“Grayson!” Nika sounded far off—out of harm’s way—and he’d keep it that way.
“Get to the trees!” He spun on one knee to face Isabel and swung. He connected with her jawbone, but no talons, no damage. New goal: get Nika out of there. Any other distractions from her and he’d didn’t have a chance in hell. He couldn’t fight an Arch-demon without the beast. Not for long anyway. “Nika, go!”
A wing plunge toward his heart, but he knocked it away before the tip pierced his heart. Frantic bootsteps headed for the cabin’s front door. Looked like she’d actually listened to him, but had most likely gone to get more ammo. Wouldn’t put it past her. Isabel targeted Nika as she ran full force across the cabin’s porch. No way in hell. Clamping onto the edge of the demon’s right wing, he leveraged one foot against Isabel’s side and pulled. The sound of a wet tear sent a shudder down his back, but he didn’t let go until the entire wing had separated from its owner’s body. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“No!” Isabel’s shriek into the night pimpled goosebumps along his skin. Hatred caught fire across her red gaze as she turned on him.
“Now it’s a fair fight.” He dropped the thin, papery wing. A quick study of the porch revealed Nika had disappeared inside. Good. Because the beast was ready to play and it wouldn’t differentiate between Isabel and an innocent. He channeled the heat and adrenaline straight down to his core, where the monster he kept caged resided. A growl ripped up his throat. Bones snapped and relocated as his ribcage and chest widened. His clothing ripped from his arms and legs as he grew taller, broader. Scalp prickling, the horns he hadn’t released in over a year fought to break through the thin barrier. His mortal skin broke as protective bone punctured through.
His prey stared up at him—at the beast—and stumbled back two steps. Isabel assessed him, all seven feet of bone and horror, and narrowed her gaze. A smile spread over her elongated incisors. “No, now it’s a fair fight.” She jumped, sinking her talons around his shoulder blades, and clamped tight.
The pain didn’t register. Only the pulse at the base of the demon’s neck, only the power in her blood. He could do a lot with that power. He could be free of the cage Grayson had locked him up inside. The little demon sank her teeth into his shoulder, just as she had with his mortal. He gripped the base of her neck and wrenched her free with one arm. Blood dripped from her torn shoulder blade to the dirt at his feet as he held her mid air.
She bared her elongated teeth like a rabid dog and swiped at him without landing a single hit. “You can’t kill me, Grayson. No one but the Deceiver can.”
“I’m not Grayson.” He collapsed his arm to bring her close. His mouth watered for a taste of the Arch-demon’s blood. He locked his jaw onto her shoulder. His teeth sank deep and a combination of sulfur and power tantalized his senses. An eye for an eye. The Arch-demon’s wound for his mortal’s. Pure energy rushed over his tongue and down his throat. He closed his eyes and drowned in the influx. Power rushed through his veins. Wave after wave of electricity singed his nerve endings and infused with his blood. His hand relaxed and the Arch-demon dropped to the ground. He had no other need for her. Opening his eyes, he reveled in the newfound strength building inside. He’d never experienced anything like it. So much control. So much power. Grayson would never be able to lock him away again.
Movement on the cabin’s front porch captured his attention. He spun for another fight, but froze. She stood there, gun aimed at his head, mouth and blue eyes wide. His mortal. The pulse at the base of her neck thumped unevenly and too fast. Faster than safe. He didn’t like that. Fire coiled behind his sternum. Her skin prickled along her arms. She looked...afraid.
The little demon lay frozen at his feet. The demon wasn’t a threat anymore.
“Who are you? Where’s Grayson?” His mate positioned her stance wider as she backed across the porch. No. Too much distance. A growl vibrated up his throat. She froze. Her hands shook with the effort of keeping her silly weapon steady. “What did you do with him?”
Grayson. Is that all she cared about? He curled his talons inward. The Arch-demon’s energy sang through his veins as he studied his hands. Not hands. Talons. Shock overrode his control. His gaze shot to his mate’s blue eyes as he stumbled back. One step. Then two. She was...she was afraid of him? Pain pierced through his heart with each step wedged between them. The fear in her expression engrained itself at the back of his mind as he spun toward the tree line. She didn’t want him? But she was his mate.
Trees and rocks rushed past in a blur. The Arch-demon’s energy waned the deeper he fled. She was his mate. She belonged to him. His legs grew tired. Bone and power disappeared as his mortal form took shape. Grayson collapsed to his hands and knees. Dirt worked deep into his lungs as he struggled to breathe through the pain of shifting. Son of a bitch that hurt. He stared up into darkened surroundings. Where the hell was he? Where was Nika? Flashes of Isabel’s red eyes played across his memory. He’d taken her on. Nika had gone inside the cabin...
The beast. He’d given into the power the Deceiver cursed him with, the power that didn’t know the difference between evil and innocent—
“Nika.” He launched to his feet and ran as fast as he could, closing in on the warm light coming from inside the cabin several hundred feet in the opposite direction. Branches and shrubbery scraped at his over-sensitized skin, the air too thin, but he pushed harder. If the beast had hurt her, he’d spend the rest of his days hunting the Deceiver for doing this to him. He broke through the tree line. No movement. No body. No Isabel. “Nika!”
He climbed the cabin’s front porch and burst inside. Panic clawed under his skin as he searched the bedroom and the bathroom. Son of a bitch. Where was she? “Nika!”
“Grayson?” Her muffled voice pushed relief to his nerve endings. He dashed back through the cabin and skidded to a halt outside the door. She broke through the tree line on his right. Sweat lined her forehead, dripping down her neck under her thin tank top. Her wide eyes locked on him and the world disappeared.
“Thank the Father.” He shot across the small clearing between them and tugged her into him, twisting her back against a nearby tree. Adrenaline shot through him as he inspected her entire body for injuries. Blood. Copper and salt tickled his nose. Her sweet scent rushed through his system with each desperate inhale. She pushed against him, but he only strengthened his hold on her. “Tell me what happened. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“You saw it too?” she asked. “What was that thing?”
Him. The beast inside. Their eyes met. Would she be able to see the monster through his lie this time? “Yeah, I saw it, but I didn’t stick around. It wanted Isabel, so I let him have her.”
He stroked the pad of his thumb over her arm. Cocooned in their own little space, his skin heated against hers. The weight of her undivided attention pressurized the air in his lungs. Damn it, he wanted her so bad his body ached. He thrust his hips into her to rebalance on the uneven ground and electricity shot through his groin. A small gasp from between her lips stirred the beast laying in wait. With her this close, his hands gripped onto her lean waist. Her mouth waited for him to close the two inches keeping them apart and he’d ground into her. A moan rumbled deep in her chest. Arousal urged him to do it again, to strip her down as he’d done in her apartment, and claim her once and for all. Dangerous situations did that to people, but this was different. This was...desperate. Her mouth parted, attention completely locked on him.
Making the choice to “die” had been the easiest thing he’d ever done. The Deceiver had offered him an eternity to hunt the damned, including the suspect who’d taken his last breath. But now, with Nika pressed against him, with her fire consuming his heart the longer they stay together, he’d yearned to undo it all. Screw justice. He wanted her—needed her—forever.
His heart rate pounded at the back of his head as he crushed his mouth to hers. He hiked her calf around his backside and nudged into her core with his hi
ps. A moan reverberated low in her throat and he pressed himself into her again. The warmth that built between her legs tunneled through the shredded remnants of his clothing. Fire erupted in his lower abdominals as he twisted his tongue with hers. He drowned in her lavender scent, in her. His fingers tangled in her hair and he tugged her head back.
Throat exposed, she closed her eyes and set the crown of her head against the tree at her back. “This is crazy. Isabel’s—”
“Injured. She won’t come back tonight.” He licked up the side of her neck, strong cords tense under his tongue. Nibbling his way down her shoulder, he shoved one strap of her tank top off her shoulder and part way down her arm. The rounded edge of the top of her breast peaked out from beneath the thin material and his erection grew harder than he imagined possible. Her bare skin glowed in the filtered moonlight through the trees, but he didn’t need to see her body to make it sing.
“No, I meant I tied her to a tree a few feet from here,” she said in a breathless, desperate voice, but didn’t stop him from sliding his hand beneath the hem of her tank top. Christ, he loved her. No other mortal would’ve had the balls to restrain a full-fledged Arch-demon.
His mouth stilled for a moment. Son of a bitch, he loved her. When had that happened? Smooth skin dimpled under his touch as his fingers climbed higher. Strong abdominals and her strained ribcage dipped and expanded against his hand.
“Higher,” she said. “Just watch the cuts on my back.”
The blood. That damn hellhound had sunk his claws into her. He ripped his mouth from her, but couldn’t move. “Then we need to get you inside and check out those wounds.”
“No. I need you. Right now.” Her irises glittered as she pressed her hips into his.
“Then I’d be stupid to argue.” His thumb teased along the underside of her breast and he sank his teeth into her shoulder. Marking her. Making her his. For eternity. “You’re not wearing a bra.”
“Stop teasing and touch me.” She arched against his hand and he covered her breast with his palm. Sucking in a deep lungful of air, she tugged him closer with the calf wrapped around his low back. She had him trapped, right where he wanted. Her nipple hardened under his touch, reaching for him. “Now.”
He kissed and nibbled back up her neck and caught her lips with his. Digging his hands into the flesh of her athletic ass, he ground into her again. Blood rushed to his groin in heart-wrenching pulses as she groaned into his mouth. The vibrations rocked down his spinal column. He couldn’t hold back for long. He knew exactly what she tasted like and he’d craved her on his tongue ever since. He pinched the waistband of her jeans and popped the button free. Shoving his hand palm down into her jeans, he found her wet and ready. For him. He stroked over her bundle of nerves, circling, then dove deep into her, and around again. Slickness and heat coated his fingertips. All her. All Nika.
“Oh, God, yes.” She broke their kiss and gripped his back with both hands to steady herself. “More. I need more. Hurry. Please.”
Please. The last of his control shattered. He ripped his hand from her jeans and shoved the shredded remains of his slacks and boxer briefs to his feet. Every cell in his body yearned to be inside her. Even better? She didn’t want him to wait.
Fire erupted across his skin as she gripped the base of his erection and squeezed. She slipped her grip upward and a moan escaped from between his lips. Oh, God. She knew exactly how to drive him wild. Pressing her palm against his chest, she maneuvered him around and planted his back against the tree. She dropped to her knees. Shock parted his mouth as he stared down at her. “You’re going to need that tree.”
She surrounded him in the warmth of her mouth and circled her tongue around his tip. Friction built with the help of her teeth and electrified his nerve endings to the point he couldn’t tell fantasy from reality. How many times had he imagined her like this since the moment they’d met? His head hit the back of her throat and she grazed her teeth against him as she pulled back. He sucked in a hiss as his knees threatened to buckle. He dug his hands into the bark at his back. “Shit, you were right about the tree.”
Desire raced up his spine. He’d always enjoyed a little pain mixed with pleasure, but he wasn’t going to last long at this rate. He fisted his hands in her hair at the nap of her neck and forced her to look at him. “I need to be inside you. Right now.”
“I can follow that order.” She licked one long line along the vein on the underside of his erection. His abs contracted hard. No more teasing. No more waiting. Nika stripped herself of her jeans and tank top and tossed them at the base of the tree. And, damn, what a beautiful sight.
“You’re absolutely beautiful when I’ve got you turned on.” Gripping one hip, he positioned her back against the tree and hiked her leg over his ass once again. He lowered his lips to hers, gentle this time, then more insistent as his tongue parted her lips and rushed past her teeth. He pushed his hips in close, but only teased her folds with his head. Over and over, sending him into madness.
“I want this as much as you do and I’m tired of waiting.” She wrapped her hand around him and hiked her hip higher on his waist. She used him to penetrate her folds. Heat and slickness revved his arousal through the roof. He fit as though he’d been created specifically for her, but he didn’t stop to analyze how that was possible. With slow, sure movements, he tensed his quads and gluts and pumped into her.
He slid along her inner walls with ease and heightened the friction between them. Hands supporting her bottom, Grayson rocked into her. He increased the pace every few beats as he rebalanced onto the balls of his feet. Her nipples grazed against him as their skin met and rocketed his pulse higher.
An electric surge of pleasure overwhelmed his control and she arched into him. Flashes of lightning struck behind his eyes. Pain rippled down his back from his encounter with Isabel, but he pushed passed it. He covered her breast with his mouth, slowing his pace, winding her down, but Nika refused to back down now.
She met him thrust for thrust and forced him to lock his gaze with hers. Faster than he’d anticipated, his release overtook every thought in his head. Something inside broke the off-limits barrier he’d created between them and he exhaled hard from the intensity. That single sound seemingly undid her and threw her into her own release. Her inner walls contracted around him as though her body needed more. He certainly did.
His head pounded in rhythm with his heartbeat, their heartbeats uneven and desperate as they slowed. He pressed the palms of his hands on either side of her head to keep himself from collapsing against her. Sweat dripped down his neck and back, but he’d never been so comfortable in his life.
Nika struggled to catch an even breath. “That was...”
“Perfect,” he said.
“It’s not very comfortable, but I don’t want to move from this spot. Ever.” Her smile punctured through the haze of desire and release. “My legs feel like Jello.”
“Neither do I.” He stroked a stray piece of hair away from her face and thrust his hips deeper into hers. He’d already started hardening inside of her again. He gripped the tree bark as he whispered into her ear. “So it’s a good thing I haven’t finished with you yet.”
Chapter Fourteen
She shouldn’t have picked the fight. She had control, but she hadn’t been able to stop the flood of memories from Rachel’s crime scene or from Reynolds’s apartment. Pain flared between her shoulder blades as she spun toward the small bathroom mirror again. No good way to get a look at the damage from the hellhound. Or that tree.
Her skin flushed hot. The battle-induced adrenaline spike had worn off a few minutes ago and left her with burning scratches, lacerations, bark burn, and complete satisfaction. The adrenaline. She couldn’t find another explanation as to why she’d lost her mind and given herself over to Grayson right up against that tree.
Nika faced the mirror. The tape over her right shoulder peeled off easily. The bite looked worse than ever, but she still had mobility
in her arm. God knew how long that would last.
The cabin’s front door opened and closed, followed by heavy footsteps across the wood planks. Grayson.
“She won’t be going anywhere for a while. I’ve seen to that.” What did that mean? He stepped in close behind her. His chin met the crown of her head in their reflection. Sprawling his hands around her upper arms, he spun her into him. The scent of sweat and wood climbed down into her lungs and suddenly she didn’t care. Forget about the Arch-demon tied up in the backyard. Forget about the fact Grayson worked for the devil of all evil. She breathed him in deep, but couldn’t lift her gaze to meet his. No adrenaline, no energy. Exhaustion pressed her ear against his bare torso. The even, strong beat of his heart helped sooth her eyes closed. He held her for a series of breaths, warm and cold at the same time. “How bad is your back?”
“Not bad enough for me to want to move.” She relaxed into his hold, unsure if he held her up or her legs had agreed on their own independence. “What happened to your clothes?”
“You mean before or after we…”
A smile curled her mouth and she opened her eyes. A large tub consumed her attention. What she wouldn’t give to climb in there right now and never emerge. “Before.”
“Isabel took some pretty good swipes. Unlike me, my clothing doesn’t heal,” he said.
She exhaled hard. Right. He worked for the Deceiver. Paranormal powers had to come with the job if he’d been sent to hunt demons. Fight power with power. “We still need to talk about that. You working for the Deceiver, I mean.”
“Not right now.” He widened his stance, leaning toward the tub, and spun the hot water on, all while keeping her pressed against him. “Right now, we need to get you into that tub and clean your wounds. You’re dripping blood all over my floor.”
His Seductive Target (Afterlife, #2) Page 14