrank back from the decapitated man that had come at Drew from behind.
Her heels bit into the pavement as she propelled herself away from the body. She froze, her heart pounding viciously.
No blood.
The realization processed seconds after she’d dragged her gaze from the corpse. Her vision was already shutting down on her when she took a second look. She could barely keep her eyes open, struggling to piece together what she was seeing.
No blood.
Impossible. Blair dropped to her side, struggling against the urge to close her eyes, just needing to catch her breath. The pain in her back was fading and soon she’d be able to get up. It was just the blood loss that made her…
She forced her eyes open, focusing on the puzzle in front of her, clinging to it. Her own blood soaked her clothing, and yet none pooled on the ground around the man’s body. Not anywhere she could see.
Through slit eyes she saw Drew get slammed into the car next to her. Retreating footsteps registered in the back of her head, then other voices. Fading voices.
Then Drew was beside her.
A burst of blue light shimmered behind him, and she recoiled, reaching futilely to pull Drew out of the way.
“Easy,” he warned. “Everything’s okay now.”
The sparks of light faded as fast as they’d appeared, and she started to shut her eyes.
“Blair?” Drew’s voice sounded thick and distorted
, as though her head was partially submerged.
“I’m okay.” The words came out faint and sleepy.
Drew tipped her face toward him. “Look at me.”
She shook her head, her lids coming down over her eyes. Too tired.
“Hey now, stay with me.”
“Hurts. Sleepy.” And cold. She shivered but hadn’t the strength to move any closer to him.
“No. Come on, Blair. You can rest later.”
“Maybe,” she mumbled, but all she heard was the distant sound of sirens.
Too late.
His arms came around her, and for a moment everything felt okay.
A tingling started somewhere deep inside of her, the buzz of it racing along her nerve endings.
And everything went black.
Chapter Six
“Where is she?”Drew looked up and saw Braxton in the doorway. The raw edges around the other agent’s eyes were tight with worry.
Drew stood, setting aside the coffee that had gone untouched. He’d poured it needing to have something to do as he waited for any news on Blair. “She’s in surgery.”
He’d given up trying to listen beyond the waiting room walls for her name to be mentioned. There were too many voices and noises to sift through, and all he’d gained for his efforts was a migraine that managed to make him forget about the other aches and abrasions from his encounter with the storm demon.
The one that had gotten away. Leaving Blair’s side to pursue it hadn’t been an option. Not when she’d collapsed on the ground, bleeding. He closed his eyes and flexed his hands. He’d scrubbed them clean shortly after arriving but hadn’t been able to wash away the sensation of her blood coating his skin. More stained his clothes, earning him nervous glances from the hospital staff, but he hadn’t cared enough to try and find anything else to change into. Not until he knew Blair was in the clear.
“What the hell happened?”
“Shadow Demon. Outside her apartment.”
“You led one to her?” Anger sharpened Braxton’s voice.
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