Such Violent Delights: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology

by S. L. Jennings

  “I won’t be yours or anyone else’s incubator, asshole.” I withdrew the blade and watched him drop to his knees on the cold, trash-littered street. It was where he belonged, where they all belonged.

  Chapter 2

  I paced aimlessly inside my apartment’s living room. The Christmas tree in the corner was no more than a car air freshener. But it wasn’t like there’d be any gifts to put under an actual tree, so it worked for me. I’d stolen lights from downtown, which now blinked on and off, basking the room in a pretty glow. The couch in the corner was scuffed up, but it had been that way when I’d discovered it here eons ago. Pictures of a happy couple covered the walls, which were painted a lighter shade of gray than I’d have chosen myself. I preferred all things dark, because I was sure if I had a soul, it was black and lifeless.

  Moving into the bedroom, I stripped out of the blood-stained clothes which, blood that served as proof that I’d murdered Callaghan. Not that he’d actually die, but wishful thinking and all that jazz. Water dripped from the other room, reminding me that a hot bath awaited my aching bones. Abandoning the bedroom for the bathroom, I exhaled the pang of regret that entered my mind, clenching my heart in a vise.

  Callaghan was a bastard, but the others who wanted me? The other’s wouldn’t care if I liked it, or care if it killed me as long as it added to their lifespan. Was his offer so bad? Yes! I wasn’t theirs to control or to be used for their purpose. My magic depended on them, and yet it didn’t mean I had to do anything. Shit, my life depended on this happening, and I still didn’t agree on it being done. Period.

  Pulling my hair up, I placed it in a messy bun. I eyed the mirror, taking in the new bruises I’d gotten this week already, and it was only Monday. Slowly, I stepped into the scalding water and inhaled the calming scent of freshly plucked lavender that calmed my soul. Sitting, I watched as the water rushed out of the tub, covering the floor in a mess.

  Whispering a spell under my breath, I watched as colorful bubbles filled the tub and flowed over the edges to join the growing mess already on the floor. The earthy scents of lavender and magic eased the chaos that ran rampant through my thoughts. Leaning my head back against the porcelain tub, I closed my eyes and gave in to exhaustion.

  I awoke in a chilled tub, my eyelids heavy as I sat up and peered at the shadows. A growl rumbled from deep inside my chest as I sat forward, pulling my knees to my chest as I covered my breasts and glared at the shadows that moved.

  “You shouldn’t have come here, Paladin,” I announced in a flat tone.

  “You shouldn’t sleep in the bathtub; that’s what they make beds for,” he smirked as he moved from the cover of darkness and let his glowing blue eyes slip down my naked frame. “But you are beautiful in what the Gods gave you, Erie,” he purred huskily.

  “You shouldn’t say my name with such familiarity, asshole,” I retorted as I stood to my full, unimpressive height of five-foot-nothing. My thick blonde hair decided at that moment to let loose from the ponytail holder that had held it up. I snorted as the taint of his magic cascaded down my back and past my ass. “Don’t use your magic on me,” I warned, sending a jolt of electric current at him as I stepped closer.

  “You are more than blessed, woman,” he murmured as his eyes slowly trailed from head-to-toe before slowly moving back up to settle on my eyes. “Yet you hide yourself and never allow anyone to see the real you. Show me who you are, Erie.”

  “And let you see what our people have done to me?” I scoffed as I raised my foot to kick him, hoping to catch him off guard. No such luck. He grabbed my leg, using it to pull me closer.

  “Careful, little one, I like playing rough,” he warned thickly as coarse gravel coated each word that escaped his sinfully full lips.

  I rounded my body, kicking him with the other leg which didn’t even faze him. Instead, he shook it off before my feet touched the ground and took me to the floor, dropping his hefty weight on to mine, holding me down with it. I stilled, clearly aware of the heat from his massive body as his eyes bored into mine. They dipped to my lips, and then he did the last thing he should have.

  He kissed me.

  The minty taste of his kiss stunned me. His mouth against mine sent something inside of my stomach unfurling out of control. I hesitated in pulling away from his mouth as I tried to pinpoint what it was he created inside of me. His tongue pushed past my lips, capturing mine as a growl rumbled deep in his chest, escaping past his lips. I moaned as my body heated, readying for him to end the ache that built inside of me.

  I pushed halfheartedly against him, only to end up moaning louder as I felt his cock pressed against my naked, vulnerable sex. A tremor shook through me; reminding me just how exposed I was against him should he take it any further than a stolen kiss.

  He relaxed into it, kissing me like he was devouring me. His hand slipped between us, slowly moving towards my naked pussy, and I rolled us without warning, staring down at him as I struggled to control my breathing and the urges that thundered through me. I was an inferno, and he was the match that had ignited it.

  “You kissed me,” I whispered huskily as I moved to slap him, only for him to capture the hand. I used the other, unsure of where my brain had abandoned me to go, but it was no longer in this fight, or with me. I stared down at him, acutely aware of exactly how hard he was, and that I had sat directly on it. I was also aware that it had a pulse that matched mine perfectly.

  “So I did,” he purred as he slowly trailed his heated gaze over my heaving chest, pausing as he took in the state of my nipples, which hardened painfully under the penetrating stare of his heated gaze. “And you taste like I want to fuck you,” he uttered as he released my hand to grab my hips. He ground his arousal against my sex, watching every minuscule emotion that played across my face. My hands rested against his chest, balancing against him to let him continue his slow assault. “Would it be so bad with me, Erie?”

  “Don’t ever do that again,” I snapped as I stood up even though his eyes latched to the thin patch of red hair, wet with arousal, between my legs.

  “What? Kiss you, or make you want it as much as I do?” he challenged.

  “I don’t want you,” I hissed. I turned, dismissing him as I pushed my wet hair away from my face. I had done the one thing I knew I shouldn’t do; I turned my back on him. He moved with speed and precision. I was shoved against the wall, lifted, and forced to straddle his waist.

  “You suck at lying.”

  “I suck at a lot of things, things you’ll never experience with me, Paladin.” I pushed against his chest as my back touched the cold wall. His gaze dropped to my lips, before slowly rising to lock with mine. “Put me down.”

  “Make me,” he challenged.

  He moved his face closer to mine, sucking against the pulse that beat wildly at the apex of my neck. I hated that my body responded as if it didn’t care what I wanted. I wanted to drive him through with a blade, again. It wanted him to strip naked and take me deeper into the abyss of pleasure he’d dangled just out of my reach.

  “You smell ready for me,” he growled as his teeth scraped against the tender flesh of my collarbone. “Do you feel what you’ve done to me?” he asked as he pushed his cock against my pussy. “I don’t get told no when I want something, and right now I want you,” he admitted.

  “That must suck,” I whispered through the need that tightened in my throat as my lids grew heavy. “Because I don’t want you, Callaghan,” I replied huskily. Lies, empty fucking lies. I leaned closer, fully aware I was losing this battle. My lips touched against his in a soft flicker of curiosity as my tongue darted out to slowly trace the fullness of his bottom lip.

  “Let me have you, Erie,” he uttered before his mouth crushed against mine in insatiable desire. I moaned as my arms slid up his chest and my fingers trailed through his hair, ripping it backwards, away from my mine so I could think. “Careful, I can play rough too,” he warned. “I don’t think you’re ready for that, or am I wrong
?” Blue eyes the color of the ocean on a clear summer day challenged me. “You will choose tonight before I leave here.”

  “I choose never in a million fucking years,” I muttered flatly, sliding down the wall, pushing against his chest. He released me and watched as I slowly moved towards the open bedroom door. “There has to be another way. The Order can find another way rather than forcing me to do this.”

  “You still don’t get it; even if you find a way out, which you won’t because I have fucking tried, you will be forced to do this one way or another. Every prophecy entangled with this one has come to pass. The Order will not wait to see if it is undone. They won’t chance it by waiting to see if we begin to die, Erie. Have my son; you’ll be free the moment you have given birth to him.”

  Tears stung my eyes, swimming in my vision as I turned around to face him. Anger clouded my judgment as my hair rose with the electrical current of power that pulsed to life within my soul. It wasn’t a secret that my parents, both Paladin and druid, had used ancient, powerful magic to conceive me. Dark magic twisted with light, and when I was born, I was abandoned by both as if I was nothing more than trash they couldn’t throw away fast enough.

  “You think I’d hand you my son and just walk away?” I inquired barely above a whispered breath as my body heated, and this time it wasn’t lust driving my pulse to a dangerous crescendo, but rage. “You should leave, Callaghan, before I reach my blades.”

  “I cannot be killed by you,” he countered as he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back as he pulled me towards him painfully. “I’m offering you a way to remain free, unchained from a dungeon where you would be kept, bound until you conceived a child. I will not hurt you, nor would I keep you locked up. I assure you that is the plan for you. They’re coming here right now, hunting you. You’re out of fucking time,” he growled.

  “You think I’m weak? I assure you, I am not. I’m not a fucking damsel in distress, Callaghan. I can protect myself, so take your offer and get the fuck out. I am not bound to you or any of them. Unlike you, I don’t care if we die out. This world doesn’t need a hero; it needs monsters. They don’t need you and your pristine order of crusaders to charge in and save them. Don’t you get it? They like destruction. They crave chaos, not order, not security. They’re like me, dark and deadly. So take your voodoo dick and get out of here!” I ordered as I yanked my arm free and turned away from him.

  The front door was kicked opened and before I had time to react, Callaghan grabbed me, shoving me behind his back as he materialized thick, heavy blades. I peered around his hulking frame, and my stomach dropped as I shrank away from the angry faces of the Paladins who crowded into my apartment.

  “Release her, Callaghan,” Arthur demanded, and I winced as I took in his disheveled appearance. The Fae obviously hadn’t been kind to him. Oops, my bad, asshole. “She belongs to all of us. Not just you, princeling,” he continued as his eyes hooded, heavy with lust as he took in my lack of clothing.

  “She is coming with me,” Callaghan announced as he stepped further in front of me. “She’s agreed to carry my child in her womb; my blood is pure and ancient. Both her blood and mine date back to the first man and woman of the Order, and we will breed a powerful son. She has chosen,” he challenged with the words, and his words swallowed any argument I might have held. What the fuck was he thinking?

  “Is that so?” Arthur laughed coldly. His cruel gaze stared through Callaghan as if he was taking in my current state of undress. His lips curled with distaste, and he spat onto my floor. “That bitch no longer gets to choose. We all want what is owed to us. She thinks she’s above us, but we intend to show her where she belongs: On her back, serving us.”

  The room exploded in a flurry of motion so fast that I didn’t even have time to register anyone had moved. I’d known all of my life that the Knights were among the most skilled killers. Until today, I’d never seen them in action—and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

  The glass shattered as light exploded, and darkness engulfed the room. Grunts sounded, and then howls of pain filled the room. The sound of metal hitting flesh was sickening, and as a hand encircled my waist, I struggled against it as I tried to make my brain react to what was happening in my own house. Fingers brushed against my naked ass, and I spun against the hold, fully intending to fight my way to freedom.

  “Gods, woman, hold still!” Callaghan hissed as he whispered a spell to bathe the room he’d shoved me into in a soft glow. I peered over his shoulder, gasping in air as I took in the grisly scene that bathed my living room in blood and gore.

  “What did you do?” I whispered hesitantly.

  “I told you, you’re mine,” he snorted. “Pack, because you won’t be able to come back here. You’re no longer safe on your own; the Order will hunt us down for what we did.”

  “We? I didn’t do anything! You did this,” I groaned.

  Chapter 3

  Inside Callaghan’s condo wasn’t where I wanted to end up. In fact, it wasn’t even on my maybe-someday list. It had black walls, black couches, carpet, fucking everything. You name it, it was done in a matte or glossy black color which didn’t actually look bad, but a girl could only take so much black in one room.

  “Impressive,” I hummed as I dropped my bag and crossed my arms. “Still not sure why I’m here, though,” I snapped irritably, dropping my bag on his couch. “I’m not giving you a child, nor are we doing it to even try to have one.”

  “Fucking, Erie, say it with me,” he chuckled as his eyes watched the heat that filled my cheeks.

  “You’re not fucking me, asshole,” I said through the thickness of my throat. “What happens when Arthur comes next time?”

  “He won’t come for you again, ever,” he returned sharply.

  “He’s immortal,” I said as I started to turn to look at the ancient portraits on the walls around us, but something in his stare stalled me. My eyes dropped to his hands and then back to him.

  “Even we can die,” he muttered as I blinked.

  “The blade you used?”

  “Lethal to anyone who breaks the vows to the Knight’s Order,” he said softly. “And before you assume it will work on me, I assure you, it won’t.”

  “Didn’t think it would,” I frowned as I turned my attention to a battle scene out of medieval times.

  The Knight sat astride his Great warhorse mid-battle pose. I scanned the blood splattered face of the Knight, taking in the artist’s ability to capture his likeness. Callaghan’s arm was lifted, a blade aimed at his foes, who rode fearlessly against him as his banner flew proudly behind him with a signa I knew personally. Turks fought against the Knight’s Order?

  “Romania,” he answered. “When the Turkish Empire first invaded. We were there to help others escape before it became ugly. Unfortunately, it was a battle to manage their escape.”

  “Stay the fuck out of my head,” I snapped.

  “I wasn’t in your head,” he scoffed. “That pretty face of yours hides very little from me. It’s one of the things I enjoy about you. You can’t hide what your heart holds. Come; it’s late, and you need sleep.”

  My heart leaped to my throat as I turned to glare at him. My palms sweated as I slapped them together awkwardly and spoke. “This is where I leave.”

  “You are being hunted now, Erie. You are not making it out of this one without choosing your future. I see your gears turning, and I assure you, there’s nowhere you can run or hide that we will not find you.”

  “Show me where I’m sleeping then,” I said, changing the subject to something that didn’t make me want to rip my hair out and scream at him.

  “In my bed, with me,” he announced.

  Okay, so that only made the need to scream worse. “That’s not happening.”

  “I just killed Paladins to protect you. I broke the rules to keep you safe; you will sleep with me tonight so that when I return to the Order tomorrow, I smell of you. You don’t have to fuck me, but you have
to give me enough that when I turn myself in tomorrow, when I tell them you are willing to allow me access to your body to secure a child, I won’t be lying to them.”

  “I didn’t ask you to do that,” I pointed out softly. My heart was fluttering violently against my ribs as it fought to get free from them.

  “No, but the idea of him raping you did not sit well with me,” he admitted. “My sword cannot be used on me because I’ve never broken the law of the Knight’s Order. So you have a choice to make. I’ve given you time to decide, and a safe place to make your choice. Tomorrow you will be handed over to my father to either tell him you’ve chosen me, or you’ll be placed under lock and key until you do what you were created to do.”

  “You’d turn me over after you just slaughtered your own people to keep them from raping me?” I asked flippantly.

  “In a fucking heartbeat,” he said flatly with fire igniting in his endless depths.

  I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. Could I give him what he needed? What he wanted? I knew better than most what happened when a Knight broke the Order’s rules, but he’d gone further than that. He’d saved me, and in doing so, he’d broken their most important law: Never turn a blade on your brethren. If I didn’t give him something, he’d die for sure. I could almost live with that, but I wasn’t going to. I wouldn’t let him go down for saving me. I repaid my debts and owing him felt like shit.

  “Fine,” I muttered as I swallowed hard. “I need to use your bathroom to freshen up first.”

  Chapter 4

  I stared at the full mirror that lined the wall inside the opulent bathroom. Unlike his front room, it was done in gray hues with brushed nickel accessories. Soft carpet soothed the soles of my feet as I stared into the tattooed face no one else ever got to see.