Immediately, the hands disappeared, and she felt cold air move into the space behind her.
When she turned around, he was closing the bathroom door. Soon after, the shower started.
She leaned weakly against the wall. He hadn’t even been under her roof for twenty-four hours. How was she going to survive the rest of his time here?
Cole Shuster was not having a great time. He was babysitting the sexiest female he had ever laid eyes on, and although she denied the attraction, he could see her pupils dilate whenever she laid eyes on him.
He could smell her sex when she was wet.
By the time he’d made it to the Slavante Brotherhood meeting, he was beyond frustrated. No amount of cold showers was easing the deep ache within him.
It was ridiculous of course. He’d seen beautiful women. And as old as he was, he’d sampled more than just a few of them. But the feeling deep within his gut was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. Lana Delgado was exotic, sexy, smart, witty, and cool under pressure. And whenever he looked at her, his entire body paid attention. Even after running on just a few hours of sleep, he was ready to bend her over the nearest piece of furniture and plow her until she screamed.
And he wanted to hear her come. God, that shook him more than anything else. He wanted to pleasure her like no one else ever had.
“Cole? Are you paying attention?”
Cole shook his head and met Damien’s icy glare. “I’m listening,” he muttered.
“We need to trap this demon and send him back to hell. Any ideas?”
Cole frowned. “Don’t we need to trap it long enough to perform a ritual?”
“Nobody has performed the ritual in over a hundred years. I’m not even sure we know how to do it anymore.”
Damien looked as though he’d seen better days. Cole had no doubt that he was stressing about Cresher. His older brother had wreaked havoc on the city, and Damien could have ended him decades ago. Cole couldn’t judge. He didn’t know if he could kill his own brother if push came to shove. But Damien was going to have to do just that.
“We will have to find the rituals book. Where is it?” Cole asked.
Damien sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll have to look through the archives. Everything is digital these days. How is the girl?”
“Lana? She’s doing far better than I expected. She’s going on with her normal life. I have police outside her apartment, but it will do little good if the demon attacks tonight,” Cole said tightly. He was worried about her. His scent marked her apartment, and he hoped that was enough.
“Is she going to the tabloids?” one of the members asked.
Cole shook his head. “She would rather just have this whole mess be done. She has too much on her plate.”
“How is her wound?”
“Healing.” Cole swallowed hard. “I helped heal her. The poison was fairly fast acting. I feared she wouldn’t make it through the night if I didn’t act.”
The brothers started murmuring. It was a big deal for a hybrid to show the effects of his blood, and many of the brothers would let a stranger die before they saved them with their blood.
Damien nodded. “You did what you thought was right. We need to trap the demon first and then deal with Cresher second.”
“Why don’t we deal with Cresher first,” one brother said accusingly. Cole tensed. Damien was touchy about the subject.
“We won’t be able to touch Cresher if the demon is still attached to him. And if we kill Cresher before we deal with the demon, we’ll have an unattached demon roaming the world,” Damien hissed. The table fell silent. “Does anybody else have a problem with how I’m handling this?”
No one said anything. “Dismissed. Cole. Will you meet me in the archives please?”
The other men bowed their head and exited the room respectfully. Damien raised his red eyes at Cole and stared. “What am I doing, Cole?”
“Your job. Keep holding it together, Damien. This is just a setback.”
“A set back? People are dying because I couldn’t kill my brother. Preston should replace me as soon as he returns.”
Cole shook his head. “No one can fault you for wanting your kin to live. You’re still half human, Damien. None of us can judge you because none of us have been in your shoes. You’re not unfit for this post. You are doing better than we could do. It’s in your blood, Cole.”
He pushed his chair back. “I haven’t been in the archives for awhile. Let’s see what we can find.”
They entered the room together, and Cole immediately sneezed. There hadn’t been a reason for them to use any of these books in awhile. The dust had gathered on the ancient leather bound books, but the glow of technology lit their way. Cole widened his eyes as he saw several computers on and ready to go. “You weren’t kidding about going digital,” he murmured.
“I’ve kept the most important books in the back and out of the hands of the help,” Damien muttered as he led them through the back.
The room grew darkened as they moved further down the stacks, and Damien reached up and turned on the single light bulb in the ceiling.
Cole whistled. He glanced over the titles he’d only heard about in legends. “You have these?” he said in a low voice.
“They were originally in Italy, but when the hybrids descended a few decades ago, they sent these our way. They were supposed to take it back and send it to Germany, but no one has been by to collect them. To be honest, it makes me nervous to have these, so I try not to broadcast it.”
Cole pulled out the first book and leafed through it carefully. “Do you know what we’re looking for?” he asked.
“No. I don’t know which book it’s in. Just flip through them until you start to find the demon rituals.”
He and Damien carefully searched the old books silently until Cole found what they were looking for. The drawings were explicit, and he felt his blood chill. “I think I have it Damien. But I don’t think you’re going to like what I’ve found.”
Damien leaned over his shoulder, and they both stared.
A human heart. It took the same to send a demon back as it did to resurrect a demon.
“I don’t suppose you have one of those on hand,” he said softly.
“No,” Damien said with a sigh. “I’m fresh out of human hearts.”
“Well. I guess we could always pick one up at the hospital.”
“Rock, paper, scissors?”
Chapter Four
“Not happening,” Cole growled.
Lana rolled her eyes. “I have to go to work. You’re welcome to join me, but I’ve got to go. I’ve got bills to pay.”
“You want to go back to the place where you know this demon is feeding and in front of a crowd where anyone could be watching you. I can’t protect you unless I’m standing on stage with you,” he muttered. “Please just don’t go. I’ll pay whatever you make there.” He wasn’t lying. He was loaded. He only worked with the police department to help out the brotherhood.
“I don’t need your money,” she hissed. “I can make my own.”
“Well, what do you want me to do?”
She frowned and looked at him. “You can be part of the act.”
His eyes widened. “I am not stripping in front of a crowd.”
“And neither am I,” she said huffily. “Wear a pair of jeans and no shirt. You’ll just sit on stage, and I’ll include you. Trust me, the spotlight won’t be on your face.”
He sighed. “Fine. But I’m not happy about it.”
“And I’m not happy that I have to change my routine, but we all are making sacrifices.” She frowned as she removed the bandaged her arm. “The wrapping is not very sexy. How does it look?”
He hissed his breath when he saw the angry red slash that ran down her arm. He put his finger out and stroked her arm, and she shivered. “Does it hurt?” he said
“Not anymore,” she said softly as she pulled away. She longed for his touch, but when he did to
uch her, it became too much. She couldn’t handle it.
“Okay. You won’t be allowed in the dressing room with other girls, but you can hang backstage,” she muttered.
He nodded his head, and she finished packing her bag. She didn’t love the situation, but her safety was important.
The girls oohed and aahed over him, and she explained to the manager that she was adding him to her routine. They didn’t love it, but when he flashed his badge, they stepped in line. The girls hit the stage, and he checked out the dressing room before allowed her to go in. “No judgments,” she warned him.
He captured her chin, and she shivered at the intimacy. “Never,” he whispered.
She slid her sparkly bikini on hidden under the veils of material that she’d planned on later dispensing. After applying the heavy make-up and her wig, she grabbed a bottle of body oil and stepped out of the room.
“Christ,” he muttered when he saw her. “You don’t even look like the same person.”
“That’s the idea,” she answered. “Take off your shirt.”
“Now?”
She nodded. “If you’re going to be a part of my show, you’re going to have to be good. I won’t have tonight tarnishing my reputation.”
She swallowed hard when he showed his washboard abs and poured a little bit of oil on her hand. Rubbing it over his muscles, she did her best to avoid what she knew would be his intense gaze.
“If you wanted to touch me,” he whispered as he rippled under her, “all you had to do was ask.” She could tell he was enjoying her touch.
“I hope it takes more than this to turn you on, because I’m about to do a lot worse to you on stage,” she said as she tried to gather her wits. “Come on. My entrance is in a few minutes.”
She directed him behind the curtain. “When the lights go out, I need you to walk this chair about six feet to the other side of the pole. I want you on stage, but I still need room to work. Sit in it and don’t move. That’s all you have to do.” She looked at him uncertainly. “It’s going to be dark. Just hold your hand out until you feel the pole and count six paces.”
“Lana.” He captured her hand. “I can see in the dark. I’ll be fine.”
“You can see in the dark?”
“One of my many talents,” he whispered. The lights went down, and he leaned over to capture her lips. “Break a leg.”
He kept the kiss light, but he couldn’t help but take a few quick licks with his tongue. She gasped, and he slipped away. He needed a bit of revenge after having to endure those soft hands running up and down his abdomen.
Not sure what to expect, he sat in his chair and waited. Soon, the music came pumping through the speakers and a spotlight cut through the darkness. He watched one slender leg reach out.
Click. Click. Click. Click
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
Click. Click. Click.
“Tonight I have a special treat for you.”
Click. Click.
“He makes me breathless.”
Click.
He held his breath as her voice wrapped around him. Fuck. She could sing. He leaned back and slumped in the seat. The spotlight barely touched his face as she stepped into view. Turning, she positioned herself between his legs and dipped low.
“He makes my blood sing.”
She came up, and he held his breath. Double fuck. He was not expecting a lap dance. The siren turned and straddled him. He did his best not to moan as she settled on top of him.
“He does everything right.”
She grabbed his hand and ran it over her breast. As she leaned back, he naturally moved with her and stopped as her legs came up around his head and settled on his shoulder.
“But it’s just a one. Night. Fling.” She pushed her stiletto heel gently on his chest and pushed him back. He brought her up and released her as she ground her hips one last time, planted a kiss on his lips, and pushed herself away.
She stepped back to the pole, and he let out his breath. Dear God, the way that woman moved was beyond unnatural. It seemed almost effortless as she swung herself around the pole and released one of the gauzy pieces of cloth over her bikini. The crowd whistled, and he realized now what she was talking about.
This wasn’t some tawdry show meant for leave a man hard and unsatisfied. This was a seduction meant to bring them back again and again.
“You wanted me to promise you forever, but all I’ve got for you in tonight. I’ll give you all my love, but come the morning light, I’m just a ghost in your bed. I’ll haunt you till you’re dead. But baby, I know, you’ll remember me, and I’m the best you’ll ever have.”
She came back and twisted around him a few times, and when the song was coming to an end, she pulled at his hand, and dropped to the floor.
Naturally, we went down with her, and as she arched her hips, he dipped his head low. That tantalizing neck was calling him, and he trailed a tongue over it. He heard a hitch in her voice, and so did the audience. They were going wild, and she tipped his head up.
“Tonight’s all you got, so you better impress. Make me believe that you’re the best. I’m. Ever. Gonna. Have.”
He wrapped a hand around her waist and brought her hips up as he trailed a tongue down her naked abs. The lights dimmed, and under the cover of darkness, he couldn’t help himself.
He pushed the material aside and gave her slit a quick lick.
Her moan echoed in the speakers, and she pushed him away. The audience loved it. She quickly got to her feet, pulled off her heels, and slipped off the stage.
The girls squealed at the side stage. “That was amazing. Who is he? Can I have him?”
She laughed and pushed them away. The lights came up, and they went on to their finale.
Alone, he spun her around and pushed her up against the wall. “Wait,” she cried out. “Not here. Please.”
He saw the longing in her eye, but he wouldn’t take her if she wasn’t ready. He released her, and she ducked in the room.
He had a raging hard-on, and he did nothing to hide it. After a few minutes, she came out looking like her normal self in sweats. She tossed a cloth at him. “Here. You can wipe the oil off before you put the shirt on.”
Gone was the seductress. Standing in front of him was the exhausted dancer who had another life to live.
And he still wanted her.
Chapter Five
What was she thinking? She’d crossed the line with the dance, and he’d crossed it even more with that stunt at the end. Neither could deny that the other was more than ready to complete the job. She’d felt the bulge in his pants as soon as she’d straddled his lap, and he’d tasted her.
The crowd, of course, had loved it.
He sat stoically silent in the driver’s seat, and she tapped her finger on her leg nervously. What in the world could he be thinking?
“You’ve got a nice voice,” he said finally.
“Thanks,” she said in a high-pitched voice. Embarrassed, she cleared it. “I’ve been singing since I was a kid.”
“I can see why you don’t call yourself a stripper.”
“I...uh...came up with the routine when I was strapped for cash. I presented it to a few strip clubs around, but this was the only one that would allow me to do it without actually stripping. They said if I brought in a crowd within a month, I could be a regular. After they saw the results, they told me I could forgo the lap dances as well. It was a great gig, and the other girls love it. So, it worked out for everyone.”
“I’ve never been in front of so many people in my life,” he muttered.
“You certainly didn’t have performance anxiety,” she said without thinking, and he laughed hoarsely.
They fell silent until he pulled up the apartment.
She barely made it inside before he grabbed her hand and pushed her up against the wall. “If you don’t want this, tell me now,” he said as he ran his hands up under her sweatshirt.
She hesitated for a
split second. She did want it, but she knew nothing about him except that he wasn’t one hundred percent human. Did she really want to cross this line?
“I want you,” she whispered, and she reached up to wrap her fingers in his hair as his mouth captured hers.
Everything inside her melted as his tongue slipped inside. She’d gotten a taste of the passion inside him, but nothing compared to the real thing. A low moan escaped her as his fingers edged under her bikini top and slipped around her nipple.
“Cole,” she sighed.
“You drove me crazy on that stage. You’re lucky I didn’t take you right then and there,” he muttered as he lifted her shirt to get better access. She reached for his shirt and undid the buttons. Finally, her hands could roam his abdomen, and she explored eagerly.
“I didn’t intend for it to go that far,” she admitted as he traced his lips down her neck. “But once I started, I couldn’t stop.”
He pulled down her sweatpants, and as he cupped her ass, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Rubbing herself on him, she did what she wasn’t allowed to do on stage.
Moan and twist herself around for better access.
“I’m so ready. Please,” she begged as she tried to put pressure on her clit. There were still too many clothes in the way.
“If I’ve only got tonight, I want to make it good,” he panted as he struggled to hold her still.
“Baby, you can have every night if you give me what I want right now,” she said and blushed. She never spoken like that.
He pushed them off the wall and carried her into the bedroom. She clung tightly to him and ran her tongue along his salty skin. He grunted before dropping her on the bed. She watched as he hurriedly dispensed of his pants and crawled on top of her.
She took a moment to stare into his eyes. She’d get lost in that intense gaze if she gave herself enough time. Reaching up, she stroked his jaw. “I don’t usually do this. I know that because of my job, you might think…” her voice trailed off.
He kissed her. “The only thing that I think about you is that you’re smart, talented, brave, beautiful, and that you criticize yourself way too much. If you want me to stop, I’ll stop. Otherwise, lie back and enjoy yourself.”
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Southern Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) Page 115
