Seduced By Darkness
Page 23
“I’m exactly where I want to be,” he said softly. He brought up his hands cupping the back of her head to force her down for a kiss. With her lips hovering over his, he said, “I do love you.”
A blush stole over her cheeks, but her soft smile said how pleased she was with his words. She wiggled her hips and the tip of his cock slipped inside her. “I could stay like this forever,” she whispered, then dipped her head to seal their lips together.
Surrounded by her scent and her slim form, Nicolas breathed deeply. Whatever challenges the future brought, he’d make damn sure Chessa stayed safe and never again had reason to doubt him. He’d saved her for himself long ago, and he’d never let her go.
“Is it over?” Byron asked, glancing beneath the tarp in the back of the pickup Alex had parked in the station house’s garage. Bernie’s cold, waxy body lay beside the wheel well.
“Well, he’s not in the city anymore.” And now, they were the only ones who knew The Devourer had jumped hosts. Alex had secreted the body away from the compound while the security force had closed in on Nicolas’s band of Revenants. He’d have to let Simon know to warn the occupants at the compound.
Byron blew out a breath. “At least it’s one less problem we have to deal with here. I’ll get someone down here to pick him up. Damn shame. He was a good officer.” His gaze swung back to Alex. “What about Chessa? She not come back with you?”
Alex let the tarp drop and headed toward the station house entrance, Byron’s footsteps treading heavily behind him. “She’s not going to be back for a while. I’m sure she’ll give you a call once she’s able.”
Byron drew alongside him and gave him a searching look. “That’s all you’re gonna tell me?”
Alex gave him a tight-lipped smile and opened the door into the busy station house. The din of life—voices calling out to each other, laughter, heated conversations, curses—welcomed Alex as he headed up the steps to the second floor offices and his cubicle. He hesitated when he passed a soldier in camouflage.
“Yeah, get used to it,” Byron said. “We need all the help we can get. Those mean streets are gettin’ meaner by the minute.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Alex muttered, dropping the truck keys on his desk and reaching into a drawer for the Beamer’s keys. Unbidden, he drew a deep breath, inhaling Chessa’s scent, which permeated the cubicle. He was going to miss her, but he’d known all along she wasn’t for him.
Natalie had wanted Chessa’s grief redirected—he’d accomplished that—and so much more. Now if he could only stay alive long enough to take care of one or two more loose ends.
He picked up a report from the desk, idly scanning the contents—a pack of large, wild dogs had been seen roaming the alleyways. Wolves, one witness has said. The cop taking the report had indeed found large paw prints in the muck.
“You’ve got cases stackin’ up,” Byron drawled behind him. “Reba’s been busy.”
Alex snorted and laid the paper on top of the rising stack. Perhaps he’d check it out himself. If the visual wasn’t helpful, his sense of smell might unravel one more tangle in the web of intrigue deepening around New Orleans.
He touched the medallion at his throat. Chessa and the baby weren’t safe—and for once, Inanna was the least of his worries. The wily bitch was probably trying to figure out a way to make it all work out to her advantage.
Now, they had to worry about the sabat descending upon them and finding the Hell-beast her machinations had unleashed.
“Cuttin’ it kinda close aren’t you?” Byron asked, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. “S’posed to be a sunny day.”
“About damn time,” Alex said, suppressing a grin. Byron thought he had it all figured out. “I’ll get right on this,” he said tapping the stack of paperwork, “as soon as I get some shut-eye.”
With a determined step, he strode back the way he’d come.
“You sure you don’t want one of my guys to take you home?” Byron called after him. “Drive you out of the garage?”
Alex shot him a grin over his shoulder. “I’ll be fine,” he said, lifting a hand to wave.
Moments later, he stepped out onto the pavement. Dawn crept slowly along the sidewalk, drawing the moisture clinging to the ground into the heated air in a swirl of steaming, glistening mist.
One storm had passed, but another, far more dangerous one, followed in its wake. With Nicolas and Chessa on the inside and Simon riding shotgun, maybe they had chance.
The Devourer gloated. Things couldn’t have worked out any better. The van load of bodies he’d stolen from the morgue while Chessa fought the dead already raised, had been a stroke of genius.
A little powder, a rising moon, and he’d created another diversion tonight.
Leaving Bernie’s body slumped over an iron spike on the compound fence had been an inspired touch. In the morning, when they gathered the bodies to dispose of them, perhaps he’d be recognized. Then Inanna would know he’d reached the estate. She’d quiver in fear at the thought he could be anyone.
He could be anywhere.
Even so close he could smell her growing arousal.
She turned and slowly drew open the ties at the front of her robe, letting it puddle on the floor at her feet. Her glorious body, tawny and lithe as a cat’s, glowed in the lamplight. She glanced at him over her shoulder, biting her lip.
“How can I please you, mistress,” he asked, although…he knew.
“I would have you take me,” she whispered.
As he closed in on her, he suppressed the glee tugging at his lips, tamped down the excitement that even now filled his borrowed cock.
He’d make love to her, punishing her sweet form, wallowing in her tight cunt until he’d had his fill, renewing their old acquaintance—while he plotted her death and the destruction of all those who shared her lineage.
His hands reached around to palm and squeeze her breasts, then slid lower over the bottom of her rib cage. There, where it was softest, where bone didn’t deflect a powerful thrust. Soon…he’d feast on her heart.
For now, he’d enjoy the widening of her eyes as he showed her how well he remembered her peculiar tastes. How well he knew the dark lusts that ruled her.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to my friend Layla Chase who taught me “the rules” but only sighs now when I break them!
Thanks to my critique partners and dear friends for adding polish to this story and supporting me: Megan Kerans, Jo-Ann Power, and Mary Fechter.
More thanks to “Team Delilah,” my friends and readers who root for me even when I’m stepping off the ledge: Patti, Erin, Heather, Sharon, Jenn, Rocky, and Serena.
And kisses for my biggest fan: I love you, Mom!
About the Author
DELILAH DEVLIN resides in South Texas at the intersection of two dry creeks, surrounded by sexy cowboys in Wranglers—she likes living dangerously! To Delilah, the greatest sin is driving between the lines because it’s comfortable and safe. Her personal journey has taken her through one war, many countries, cultures, jobs, and relationships to bring her to the place she travels now—writing sexy adventures that hold more than a kernel of autobiography and often share a common thread of self-discovery and transformation. To learn more about Delilah Devlin, visit
www. delilahdevlin.com.
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Also by Delilah Devlin
Fiction
INTO THE DARKNESS
Credits
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photograph by Ebby May/Getty Images
Copyright
SEDUCED BY DARKNESS. Copyright © 2008 by Delilah Devlin. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, t
ransmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition January 2008 ISBN 9780061751189
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