Cimmerian Shade: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Collection

by Kiki Howell

“I went and got myself a romantic, didn’t I?” She teased him, turning over to rest her torso on top of his.

  “Actually, you didn’t come and get me. I came to you, remember?”

  “Right. So now I know how you got rid of the bodies! That’s fascinating, the things you can do with those hands of yours.” She straddled him and his cock nudged the baby soft flesh of her inner thigh, ready for action again. Wrapping her hands around his shaft, she rose up as if riding a see-saw, then wriggled back down slowly, swiveling her hips as she lowered herself onto him.

  He groaned, then placed his middle finger against her clit, gyrating against her for extra stimulation. His lids were almost closed when he spoke again, “Does getting rid of bodies turn you on?”

  Treva threw her head back, wishing she could last longer before the rushing climax overtook her. “Oh, God, yes! Everything about you turns me on,” she murmured the last sentence, lost in his long, deep strokes as she continued to move, leveraging her weight on his chest, but suddenly he lifted her off him. Just as she started to scream, tell him not to, she felt his talented tongue and lips at her wanton pussy as he’d placed her on his face with her knees spread out on the mattress. Drayden sucked and licked, vibrating his tongue against her taut clit until the tender bundle of nerves exploded, shooting shards of pleasure throughout her body. She trembled, but before she collapsed, he shifted again, placing her beneath him, kissing her, and plunging inside her at once.

  His movements were hard and excruciatingly slow as he invaded her every orifice. He placed two fingers in her anus, drawing out her orgasm by stimulating her G-spot. She was unable to make a sound, as if her vocal chords were paralyzed, riding the wave of pleasure as climax after climax coursed through her, causing her to tremble and gyrate against him until she could no longer move, unable to even raise her eyelids.

  She felt him lifting her, then she was being carried, and finally she landed on a soft surface. Through the haze of what felt like drug-induced sleep, she overheard Carol’s voice. “I’m sorry to disturb you, my lord, but Shoftiel wants to see you now. He says it’s urgent.”

  Shoftiel. Where have I heard that name before? Treva was too spent to think. She smiled drunkenly as sleep overtook her, then Drayden’s soothing voice whispered into her subconscious, again in another language, as she dreamed she was in a place and time completely unfamiliar to her.

  Chapter Seven

  DRAYDEN SKIPPED THE stairs and appeared in the conference hall.

  Shoftiel sat at the head of the long stone-inlaid table. He tossed a ball in the air over and over again, then sighed when he looked at Drayden. “I wanted to speak with you earlier, but you were...otherwise engaged.”

  “How much did you see?”

  Shoftiel rolled his eyes. “Enough to make my eyes burn. How much does she know?”

  “Nothing...yet, but—”

  “But you’re hoping she’ll love you anyway. Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath...or yours for that matter. However, if you love her, and based on the images I still can’t erase from my brain, you do love her, a hell of a lot. With that in mind, I have another job for you that can only be completed by someone who loves her. From my vantage point, that puts you in a perfect place.” He slid two documents towards Drayden.

  The documents included pictures of two men, including their names, weight, height, habits, addresses, habits, and whereabouts. Both had been instrumental in killing Treva’s family.

  “Be warned,” Shoftiel said. “This time there are demons involved, and I’m not certain exactly how many. As you know, I have watched over Treva since her parents were killed. Her family worked for me. They were demon hunters, artifact collectors and over the years, they became friends. They always wanted a girl, so after the births of three sons, I made sure they conceived one – Treva.”

  Drayden couldn’t help speculating about just how much help Shoftiel had provided in insuring that the Evers’ conceived a girl, but he frowned, dismissing the thought. Although his keeper was a punishing angel and could be a brutal and nasty son-of-a-bitch with a dark sense of humor, he was still an angel of light, a warrior.

  Shoftiel slid a third document over, inquiring as soon as Drayden turned it around to look at it. “Recognize him?”

  Drayden shook his head. “Who is he?”

  “Yet another threat. He’s a fanatical druid hunter named Theon, who’s interested in starting a neo-druid society. He found out about you by researching ancient legends and tracked you here. Now, that alone wouldn’t be a problem, but his goal is to capture you, and that is a problem. We both know why we can’t allow that to happen. The word is that he’s allowed himself to get tangled up with demons.”

  “I know I can’t tell her about the curse yet, but she should know who you are, and what your relationship was to her family. She’s been alone for so long. I think it would give her a measure of peace.”

  “She has never been alone, Drayden, and now, she has you as well. I will tell her though.” The angel stood. “Stay down here, so you can shift in peace and rest up. You leave in a few hours. This must be done before the sun sets. I would send Sebastian to watch your back, but he’s taking care of something else for me right now. In the words of every foolish romantic who ever lived, follow your heart.”

  Shoftiel squinted his eyes in a way that Drayden knew all too well. The angel was keeping important secrets, as usual, and there was always much more to his missions than he revealed.

  DRAYDEN REALIZED HE’D overslept the moment he opened his eyes. The sun had already set. He felt the bulk of his weight, as if he carried two extra men on his shoulders, and knew that he had returned to his most common form: the beast. Apparently, he had shifted while he slept. He hated it when that happened, but he had known he would be cutting it close, spending so much time with Treva. The short time he’d left her had been to make another kill for Shoftiel and buy himself more time with her, but the beast had been kept at bay for too long, and would not be stilled or silenced a moment longer.

  Thankfully, unlike his castle, there were no mirrors underground. The last thing he wanted to see was his frightening visage. The spell he’d cast on Treva insured that she would still be asleep, so he dismissed the desire to see her one more time before leaving. Drayden called Terrance to meet him above ground, hurriedly donned his cloak, careful not to shred it with his claws, then opened a portal to follow the directions Shoftiel had given him.

  When he emerged at the eastern edge of Bankhead tunnel, Terrance was waiting for him with the usual greeting. “Evening, Lord Sorcher. Where to?”

  After Drayden relayed the directions, the two of them rode in silence for some time before Drayden picked up on his driver’s uneasiness. Terrance had been his loyal driver for over 25 years, and had become accustomed to his dichotomous forms. The man actually seemed to be more intimidated by his human form than he was by the beast, but he assumed that was because Terrance was more used to seeing the beast. “What is it, Terrance? You seem agitated.”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to be so obvious. I just, last night, I—when you and the lady rode to the fair, I misspoke, and I just want to apologize for that. Your...demeanor just surprised me. I mean, you seemed...happy. I mean, not that you seem unhappy now, it’s just—”

  “Understood, Terrance. Your apology is accepted and quite unnecessary. My...reaction to Lady Treva has come as quite a surprise to me as well.”

  “She is very striking, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

  Drayden smiled, aware that Terrance could see him through the rearview mirror. “No. I do not mind at all. Thank you.” The fact that he’d accepted the compliment as if Treva was his, did not escape him.

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. He gazed out of the window as they crossed the Bayway, a large bridge connecting Mobile and the Eastern Shore. The lights flashed by, appearing to be one straight line at 55 miles per hour, only returning to their individuality as they reflected on the
waves of the Gulf of Mexico. Having never been to this specific location, Drayden had to endure the car ride instead of transporting. His mind traveled back in time as they continued the 30-minute trip, reliving memories he would have been relieved to discard forever.

  One thing he had to admit was the effectiveness of this form to maintain the druidess Hilary’s chains on him, even in death. Drayden could still see the darkness that had enveloped him the day she cursed him. She had taken his departure from the druid camp harder than the others, taking her own life to seal the curse.

  Less than half-a-mile from their destination, Drayden directed Terrance to let him out, then turn the car around and return to the city.

  “When and where do you want me to pick you up, sir?”

  “I don’t, Terrance. Not this time.”

  Terrance nodded, turning back to stare at the steering wheel.

  Drayden knew his driver could sense when something was different, and so could he. For the first time in his life, he wished for the gift of second sight, to foresee the outcome and know how Treva would be affected by it. His life had been long and trying, and although he wanted more time to spend with the woman who had stolen his heart with a word and branded it with her fiery nature, he felt certain that death would not be the worst thing that would ever happen to him. Before his end, though, he intended to draw enough blood tonight to earn him at least a week’s reprieve from his beast form.

  Pulling his cloak around him, Drayden ran the remainder of the distance. In beast form, he possessed the gift of preternatural speed and strength, as well as the superior senses of the beasts of sky and jungle. He’d committed the dossiers to memory within minutes of his meeting with Shoftiel, so he recognized the enclave the moment he came within several yards of it. The land surrounding the large gray-metal warehouse was barren, mostly pale yellow sprigs of grass and sand-like dirt, and in seconds, he had covered the distance, crouching low in search of the best entry point.

  He sensed the dogs before he saw them. Most were caged and chained in the backyard, beaten and half-starving. The assholes were obviously running a dog-fighting ring in addition to their other basal pursuits. Three Pitt-bulls rushed him, snarling and growling. Drayden stood his ground, relying on yet another strength of his present form. Within seconds, the animals slid to a halt, forming a semicircle around him, and sat at attention. He patted their heads and took a moment to conjure cages for them, including the others who were chained. With one more thought, he sent all of them through a portal to an animal re-trainer he’d met some years ago. There, they would never be abused again.

  Just as he turned, the whisper of a bullet swept his left horn. He invoked a cloaking spell to blend into the night as he swiftly moved forward, towards the origin of the bullet. A series of bullets continued to split the air, but none came close to him. The beast’s footfalls were always silent, but the gun wielder’s were not. Drayden was upon the gunman, tearing out his throat with his teeth before the man could let out a sound. He looked at him long enough to make a positive identification, insuring that his mark was one of the murderers. Once this was done, he sought out the last one.

  He gazed through the window of the large warehouse. Doors always creaked, and he wanted whoever was inside to rest easy in the misconception that he had been killed already. Maintaining the cloaking spell, he transported inside. He could hardly believe he had managed to catch the two murderers alone, but he only heard one more heartbeat in the warehouse, and he’d identified the other outside. Perhaps this night wouldn’t be as long as he’d dreaded, he thought.

  Revealing himself just before attacking, Drayden faced the man, who held the usual expression, one of abject terror, then cut through the man’s middle, pulling his ribs through his stomach in one snap. He incinerated the bodies and cast a spell to dissolve them, then turned, eager to be back at his castle when Treva awoke. Instead of the usual shift into his human form, he felt nothing. He was stuck in beast form, and that meant something had happened to Shoftiel. Before he could react to this thought, he wanted to groan when an all too familiar sound stopped him in his tracks. Damn. Shoftiel told me demons were involved.

  .

  Chapter Eight

  TREVA DASHED DOWN the stairs and into the tunnels. She remembered the way, and she was in a hurry this time. She had dreamt for hours, of Drayden, his past, his voice always present, leading her through, whispering to insure her understanding, but what disturbed her most was the waking dream of Shoftiel. He, too, had whispered, and now she needed passage above ground.

  An exceptionally tall man stood as soon as she walked through the door. His dark auburn hair and mint green eyes were just the beginning of the physical traits that made his presence underground a crime. His face was like a work of art, but his eyes were cold, even when he smiled.

  She shook her head, laughing at herself when she realized how out of character her thoughts were, but the same conclusion came to her again: this must be an angel. “Um, Shoftiel?”

  “I was wondering how long you were going to stand there gawking at me like I’m something out of one of your coloring books come to life. I might even show you my wings one day, but for now, you’ve got some place else to be.”

  “Are you reading my mind?” She frowned and crossed her arms, feeling violated.

  “Ha! Every damning and redeeming thought, but don’t worry yourself about that. It’s your actions that matter most. Drayden wanted me to tell you that I have watched over you for your entire life. I made a promise to your parents, my...friends. I’m giving you a boost to help you handle what you’re about to face. We have much to discuss...if you survive.”

  Before she could respond or even close her mouth, she blinked, and found herself in another room, on one knee. Light was limited, but it appeared to be an office. The floors were concrete, and she realized that Shoftiel had sent her straight to the warehouse of her last two marks. He had also admitted to being her benefactor, but there was no time to allow herself to fully grasp this fact. Remembering his last three words to her, she wasn’t about to start planning his thank you card just yet. Remaining close to the floor, she moved to peek out of the window in the door, surprised that she could see so well in the dim light. She couldn’t see any movement, so she cracked the door open just enough to slip out, searching for Drayden first, then together, she hoped they would locate numbers five and six. The exhilaration she felt was new, different from the anticipation she’d felt before. She prided herself on control, but she could hardly contain these new feelings of power and purpose.

  Boom!

  Seeming to emanate from nowhere, blue fire shot across the warehouse, hitting a creature that could only be described as a monster. It appeared to have gray, slimy-looking skin, horns, intermittent strings of hair and bat wings. She couldn’t believe what she saw, but her 20/20 vision reassured her that the monster was real. The creature’s body bowed when the blue fire hit him, but he seemed to bounce back, retaliating with a ray of bright orange and shifting into a handsome man in suit pants and a white shirt at once.

  Another creature, much like the first one in appearance, stepped into the dim light, sending a similar ray from a third direction, then another, and another. Where she saw one, two more seemed to spring up behind it, and she realized she couldn’t count the number of creatures in the room with her. They were all demons, changing their appearances to more favorable apparitions at will from the monstrous beings they truly were. One form was their true form, and the other was merely a façade they wore for the unsuspecting. Shoftiel had told her he was sending her to find Drayden and exact vengeance on five and six. She couldn’t imagine how things had gone so wrong, how she had landed in this cesspool of demons. From her position on the floor against the wall, she couldn’t see well enough, but it was obvious no exit seemed to be close to her, and from what she knew about demons, they wouldn’t be taking any prisoners. She would have to fight or die. Concern over where Drayden might be made it ha
rd for her to focus.

  Treva pressed her body as close to the wall as she could, sliding against the hard surface in search of a weak point. She couldn’t see the creatures’ opponent despite surveying the entire warehouse, but she was ready to bet on the enemy of her enemy being her ally, at least she desperately hoped the old adage was true. Her life might very well count on it. After watching the strange crossfire for a few more seconds, seconds that felt like hours, she started to think she would never find an opening. She’d always been told about the existence of demons, their signs and origins, but she’d never been trained to fight them. While she fought an internal battle, still unwilling to accept her present level of helplessness, one of the creatures stumbled back, its body within inches of hers. Treva’s brown eyes met the creature’s evil red irises, and something clicked inside her. Sensory memory took over as her lithe body went into action.

  Using the wall as leverage, she jabbed her foot into the back of its knee, surprised when she heard a crack as its bone broke. It fell, and she kicked it in the mid-section when it started to rise. The new exhilaration she’d felt earlier started to make sense when she noticed that her feet seemed to have turbo-power, every move exacting what must have been ten-times the force of her human body. She glanced at her hands, inspecting them quickly as Shoftiel’s words came to memory, but now she’d gained the attention of more creatures. As they snatched and grabbed at her, she continued to fight, relying on her technique to enhance this newfound strength. This was what Shoftiel had meant by giving her a boost. Nice! There was no time to ponder how Shoftiel did what he did though, so she simply forged ahead as always, but this time she had two goals in mind: find Drayden, and stay alive long enough to finish the job.

  As Treva concentrated on maiming and destroying as many demons as she could, one at a time, she heard the dying cries of the creatures as they were struck by her ally’s rays. Judging by the constant scuffling sounds, her ally was also in the midst of the fray. The demons were faster and stronger than humans, but apparently, her ally possessed supernatural fighting skills as well. Drayden. Suddenly, she realized it had to be him. She felt certain that he had sensed her presence immediately, and guilt pangs assaulted her for not being able to do the same.