Such Violent Delights: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology

by S. L. Jennings

  Giving up on licking her body all over for the moment, my fingers moved to her jaw, tilting it up toward my lips and laying claim to her soul through our kiss. Her fingers slid against my shaft, up and down, massaging me into oblivion.

  “You feel it?” she murmured against my lips, and I nodded. I felt everything—her hand moving at an agonizing pace against me and the current steadily running from her body into mine.

  “The spark.” She pulled back, her eyes glowing with wonder.

  “Never thought you’d feel it?” Moving my hands around to grab the soap, I began washing her gently. She removed her hand from my cock to take the soap from me so she could do the same for me, though minding the tender and bruised areas with care.

  “I honestly didn’t. But now that I have, I couldn’t imagine life without it.”

  “Things are moving fast; you don’t have an issue with it?” I asked, honestly questioning the pace, even Echo fought things between her and Asher for a short time before she gave in.

  She set the soap on the ledge where it lived then pushed me back into the spray of the water to rinse off. I closed my eyes, tilting my head up to wash out the blood and dirt that had coated my blond hair.

  I thought for a second that maybe she was having reservations about us being mates since she hadn’t answered my question. But then something warm and wet ran up the length of my cock.

  “Fucking hell!” I cursed as she greedily enveloped me inside her mouth.

  That sure as shit answered my question about her being okay with the pace.

  My hands went to her hair, gripping the strands between my tanned fingers.

  She sucked me off with a point to prove, and fuck did she make it. She licked me, bobbing her head wildly until I cursed out her name.

  “I licked it, now it’s mine.” She licked her lips, not letting a drop of my cum escape.

  Hottest fucking woman on the planet, and she was my mate.

  Hell, I was gonna make her more than that, and soon. Every cell in my body was telling me to claim her in every way I could.

  But right now, I was gonna start by claiming that pussy her way—by licking it till she came against my tongue.

  Broken body be damned, I’d sit in my chair tomorrow with some drugs and suffer. Tonight I was feasting on the buffet of her gorgeous body.

  My hands gripped her behind her legs and picked her up high.

  “Ohmigod!” she squealed as I tossed her legs over my shoulders while I stood, her sweet heat right in front of my lips as I pressed her back against the shower wall. Those powerful legs of hers squeezed my neck at the first flick of my tongue against her clit.

  “Yes! Yes! Lick me,” she whimpered, her fingers tangled in my hair, keeping my mouth firmly against her drenched core.

  Her body writhed against my face as I sucked her clit, my tongue lapping at her like she was the sweetest icing. Her legs tightened, and her fingers nearly pulled my hair out as she came hard. I expected a cry to the gods above, but instead she whimpered like she could barely force the air from her lungs. The release was completely consuming her.

  Once her body began to sag against mine, I had to bite back the hiss of pain from my ribs as I gently lifted her off my shoulders and held her against my waist.

  “Can you walk?” I teased, and she shook her head no. She could, but I was content to hold her in my arms as long as she wanted me to.

  Moving to the bedroom, we lay in my bed together, her petite body dressed in one of my shirts.

  “It’s fast and crazy being your mate. But I don’t think there could have been anyone more suited for me than you,” she murmured against my bare chest before falling asleep.

  We were mates, true halves of one soul.

  But more than that, in the short time we’d been together, I’d fallen for the person she was. Maybe licking it to claim it as yours worked, because I was Lana’s. She owned my heart, my body, and my spirit. I would win the next two trials only for her coven’s sake. They couldn’t tell me that I wasn’t worthy of this woman, when I knew deep down inside my very being that I was exactly who she needed.

  Chapter 9

  Lana

  The morning light beamed through the window, sending me cringing under the covers. My hands reached out, wanting to touch the warm skin of A.J., who had slept beside me all night. But my fingers found nothing but sheets.

  My eyelids opened slowly, to see if I’d pushed him toward the edge of the bed like I tended to do when someone slept near me, but the bed was just empty.

  There was a note left of the table next to the side he slept on. Reaching for the paper, I read as best as my sleep-crusted eyes could.

  Mate,

  I had to work. Before you leave come see me. I have muffins!

  Yours,

  A.J.

  This man had given me a permanent smile on my face ever since I spotted him in the woods at the wedding. It was unreal to think that the wedding was just two days ago. It felt like a month had passed.

  A.J. had inserted himself into my life, and while there were so many things we didn’t know about each other, I felt like I would suffocate without him. My very blood pumping throughout my body demanded to be near him.

  The instinct was so strong that I rolled out of his bed and yanked on my pants from last night, intent on seeing him. Since I wasn’t wearing a bra or panties last night, there were none for me to search for this morning. I’d wear his shirt, though, instead of putting mine on from last night. The soft material smelled like him, and I felt as if I was being wrapped in his strong arms. It was extra large on my tiny Asian frame, so I tied it into a knot on the side and twisted it under. I was “steal your boyfriend’s clothes” chic.

  There were directions at the bottom of the note telling me where to go.

  But before I left I flicked my fingers, using magic to make the bed. It’d been a while since I let my magic loose. Most witches loved to use their magic any chance they could; without it they barely knew how to do laundry. I didn’t want to be dependent on something, even something as convenient as magic.

  I followed the note’s message down to where A.J. was waiting for me.

  The halls of the heroes’ headquarters were silent as I entered…maybe everyone was out saving the day.

  My people kept to themselves, and while they could do good in the world with their gifts, they didn’t. The more I compared the two—heroes and witches—the more I wanted to be on the heroes’ side. I could actually use my powers for good instead of letting them go to waste by simply breeding them.

  A door opened down the hall to the right.

  A.J.’s head poked out, a welcoming smile on his face.

  I loved that smile, not to mention those green eyes that looked at me like I hung the moon.

  “Morning,” I chirped and sauntered up to lay a kiss right on his sexy lips.

  He groaned and pulled me in, shutting the door behind us.

  It was cute and sweet to burning hot like lava in seconds. I wanted him all over me, inside me.

  “I have food. Need to feed you, and then fuck you,” he grumbled, trying to talk himself out of screwing me right now.

  “I think I’d like fucking then feeding after.” I didn’t want to wait any longer; the mate instincts in me were driving this need to unimaginable levels.

  “You sure?” he questioned, giving me one last chance to back out before he was buried to the hilt in my core. Thinking about said burying of his cock made my knees wobble, and my fingers gripped his shirt for support.

  I was so hot I couldn’t speak. It would take my lips away from his for too long. So I used my power, sending images of him fucking me against the door, bending me over his desk, me riding him up and down, over and over, on his office chair.

  “Fucking hell.” He pulled back to look in my face one last time, seeing the hooded eyes and parted lips glossed from the kiss. I wanted him, and he knew it.

  I locked the door with my magic, and he smi
rked, taking my hand softly before leading me to his command center of technology.

  This was what I thought A.J.’s place would look like. I could see everything: people training on the mats one floor below us, workers at the restaurant above, even bits and pieces of the streets of the city.

  “You see all, huh?” I sat my ass against the desk, with him settling between my legs, our joined hands moving up to cup my face.

  “Just call me the all-knowing A.J. I see everything, including my mate not wearing a bra or panties.” His head slowly bent down to press a kiss against my lips before moving inch by inch across my skin.

  His touch set my soul ablaze; I loved that he was taking his time with me, but right now I was greedy and needed him to turn that burning soul to ash.

  My free hand went for his cock, rubbing it through his jeans, feeling its length and hardness.

  He freed his hands then caressed my skin down to the hem of his shirt on my body, pulling it up in one quick swoop.

  My nipples hardened being exposed to the chilled air of this room. His eyes roamed over my chest, and I felt like arching them to feed his greedy gaze. So that’s what I did. He growled and his lips descended on my breast. All tongue and teeth, teasing me until I was practically clawing at his back.

  “I need you, like right now.” I cried out and sent my power into his clothes, making them unravel thread by thread in seconds. He needed to be naked right now, his skin slapping against mine with every thrust of his cock into me.

  I felt vibrations from what I could tell was a chuckle against my skin before he nipped my nipple, then turned me to face his wall of screens.

  “You wanna get fucked with all these people in front of you?”

  They couldn’t see me, but something about doing naughty things in front of all these screens made this all the more exciting.

  “You see them, outside the hall? Downstairs, and above in the restaurant, getting ready for their day?” His hands slid up my denim-clad legs then reached around to unbutton my jeans, his breath warming my back in his wake.

  “You could scream your release and watch as they look for where the noise came from.”

  Oh God, he was intense. They weren’t watching us, they didn’t even know what was about to happen, but it felt like I had all the eyes of the world on me as he pushed my pants down to my ankles. I was enthralled by his touch—those hands traveling up the inside of my thighs, then sliding through my slit, feeling how turned on I was for him, the need evident and slick.

  “I’m gonna fuck you in front of them all. The screaming I’ll let you decide on.”

  His fingers thrust into me, making my hands grip his desk so I wouldn’t collapse against the keyboard.

  Chapter 10

  Lana

  He fucked with his fingers, driving me closer and closer to rapture. My teeth bit into my bottom lip to keep from moaning his name.

  Little good it did me, because when his hand wrapped around my hair, pulling my head up from its lagging position to stare right at the screens, the tension only ratcheted higher. His fingers were gone from my cunt, making me spread wider for what I knew was coming.

  Me.

  I felt him at my entrance and pushed my hips back into it, needing him inside more than anything. My whole body tensed, waiting for that first shove into me.

  His fingers gripped my hair tighter, tilting my head up to angle my gaze to look into his.

  He eased into me slowly, drawing out a long breathy moan from my lips. Anyone outside the door would hear my cries of pure, undiluted ecstasy.

  “You’re mine. Mate or not. This pussy, this body, this fucking heart—all mine.”

  He unleashed himself upon me, and then I was grateful for his grip on my long tresses, keeping me up, because my knees were weak from the feeling of release barreling toward me.

  I was his in every way. We were mates. My body sang with happiness that we were finally joined in the way mates found true peace. But even if we weren’t mates, I would choose him. He was made for me, the perfect balance in my world.

  My nails scraped the wood beneath my fingers; I was close, so close, as he pounded into me relentlessly, his balls slapping my ass with every movement.

  Oh God.

  “Come for me, Lana. Give me everything that’s mine.”

  His words, that timbre through gritted teeth that alluded to his own release coming, tipped me over.

  I gave him everything. My body clenched around him, my scream rattled the tables in the restaurant, and the screens started to go black, smoke fizzling against the wall, magic all but dripping from the walls.

  His roar echoed alongside my cry.

  Finally, his fingers loosened, and I collapsed against the wooden desk, his dick still pulsing inside me, setting off tiny tremors through my body.

  “People have had sex on every surface of headquarters, except in here. I’d saved this place for the woman I’d spend my life with. I saved it for you.” He leaned over, still connected, and kissed my spine.

  It was sweet and comical at the same time.

  “I’m glad to christen the command center with you. And, uh, sorry we broke it.”

  He pulled out, and the feeling of his essence running down my legs made me bite my lip from wanting to groan for more. Already I wanted more of him.

  “Yeah, that’s unexpected. I’m guessing your power did that.” He observed the broken screens in front of our gaze, brow furrowed.

  My bad.

  Electricity and I didn’t always get along. I guess we wouldn’t be able to have a TV in the bedroom when I moved into his place.

  The thought caught me by surprise, but I realized I like the idea. I wanted a future with this man so much it hurt. I wanted to marry him, make babies with him, listen to him talk about computers and heroes. Lie with him in bed every night and fuck until the sun came up.

  An alert came buzzing through this phone, interrupting our sexual haze.

  Duty called.

  “A little help?” He smirked, gazing down at his shredded clothes on the floor. Okay, I’d gotten a little carried away with undressing him.

  “I love you. Fuck whatever these mate trials say. You’re mine till we die, and even then I’ll find you in whatever afterlife awaits us.” He kissed me, sealing his words on my lips.

  “I love you, too, till whatever end finds us.”

  It was nuts, truly, how fast things were going between us, but I didn’t care. We were both adults and knew exactly what we wanted. Being mates only made it feel like it was fate. I bet every drop of my magic that we would have found each other eventually, even without the mating bond.

  I magicked his clothes back together, and then I put my clothes back on the old-fashioned way.

  He had to help heroes save the day, and I needed to get to work. I’d see him soon, and we’d face whatever trials came ahead.

  We had a future to look forward to, and nothing was getting in the way of that.

  The next few days passed quickly, and I hadn’t seen A.J. since our time in his command center. Work kept me busy, and he was healing. We thought it was best that I not be near him or things were going to get extra physical. He needed to rest as best as he could, not holding me over his shoulder with his tongue against my core.

  Now the second trial was upon us, and I eagerly waited to look into his green gaze, to see the love and need for me burning in them.

  Anticipation was buzzing through my blood as I closed up the gym and hopped into my car from a long day at work. This trial would be back in the stone arena like the previous one. But this one was to be a trial of mental strength, something I felt A.J. had in spades.

  He was so intelligent, and that trait was a complete turn-on for me. I was a smart cookie, if I did say so myself, and having someone who I could talk to on the same level as me was important. I’d dated men that only talked about their fitness techniques, or the weather. I like my men with brains as well as brawn. A.J. was like a perfect ch
ocolate cookie: warm, sweet, and hit the right spot.

  The arena was filling up with curious people from our coven as I parked my Jeep next to the other cars.

  The Hero Society was once again there, waiting to support one of their own, as I climbed the stone stairs to sit with them instead of my people. The heroes were going to be my people soon enough anyway, might as well mingle with both. Lilith, the raven-haired woman whose energy was like a pinball zinging through a machine, waved me over.

  Sitting next to her was like taking a shot of pure Pixie Stix. My body became alive, feeling refreshed and energetic.

  “She’s like that all the time. It’s just like being hit with a sugar shot.” Asher leaned in next to me to whisper words of truth into my ear. He wasn’t kidding. Lilith hugged me and then started talking about A.J.—how much of a little nerd he was when she met him, and all about the man he is today. She clearly loved him as much as Mina, his biological sister, did. Mina sat nearby, rubbing her belly while watching the arena’s ground intently.

  Elder Matti stood among her caped companions, and the area quieted.

  A.J. walked into the middle of the circle, wearing a hideous Christmas shirt that said “I carry a big sack too.” His eyes searched through the crowd and landed on mine, giving me a confident wink before turning his gaze to Matti.

  “Welcome, friends, for the second mate trial. Young A.J. proved himself in the physical aspect, but today he must face a challenge of the mind. Born of energy and earth, we are collectively an intelligent species.”

  The way she talked about us made it seem like we were aliens from some other planet.

  “For this trial, you must solve a riddle. Consider your answer carefully. Blessed be to thee.”

  She sat down with a smug look at my mate. Elder Thomas stood slowly, probably because his hips were beginning to bother him. He was the top advisor to our coven. Having the power of knowledge was his specialty. Some of us were born with extra energies, almost like the superpowers of the hero crew. Asher’s extra gift was he could do anything. Literally anything. Most people like us could do most spells and use energies for our needs, but specifics changed per individual. Elder Matti’s special gift of energy was being a bitch.