by T. F. Walsh
“I should have taken better care of you that night at the restaurant,” he said.
His words eased the knots in her muscles and soothed the tension swirling in her mind, and she kicked aside the niggling reminder that they shouldn’t be together. She adored his company; as simple as that. Somehow, bathing beneath his gaze made the world better.
“So then. What’s the plan?” she asked.
He leaned in so fast, she forgot her question. He brushed his mouth across hers, kissing her with such passion, she melted against him. His tongue parted her lips, and she welcomed him surging forward, tasting her, because in his arms, she could forget about the fucked up mess her life had become. Here, the world stood perfectly still and she wished she could capture the moment for eternity. She wanted to commit all these things to memory.
Her arms circled his neck, drawing him nearer, their mouths mashed together, her body pressed so close to his he was bound to feel her drumming heartbeat.
Despite breaking free of their kiss, Levi’s arms locked tight around her. “My first plan was kissing you,” he whispered.
Fire washed through her. Cheeks burned from the thoughts revolving through her mind on what she’d like her night to include. When she hit upon her voice, she said, “And then?”
“Well.” His mouth curled upward into a devilish grin, the same one that weakened her knees and promised so much wickedness that she’d do anything he asked. And she didn’t care how desperate that made her, damn, when it came to Levi she was putty in his hand.
“Yeah?”
His hand found purchase on her shoulder before sliding a sleeve of her tank top and bra strap down her arm. “I was thinking of kissing you some more.” He leaned in closer, his lips on her collarbone, covering her in pecks, then swooping lower.
The warmth of his kiss covered her in goosebumps, the good kind, where her adrenaline spiked and the apex between her thighs sizzled.
He peeled the other strap off her shoulder and tugged the fabric down, unleashing her breasts. The coolness of the apartment caressed her nipples, beading them tight.
“The curtains.” She glanced over her shoulder at the exposed windows, convinced she wasn’t one to put on a show for the whole neighborhood.
“You need to be more daring.” He strolled across the room and switched off the lights. Darkness fell over them with only the silvery moon’s hue thrown across Levi’s shoulders as he returned to her side. His devilish grin could convince her to do anything.
He stared at her breasts. His tongue flicked one nipple, sending euphoria through her body. She tingled to high hell and squeezed her legs together to elongate the growing pleasure rocking within, not caring in that moment if they were out on the balcony as long as Levi never stopped. For all she knew, the neighbors across the road could have night-vision goggles. Apparently, she now didn’t care about giving the neighbors a show.
“Fuck, you have the most amazing boobs.” Massaging one with a hand, he sucked on the other, his eyes shut, lost in his own fantasy.
A mewl purred on the back of her throat.
Levi’s hands slid to her hips, his thumbs hooked into the elastic of her pants, then he lowered them to her ankles, and she stepped out. In one quick swipe, he grabbed her top and bra and pulled them over her head.
She stood there not wearing a stitch, while he remained completely clothed, and the vulnerability surged through her with an excitement she’d never felt before. Levi didn’t wait a second longer and unzipped his leather jacket. He dropped it behind him.
Sitting around just wasn’t her thing, so she reached out and unbuckled his belt and pulled open the jeans’ buttons. Levi’s cock, hard and thick, popped out. Damn, seeing him in fully glory had her biting her lower lip.
He stripped completely and drew Cary into an embrace, gently nudging her to face away from him. His arms wrapped around her body, hands cupping her breasts, fondling them, thumbs grazing over pebbled nipples. Her back arched, knowing where his fingers would soon reach.
His breath caressed her neck with such softness, her feet felt as if they lifted right off the floor. Levi tucked her hair aside and licked her earlobe in slow, precise strokes. Fire consumed her, wetness building between her inner thighs, the desperation to have Levi fuck her intoxicating.
Electricity was on her skin. “Please, Levi. Take me… I want you.”
He lead her a few steps forward. Levi remained behind her, their bodies crushed close, and he gripped her hips. With a foot, he guided her legs wider. “Beg me for it.”
She moaned, unable to articulate a response.
When he pulled away, she twisted around. But he gently guided her to continue facing away. With a flat hand across her back and another on her stomach, he softly bent her forward. Her hands pressed against the window while her ass remained in the air.
“Stay like that for me.”
The guy obviously liked to watch, and she had no problem being his plaything.
Footfalls faded behind her then she heard the crinkle sound of a condom wrapper. Someone came prepared.
When he moved closer, his fingers stroked the length of her silkiness from behind, running upward between her butt cheeks. And he repeated it, faster. Her inhales were already on ultra speed and no stopping them now.
“I want everyone in the building to hear me scream,” she said. “I want to forget myself.”
And with that, his tip pressed into her entrance. She wiggled her butt for better access. He thrust into her, and her entire body shuddered in the best possible way.
He banged into her faster, widening her, stretching.
With her breasts plastered against the cold window, she writhed in pleasure. Levi pounded into her, each plunge falling in a pattern to match her moans. All at once he stopped, and he was licking her neck, nibbling on her flesh. Within seconds, he was fucking her harder. Her legs gave up but his hands on her waist steadied her.
“Oh, shit. Oh, yes.” The release of pleasure was intense and a drug she never wanted to float down from. Nothing compared to the forcefulness of Levi’s hardness rubbing her insides, each stroke kissing her inner back wall. When the tsunami of an orgasm hit, her body rocked violently.
Levi pulsed right alongside her. He grabbed the back of Cary’s neck, drawing her closer, and she twisted to face him. He groaned in his savage kiss, claiming her mouth.
Sweat coated their bodies, him still buried inside her, and all she could think about was going another round.
Her cell rang.
Refusing to answer the call, she stayed wrapped in Levi’s arms, drowning in pleasure.
Levi withdrew, and she already missed his warmth and touch.
But when the phone rang again, she sighed. “Who the hell?” She stumbled toward the coffee table. Private number. She picked up the phone and answered, curiosity burrowing through her. She rarely gave out her number. “Hello?”
“Cary Stone?” a male’s voice asked, his words clipped and matter of fact. Only one person she knew spoke like that, and a tingle of hope swirled in her mind.
“Hi, Brent.”
“Been thinking about your fight. Your opponent was stronger, larger, and you never backed down. That kind of determination goes a long way. I have concerns with your size. But I’m not ready to let you go, so convince me. Kill a demon tonight and bring me the black stone tomorrow morning.”
She bounced on her toes at the opportunity, ready to show Brent she was a hunter. “I’ll do it. You can count on me. Thank you.”
He hung up.
Cary dropped the cell on the coffee table and faced Levi who leaned a hip into the side of the sofa, his arms folded over a broad chest, and all of him on full display. Not only had she just had the best orgasm with a hunk, but another opportunity at getting into Argos was on offer. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and every muscle jumped as if she’d just drank ten cups of coffee.
“What’s going on?” Levi asked.
She whooped and coul
dn’t stop smirking. “Brent just gave me another chance. I just have to deliver a demon stone to him.” In her mind, the words were running into one another and she wasn’t sure if she’d even said them out loud. That was what she needed… Another opportunity. She didn’t need to be an elephant in size to defeat demons. She’d hunted her entire life, and she’d prove it to Brent. Getting a demon stone without an audience would mean she didn’t have to use Argos’ weapons. Except, Brent wanted the stone by morning. Well, the night was still early, and she was bound to track a demon in no time. Especially with her heightened nose senses. She’d sniff one out.
Levi closed the distance between them, taking her hand, and drawing her into his arms. “I’m happy for you. If that’s what you want, then show him, ‘cause God-knows, Brent is impossible to impress.” Levi’s arms locked around Cary’s back, their bodies pressed together, his flesh sizzling. And all she could think about was his hardness nestled against her lower stomach.
He stared at her with a look that promised deplorable sexual acts. And she had to have him right away.
Chapter 14
The motorcycle purred beneath Levi as he raced down a barren city road, buildings towering over him. The streets were always quite at night; almost peaceful. Yet his thoughts remained on Cary, who he’d left sleeping in his hotel room. Though his leather jacket buffered the cool wind, the coldness seeping through his jeans numbed his skin. A nervous energy buzzed through him like electric sparks. He glanced at his side mirror; the Corvette sped closer. The fucker had been waiting for him from the moment Levi left the underground parking at the hotel. Played in perfectly in Levi’s plans to take down the speck demon.
Skyscrapers were a blur on either side. The sidewalks remained empty at two a.m. Less chance of innocents becoming victims.
Leaving Cary had been harder than he’d expected. Better she slept while he snuck out. Knowing her, she’d be on his heels in no time, but with her recent fight at Argos, she needed healing. Yet his mind fogged with memories of her touch, her moans, her delicious fragrance.
As much as he craved to hold Cary all night, Levi had a demon to destroy. The fucker had grown an unhealthy attachment to Levi. Specks were notorious stalkers. They bonded with inanimate objects, yet for some unknown reasons, they enjoyed tormenting anyone that pissed them off. Wrong place, wrong time, and bang, the demon would torture that person for life. Levi had saved a priest from the possessed Corvette over two weeks ago, and Levi guessed the demon hadn’t appreciated having a holy cross shoved up its exhaust pipe.
Cornering onto another street, Levi pulled back on the brakes a little. He leaned, his knee skimming just above the asphalt, then he hit the throttle.
The car rounded the corner in the distance behind him.
At least fifty feet away, stood large gates—six feet tall and made of twisted rods—leading into a private, indoor swimming pool that just happened to be salted. The property backed onto a hotel and was enclosed by a high, chain-link fence.
His gaze settled on the black car reflected in his side mirror, tailing him.
Levi slowed and drove his bike onto the driveway toward the gates. He swung right and parked next to a tree on the front lawn. He jumped off the motorcycle, his breaths shallow, and grabbed his backpack from the back compartment. The air was stale and yet it stifled Levi’s breathing, along with the nagging reminder that he was alone with a demonic beast. No back up, nothing.
“Fuck that.” He refused to let fear in because that would get him killed quicker than the speck. “The asswipe dies tonight.”
The sports car roared closer, heading right for Levi, and his heart pounded beneath his ribcage like artillery fire.
Levi sprinted toward the fence and threw himself into an upward climb, using the metal rings for footing. Thank god there was no barbed wire.
Behind him, the car’s engine rumbled, and tires spun on the spot, hurling pieces of soil and grass into the air.
Levi swung his legs over the top. “Big threat there. Tearing up the lawn.” He landed over the fence with a thud. Fifteen feet away, past the playground and picnic area, were enormous double wooden doors that lead into the indoor pool section. The entrance was large enough for a car to pass. He’d measured the passage earlier that morning.
He stared at the car reversing onto the road, crashing into a dumpster bin. A drunk stumbled out from the shadows of a store front, yelling something Levi couldn’t decipher. The man stumbled down the barren sidewalk. The guy better get away from this place and quick.
“Don’t be such a pussy.” Levi darted across the driveway that lead to the parking lot behind the building.
A sudden explosion of grating filled the air. He snapped around as the Corvette slammed into the front gates.
Levi’s heartbeat pounded in his temples. If his idea didn’t work, he was out of options on how to capture the speck demon. No… it had to work.
He dropped the backpack of supplies near his feet and pulled the bolt cutters out. In haste, he started to cut the chain keeping the doors closed. Not as if the place had cameras… he’d done his research.
The stillness of the night clung to his skin, and sweat ran dripped down his neck. Get that done before the cops arrived.
Behind him, the hiss of tires escalated. The hairs on his arms spiked. He twisted around as the Corvette forced itself through a hole in the buckled gates. The sound was like nails on chalkboard, piercing the night.
“Fuck!” He tightened his grip on the bolt cutters. When he had inspected the chain earlier in the day, he was convinced it wasn’t hardened steel but now it wasn’t cutting. Had he made a mistake?
He looked back just as the car raced up the driveway, and his body tensed. He threw himself sideways, away from the unopened doors as a blaze burned against his back.
A huge crash banged a breath from him.
The car had smashed through the doors, snapping open the chain, but the side mirrors caught on the entrance frame and kept the vehicle locked in place. For now.
A wave of adrenaline crashed through Levi because every time he fought a demon, it was as if someone was looking over him, giving him a helping hand. And that lit up his insides to fight harder. With the speck temporarily trapped, he needed to get inside the building.
With Levi’s backpack under a tire, he had to forget the holy water.
He dropped the cutters and leapt onto the car’s trunk, scrambled over the top and slid down the hood, into an enormous room. Jumping to his feet, Levi sprinted toward the Olympic sized pool. Stadium-styled lined the walls. The moonlight streaming in from windows was a blob across the salty water’s still surface.
The car roared and the snap of metal rang. A quick glance over his shoulder revealed the side mirrors ripped free, and the vehicle sped inside.
Determination clawed at Levi’s chest as he darted deeper into the room. It ended tonight.
Inches from the pool, he careened left at a right angle and kept running toward the stadium seats. His breaths wedged at the back of his throat, refusing to budge. No thoughts, just getting the job done.
The squeal of tires skidding across tiles pierced Levi’s ears. Drown, you son of a bitch.
He glanced over his shoulder as the car plunged into the water, head first. Nothing felt as right as seeing the speck in that moment heading to its death. The Corvette shook from the salt water, doors opening and shutting, windshield wipers frantically swiping back and forth. A mist curled upward from within the pool.
Something latched around Levi’s ankles, tightening and stealing his legs out from under him.
Fucking shit!
Panic twisted his gut. He landed face first on the hard ground, his brow taking the brunt of it, his vision blurring. An involuntary cry pressed his throat. His hands grappled for leverage. His fingers kept slipping. He rolled onto his back, his arms grasping the pool’s edge. Everything happened too fast.
A seat belt had snaked out of the car as if it were a tongue, d
ragging Levi toward the water.
Half the car’s hood was now submerged in the water. The back tires skipping the edge, rushing into the water.
Levi’s body skated across the cement ground as he was pulled closer, his shirt riding up his stomach. Unease crippled his thoughts, flashing images of him drowning.
Burnt rubber smothered his senses. That wasn’t how he died.
Levi reached for the seatbelt wrapped around his ankles. But in a swift move, his body was flung into the pool. Water rushed over him and claimed him. The iciness were fangs to his flesh, stealing away his warmth.
His arms fought to keep his head above water. “God damn you.” He gasped for air.
Death gathered inside his mind. He’d drown. Would Cary mourn him or would she insist he was an idiot for going after the speck alone? Fuck that, he wasn’t going down without a fight.
He seized the blade at his hip and hacked at the seatbelt beneath the waves.
Priority was getting free.
Air bubbles sent the pool into a ripple as the car’s motor rumbled.
Shadows crowded the edges of his vision. At that end of the pool, he could easily stand, except his legs were tied.
The belts constricting his ankles tugged him underneath the surface. His body thrashed in uncoordinated jerks. His mind seized. Nothing mattered but getting air.
With his legs sucked into the car through the open door, his arms flayed desperately for release. The belt hauled him completely into the vehicle, and the doors snapped shut.
He attacked the ties around his ankles with the knife again, the water making his movements sluggish.
His lungs burned, and an explosion of air bubbled rushed from his mouth. The lack of oxygen was like having a gun at his head. The weapon dared him to breathe, then a bullet would blow out his brains.
Sawing at the belt, his body throbbed when his blade finally cut through the cordage. Yes. Pulling his legs free, he turned to the door, and pushed at the handle. Locked.
His chest constricted, and the water closed in around him. Blotches of white and red danced in his vision. He couldn’t hold his breath for much longer.
