by Michele Hauf
Nicole might be overmatched on her own, but if they worked together, they could protect each other and go on the offensive. If he could manage to allow her out from behind his back.
Now that she had them trapped, Mary Beth slashed out with her talons once more. As he blocked one blow, her other arm came out. The tip sliced along his jaw line, but he wasn't the target. Nicole's body jerked against his as the claws connected.
Her gasp of pain should have driven him into a rage. Instead, it cooled his emotions.
Dak struck out. His blow merely grazed the vampire, but it was enough to drive her back and buy them some breathing room. She hissed at him, her fangs dropping momentarily, but he ignored the posturing.
She moved forward quickly and he came out far enough to block this attack. Mary Beth sliced open the leather over his biceps and more blood flowed.
Dak, let me help. Nicole touched his shoulder lightly.
Yeah. There was no other choice. Without giving himself time to second guess, Dak lowered the mental and emotional walls between him and Nicole. He felt naked, but he ignored that and reached out psychically for his mate. She didn't have the barriers in place that he had and they were linked in seconds. He sent his plan to her.
She went left. He went right.
Mary Beth tried to claw both of them, but failed. Dak got a blow in with his own talons, but the vampire wore leather, too.
She connected with the side of his head and his vision went dark. As he staggered, Dak blinked hard, trying to shake off the dizziness. He succeeded in time to see Mary Beth knock Nicole's knives from her grip and move in for the kill. Damn it, he should have known this would happen.
With a curse, Dak dove into the fray. By the time he turned the vampire's attention onto him, Nicole was bleeding. White-hot fury threatened to swamp him and he fought it as fiercely as he fought Mary Beth.
He disengaged and broke away to assess the situation. The good news was that his berserker assault had gotten him and Nicole out of the corner. On the bad news side, he'd taken more hits from the vampire and some were gashes. His body had already begun to heal them, but he couldn't afford to fight much longer.
This time when Dak reached mentally for Nicole, he anchored his mind to hers. She'd retrieved her weapons and she wasn't badly hurt. That helped him clear his head further.
Mary Beth looked dazed. Now was the best time to use the bit of magic he had and get the hell out of here.
Calling on every last scrap of energy he possessed, Dak powered up and let loose with a lightning bolt. Without waiting to see the results, he grabbed Nicole's hand and ran.
He was breathing hard within a couple of blocks. Damn, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this weakened. He needed to go to ground and recover. Looking to the east, he saw the sky had started to lighten—only a touch. It wasn't dawn yet, but it was close enough that Mary Beth would have to think twice about pursuing them.
Dak, are we just going to run or do we have somewhere to go?
He could have answered her mentally, their mind link remained in place, but he spoke aloud. Maybe to assure himself that he could maintain that small amount of distance with her. "I thought we'd go to my place."
"I'm not entering the demon world."
Obstinate. Unfortunately, that got him hot. Although anything she did would have that effect on him—she was his mate and adrenaline needed an outlet. "That's not where I live."
Surprise and confusion from Nicole, but her voice revealed none of that when she asked, "Where is your home then?"
Looking over his shoulder, he said, "Los Angeles. I live in LA."
Chapter Eight
Nicole could barely see straight by the time they reached Dak's home. If she'd ever been this aroused before, she had no memory of it. He hadn't kissed her yet, had done nothing but hold her hand, and she was so freaking ready for him that it would be embarrassing if she didn't know he was every bit as primed.
She shifted from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for him to unlock the door. As soon as he got it open, she shot inside. And stopped short.
The converted warehouse had an open floor plan, gleaming hardwood floors, marble counters in the kitchen, floor to ceiling windows that showed an incredible view of the city, and a curving staircase up to a loft. Nicole wasn't sure what she'd expected, but something this expensive wasn't it.
He closed the door and her thoughts derailed. She turned to face him and saw Dak's eyes burning red. For a moment, he studied her, then one side of his mouth quirked up as he headed toward her. His stride seemed predatory and that made her hotter.
Dak shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to the floor. She could see the slashes in his T-shirt where the vampire's claws had torn him, but the flesh underneath had already healed.
By the time he stopped in front of her, she was breathing fast and her heart was pounding. There was no doubt in her mind that her own eyes glowed as brightly as his did. Nicole lowered her gaze, but instead of helping her regain control, she zeroed in on his erection.
Reminding herself that he was supposed to be an enemy didn't cool her off. Dak felt like her best friend, like someone she could trust. He'd saved her more than once and protected her at his own expense. She couldn't hate him.
"Look at me," he ordered, voice harsh.
She raised her eyes and nearly moaned at the absolute inferno she saw in his gaze.
"The first time, it's gonna be hard and fast. I don't have much control. Are you as ready for me as I'm sensing?"
Nicole gulped and tried to speak, but she couldn't manage to form words. Instead, she sent him her response. Oh, yeah. Oh, hell, yeah.
He didn't grab her like she expected. Dak reached out and trailed the tips of his fingers lightly across her cheekbone. "Everything's going to be different afterward—for both of us. There's no going back, so be sure."
I'm sure. I want you, Dak, more than I want my next breath.
"Yeah, me, too." He cupped her cheek with his hand and leaned in. Despite his claim of having no control, the kiss was tender, a mere brush of his lips over hers.
His gentleness crumbled the last wall she'd held between them, and she clutched at his waist, trying to anchor herself as the whole world turned upside down. As that barrier fell, she could feel the restraint Dak was using to take it slow. She leaned back, looked in his eyes, and with a soft growl, Nicole tore open the snap of his jeans.
She started to lower the tab of the zipper, but that was as far as she got. Dak moved her hands aside. Her complaint was cut short when she realized he was trying to get her jacket off. She twisted, helping him push it away.
Their hands became tangled up as they both reached out at the same time. She won and stripped him out of his shirt. Nicole's mouth went dry. He was incredible.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, so many perfectly defined muscles all begging for her touch. She barely grazed his chest when Dak took her wrists, moved her arms to her sides, and anchored them there. A muscle spasmed in his jaw and that's when she remembered. "You don't want this." Her voice was thick, hardly intelligible.
"I want you, don't doubt that."
Considering the hard-on he had going, she didn't question his wanting her, but there was more than sex at stake. "You said you'd be pissed if we ended up mated."
His lips quirked. "And I will be, but not with you. Should I stop?"
"No!" Nicole was sure of that. "If you leave me hanging—"
Dak released her and reached for the hem of her tank top. Before it hit the floor, he had her bra unhooked. That followed her shirt. For an endless moment, he did nothing except stare, then with a guttural groan, he tugged her against him. Just the feel of his chest hair against her nipples was enough to make her eyes close and her head fall back.
It aroused her further to feel him shudder against her. She wasn't the only one who loved this. He did, too.
Her hands went back to his zipper, trying to get the damn thing down so she could curl
her hand around him. Nicole needed to feel his heat. Had to feel it.
He nudged her aside, lowered it himself. The instant it was down, she had her fingers at the waistband, pushing his jeans and briefs to his thighs. She was barely aware of him stripping them off. She was mesmerized—his erection was as gorgeous as the rest of him. Nicole licked her lips and started to sink to her knees. She wanted him in her mouth.
Dak pulled her upright and she moaned a protest.
If you give me head, I'll come in about two seconds.
"Later?" she asked.
His eyes sparked a brighter red, but that was his only answer. Dak's mouth covered hers, plundered wildly and Nicole wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on tight as the universe spun madly.
Cool air touched her thighs. She hadn't realized he'd gotten her jeans down until then. Nicole stepped on the backs of her shoes to get them off and wiggled until she could kick free of the pants. Her panties went next and she gasped as his fingers slid between her folds. She was so damn wet already and he just made her wetter.
I warned you—hard and fast.
He didn't break their kiss and Nicole decided she could get used to this mind-talk stuff if it had benefits like this. But there was the slightest hesitation in how Dak stroked her, as if he was waiting for her to give him an okay.
Nicole moved back, wrapped her hand around his hard-on, and caressed him. He dampened her palm and she smiled. She wasn't the only one at fever pitch. The urge to bite him came on suddenly, and before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and sank her teeth into his skin where his shoulder and neck met.
Dak jerked in her hand.
Nicole started to apologize until realization dawned. The biting meant something. It meant that she'd claimed Dak as hers. Only hers, forever hers, and she wanted him—all of him—now.
With seemingly no effort, he lifted her. Wrap your legs around me.
It took a second for the request to register, then Nicole did as he wanted. She could feel his hard shaft between them and she tried to rock, but he held her too firmly.
Nicole leaned down for a kiss and this time she was the plunderer, exploring every part of his mouth. Dak started walking, but she didn't care where he was going. She'd take this male anywhere, anytime, any way she could get him.
She gasped against his lips as cold stone met her bare bottom. Leaning back, she looked around. He'd put her on the kitchen counter. Nicole tensed her leg muscles, pulling him in closer.
Dak had moved away slightly and Nicole reached for him, guiding his head to her entrance. The feel of him sliding into her made parts of her tighten while other parts went liquid and melty. She tried to hurry him up, but he ignored her. If this was his idea of hard and fast, she wasn't sure she'd survive slow and gentle.
Their eyes met as he filled her. Clenching her inner muscles around him, she brushed his dark hair off his forehead. Nothing in my life has ever felt as good as this, she told him.
Let's see if I can make it better.
The thrust was short, measured, and not nearly enough. Before she could complain, he began to move. He slid almost all the way out of her before he stroked back in. Dak watched her, his gaze intense, and Nicole read his worry; he wondered if she could take him the way he needed her.
She couldn't find the right combination of words to make him relinquish the last of his self-command. Instead, she projected the jumble in her head and sent, More!
He moved. Like he'd promised, it was hard and fast. And oh, so good. Nicole closed her eyes and hung on to Dak. Every thrust pushed her higher. Her own control disappeared and she clung tighter as sensations rushed in. Not only hers, but his, too.
She was sharing his pleasure. Sharing hers with him.
The groan felt torn from her soul and Nicole arched harder into Dak's next stroke. She wanted him as deep as she could get him. She wanted him joined to her for always.
Orgasm roared closer and Nicole craved it. She didn't have to tell him—Dak knew. He knew and he shifted slightly, his fingers coming out to tease the nipple of one breast. She hadn't gotten his mouth there yet. She wanted that. Needed it.
Her eyes popped open when she felt his tongue trace around her areola. She looked down, saw his dark head bent to her breast, and clenched.
And then she started coming. Nicole couldn't prevent her eyes from closing, couldn't keep her head from falling back.
So good. So freaking good.
He lightly bit her nipple and the orgasm intensified. Dak clutched her hips harder, pulled her into him with each stroke, and she knew he was getting ready to come, too. She wanted that. Wanted him to find the pleasure he was giving her.
Dak nipped at her collarbone, her throat. Her orgasm began to ease up. And then he did it.
He bit her neck where it met her shoulder.
The same place she'd bitten him when she'd claimed him. Her orgasm screamed back. Dak started coming, she could feel it, feel him, and it was even better. Even better.
She reached out psychically for Dak. There was a pool of energy shimmering there between them. He was already anchored in it, and Nicole did the same, sending herself deep into the sea. There was a rumble in her ears, as if there were an earthquake inside the core of who she was.
Nicole wasn't sure how long it took before the world came back into focus, but Dak was still inside her, still partially hard, and she was still vibrating from her orgasms. Her forehead was on his shoulder and his hands lightly stroked her back.
She felt...good. Content. Not alone. For the first time since she lost her family, she had someone with whom she belonged. Her mate.
That thought evaporated some of her satisfaction. She was beginning to understand what Dak had meant when he'd said everything would be different between them afterward. It was. Before it had been a conscious effort to send thoughts to him, but not any longer.
Her eyes opened. For a second, the sight of him partially inside her eliminated her ability to think. Nicole shook it off. "It's opposite now, isn't it?" she asked and raised her head from his shoulder. "Instead of working to send information to you, now I have to work to stop thoughts and emotions from flowing to you."
"I warned you that this would change things." Dak didn't reveal what he thought, not mentally, not in tone of voice, and not in expression. "I also told you that if we had sex you'd access your powers. You have."
Dak had changed the subject deliberately, but while Nicole realized it, she didn't care. She was too interested in what she'd just figured out. That shimmering pool she'd seen, the one in which she'd anchored herself, was power.
She wasn't skimming along the edge of what she was any longer. Nicole had always seen herself as a human whose senses were enhanced by her mixed heritage, but nothing more. Everything had shifted tonight. She couldn't lie to herself any longer, couldn't evade or qualify her abilities.
When she'd mated with Dak, she'd embraced her demon side.
Chapter Nine
From the bedroom loft, Nicole could hear Dak moving in the condo below. She hadn't been surprised to wake up alone—she'd expected that. It hadn't shocked her either to discover he'd blocked her from his thoughts. Even while they'd been making love, he'd kept part of himself private.
What had taken her off guard was when she'd walked into the bathroom and discovered his thoughtfulness. Dak had put out a new toothbrush for her, a set of fresh towels with a wrapped bar of soap on top of them, and he'd left her one of his T-shirts to wear. The slogan on the front made her smile—Rogue demon slayer. There was more than one way to interpret that.
The shirt was long enough to hit her at mid-thigh, but Nicole tugged it down anyway before heading to the stairs. With the open floor plan, she spotted Dak immediately and she watched him as she descended. He was barefoot in faded, frayed blue jeans and wearing a white T-shirt with some kind of logo on the left chest. Damn, he was almost as gorgeous in clothes as he was out of them.
When she reached the bottom, his ey
es met hers and she caught the sparks of red. Arousal, not anger. Nicole relaxed.
"Did you think I'd be mad after having the best sex of my life?" Dak crossed to a panel and pressed a button to raise the blinds. "I washed your clothes. They're on the back of the couch."
Washed, dried, and folded. "Wow, a demon who does laundry. I'm impressed."
It was an attempt to hide how much his small kindnesses meant to her, but Nicole doubted she'd blocked him thoroughly enough to pull it off. Sharing emotions while they were driving for orgasm was one thing, but outside of bed? Not so cool.
"A demon taking care of his mate," Dak corrected. "And I'd like to say you'll get used to the mental connection, but I'm struggling with that myself."
"You can keep me out."
He grinned. "Good to know."
"What does that mean?"
Dak headed toward the kitchen. "I'll start breakfast while you get dressed. There's a bathroom down here—" he pointed to his left "—if you don't want to go back upstairs."
Nicole thought about pressing him, decided it wasn't worth it, and scooped up her clothes. The bathroom was down a short hallway, and while smaller than the one upstairs, was every bit as elegant as the rest of the condo. She left the door open. Why bother to close it when he'd seen everything already? And touched her in those places. Kissed her there, too.
A flush of warmth shot through her as she remembered the different ways they'd made love.
When she was dressed in her jeans and bra, Nicole leaned forward and studied herself in the mirror. She didn't look different, but everything had changed. With trembling fingers, she traced the spot on her shoulder where Dak had bitten her. The mark was healed, leaving it completely undetectable, but she swore it emitted some kind of energy.
She'd bitten—claimed—him first. He hadn't stopped her, but he hadn't reciprocated either. Not immediately.
But then he'd told her he didn't want to be mated.
