by Mari Freeman
She wrapped her fingers tightly around the base of that beautiful cock and looked up at him. His jaw was so tight, his eyes filled with something wild. She had to blink past a wave of fuzzy from the drugged tea. Ignoring the effects as much as possible, she turned her attention back to the task in her had. She would concentrate on that cock.
Ray shuddered as her lips covered the soft skin of his head. His hips pushed forward as she sucked him into her wet mouth. She pulled back slowly, feeling his body tighten. The fingers of one hand held his shaft firm as she sucked him in again, working her tongue along the slick, hot skin.
She was enjoying being able to give this to him. She wanted to do this in real life. Her lips clamped tight around his straining cock and he groaned, jerked.
“Stop!” He pulled back. “I’ll go too soon. Stop. Dear Goddess.”
He pushed her shoulders. Sonja gave him a grin as she fell onto her back on the bed. He stood and undressed completely, carefully tucking his gun off to the side. Watching her watch him.
Each yummy inch of revealed skin made Sonja glad she’d drunk the tea. When he crawled back onto the silk bedding, he was naked, and his gaze was so heated she thought it might cause a few more burn scars.
She sat up and pulled her tacky tank top over her head. His gaze danced over her torso with no hesitation at her stomach. In her vision, he loved all of her. She unhooked her bra and let it fall forward into her lap. He had stilled, watching her while on his hands and knees.
Sonja tossed the bra to the floor. She unzipped her shorts and lay back to wiggle them down. They were tight and she had trouble. She wanted to laugh until she felt his hands on her, yanking the tight fabric down her legs. She kicked then did giggle as he guided the shorts off her feet.
Boldly she spread her legs, opening herself to his view and his attention. He didn’t hesitate or tease. He nestled between her legs, used two fingers to open her even farther and plunged his tongue inside her. She bucked her hips and moaned. He was as relentless as she’d been with his cock. His tongue flicked and licked and tormented her clit and then slowed to lavish her pussy with long, wet passes.
Her entire body was tingling and alive. Even the dead skin of her burn was heated. Her Dragon was stretching, wanting to shift. It was sheer willpower that prevented her from coming, but she was losing control. She dug her fingers into the silky sheets, clinging to the bed and to the vision. She’d gotten this close before and they’d always faded.
“Don’t leave me again, Ray. Please!”
Chapter Eleven
Ray looked up her body. “I’m not going anywhere.” Her skin was so warm, her face flushed and her sex was dripping wet and ready. But he’d not had a chance to touch the rest of her. He gave her one last long, flat-tongued lick from the bottom to the top of her gorgeous pussy and he thought her entire body was going to come up off the bed when she arched.
Ray’s balls were throbbing as he kissed his way over her hip and across the scars that looked like intricate lace wrapped around one side of her body. He’d ask about them later, but he had more important things to attend to now. He wanted a taste of her breast. He twirled his tongue around one rosy nipple and then moved to the other side, stopping for a moment to inhale the smell of incense and oils on her skin. Something else he would need to ask about.
He reached her face and kissed her lightly on the lips. He brushed her hair from her cheek. She’d cut it off. He liked that it gave him access to that soft spot at the base of her neck, just next to her collarbone. He kissed her there once again. She moaned. Her hips ground her treasure against his leg.
He reached for his jeans and grabbed his wallet, then the condom inside. She looked at him strangely as he rolled it on. Ray hesitated an instant at the uncertainty in her eyes. “Do you want this, Sonja? “
“Yes, Ray.” She pulled his hips until he was settled at her entrance and then she rubbed the head of his cock over her swollen clit. Her hands felt like heaven there. He needed no other encouragement. She put him back into position at her opening. Wet, hot paradise. “Yes,” she breathed again.
Ray pushed all the way in and stopped, feeling her body wrapped so tightly around his. She tightened her muscles, clenching him rhythmically. When he couldn’t stand any more, he pulled out slightly, saw a hint of the Dragon swirling in her eyes and under her skin. She was breathing deeply, her nails digging into his lower back. She was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. And he’d almost walked away from her.
He pushed in and kissed her, trying to show her how much he regretted that mistake. He devoured her mouth and she gave back. His body was at the breaking point. He growled and thrust with a greed that surprised him. The magic from her Demon mingled with his and he was lost. It was a blissful gush of pleasure that was threatening to push him over the edge. But she hadn’t come yet. “Sonja. I’m…”
She placed her palms on his pecs and pushed against his thrusts with her own predatory need. Her legs wrapped around his hips and she pulled him in hard—then he felt her muscles clenching in orgasm.
Thank the Goddess. Ray closed his eyes as his own peak took him to the moon. He buried his cock in her sex and his face in her neck.
Ray lay atop her for several minutes, just breathing, feeling her body twitch and convulse. When he thought he had the strength, he rose up on his elbows. Her eyes were closed as he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.
She shuddered under him and reached up to touch his chest with a slightly trembling hand.
Then he felt a rush of uncertainty as her expression contorted from peaceful to panic.
Q’s cynical laughter pulled Sonja back to reality. Her body didn’t feel as if it were floating away from the vision. The break was abrupt and she felt as if she’d been slammed into a wall.
Q’s anger pounded into her mind. Did you think you could toy with me, Halfling?
The vision—the wonderful, hot, oh-my-Goddess vision of sex with Ray—was gone. She felt more than a little dizzy from the tea and she kept her eyes tightly closed as she felt reality between her legs, felt a sweaty belly on hers…
Q had influenced her so effectively she hadn’t comprehended she was actually having sex! Oh Goddess!
Of course, the drugged tea had probably helped.
Her pounding heart was no longer a reflection of her waning orgasm. She opened her eyes enough to peek.
Ray.
How he’d gotten there, she had no clue, but she was immensely relieved that it was Ray and not the she-man from the front door. “Thank the Goddess, it’s you!”
“Wow.” He rolled off her. “Just what a guy wants to hear.”
Then it hit her, exactly what she’d said. And seeing both of them naked once more drove home exactly what she’d done. She gathered a large pillow and covered her body, though she wasn’t really sure why. She’d wanted him. She was glad to see him. She’d just fucked him.
Oh, how she wished she had been aware it was real. Sonja shook her head.
The feel of the slimy Chiwa blood magic drifted into her consciousness.
Q knew all about her lies now.
“What are you doing here?”
He sat up with a livid look on his handsome face. “Were you expecting someone else? I hate to have intruded on someone else’s party here.” He rolled off the bed and grabbed his jeans.
She needed a moment to gather herself. Too much to deal with at once. Ray was trying to find a place to dispose of the condom and she sent up a silent thank you to the Goddess that he’d thought to wear one. She pointed to the right. “I saw a bathroom on the way in.” With that, he grunted and headed for the door. She yanked on her shorts and tank.
Poor Ray had no clue what was going on. She’d never told him that Q had repeatedly made Ray the star of her visions. She had gotten so accustomed to being intimate with him that it didn’t feel as if she’d done anything new in this bed. It was their first time. She should feel weird. But Sonja was having a hard time
freaking over having sex with Ray in light of the more pressing issue—the fact that Q now knew she’d tried to slip him a fake Chiwa.
But from Ray’s perspective, this was their first intimacy. And he’d remembered the instructions Q gave them in Asheville and had come all the way back here to help her. Unfortunately, showing up with the real Chiwa had certainly complicated things. Sonja scanned the floor and rummaged through her bag. The fake one was gone.
She shook her head. Craziness. Q must be close. Maybe close enough to see them. She got a shiver up her spine thinking of such a creepy voyeur being in her head while she thought she was with Ray, and also watching them when she really was with Ray. The Dreamstalker had pushed her fantasy so expertly she couldn’t tell the difference between Ray in the vision and Ray in real life.
She scanned the room and her eyes rested on the mirror.
Ray marched back into the room and scooped up his shirt. She noticed a nasty bruise on his forehead for the first time. “You okay?”
“No. You just fucked me but you weren’t with me, were you?” He ran his hand through his hair then yanked his shirt over his broad shoulders. She thought she saw real hurt in his eyes.
“Actually, it was you. But kind of like a dream you.” He didn’t look convinced or comforted as he pulled on his boots. “I know I have a lot to explain but this isn’t the time.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Since you had the real Chiwa, I tried to trick Q. But as soon as you showed up with that,” she pointed at this pack, “he knew it. He was here. Maybe even that close.” She subtly nodded to the mirror before searching for her phone on the pillow-laden bed. She opened it and tried to redial Q’s number.
“You tried to trick him?” Ray hissed. “Are you out of your mind?”
She spun on him, trying to keep her volume in check. “Really? Really? Because you left with my only bargaining chip. What the hell else was I supposed to do?”
He pulled her out of the room and started down the hallway.
“Ray. I’m…uh…sorry about all this.” She waived her hand between them. “I mean the seduction stuff.” She knew she was blushing, despite how urgent matters were becoming. “I’d like to talk this out when we have time.”
Ray sighed. “Let’s just move.” He looked back and held out a hand. Maybe he wasn’t that mad. He’d left her in Asheville, and she had lied to him, stolen from him and hit him over the head. And still, here he was. What a pair they made.
“Q won’t be on us himself,” she said as they neared the foyer. “He can’t get too close to the Chiwa. It’s too much psychic energy for a Dreamstalker to manage. I’m sure that’s why he had me bring it all the way here. Makes him sick being even this close.”
“Looks like you have some of his secrets too. Come on. He may not be a direct threat, but he’ll likely have more Vamps on us in a hurry.”
“More?”
“That’s where I got this.” He indicated his bruised head. “Rogue Vamps are attracted to this thing like pigs to mud.”
Fear was creeping up on her. She’d had sex with Ray while Q was in her head. If that wasn’t squicky enough, Goddess knows what else could have opened the curtain and watched them from the hallway. Now she had to face Vamps? Her steps faltered and she took a deep breath.
Ray looked back at her. “Coming?”
She’d almost stopped moving without realizing it. Ray pulled her down the hall.
She’d needed that nudge. Once she was moving again, she was fine, but the hall seemed narrower this trip through. It stank of stale sex and blood magic. Not exactly the sensual imagery she remembered from the way in. Was it possible Q had been in her head, influencing her from the time she’d entered the building? It was easier to keep her eyes focused on Ray’s back as he led them along, close to one wall.
When he reached the green saloon doors, he hesitated long enough to evaluate the area. He pulled his gun and held it up at the ready. He looked at her, checking her resolve, and nodded then tilted his head to the opening.
Did that mean it was clear for her to go? She shrugged.
Ray gave her an eye roll and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “It’s clear.”
His voice was so sexy it made her want to touch his face. She felt his magic gathering with his adrenaline. She frowned at herself for her inability to fight the distraction he and his spicy magic caused.
Sonja pushed through the doors with her head held high and strutted toward the stairs. The strange bouncer shot her one of those knowing, raised-eyebrow looks Sonja’s sister would have given her after a date.
“Have a good one?” It was a question, not a good night wish. Sonja felt the blush fill her face but kept walking.
Ray stayed right behind Sonja and pressed a hand to her back, urging her forward. When the hairy-chested bouncer saw Ray, he smirked at Sonja. “Oh baby. I see you did have a good one. And you’re taking that handsome man home too? You should share the wealth, honey.”
A shout and the sound of crashing glass behind them made Ray spin and point his gun.
The bouncer backed against the wall with his hands raised, making his masculine nipples peek out above the top of the corset. “Never mind! I got enough issues without that kind of man.” He waived his hand toward the stairs. “All weapons should exit the building immediately. I’ll have to call the authorities.”
“Vamps,” Ray breathed and headed for the gray door. He looked back at the cross-dresser. “Cindy, you better come with us.”
“What?” Sonja and Cindy shouted at the same time. Sonja gave Ray a questioning look. How did he know her…his name?
“We spoke on my way in. Cindy’s one of us and he knows the city. I trust him. Now go.”
Sonja wondered just which of us Ray was referring to. He ushered them both down the stairs. Cindy was tripping over size-twelve platform boots and Sonja tripped on her flip-flops. Women and our footwear choices.
How the hell was he supposed to get these two somewhere safe? What would be considered safe in New Orleans when you were hauling around boogie-man bait? And he had to do it without any human interference or human causalities or the Council would have his balls for an appetizer. Ray tucked the gun back into the holster at his waistband and reached for his wand.
“Oh, fuck this.” Cindy stopped in the foyer at the bottom of the stairs and held on to Sonja as he unzipped the backs of the crazy platform boots and tossed them off.
Sonja fished inside her bag. “I need a lighter.”
Cindy gave her a drawn look. “Not exactly time for a ciggy, honey.”
“Ray!” Sonja huffed. “Fireball?” She opened one of the mailboxes to show him it was stuffed with fireworks as two blood-deprived vamps burst through the upstairs door.
He conjured and directed as little energy as he could at the fuse. It sparked, and he quickly pushed open the door to the street and pulled Sonja behind him. Cindy followed. The trio ran toward the noisy Quarter, and the tourists, as the fireworks started exploding. In the confined stairwell, the noise and smoke would confuse the weakened rogues, slowing them down.
“Wow,” Sonja breathed.
Ray glanced back at her. She looked a little dazed. Her short hair was bobbing around her face. “You okay?” He pulled her a little closer.
“I think.”
Cindy caught up and fell in on Ray’s other side. He was watching the street, probably making sure he didn’t step on something or stub his toe. This was not a city Ray would want to be roaming around barefoot.
“My place is a few blocks up. Go left up through that courtyard.” Cindy pointed to an opening between two closed shops.
Ray followed the big man in the corset as he tucked into a courtyard with mass of bamboo in one corner. They ducked behind the bamboo and followed an unlit path to an alley barely wide enough for Sonja. Several times Cindy and Ray had to turn sideways to avoid protruding building structures.
They were moving along the dark alley too slowly for Rays taste. He could
n’t shake the feeling something was watching or following them. He stopped and let Sonja move ahead of him so she was between Cindy’s big body and his. His creepy meter was off the scale. He hadn’t been this spooked since he was a green patrol officer facing a pissed-off Demon that he’d had to shield from human sight.
That Demon was nothing like the Halfling walking before him. No, that had been a full Demon who’d spent way too long in a hostile realm, and had no intention of following the Council’s tenets on keeping the supernatural world out of human understanding. The thing had been caught on tape twice, and that meant trouble. The Prime for the area had been too far afield to help. Ray and his magic had been on their own.
Skip ahead a decade or so and lots of situations later, and Ray wasn’t comfortable with this one either. At the end of the building they came to a wider opening, a concrete intersection between four buildings, with several alleyways to choose from. Cindy continued straight. Ray kept Sonja as close as possible. She kept looking back at him. He wasn’t sure if it was for reassurance or instructions. Either way, he was at a loss. They were following Cindy’s lead here.
Suddenly, Sonja tensed. No. She froze. Ray pulled her tight to his body and backed against one of the buildings. Her entire body trembled and he could tell she was holding her breath. Nothing was coming in any direction. Nothing he could see. “What is it?”
She shook her head hard and fast. “Something. Something angry.”
He felt the blood magic from the talisman as it billowed out, calling to whatever magic had connected with it. He couldn’t determine which direction the magic was coming from, but it was strong. His knees felt weak, his head fuzzy. Her gripped his wand in his hand and held Sonja close with the other. Cindy had stopped a few paces ahead and was tucked behind a post holding the backside of a rickety window unit, preventing it from falling out of the window above his head. The post was only about four inches wide and did a poor job of hiding his round shape.
