by Gaja J. Kos
He came towards me in a gracious ripple of muscles, those intense amber eyes fixed on mine, and a curve of a smile upturning a single damn corner of his sensual lips. My entire body tightened with anticipation.
Gods, the sheer level of sexual magnetism and outlandish good looks this dragon had going on should be illegal.
Luckily for me, I really couldn’t give less of a fuck about the sanity of the world. If it imploded with lust, so be it. I’d be the first one to volunteer if it meant being with him.
Amusement—and something far more heated—ran through me.
On the other hand, I really wouldn’t mind seeing him in cuffs…
With that image still flirting with the edges of my thoughts, I met the Perelesnyk halfway across the floor. I barely registered any of the other dancers as they grinded against each other, filling the air with the enticing promise of sex I just couldn’t wait to give myself into. Desire pooled in the vee of my thighs, my nipples grazing against the lace of my bra hard enough to stir that familiar, hungry weight in my core. And as a rogue ray of neon light hit the dragon in just the right spot, I noticed he was as ready as I was.
Perfect.
I always did hate to waste a single second on small talk when the grunts of pleasure made a much sweeter melody.
With a sway to my hips, I slithered up to him. I ran my hands across the hard expanse of his chest just as he curved his around my ass, drawing me closer. A tight gasp escaped me at the demand in his grip—at the feel of his energy, calling out to mine. I snuffed out the latter, refusing to acknowledge our compatibility, and reveled in the former, reminding myself that once was hardly enough to slap me with unwanted consequences.
Even if the feel of him was so damn right.
I had a sneaking suspicion that if I gave that ridiculous demonic soul-seeks-its-mate notion wings, it would pounce on the dragon so hard I’d lose all my senses. We hadn’t as much as kissed and I was already drowning in the exhilarating waves of his presence—of that faint contact between our skin where my fingers continued to play with his ripped abs. It would have been damn easy to just forget everything and act upon my base desires. But, thankfully, I’d had years of practice under my belt and wasn’t swayed quite so fast.
Tempted, yes. A reckless fool, no.
I looked up into the dragon’s eyes and smiled.
“Hello, there, love,” he purred, his hand dipping lower until a finger slid right down the line of my aching folds.
My leather pants never seemed more of a burden.
I wanted to feel him without barriers, wanted to uncover just what those fingers could do with nothing standing in the way.
I pressed myself closer against him, my gaze fixed on his amber eyes. Fingernails drawing curved paths across his abdomen, I took my time to explore every fine, hard inch until, finally, I rested my hand on the waist of his pants.
“Evening,” I purred back. “A lovely one, too.”
A chuckle rumbled from his chest, and I leaned forward, his warm breath brushing against my lips and feeding the hunger inside me.
There was a touch of something carnal on his features as he watched me, bringing out the predator beneath. “I can think of a few ways to make it better.”
“What a coincidence.” I lifted myself on tiptoes so that our mouths were nearly leveled, then cocked my head to the side. “So can I.”
In perfect silence, we ascended the stairs pressed against the wall that led to Moondance’s upper level. With the pulse of our energies and the sweet scent of arousal permeating the air, we really didn’t need words to set the mood. Besides, I wasn’t entirely certain if I would have been capable of forming a single coherent sentence if I tried, let alone carry a conversation.
Three weeks was a long, long time, and being close to someone who excited me as thoroughly as the handsome Perelesnyk only made waiting that much worse. Actually, the climb to the private rooms seemed to drag on for ages. My body ached for him to sate this turbulent need to the point of pain, a dark voice inside me crooning to just press him against the banister and kneel down for a taste. But as free-spirited and accepting as Moondance was, there was still a no-open-sex-on-the-dance-floor rule in play. You could flirt, strip, even engage in a little foreplay, but anything beyond that was strictly off-limits. Flaunting sexual contact got a person kicked out before they even managed to cover up their private bits. I had no desire of getting a red card thrown in my face, especially when said card would prove a ghastly interruption to what I currently had in mind.
The dragon’s fingers brushed against my spine the instant I reached the landing. The demand in his grip revealed I definitely wasn’t the only one experiencing problems with this whole keeping-my-clothes-on concept. He fell in step beside me, the occasional touch of our hips combined with the warmth of his fingers still on the small of my back scattering every rational thought—save for one.
We needed to get our asses to the private chambers. Now.
Much to my relief, the second one we passed wasn’t occupied. I tapped the unique code for the night on the metal panel etched into the wall, and the instant the door swung open, we all but tumbled over the threshold, the dragon’s mouth already on mine. He claimed me with fierce possession, his taste rolling across my tongue and ensnaring my senses.
Faintly, I heard the door click shut behind us.
It was all the confirmation I needed.
My fingers dropped down to his pants even as that snick still echoed through the haze that was my mind, and after a quick dance with the buttons and zipper, I slid the dark fabric down his hips. Unable—as well as unwilling—to disentangle myself from his kiss, I took the thick length of his arousal in my hand. Exchanging sight for touch wasn’t such a bad thing when I could explore the steel of his erection, freely marveling at how well-endowed he was. Gods, this was really turning into an excellent fucking night. Literally.
We came up for breath only as he undid the clasp on my bra and hooked his fingers beneath the straps. He took his time easing them down my arms, tormenting me with the arousing promise of what was to follow once the graze of the fabric would leave my skin. Leave me at his mercy.
Everything about his movements was elegant, controlled, and yet I could see the slight ripple in his muscles whenever I increased the pressure of my strokes—just enough to give him a taste of what I could deliver.
He smiled and inclined his head, an acknowledgment from one tease to another.
“Have you ever been with a Perelesnyk before?” he whispered as my bra fell to the ground, his breath dancing across the swell of my breasts. “Have you ever experienced the rush of an incubus fucking you?”
“No,” I admitted, voice hoarser than I thought it would be.
He took a nipple in his mouth, and my back arched in response, a weak, wrecked moan spilling into the air around us. Shit, shit, shit, it felt good. My fingers curled tighter around his cock, and the deviant returned the favor by adding just a little bit of teeth into his mouth’s sensual assault over my breasts. I felt my orgasm grow inside me, a heavy, tense mass of anticipation threatening to spill overboard. I had every intention to play out the various scenarios just seeing him on the dance floor had sprung to life in my mind, but right now, there was just one thing I craved. One thing I needed.
“Come inside me,” I whispered.
He trailed his lips, his tongue from the peak of my breast up my chest and neck, then claimed my mouth with such hunger my knees buckled.
I stumbled back, taking the dragon with me. We fell onto the lush bed in a tangle of limbs and heated exploration of tongues, both of us now grunting loudly. I bunched my fingers in his hair, tasting him. Daring him. Wanting him.
My need rose to dangerous levels, and just when I thought I would have to incinerate my clothes with demon fire, the dragon lifted himself off me. He eased me out of my pants, then tossed away his own. My panties came next, and this time, there was nothing slow or teasing in the way he stripped me.
It was need, so pure and primal, I couldn’t help but moan as he liberated me from that final slip of restraining fabric.
His gaze flickered to the nightstand. I shook my head.
Controlling my own fertility was one of the better perks of being a demon, and since diseases were another thing we couldn’t catch, I certainly had no desire of allowing a condom to get in the way between us. It was him that I wanted to feel.
The amber in his eyes grew wilder at my response, at the hunger rolling off me. Everything seemed to still for a moment, reality turning into nothing but vapor as our desire surged, scorching the air. Then, with a growl, he pushed my legs apart and buried himself inside me.
I screamed out as I sheathed every hard, thick inch of him, my fingernails digging into his back and lips aching for the feel of his. As if reading my thoughts, the dragon dipped down his head, claiming my mouth fiercely and thoroughly until I was left gasping for breath. He rose once more then, offering me the spectacular view of his honed torso, as well as the velvet steel of his desire driving into me.
Shit, I’d never been this aroused by watching someone penetrate me. I was hypnotized by his presence, unable to take my eyes off his delicious form.
The sweet rush of orgasm built up between my thighs, my muscles clenching around him in a frantic yearning for more—for that final, liberating push that would throw me over the edge.
“Fuck, you’re wet,” he growled as he thrust his hips forward, filling me right up to the point when I thought I wouldn’t be able to take any more, then eased out again. “I won’t be able to last long feeling you like I do.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not a one-round kind of girl,” I managed to rasp out even as my mind cascaded with pleasure. “I want you to come with me. Now.”
Chapter 3
Leaving the bed was something I’d rather have avoided given the pleasant ache spreading through my body, but the need for water had prevailed after our last round. Besides, I had to admit the energy boost it gave me was a nice bonus. I wasn’t nearly done with the luscious Perelesnyk yet.
I guided my gaze along his athletic figure, a smile touching my mind as I saw that lovely blend of satisfaction and yearning for more etched into the prominent lines of his face. A part of me wanted nothing more than to drag him back to bed, but we’d agreed a brief interlude to catch our breath and cool our heated skin wasn’t such a bad idea. I placed my glass on the low cabinet that doubled as a table, then leaned against the wall.
Moments like this could, at times, get a little uncomfortable, but with—
Wait…
“What’s your name, anyway?” I asked.
While I was all for one-night stands, it was nice to at least know the name of the person you were with.
The dragon took a step closer, and I caught the sight of us in the floor-length mirror dominating the adjacent wall. Both visibly flushed, our black hair disheveled, and bodies leaning towards one another in a way that only those bound by the thrall of lust did. He was hard again, the incubus stamina true to the tales I’d heard, and so, so fucking glorious. My gaze drifted back to his face, noting the male satisfaction accentuating his handsome features. Oh, he knew well what he was doing to me.
And enjoyed every second of it.
“You, love,” he purred in a way that sent desire curling through my flesh, “can call me Master.”
I laughed, but the heat in my voice undermined the gesture. “In your fucking dreams.”
“Oh?” He traced one finger up the side of my breast. “How about I punish you for your disobedience?”
I licked my suddenly dry lips, and his amber gaze followed the movement.
“Well, dear, heathen”—he cocked his head to the side, black curls cascading forward—“let’s see just how much you can take, hm?”
With a single, elegant move, he lifted me off the ground and flattened my back against the wall. Our gazes met, and he thrust his velvet flesh inside me, making good on his promise.
Several times.
I was never much of a morning person, but damn, waking up with the sun spilling across my skin and my whole body aching so perfectly, I had to admit, I was completely and utterly blown away—with a stupid grin stretching across my lips before I could stop it. Unfortunately that same grin died down the instant I heard my cell phone beep.
One annoying little sound was enough to let me know my time off had officially ended.
I grunted and chased the phone across the nightstand before I finally managed to pin it down and hold it still for long enough to actually peer at the illuminated screen.
“Oh, fabulous,” I grumbled, although a small part of me did, in fact, mean it in a completely honest way.
In all the years I’d operated as a bounty hunter, there wasn’t a single asshole that got away. Just thinking about how long this case had dragged on already… Yeah, it was fabulous my contact came through with the information that just might solve it.
What wasn’t so great was that I had to weather Ljubljana’s morning traffic to make that last bit happen.
Briefly, I lay back down, contemplating giving the job the middle finger and taking a day off, but that small nagging inside me—the one that not only screamed BOUNTY! but reminded me of the satisfaction catching a crook always brought—refused to shut up. I rubbed my eyes, cast the covers off my body rather dramatically, and padded into the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes and a cup of extra-strong coffee later to make up for the lack of sleep, I was already in my car, my loyal black duffel bag of mag-tech treats sitting on the passenger side. The traffic was just as bad as I’d imagined it would be, but it still beat having to detour through my lair and using up valuable energy if I wanted to reach my destination via the non-corporeal way.
It was funny, really—though in a slightly annoying way—that I was the most demonic one of the three Ambrose sisters, but it was Lana who inherited an alternate, particle form. I sure wouldn’t mind having the ability to break myself into atoms at will. Would’ve saved me a whole lot of time and money, not to mention the abundance of fun I could have just dropping out of thin air and onto unsuspecting targets.
Fun—but not the kind I would ever get the chance to have.
I grumbled my discontent into the empty air, but once the highway curved farther northwest and the countryside opened up before me, the bad mood was gone. While my Kolduny nature was only a smidgeon of what my father embodied, I was profoundly drawn to untamed landscapes. The Gorenjska region certainly had those in spades.
The traffic dwindled down as well, so I sipped on the coffee I’d poured in my metal travel mug and just enjoyed the ride—occasionally making mental snapshots of the scenery with the hashtag bountyhunterlife attached below.
As people liked to say, it’s the little things in life…
Given the somewhat unconventional location of where my mark had last been spotted, I parked in the public lot at the foot of Kranjska Gora’s ski slopes, keeping as far away from town as I could. With the gorgeous day painting the sky blue, there were more people out than I cared for, but as long as I had even a breath of shadows to meld into, I wasn’t complaining. Luckily, the forest looming over the road towards Podkoren had them in abundance.
I stuffed some of my gear from the duffel bag into the pockets of my black windbreaker—a small portable ward, a magic diffuser, and one nasty miniature bomb packed with potent demon fire—then climbed out of the car, silently cursing myself for that second coffee I just had to have. It weighted on my bladder rather viciously, and since the air here carried no trace of the guy I was hunting, I didn’t have the luxury of taking time off to pee.
I scowled. It was a good thing I trained myself precisely for these kinds of unfortunate circumstances, but still, it sucked. Big time.
A few mountain bikers rushed by while I was busy cramming my gear into my pockets. I made sure to stay concealed by my car and shadows, keeping out of sight until their voices faded in the dista
nce. When I was alone again, I pushed in the direction they came from, headed farther west.
Around ten minutes in, my magic finally picked up the signal. My mark must have passed through here a while ago, given how faint it was, almost buried. I spread my power wider, mapping out a path that led—
I frowned. A path that led straight into woods. What the fuck?
The signature seemed to be coming from the middle of fucking nowhere. I arched an eyebrow and let out a breath. Good thing I put my sneakers on instead of the usual leather boots…
I waded into the forest, then after a minute or two, slid behind a tree trunk wide enough to conceal my frame from any hikers that might veer off the road and into the brush. Although the mark was human with just a dash of magic in his veins—probably a Koldun ancestor a hundred years back or so, by the feel of it—I stopped nonetheless, glancing at the mini scanner strapped to my wrist to make sure I wasn’t walking right into a trap.
The display stayed silent.
Curious, I prowled farther, cursing under my breath every time flimsy spider webs tangled in my hair and tickled my face. Disgusting. Even the faint scent of pine and sage failed to make the trek through cobwebs any more pleasant. What in the realms had driven the bastard up here?
I got my answer once I cleared a thick copse of trees.
Death. That’s what.
The man—the mark—was lying facedown, blood darkening the soil in a wide circle around him. Carefully, I padded closer to examine his gaping wounds, as well as sample the taint of blood permeating the air around him. Fresh. The damned thing was still fresh, no more than twenty minutes old.
Fuck.
I inched back, then stopped. Perfectly immobile, I stared at the body, unable to comprehend how someone had found and gotten to him first. It made no sense.
And what had he been doing here of all places?
I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I heard the ruffle of footsteps a second too late. My body jerked, hands already reaching for my knives, as well as phantom ones scooping up my magic, when the voice stopped me as dead in my tracks as the dude lying spread-eagle at my feet.
