The Red Shoe Chronicles : A Fantasy Romance Anthology

by N. R. Larry

  I shut my eyes, mumbling an incantation that sends the crumpled metal door flying off its frame. After a couple more verses, I manage to levitate Nick’s limp body into the air. He lands face down on the side of the road, tries to sit up, fails, and scowls at me.

  I sink to the floor beside him, eyes locked on his. “You’ve put yourself into this mess. I should let you deal with it, but I need you alive.”

  “My body doesn’t obey me,” he sputters a mouthful of muck. “Otherwise, I’d take care of it just fine.”

  I shake my head, a sardonic smile greeting his bravado. “Not without your powers, you won’t. The Hekate witches stripped you of them.”

  A smug glint twinkles in the depth of his blue gaze. It throws me off for a second, but it’s gone before I can be sure it was ever there. Proud demons never show weakness. Nick smacks his palms on the gravel, pushing. His body inches up before thumping back onto the dirt.

  I tsk-tsk. “Cut the crap and let me help you. Here.” I slice my left wrist, holding it to his mouth, offering my blood.

  Without his powers, this is the fastest healing for his battered body.

  He latches hungry lips onto the slit, closing his eyes. As he lifts from the ground, I follow suit. His stare travels my length. An eyebrow arches as he takes in my defying stance, the way my right fist burrows into my hip.

  Abandoning my skin, he steps into my personal space. I can’t control the way the muscles ripple on my bare shoulders. His gaze zeroes in on that spot. He takes another step, wrapping long fingers around my neck. My nostrils flare while a vein throbs under his fingertips.

  “This little witch wants to play with fire, huh? I'm game.” He swoops in and captures my lips, holding me inside his arms, crushing his growing erection against my lower body.

  I don’t know what’s driving me. Maybe it’s the magic of the red shoes. Maybe it’s the memories of last night, the tender moments when anything seemed possible. I. Don’t. Care. I entangle my fingers through his hair, fitting my curves to his hard plains like pieces of a sexy puzzle.

  When we come up for air, he whispers against my mouth, “I want to bury myself deep inside all the many delectable parts of you, make you scream in ecstasy until your throat turns raw. I want to own you.”

  I should shove him away, reclaim control over my body, and tell him to take a hike. Instead, I whimper when he squeezes my butt. Finding his mouth, I invade it with my tongue. He licks my lower lip, works his stiff cock between my soft thighs. Scorching heat radiates through layers of clothes. I’d be in deep trouble if he had regained his powers over the last six years because sexual energy fuels his powers.

  I release my grip on his arms to knead his back and shoulders. I run my fingers through in his black curls, then pull at them. Sharp nails scrape his scalp. I chuckle when his erection pokes my flat belly. He widens his stance, supporting my weight as he bends me backward. Taken by surprise, I grab the bulging muscles on his upper arms to keep my balance. My blood has worked faster than I anticipated.

  As our bodies meld together, our auras entwine. A surge of energy courses through me, spiking my heartbeats. His heart drums a crazy tattoo against my chest. He pulls us back upward, biting at my lip as he goes. I moan. A little pain is fine.

  “Brace yourself for a wild ride, little witch.” Winking, he laughs at my shocked expression when we shimmer.

  “Son of bitch!” I groan at the realization he has had his powers all along.

  Faint sirens announcing the first responders grow louder. The car wreckage and the desert landscape become a blur as he zings us away before the cops arrive.

  Nick

  Lust

  I’ve always gotten a kick out of teleporting. I’d often take Devon with me. It’s a handy power when you need a fast way out of a dangerous situation. Just be extra careful and double check that no witches had magically sealed the place to prevent you from vanishing. Lesson learned.

  I enjoy zooming through dimensions, but it's hard on humans. Jessie looks about to puke when we materialize at my place.

  “Asshole!” She doubles over and swats my hands away when I bend to help her up. “Off.” She gasps as if trying to catch her breath. “You’ve done enough.”

  Smirking, I shrug, and point to an overstuffed armchair in the corner of the room. She sinks onto the burgundy leather, throwing her head back, and clutching at her flat belly. When color creeps back to her face, she snaps her eyes open. Glancing around as if assessing her surroundings, her gaze scans my playroom. It is more impressive, and better equipped, than the one we used last night. Her expressive eyes display a myriad of emotions. Shock, fear, lust, rage. And we’ve got a winner!

  I catch the subtle movement of her wrist as it rests on the seat beside her hip.

  With a headshake, I taunt, “Not going to happen. My house is protected against spells. Money can buy anything, even witches.” I loom over her, grabbing the armrests. Her green eyes sparkle on her reddening face. “Demon dad, shifter mom. I’m not your garden variety of one-night stand. But then again you knew who you were dealing with when you approached me, didn’t you?”

  Heat and desire radiate from her, cocooning us. The hairs on my skin everywhere stand on their end. As undeniable as our passion is, the pull tugging at my midriff spells supernatural. Even though my brain screams for me to break free from this web of magic, my feet refuse to move.

  Jessie’s expression mirrors my anxiety about the conundrum we find ourselves in. I raise an eyebrow at the realization she is not the one conjuring the invisible bond trussing us. Growling like a wounded animal, she claws at my face, missing it by a hairbreadth when I dip it.

  I duck a punch and catch her fists. Pulling her up, I swirl her around, plastering her back against my chest. She kicks, but I’m physically stronger, unnaturally more powerful. “Shush, hon.”

  Her nails dig into the flesh on my forearms. She howls, “Condescending prick! I’ll pull your eyes out, bite your cock off if you try to stick it in me.”

  “I don’t force myself on women.” When I pull her earlobe between my teeth, chuckling, goosebumps ruffle her skin. “You’ll beg for more of my dick before I’m done with you.”

  Her struggle subsides, until her listless body rests on mine. Her round butt nestles my erection between its cheeks. I suck at a spot under her ear, sink my teeth on it, a blueish vein throbs under my tongue. The rhythm of her heartbeats matches the twitching of my cock.

  “I won’t let you,” she whispers. “You’ll have to force me. Or use your powers.” Fast breaths mark each word as if she is having a hard time focusing.

  I grunt, splaying my fingers on her navel, the tips tapping her sex. Even through the clothes, the wet evidence of her arousal coats my hand.

  She adds, her voice breaking at the last word, “Either way, that’s rape.”

  I let go of her and Jessie stumbles forward, grabs the headrest of the chair, and turns around to lock her eyes on mine. Vulnerability flashes in them. It’s gone when I blink.

  I shake my index finger at her. “I’ve told you. I don’t force women.”

  She lunges at me, blindly punching. She lands a couple of powerful blows on my chest and chin, but I don’t fight back. I don’t try to stop her either. I can take it, and Jessie needs to get it out of her system.

  “Do something, you wuss!” She spits the insult, her fingers clutching the silk of my shirt. “What kind of half-ass demon are you? You must be such a disappointment to Daddy.”

  Despite striking too close to home, her verbal slashing lacks physical counterpart. Her breasts heave from her efforts, but the fire in her gaze burns a much deeper passion. One I’m all too willing to get scorched by. I glide my palms down her arms, encircle her wrists, and bring them to my chest. A lazy smile curves my lips up.

  She scowls; but doesn’t yank her hands from mine. “Stop smirking, you son of bitch. You can’t keep me here forever.”

  “Don’t plan to. You’ll stay only until we s
ettle our score. You owe me, little witch.”

  Jessie blows her disheveled red curls away from her forehead. They stubbornly return to cover her face. She doesn’t pull away when I dip mine until our noses almost touch.

  With a sigh, she confesses, “I’m tired of fighting. You, the coven, your father, myself. For a few moments last night, it was just about Jessie and Nick. Did you feel that?”

  I nod, peering at her, dying to kiss her again. I hold back.

  She goes on, “There was no personal vendetta.” Her hands clutch at my upper arms as her body melts against mine. “During those moments, I wasn’t plotting my revenge on your family. You weren’t trying to overpower me.”

  I run my nose on the side of her neck. “I felt that too. And I liked it a lot.”

  “Against my better judgement, I want you to fuck me senseless right now. I’m no submissive, though.” She holds my gaze, defiance glints in her green eyes.

  “I don’t care who’s top, who’s bottom so long as I’m inside you.”

  I wait for her assent, which she offers me with a curt nod followed by a sharp raise of her chin. I love a challenge. Wrapping my fingers around her neck, I bring my mouth to her lips without touching them.

  Jessie shudders, closing her eyes and throwing her head over her shoulders. Her breathing comes as fast as mine.

  I whisper, “I don’t need magical powers to pleasure you.” I lick her bottom lip. “Tonight, it’s just Nick and Jessie again.” I mark each word with open-mouth kisses on her cheeks, nose, and full lips.

  She frames my face, claims my mouth in a passionate kiss. The pent-up lust from last night charges the air around us as I tore her sleeveless top in two and toss her leather skirt to the floor. She does the same to my slacks, then rips my shirt apart, buttons flying everywhere.

  I hurl Jessie onto the bed, climbing after her. Propping myself on my forearms, I kiss her until bright spots twinkle behind my closed eyelids. Her hands knead my flesh, her long nails rake the bare skin on my back. She’s marking me, but pain becomes pleasure.

  Pinning her to the mattress with my lower body, I moan inside her mouth when she crosses her feet behind my back, the red heels of her shoes dig into my butt. I bite the corner of her lips, the side of her neck, and move down to her breasts, sucking at the tiny heart-shaped mark above her left nipple.

  She pants, “That’s too much. I’m about to come.”

  I promised no magical powers. Superhuman speed doesn’t count. In the blink of an eye, Jessie is spread-eagled on my bed, hands and feet tied to its posts.

  “Cheat!” She yanks at the black cuffs, but a reluctant smile betrays her real feelings.

  I shrug, chuckling. “I’m half demon. What did you expect?”

  I crawl on the mattress until I reach her lush thighs. Leaning, I caress them with my cheeks. Clutching her waist, I close my mouth on her sex, savoring her sweetness. I drag my hands up her torso to cup her breasts. I increase the speed of my sucking in time with my fingers tweaking her nipples. Her moans match my sighs, while her flesh trembles under my tongue and teeth with the pleasure I gift her.

  “I’m starving,” I mutter against her softness. “And you’re the sweetest treat I’ve ever tasted.”

  When her sex quivers around my lips, it’s time for me to pull away. “We don’t want this to end so soon, do we?”

  Red nails dig into the dark satin around her wrists, she whimpers, “Nick, don’t stop.”

  Blood rings in my ears from the effort to control my lust. My dick is so hard it’s painful. I ignore it. “I like the way you sound, but that’s not good enough. I want you screaming, begging me for the release you crave.”

  I trace a lazy line with a finger from her nose to the top of her thighs. Stopping, I wait. She thrusts her hips up, enticing my hand to move further down.

  “Do you want me to keep playing, little witch?”

  She nods a few times in response and I stick a thumb inside her mouth. She sucks at it with such gusto, my cock gets envy. I trade the finger for my tongue. As our lips fuse together, I invade her sex with three fingers. Pressing them on the sweet spots I discovered yesterday, I play her body like the most exquisite fiddle. Her moist folds slip between my fingers, trembling. She’s almost there.

  I withdraw from her heat. My mouth dries up without her lips. Bracing myself over her, I study her face. The hunger on her expression plays havoc with my control. If I don’t get my act together, I’ll be the one begging in no time.

  Casting her eyes down, she smirks. “What’s the matter, hybrid? Can’t control your own cock?”

  I don’t need to look at my throbbing dick to know my own pleasure is barreling down on me with the power of a semitruck skidding out of control.

  I groan, “Foreplay is overrated. I’ll settle for you screaming my name this time.”

  Snatching my mouth onto her left nipple, I suck at her damn birthmark. She groans. I switch to the other breast, as my fingers pound her core, preparing her for my thick cock. Her thighs tremble, her hips shut up despite the restraints.

  She grumbles, “Almost there.”

  In one swift thrust, I bury myself in her tight channel. I cross my arms behind her back, holding her tightly against my chest as our bodies meld together. My cock pulses as her sex squeezes my length.

  I see stars. Burying my face in her red curls, I whisper, “Don’t hold back.”

  Jessie wails, “Nick! Yes! Nick!”

  Her screams undo me. I roar like the demon I am, my pleasure exploding in colorful flashes of light behind my closed eyelids. Her body jerks in my arms. Her ecstasy drives me insane.

  Yet I want more.

  Even though I shouldn’t. Even though I might need to take Jessie down with the rest of the Hekate witches, when the time comes. Right now, all that matters is the blinding orgasm she brings me.

  I unfasten her cuffs. Her limp arms wrap around my chest. I tuck her head under my chin, kiss the top of her head, and smile when a soft snore escapes her.

  As sleep numbs my senses, I give in to the illusion we can build a tomorrow. As her body snuggles against mine, I revel in the fantasy we might find a way to overcome everything that divides us.

  Nick

  Betrayal

  Recognizing the shrill of Karl’s ringtone, I force myself to abandon the warmth of Jessie's body, entangled around mine. As much as I hate to leave the bed, I’m worried about my friend’s disappearance.

  I stumble in the dark playroom, searching for the phone. When I find it, I unlock the screen, and blood drains from my face as I listen to whoever is on the other side.

  I switch the lights on, and Jessie’s puzzled expression holds my probing stare when I put the phone down on a table by the bed. I can’t articulate, so I growl. The rumble reverberates off the walls as I punch a hole through the nearest one.

  That helps. Just a smidgen. My beast rattles inside, wrestling to gain control over me. I win, for now. I grab her face in one hand, squeezing her cheeks, watchful not to crush her fragile bones.

  “I underestimated you, witch.” I spit the last word as if it were venom. “It’ll never happen again.”

  I shove her back onto the bed, swirl around, gritting my teeth. The bitter taste on my tongue is not at all unfamiliar. Just as the invisible fist clenching my gut isn’t new. It’s worse than Becky’s betrayal because I should have known better this time.

  I open the closet where I keep a few pieces of clothing. I grab the first tee and jeans I find and throw them over my shoulder.

  “These should fit you. Get dressed,” I shout, snatching clothes for myself.

  As I pull the jeans up, I glance her way.

  Eyes round as saucers, she knits her eyebrows. “What’s gotten into you?” she mumbles, fumbling with clothes a couple of sizes bigger than hers, without motioning to put them on.

  I fume, “Quit the innocent act. It’s getting old and I’m not buying it.” Anymore. “I’ll be damned if you ever gaslight me
again.”

  She throws her hands in the air. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Great job distracting me with sex.” She flinches. “That trick with your blood fooled me as well. I thought you actually wanted me alive.” Her bewildered expression deserves a motion pictures academy award. With eyes glued to her face, I offer, “Your friends at the Hekate coven! They’ve kidnapped Karl. Still nothing?”

  Wearing a vacant stare, she begins to dress. My heart skips a few beats at the thought that she might be innocent. She’s certainly no actress. I shake my head to get rid of the insidious self-doubt. Been there, done that, barely survived. Not to mention, losing my brother and powers.

  Bile burning my throat, I keep at it. “I’m done, in so many levels. For a moment earlier, I believed you. I thought we could work together to bring down the Hekate hags. Fool me once and all that crap.”

  She murmurs, “I’ve got no idea what you’re driving at.”

  I point to the phone on the nightstand. “Your accomplice called just now, threatening to kill my employee. Too bad you underestimated me. I can trace that call, but you’re coming with me. No tricks, or I swear I’ll snap your neck before you can conjure anything.”

  I wrap an arm around her waist and teleport us into a surreal scene. Five naked witches stand on the angles of a pentagram drawn on the floor of a dingy windowless vaulted room. An unconscious Karl slouches on a chair in the middle of the symbol. The women chant in Latin, dark red rays connect their fingers to a web of energy that snakes around my friend’s body. The chanting swells, his body takes off into the air, bones crack. Karl wails, then slams down on the chair. Judging by the ashen color of his skin, the routine has been going on for a while.

  This torture chamber is the same where the Hekate coven held Devon and me six years ago. I won’t be able to use my demonic powers, but I need to act before the witches notice our arrival. Without as much as a glance toward Jessie, I shift. The agony of the elongating of my limbs doesn’t hinder me. Karl needs me, he won’t resist the torture much longer. I’ve seen it happen before.