Dark Obsession

by Sydney Somers

  “I’m fine.” She sounded like it anyway. At least that was something.

  Avoiding his gaze, she stepped back and turned away from him.

  Parker grabbed her hand. “Hey.”

  “No.” She wasn’t talking about it. Not to him. Not today. Rae didn’t have to pull hard to get him to release her. She figured out why that was when she reached the door and stepped into the stairwell.

  He wanted her contained, the determined look on his face three-quarters stubborn and one-quarter pure arrogant male.

  Typical.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “There’s nothing to tell.” Moving on had always been her best bet. Telling him hadn’t even crossed her mind when she’d been so determined to pretend she wasn’t any different than every other agent that had been cornered and changed by a demon.

  “Bullshit.” He sidestepped, blocking her access to the stairs.

  “No, bullshit is you standing there looking all offended when I don’t owe you any explanations.”

  “Is Lawrence Hurst your father?”

  It was the plea she heard in his voice that made the walls feel like they were closing in. God, she wanted to deny it, if only to prevent the sympathy she’d see on his face the second she admitted it.

  And where there was sympathy, disbelief and revulsion would follow. She’d seen the same reaction from dozens of people once the network had discovered what her father was working on.

  Friends of Adrian and her father, who had once looked at her like she was any other kid, became wary and appalled by her presence, as though she’d been tainted beyond saving and the condition was contagious.

  Only when she’d proven that what made her different could be an asset in the field had they stopped watching her as though they expected her to begin feeding on human emotions at any moment.

  Even years later, she dreaded trips to headquarters, knowing there would still be some who remembered the experiments and would give her a wide berth when she visited.

  She’d worked her ass off for years, determined to be more than the result of some experiment, and now Parker was standing there, demanding an answer that would undermine everything.

  “Talk to me, Rae. Please.”

  “The way you talked to me?” It was hitting below the belt to bring up the past, but it seemed to work. Parker backtracked a couple steps.

  “Oh that’s right, you didn’t talk to me, did you?” she pressed, eager to have something else to focus on other than feeling sorry for herself.

  “It’s not the same and you damn well know it.”

  “You’re right. I’m not so self-absorbed that I tuned out the rest of the world.”

  He flinched, but didn’t give up and leave her alone like she’d hoped. “Damn it, Rae, I lost my mother and sister.”

  “And I lost you.” It was out before she could take it back, and Parker took instant advantage of the slip, moving in until he had her backed against the wall.

  “Then don’t make the same mistakes I did. Don’t push me away.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek, the gentle touch at complete odds with the way he used his size and proximity to keep her from running.

  Her eyes slid closed, then she shoved him away. She couldn’t handle gentle right now, not when she felt like a house of cards one breath away from collapsing. “Back off.”

  He grabbed her arm when she tried to get past him, wrenching her back around and pressing his body into hers this time to keep her in place.

  There were at least a dozen maneuvers to neutralize him, to physically force him to release her. She just couldn’t remember what any of them were. Maybe it was talking about the past, or wanting to forget today’s turn of events, but the second his solid frame pinned her to the wall, a shock of heat sailed through her.

  Startled by the intense sensation, she wasn’t fast enough to silence the sharp catch of her breath, the sound echoing in the stairwell.

  Parker’s gaze snapped to hers, his eyes flaring with awareness.

  She shook her head, denying the burst of heat tunneling through her middle and sinking straight into her core even as she wanted to cling to it.

  He arched a brow, skeptical despite the slow, wicked smile that curved his lips. “I’ve been pushing you for weeks. Getting in your space, making it clear I want you in my bed, and you choose now to reciprocate?”

  “No.”

  “You usually sound more convincing when you lie to me.” He caged her wrists with his hands, trapping them at her sides. “I can sense how much you want me.”

  Even before he lifted his eyes to meet hers, she knew they would be ringed in silver, just as she knew no matter how much she denied anything at this point, he’d know the truth.

  She’d been lying about it for weeks, but hadn’t once lowered her guard enough to let him see it—until now.

  “Say what you want,” he murmured, his breath hot against her neck. “But we both know that if I slipped my fingers into your panties, I’d find you wet for me.” He opened his eyes, the green depths even darker when surrounded by the silver that dominated when he was extremely aroused.

  “You lost the right to touch me years ago.” She wasn’t sure who she was reminding of that or if it even mattered when she flexed her hips, silently willing him to rub his erection against her. She could feel his cock growing harder, pressing against her abdomen.

  “Is that supposed to scare me off, Rae? Or is this just your way of avoiding the subject of your father and the experiments?”

  She tensed, then he opened his mouth on her neck and she struggled to respond. “Do you care?”

  He released one hand to cradle her jaw in his palm, his grip firm without hurting her. “So much it hurts.” His lips brushed her ear. “Sooner or later you’ll tell me what happened, but right now—” his voice deepened to almost a growl, “—I need to touch you, need to make you come.”

  A thrilling shiver shot through her, making her nipples harden and ache. She loved the rough tone he reserved for telling her what he was going to do to her. Loaded with seductive authority, the wicked things he enjoyed whispering as he fucked her never failed to drive her to a mind-blowing release.

  He didn’t try to be slow or subtle by slipping a hand under her shirt. He went right for the buttons, tugging back the fabric. He cupped both breasts, rubbing his thumbs across the stiff tips that jutted against her simple cotton bra.

  “Your nipples are already hard for me, hungry for my mouth.”

  Her body clenched in silent agreement, bowing up to meet him when he lowered his head. He gently bit at her through the fabric, wetting her through until damp heat intensified the friction.

  She pressed her lips together to keep from crying out, which only made him suck harder.

  “You know I like to hear you, the sound of you enjoying what I do to you. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?” He nipped at her, daring her to lie to him again.

  “No.”

  “Good.” He hooked the edge of her bra, pulling it down until her nipple was free.

  This time when he swirled his tongue across the tip, she moaned softly, even as a small sliver of reasoning tried to creep in, warning her how crazy it was to let things go any further.

  Anyone could come looking for them, and they wouldn’t have to climb more than a flight or two until they heard Rae moaning in pleasure. Yet knowing they could be discovered, her shirt open, her breasts flushed, her nipples wet and swollen from Parker’s mouth, only made her hotter, wetter.

  She clutched his shoulders as he greedily pulled at her, dragging her between his lips.

  “How long, Rae? How long have you been pretending you didn’t want this?”

  She swallowed, thinking it over, unwilling to betray too much.

  He caught her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, teasing her until it became a decadent torture, every greedy tug licking an invisible trail right down to her clit. “Don’t lie,” he murmured, nipping the corne
r of her jaw. “Tell me the truth and I’ll slide my fingers between your drenched folds and make you come so hard you’ll need to scream into my mouth or give us away.”

  His hand fell away from her, and she whimpered in protest. “And if you don’t,” he added when he sensed her continued hesitation. “I stop now and walk away.”

  “Will you?” she challenged, knowing he saw through her taunt, knowing she’d always enjoyed goading the darkness in him, pushing him to unleash it. When he surrendered to it, she didn’t need to be so dependable or strong or brave.

  She just needed to be his.

  His grin turned wolfish and he slid a hand between them, rotating his palm in a soft grind that left her panting. “Do you really want to test me?”

  Chapter Six

  Ensnared, Parker dragged his gaze upwards, lingering on her breasts, before finally meeting her eyes.Need thrummed inside him, and beneath it the darkest parts of him stirred. Out of habit, he nearly released her and backed away. Since their breakup, he’d managed to satisfy his needs while keeping a tight hold on the urges imprinted by the lust demon that initiated him.

  The weeks before Rae left him had been the darkest in his life. For months he’d been so goddamned empty and numb.

  Sex had been the only way he’d felt a damn thing, the only way he knew he hadn’t died right along with his family. And Rae had never once refused him. Not the times when he’d pulled her to him in the night, pinning her beneath him and sliding deep inside her when they had barely spoken all day. Not even when she walked through the door after an assignment and he hadn’t wasted time with asking her how it had gone before he had her pants off and his zipper down.

  He wasn’t proud of the way he’d used her then, but he knew that connection—their only connection at the point—had probably been the only thing that had kept him from spinning right over the edge.

  It had been that connection that had finally snapped him out of it, the raging fever inside him hungering for a release that went unchecked because she’d been smart enough to leave him. He barely remembered those first few days without her, consumed with a lust he hadn’t been able to slake.

  And anger. He’d been so angry that she’d given up on him, he’d thought of nothing but tracking her down and satisfying every carnal need pummeling him, whether she was willing or not.

  That feral desperation had succeeded in scaring the shit out of him. When faced with being a slave to his out-of-control desire, he’d gotten a hold of himself—barely. The following weeks had been touch and go.

  A hundred times he’d picked up the phone to call her. A dozen times he’d gone to the airport with the intention of begging her to give him another chance. And each time he’d felt that whisper, taunting him to just take what he wanted, so he’d let her go.

  It had taken him years to find a way to satisfy his needs without unleashing that side of himself, and now that he had Rae in his arms, every savage urge to dominate her, to claim her in the most carnal ways steamrolled through him anew.

  He’d been so fucking stupid to believe that because he had held himself in check for the last two months that he didn’t have anything to worry about. The moment he’d sensed just how much she wanted him, the chain tethering it all inside him had snapped taut.

  He could feel the hot edges sliding through him, and it should have been enough to make him let go of her. Instead he clung tighter, tasting her on his tongue, feeling her damp heat against his palm.

  She rolled her hips forward, her sex rubbing his hand even as she shook her head. “You need to go.”

  Yeah, he knew it too. Just like they both knew he wasn’t going to budge an inch. Not without feeling her come.

  “Still want to test me?”

  She shook her head, quickly dropping her gaze, the gesture almost submissive except for the calculating gleam he had caught in her eyes seconds ago.

  “Good.” Keeping his hand between her legs, he bent and caught her nipple in his mouth, sucking slow and hard.

  Clutching his shoulders, Rae moaned in pure, feminine satisfaction.

  They hadn’t been together long before he had realized she enjoyed him losing control as much as he loved giving in. He’d paid a steep price to learn what happened when he surrendered entirely to the darkness inside him, but riding the sharp edge of it, feeling it ripple under his skin, was almost as good.

  He rocked up, cupping her nape and slanting his mouth across hers. Her lips softened under his, parting so he could slide his tongue inside. Christ, but she tasted incredible. All soft, brilliant heat and sinful temptation wrapped into one all-business demon slayer package. Heaven and hell, and capable of taking him to his knees over and over again.

  Her skirt didn’t put up much of a fight when he jerked it up. Every barrier between them needed to come down. Now.

  He traced the edge of her lace panties.

  “Not a good idea,” she breathed, though he heard the excitement in her voice.

  “You don’t get to decide.” He dragged his finger up the front of her, following the seam of her sex. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  “No.”

  He grinned. “I didn’t think so.” The elastic trim gave beneath his fingers, and his eyes almost rolled back in his head when he slipped a finger beneath and parted her slick folds. He’d known she would be hot and wet, but it had been so damn long.

  Raw need twisted through him, and he reached between them to ease the pressure behind his zipper. He ached to feel her come in his hands, feel her rock her sweet sex against his fingers.

  “Yes.” Rae bit her lip, arching as though to coax him to the exact spot she wanted him to touch.

  “Here?” He slid his fingers back and forth along her folds.

  “Higher,” she pleaded.

  Catching some moisture from her slick opening, he rubbed higher, the pressure light and teasing. “Still not good enough though is it? You want to me to touch your clit, don’t you? Play with it until I give you the best orgasm you’ve had in months, years.”

  He was arrogant enough to believe it, jealous enough he was completely committed to making it happen. The dark fever rising inside him wouldn’t have it any other way.

  As though hearing what he planned to do overwhelmed Rae’s senses, her legs squeezed together, cutting him off.

  He growled and wedged his thigh between hers, pushing them apart. She knew what she was doing to him, knew how to play him as easily as he could play her.

  To prove it, he circled the swollen flesh nestled between her folds.

  She whimpered, but bucked against him. “Faster.”

  Cupping her breast in his free hand, he skimmed his thumb across her nipple. “You’re close, aren’t you?” He pulled back, pushed at her opening with two fingers.

  “Parker.” Her voice caught on the last syllable as he pumped inside her, sinking deep.

  The clench of her tight wet walls around him kicked his pulse into the next gear.

  Rae had been right that this wasn’t the place, and that alone stopped him from freeing his aching cock. It would only take a second to shove her panties to the side and thrust deep inside her. Right now he couldn’t imagine a damn thing better than fucking her slow and deep against the wall.

  He didn’t care that she was using him to avoid what had happened today. He deserved worse for the way he’d taken her countless times with little thought of anything but getting them both off. Even now he struggled to suppress the need to find his own release, focusing solely on wanting to make her forget everything but him.

  Thoughts of watching her come undone and catching her when it happened were as much a drug to him as whatever the lust demon had passed to him. No one awakened it inside him the way Rae did. And with her vivid blue eyes smoking with heat, her gorgeous breasts crammed against his chest and her sex hugging the fingers he thrust in and out, he was unfuckingdeniably awake.

  He rubbed the pad of his thumb across her clit, and her breath caugh
t.

  Satisfaction churned inside him. “I feel it, Rae. I feel what I do to you, how much you like it when I fuck you with my fingers.” Could feel that and so much more, all of it soaking into his pores, igniting him like gasoline dumped on an escalating fire.

  “Yes.” Her eyes slammed shut, her nails sinking through his clothes to bite into his skin.

  He pressed her harder against the wall, strumming her clit ruthlessly as he took possession of her mouth. She moaned between breaths, her approaching climax skating across his awareness in hot spirals.

  “Oh God,” she breathed against his lips, and then everything went tight. Her grip on him, her body, her sex—all of it clutched and pulled as she came, rocking against him until the waves started to calm.

  One hand went to his zipper, the other pulling at her panties. In a heartbeat he was pressed up against her, the head of his cock sliding along her folds. Sweet Christ it was better than he remembered.

  She was so wet and hot that his brain cells might have short-circuited if the fever clawing to the surface didn’t sink its hot claws in him just then. He met Rae’s gaze, let her see what she did to him, what she always did to him, then pushed his cock against her snug opening.

  The blaring ring of a cell phone echoed in the stairwell, stopping him cold.

  Rae’s eyes snapped open, the desire there retreating slowly even as his thundered to finish what they’d started.

  “It’s yours,” she said simply, drawing a breath. “You should get it.”

  He almost didn’t, barely staked down the need to be inside her. She felt it too, her breath coming fast and hard when he couldn’t help but rub against her before easing away.

  His phone rang again. The moment he dug into his pocket for it, he felt Rae close herself off from him, and the resulting pain in his chest stole his breath. Pain that had nothing to do with lust or need, but knowing that whatever had made her reach for him had passed.

  The phone rang a third time as she moved away, tugging at her clothes.

  “Parker,” she began.

  “Don’t.” He knew a freaking brush off was coming and he’d be damned if he’d make it that easy on her. “I just need a minute. Don’t move.”