When Darkness Reigns

by Trina M. Lee

  All too quickly I was reminded that power always comes at a price. My dark side had been awakened, and it demanded to be sated. I’d known there was a risk in wielding the entity like a weapon. I hadn’t anticipated that it would strip me down to my most basic of dark urges.

  One second I was pondering what to do about Shya’s sudden disappearance and wondering if maybe now Lilah would accept defeat. As I noted that Salem didn’t hang around to lick his wounds in front of us, I was rocked with a gut-wrenching lust for blood, sex, and death.

  I don’t remember lunging at Shaz, but I do remember Falon intercepting my attack. It had been some time since I’d fallen so deep into the abyss that I couldn’t climb back out. I threw myself at Falon, knocking him to the ground so I could straddle him. He fumbled to catch my hands as I pawed and groped at him, trying to get his clothes off.

  “A little help here, Arys,” Falon snapped, fighting to keep himself dressed. “Stop your wolf before she turns this into another gang bang.”

  “Does three of you and one of me constitute a gang bang?” I chuckled mischievously, darting my tongue out to lick Falon’s lip. “I’d have guessed four or more.”

  Arys grabbed me from behind, hauling me off Falon. “Come, my love. Let’s get you back to The Kiss where you can safely work this out of your system.”

  “What the hell is wrong with her?” Annoyed, Falon slapped at his pants, frowning at a smudge of dirt on one leg. “I thought fixing your flame was supposed to prevent this shit.”

  “It prevents us from self-destructing and killing one another. The darkness is still in there, all the time. You said so yourself.” Arys pulled me close, letting me adorn him in lusty kisses. “She just tapped dark-flame power. She might have used the light to guide it, but the dark side still demands its due. And you know what that means for us.”

  “Oh, fuck me,” Falon muttered.

  “Yeah that’s a good possibility,” Arys snickered. His humor was not shared by the angel. “We’re going to have to bring her back down. Ready to serve your queen?”

  The bloodlust and darkness rode me hard, demanding that I take what I needed from them. Arys grabbed my shoulders and held me at arm’s length. After searching my wild eyes, he shook his head and steered me along to the car.

  Shaz drove while Arys did all he could to keep me from lunging at him. Much to his dismay, Falon was forced into the back with us, helping Arys wrangle me into submission.

  Trapped between my two most powerful lovers in the roomy backseat, I was giddy with excitement. I’d have them both and they would love it. “It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, but I think we can make it work.” My hands wouldn’t quit. From Arys’s hard chest to Falon’s strong arms, I couldn’t stop touching them.

  Falon caught my wandering hands when I reached between the seats for Shaz. “I don’t know what you’re picturing, but stop it right now.”

  The blood pumping through Falon’s veins drew me. So alive, so powerful. I needed all of him. “I’m picturing your cock inside me and your blood in my mouth,” I murmured, leaning in to nip at his ear. His resistance only made me want him more.

  Falon’s pulse sped up when I succeeded in dragging my tongue over the throbbing vein in his neck. Try as he might to resist, he couldn’t keep from turning his head to kiss me. Delving into my mouth with his tongue, Falon gave a frustrated groan.

  By the time we pulled into The Wicked Kiss’s parking lot I’d stripped down to my underwear like a drunk high school girl and lay across both Arys and Falon. With my head in Falon’s lap, I clung to his neck as he kissed me hungrily. Arys ran his hands along my bare legs, up and over my panties, making me growl with need.

  Shaz parked the car in the back of the parking lot. He tossed the keys on the front seat and said, “I’ll leave her to you two. I don’t think it’s safe for me to stay.” Then he bailed out like a bat out of hell.

  Since he’d already given blood tonight, he was likely right about that. He closed the door and crossed the lot to the club’s front entry. Shaz had enough issues with his addiction to the bite. No need to exacerbate his hungers with mine. Not when it could so easily go too far. I wasn’t in the right headspace.

  Falon’s hand squeezed my breast, and he snarled into my mouth, “I’m not fucking you, wolf.” Oh, he wanted to. He just didn’t want Arys along for the ride. Too late.

  The bulge in Falon’s pants suggested that he very much wanted to fuck me. I sat up between them, working his belt in a mad effort to feel his hard on nestled in my tight grasp. “That’s fine. Sit right there then and I’ll fuck you.”

  Arys hooked my panties with two fingers and dragged them down my legs. Rubbing my wetness, he teased my clit. I squirmed against him, needing more than either of them were giving.

  With a furious and irrational hunger, I freed Falon’s cock from his pants. With my head in his lap, I hungrily sucked it into my mouth. His sharp intake of breath brought a swell of satisfaction. When his hands slipped into my hair, I knew I had him right where I wanted him.

  Arys wasted no time slipping his jeans down and tugging my ass into his lap. Angling toward me, he grabbed my hips and thrust inside me. Sprawled across the backseat, connected to the two of them, I felt the first scratch soothe my ravenous itch.

  The backseat might have been spacious, but it was still a tight fit for three people screwing. Arys didn’t have much room to move, but it didn’t stop him from thrusting deep, making me cry out around Falon’s cock.

  I glanced up to find them both watching me, Arys with carnal delight and Falon with agonized pleasure. It killed my fallen angel that he wanted me so bad he would share me with Arys. But then again, it hardly compared to the mark on my neck. A quickie threesome in the back of my car didn’t speak nearly as loud as the sacrifice he’d already promised to make.

  Tilting my head back to hold Falon’s silver gaze in the beam of a streetlight, I slowly pumped a hand up and down his shaft. He brushed the hair out of my face, his fingertips lingering on my cheek in a tender caress.

  Dipping my head back down, I dragged the tip of my tongue around the soft, sensitive head of him. The way Falon trembled at my touch satisfied more than my succubus hunger. It fulfilled the part of me that was just woman, passionate and emotional. And far too easily attached.

  Arys pulled out and gave my ass a nudge, wanting me to change up the position. For a guy who didn’t share well, he was pretty great at sharing. None of that made sense and yet it did. Arys Knight, ever the enigma.

  I climbed on top of Falon, finding his expression pinched and hard to read. Reaching a hand down between us, I impaled myself upon his gorgeous erection. With both hands on my hips he pulled me down and thrust up at the same time, hitting hard and deep upon entry. I almost hit my head on the low roof, and he chuckled.

  Next to us Arys watched, working himself with a hand. From the way I clutched a handful of Falon’s hair to the aggressive way he thrust up into me, Arys devoured it all. So thick was his arousal on the air that I could taste the erotic musk of it.

  We both wanted the same thing. For Falon’s blood to spill.

  In response to the aggression in his touch, I jerked Falon’s head to the side, holding his gaze. Seeking and finding the desire for my bite. Though he never admitted to enjoying the times when I took his blood, I knew he did. It was a way of turning the tables, me penetrating him for a change, so to speak. We both got off on it, though me likely a little more so than him.

  I went for Falon’s jugular knowing the wounds would heal moments after I withdrew my fangs. So I kept them buried in his flesh, inflicting pain and pleasure. My name was a ragged groan on Falon’s lips as he gripped my ass tight enough to leave bruises.

  Slowly I withdrew my fangs, sucking at the bloody wound for the precious few seconds I could. Stealing just a small taste. Fireworks went off in my brain sending shocks of light and color dancing in my vision.

  Arys leaned in to grasp the back of my neck, forcing my mouth t
o his. Invading my mouth with his tongue, he tasted Falon’s blood. My hand drifted down between us, finding his rock solid hard-on, fisting it with exactly the pressure I knew he liked.

  While Arys kissed me with a drowning passion, Falon’s rhythm beneath me soon quickened beyond a pace I could easily match. Raising my hips so he could move faster and thrust harder, I worked Arys into a frenzy with my hand.

  If anyone had told me three people could climax at the exact same time, down to the second, I doubt I’d have believed it. Even when Arys and I were with Shaz, it tended to be grouped close together but not in the same heartbeat of time. I twitched on top of Falon as he filled me with his release and the warmth of Arys’s pleasure filled my hand. The atmosphere seemed to shriek from the force of the three of us.

  Or maybe that was me.

  I broke off the kiss with Arys to press my lips to Falon’s. His hands trailed down my body to affectionately pat my ass. Once the last of the aftershocks had subsided, I climbed off him and did the unceremonious search for the wet wipes and restaurant napkins that had piled up in the car over time.

  Headlights flashed in my eyes as a vehicle turned into the lot. A blacked-out SUV to be specific.

  “Oh shit,” I muttered, reaching for my clothes. “My sister is here.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Five minutes after my sister disappeared inside, I hurried in, finger combing my hair. Arys and Falon ambled along behind me, each at their own pace. I might have stolen Lilah’s entity, but she was still on the loose. Still a threat we had to deal with. Staying close together might not be something the guys appreciated, but it was necessary.

  Juliet sat at the bar with Shaz, having a drink. Even as I approached I could tell she was sneaking glances across the room at Jenner. I was surprised to see she’d come alone.

  I could feel Willow and Gabriel in the vicinity but didn’t see them. Jez had checked in by text message twenty minutes ago. She and Smudge were watching the city streets, doing all they could to track any trace of Lilah or Salem. I’d have to text back and tell her to add Shya to that list. We needed eyes on him.

  For the moment, everyone I cared about was safe. One might think that would allow me to relax for five minutes, but I knew better than that.

  I didn’t know much about the bond I’d just formed with the entity. For instance, could I tap it from a distance? From anywhere? Or did I have to be standing on the haunted hospital’s property? I sure as hell wasn’t about to try it to find out right now.

  As soon as I drew close to Juliet, I smelled a wound. And she felt like Briggs. I could feel him all over her, like a fungus, growing where it didn’t belong. My temper surged but I reined it in, glad I’d just worked a whole lot of darkness out of my system.

  I stepped up beside Juliet and lightly touched her elbow. “Hey, what brings you by? Not that you aren’t welcome, of course.”

  “Just thought I’d stop in for a drink since it’s on the house.” Juliet tipped her frosty beer bottle toward me. “And maybe ask you why you warned me away from HQ tonight. What’s going on?”

  My gaze roamed over her, seeking her injury. She’d willingly given blood to Briggs so maybe it shouldn’t have set me off the way it did. Yet her overall vibe made me uneasy.

  “I went to claim Lilah’s empire so she never can.” I gave her the short version. “It’s not enough to keep her from being a threat, but it’s a pretty good start. Let me know if you see anything in the area that I should be aware of or if the entity causes any more chaos in the building.”

  On Juliet’s other side Shaz turned on his barstool. Arys sauntered up, a little extra swagger in his stride. The vampire didn’t give Shaz a chance to speak before he laid a sexy as hell kiss on him. Momentarily dumbfounded, I stared in appreciative wonder. I would never get tired of that view.

  Juliet’s head swiveled around to follow my gaze. When she spotted the two men in a steamy liplock, she turned back just as fast, cheeks flushed. It wasn’t her fault that Arys’s presence would always evoke a response from her. It was Arys’s fault.

  “Will do,” she muttered, taking a sip of beer.

  She tapped long nails on the side of the bottle, squirming on her stool. Something was definitely up with her, and I didn’t think it was just the hot guy makeout session next to her. She was hiding something.

  Trying to get her talking about anything, to see if she’d open up on her own, I asked, “So what’s with all the manpower at HQ lately? Looks like you guys are bringing new people in.”

  “We are.” Seizing the chance to keep talking shop, Juliet surprised me by sharing FPA information. “The higher ups aren’t telling me everything anymore. Briggs is completely out, and they don’t trust me as much because I’m still involved with him. Personally, I suspect they’ve trained the new agents specifically for hotspots like this. They’ve lost too many rookies who weren’t prepared for this city.”

  I’d say. Our city was one of several locations around the world known for being a hub of dark power. Perfect for witchy rituals, demon-run black markets, as well as the fanged and the furry. Our power thrived in places like this. Much darkness had been birthed here and the local ties to the underworld ran deep. Edmonton might not boast anything as otherworldly as a hellmouth or a powerhouse ley line running down Main Street, but it’s underworld certainly made the list of dark and deadly wonders.

  “So the city is a special ops location now? What does that mean for the rest of us?” I would hope that the FPA had learned to leave me alone by now. After all, their agent came after me with his mad science agenda, and that had gotten so many of their people killed. If they left me alone, I’d leave them alone. Otherwise, I’d make them all sorry they chose my city.

  “More of the same, I assume.” She shrugged and tucked a wavy brown lock behind her ear. “Rounding up vampires and shifters who get caught hunting or hurting civilians. Black magic witches performing human sacrifices. The usual. Keep your activity inside your nightclub, and they won’t have any reason to look at you, Lexi.” She squinted, concern in the lines of her brow. “Don’t get worked up. You’ve got that look in your eyes.”

  “Are they blue?” I asked, pretty sure they were blue. The wound I could smell and the vampire I could feel all over her, both still teased my darkness. Not to mention whatever she was hiding.

  “Yeah, they’re blue more often than not when I see you.” Sipping from her beer, Juliet slid me a sidelong glance. “It still freaks me out.”

  “It still freaks me out too. Everything about this woman does.” Falon butted into our conversation as he shoved in on my other side, seeking another drink. He’d sobered somewhat since first arriving, but I wasn’t liking this drunk-all-night routine he seemed to be going for.

  Juliet rolled her eyes and smiled. She didn’t have a problem with Falon, and why would she? He’d saved her from experiencing Arys’s worst side. I couldn’t look back on that night without shuddering when I thought about what Arys would have done to her.

  I pinched Falon’s side, smiling when he yelped. But I’d grown impatient with Juliet’s casual mode. I wanted to know what’s up.

  Jerking my head toward the red sofa, I said, “Let’s go sit somewhere more comfortable. I could use a few minutes of girl time.”

  If Juliet knew my intent, she didn’t show any reluctance. She followed me around the bar to the couch. A couple making out on one end of it vacated when I sat down. Juliet took the middle cushion next to me, angling her body toward me, but her gaze kept darting around the club.

  Based on the way she smoothed her hair into place, arranging her curls to hide her neck, I knew where the wound was and why it smelled so strong and fresh. “Did you just pop in to talk shop, Juliet? Or is there something else we should discuss?”

  After the incident with Briggs and me during her last visit, I figured she had a lot on her mind. It also came as no surprise that Briggs was struggling to keep it together. It worried me more than I wanted Juliet
to know.

  Shoulders tight, she sat rigid, perched on the edge of the couch rather than relaxing into it. “I don’t know. I can’t stop thinking about what happened here the other night with Briggs. I mean, I knew what he wanted from you but to see it… I really had to believe it then.”

  I waited before speaking, certain she had more to say. When she drank from the beer and stared absently across the room at the dance floor, I tried for a gentle prod. “If I could take back the attachment between us, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

  “I know.” Nothing more came from her for a painfully long minute. Her gaze followed Jenner as he made his way toward Arys, stopping to flirt with a woman who all but threw herself in his path. “Falling for Briggs was a mistake long before you turned him. This was never going to end well.”

  Now we were getting somewhere. Having my sister confide in me, even a little bit, it flashed me back to our childhood. Before our world changed. When we still found comfort in each other.

  “I’m sorry, Ju. I think we all have that guy in our past.” And how. My mind went to Raoul and I cringed. “At least yours wasn’t Mom’s lover first.”

  She laughed and had to pull her drink away before she choked on it. “Yeah, you win that one. No contest. But mine isn’t in my past. Not yet.” Finally she dragged her gaze to mine. “I don’t know what to do, Lexi.”

  My heart broke for her. Nobody else could decide for her, and I had nothing useful to add. “I wish I could help you. I’m sorry.” At her gentle tremble I knew what she was hiding. “He hurt you, didn’t he?”

  I had to say it. She was my family despite our differences. I still loved her, and I needed her to be honest with me and herself.

  “Yeah, he did.” Slowly Juliet’s deep brown eyes filled with tears. “We were arguing. There was a lot of tension. He just snapped. I fought him off and he left. I haven’t seen him since.”

  My hands shook, and I tried to quell the sudden severe need to tear Briggs limb from limb. He never should have been alone with her. Did this happen when I claimed the entity? Had my darkness tipped my most fragile vampire over the edge?