by Harley James
He blew softly on the landing strip of caramel-colored hair, then swept his tongue, broad and slow, across her softness. Again and yet again, as her hips rolled. He vocalized along with her.
When she was at the brink, he pulled back on his heels to smile at her.
“O-oh my God, what are you doing? Come back here,” she panted, holding out a hand.
“Old men like me, we need our rest, you know.”
“Oh f— You. Big. Baby. I was only joking. Look at you. My God, you’re…” Her body pulsed from her scalp to her toes just looking at him.
His lips tilted in that thoroughly sexy way of his. “I’m what?”
He was going to make her say it. Say it all. Jackass. She came up on her elbows, watching his pupils dilate even more as her breasts jiggled. “Touch me, Grimm. I’m dying for any part of you on me.”
When he climbed back onto the air mass to kiss her legs again, her victory felt petty and hollow. She pulled on his shoulders, moving him up her body until he rubbed his stubbled chin against her belly. Then he pressed his lips against her sensitized, reddened skin with velvet kisses. His bold hands kneaded her breasts as he moved up her body, almost making her forget what she needed to say.
“Grimm.”
“I’m busy.”
Gods, yes, he was, and gloriously so, doing all those lovely things to her neck with his tongue.
But, he deserved more.
“Grimm.”
He sucked her earlobe into his hot mouth. “You really want to talk right now?”
No. “Yes. I have to tell you something.”
He pulled back, streamed them to her king-sized bed, and lay beside her, head propped on his hand. She ran her thumb across his bottom lip, giving her pulse a moment to settle. He kissed her thumb, then raised an eyebrow at her serious expression. “If you’re about to say something nice, I need to get my phone so I can video the moment.”
She laughed then, her heart lighter than she could ever remember. “I’m that much of a bitch, huh? Oh wait, I think you called me a harpy.”
He cocked his head, running his fingers through her hair. “I know you’ve got a heart of gold under all that biting wit and emasculating sarcasm. And trust me, someone who has enough compassion to give an archdemon the benefit of the doubt has more love in their heart than most.”
Her face and heart warmed all at once. “Don’t tell anyone.”
The sun slanted through the crack between the linen curtains, highlighting fine lines when his eyes crinkled. “Your secret’s safe with me, North.”
She knew it was. With her Viking, every piece of her felt safe.
She sat up, sweeping back the errant golden lock that always fell across his forehead. She wanted to see his eyes. “What I was going to tell you before was…” She held her breath, then let it out, feeling almost light-headed. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted. You’re my home base. I’m not worried anymore about where life takes us. I will always need to spend time here at the club, but when you need to roam, I have a team who can run this place in my absence. I always want to be by your side.”
Butterflies exploded in her belly as his face lit with a glorious smile.
“We’ll find our balance,” he whispered and pulled her down into the bed’s silken sheets and moved his muscled body over her. “My true north.”
She opened to him then, opened her whole self—heart, body, and soul—to his deep passion that filled all her empty places. Filled them with his sighs and groans, his sweet, dark whispers, his gritty masculinity.
His big, big love.
She gasped, holding onto his steady shoulders, looking into his intense eyes. His powerful strokes drove her higher. Toward union. In his focused gaze, she saw forever. The unknowns were there in the fathomless blue, yes. The unknowns, like whether she’d be able to give him the family he longed for.
That she longed for.
The unknowns like if they were wise to even try to find a way to bring children into this world with the dangers they still faced. A lifetime of battling demons and archdemons and who knows what else the Guardians would be called on to defeat.
But just now, the unknowns didn’t matter. Their fingers entwined on either side of her head, their breath mingling, his body covering hers, giving her promises, ecstasy, hope.
Love.
Her hair tangled on the pillows as the climax ripped through her. Ari’s mouth slashed across hers, taking her vocals, giving her back…
More.
He let go, and she felt their power threads meet and knit together.
“As it’s meant to be.”
“Yes,” she breathed back.
He held her as the tremors faded and the hours passed, the sun dipping lower in the horizon amid more love and whispers. Too soon, she could hear the booming of the bass start in the club as the DJ prepared for the show to go on, despite the wreckage across the city. She sighed, not wanting to leave this bed and face the mess downstairs, but really, nothing could get her down tonight.
She smiled and kissed him again. “I guess that’s my cue to get to work.”
He hooked an arm around her naked waist, not so gently pulling her back into the sheets. “Not so fast, woman. You still have to pay for that towel whipping.”
She laughed. “Show me what you’ve got, Viking.”
And so, he did.
Thank you for reading Dark Huntress.
If you loved Dark Huntress then you will love Dark Hunter from the same series.
“This isn't your mother's fairy tale. And I'm no prince charming. I'm the devil next door. And claiming Jessie is what I desire most.”
Click here to get Dark Hunter now!
The series continues… Each book is a stand alone with a happily ever after.
Dark Hunter
Guardians of Humanity
Sneak Peek
This isn't your mother's fairy tale. And I'm no prince charming.
I'm the devil next door.
And claiming Jessie is what I desire most.
I was a scumbag before my death and fate gave me two choices.
Fight demons for the sake of humanity, or face hellfire and damnation.
Yeah, not really much of a choice...
Most women who come this close to a demon hunter turn to putty on the spot.
Not Jessie.
This sassy little spitfire is playing hard to get.
Beautiful eyes and heart-shaped a$s that would make any immortal do bad things.
Guarding humanity is tough, but loving Jessie makes me remember what it's like to be human.
Her gentle touch and caring heart make me want to be... more.
So as the battle for good and evil draws near, Jessie's safety is my main concern.
They try to come for her.
Wrong move.
I protect what's mine.
Any time. Any where. No matter the costs.
Nobody messes with my girl.
Sexy meets magical in this steamy full-length, stand alone novel. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and happily ever after guaranteed! This is book 1 of the Guardians of Humanity series.
Click here to get Dark Hunter now!
Chapter One
Jessie Blaze whapped her wooden spoon on the kitchen counter and grimaced at the apartment wall where her neighbor’s headboard had been banging off and on for damn near three hours. A sexual boot camp that made it nearly impossible to study for tomorrow’s Constitutional Law test, which she was going to flunk if she didn’t get some food and serenity around here stat.
“Whoever he brought home’s not gonna be able to walk for a week.” She leaned down to bare her teeth at Scourge, her ten-year-old Chihuahua who was sitting in his chair at the table. Scourge growled back before giving her a sloppy doggy kiss.
The wall abuse continued, only now her neighbor’s bed buddy added vocals in an impressive soprano. Jessie rolled her eyes, but couldn’t suppress a shiver. It had been too long since she’d
scratched that kind of itch, and she wouldn’t be breaking the dry spell any time soon. Being a female bartender provided loads of opportunities for sexual escapades, but watching people get liquored up and making all the same mistakes night after night had a way of dampening her enthusiasm for accepting any of the inevitable offers. And between work, school, worrying about her uncle, and taking care of Gramma and Grampa, there simply wasn’t time to get to know anyone.
So here she was, twenty-six-going-on-sixty, trying to be responsible and study, but instead only managing to visualize herself as the one pressed up against her mysterious and well-mannered neighbor’s tall, hard body. Those sculpted shoulders rising above her, his come here I wanna bite you lips descending, her skin burning for his touch…
Burning?
Smoke from the pan.
Water sizzling as it overflowed the pot of spaghetti.
Jessie lunged for the stove, swearing. She pulled both the pan of charred hamburger and the pot of noodles off the burners as boiling water sloshed across the stovetop.
Stupid Nate. Why’d he have to flaunt his hookup like this? She could’ve sworn he was interested in her. Especially after he’d helped her deal with her on-again-off-again date’s tumble down the stairs.
And the mailbox debacle.
She’d even noticed him inhaling deeply like he was appreciating a wine’s rich bouquet whenever he held the door open for her. Which was a little creepy, but his sexy smile mitigated the weird factor. She hadn’t seen him with anyone before, so she’d hoped he might be single and…
You are so lame, Jessie.
And unfair. She didn’t know much about him other than he had a sexed-up British accent, a smile that made her knees weak, a body that made her forget her own name, and eyes that made her slumbering right brain wake up and spout poetry. Just because he knew his way around a woman’s body—some other woman’s body, gah—didn’t mean she should take her sexual frustrations out on him.
Maybe she should bring more JBlaze into her everyday life—her stage name when she tied on her bar apron.
An ass-kicking, name-taking, booty poppin’ diva.
Jessie looked down where Scourge licked a pile of noodles off the floor. She turned off both burners and picked up her dog as a new round of moaning and headboard slamming began next door. Her dreams—and worries—were bigger than a momentary heartbreak by a guy who could charm a chastity belt off a nun.
“Looks like we’re gonna have to swing by McDonalds before hitting the library, Scourgie. You’ll have to hide in my purse again.” With only two hours before the law library closed, she didn’t want to fuss with getting gussied up. Besides, Mr. Charisma was already occupied next door, and she seriously doubted any hunky law students would be prowling the library this late on a Friday night. She shoved her papers and books into her bag, slipped on her fuzzy boots, grabbed her coat, purse, keys, and Scourge. She hustled out the door and…
Bumped into a fantasy.
“Whoa! Easy there, angel.” A deep voice rolled over her skin.
A British voice.
Hell in a handbasket.
Nate.
Jessie ducked her head and pushed out of his grasp because she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup. Or a bra. Balls. Not a good call when you’re a double D. Déjà vu drifted over her from the day he’d moved in and caught her in the same predicament.
Except that morning she’d been wearing nothing but a baggy white t-shirt and underwear.
She pulled her book bag and Scourge in front of her like a Kevlar vest. Then noticed she’d knocked a bunch of grocery bags out of his hands when she’d barreled out of her apartment at Mach whatever.
She and Nate bent down to the grocery bags and knocked heads at the precise moment the woman in Nate’s apartment reached her throat-ripping climax. Nate made a low sound like he was in pain, causing all the skin on Jessie’s upper body to prickle. Her gaze shot up to find his saturated blue eyes burning with intensity and his lips—oh wow—those beautiful lips just inches from her own. “Y-you aren’t home?”
His ultra serious expression slid away as a slight dimple peeked beside his lips. Had she really spoken out loud? OMG, Jessie. Her face had to be drowning in an ocean of red. “What I mean is…” I’m so deliriously happy you’re not the one banging that chick into next week.
There was nothing she could say that would make this less awkward, so she handed him a red pepper, wondering what he planned to make with it. “Glad the eggs are okay, and sorry to plow you over,” she managed without stuttering again.
He ignored the jug of pomegranate juice, Gruyere cheese, and various types of produce splayed across the floor, choosing to pet Scourge, the little traitor, who’d bailed from her bag and now had his front paws on Nate’s chest. “They’ve been a bit loud, eh? Good for them. I thought they’d be finished by now. How long have they been at it?”
Her mouth gaped for a spit second before she recovered. “I am so not having this conversation with you.” The heat in his eyes made her suddenly aware of her pointy, unprotected nipples. She rearranged her scarf over her breasts the best she could. Then she reached for Scourge and stuffed him in back in her bag. “See you around, Nate.”
She started to rise when he grabbed her elbow and helped her to feet. “Hey, where are you going so late anyway?”
As casually as possible, she pulled a few more strands of hair out of her messy bun to flitter around her face. All the better to hide behind because these awful fluorescent hallway lights managed to point out every imperfection on your mug. “It’s not late for night owls like me. I’m heading out for a bite to eat before I hit the library.”
Moans started anew next door. Nate stepped closer, raising Jessie’s heart rate tenfold.
“Oh excellent! I’m a night owl, too, so I’d like to propose a deal for you, Jessica.”
Of course he did.
But she’d never tried a foursome, and tonight was damn well not going to be her first. Her glance raked him over, from his scuffed leather boots, up his jean-clad, muscle-bound thighs, to the snap-front olive shirt rolled to expose his sexy forearms—doesn’t he feel the cold? It’s like forty degrees outside—to those lips, all-seeing eyes, and carelessly artful mahogany hair. Talk about a total contrast to her oversized University of Minnesota sweatshirt, UGG boots, and spaghetti sauce-splattered yoga pants. Back away from the pretty man, Jessie. “I…I’m sorry. I really have to get to the library to study. Big test tomorrow.”
He tilted his head to one side with a lazy smile that made her anything but relaxed. “With your dog?”
“He was at the vet for shots this afternoon. I never leave him alone in case has a delayed reaction.” She glanced down at her baby. “ I know it’s silly.”
“Not at all. It’s quite endearing. How about you allow me to help you? In fact, we can aid one another. You’ve got to admit, I can’t possibly go in and interrupt that.” He gave her a perfectly executed wink that he had to have practiced in a mirror. “Like I said, I thought they’d be sated by now. But since they’re not, and I have these,” he lifted his grocery bags, “let me cook us a quiche while you study. I promise not to be a bother.”
“What?” He couldn’t be serious.
“I’ll even quiz you after a while.”
“Quiz?” she squeaked.
“Sure. I’ll ask questions from the chapter you’re studying, and you can answer.” How did he get his eyes to twinkle like that? “Then I’ll feed you quiche,” he said.
“Quiche?”
“You know, eggs, cream—”
She squeezed Scourge so hard he yelped. Come on, Jess, full sentences. “I know what quiche is.”
“If you don’t like it, I can make something else. Trust me, I’m an experienced cook.”
This was just…bizarre. “I like quiche,” she mumbled.
“I remember,” he said, his voice deep and thick, trapping her in the memory of the day he’d moved in. How she’d babbled on about qui
che of all things.
She wondered, asininely, if a face could actually melt in a physiological response to embarrassment.
When he reached for her doorknob, she finally shook out of her stupor. “No, wait!” Why would he make her quiche? She pointed to his door. “Go in there and tell them to take their party elsewhere. Good grief, they’ve been at it for two and half hours already.”
“Look, here’s what happened. My mate Dorian got to town and didn’t take the time to find a hotel room before he hooked up. When he asked to use my place, I didn’t realize he was so depleted. My apologies.”
Depleted? What an odd way to describe horny, but whatever. Scourge squirmed in her bag. “Well, by now I’m sure he’s dulled the edge enough to wait fifteen minutes to find a hotel for the rest of the night. I’d kick them out if I were you,” she said.
Nate shrugged. “I don’t want to pester them when they’re having such a grand time. Come on, Jessica. I’d love to feed you.” His eyes mapped the contours of her body from top to bottom. He smiled when his gaze made it back to hers. “I promise it’ll be good.”
Oh, wow. This guy was a walking innuendo. TWTA: Trouble With a Tight Ass. Good looks do not preclude homicidal intentions, Jess. Ted Bundy had been a reasonably handsome guy with loads of charm, too.
So they said.
Did serial killers cook quiche, though?
A tiny voice inside her head told her to open her door and hold on the for the ride. Jessie peered into Nate’s eyes looking for the tell-tale vacancy she’d read about in her undergrad abnormal psych classes. She shivered when she found the opposite of vacancy. So much depth there, she could fall right into his eyes. Her fingers tightened on her bag strap. “Okay, you can come in, but only for a little while.” Heart thumping overtime, she turned to unlock her door, then cringed when she saw the ungodly mess she’d left in the kitchen. “Crap. I forgot how I left the place. Guess this isn’t going to work after all.”
