Midnights Master

by Lauren DeStefano

Page 18

 

  His cock stretched toward her, stiffening with arousal. Too many clothes were between them, too many cops around.

  A piss-poor place to get her naked.

  But if he could just get Holly back to his place…

  Niol tore his mouth from hers. "We wouldn't make it past the door this time. "

  Her breath caught. "That a promise?"

  Absolute guarantee. Her breasts teased his chest, the nipples tight, and he could remember those sweet pink nipples so vividly. But he wanted to see them again. Suck them again.

  Make her moan and come again.

  Make those green eyes darken to sexy black.

  And he'd show her this time, she'd see the change-

  "Ah, Holly?" A cough, from too close by. "Are you, um, finished here?"

  Niol's hold on Holly tightened. The cameraman. Ben or Bob or something.

  "We…need to get back to the station. I got more footage-we can edit and record a segment to air for tomorrow morning, too…"

  Niol turned his head very, very slowly and met the guy's stare. Human. Nervous, shifting from foot to foot.

  Holly's hands fell away. "I'll be-right there, okay? Just give me a minute to…finish up. "

  A quick nod and the human scurried away.

  A minute? Niol raised a brow and glanced down at Holly. "Love, I can be fast when the need arises, but what I have planned was going to take a lot longer than a minute. "

  She almost smiled. Almost. And he liked her smile. That slow curve of her lips. The wink of her dimple. The way her nostrils flared just a bit when her mouth lifted.

  But the smile never fully matured and she shook her head, saying, "I've got to put the story to bed. "

  Um, and he wanted to put her to bed. "We need to talk, Holly. "

  "Talk?" Her brows rose. "I didn't think talking was what you wanted. "

  Not first, but after the hunger was slaked. "Last night…I want to make sure-"

  "You were right. " She breathed the words, looked stunned by her admission, and shook her head.

  "I don't know how it's even possible, but…you were right. "

  His confusion must have shown because the woman had been damn doubtful at his place and just as furious as he'd been.

  Her shoulders moved in a little roll. "I went to see an expert earlier. She confirmed what you'd told me. "

  An expert. The only supernatural expert he knew in the city was most definitely a she.

  The Monster Doctor. Emily Drake. "You went to see Emily?" He'd planned a little visit to the Monster Doctor himself. Now, it looked like that trip wouldn't be necessary.

  He'd almost been looking forward to seeing Dr. Drake again. Once, Niol had thought about using the doctor-a woman with her special talents sure would have come in handy in his world.

  But fate had intervened and Emily had slipped away from the demon world.

  For the time being.

  "You know Dr. Drake?" Holly seemed surprised.

  "Well enough," was his reply. Emily. He'd met her years ago, when she'd stumbled into his club, drawn by the power of the Other. He'd watched as that dick Myles tried to control her and then watched her fry the demon to ashes.

  Not a woman to be messed with, unless you were looking for a serious psychic burn.

  And, now, well, you didn't screw with her unless you wanted an attack from her very jealous and protective wolf shifter lover.

  He still didn't get that connection.

  "She told me…" Holly glanced to the left, probably to make sure her cameraman wasn't around.

  "She told me she knew the first minute she saw me. How is that possible? How could she know, how could you…but I didn't?"

  Damn good question-and one that Giles had better be finding an answer for.

  She looked so worried that he wanted to kiss her-right between her furrowed brows.

  Hell. What was the woman doing to him?

  He was so not the comforting type.

  The wild-sex type, yeah. The ass-kicking type, yeah. The fear-me type, yeah-all him.

  Not the hold-a-woman-and-let-her-cry type.

  She was screwing with his head and right then, he couldn't afford that distraction.

  Not until the demon hunter was crossed off his list.

  "Come with me to my place," he said again. "We'll talk. I'll tell you all I know about-"

  "Demons. "

  She'd always been curious about his kind. Maybe too curious. Perhaps because deep down…she'd suspected?

  Ben's shoes crunched gravel as he headed toward them, again, and Holly shook her head. "I-I have to go to the station. "

  "After. " A demand.

  Her lips firmed.

  Maybe he should have made the demand softer but soft wasn't his style, either. But he tried now, for her. "I should have…handled things differently last night. " He just hadn't counted on getting punched between the eyes. Or grabbed so hard by the balls, but lust could do that. "I thought you were playing me, I didn't realize-"

  "That I didn't know what the hell was going on in my own life?" Shadows flickered in her eyes.

  "What can I say? That is the story of my life. Didn't know Zack was screwing around and the bastard was right in front of me-"

  Who the hell was Zack?

  "Didn't know my own brother was fighting for his life, until I walked in and found him dead on the floor of his bedroom. "

  Well, shit.

  "So really, I guess this isn't that unusual, is it? Some reporter I am. " She tried to shove past him.

  He wasn't going to allow that. Not at all. She couldn't run from him, from what was between them, not yet. "You're a fucking fine reporter. " A compliment he'd give…oh, no one else in her profession. "You care and you try to help other people. " Not his way, but it worked for her.

  "Niol…"

  "As for being a demon, that doesn't change who you are. You're still the same. Your eyes change-big deal. You're still you. "

  Crunch. The damn cameraman.

  "Uh, Holly?" He inched closer. "I got to go…it's gettin' late. "

  What, did the forty-year-old have a curfew? Niol bit back his snarl. "Your place," he managed.

  A concession, one made to make her feel as if she had some of the control. "I'll be waiting for you. "

  Getting inside wouldn't be a problem for him. He'd take care of his business, grill Giles, then take his lover.

  Hesitation from Holly, enough to make him clench his back teeth, then…a slow nod.

  He kissed her again, ignoring the human and taking his time with her mouth.

  Yes, he'd wait, but he'd be damned if he waited long. Once she closed the door of her apartment, she'd be his.

  "So…who the hell is Zack?" Niol demanded when he stormed into Giles's office.

  Sure, it was after midnight, and the guy had only been on the case for less than twelve hours but for what Niol was paying the charmer, he expected some damn good results.

  And Giles knew he didn't like disappointment.

  The charmer looked up from his computer, brows beetled. "I know I locked that suite door. "

  Niol shrugged.

  "Damn demon. " Giles sighed and motioned him forward. "Zack…let me guess, you're referring to the esteemed Doctor Zachariah Nathaniel Hall? Otherwise known as the jackass of the MU biology department?"

  Niol threw his body into the nearby chair. "Could be-what do you know about the jackass?"

  Giles smiled, and it really wasn't a pretty sight. Too many teeth. "I know the jackass was engaged to your little reporter. "

  The lights over them flickered. "Run that by me again. "

  The investigator looked up and his smile dimmed a bit. "Holly…uh, Storm, she was engaged to the ivory tower guy. "

  The lady hadn't mentioned an ex-fiance.

  But then again, they hadn't exactly been exchang
ing secrets about old lovers.

  Still…a fiance ? What the hell?

  "The engagement ended two months later. " Giles sniffed. "Apparently, old Zachariah had a thing for one of his young students. "

  Fucking idiot. He'd screwed around on her?

  Humans could be so stupid.

  Whatever. The bastard's loss. His gain.

  The lights steadied.

  Giles looked at him. "He paid her a visit today. "

  And she hadn't mentioned that to him, either. "Why?"

  Giles sighed. "Shit, man, how about a 'That's great-you work fast, charmer. ' Or some kind of freaking praise? I haven't even been on this case for a whole day and-"

  "Why did the asshole go to see her?"

  No smile now. "I don't know yet. "

  Niol would find out. The human had better not be sniffing around Holly again. He'd had his chance and blown it to hell from the sound of things.

  Niol wasn't the sharing type. Never had been. The human had better back off-or he'd get burned.

  "Something I did find out though, you might find it inter esting. " Giles shoved a file across the table. "Holly had an older brother. "

  Didn't know my own brother was fighting for his life, until I walked in and found him dead on the floor of his bedroom.

  He flipped open the file. Saw the old clippings from a Mississippi paper. Overdose kills teen.

  Laurel youth loses battle with addiction. Body found by sister.

  Damn.

  "Looks like the kid got hooked when he was young, maybe around thirteen. By seventeen, he was dead. "

  And Holly was finding his body.

  "He was a year older than her. Newspapers say they were close. "

  Niol could still hear the echo of pain in her voice. Yes, they'd been close all right.

  "A couple of the kid's friends were quoted as saying he took the drugs 'to quiet his demons. '"

  Very slowly, Niol glanced up from the grainy photo of a boy with Holly's mouth and with eyes that were darkened by pain and fear.

  "Your kind…" Giles licked his thick lips, "you guys can get hooked on the drugs fast, right?"

  Some demons did. Because a demon's power, it could be a very, very dark thing.

  Like Sam Miters. He'd gotten hooked fast and when he was young. Niol knew the poor bastard had heard the thoughts of killers. Slow, insidious whispers that had tried to drive him mad. For Sam, only the meth had quieted those voices.

  The usual drugs wouldn't always work on a demon. If a demon went into a clinic, looking for help to stop voices and nightmare visions, usually he just got pumped up with anti-psychotic drugs like chlorpromazine. And that didn't do shit for a demon, except make the voices louder and the visions clearer.

  So the more desperate of his ilk tried their own drug mixes-and got addicted too fast to know they were sliding straight into hell.

  Drugs weren't the way to treat demons. Mind shields, like the one he knew Emily Drake had created for herself, that was the way to keep the insanity out.

  But it took years to perfect a shield like that and most demons, especially the young ones who'd just hit puberty and felt the full rush of their demon power for the first time, they didn't have that precious time.

  They needed a fucking system in place to help the young ones so they didn't grow up to become like Sam.

  And so they didn't die like-Niol glanced down. "Peter Storm. " Had he been a demon? Odds were high that he had. Maybe he'd been stronger than Holly, had a greater power, and been scared to death of that unknown darkness.

  "Have you found a demon link in Holly's family tree?" Had to be one. Demons didn't just randomly pop up as some kind of mutation in the general population. Vampires did that-those weird-ass Born Masters. They were born to humans. Seemed completely normal then-wham. Woke up one day with a wild hunger for blood and enough power to generally level a city block.

  Maybe they were the cursed ones.

  As for demons, his kind had been around forever. Since the first gasp of man, and before.

  And they'd be around long after that last desperate breath, too.

  "I'm working on the rest of the family now…give me more time, Niol. " Almost pleading.

  He grunted and pushed out of the vinyl chair. Great view, shitty chairs. "Call me. " A glance at the round face of the clock on Giles's wall showed him that it was nearing midnight. Holly should be finishing up at the station soon.

  And coming to meet him.

  His cock swelled at the thought.

  He'd meet her at the door.

  Her house was dark when Holly pulled into the driveway just before one a. m.

  The porch light glowed, but the interior of the house was pitch black.

  She slammed her car door shut and stared up at the house and the darkness.

  Maybe she should have been a bit nervous, walking up alone toward a house cloaked in shadows. A psycho was on the loose, one she'd deliberately baited on camera.

  Maybe she should have been afraid.

  But she wasn't.

  Because Holly knew she wasn't really alone. She didn't glance over her shoulder and down the street to the left; she didn't need to look over to see the gray SUV that had been tailing her. She'd spotted the vehicle earlier, right after lunch, and recognized the two men inside from Paradise Found.

  Niol's guards.

  She'd been pissed for five minutes. Ready to call him and bawl his ass out for putting his goons on her tail.

  Then reality had set in. A killer was on the loose. Holly knew that hit-and-run hadn't been pure coincidence, and if two really big, really strong demons wanted to watch her ass, who was she to argue?

  Once the killer was caught, she knew they'd vanish.

  So, no, she wasn't afraid of the darkness or of the monsters that waited under that cover-and she knew he was waiting for her.