Witch Hunter

by Shannon Curtis

He whipped his gaze back to the sea. First he intruded on her mentally, and when she’s trying to talk to him he’s ogling her. Bad form, Dave.

  “I don’t know what happened last night,” Dave admitted in a low voice, and this time it was him averting his gaze. “I just know that you were dealing with so much pain, more pain than I’d ever felt in a person, and...and I wanted to help ease it.” He grimaced. He’d intruded on her then, too. Had no idea how he’d done it—he’d never done it before.

  She remained silent, and he didn’t know if she was mentally screaming “I hate you” and trying to map out her escape route. What she’d endured with her prick of an ex was on his mind, her vulnerability, the abuse of not only her generosity, but her body, her mind and her powers...and for a witch, that was a painful violation.

  He raised his knee and rested his forearm on it. “I know—I know there’s a protocol with power bonding,” he said in a low voice. “I’ve bonded with other witches, like my sister, when it was necessary—and agreed to, but I haven’t lived in a coven.” He shook his head. “That’s not an excuse, it’s—it’s that sometimes I’m ignorant of the process, and for some folks, I take shortcuts that can be...confronting.”

  It was a constant source of frustration for his coven elder mother—something he’d rather enjoyed doing, up until now—when someone he was beginning to really care about was affected.

  Sully turned, and reached put her hand on his arm—and there it was. That little pfft of a power meld that he still couldn’t get his mind around, but that awoke every single one of his senses and focused them on her.

  “It’s okay, Dave,” she said, and gave him a tremulous but reassuring smile, and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He felt an answering throb in his groin. Felt the want, the need for her, and battled it. He met her gaze, saw the tenderness, the interest. He raised his hand to cup her cheek. Her skin was so soft, so smooth, her eyes so dark, full of wariness, full of curiosity, and yet showing him a hunger he wasn’t sure she intended for him to see.

  But he did. He leaned forward a little, then halted.

  He wanted her—desperately, but thoughts of Mental Marty, of what he’d done to her, bubbled up. He never wanted her to feel forced around him—for anything.

  As though reading his mind, Sully moved. Tilting her chin up, she closed the distance, her lips pressing against his as she slid her hand up his arm and over his shoulder.

  Dave closed his eyes, content to let her lead, let her set the pace, the level of intim—

  Her tongue slid past his lips, and heat flooded him, tightening inside him, flooding his body with an arousal that was so damn gripping, so tight, it had him panting as he angled his head.

  Without breaking contact, Sully rose up on her knees, her arms sliding around him, under his jacket. He shrugged it off to give her access—oh, please, access—and dropped it to the ground behind him. He raised his hands to her hips, guiding her as she straddled his hips. He wrapped his arms around her, crossing them over her back as he pulled her against him. Sully sighed, her breath drifting across his lips as she tilted her head first in one direction, then the other, as though trying to find the best position.

  He groaned at the teasing contact, and slid one hand up into her hair. He could feel the damp heat of her pressed against his groin and his cock stiffened. She moaned, her hips writhing against his, and he shifted beneath her, trying to get even closer, despite their clothes.

  She drew back, tugging at his T-shirt. He brought her lips back to his, impatient at the loss of contact, and ripped his shirt from neck to hem, shrugging out of the scraps. She laughed huskily, and the sound had to be the sexiest he’d ever heard, that playful rasp against his neck.

  She pushed him back, and he lay down across his discarded clothing. She made that sexy, crooked pout with her lips, and he raised a finger to trace her mouth. She captured his fingertip with her mouth, sucking on him in a way that almost made him delirious with need.

  She pulled back for a moment, scanning his chest, running her hands over his body. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her caressing her skin, until he felt her lips against his nipple.

  Oh, wow. He bucked beneath her, and she chuckled throatily as she kissed her way down his torso. Her fingers fumbled with his belt and fly, and then suddenly she had him, all of him. He gave himself up to the intense pleasure as she took him into her mouth.

  She tugged at his control, teased at his restraint, until he could feel himself swelling in her mouth. He reached for her and found the straps of her camisole instead. He pulled gently at the garment; she helped him draw it up over her head. He grasped her head, tugging her up to him. He skimmed his hands over her back, dispensing with the clasp of her bra, and the bra itself. Her skin was so warm, so smooth, and he ran his fingers down her back. His lips curved as he felt her shudder.

  He pulled up her skirt, dragging at the lacy band of her briefs until they skimmed over her bottom.

  Sully moaned, shifting so that they could pull her panties off, and then she straddled him again.

  He looked up at her. Bathed in the silver glow of the moonlight, her skin looked pearlescent, and he reached out to touch his midnight goddess. She gasped when he caught her breasts with his hands, and he fondled them. She quivered, head tilting back, and her hair cascaded down her back. She writhed against him, and this time he could feel the molten core of her pressed against his cock. God, he wanted her.

  She caught her lip between her teeth as she quivered above him. Looking up at her, seeing her body, the way she undulated against him, was setting off a fire in him that he needed to control, before he exploded. He grasped her hips, rolling over so that she lay beneath him, and she panted, surprised but smiling at the move. He gazed down at her for a moment, and they both paused, catching their breaths.

  He stared at her face, the gentle arch of her eyebrows, those beautiful blue eyes, the straight nose and that crooked, sexy smile. She was magnificent.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, and she smiled, almost shyly.

  “You’re pretty gorgeous yourself,” she whispered, her gaze skimming his body, before her eyes once again met his. In that moment, in that infinitesimal connection, something shifted inside him, something he couldn’t name, but seemed to rock him to his core.

  Slowly, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers.

  Chapter 21

  Sully closed her eyes, her arms twining around his neck. The kiss was tender, hot, slick and carnal, but yet she felt something, a weight, an impact that seemed to set her senses to overload and her emotions into a headspin. It was the perfect kind of kiss, full of emotion, passion and sensuality. Meaningful.

  And so not what she was expecting.

  She sucked in a breath as he pulled away from her, and kissed his way down her body. He carefully undid her skirt and belt—avoiding the daggers—and pulled the garment down her body, following it with his lips and tongue. She shuddered as the fabric slid down her legs, and then off her body. He shoved at his jeans, discarding them, and then was kissing his way back up her body until—

  Her eyes widened as his lips kissed her. There. His hands stroked her, drawing out her reactions, making her tremble as the heat, the tension, coiled inside her. Oh. My. G—her neck arched when his tongue slid inside her, and she groaned, long and loud into the darkness. The stars above them were swimming as he laved her, over and over, until she was a hot, wet mess in his arms. He used his hands and mouth to wring extreme pleasure from her, and her back arched when that tension suddenly snapped, sending her spiraling into a cloud of bliss.

  He didn’t give her a chance to catch her breath. He crawled up her body, stroking her breasts, then biting and sucking on her breasts, until his hips found hers. He braced his arms on either side of her, his silver eyes meeting hers, and she gasped as he slid inside her. She brought her thighs up to his waist, and
they both moaned at the change in angle, the deeper penetration. She reached for him, her breath hitching each time he withdrew, then slid back to the hilt. He covered her body with his, his hips thrusting, and she cried out as the passion once again swept over her, pulling her body taut with need.

  He held her in position, hands grasping her shoulders as he slid home, and the heat exploded. She cried out, a sound snatched away by the breeze. Her nipples, her core, her very mind seemed to overload on sensation. She heard him groan as he thrust once more, his body hard and tight against hers, and then he, too, found release. Lightning crackled above them, and the air practically snapped with energy.

  Heart thudding in her chest, she embraced him, trembling, as she tried to catch her breath, her reason, some modicum of control. She gazed up at the stars, and realized even her toes were clenched, and it took conscious effort to get her muscles, everywhere, to unclench.

  “Oh, my,” she panted, and he chuckled, setting off little rockets of sensation as he kissed her softly.

  “Oh, my,” he said, nodding.

  He rolled onto his back and pulled her into his side, and they lay like that for a while, letting the wind play over their naked bodies. Dave stroked his hand down her arm, and she stretched against him, enjoying the contact.

  “Well, that’s one way to recharge,” he commented, and Sully started to laugh. She definitely felt...renewed.

  * * *

  He pulled his T-shirt on over his head, then looked across at Sully. They’d arrived at the motel room in the wee hours of the morning, and had managed to catch a couple of hours’ sleep. Which was hard when curled up to a soft, warm, luscious body like Sully’s. Now, though, there was nothing warm, or remotely soft about the woman. Still plenty of lush, but as she strapped her weapons to that luscious body, he wasn’t about to mention it.

  She slid a dagger into her boot, and she was carefully drawing a long-sleeved blouse on over the interesting-looking contraptions strapped to her arms. He also noticed she wore her tricky little belt with the twin blades. The woman was a damn walking armory.

  “Do you really think all that’s necessary?” he gently asked her.

  She eyed him, her expression set in an implacable expression. This woman before him was so far removed from the moaning siren in his arms from just hours before. She’d been like this, so grim, so focused, since she woke.

  “Today—tonight—Marty will either finish off his spell and become the most powerful creature walking among us, or we will have killed that nutter.”

  He frowned, and stepped around the bed. “We are not killing him, Sully. I’m the Witch Hunter, remember. If you see him, you tell me. Don’t go after him.”

  She tilted her head as she returned is gaze. “I don’t want to see him. Just the idea that I will see him again makes me...nervous,” she admitted. Then her chin dipped, and her stare became intent. “But I will do whatever I can to protect these people from him.”

  He didn’t know whether to kiss her or criticize her. Sometime overnight, his sweet little Sully morphed into a fierce warrior woman. He eyed the leather pants, the boots, the black singlet with the gray overshirt. Her hair was pulled up into a braided bun on top of her head, and the severe style highlighted her cheekbones and drew attention to her bright eyes and that gorgeously crooked mouth.

  He couldn’t deny this whole badass vibe he was getting from her worked. He was a confident guy, he could admit when a woman turned him on, and right now Sully was ticking all the boxes. And that secretly worried him. He didn’t want her anywhere near her psycho ex.

  “This is why I’m here,” he told her. “If you see him, let me know, and then let me do my job.” He gestured to her outfit. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  Sully’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

  He walked up to her. “These weapons—they’re not toys. You could be in more danger from yourself with all these sharp blades than from anyone attacking you.”

  Her jaw slackened, as though she was lost a little for words. He sighed, and gestured to the guards strapped to her forearms. “Do you even know how to use these things?”

  Her eyebrows rose. She thought about his words, then gave him a small smile. “If you can take them off me, I’ll leave them.”

  Dave cocked his head to the side, both annoyed and pleased with her challenge. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Really.”

  He moved quickly, reaching for her right forearm. She moved so damn fast, her movements almost a blur as she flexed her wrists, and the pronged swords slid from their sheaths. She caught the handles, the blades moving in a wicked twirl as she easily evaded his grasp. He stepped after her, then hissed when he felt the flat of the blade smack his arm away. The blades twirled, and suddenly the tip of one was against the indent of his collarbone. He halted.

  She eyed him coolly. “Yield?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Never.”

  He dodged the tip, bringing his arm up to hit hers away from him. She turned, the blades flashing. He raised his arm to block her strike, and she hit him again with the flat of the blade. And then smacked him in the thigh with the second blade. He grimaced, and caught her wrist.

  The world tilted, and he had a vague impression of the room flipping upside down, and then he landed on the floor, with a blade at his neck and one over his heart.

  She arched an eyebrow. “Yield?”

  He pursed his lips. That was...impressive. “Only if you show me that move,” he said, and she grinned as she straightened.

  “Let’s get through today, first.” She slid the pronged swords back into their sheaths, then extended her hand to him.

  He grasped it, moving smoothly to his feet. “Fine. You...wear those.” He gestured to the weapons she’d now hidden behind her long sleeves. He got the impression that she’d taken it extremely easy on him.

  She nodded. “I’m glad we sorted that out.”

  She turned for the door, but he stopped her. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her. She smiled and nodded, but he knew neither of them were fully convinced. They were going up against a guy who could easily neutralize their powers, if the surrounding nulls didn’t do it already. He grabbed his mobile ink kit and followed her out, his eyes on the leather-clad hips swinging in front of him.

  Damn, but this look worked on her.

  * * *

  Sully stared at the street scene. The road had been closed to traffic, and people milled about, strolling from stall to stall. There was a fish market section down the end, and local farmers had brought produce. There was apple-bobbing, pumpkin-carving, clowns, wood-chopping, animals, bake stalls, food stalls...the scents and sights were like a colorful burst to the senses.

  “I don’t like this,” Sully said, lifting her gaze from the crowd to the darkening clouds skidding across the sky. Talk about portent. The clouds had started to skid across the sky after lunch. A storm was coming.

  Which was surprising, as the forecast called for a faux summer day.

  She turned to Dave. He wore leather pants and a black T-shirt beneath his leather jacket, his dark sunglasses shielding his eyes. Tall, muscular...dangerous.

  Badass sexy.

  She ran her gaze over his body. Last night had been...wow. She had to admit, sex with Dave was...cosmic. Fireworks, lightning...she’d never experienced anything like that before with a lover. But there was something else, something more...like the buildup of a spell before the effect was visible. Full of magic, full of meaning and fraught with just as much danger. When this was over, though, she didn’t know what was to come next, and that scared her. She’d lived her life quietly, safely, since leaving Irondell and Martin. Well, except for the two years she spent on the West Coast learning how to defend herself. But the four years since arriving in Serenity Cove had passed in idyllic peace and, well, serenity.

  Dave had turned
that all on its head. He’d threatened her—physically. And then had vowed to protect her. He challenged her, with every word, with every touch...he was able to get to the heart of her, the heart she’d successfully shielded from everyone. Until now. She was in very real danger of losing her heart to the Witch Hunter. She gazed around the crowd. And that was the problem. Marty had figured out a way to close down the Witch Hunter’s vision. He’d figured out a way to nullify the null effect—which was pretty damned clever. He’d killed six people. He’d avoided the law, Dave and any number of nulls out searching for him. If they didn’t find the other nulls before he did, they could be looking at a new world order by sunrise.

  “There’s Jacob,” Dave said, raising his chin. Sully looked. Jacob was standing beside a chair and table set up, with a Free Tattoos sign. Dave grimaced. “Free?”

  “They needed something to use as a cover,” Sully said. Jacob had called them earlier that morning at the motel. He and his mother had convinced the mayor to let them set up another booth on the street so that Dave could tattoo the last of the purebloods under the guise of a market stall.

  “But free?”

  She smiled at the mock whine in his voice. “You’re being very generous, whether you like it or not.”

  He turned to face her, his smile dropping a little. “I’m going to be at that stall pretty much for the rest of the day.”

  She nodded. “I’ll be helping Jacob and his mom round up the rest of the purebloods.”

  Dave pursed his lips. “Don’t stray too far. Stay with the crowd, no wandering off by yourself. This guy is using your guise to get close to these nulls, and I don’t think that’s by accident.”

  Her smile faltered. Dave was right. Marty had tracked her down, had tricked her friends to get close enough to kill him. Apparently her departure must have been a sore point for him. She nodded. “I understand.”

  “Good.” Dave leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss against her lips.