Stop that. Killing demons was what Karson did. He wasn’t out there alone. He had Caleb and Franklin with him—and they were good at their jobs, too. They’d better be good at their jobs, or I’d…what? I wasn’t sure. But if they let Karson get hurt, all bets were off.
I was reaching for my cell phone when the sound of a key moving in the lock stopped me. My gaze darted to the door and my heart jumped into my throat.
The door opened, revealing Karson. Without a thought as to who might be with him or what injuries he might have gained in the fight, I threw myself into his arms. I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my life.
“Karson,” I managed, holding him tight.
He stood stiffly for a moment, before taking another step inside and letting the door shut behind him. Then he pulled me closer. His face buried in my hair, he breathed in my scent. He hugged me hard for a moment, then released me.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Worried about me, huh?” he said, but his voice sounded hollow.
“Yes,” I said simply.
“We didn’t get them.”
Disappointment hit me, but it was drowned by relief. Karson was okay. I was okay. That’s all that really mattered at the moment. I could worry over the rest later. And maybe all wasn’t lost. I opened my mouth to tell him about the gala invite, but he spoke first.
“It was him, Ava. The demon who killed my family. He was there.” His voice broke at the end, and pain and rage combined with emotions I couldn’t name on his face. “So fucking close I could almost smell him.”
“Oh, God, Karson.” I pulled his hands into mine and squeezed. “Hugh?”
“Is that what he calls himself? Sounds so fucking normal.” He squeezed my hands, then released them and sat on the bed. “I wanted to kill him. Make him hurt. Give him just a hint of the pain he caused them—” His voice broke off and he swallowed hard.
“I’m surprised…I mean—”
“That I didn’t attack him? Consequences be damned?” He gave me a bitter smile. “I tried. Franklin took me down, with some help from Caleb.”
A chill settled over me. Not the cold of a demon, but something worse. Fear. “You can’t do that. Promise me you won’t do that. Not without a plan. Not without help.”
Elbows pressed into his knees, he rubbed his face with his hands. And when he spoke, regret coated his words. “I can’t promise you anything, Ava.”
Something in my chest pinched, and I knelt in front of him and ran my hands up his arms as if I could warm him. He looked up at me. So much pain was hidden just below the surface of his eyes. It broke my heart.
I leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. He groaned, a short, pain-filled noise. But when I started to pull away, he reached out to cradle my face in his rough hands. His nose brushed softly against mine, his lips only a breath away. A small sigh escaped me. His tongue teased my lips until I opened for him. He kissed me softly, carefully, tongue sliding against mine with the barest of touches.
“Damn, you taste good,” he murmured. “So fucking sweet.”
He pulled me to my feet and tugged off my shirt, kissing and nipping the skin of my shoulders, my neck. When he unclipped my bra, I bit my lip to avoid crying out. The expression on his face wasn’t tender so much as it was desperate, full of so much emotion. My heart fluttered in my chest. Maybe I could drown out some of his pain.
Again I kissed him, and he groaned against my mouth as I took charge, tasting him as I teased his tongue with mine. I tugged at his T-shirt until he pulled it over his head and tossed it away, then I slid my hands over the smooth skin of his chest—the skin barely containing the hard muscle beneath. I teased his nipples with my fingertips, and he muttered a curse under his breath. Tattoos marked his torso, beautiful and somehow a little dangerous. I couldn’t imagine his body without the dark edge they gave him. They marked him as different. Special.
The expression on his face—need warring with control—was heady stuff. Never had I thought my touch could have power over such a strong man. I went on my tiptoes and kissed and nibbled my way down his whisker-roughened neck to his smooth collarbone, and down to lightly lick his nipple. He groaned when my hands slid down his flat stomach to grasp his hard erection through his pants.
“Fuck,” he said through clenched teeth.
He wanted me. Really wanted me. I squeezed him through the fabric, and he growled and opened his eyes. And before I knew it, he was moving. He picked me up to set me gently onto the bed.
It was my turn to moan as he tugged off my remaining clothes, taking his time to caress and stroke me.
When I was fully exposed to him, he buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply. I slid my hands over the hard muscles of his back and dug my fingernails into his skin, needing to touch him. Feel him. Make him feel me.
“Smell so damn good,” he said. “How do you always smell so good?”
Instead of waiting for a reply, he took my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, sending jolts of pleasure right to my core. He nipped sensitive skin when he released me, then rubbed away the pain. When he moved to my other nipple, his hand slid between us to explore my sex.
I called out, already aching and needy beyond words just from his touch. Caressing his back, I breathed in his masculine scent and bit my lip. His fingers stroked me to new heights, rough against my sensitive, wet flesh. And when he slid a long digit into me, I moaned, arching against him.
Close. So close. But then his hand was gone and I cried out, the loss almost painful.
“I have to taste you,” he murmured. He gently kissed and nibbled his way down my stomach, and it suddenly hit me what he wanted to do.
“Karson, you don’t have to—” I started.
“Let me show you how good it can be,” he said. He slid a hand between my legs and touched me softly. Then, never breaking eye contact, he lowered his mouth to my most sensitive place.
Pleasure arched through me, and I threw my head back and cried out. He nudged my legs farther apart with his hand, and then caressed me gently. I moaned at his touch and reached back to press my hands against the headboard. Gently, he licked and sucked and nibbled, fingers rocking in and out of my body as he worked me with his mouth, but always pulled back before I could reach oblivion.
“Please,” I gasped when he got me so close, only to deny me again. I was about ready to do something drastic. Or violent.
“God, you taste good. Could taste you forever,” he said gruffly. But he didn’t stop this time.
“Karson!” My head fell back and I broke. My nails dug into the edge of the mattress above my head as he wrung aftershock after aftershock from my body. Then he was on top of me. Kissing my forehead and holding me close. Body trembling against his, I burrowed into his chest and held onto him for a few seconds. He didn’t move until I stopped quaking.
“Hold on, sweetheart.” He kissed the skin just below my ear, and then he was gone.
I blinked against the bright lights of the room and watched him pull off the rest of his clothes and pull a condom from his backpack. His cock stood proudly and I licked my lips.
Unable to look away, I watched him sheathe himself in the condom, then glanced down when he approached.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he said, and my gaze flew back up to meet his. His expression was pure male appreciation. My cheeks heated, and when he covered my body with his, I closed my eyes and kissed him. Feeling a little bit braver because of his appreciative look, I reached between us and touched his hardness, gripping his length.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmured. And it was true. Covered in the tattoos and scars that marked him with his past, he should have been intimidating. But I’d never felt safer.
He moaned and pushed himself against me. Then my hands were above my head, held by one of his, and his tongue was teasing me back to oblivion. His chest rubbed against my breasts, pressing against them and sliding almost ro
ughly. Need clenched in my stomach and between my legs. I needed him. Had to have him. All of him.
“Do you want me, Ava?” Karson said, voice low.
I tried to kiss him, not sure how to answer him with words. God, couldn’t he feel my heated body?
But he pulled back from my kiss, and just a hair from the rest of my body, so I couldn’t sate my aching need even the smallest bit against his hardness.
“Say it,” he said.
Fine. “Yes,” I managed, voice breathless, my body so on fire again already that I could barely think. Only feel.
“Then open your eyes.”
Eyes revealed too much. And I felt so painfully exposed. But I needed him desperately. He was poised, so close to easing inside of me, filling me, but still too far. I throbbed with the need to be taken, my body arching toward his.
I forced my eyes to open and meet his warm brown ones. They were intense and full of emotion. Full of victory. And my heart filled with such emotion that it hurt to breathe.
Without another word, he slid into me, slowly. His gaze held mine, refusing to release me, as he pushed inside, inch by hard inch. I could feel every bit of his cock filling me as I trembled beneath him. His expression was controlled—barely. Only his hitched breath revealed the effort it took for him to take me gently. But the violence I’d seen in him before was gone, replaced by passion so powerful it almost scared me.
But I could never be afraid of my Venator.
“Karson,” I whispered in a shuddering breath.
And as if his name released something inside of him, he growled and took my mouth in a deep, tender kiss. His hips ground against me. I wrapped my legs around him and he started to move. Thrusting in long, slow movements, his body slid smoothly into mine. Then the kiss deepened and I pulled my hands from where he’d trapped them. I dug my fingernails into his ass and writhed against him, trying to get closer. Always closer.
A moan escaped me, only to be captured by his mouth. His slow movements quickened, and his breath grew short.
The other orgasms he’d given had hit me like lightning, taking me off guard. This one built within, expanding and flowering. His movements became desperate, his body thrusting into mine so hard and fast it was all I could do to hold on. The orgasm unfurled, sending my whole body into a spasm of pleasure so intense I cried out.
Karson pulled my body against his, pushing into me as deeply as possible, and my name ground from his lips even as his hips ground against mine.
He shuddered, and I held him, still coming down from my own pleasure. Then he nuzzled my neck and pulled me close, cradling my body with his own. Making me feel as safe as I’d ever felt. We stayed that way for a long time.
But I knew it couldn’t last forever.
Chapter Ten
I snuggled against Karson’s side, as relaxed and happy as I’d ever been, despite the seriousness of our situation outside of this room. Even the sad motel decor and furnishings, which I was fairly certain were older than I was, didn’t detract from the magic in the bed. The man was irresistible and wonderful and powerful.
We’d fallen asleep quickly, the stress of the day overwhelming both of us. But we’d spent the morning and most of the afternoon alternatively making love and trying to find information about Thomas’s mysterious “father” online. It was a weird combination, but I wasn’t complaining. I still hadn’t found the right moment to tell Karson about Thomas’s invitation to accompany him to the fund-raising gala.
Okay, maybe I was avoiding it a tiny bit.
The day moved too quickly. We’d have to get ready for Miriam’s party soon, and we’d made exactly zero progress finding anything useful about Hugh. The problem was, Thomas had assumed an existing identity when he possessed Thomas Winston. He took over the young man’s current wealth and life—sort of. Mostly he cut out anything personal from the young man’s actual life, but kept the wealth and persona.
Hugh, however, seemed to be entirely made up. There was no mention of the persona outside when he was introduced to me. Hugh seemed to live entirely in the shadows, content to let Thomas be the public face while he controlled things behind the scenes.
Of course, we might have gotten more research done if we hadn’t been so distracted by each other. But where was the fun in that?
Loved.
I felt loved in his arms. In a way that I’d never felt before. Like some sort of dramatic movie kind of way, as if he would go slay a dragon for me. Rescue me. Like a knight in shining armor. Not that I needed to be rescued—most of the time. But the feeling that someone might just care enough to risk everything for me was crazy addictive.
And I couldn’t lie to myself anymore. I cared a lot. More than I should. I’d never really been in love before, so I couldn’t have said a week ago how it was supposed to feel. I was pretty sure I could describe the feeling now, even if this whole thing was moving too fast.
You can’t help how you feel. People always said that, and I believed it with some things. I believed that fearing my visions wasn’t anything I could help. I wasn’t so sure about that anymore, but that didn’t mean they were wrong. Because falling in love with a man who could never love me back wasn’t a way I’d willingly choose to feel.
Didn’t change how I felt.
I couldn’t help myself. I reached for him again.
Our lips met, and heat flashed through me. God, how could such a small touch make me want—need—him so much?
Already hard, he pulled me on top of him, and, guiding my hips firmly, slid inside me. I cried out at the immediate fullness and rocked against him. One of his hands trailed up my sensitive skin to cup my breast, and the other held my hips in place so he could thrust hard into me. I whimpered.
In the light of day, with his tattoos and scars bared, with pleasure and need fully revealed in his expression, it almost felt like this could last. Like we were getting under each other’s skin. The keen ache in my chest at that thought made me gasp.
He started to move again beneath me.
“Wait,” I said. “Let me.”
He swallowed hard, dark eyes never leaving mine, and nodded.
Bracing against his chest, I rode him slowly. Pulling back before taking him again fully. Tension built in my belly and I struggled to keep my motions languid. His hand roamed over my body, caressing my stomach, palming my breasts, gripping my thighs.
“Fuck, Ava,” he whispered. Sweat touched his forehead, revealing how difficult it was for him to be still, to let me be in control.
Then his hand slid between us to stroke my sensitive bud, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. My muscles pulsed and the orgasm unfurled. And control was his again.
He gripped my hips and pumped up, taking me hard and fast, prolonging my pleasure and taking his own. With a guttural cry, he thrust into me one more time before shuddering in his own release.
He cradled me against his chest, and we lay still for a good long while before I rolled back to my side and looked at him.
“That was amazing,” I said, when I could finally speak again. My cheeks heated, and he touched them softly with his fingertips.
“You’re amazing.” He leaned close and kissed me softly on the lips. And the gesture was so touching it brought tears to my eyes. “But we should really talk about this.”
I sat up in the bed, holding the comforter against my chest as if it would shield me from his words. “Not right now.”
“I think—”
“Not right now, Karson.” I smoothed the comforter for a few seconds until the tears dislodged themselves from my throat and I could force a grin. “Your awesome sexual technique hasn’t changed my mind about going to Miriam’s. And…” I glanced at the clock. “Crap! We’re going to be late to her party.”
Forgetting modesty, I tossed the comforter at him and trotted to the bathroom.
“Ava—”
“She will murder me, Karson. We have to go.” Miriam would be disappointed if we were late for sure, bu
t I mostly didn’t want to hear his reasons. His long-winded explanation about how making love to me had been a mistake. That it couldn’t go beyond the weekend. I was too happy right now to let him tear my heart out.
I deserved some happiness. A little fun time to forget that one way or another we were pretty darn unlikely to be in each other’s lives a week from now. A night of no demons.
I dressed quickly and heard Karson doing the same in the room behind me. I’d have to add a little makeup at Miriam’s after stealing an outfit from her closet. Water and the ancient blow-dryer attached to the motel room wall helped smooth my hair—sort of. And I did my best to ignore the raccoon circles darkening the too-pale skin under my eyes.
“Ready?” Karson peeked in from the room and I nodded.
The drive to Miriam’s went quickly. Karson wore symbols that would prevent the demons from tracking him, so we didn’t worry much about being followed. I still wanted to avoid “the conversation,” so I made sure that every second of silence was filled so that Karson couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I couldn’t have recalled all of what I said during those twenty minutes if someone had put a gun to my head. But I was pretty sure I’d covered the frustrations of the local Chicago weather pretty well.
Karson glanced at me as he parked in Miriam’s driveway, and I shook my head. No demons here. Not yet anyway.
“You still have that salt in your little purse from last night?”
“No, I used it on dinner.” I rolled my eyes at his serious expression. “Of course I still have it.”
“If you feel a demon, throw some salt and run to me.”
I hadn’t planned on carrying the small clutch all night, but he was right. Better to be safe than sorry, even if I had wanted to forget demons existed for the night. Even if the demons were looking for me, it wasn’t likely that they’d know to find me here. Besides, Thomas had no reason to search for me when he still expected me to be his date for his gala the next day.
A gala I hadn’t even summoned the gumption to tell Karson about yet. But could I live with myself if I didn’t go? Could Karson live with himself if the demons used the party to somehow gain an intractable foothold in the area? Besides, if Thomas and Hugh weren’t dealt with somehow, I might never get my life back.
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