As furniture was inadvertently knocked over, Cassandra, in her apartment directly below them, decided to investigate. When she instantly popped into Devin’s apartment and heard Nikki’s laughter, she stayed back in the shadows and watched to see what they were up to.
Meanwhile, the roughhousers were both so focused on their play that they didn’t even notice that she had joined them. Devin’s eyes were locked on Nikki, who had flown into the rafters above the loft. He decided to lay a trap. He raced into the area with the weapons and stood in the middle of the padded floor. He called to her while looking in the opposite direction, acting like he didn’t know where she was.
Nikki took the bait. She decided to attack him from behind, so she flew down from the rafters and onto the loft railing. Once lined up, she let out a squeal and jumped.
In a blur of speed, Devin spun at the last second and caught her in his arms. Her attack knocked him flat on his back and she landed on his chest with a thud. The impact caused him to grunt from the force.
While straddling his chest, Nikki smirked drunkenly and said, “I think the little piggy caught the big bad wolf.”
Devin spread his arms wide and said, “The wolf surrenders.”
She announced, “The little piggy wins!” and then hiccupped, sending a cloud of dust onto Devin’s face. She giggled and said, “Sorry.” As she brushed the sparkle from his skin, her fingertips brushed across his lips, making her pause. She expected them to be cool to the touch, like the rest of his body, but she didn’t expect them to be so soft.
He watched her intently as she stared at his mouth and absentmindedly licked her lips. The two had been living together for over five months now and countless times he had yearned to feel her kiss. When her spots began to glow brighter, he knew that she now shared the same curiosity.
The alcohol in her system threw her inhibitions into a corner and she gave in to her need for research. To Cassandra and Cupcake’s shock and Devin’s delight, Nikki leaned down and gave him a kiss on his lips. She then sat up just enough for the two of them to stare into each other’s eyes. Devin decided to take the risk of being zapped by an electricity-filled Pixie bomb and reached up, drawing a line down her cheek to her lips. She gave his fingertip a gentle kiss and then decided to follow his lead. She caressed a line across his lips and, after he kissed her fingertip, he let her touch a fang. Recalling the matching fang she had kept in her pocket for so many years, she let her curiosity guide her actions and explored its smooth, hard surface. When she pricked her finger on its tip, she watched a drop of purplish blood form.
Although every cell in his body screamed for him to lick it off, he forced himself to let Nikki decide. With a smile she placed her finger back on his lips, offering it to him. He accepted the gift and sucked the drop off. While he moaned at the exquisite taste, she was equally fascinated by the feel of his cool tongue. Wanting to explore this feature further, she pulled her finger out of his mouth and warned, “You might want to hold on to something.” She then replaced her finger with her own tongue.
The kiss overwhelmed them both. To Nikki, she felt warmth like sunshine, while the sensation went straight to Devin’s head like he had downed a double shot of his favorite Crown whiskey. As their embrace continued, Nikki found it difficult to kiss him without pricking her tongue on his fangs, but Devin happily let her practice until she found the technique that seemed to work best.
Cassandra watched the embrace continue with her eyebrows raised, truly surprised by the genuine affection she was seeing. Just before she was going to disappear back to her apartment to let the couple have their privacy, she saw Cupcake attempt to break up the romance by squirming her way between the kissers, forcing them to separate. When the two still kept staring into each other’s eyes, Cupcake patted her paw against Devin’s cheek until he broke his gaze with Nikki.
With the connection severed, Nikki jumped to her feet. Before she ran off, she gave Devin a brilliant smile that made his heart flutter. He hoped that was a sign that they might continue their research the next time he caught her.
Devin gave her a wicked smile and said, “I’ll give you until the count of three. Then you and those lips are mine.” After a brief moment, he started his countdown. “One. Two.”
As Nikki squealed and ran toward the kitchen, Devin let out a low, predatory growl and said, “Three.” He jumped to his feet and, with Cupcake clinging on to his shirt, he raced after his prey. In speed even he wasn’t aware he could achieve, he caught her just as she passed the bathroom. She had been flying low under the loft so he was able to grab her ankle.
With her wings flittering in blinding speed, Nikki kept herself aloft. While laughing, she hovered above Devin like a balloon on a string. Cupcake decided to finally join in on the fun and jumped up on top of Devin head to swat playfully at her friend.
When they heard the floor creek, the three combatants looked over to see Cassandra staring back at them. The witch acted like she had just arrived and said innocently, “There was a lot of banging going on so I came to investigate.”
Nikki opened her mouth to speak and hiccupped instead, showering everyone in glitter that matched the color of her deep blue spots.
As Devin helped lower Nikki back to the floor, Cassandra snickered and asked in mock concern, “Are you alright, Nikki?”
While placing Cupcake into Nikki’s arms, Devin replied, “Nikki’s fine. Her flushed cheeks are because our little Pixie got into the liquor and got drunk.” Waving his hand through the sparkle in the air, he added, “For some reason alcohol makes her hiccup Pixie dust. She’s been flying all over the apartment, literally. Cupcake and I were trying to catch her before she hurt herself.”
From what Cassandra had seen, she knew that he had already caught her. She continued to play innocent and said, “That was very thoughtful of you.” Seeing the upturned furniture, she asked, “Do you need some help cleaning up the place?”
With glassy eyes and while swaying badly himself, he replied, “No, I can take care of it later. Right now I think my blueberry needs to jump in the shower and then head to bed so she can sleep it off.”
Hearing the word ‘shower’, Nikki squealed again and announced to Devin with a twinkle in her eyes, “Oooo! Time for some dancing in the rain.” She flew up into the loft leaving a trail of giggles, sparkle, and clothes.
Knowing what Nikki might be offering him, Devin instinctively let out a low growl. He cut off the sound abruptly when he saw Cassandra eyeing him with curiosity. He said, “If you’ll excuse me. I think I had better keep an eye on Nikki to make sure she doesn’t slip and hurt herself.”
Cassandra held back her smile and replied as seriously as she could, “I would be happy to stay and offer my assistance in watching over her.”
Devin instantly responded with “No.” After swaying to the point he had to grab onto the wall to steady himself, he suggested, “Why don’t you pop back to your apartment? I know that you’ve got other, more important things to do. These fingers of mine are more than capable of taking care of Nikki’s needs.” When he realized what he just said must have sounded like to his godmother, he rephrased, “What I meant to say was that I can watch over Nikki by myself.” He started to gently, but urgently, persuade his godmother to leave and said, “I’ll have Nikki call you in the morning.”
Seeing a gleam in her godson’s eyes that she had never seen from him before, she took the not so subtle hint and said, “Okay. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” With a pop, she was gone.
With Cassandra out of the way, Devin followed the trail of clothes up to the bathroom and found Nikki already naked and in the shower. She had music playing loudly and was happily dancing and singing under the hot streams. He took a moment to pause and marvel at the sight, loving that he had the best seat in the house to stare at her beautiful and wet, pale blue hourglass figure.
Once Nikki noticed him, she beckoned him to join her. He quickly stripped and, after carefully timing his approach betwe
en wing swipes, jumped into the water. She laughed at his frequent attempts to avoid her wing’s bid for attention but, when she slipped, he caught her in his arms. She took advantage of the situation and jumped up, wrapping herself around his body. The force of her affection pinned him to the wall.
As she stared into the eyes of her captive, she argued with herself over the intimate thoughts quickly filling her mind. He was Vampire and very dangerous, but he was also Devin—someone she had grown to care about. The effects of the liquor pushed back her concerns and a small voice within her reminded her that no one, other than Cupcake, would ever know.
When he gave her a dazzling smile, waiting for her next move, her decision was made. She looked over at Cupcake and asked sweetly, “Why don’t you go play so that Devin and I can have some privacy?”
Cupcake contemplated for a moment and then, sensing Nikki’s genuine need, she did as asked and stepped back. Although she was out of sight, she stayed close by.
Nikki returned Devin’s grin with a crooked smile of her own and said, “Get prepared for another dive bomb, big bad wolf, ‘cause here I come.” She gently blew Pixie dust off her upturned palm directly into his face, making his eyes roll back in his head for a moment. Before he had a chance to recover, she attacked his mouth with her own. He offered no argument as his mind was so fuzzy he was having a hard time concentrating on anything but her taste and scent.
Soon their playful kissing turned passionate as they explored each other’s mouths. Although she nicked her tongue on his fangs several times, she didn’t care as the effect made him kiss her even more thoroughly. As her passions grew, he heard a new sound that penetrated directly inside his own mind. He took a quick peek at her spots, hoping to find them glowing blue to match the state of his arousal. To his delight, he found the color had gone way past blue and was now a shade of deep wine. The fire in her eyes shot into him like a bullet and he felt the resulting burn up and down his body.
She said with a giggle, “I fear that I’m a little hot and bothered.” She let her hands roam to regions lower and, when she found her target ready and waiting for her touch, she said, “I see that your parts are also a bit toasty.” She began to stroke him and he let out a moan. His reaction made her wings flutter even more excitedly.
Although Devin was repeatedly hit, he didn’t care. But to move on to the next level required him to take charge. He regained enough mental control to flip her around so that her back was pressed against the glass behind her. He said, “Hang on, Baby. It’s my turn. I want to see if I can crank up the heat a little more.” With her wings pinned tightly and her constant moans of encouragement, he let his fingers explore every remaining inch of her that he had missed in their last shower together.
Nikki was completely lost to the feel of his cool touch and she gave in completely to her own caged desires and genuine attraction for Devin. He was mesmerized by the new sounds that he was making come out of her and wanted more.
Once he had her pulse racing and she was panting hard with need, Nikki broke away from his lips long enough to demand, “Kiss me!”
With his chest heaving in heavy pants, he said, “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve already thoroughly claimed your sweet mouth and the rest of that wonderful body of yours as mine.” To prove his point, he adjusted the location of his touch, making her gasp, wiggle into his touch, and beg for more.
Between moans, she managed to plead, “Please Devin. Before we go any further, kiss me like you do to other women.” She was desperate to feel the full Devin experience and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck.
Devin hesitated for only a moment. The taste of her blood was already in his mouth and his cravings were unbearable. He had no resistance left, so he leaned over, breathed in her scent, and ran his tongue up and down a long line on her neck. The sensation caused her body to shiver and the veins in her neck to throb.
She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting to feel his Vampire version of a kiss. She gasped when she felt him sucking on her neck, never having felt the penetration of his fangs. She melted into him and let him truly feed from her for the first time. The sensation was wonderful and she wrapped herself around him even tighter. She hoped that in moments his need to feed would be sated so that she would learn what other intimate activities he knew that worked in a shower.
While Devin fed on her blood and projected desires, Nikki moaned loudly at the sensations he was causing. At first she was thrilled that he stayed on her neck longer than she had seen him feed on other women. Then that feeling started to change from wonder to concern when, without releasing her neck, his body began to contort and his muscles to bulge.
Fighting her highly aroused state, she pushed against him and said, “Devin. That’s enough for now.” When he didn’t respond, she started to fight him. Although she didn’t want to hurt him, he refused to let go and she was quickly feeling the effects of blood loss. Calling upon her own magic, Nikki zapped Devin and he was thrown across the shower, slamming into the other glass wall. His mind was too far gone to even register the pain. Her quickly growing fear added fuel to the fire and, with his fangs bared, his animal came completely forward. He now had only one goal—to capture his wounded prey.
Cupcake overheard the sounds and raced back into the room. Nikki shouted, “Stay back! My phone is in the kitchen. Press the panic button and then hide until I tell you to come out.”
Although Cupcake wanted to protect Nikki, she knew that this situation was way beyond her abilities. Without hesitating, she raced out of the room to find the phone.
Nikki backed slowly out of the shower and tried to talk to Devin. His eyes were locked on the trail of blood running down her neck and he wouldn’t be distracted. As he slowly stalked toward her with blood lust in his eyes, Nikki knew that she needed to find a safe place to hide until help arrived.
Chapter 22:
Animal I Have Become
With her heart pounding, Nikki turned and flew out of the bathroom. Devin leapt toward her and grabbed an ankle. While kicking at him, she called on her inner power and made her body give off just enough current so that he recoiled. She slipped out of his grasp. Seconds later she was tucked in the rafters and panting hard. She cowered in the shadows and, although her wet naked body shivered in the cool air, she was prepared to wait for as long as it took for Devin to return to his normal mind.
From below, Devin silently watched his prey and the hunter within assessed his situation. His body crouched and every muscle waited for the command to strike.
Nikki’s momentary sense of relief was yanked away when Devin, in lightning speed, ran and, using a wall for leverage, managed to leap up toward her position. As he reached out and his fingers touched her skin, she quickly regrouped from his sudden appearance and flew across the apartment to another beam. He continued to use his exceptional ability to jump and climb to chase her through the rafters.
When Nikki heard a door open and people race into the apartment, she yelled, “Help me! Devin has lost control.”
Following the sound of her panic, Blade led Wolfe, Skye, Kara, and Jett up to the loft. They quickly spotted a naked Nikki covered in scrapes and holding on to a beam. Perched close by was an equally naked Devin, who was locked on her position and poised for another attack. Catching the scent of Nikki’s blood in the air and seeing the same purple liquid on Devin’s lips, the Vampires all instantly knew the problem they faced.
Blade turned to Wolfe and said, “You’re our best hunter. You lead and we’ll follow.”
Wolfe nodded, switched his attention momentarily to Nikki, and asked, “How long has he been like this?”
“Not long. I had Cupcake call all of you as soon as I realized what was happening.”
Blade asked with concern, “Where’s Cupcake?”
“I told her to hide and not come out until I said it was safe.”
Blade was grateful that his favorite cat actually listened.
While the cat and m
ouse chase continued, Wolfe quickly devised a plan. After quickly whispering the details, all of the Vampires jumped over the rail to the main floor below. Everyone spread out to their designated spots and waited for the command. Blade grabbed a pair of weapons that resembled short baseball bats with leather loops attached at one end. After Blade slipped his wrists into the loops, he and Wolfe lined up under Devin.
Wolfe called up to the Pixie, “Nikki, we need you do exactly what we say without hesitation.”
Jumping to another beam, Nikki replied, “You’ll get no argument from me. I’ll do whatever you say, but we need to do something quick. Devin seems to be getting desperate and, if I’m forced to zap him, he could fall and break his neck.”
Wolfe replied, “Then let’s get started.”
While Devin remained completely locked on the sound of Nikki’s breathing and rapid heartbeat, Nikki kept her eyes on Wolfe and followed his every instruction. To avoid Devin hearing, his instructions were given through silent hand signals. He strategically guided her across the apartment to the beams above the weapons area, forcing Devin to follow.
As their plan proceeded, Wolfe focused on Devin and gasped. He whispered to Blade, “Devin isn’t hunting prey. He’s tracking a mate.” Wolfe instantly changed his tactics and, once he had the new plan in mind, he waved Nikki down.
Nikki took in a deep breath and flittered down to the floor. Completely ignoring her lack of clothes, she started to babble about her attempted seduction of Devin in the shower.
The knowledge confirmed Wolfe’s theory and he had Nikki quickly stand in the middle of the fighting room. Once in place, per Wolfe’s request, Nikki called to Devin like a lover. Although the sight of a naked Pixie would have made any male come running, Devin hesitated, sensing a trap.
Mistyx Sonata (Mistyx Series Book 1) Page 26
