Exes and Exorcisms

by Keira Blackwood

  Declan clenched his jaw.

  “I told him it’s dealt with,” Kelly said. “No vampires killing humans in Forbidden. We’re all cuddly friends.”

  “You don’t feel threatened by the vampire hunter?” Declan asked her.

  She shook her head. “He’s my ex.”

  Declan raised his eyebrows. “Gotcha. I’ll have to deal with Leffiths. Strict secrecy orders were given about keeping Forbidden matters in-house. If we’re set here, I’m heading out to do that.” He pointed at me. “No staking. No trouble, and we’re good.”

  I raised my hands in defense. “Understood.”

  As far as alphas went, he was okay. If I gave him a real chance, he was probably the kind of guy I could be friends with. And maybe I’d be able to give him a real chance, if I stuck around.

  Here I was thinking about the long term, about staying, when I wasn’t the guy that stayed anywhere.

  And then I looked at Kelly. She pinched her lips together and put her hands on her hips.

  I’d stay for her.

  The door clicked shut behind me as Declan left.

  “What am I going to do with you?” Kelly asked.

  Anything you want.

  “Really,” she said, “what? You said you were here for a job, right? What’s the status on that, given I already explained his death and eliminated his murderer?”

  The air sharpened with her words. But there was heat behind her eyes, like she didn’t entirely mean it.

  “About that,” I said, taking a step closer. “I went for a walk this morning.”

  “I noticed you leave,” she said. “I had hoped you’d returned to...where did you say? Chattanooga?”

  I ignored her obvious lie and continued. “I went to the woods.”

  She gave me a sarcastic grin. “Did you see a tree?”

  “I saw a rock.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “A set of rocks, actually. If you stand just right, they’re quite shapely. Penis-esque even.”

  “You have quite the imagination.” A grin pulled at her lips, revealing the tip of one of her fangs.

  “And I found the message you left below.”

  “Did you like it? I’d love to say it was just for you, but I didn’t know you were coming. If I had, I would have made a grander gesture.”

  “Turned him upside down, ass up?”

  “You’re twisted. Really,” she said. “Where do you come up with this depravity?”

  “You inspire me.”

  She chortled. “Uh huh.”

  I smiled, but I didn’t laugh, because it was true. She brought out all kinds of parts of me that didn’t exist until she was there.

  “Remember that thing you said about Snowball?” Kelly asked.

  “What thing?”

  “About how she’s cruel, and enjoys antagonizing His Lordship?”

  “And how he wants her more because of it,” I said.

  “What if they bring out the worst in each other?”

  “What if they bring out the best, and they need to realize how much they mean to each other before it’s too late?” We were moving far from discussing cats, and the vulnerability of the truth made my throat tight.

  “It was always the worst,” she said with a sigh. “I was going to leave. In Cincinnati, when we were supposed to meet. I couldn’t do it anymore.”

  “I know.”

  “But you didn’t make it easy on me,” she said. “You always made it hard. You were so pushy and overbearing. I couldn’t stand how you always had to control everything.”

  I did it because with her, I felt so out of control. She made me crazy. I’d only tried to hold on, and it had pushed her away.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “I guess I did leave in a way, huh?” She laughed off my apology. “Got myself grabbed by a vampire. Murdered. Thrown in a dungeon in McMansion hell.”

  “I’m so sorry. If I’d have known you were out there—”

  She held out a hand. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to find me. Even there. Hell, I didn’t want to see your face again. And then, here you are, arriving on my doorstep and threatening to stake me.”

  “I can’t even say how sorry I am for that,” I said.

  She shrugged. “It happened, and I understand your great mission, or whatever.”

  “You’ve changed,” I said. “And I’ve changed.”

  “It’s not enough,” she said, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She took a step closer, then another.

  “What if it is enough?” I whispered, brushing a finger over her cheek.

  She closed her eyes and parted her lips. “Smother me again, and I’ll stab you in your perfect arse with your own stakes.”

  “Fair enough.” I captured her mouth with mine, and I kissed the woman I loved. It was soft and sweet, then hard and forceful, as Kelly showed me in one kiss all the frustration she’d felt for me over the years.

  8

  KELLY

  I had forgotten what an amazing kisser Xavier was.

  Well, that’s not entirely true. I’d struggled for five years to put it out of my mind. He had this way of gently moving my lips with his, leading without overwhelming, that revved up my figurative engine and left me panting.

  I didn’t even need to breathe anymore, and yet I was panting for this man.

  It was true. When we had dated before, he had bossed me around in his alpha protector way—always with my safety in mind, of course, but still, on the invasive side. What time will you be back? I’ll come pick you up so you aren’t walking at night. He’d been a controlling jerk. That the reasoning behind his behavior was the need to protect wasn’t enough of an excuse. Nor was his apology, not entirely. He’d never been the apologizing type. He’d thought it was his right, because I was his. Still, the apology wasn’t enough to absolve him.

  This kiss, however...this kiss just might absolve him.

  He pulled away to trail kisses down my neck. I approved. At the same time, he led me to a corner of the parlor that was out of view of the window. Forbidden residents on their late morning strolls didn’t need to see the wicked skill of Xavier Breene—his skills were only for me.

  “Kelly,” he said, his voice guttural. “I missed you so fucking much.”

  I didn’t want to admit it—not even to myself—but I’d missed him, too. As hard as it had been dealing with his alpha BS when we were together, he had a way of melting my heart, making me feel like the center of his world. Not wanting to talk, I pulled his head to my chest.

  I could hear his smile as he said, “One of my favorite places in the world.”

  His lips were warm through my shirt, and he lifted one of his hands to cup my breast. I didn’t quite have the boobage Marla had—I couldn’t store my phone in my cleavage like she did—but in Xavier’s palms and under his admiring gaze, my girls felt like plenty.

  “Can I?” he asked, tugging at the top of my blouse.

  “Yes, please do.”

  He yanked down the top of my shirt, revealing my demi-cup bra, which he yanked down, too. Then his lips were on one of my nipples, sucking and licking and driving me absolutely mad.

  “Xavier,” I gasped.

  “I know,” he said between kisses. Then, “I wonder if you can still come, just from me playing with your tits?”

  “I can think of one way to find out,” I said.

  “For the sake of science.” He pulled away just long enough to lift my shirt over my head. When I reached back to unsnap my bra, he shook his head. “Leave it on. I like how it pushes your tits up so I can lick them.”

  He crowded against me, and I stepped with him until my back hit the wall. He placed my hands on his shoulders, gave me a blistering kiss on the mouth, and returned his attention to my breasts.

  Currents of desire flowed through my body, concentrating at my clit. Each sharp pulse tugged me closer to the edge of a climax. He was a master, playing me like an instrument, and he was going to
make me sing. I moaned and whimpered, holding onto his shoulders for dear life.

  “Kelly?” a nasal voice asked. “What are you two doing?”

  “Peter! Go away!” I shouted, spying him past Xavier’s shoulder.

  Xavier pulled back with a growl and spun to block me from Peter’s view.

  “Ew, gross!” Peter said. “Gross, gross, gross! Why are you doing that to my sister? Stop!”

  Xavier stood taller in front of me.

  “Get out of here, Peter,” I said, “before I kill you a second time.”

  I’d been so close to climaxing.

  “I’m never coming down here again,” Peter shouted as he stomped back upstairs. There was a loud bang as Marla’s door slammed shut.

  Xavier turned around. “Okay,” he said with a tight smile on his face. “Where were we?”

  “You were about to make me come,” I said, feeling desperate. I wanted more than his mouth on my tits, though. I wanted all of him—and I wanted him inside me, fucking me into oblivion.

  Although our two-year relationship had been lacking in certain essentials, like him not trusting me to basically take care of myself, and my inability to stand up to him when I disagreed, one thing had always been perfect—sex.

  I grabbed the waistband of his pants and unfastened his belt. There was enough space for me to fit my hand inside his pants, and I wrapped my fingers around his long, thick erection. He groaned and gave a gentle thrust into my grip.

  The store phone rang. It was a landline and had an answering machine and everything, so I ignored it.

  Then Cordelia’s voice sounded over the answering machine. “Hey, Kelly, it’s Cordelia. I tried your cell, but you didn’t answer. I’m calling you about the spell to—”

  Libido instantly tamed, I ran to the phone and picked it up. “Hey, this is Kelly. How’s it going?”

  Cordelia sounded puzzled. “It’s fine. You?”

  “Oh, good. You know, just catching up with Xavier.”

  “Ah.” She understood what I wasn’t saying—that we couldn’t discuss any details right now. “Do you think you could swing by sometime this afternoon?”

  I glanced over at Xavier. Cordelia’s interruption was perfect timing. I didn’t need to make any more mistakes with this guy. “I can come over right now and check it out,” I said.

  “Great, see you soon.” She hung up.

  Xavier was facing me. “You have to go somewhere?”

  And here it came. The argument that I couldn’t go anywhere alone, that I didn’t know how to protect myself. He’d put his foot down and I’d capitulate, and...no. No, I would not capitulate. I was a motherfucking vampire and I would stand up for myself.

  “Yep,” I said. “I need to run an errand.”

  He bit his lip, buckled his belt. “Okay. Be careful out there.”

  “Yes,” I said in my firm, newly-polished, don’t-fuck-with-me voice, “I am going, and you can’t stop me—wait. You just told me to be careful?”

  “Yeah,” he said, a half-smile on his lips. It was a sexy smile. A charming smile. An I’ve-got-your-number-now smile.

  “Right,” I said. “Off I go, then. Laters.”

  CORDELIA LEANED over the counter of the doughnut truck and passed me a shoebox. I looked at the label. “Nice. I’ve always wanted a pair of Louboutins.”

  She laughed. “Me, too. Pearl pays good money on eBay for those boxes. She has a vision wall full of them, all stacked up and waiting for her shoes.”

  “She buys the boxes on eBay?” I asked. “Without shoes in them?”

  Cordelia laughed again. “Like any of us could afford the actual shoes. Anyway, I’ll need the box back. I just didn’t think you’d want to walk around carrying a phallic object.”

  “A—what?”

  “The banishing spell requires a phallus,” she said with a shrug.

  I cracked open the top of the box to peek. Sure enough, nestled in sparkly tissue paper and shimmering with something that looked oily and smelled like spicy herbs, was a dildo. It was green and spiked, like it belonged on a very large alien.

  “Requires a phallus?” I said skeptically. “You just want me to have to hit him with this, don’t you?”

  “That would be pretty freaking funny, wouldn’t it?” she said. “And it’s not far from the truth. If the tip of the phallus touches a man’s head, the man will forever be banished from your sight.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “That sounds really powerful...and quite permanent, to boot.”

  “It is. However, it only works once. This isn’t reusable magic. So if you have more ex-boyfriends you need to banish, you’ll need a new phallus.”

  “No, I just have the one. Tip to forehead, and then he’s gone,” I said. “Simple as that?”

  “You also have to proclaim who or what you want banished. So, like, ‘Shifter, I banish you.’” She gazed into my eyes, her indigo irises catching the sunlight. “If you use it, it works for good,” she said. “So be sure about this.”

  “Great, it’s perfect,” I said. “Thank you. What do I owe you?”

  She waved a hand. “I’m sure I’ll need a favor at some point.”

  Usually that kind of quote gave me the shivers, but Cordelia was awesome, and I was happy owing her a favor.

  With the box under my arm, I walked back to the tattoo parlor. When I saw a park on the way, though, I made a detour. I wasn’t ready to face Xavier again. I’d been about three seconds from wrapping my lips around his cock and showing him a good time. The man scrambled my head, made it impossible to think.

  Now, with this spell, I could send him away forever. It’s what I’d wanted since he showed up, wasn’t it?

  Then why did my gut feel all twisted and unhappy at the thought of actually using the spell?

  9

  XAVIER

  Kelly had been gone a long time on her errand. It hadn’t even been lunchtime yet when she left, and it was already evening now. The old me would have worried. But I wasn’t going to worry now. Kelly was capable, and even with our history, this thing happening between us was new. The rules were different because we were both different, and that gave me hope that it might actually work out this time.

  Even if it didn’t work out, smothering her wasn’t good for either of us.

  Upstairs, Peter was singing. He’d been getting increasingly louder the longer Kelly was gone. And within the past hour, he seemed to have found a recording of “Another One Bites the Dust,” which he played over and over again, pounding his foot on the floor with the beat.

  It was better than him coming down here and the two of us having to spend time together.

  And then it turned out I jinxed myself. The music became exponentially louder as Peter stepped into the hall, leaving Marla’s door open.

  “Kelly?” he called.

  I debated ignoring him.

  “Kelly Jelly Belly,” he sing-songed. “I’m hungry.”

  I stepped into his line of sight at the bottom of the stairs. He froze midstep, and his wild black hair fell down over his eyes.

  “Oh, it’s just you,” he said. “Where’s Jelly Belly?”

  “She won’t like you calling her that,” I said.

  He shot me a coy grin. “You think?”

  I guessed this was as good a time as any to get to know what kind of vampire Peter was. The job was to kill the vampires in Forbidden. It was Stakehouse Code—never leave them squirming. Slaughter all vampires before they slaughter someone else. No way in hell I was going to harm Kelly, even if she harmed me. Part of me expected she would, only not in the way vampires did. She’d hurt me because she held my heart.

  And before I had to leave Forbidden for my next job, or even before I had to report back tonight about the state of my mission, it would help to know what kind of man Peter was. He’d been a tough nut to crack, holed up in Marla’s room.

  “Kelly’s out,” I said. “But I know where she keeps the blood.”

  “You don’t want
to be my snack?”

  “I’ll bring you a packet if you keep your fangs and your diseases to yourself,” I said.

  “Well that’s no fun.”

  “Promise,” I told him.

  “Fine, fine,” he said. “But for the record, two people can bond over a case of genital warts.”

  I did not know what to say to that.

  He pointed at me and laughed. “Your expression.” He shook his head. “No warts, I swear on Kelly’s second life.”

  I growled at that.

  “Fine, fine. No more joking. I’ll be a good boy. Cross my heart.” He disappeared into Marla’s room but left the door open.

  I grabbed a packet of blood from the fridge and jogged up the steps. The music stopped, leaving the hall feeling a little too quiet.

  Marla’s room was dark, likely because Peter preferred it that way, or possibly because this was his way of setting me on edge. But I had the sharp eyes of a shifter, and it didn’t bother me.

  The flowers that had covered every surface were mostly wilted by now, though a few hung on. They wouldn’t last long without water, sunlight, or soil.

  Instead of lurking in a corner ready to pounce, Peter was lying out across the couch, a leg and arm dangling from the side as he watched me enter.

  “Bring it here,” he said. “I’m famished.”

  I crossed the room and tossed the pouch toward his chest. He caught it and shoved the whole thing into his abnormally large mouth like a chipmunk. Cheeks puffed out and lips barely closed, he chewed. A stream of red leaked down his chin.

  He swallowed the plastic bag and darted his tongue out to catch the last drop, and instead smeared it around. I cringed.

  “You swallowed that plastic,” I said.

  He shrugged. “Yep. And for the record, I wouldn’t have bitten you unless I had to.”

  “Right,” I said.

  “Aren’t you barky types supposed to sense the truth?”

  True enough.

  “Uh huh, well, flesh disgusts me. You’ve seen what it does when I’m around. The sores, the scabs.” He shivered. “Human bodies are disgusting.”