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

by Kiki Howell

  His tone mocked her, “It’s not a steep punishment. Your actions with the human put Hades in a tight spot. Now he owes a favor to an unknown witch. He’ll have to repay that favor at a time of her choosing. He now owes a favor to an unknown witch to be determined by her at a time of his choosing. He had to swear on the River Styx, which is an unbreakable promise. So, the punishment might seem steep to you but to Hades? You’re lucky he’s not sending your ass to the Underworld and torturing you for the next hundred years.”

  “And what happens if I can’t afford the payment?” Her left hand went up to rub her temple. A pounding headache was making its presence known. “I don’t know many people that have a quarter million just floating around.”

  He gave her a pitying look. “If you can’t make the payment, you get stripped of your magic and sent to the Underworld until Hades feels your debt has been paid in full. To be honest, the last situation like this, the person couldn’t pay it and he’s still down there, a hundred years later.”

  Her heart sank down to her shoes. Come up with an ungodly amount of money in a short period of time, or rot in the equivalent of hell. The only way she could come up with that amount of moolah would be to rob a bank, and she’d probably get shot and killed in the process. Choices, choices. What was the least offensive outcome out of her available options?

  “Although, there is another alternative,” he said. “You don’t strike me as an individual who would take a different option like this, though. Might be a bit too much for what I imagine your standards are.”

  He eyed her designer outfit with judgment written all over his face. So what? She liked nice things. Nothing wrong with a witch looking her best.

  Wait, there was something else he hadn’t mentioned yet?

  Staring at him with impatience she asked, “What is the alternative? You don’t know what my standards are. You might be surprised.” At this point she’d take anything besides having to pay a huge fine or rotting in hell and being tortured. Nothing could be worse than losing her magic or her life.

  “Financially, I’m well off.” He gave Samantha a calculating look. “I’m an immortal and have accumulated more money and investments than I will ever need in my long life. What I’m lacking is a passionate lover who likes to give as much as she likes to receive. I don’t want just a quick fuck. I want blinding passion. Heat. The world falling away. You strike me as a match just waiting to combust with the right touch. The kind of sexual hunger I’m looking for. Spend the night with me, and I’ll pay your fine to Hades right now.”

  He pulled out a briefcase, slid it across the bar and popped open the locks. When he lifted the lid, my breathing halted. The briefcase was completely full of hundred dollar bills. If Samantha had to guess, she would say that was all her fine.

  Wait, why did he have this handy?

  “How did you have this cash ready to go, like you knew you were going to offer me this?” Samantha raised her eyebrow at him.

  His grin could have melted women’s panties everywhere. “Because I had to do a profile on you before this meeting so I already knew what I wanted. I want you in my bed. I promise it will be pleasurable for us both. Let me feel your heat tonight.” He flicked his top fang with a tongue as his direct grey eyes fucked her in every position possible.

  What were her options now?

  1. Death & Torture.

  2. Hefty fines.

  3. Scorching sex with an immortal lover.

  No matter what this vampire thought of her, Samantha wasn’t a prude. She could enjoy a no-strings romp through the sheets with the right guy. Hopefully he was as good in bed as he looked. She would hate to get a dud. Though a useless lover was still better than torture.

  Samantha tilted her head to the side and gave him a full body scan. She waited till he started to fidget a bit before giving him her answer. “Okay, but first I want to know your name.”

  His mouth dropped open, like she’d surprised him.

  “My name is Onyx,” he said at last.

  Then he gave a wicked grin and jumped over the counter with supernatural speed. Before Samantha knew it, she was getting a visual of his rugged features, up front and personal.

  He backed her up against a nearby wall. One hand reached up to grip the back of her hair. He gave a slight tug and pulled Samantha’s face up to receive a sharp kiss. His fangs gently nicked her lower lip, and he groaned as he licked the bead of blood that pooled there.

  “You taste like magic,” he whispered. “Delicious. Wild. Free.”

  At his words, Samantha grabbed his face to pull him down for a deeper kiss. Her upper teeth bit down on his lower lip, encouraging him to lose all control. His hands reached around to grab her ass and with one strong pull, he ripped her skirt from her body. The strength needed to do that had arousal pooling in Samantha’s black lace panties. His hands traced along the material and he broke away from the kiss to kneel in front of her.

  “This is going to be a fun night.” He leaned in to rub his face against her mound and, with a growl that sent shivers down Samantha’s spine, he used his fangs to savagely rip off her panties.

  He spread her legs and propped one on his shoulder before he ravenously licked and flicked his tongue. Samantha grabbed his head to hold him down there as his fingers joined his mouth. He sucked on her sensitive clit while he finger-fucked her. The intense pleasure had Samantha biting her hand to keep from screaming as her hips rotated uncontrollably.

  She could feel an orgasm building up, and Samantha wanted to tell him to stop because she couldn’t take it. But, at the same time, she craved the release he was offering.

  Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Then a climax hit her so hard that Samantha’s shrieks could be heard through her hand.

  Suddenly, he was in front of her, and she almost fell over from the lack of support and rippling climax still raging through her body. He leaned in to give her a bruising wet kiss. Samantha licked his lips, tasting her juices running freely on his chin. Sweet and salty.

  He used one hand to free his shaft from his pants.

  “Put your legs around my waist,” he commanded.

  Without question, Samantha did as he asked. His big hands reached around to cup her buttocks and, in one smooth motion, his cock was buried deep inside. The fullness Samantha felt was a mixture of pain and pleasure. His masculine, husky groan had her hands reaching out to grip his shoulders.

  Samantha dug her nails in. “Are you going to fuck me or stand here in contemplation for the rest of the night?”

  Onyx gave a small laugh, and his grey eyes met hers. “Oh, we are going to fuck for the rest of the night. You’ll be thinking about me for weeks to come.”

  He was thrusting into Samantha with blurring speed before she even knew what was happening. Holy shit. This was like riding a fake bronco at one of those country bars. Only this bronco was very much alive and appeared to have the same intensity as a wild bull.

  Samantha held on tight and tried to muffle her shrieks by burying her face into his shoulders. She’d never had sex like this before, and Samantha had a feeling this vampire had ruined her for any future men. The feel of his cock sliding in and out of her at rapid tempo had another orgasm building up. This time, Samantha bit down as hard as she could on his shoulders.

  She felt his fangs penetrating her neck. He drank a few small pulls before he roared out his own release. His big body shuddered, and goosebumps broke out on Samantha’s skin. What an erotic sight to see a man lose complete control. There was nothing sexier than knowing she had made him that way.

  “Wow. That was definitely worth not getting sent to the Underworld.” Samantha looked around for something to cover up with when she heard his husky chuckle.

  His gorgeous eyes met hers. “You didn’t think we were done yet, did you? We’ve got all night, and there are many things I’d like to teach you, little witch.”

  Samantha’s body shivered at the dark promise in his tone.

  Who
knew that casting that spell would have had such sweet consequences?

  Chapter Two

  ONYX MADE A low growl in the back of his throat as he watched Samantha stumble towards the door. Her light chocolate hair was still sweaty from their last fuck session and she’d pulled it up into a messy ponytail on the top of her head. Her wrinkled clothes screamed that she’d gotten a good, hard, fucking. He doubted the wrinkles would wash out, even if she had them dry-cleaned.

  He didn’t know if the satisfaction in her disarrayed appearance was because he was a male or because he was a vampire. Or was it because she came into the club last night looking like a pristine little princess? One of those women who strived for perfection. Perfect hair. Perfect makeup. Perfect clothes in place. Everything in a neat little fucking package.

  Fuck that. He was man enough to admit his satisfaction in her ruffled appearance was a combination of all three. There was something primal about tearing down exterior appearances because when you got to the interior, a person was raw emotionally and physically and they couldn’t hide that. Anybody can have sex. Anyone can get naked with one another. But, having your interior walls broken down? That leaves a person raw and unedited. That was the true person underneath all the layers of clothing and appearances. Exposing your emotional self is the hardest thing anyone can ever do. He had only experienced that type of raw emotion once before in his life with a woman from many years ago.

  Samantha almost fell into the door jamb when she heard his low predatory growl. Her body stiffened and without turning her head she casually lifted her right hand up to flip him the bird as she finally made it out of the club’s entrance.

  Onyx laughed at the feisty witch’s response. He had taken her sweet little body all night long. She even had secret piercings and tattoos that were hidden underneath her clothes. His favorite hidden treasure though was the two star tattoos that wrapped around each of her nipples. He’d even gotten to taste her succulent blood through those nipples and at the end of the night they were berry red. Near the end of the night the sex had become more sensual and erotic, and that was the biggest fucking aphrodisiac anyone could ask for. Feeling the sun come up in the sky had forced him to relinquish his prize sooner than he would’ve liked.

  He had written his number in permanent ink on her hand in the hopes that she would call him later. He had worn her out enough that she hadn’t even noticed. She might not call him later when she discovered it was permanent. He was willing to take the risk though. He’d only wanted to stake his claim and the permanent ink meant that she wouldn’t be able to forget him by washing him off her skin.

  He had his doubts that he’d see or hear from her again. She’d only been interested in him paying her hefty fine to avoid being executed and sent to the Underworld. Not that he blamed her, the underworld was a place disgustingly filthy in more than one way. Most people wouldn’t wish their worst enemy there. Definitely not a place for his pristine little princess.

  Women who had firecracker personalities in and out of the bedroom had always held his attention. Moth to the flame. He would keep coming back no matter how many times he got burned. Sucked being the moth every time. Sometimes he could get close enough to feel the heat without getting burned. Samantha had that rare aura. A fire that burned red-hot and kept a soul warm.

  He had decided before she had even walked in the door that he wanted to be in her bed. After having her in the club all night long? The vampire in him wanted her in his bed and in his life forever. After living centuries, he had gotten better at picking out those souls that shone like supernovas.

  Those rare people were so full of life that just by living, they’d explode and shine like a million stars. The light from them would touch anyone who was lucky enough to be in their life. When it came, he wanted to be around the Samantha explosion, because he knew it would inevitably change his life for the better.

  No matter what it took he was determined to wear down her resistance and get her to say yes to becoming his mate. Okay, he would settle for friends with benefits. That meant he could work his way into her life on a more permanent level.

  Immortality seemed like forever when you had no one else to share it with. That’s why most immortals ended up with strong women with spicy personalities to keep things interesting over the centuries. Samantha came across as a sarcastic bitch, but there was a flame that burned inside her. He would bet his substantial savings that once a person cracked the shell she showed to the world, she would be a little ninja teddy bear. Bad ass but with a sweet core inside.

  He looked down at the case file that rested on the bar counter. Opening her case file again he saw that she was twenty-three. Her power level was off the charts compared to the rest of her family tree. There were only two other witches who ranked comparable to her power. One was a cousin named Mystic who owned a local spell shop. A grandmother named Vivian on her father’s side was the other. Those three had more power than most covens in the United States.

  The paranormal government had so much information on her. They knew she liked to separate her candy by colors before she would eat them. Red first. Orange second. Yellow third. He squinted at the rest of the colors and realized she separated her colors into “rainbow” and ate them starting with the top of the rainbow. Interesting.

  But what had really captured his attention when he’d been given this file? The wistful look on her face on the photo in the top right hand corner. She looked like somebody who had big dreams and probably wanted somebody to share those dreams with but the thoughtful look told him that she hadn’t found that someone yet. When he looked in the mirror he saw the same yearning on her face, reflected on his own. Hard to not connect with someone when a photo could inspire the need to bond and protect them.

  He was determined to get to know her better, to find out what made her tick, and maybe find a companion to laugh with. He wouldn’t even mind if she ate crackers in bed. The fact that she had a little bit of spice to her personality only sweetened the pot.

  He had known when he first got this file that she didn’t have the money to pay the fine, that is why he had two-hundred and fifty thousand in a briefcase if she was willing to spend the night with him. He didn’t know of many immortals or mortals who had that kind of cash. What he had gotten with her that night was worth every single penny and more.

  He grabbed the case file and the briefcase of cash to take them to Hades office. When he got to the office some gigantic freaky bald headed man was hunched over Hades desk, shuffling through files. Who was brave enough to enter Hades office while he wasn’t here? Let alone have the balls to look up and give Onyx a glare.

  He walked over and put the case file on top of the desk while sliding under it.

  “Can I help you with something?” He inquired of the stranger. He couldn’t pinpoint why this guy gave him the creeps but he couldn’t shake the feeling. While it wasn’t masculine to admit it, this guy had every predatory instinct of Onyx’s raised and on high alert. He was ready to rip this guy apart in self-defense and the guy hadn’t even done anything but glare at him.

  “No thank you. I was just looking for something that Hades told me was on the desk. For an assignment.” The guy looked at the folder that Onyx just put on the desk and picked it up. He opened it up and quickly scanned the contents. “Ah, yes this is what I was looking for. I’ll bring this back later today.”

  Wait a second. Why did this guy need Samantha’s folder with all of her personal information? If this guy had made him feel uncomfortable before the fact that he was looking at Samantha’s file and seemed to be deeply interested in the contents made his hackles rise even more. Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

  “Why do you need Samantha Smith’s file?” He would’ve snatched the file back however the guy had already shoved it into the waistband of his jeans. There was no way in hell he was sticking his hand down this guy’s southern region. Not for a million bucks. He was tempted to tackle him to the floor, however he d
idn’t know if he could win if it came down to a fight.

  He eyed the guy’s muscular arms which flexed a bit at his question like they were gearing up for battle.

  “The name is Rune. I’m just following my clients demands, who has cleared it with Hades. I am not allowed to give details about my mission, so if you have a problem with that you’re going to have to take it up with Hades.” The guy, no the monster folded his tree trunks over his chest and shot him a death stare, as if daring him to make a move. Disturbing turquoise eyes flashed full on black for a moment, before turning back to green. Didn’t matter what color they were, in either shade they screamed predator.

  Onyx wanted to wipe the smug look off the bastard’s face. It was past dawn though and his strength wasn’t at full capacity. He would wait until he had a chance to talk to Hades and if he didn’t like Hades answer he would pound the answer out of this guy’s face.

  “You aren’t leaving until I can confirm everything you’ve just said with Hades.” He pointed to the worn black leather sofa sitting in the corner by the door. “Why don’t you go sit on the couch over there while I call to confirm your story?” Rune looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and casually walked over to the couch and sat down.

  Turning his back to the door he leaned over to grab the black phone on Hades desk. He quickly dialed Hades home number. One ring. Two Rings. Three rings. The line clicked and all Onyx could hear was breathing.

  “Hello?” The breathing sound got heavier. What in the hell? “I need to speak with Hades.” It sounded as if somebody was running down an extremely long hallway.

  He was about to hang up and call back again when Hades voice came on the line. “I’m in the middle of sexy time with my personal goddess. This had better be an emergency or I’ll smite you into tiny, unidentifiable pieces.”

  Onyx thought about it for second before he responded. Technically this was not an emergency, at least Hades would not consider it an emergency. However, because he was invested in getting to know this witch, Samantha Smith, better, to him he did feel like it was an emergency. He could picture Hades in his home office sitting at his desk long black fingernails tapping with impatience waiting for the answer. He did that a lot when he was at club Diablo.