21 Shades of Night, page 408
Eva takes one look at me and snaps her head in Lucas’s direction, pinning him with a frustrated glare. “You brought the redhead here?”
“She came to me.” He states, leaving the bar. “I’m merely hiding her from my brothers.”
She cocks a thin eyebrow. “What do you need me for?”
“A favor, a big favor. Please?”
They stare at each other for a few minutes, having a silent argument. Eva sighs. “Don’t act like you’re giving me a choice. What do you want me to do?”
Lucas shrugs. “I need you to compel her to leave Earth.”
WHAT? I shoot off the bed and pull as hard as I can on the bed post, desperate to break the cuffs. The metal bites into my skin until it burns and aches, threatening to break the skin.
I don’t want to be compelled. I have absolutely no resistance against it, especially when done by a witch of her age.
“Compulsion is an exhausting thing to do, Lucas, and on an angel takes it to a whole other level of strength. I’m too old.”
I keep pulling, keep struggling, but I can’t break free.
“I know, Eva, but I wouldn’t ask this of you unless it was important.” He lowers his voice, but I can still hear. “She will ruin everything we’ve worked hard for. If, by some miracle, she manages to kill me our contract is terminated and you go back to working for War.” He clears his throat. “She is dangerous, Eva. She can send you back.”
“Is that the only reason?” Eva mutters, stepping closer to Lucas. She lowers her voice to a whisper, a whisper I can barely hear. “You couldn’t care less if this apocalypse is stopped.”
A silence falls and I stop struggling to strain my ears. “I care about her...and I want to keep her safe...” He whispers, turning his back to me. “Earth isn’t safe.”
The witch looks up at Lucas with such compassion and understanding and it sends dread barreling through my stomach. He’s appealing to her humanity, that’s all! He is manipulating her into controlling my mind.
“Oh please,” I scoff, tugging on the bedpost again. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t care about me. You don’t have the people you care about compelled. You don’t take away their free will!”
“On the contrary, my dear.” Eva says, slipping past Lucas. “I’ve been inside his head. I know how his mind works. I know why his heart still beats.”
I snap toward her and she stops in her path. “If you come near me, witch, I will hurt you.”
I pray she doesn’t see through my empty threat. Lucas turns to face me. His features are sharp, pulled into a terrifying expression that bares his teeth. I didn’t know Eva is so precious to him. I glare at him, planting my feet shoulder width apart. “Strike a nerve, did I?”
His dark eyes glow pale and his exposed skin begins to whiten. For me, it’s proof that Lucas isn’t the same man I met. He is split in two, controlled by a demon he has no power over. He growls and shoot forward in a breathtaking mix of smoke and blue fire only to be stopped by Eva raising her hand. Lucas freezes an inch from her palm, the fire fades, the smoke dissipates, and his eyes stop glowing, darkening back to almost human standards.
“Relax, Lucas.” Eva chuckles, keeping her friendly stare on me. “I’m old, but I’m not useless.”
She takes a few steps toward me and I lower my stance, bending my knees in defense. Extending her other palm in my direction, she begins to chant in Latin, her gravelling voice sending chills down my spine.
“Ah!” I shout, as a sharp pain radiates from the back of my head to the front and pounds in my temples. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I fall to my knees. My brain swells in my skull and my ears threaten to bleed. Whatever she’s doing to me hurts like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I’m on the brink of imploding. I clench my jaw against a scream that forces its way up my throat. I fight it back. I fight it back with everything that I have. I’m not going to give them the satisfaction. I lower my head.
“Look at me,” Eva demands, stepping closer.
Of its own accord, my neck snaps up and her molten gold eyes lock me into place. She continues to chant in Latin and no matter how hard I try I can’t take my eyes off of hers.
Amongst the sound her chanting and the blood vessels bursting in my ear, I hear Lucas at the bar pouring himself another drink. It seems as well as becoming a raging, psychopathic demon, he’s also become an alcoholic.
I wince as Eva crouches low and inches closer. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s almost like she’s digging around in my brain, searching my memories. A few of them played at the front of my mind. The day I woke up in hospital…
My first training session with Lucas…
When he told me he loved me…
The first time we had sex together, and finally, the night he was taken.
I scowl at her, but I’ve lost the ability speak. All I can do is drool. Those memories are for Lucas and I only. No one else has to see them. Eva bends down closer to me and I’m enveloped by a scent of honey and rosemary. In a split second, my mind hazes over and all my worries are sucked out of my head. Peace washes over me and I feel…calm. Calmer than I’ve been in a long time.
“You’re going to go back to your headquarters and return to the Never Dark realm. When you’re asked why you left, you’ll simply tell them that you are no match for Death. Once this is over, you won’t remember the compulsion.” Eva sways, but quickly recovers her balance. A thin line of blood rolls from her nose to her bottom lip, and as we keep eye contact, my thoughts begin to change. The burning need to kill Lucas and set things right disappears… the only thing I want is… to leave Earth. I shake my head and clarity swoops in as the pain fades.
The witch wobbles on her feet and I reach out for her, but I’m too late. The soft fabric of her robe grazes over the tips of my fingers as she falls in a crumpled heap on the ground. Lucas is at her side in a flash, checking her vital signs.
“Is she going to be okay?” I ask, unsure why I even care.
“Yeah, I think so.”
He scoops the suddenly frail, old woman into his arms and lays her on his bed. I try to remember why Eva fell, but I can’t. It’s like…these past few days are hazy? I can’t even recall when Eva came into the room. I shuffle and the quiet sound of metal scraping wood pulls me from my thoughts. I’m still handcuffed to the bed.
“Can you let me go?”
Lucas studies me curiously for a few moments. He seems awfully…uncertain. I stare back at him, no longer sure why I don’t want to kill him. I promised myself that I would end his suffering, but now I’m certain I’m no match for him. The thought scares the hell out of me.
He steps closer as he reaches into his chest pocket. “You know, I like you like this.”
I frown. “Like what?”
“Not angry.” He smiles, reaching around me. “And handcuffed to my bed.”
Of course, I walked right into that one. I sigh. “Just let me go so I can get out of here.”
The thought of being around him…being in the same room…I just can’t. A sad look crosses his features. “Once I let you go… we probably won’t see each other again.”
“I know.” My voice quivers. Damn. That didn’t come out as confident as I wanted it to.
He unlocks my handcuffs in a snap and I flinch away from him once I’m free. His power prickles along my skin, intimidating me. I rub my wrist to sooth the pain, but it barely helps. I don’t think anything short of ice is going to stop the ache.
I barely have time to react as Lucas snaps forward, gripping me by the hips and pulling me in to him. Smoke engulfs me and I feel weightless. I feel…non-existent. A split second later my feet find the ground again and the scent of smoke evaporates, but still lingers at the back of my throat. In the clear, I recognize the room. My room.
“Why’d you do that?” I demand, clenching my stomach as it rolls.
Lucas releases me and I step away. His demon magic crawls all over me. I can feel it on my skin, like a million tiny spiders.
“I brought you home. I thought I was being a gentleman,” he says, grinning mischievously.
A gentleman? Oh, please. He knows exactly how angels feel about demons and their abilities. “I could have found my own way home,” I retort, crossing my room to lean against the reflective glass of my wardrobe.
“What kind of host would I be if I didn’t make sure you got home safely?”
I push ten frustrated fingers through my hair. “Whatever.”
I need to clip my hair up. I can’t have it resting against the back of my neck. It’s making these random flares of heat worse. I rush over to my vanity table and search for a clip large enough to hold my hair up and away. I don’t own a lot of hair clips, but I know I have one or two lying around here somewhere.
I lift a large blue casefile and find a big, gold-edged hair clip pinned to a file about a werewolf who has ripped apart four people in Concave City this month. Now there’s a demon more my speed. I grab the clip and pin up my hair.
I turn around and my chest slams into Lucas’s. I squeak as I bounce off of him and he catches me by the hip before I fall back into my vanity table—slash office desk.
“What are you doing?” I ask, and disgustingly, I become breathless as his scent swarms me.
He smells amazing. He’s always smelled amazing. A strange, light pang flutters in my chest and I can’t tell if it’s because of the teleporting or because of the admiring look in his eyes. He is a demon, I remind myself over and over. He’s going to end the world.
I gulp. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m just trying to memorize you’re features,” he confesses and I tense as he trails a lazy finger up my forearm. I peer at it. “this is goodbye, after all.”
“Yeah…” I flick my gaze from his finger on my forearm to his face, and his uncertain expression morphs into something unruly. “I guess it is.”
He knows exactly what his touch is doing to me. I let out a slow, controlled exhale. I’m not going to do this. It’s wrong and against everything I’ve been taught. I watch in sweet, torturous agony as slides his wet tongue across his bottom lip. Oh, God. I know exactly what that feels like on my skin. Delicious desire burns at the core of my being my core. How long has it been since I’ve had sex? Without thought, without any kind of rational control, I throw myself at him and kiss him with everything I’ve got.
Lucas
* * *
I HOLD HER close as she presses her body and lips hard against mine. She strokes my tongue with hers in the most delicious fucking way, making the reaction in my pants unstoppable. This is what I want. This is where I want to be. Her heart beats hard against my chest and I listen to it. I hear her excitement as it dances with her fear in a messy, but infinitely beautiful beat. I wish I could record it. I wish I could listen to it whenever I doubt myself because it’s filling me with all of the confidence in the world. Violet wants this as much as I do. For years, I’ve imagined this moment, the moment when Violet Ashton allows herself to want me again.
I slide my left hand up the back of her tight, white dress and into her soft hair. Even though she just clipped her hair up, I pull it out and let her hair fall down her back and around her slim shoulders. If we’re going to do this, then we’re going to do it the way I’ve been imagining it.
Wild.
The clip hits the ground with a small thud and Violet kicks off her tall, white stilettos.
“We shouldn’t…” She gasps, breaking away from my mouth for a greedy gulp of air.
“We should.” I kiss her, desperately, and guide her backwards, grabbing her body by the handfuls.
I push her toward her mirrored wardrobe as we voraciously devour each other with as much intensity as our fight in the alley outside Sequin. I wanted her then too. I would have taken her in the alley if she allowed it.
Breaking the kiss, I flip her and shove her forward. Gasping, Violet catches herself against her mirror and presses her torso against the cool glass.
“Unzip me,” She orders, pulling her hair to the side.
With every pant, her hot breath fogs the glass and it drives me crazy! I clench my teeth against the urge to rip her dress clean off. Instead, I kiss the back of her neck and pinch the puny, white zipper between my thumb and index finger. I watch in the mirror as her dress slides down her arms and exposes more and more of her flesh the lower the zipper is pushed. Eventually, the pathetic white fabric pools around her feet and I take a step back to admire her beautiful body. She is every bit as perfect as I remember. Perfect, fair skin…soft, subtle curves, and an ass that could probably save the world.
“Jesus-fucking-Christ. You’re so damn sexy, V.” When was the last time I’d even seen a woman so perfect? It’s no wonder I haven’t been able to satisfy my hunger. No one measures up. Devouring a million women could never be as satisfying as a single, small taste of this one.
My one.
Violet turns around to face me and I’m grateful that I can see well in the dark. My gaze falls to her impressive bust and my mouth waters at the sight of her delectable nipples covered by thin white lace. Violet flicks her hair so it drapes all around her, the way I like it, and stalks toward me. Her stare doesn’t leave mine as she reaches out and presses her palms against my chest.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispers, gliding her hands up my chest, clasping my top button.
“How much?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but you were the last person I was with,” she swallows hard, popping a button. “intimately.”
Guilt slices my chest. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” She releases the last button and my shirt falls open. Her heavy lidded stare falls to my bare stomach. “I didn’t want anyone else.” Our eyes lock. “Still don’t.”
I grit my teeth behind my lips. This whole time...
Violet presses her warm hands against my stomach and I quiver at her presence as it travels over the surface of my skin.
“We could be great together,” I groan, closing my eyes as she touches every inch of my torso.
“You can’t fool me, Luke,” she kisses my throat. “We’d be a disaster and you fucking know it.”
Growling, I grab her and lift her off the ground. She moans in delight as I boost her high and throw her onto her bed. Violet lands with a squeal and a bounce and I dive on top of her, not giving her a damn second to recover. We wrestle for a moment, an aggressive struggle for the top position.
I win, naturally.
I pin Violet underneath me and kiss her hungrily. I devour her mouth like it’s my first sip of cool water after spending a week in the dessert. I’ve imagined this for so long. I never thought I’d have her again. Not in this lifetime.
I slide my hand down her flat, smooth navel, loving how her body heaves in response to my touch. She flexes her hips up in a rhythm, hinting for me to bring my fingers lower.
“You want me between your legs?” I ask, planting soft kisses up her neck.
Nodding, she blows out a heavy exhale. I’ve never seen Violet so desperate—wait. That’s a lie. She’s always been desperate for me to pound her into next week. This time is different. I can sense her detachment. To her this is one last tango.
“When this war is won, I’m going to take you back to the Underworld, V. I’m going to chain you to my throne and make you my queen.”
I slide my hands south of her hips and toy with the hem of her underwear. Violet moans and it exposes every nerve in my body. “Not going to happen, Cross.”
“It’ll happen,” I tell her, kissing her bottom lip. “I’m not giving you a choice.”
She chuckles, lazily, as I trail kisses from her lips, down her neck and across her chest. I use my teeth to free her nipple from the confines of her bra and it pops out in all its hard glory. Fuck. I love her nipples. They’re big and so damn edible. I barely have time to suck it to the back of my throat before Violet forces her fingers through my hair and urges me back up to her mouth, pulling me off her breast with a pop. “Skip the foreplay, Lucas. Your mouth isn’t what I want.”
“No?”
She shakes her head and I kiss her. Hard. Our lips melt together like ice on a hot slab of concrete. The only thing running through my mind is her. God know when I’ll see her again—if I’ll see her again. I slip my hand underneath the fabric of her panties and she spreads her thighs, opening herself up for me. I slide into her wetness, parting her beautifully with my fingers. I groan, breaking our kiss to stop my head from spinning.
“Ohhh…” She rushes out on an exhale, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “I’ve missed you.”
She reaches for my belt and fumbles with the buckle. Thank God pregnancy isn’t a possibility because I’m diving in bare and I’m going to fill her with enough cum to impregnate an entire suburb. I move between her thighs as she lowers my zipper, grips the hem of my pants and pushes my slacks over the curve of my ass. A gentle flick of my hips is all it takes for my cock to spring free. I pull her panties to the side, hook her leg over my hip, move my hand and fill her completely.
She moans, arching her back as I impale her on my warm cock. Her soft, velvety pussy grips my thick shaft and I can barely move.
“As tight as I remember.” I grunt, pulling out and leaving only the tip inside. “Damn.”
Violet wraps her legs around my hips and locks her ankles together. Grabbing me by the collar of my shirt, she tugs me closer. “Show me how much you missed me.”
I sink into her until I can’t possibly get any deeper. Buzz. Buzz. We freeze.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growl, against her swollen lips.
“Ignore it.” She kisses me, eager to pull my thoughts from my phone that buzzes in my crumpled pocket. Buzz. Buzz.
I try to ignore it, but nothing is a bigger buzzkill than a vibrating phone in your pocket while you’re trying to fuck, and for me, it usually means business.
