by Jacey Ward
“I would like to think you can talk to me. We’re holed up here together after all.”
She glanced at him through her peripheral vision and swallowed almost grudgingly.
“I just want to make sure we get this bastard before I go to Milan.”
Kalen watched her, his mind probing her thoughts but she had purposely shut him out.
Something is on her mind and it has nothing to do with Uvall.
Her cell phone rang from inside her purse and he saw a muscle in her cheek twitch nervously.
“You need to get that?”
“No, it can go to voicemail,” she replied. “Are you going to eat? I stood in line for six years to get that manicotti for you.”
Reluctantly, Kalen moved back and dug into his meal, but he kept his eyes on his companion.
“We’ll find him,” he told her, wanting to take the umbra of worry from her face. “And then you can go back to your life as it was before.”
She met his gaze and smiled lopsidedly.
“Exactly as it was before?” she asked teasingly. “Is that your way of saying that you’re kicking me to the curb after you find Uvall?”
A sweeping sadness rushed through him and he cleared his throat.
“You might be the one tired of me,” he replied gruffly, emotion coloring his tone. A dark eyebrow rose in surprise.
“You don’t know me very well.”
“I’m hoping to change that,” Kalen told her, forcing a teasing smile, but she shook her head.
“I don’t let many people into my life and certainly not at the warp speed I’ve allowed you in. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
A combination of worry and pleasure shot through Kalen as he heard the sincerity in her words.
You say that now, but what will you do when you learn that I am exactly what you despise?
Kalen shoved the unpleasant thought from his mind. There was time enough to concern himself with what Circe would think. A small part of him still hoped to keep the truth from her, even though he knew it was a pipe dream. He might manage to hide it until Uvall resurfaced, but once the rogue demon was in his clutches, the truth would be revealed.
From her bag, the cell began to ring again and a look of anger passed over her delicate features.
She wrenched the phone from her purse and rose from the dining room chair without saying a word.
“Where are you going?” Kalen demanded, but she didn’t answer. A moment later, he heard a gentle splash and the supersonic flush of the toilet.
When Circe returned, she was no longer holding the cell and Kalen realized she had flushed it.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded. The instinct to fight her battles overcame him and again he was floored by the foreign emotion. Circe simply shook her head and sat.
“I am fine – now.”
His extrasensory abilities told him that a tension was mounting inside Circe, one he couldn’t fully understand.
Maybe I’m the cause of her tension – my presence can’t be good for her. Maybe I should let her go, he thought for a fleeting moment, knowing that somehow, his presence had caused a rift in her life.
But despite the knowledge, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words aloud. As convinced that Circe was that he would not easily be rid of her, he was equally certain of the opposite.
The only difference was, Circe wasn’t lying to him the way he was to her.
Instead of facing that, Kalen grabbed her around the waist as she went to pass by. For the second time that day, and an unbelievable number of times since they had gotten the room, Kalen had to have her. The only peace he felt lately was when he was sunk deep into her body.
What was it about her that gave him solace? That stilled the demons in his head, and the fiery burning for retribution that was always in his gut?
She calmed him and somehow made him feel complete. He hadn’t even known that he felt incomplete before. Damnit, what was it about her?
It was a kiss ripped from his deepest desires, finally a way he could pour out his feelings for her. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to become vulnerable enough to another person that he would utter words of affection, but maybe he could show her what she did to him. Hunger poured from him as he deepened the kiss, drowning her in his need.
Trembling with sudden desire, she met him thrust for thrust, their tongues sparring and warring for dominance. They tore at each other’s clothes, not caring where they fell. Nothing could stop him in this moment from owning her, taking her hard and deep, and branding himself onto her.
He laid her back, but when he moved to come over her, she shifted and pushed him onto his back, climbing over him and planting her lips on the muscles of his chest.
He grunted, all the blood in his body flooding into his cock at her aggressive move. “You’ll fucking drive me insane,” he groaned as her hot little teeth found the flat disc of his nipple. “God, Circe.”
She chuckled evilly as she continued to torture him, “I remember how you didn’t let me come earlier when I was desperate…do you remember that, Kalen? You know what they say about karma and a bitch, right?”
His stomach clenched at the memory of exactly how he had pleasured her earlier, but also how he had drawn it out. Longer than she ever thought she could have survived. The orgasm had been cataclysmic – so powerful that neither of them would ever forget it.
As her lips began moving lower, her hand caressed his thigh. His balls clenched in anticipation as his cock jerked with impatience.
“Hmm, what do you want, Kalen?” she asked with a sultry voice as her fingers slid down to grasp his sac.
“Be careful, baby. You’re playing with fire,” he growled.
He barely breathed as he watched her move between his thighs, her hand grasping his cock lightly.
Ah hell. He could barely breath as he watched her, her tongue reaching out and teasing the head of his shaft.
“Fucking hell, Circe!” Every muscle in his body tightened as shots of sensual energy flowed from her tongue to his cock.
Then, in a move designed to destroy his mind, her lips parted and her sweet, hot mouth wrapped around the head of his shaft, pulling him deeply into heaven.
Her tongue rimmed the top of his shaft, paying special attention to the bundle of nerves under the flared head. Her hand stroked his shaft simultaneously, blowing his ever-loving mind.
“Enough!”
Desperate, desire nearly tearing him apart, his fingers clenched in her hair, he drew her mouth from the pulsing head of his cock and pushed her onto her back.
A gasp rose from her as she found herself firmly beneath him once again. Anticipation flowed through her as she watched him move between her thighs, pushing them apart, his mouth lowering to her core.
Sensations exploded through her as his tongue streaked over the sensitive bundle of nerves in her clit. She felt the passion rise even higher in her, she was burning, the firestorm building to uncontrollable levels.
With each lick and each tantalizing suck, her forced her body to his whim, taking her to heights she hadn’t known existed before meeting this demon. The need for orgasm built until she felt tortured, almost lashed by each fiery streak of passion tearing through her.
He teased and tormented her, building each sensation until when she exploded, the cataclysm was mind-numbingly explosive. The convulsions rocked her over and over until she almost wept with the pleasure.
Before the spasms could ease, he was rising over her, pausing briefly at her breasts to tongue each nipple, then treat it to a series of sharp little bites, just enough to send her body into another paroxysm of ecstasy.
“Beautiful. So fucking beautiful…” he whispered, almost to himself.
He lifted her thighs and spread them wide. He leaned his hips forward, and the steel-hard crest of his shaft pressed deeply into the folds of her pussy.
Circe felt the stretching burn as he pushed into her, gasping at the pleasure, the sense of
being complete, that always seemed to overcome her when he thrust into her body. She moved her hips upward, trying to try him even deeper within her.
“Look at me, love.” The demand was rough and she was helpless to ignore it. “Let me see your eyes as I take you over the edge again.”
Her hands raised from the sheets, clenching at the muscles of his chest. She felt the power beneath her fingertips and that somehow made her even hungrier for him to possess her.
A strangled cry tore from her as he suddenly shifted the angle of his plunge, sinking deeper into her, pounding that sensitive spot deep inside her.
The world receded as explosions went off behind her eyelids. Breathless cries escaped as her world became only him, only the pleasure he could bring her. Each impalement forced streaks of pleasure/pain through her body, the feelings tearing through her senses as the ecstasy finally overcame her one final time.
Her violent shudders of release milked Kalen’s cock and the pleasure tore through every muscle in his body. His sack tightened and the fire raced through him.
He roared his satisfaction and she felt every pulse of his release inside her. When the last spasm ended, he fell to the side, rolling her with him so that they remained joined at their cores. He gathered her in close and kissed the top of her head lightly.
“You could be the death of me, Valkyrie,” he whispered into her hair.
The moment felt touched with a powerful magic and neither partner was ready to break apart.
Why does the world always have to intrude? both silently asked themselves.
Chapter 7
The feeling of dread growing inside Circe had nothing to do with the search for Uvall which was going nowhere.
In fact, for thirty-six hours, she and Kalen had remained in their suite, playing chess, making love and watching movies as they waited for word from Kalen’s associates as to where the demon might be.
Circe felt as if she hadn’t eaten as much in her entire life as she had in that suite.
“They’re going to need to roll me down the runway at Fashion Week,” she groaned, laughing. But it didn’t stop her from opening her mouth to accept another chocolate covered strawberry from his fingers. It was incredible to let loose and be spoiled and she relished the feeling, knowing how fleeting it would be.
At first, Circe had wondered if Kalen was even looking for Uvall. Something made her think that he was looking for a reason to whisk her away for a few days and keep her for himself.
It didn’t upset her in the least; not really. It was charming to believe that he desired her enough to want to do that, but as the hours ticked by, it became increasingly obvious that Kalen was becoming as stressed as she felt - but for different reasons.
Whenever the phone rang, they both jumped.
From her end, Circe knew it could only be one person; Analeigh. The model’s voicemail was surely already full, the agent livid that she had checked out of the Mercer without a word to anyone and had not met the other models at LaGuardia for their flight to Italy.
Circe couldn’t bring herself to answer, even knowing that this act of insolence was going to be taken out on her fellow models. But Uvall’s capture took precedent. Or at least that was what she told herself.
Anyway, I’ll be back in time for Fashion Week. She’s getting her knickers in a knot for no reason.
It became clear, however, that Kalen hadn’t simply sidelined the Valkyrie for the mind-blowing sex, because with each call he took, he became more annoyed.
“Where the actual hell could this bastard be hiding?” he snapped, smashing the phone into the sofa after yet another disappointing call.
“How do you even know he’s still here in New York?” Circe asked curiously.
“It was the last known sighting,” Kalen explained. “But you’re right, he could be anywhere by now. It’s been days since anyone has seen him.”
“It’s gotta be hard for him to move with every Deviant in the country looking for him. It’s a miracle he made it across the country without being nabbed.”
“Yeah, well our lovely sorceress Rowan helped him with that. He boarded a plane and was almost snatched in the airport but Rowan enshrouded him with a temporary veil and he was gone before anyone could get a handle on him again. He’s off the radar, no cell, no hotels. He’s living like…”
“A troll?” Circe offered, watching his face closely as she said the word. She had noted the pained expression when she had brought up the subgroup of Deviants the previous day and she wondered why it had bothered him so much.
It was true, the trolls were undesirable, but they were no real threat to anyone. They were like raccoons; annoying and a little devious, but generally they kept to their own kind. In fact, they had almost disappeared several hundred years ago and no one heard much about the race any longer. Yet Kalen seemed to cringe at their mention.
I wonder why.
“Yes,” Kalen said quickly. “Like trolls.”
He shifted his eyes away and turned his attention out the window but Circe was intrigued by the idea.
“Is it possible that he’s located trolls here and is hiding among them?”
Kalen’s face turned opaque at the suggestion, his eyes flashing a prism of greens, yellows and browns as he shook his head.
“There are no trolls here,” he growled. “You said so yourself.”
“Well, I only know what I’ve heard. All groups manage to survive. Hell, there are still living Zoroastrians living in the world. Who’s to say that a few trolls didn’t stay behind and rebuild in the undergrounds. Maybe we should check abandoned subway – “
“No!” Kalen roared and Circe’s mouth parted in shock at his tone. Immediately, a look of contrition fell over his face.
“Trust me, Uvall is not with the trolls. He’s above ground.”
Circe’s eyes became slits.
“What is it with you and the mentions of trolls?” she demanded, unable to keep silent.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t? You just bit my head off for mentioning them and every time I say the ‘T’ word, you get a funny look on your face.”
“You’re imagining things,” he said flatly. “Anyway, we’re talking about Uvall.”
“I think it’s worth a shot to check out the underground tunnels. Hell, trolls could be living among the homeless, and gods know, there are thousands of them in NYC. We can’t just sit here anymore, Kalen. I have to leave for Milan in a day and a half. I have contractual rights to fulfill, Kalen. I’m in enough shit as it for being here.”
She had not meant to say the last sentence.
“Why?” he demanded. “Why are you in shit for being here? Are you supposed to be somewhere else?”
“Yes!” Circe exploded. “I’m supposed to be in Milan!”
“Not until Friday. It’s Wednesday. Who’s giving you a hard time?” He stood up, looking ready to fight the person that was pressuring her immediately.
“There are parties to attend,” Circe sighed, wishing that she was not having the conversation. “We’re expected to be at events.”
This is your own fault. You brought it up.
“Expected by whom? Is that in your contract?”
“Not exactly…”
Circe exhaled in exasperation.
“It’s complicated. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You have to admit, sitting here is not solving anything.”
“Circe, if Uvall catches wind of me anywhere near, he’ll disappear so fast, none of us will have a chance.”
“Fine. I’ll go looking for him.”
Kalen growled.
“You think you’re any match for a fallen demon lord and a high priestess? He knows who you are, Circe. No, we have to wait until we have intel. I’m sorry but that’s the end of it.”
She shrugged and sank back into the sofa.
“Fine,” she replied. “But thirty-six more hours and then I have to go.”
“Not i
f I order you to stay.”
She balked, her eyes becoming slits.
“Excuse me?” she choked. “You would order me to stay?”
Kalen’s face twisted into stone and for the first time since she had met him, Circe felt a stab of fear as she stared at him.
“Don’t make me do it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be making you,” she hissed. “You would be making me. How can you even ask that of me? You’d be putting my entire career on the line.”
She searched his face for any sign of remorse or shame but she saw nothing, her back tensing.
It was all an act. He’s a Deviant, through and through. I was just clouded by the amazing sex. Now that I’ve succumbed to him, he thinks he can control me.
Circe was furious with herself and she swallowed her anger.
“We’ll see what happens,” Kalen told her and she wrenched her hands out of his, bile rising through her. She wished she had not flushed her phone down the toilet.
Someone pounded on the door and they both turned toward the sound.
“Did you order room service?” Kalen demanded. Circe only shook her head stiffly.
She watched as Kalen moved out of her line of sight, silently making his way toward the door.
“Who is it?” he called, his voice gravelly. For a split second, she thought she heard some regret but it was gone before she could be certain.
“It’s me.”
She didn’t recognize the man’s voice through the door but Kalen seemed to, the swear tearing from his lips giving clear indication that he was not happy with whoever was there. Circe heard him opening the door.
“What the hell are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?”
A stunningly handsome stranger sauntered into the suite and Circe rose.
A vampire.
“Oh…” the immortal said when he saw her. “I didn’t realize you had company. I’m Evander St. James.”
He stretched out his hand to introduce himself but Circe was far too angry to accept it.
“And I was just leaving to find my own suite,” Circe replied, shooting Kalen a scathing look. “You can call the front desk to find out where that is if you should need me.”
