Such Violent Delights: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology

by S. L. Jennings

  Celtic war symbols curled from my neck onto the gentle curve of my jawline. Lines with magical ink flowed from my temples to my cheeks, and lower onto my collarbone. My arms were a mass of symbols they’d painted on my flesh as a child, wards and spells to make me stronger, faster, and smarter than any druid before me.

  I was ugly, pure and simple.

  The only places they’d left devoid of tattoos were around my eyes, nose, and lips. Crystalline blue eyes glared back at me, my hair a mix between fire-engine red and the orange of dragon flames. I hated what I looked like through other people’s eyes, so no other had ever been allowed to see what lay beneath the mask I wore since the moment I’d crafted it.

  Closing my eyes, I reopened them and gazed upon the golden beauty that I pretended to be. Gone were the obstructing tattoos I hadn’t chosen, and the gaudy, uncontrollable red hair. I plumped my golden curls and took in the sheer cotton nightgown I’d accidentally grabbed in the darkness of the room as I’d packed to run with Callaghan.

  This was a stupid idea; to allow him to do anything flirted with danger. I knew it, yet I wouldn’t let him go down for protecting me. He wasn’t bad to look at it, far from it. He was perfection, but the problem with that was he fucking knew it.

  I turned, heading for the door before I lost what little courage I had to follow through with this. I entered the room and stopped dead in my tracks. His shirt was folded and lay discarded on a chair, leaving him in loose-fitted jeans that clung to his narrow hips. My eyes greedily fed on the sight of his many tattoos, following every one of them down the V-line of his flat stomach.

  Whatever I’d been about to say lay forgotten on the tip of my tongue. A new sensation quaked from within. His gaze slowly moved down my nightgown, which shielded nothing. I fidgeted with my hands as my teeth worried my lip. This was stupid, so damn stupid. I swallowed hard as I considered where to run, only to realize I was trapped.

  “This is stupid.”

  “Drop the glamour,” he countered.

  “What?” I asked, caught off guard by his request.

  “Let me see you, Erie. The real you,” he uttered softly.

  “Never,” I growled. “This is me.”

  “No, this is what you show to the world. This isn’t you,” he whispered, tone gravelly as he placed his hands on his hips, watching me as if I was a scared animal.

  “This is the only me you will ever see,” I returned, hating the underlying lust that thickened my words. “Take it or leave it, Paladin. I don’t care either way.”

  “Come to me,” he ordered. I swallowed hard as the butterflies erupted, creating a chaotic reaction in my stomach. “Don’t be scared, Erie, I’ll be gentle with you…for now.”

  “Callaghan,” I warned. I inhaled as my feet finally moved. “How far do we have to go?” I asked when all I wanted to do was bow out of this.

  “Enough that when I tell them you’re sexually open to me it’s the truth that slips from my tongue.”

  I stopped inches away from him, unable to take the last step in his direction. Not that it mattered, his hands pulled me close until I was up against his flesh, singed by the heat his body emanated. He held me prisoner, forcing me to look away from the sleek, well-muscled chest, up into stormy blue eyes that seemed to see through the mask I wore.

  He smelled like a potent aphrodisiac: woodsy and herbaceous, making my senses dance in sheer delight. My body trembled against his as his mouth lowered to my ear, sending heat seductively wafting over my flesh.

  “Are you scared of me? You should be; I’ve waited eons for you to be ready for me,” he growled huskily before his teeth nipped at my earlobe. “You’re afraid of what you feel when you’re close to me, aren’t you?”

  “Just get this over with, Callaghan.” My body shivered as it arched for his touch, needing his hands to slide down my flesh to the ache he’d created between my legs. Fear of the unknown wrapped around my heart, clenching it in awareness of the danger I played with. I knew without a doubt, once he’d taken me, he’d own me. He was the type you pined for, that you ached to have again and again, and I didn’t want to be the girl who needed him.

  He reached down and slowly lifted the gown I wore, exposing me to his greedy eyes. My hands instinctively lifted to cover my nudity, but his were faster. He captured them and placed them on his tapered hips, encouraging me to touch him. My hands caressed his flesh, exploring with a mind of their own with his invitation. Before I could think better of it, I leaned over, trailing my tongue over his pierced nipple. I grasped it between my teeth, pulling it until a hiss escaped his lungs and I backed away from him, heat flooding my cheeks.

  “I…I don’t know what the hell that was.” He laughed, which only angered me in my confusion. “I hate you,” I scoffed as I turned away, intending to retreat to the bathroom in my confusion and embarrassment. No such luck. I was lifted from the waist and thrown to the bed unceremoniously. I remained on it, twisting to glare up at him only to swallow anything I’d intended to say as he pushed the waistband of his pants down, freeing his cock. Fear licked my mind as my heartbeat increased in a staccato tempo. “Jesus Christ, that thing isn’t normal,” I mumbled as I took in the sheer magnitude of the monster he’d released. Sweet baby Jesus, he’d split me in half with that one-eyed monster.

  Everything inside of me said to abort, to get the fuck away from him and his monstrous dick. I sat up intending to do just that as he grabbed my leg and pulled me towards him. I kicked out; instinct was a bitch, and I wasn’t ending up impaled on that thing tonight. No way in hell was he fitting with the condition of my unused vagina.

  “Erie, stop.” His tone was gentle, even, as if he was soothing a wild beast. “Gods, you’re shivering,” he mumbled as he fit his massive frame between my legs and stared down at me. He slowly leaned over and brushed his sinful lips over mine. His lips eased some of the nervous energy bubbling up inside of me. His mouth was soft, yet demanding. The combination was explosive to my senses.

  His tongue delved deeper, dueling with mine until nothing remained inside my head, not even my name. His hand cradled my face as his mouth dominated mine; the tenderness mixed with his hunger was unnerving. His heavy cock rested on my belly, a reminder of why I should fear him, and yet with his mouth against mine, I didn’t. Instead, my hand smoothed down my stomach, finding his intrusive manhood and slowly testing the weight of it as it slid down his silken shaft. My hand wouldn’t wrap around it, and yet I slowly pumped it until another hiss slid out between his clenched teeth. I sucked at this; it was just something I didn’t do well, which was new to me. I could cut a man’s head off, but I couldn’t please one.

  He pulled back, gazing down at me with an intensity that scared me. His tattoos swirled, glowing with undulating power that skimmed my naked flesh with an electrical current. He moved down to my breast, flicking one with his tongue before his teeth grazed it, stealing a sharp gasp from my lungs as he rolled it between his teeth as his tongue played upon the heated peak.

  “Callaghan,” I whimpered as I felt him against my apex, rubbing the slick folds with the thickened tip of his cock. Was it still growing? I squirmed, edging away from it.

  “Erie,” he laughed huskily as his hand slid between our bodies and his fingers parted my sex. He explored the depths as my sex gripped him tightly. Pressure forced my back to arch from the bed, giving him further access. I moaned as pleasure and uncertainty warred inside my mind. Before I could protest, he added another, filling me until it ached.

  I should have bailed, begged him to stop, something other than riding him as a maelstrom of emotions coursed through me. Magic hummed over my flesh and his head dipped, sucking against the flesh. I screamed as I combusted into a thousand tiny shards of glass at his touch.

  “What the hell, Callaghan! You, you almost killed me…” I whimpered through the lights that burst like a kaleidoscope in my vision. My body didn’t stop shaking, quivering, or doing whatever the hell it was doing even as he moved up
and kissed me.

  “It was only an orgasm, Erie,” he mused. “Your body responding to my touch, coming undone for me. It’s as natural as the fire burning in your depths for me.” He laughed huskily as he peered down at me with a cocky smile filling his mouth. “Ready to feed the wolf, kitten?” he asked as he pushed into my body before I knew his plan. I screamed as my nails dug into his flesh. My body burned from where he intruded, and my head thrashed from side to side as I rocked my hips to accommodate his girth. “Jesus, stop moving, woman. You should have warned me of your innocence,” he gritted out as sweat beaded from his forehead as he gazed down at me.

  “Move, bitch!” I ordered as I continued to rock, unable to stop without my body burning with pain. “Callaghan, get out of me. You’re ripping me apart!”

  “Erie, hold the fuck still,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. “I’m not asking. You’re too tight. You should have fucking warned me that you were a virgin before you let me fuck you,” he roared as he held my hips still.

  “Callaghan,” I whimpered through tears that blurred in my vision. “It hurts, make it stop. You’re breaking my vagina!”

  “It’s…not broken, little one,” he uttered as he rested his forehead against mine and stared into my eyes. “You’re too tight, relax for me. Relax, so I can give you pleasure.”

  “Relax? Are you fucking serious? You just tore me apart, and you want me to relax? It aches, dammit. Make it stop!” I growled as my body tightened around him, creating a painful reaction. I jerked my body as his teeth clenched from the subtle movement as I tried to dispel him from where we were joined.

  “You’re fucking perfect,” he growled as he slowly rocked his hips.

  “Ooh,” I whimpered. “More,” I begged as the sensation started to change. I relaxed and winced as he pulled out slowly, only to push himself in deeper. The pain lessened, and in its place was euphoria. My legs lifted, wrapping around his waist as I closed my eyes and just felt him. Moving wasn’t bad, moving wasn’t bad at all. After the initial entry, the pain and fullness he created, this wasn’t bad. In fact, it was…good.

  “Open your eyes,” he demanded huskily, and I obeyed, peering up into the oceanic storm. His mouth lowered and pushed against mine, caressing me with his lips as he slowly worked his hips in a beat that was heard only by our bodies. His tongue pushed past my lips, claiming mine in an ageless dance as our bodies warred for dominance.

  I clung to him, riding the wave of ecstasy he created as he took me over the height of passion and sailing through the stars. My voice broke as I begged for more, urged him to end the sensations he created that warred within me. His husky laughter was going to haunt me until the end of time, I was sure, but I didn’t care. I didn’t even mind when he withdrew from my body and turned me over, lifting my hips as he moved in and pushed in from behind.

  His hand landed on my ass without warning, stinging the flesh as the other gripped my hair, pulling it at the same time. I growled as I began to buck against him until the fullness mixed with pleasure as he worked his cock in and out of my body. I screamed until a hiss exploded from his lips and I buried my face in the pillow, screaming as pleasure released, hitting every nerve ending in my body.

  I didn’t move, didn’t care to show any sign of life until he’d withdrawn from my body and I was free of him. I finally turned over after a minute had passed; staring at his naked ass as he moved into the bathroom, coming back with a towel that he threw at me.

  “You bled everywhere,” he muttered as his hand scrubbed down his face as he stared at me. “You fuck like you fight, woman.”

  I ignored his barb, cleaning myself as he moved to the other side of the bed and crawled beneath the covers. Once his head hit the pillow, I jerked the blankets from the bed and walked towards the couch that leaned against the far wall.

  “Get your tits back in this bed,” he demanded.

  “Go fuck yourself, Paladin.”

  “Why would I do that when I have you here?” he laughed as he watched me.

  “That won’t happen again,” I muttered as I lay on the couch and pulled the covers over my head like a petulant child. “Everyone makes mistakes; you were just mine.”

  “Is that so? Maybe you should try it a few more times to be sure it was a mistake.”

  “I’m going to bed now,” I growled.

  “Night, Erie,” he chuckled.

  “Fuck off, Callaghan,” I groaned.

  Chapter 5

  I awoke to the silence inside the room. Unlike my apartment where the alarm would have gone off, silence reigned. I sat up slowly, aching everywhere. I ached in places I hadn’t even known you could hurt. My eyes moved around the space, finding a few curious statues.

  Standing, I moved towards one that caught my interest. I picked it up, staring at the grotesque shape of the figure. I set it down, picking up the next as my heart hammered in my chest. One by one, I picked them up and set them back down until I reached the last one. My eyes shifted to the sleeping figure on the bed and then lifted to the fertility wards above him, painted on the ceiling right above where he slept.

  I threw the statue at his slumbering head and then ducked and reached up, catching it before it could crash against the wall and alert sleeping beauty of my effort to take him out in his sleep. My gaze dropped to the glowing wards beneath his enormous bed; protection wards. I glared at his sleeping form, oblivious to the turmoil that rushed through mine.

  He’d fucked me in a room full of fertility relics! But then, of course, why wouldn’t he? It was his goal to knock me up. I moved into the bathroom, turning every faucet on before I dressed and slipped out of the bedroom into the living area. The moment I exited, I heard muffled voices.

  “He’s in with her now, so there’s not a need to take her until they’ve finished,” a deep voice said.

  “He knew how to get her into bed without having to chain her to one, I’ll give him that much. But she cannot be allowed to leave here until we are sure he’s accomplished the goal.”

  “She isn’t as smart as we thought she was if she fell for my death at his hands,” Arthur’s voice grated on my nerves as my eyes closed against my own stupidity. Motherfucker. “I thought she’d have been more of a challenge, and to be truthful, I had hoped she would be. I’ve looked forward to taking my pound of flesh for her insults over the years.”

  “My son is resourceful, but then he’s watched and studied Erie for over a century. He knew her weaknesses, her strengths. And the sense of honor which he knew would be her downfall in the end.”

  I swallowed bile as my eyes closed against the truth of his words. Callaghan had known I’d fall for his shit because I had an honor code, unlike him. I hugged the wall, turning down the long hallway that led past the men currently talking and came face-to-face with a Paladin. I reached for his mouth without hesitation, jumped onto his body as his eyes widened, and placed my feet against the wall as my hands twisted his head. The forward momentum mixed with the way my hands held him gave a reassuring crack as his neck broke. I caught his hulking frame before it thudded to the ground, pushing his massive body into a prone position against the wall, and moved deeper into the darkening hallway and towards the exit.

  Elaborate wards covered the walls as I reached the door, which only infuriated me more. He’d thought to entrap me in his apartment?

  Idiot.

  He may have studied me, but he hadn’t learned anything from it. Apparently, he’d missed the part where I was a master of wards. Most people struggled with them or took hours to remove them. It took me seconds to pull them apart and slip out into the lighted hallway, away from his trap he’d walked me right into last night.

  Paladin Knights covered the exits, which wasn’t an issue once I’d slipped into the maid’s room and pilfered a uniform. They nodded to me as I slowly walked towards the main elevator. Once inside, I slid the keycard into the slot and listened to the music that played from the speakers. One floor to go… A Knight entered
the elevator and smiled at me.

  “Beautiful day outside,” he acknowledged.

  “Is it?” I asked with a frown deepening in my forehead. Nothing about today was beautiful. Not for me. I stepped from the elevator and paused as I took in the army of Knights that turned as the elevator closed behind me.

  I was in the fucking stronghold? Great…

  I walked towards the doors, not bothering to wait to see if my ruse was noticed, and once there, I eyed the wards with worry. Fucking hell! My fingers worked effortlessly as I dispelled them before my hand landed on the glass doors and I exited with a sigh of release.

  Outside, the sun was indeed shining, as if everything was right in the world. Fuck the part where I’d been fucked by that asshole, or was now as empty as the sky was without the stars filling it. I felt the void; the darkness of betrayal was as sharp as a sword blade as I moved through the streets, making my way home. I totally got the part about it being a walk of shame right now. You did nothing but think about it as you walked.

  It didn’t take me long to reach my rundown apartment building. It wasn’t anything like the opulence of Callaghan’s, but then I’d borrowed it from its former occupants once they’d perished to demons. I’d at least avenged them after discovering their rotten corpses.

  The world belonged to those who survived the monsters who slipped through the cracks lately. Inside, there was no blood, but then it had probably been nothing more than a fucking image they’d created. I stripped out of my borrowed clothes and entered the bathroom, throwing wards up before I turned the hot water on, crawling into the bath to scrub off his scent.

  Tears burned my retinas as I quietly fumed in the silent apartment. My alarm wasn’t blaring; there was no sound from inside the residence, which meant someone had turned it off. Had they remained here to fuck with my shit after I’d run off with my hero? Probably.

  Steam rolled off the water as my skin reddened from its scorching caress. I lifted my eyes to gaze to the door as the wards pulsed in warning. Callaghan’s stink reached me before he rounded the corner and came into view.