Nik froze. Shadow?
What the fuck was she doing back here in this hazardous place at this time of night when demoniis and now something even worse from Tartarus trawled?
His anger found a new target. Did the female have so little care for her safety? But her scent tasted different, sporting a bitter edge, and it scuffed his mind.
About to telepath one of the other warriors, he stopped. Ely had worked damn hard to get to this point. “Can you handle those three?” he asked her.
“Absolutely.”
Nik flashed, tracking Shadow’s scent into Club Anarchy. He slowed near the queue outside the club and strode up to the entrance. The demon bouncer glanced at him then hastily looked away.
Nik ignored the male and stalked inside, skirting the loitering humans in the dim corridor.
He stopped on the landing and surveyed the bopping crowd on the dance level below. With the laser lights zipping about and heavy metal music rocking off the walls, it wore on his heightened senses like a damn bruise. Nik shut out the sounds and scanned for her.
There. Amidst the swarming crowd, he found her pushing her way to the bar. The bartender smiled, and a moment later, handed her a tall drink.
She didn’t have money, so what was she doing in a club?
The human next to her vacated his seat. She sat, legs crossed, one booted foot swinging. Her chest pushed out in a sultry pose that had Nik narrowing his eyes. One of the party revelers rolled out from the dance floor and stopped in front of her. She shook her head. He slouched off.
As she sipped her drink, she sent two more men away, then another approached. Even with the distance, the vibe of the male’s aura grazed Nik’s psyche like acid. Demon.
The asshole nodded to the dance floor. She smiled. Guzzling back the last of her drink as if she were really thirsty, she set the glass down and rose on those ridiculously high-heeled boots and swayed. Then she recycled the old stumble and arms whirling routine. The male grabbed her, and she leaned into him.
If she was back to picking pockets—
Using his heightened senses, Nik shut out the music, tuning in to their conversation.
“Anything you want, I have,” the demon rasped, running his nose along her cheek as if breathing her in.
“Do you now?” she taunted.
Nik’s irritation rose. The shit this female stepped into. He scaled the railing, shoved through humans, and stopped in front of her. The demon took one look at him and scrammed. Music blasted even louder this close to the dance floor and reverberated inside his skull. Nik ground down on his teeth.
Seeing him, Shadow rolled her eyes lined with black make-up. “Keeping tabs on me now, Guardian?”
“For someone who doesn’t have money, how did you get in?”
“Who said I needed money?” She cast him a sultry stare beneath her lush, dark lashes. “I just smile, and men fall over themselves to get lucky.”
Nik knew she was baiting him, but annoyance surged.
“Bartender?” She swiveled back to the counter. “Another. Make it a pink gin and tonic. Put it on his tab.” She flicked her thumb to him.
At his flat stare, she arched an eyebrow. “Well?”
Nik had to rein in the urge to kiss the daylights out of her taunting mouth. Barely hanging onto his control, he removed a bill from his pocket, leaned past her, and dropped it on the counter. And her soft feminine scent enclosed him, scattering his thoughts. He pulled back.
“Wow, so gracious.” A smile curved that tormenting lips as she picked up her fresh drink. “You sure know how to treat a girl, Guardian.” Then she, oh, so slowly, licked the fucking rim of the glass, eyes gleaming with mirth...at rattling him?
“I wanna dance. Do you dance, Guardian?”
He folded his arms and merely stared at her.
“Nah. Thought not…” Tightass.
Nik clenched his teeth. She might have said it under her breath, but he heard.
“Ooo-kay then.” She set her glass on the counter and cast him a brilliant smile, one he didn’t trust. “Keep an eye on my drink, would ya? Don’t wanna get it roofied.” She slid off her stool and, with a little wiggle of her fingers at him, she sashayed past, joining the bopping crowd on the dance floor. Jumping about in her black boots and short, gray skirt, she lifted her arms and swayed to the music.
A demon stepped up to her, sliding his hands to her waist. She laughed and spun away from him and continued dancing to the dark metal number.
How could one tiny human be such a pain in my ass?
Nik pushed through the dancers and grasped her upper arm. Eyes sparkling, she slid her hands up his chest, moving her body against his, her fingers locking around his nape. “Loosen up, Guardian. Or all that tightness is gonna make you blow one day.”
In this place, drenched with liquor, sweat, and the stars knew what other fucking smells, her warm, heady scent invaded his nose, stroking his mind. His formidable control shuddered, threatening to collapse. Desire stirred. If he was gonna blow, it would be because of her.
She spun around, her spine pressing up against his front, her delectable butt swaying against his hard groin. He was so close to hauling her to some dark corner and—
She pulled away, glanced over her shoulder, eyes bright. “Need the bathroom, be right back. Would you get me some water? I’m thirsty.”
And she sauntered off.
Nik gritted his teeth, lust invading him in a flood. Fuck. He wasn’t an untried lad with his first hard-on. He reeled in his desire and glared at her retreating back.
Something was up with her.
In the short time he’d known her, she did everything she could to annoy him, and now she was…flirting?
With him?
Ugh, Shadow stomped down the passage to the restroom. How the hell could things turn this bad so fast? He was supposed to be off doing Guardian stuff, saving the world from evil demons and such with his blonde bimbo, and not be on her backside. She didn’t have enough money to come back here, nor could she put this feeding off.
Dammit. She slammed her palms into the wall of the dimly lit corridor.
“That’s no way to treat those poor hands.” At the low drawl and hint of sulfur teasing her nose, relief swamped her. There was a God. She had to make this quick.
Shadow wheeled around to face the demon. He was good-looking enough, with ebony hair, blue eyes, and somewhat broad features, but it was the dark energy inside him that interested her. Her nodes throbbed harder, sensing imminent relief.
“I can kiss it better,” he rasped, his gaze sweeping over her chest in her high neck, ribbed top.
She cast him a sultry look. “Then let’s find a quiet spot.” Like right now.
Grinning, he leaned closer and licked her face. Gah. What was it with demons and licking?
Shadow swiped her jaw, his dark aura clawing at her. Usually, she got what she needed while dancing, but desperate times and all that. She had to make do.
The demon steered her past the small line near the restrooms to the locked back exit, his hand sliding down to her butt. He expected to have fun. Man, she didn’t have time to look for someone else to feed from instead of Handsy here, not with a certain Guardian on her ass.
Annoyance roiled through her. Darn immortal messed everything up. Now she’d have to take a little more than normal from this demon since finding a couple more males was out of the question.
At the darkened corner of the back exit, he pushed her against the wall. His mouth came down toward hers. Hastily, she dodged, angling her face, and his lips slid along her jaw instead. She tugged at his shirt, buttons popping free.
He laughed. “Feisty, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m real horny.” She slapped her palms on his bare chest, letting her needs sweep to the forefront, devouring the darkness inside him, feeding on its life-giving sustenance.
Yes, she was a damn vampire.
An energy vampire.
“Hades—” He reared b
ack, his red-streaked blue eyes widening. “Ye-aaah…” he groaned as if caught in the throes of a mind-numbing orgasm. “A succubus…”
In his dreams. But true, she did benefit from the similar side effect—succoring spread the donor wide open from pleasure so she could feed from her prey with ease. A second passed…two, three, just a little more—
And then he was gone, colliding against the wall. Nooo! Agony wrenched her like claws tearing her chest, the backlash at her interrupted feeding.
Nik’s blazing green eyes sliced her before he wheeled to the demon, a fist plowing into the male’s belly. He growled and head-butted Nik.
Before hell broke loose on her, Shadow lit out of there, evading the crowd getting in her way. Panting hard, she neared the crowded front exit and pushed through, rubbing the stinging pain on her chest from her broken feeding.
An impossibly strong hand seized her upper arm. She didn’t have to look to know who it was. Nik hauled her through the masses, past the bouncers at the door, and into the alley. He stopped at a quiet spot some distance away from the busy club.
Before he opened his mouth, she yanked free. “How dare you interfere?” she snarled.
“Have you so little care for your life?” he bit out. “You come onto me on the dance floor, then run off and make out with the hellscum?”
“What I do with my life is none of your business!” Like she could ever tell him the truth. “Of course, I know he’s a demon.” And wanting to taunt him, she smirked. “But they’re sooo much more fun. You can’t even dance.”
His nostrils flared. “Then find a fucking human if you need to get off.”
“Pfft. They’re all boring, like you. Now get outta my way. I need to find another for gratification since you ruined my playtime.”
“Not on my watch, you won’t.”
Damn him. She exhaled heavily, clamping down on her frustration. “Fine, I’ll find a human,” she muttered, fighting not to rub the stabbing sensation in her chest with his cutting stare fixed on her like some dark, rabid wolf.
She pivoted for the club. He hauled her back, and she crashed into his rock-hard chest—damn man. Before she opened her mouth, the alley they stood in disappeared, her scream caught in her throat as he dematerialized them.
Moments later, they took form back in her underground lodging. Shadow shoved away from him. He’d ruined everything. “How dare you!”
“I dare because you don’t seem to have any regard for your life or safety,” he snapped, his tone matching his icy eyes.
“Let’s get one thing straight. You’re only here to find a way to get to those assholes you’re after. I let you stay because you blackmailed me!”
“Don’t care. My priority is to keep your stubborn ass safe while I’m here.”
Priority? Safe?
Poker-hot frustration jabbing at her, Shadow threw her hands into the air and stomped away. “Just leave me the hell alone. I didn’t ask you about the bimbo you had stuck to your side, so why the heck are you badgering my choices?”
“Bimbo?” She could almost feel him narrowing his eyes. “I know you can’t be jealous. We don’t know each other—”
“Exactly,” she cut him off. “My life, my damn biz. Now get outta my way.” She spun for the door.
“Walk out of here, and I’ll follow. This time I will kill the demon.”
Teeth gritted, Shadow grabbed the handle. His hand slapped on the door, holding it shut. Goddamn him! Snarling, she spun around and shoved him.
He stepped back. “Is that all you have, lígo machitís?” he taunted.
Anger overtaking her frustration, she lashed out a flying kick, realizing too late she was probably signing her death warrant attacking him. He grabbed her ankle and stumbled backward, taking her down with him to the cement floor. She landed atop his hard body, her breath escaping in a rush.
Adrenaline surging, she scrambled up, swiped her blade from her left boot, and pressed the deadly edge to his throat. “Don’t move.”
Chapter 6
Nik narrowed his eyes as Shadow straddled his chest, her blade pressed to his carotid.
She was damn fast for someone so small, but did she think the dagger would scare him? He’d had worse done to him, and death was no stranger. Besides, knife wounds were a mere irritation.
However, he understood her attempt to lash out. He wasn’t letting her fuck her way through the worst of the species while under his watch. Even though she appeared to hate his guts, deeper, something primal brewed between them. He had to find out what the hell it was. Why he reacted to her in this way when he never had with anyone else.
“Is that little blade supposed to scare me?” he drawled, watching her through hooded eyelids, keeping his hands on the floor near her booted feet. Her gaze skimmed over his face and lingered on his mouth.
“You have me pinned down and at knifepoint, now what?” he asked, tone low.
He half expected her to bolt when an evil smirk spread across her arresting face, tightening his gut. Then she startled the hell out of him, trailing the tip of her weapon along his jaw to caress his lip with the flat of her blade.
Oh, she had balls, he’d give her that.
“Starshine,” he drawled. “You want me, go ahead.”
She jerked back.
Not so spirited now. “I’m not one of your little demons,” he said softly. “So, scratch, bite, maim me with your nails, teeth, or your little knife…you won’t hurt me.”
She stared. Nik could almost feel her heart hammering like a drumroll, then she snorted.
“Yeah, no. You’re not my type.” Scoffing, she climbed off him.
Irritation flaring, he snagged her arm, hauling her back. She almost fell over him, her blade clattering to the floor.
“What the hell?” She hastily righted herself, back on his chest again, knees splayed. Her core closer to his face now. The seductiveness of her current seat didn’t escape him…or her, judging from the faint blush on her cheeks.
Before that sharp mind of hers rebooted, and she realized they were fighting, Nik wrapped her waist-length hair around his palm and dragged her lower, until only a scant inch separated their faces. This close, her irises did glow like a starburst of colors. Her ragged breaths became his air. “Don’t start what you can’t finish, Starshine,” he whispered. “When you play with fire, expect to get burned.”
“Burned?” She arched a challenging brow, back on track. “Oh, yes, I do like a man of fire. Not ice. And you, don’t do it for me—eeek!”
Nik flipped her on her back. Her eyes widened, not in alarm but in pure annoyance.
Did she even know what fear was or have an inkling of the sheer evil trapped within him? Even now, the dark souls thrashed, seeking escape. He tightened his psychic shields. No, he wasn’t letting those fucking shits destroy this unprecedented moment.
Wedged between her thighs, Nik shifted, and her pale face flushed a deeper pink when his cock hit her right against her beckoning heat. She blinked. Awareness stole through those striking eyes.
“Lígo machitís, I am no man—”
“Yeah-yeah, the almighty Guardian.” Growling like a trapped she-wolf, she bucked, trying to dislodge him. “Either kis—kill me or get the hell off me! It’s what Neanderthals like you do, use brute strength.”
“Neanderthals?” Nik lifted an eyebrow. “And too late trying to cover your error. If you want me to kiss you, just say so.”
“Not in this lifetime.”
“Starshine,” he drawled softly, finally giving in to the temptation and letting his mouth trail along her jaw. “I’m only too happy to oblige, seeing as I ruined your fun.”
“Stop calling me that—” She bucked again, her frantic movements sliding her core along his dick. The damn friction wasn’t helping his hardening groin. “I don’t want you.”
“Little liar.” He nipped the fast beating pulse on her throat. “I can smell your arousal, and you can feel what it does to me, especially with a
ll your wriggling.”
“I’ve done nothing—” She went deathly-still, those striking eyes widening in shock…and just as fast, she recovered, batting him with her paws. “Let me go!”
“Give me your name, your true name, first.”
“Then you’ll wait a freakin’ long time, you—”
Nik kissed that scandalous mouth then held still to see if she’d push him away or stick the dagger lying near them in his throat. She did neither but seemed to wait for him. Hell, it was all the encouragement he needed. Nik brushed her lips with his again and licked her lower one. A tiny gasp escaped her. He slicked his tongue between her parted lips, deepening the kiss. Then, her tongue tentatively touched his.
At her hesitant caress, Nik’s mind blurred, as if the world stopped on its axis, and the endless darkness and relentless thrashing of the vile souls within diminished. Desire, long dead, resurged with a vengeance as he kissed her. Her fingers dug into his nape as he claimed her mouth, seeking more, seeking it all…
“No—” She suddenly pushed at him. “Let me up!”
Hell. He didn’t want it to end, and tamping down his growing lust was fucking hard, but he did. He moved off her and sat with his back to the wall, resting an arm on his raised knee.
She sprung to her feet, chest heaving. “I hate you—”
“A wasted emotion, Starshine. This is all about needs. Not matters of the heart. Just so you know, I don’t possess one, but the former I can do. So, whenever you’re ready.”
If glares could kill, he’d be a pile of ash by now.
She stormed across the grimy floor, grabbed a change of clothes from the dented metal drawers, and marched into the makeshift bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Aargh. Shadow tossed her clothes in the chipped, faded-white basin and sagged against the wooden door, squeezing her eyes shut. What was she thinking, attacking him?
Clearly, she wasn’t.
One minute she’d been ready to kill him, and the next, she was locking lips with him. She pressed her fingers to her swollen mouth and bit back a moan. God. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and tugged as if the pain would diminish the heated imprint of Nik’s mouth on hers. Hard…yet soft, and tormentingly sensual. And that tongue piercing she didn’t know he had hiked her arousal further.
Shattered Dawn (Fallen Guardians Book 5) Page 7
