by Sedona Venez
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I was exhausted, angry, and hungry all at the same time. Not to mention the tension in the elevator ride was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“So, are we going to talk about the wolf-shifter thing now?” I asked with a raised brow.
He shrugged. “There's really not much to tell.”
“Oh, I beg to differ, Knox. I just found out that the man I'm sleeping with is a wolf-shifter. I think that counts as a big deal.”
“From what I've been told… the woman I thought was my mother stole me from the Alfero pack out of spite,” he said in a voice devoid of emotion.
“What do you mean spite?”
“She was a she-wolf who wanted my father, but he rebuffed her and mate-claimed my mother, making her Alpha bitch of the pack. So she did everything in the book to thwart my mother's powers throughout the years. And her bitterness got worse when my mother gave birth to Ryker and then to me.”
My eyes widened. “Oh my gawd.”
“I guess the craziness ate away at her. She challenged my mother to a fight to the death for the position of Alpha bitch. They fought. She won, killing my mother. But my father still refused to mate-claim her. That's reportedly when she went completely crazy and kidnapped me.”
I thought my family was crazy. His was worse. “Holy shit! So she pretended to be your mother until the day she died?”
“Yes.” His jaw tightened. “And she made me pay for being the offspring of a man who rebuffed her. Every fucking day of my life, she made me feel like shit. Nothing I did was ever good enough for her. She even drilled into my head that my father abandoned her because of me. I hated that woman. Then I started hating myself. For years I was wild, reckless, and even got into some serious trouble with a gang of shifters. That's when I met Liam and Kaydee. We had something in common… We were Others—unloved and abandoned.”
“Wait, they’re wolf-shifters?”
“No. Hybrid Djinn.”
“It makes sense now, the reason she's so possessive of you.”
“Not my doing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? You fucked her… repeatedly. It was a fuck-spank-repeat situation.”
He actually laughed in that panty-wetting, assume-the-fuck-position way. Damn his sexy ass. “Say what you want. I was clear with her from the beginning that it was just sex. And when you came along, the sex stopped.”
“Uh-huh.” My brows furrowed. “And that scene with her between your knees yanking on your zipper? She was giving you a demo on how a zipper works?”
“All orchestrated by her and Liam.” His jaw tightened.
“Uh-huh… And he's still around because?”
“Because believe it or not, he had a more fucked-up mother than I did. Yes, he's fucked up in the head, I get that, but you don't understand what it's like to not be accepted by your own kind. I have a brother who loves me and a pack that embraced me as their own. It's a family he’ll never have.”
I just stared at him with my heart fucking melting. Just when I thought I knew everything about him, he unpeeled a whole new layer.
He grabbed my face between his hands. “If there's anything you need to understand about me, it’s that I don't turn my back on people I care about. We're all broken. Some a little and some a fucking lot. But trust me on this, baby. If Liam fucks with you again, I will not only cut him loose, I'll get rid of him permanently.”
Oh shit, I didn't even have to ask what he meant. The feral look in his eyes said it all.
He sniffed the air, his eyes turning gold. “Let’s take a shower. I need to get the stench of that dirty warlock's blood off us.”
I was too tired to argue, allowing him to walk me through the living room and into the bedroom suite. Tiredly, I started taking off my pants when he knocked my hands away, unfastening them for me. Once he undressed me, he quickly undressed himself, hustling us into the shower.
“Come here,” he said, reaching for the shampoo, pouring some into his hand, and shampooing my hair. It was heaven to feel his fingers on my scalp, massaging it.
“I’m sorry, okay? I thought I was doing the right thing.” My words broke off painfully. Knox didn’t respond. I was going to make a joke when I looked up and saw his clenched jaw and furrowed brows. I reached up, cupping his jaw. “What do you want from me, Knox?”
In one swift movement, he wrapped his arms around me, yanking me against him, high against his chest and down onto his manhood. Gasping with pleasure, he braced me against the wall of the shower, burying his face into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. He looked up at me with emotions swirling around in the depth of his sea-green eyes. “Everything,” he said gruffly.
That one word broke the damn of emotions. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, clenching as I tried to adjust to his wide manhood filling me completely. Leaning in, I ran my tongue along his jaw, running my hand over his wet hair. I blinked back the tears, knowing it was time to utter the words that had been said by my ancestors for centuries—ancestors who dared to love.
“I, Stormy Credence, descendant of the Credence Fae-witch bloodline, give you all that I am freely.” I swallowed hard. “My heart. My love. My body is yours to cherish now and forever.” I held my breath, waiting for him to reject me because of my bloodline, but he didn't even blink. In fact, his lips curled up into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
“As is mine, Stormy Credence. I love you and claim you as mine—my mate—forever.” His voice broke.
Shaken, I clenched on him with my body needy and tightening around him. Knox tightened his hands on my butt, pulling me closer. His other hand collared my throat possessively, branding it as his. His eyes flashed gold, turning wolf, then reverted back to sea green.
“Exactly when did you know what I was?” I asked.
He stared into my eyes. “From the first day we met.”
My breath hitched as I grabbed his face between my hands. “Why didn't you tell me you knew what I was all this time?”
“Without trust, Storm, we have nothing. You needed to tell me on your own. You needed to trust my love for you was strong enough to stay.” He placed my hand over his heart. “And I'm staying… forever.” His mouth crushed mine, his tongue thrusting into my mouth forcefully. It was dominant, possessive, and accepting nothing less than my submission.
His hard, hot length surged into me, stealing my breath away. Gasping at the force of his thrusts, I tightened around him. Moaning with pleasure into his mouth as my nails dug into his back. Pulling his mouth from mine, he growled.
“Now that we got this trust shit out of the way. I’m ready to mate-claim my woman.”
He tangled his hand in my hair and kissed me hard, nibbling his way down my throat before resting on the juncture of my shoulder and neck. He scrapped his teeth over the spot before biting down hard, breaking the skin. I moaned in ecstasy when a hot flash shot through my body and up my womanhood, giving me the most intense climax I had ever experienced in my life.
I collapsed against him as he sucked hard on the spot, no doubt leaving a very distinctive mark—a mark letting all wolf-shifters know that, without a doubt, I was mate-claimed by none other than Knox Gunner. I didn't know how to stop the tears that streamed down my face. My chest heaved. My heart was heavy and I was scared to death that everything would be taken away by some wicked twist of fate. With Luke's escape, I knew dark days were ahead. He was out there, waiting for a chance to kill Knox. And I couldn't lose him—not like that.
He looked up at me. His smile disappeared. “Not happening, Storm. Don't you dare think about running away because I will hunt you down and fuck you to death.”
My hands trembled on his shoulders. “I'm fucking scared to death, Knox. It's this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that won't go away. Something bad is going to happen.” I swallowed over the lump of emotions. “I'm strong, but I'm not strong enough to go through your death.”
He kissed where he marked me, sending a shiver down m
y spine. “That’s not going to happen. Please trust me on this.”
I nodded, but I knew the truth. When it came to Luke and his crazy followers… no one was exempt from death—including Knox.
“I belong to you.” He brought my palm to rest on his chest over his thumping heart. “And you belong to me. And no one takes what's mine.”
I didn't realize that I was crying until he reached up to cup my cheek. “You’re turning me into some emotional, crying chick.”
“There's nothing weak about showing how much you want what we have, baby.” He nipped me hard on my chin as he raised my leg, pulling it over his muscular ass. “Now, let me show you how much I need you.” With one hard thrust, he drove into me, sending me to a place that I could live in forever… pure ecstasy.
I shivered deliciously as he sank his teeth into my neck. "Damn, Knox." I gasped, digging my nails into his shoulders as the orgasm gripped me.
He growled. "Mine." His nose pressed against my neck as he breathed in my scent.
I touched his cheek. "Absolutely."
He soothed the bite mark with soft kisses. Pulling my hair away from my damp face, I took a minute to appreciate his hard body and tattooed chest.
"As much I love the idea of basking in my mate's presence all day…" I sighed heavily. "There's important Credence business I have to handle with Light and a detective with an axe to grind."
"So let's go handle it," he murmured. "Together." With one fluid movement, he hauled me effortlessly over his shoulder. "After I take you again."
God… I loved this man.
Want more of the Credence Curse Series?
Read on for a preview of
When Lightning Strikes
Book Two of the
Credence Curse Series
April 2014
WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES
CREDENCE CURSE
BOOK TWO
SEDONA VENEZ
CHAPTER 1
Reason pursed her lips with displeasure while drumming her well-manicured nails against her desk. “So, Light, let me get this straight. She’s not coming to this meeting because she had some emergency?”
“The last time I spoke to her, she sounded panicked. And that’s not like her.”
Reason leaned forward with eyes narrowed like she was interrogating me on the witness stand. Her drumming got faster.
My lips curled up with distaste. Her loud tapping was like fingernails on a chalkboard. “Reason, I swear if you don’t stop that, I’m going to fly over this damn desk and fucking cunt-punt you.” I was already pissed off with Storm for dodging this meeting. I sure as hell didn’t need lawyer extraordinaire pumping me for answers I didn’t have.
Reason flashed her canines. “Watch it, Light. I’m not putting up with your mood swings today.”
Irrationally, my temper flared as I leaned forward. "I don’t give a flying fuck, vampire!”
Reason’s eyes narrowed with concern. “What’s up with you lately?” She sat back examining me like a lab rat while drumming again.
I looked at her fingers pointedly. “I'm not fucking kidding," I hissed. I was out of control. I knew it. Reason knew it. But I couldn’t rein it in. I wiped my damp forehead with shaky fingers. My empath symptoms were getting worse and there wasn't shit I could do about it. What once worked at controlling my raging migraines and wild mood swings—my large consumption of alcohol—now failed. I tossed back a glass of tequila, gritting my teeth with frustration. My symptoms were making me a nervous wreck and even worse, I was slowly alienating everyone I loved with my erratic behavior. One minute I was bawling my eyes out. The next, I was dripping with rage. There was no middle ground anymore.
“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Reason’s tone softened. “You need help, Light. You can’t continue down this path without going completely crazy.”
“I’m already there, Reason.” I swallowed over the bitterness of being the only Credence born a sensory empath with the unlucky ability to feel the humans’ energy and emotions. “Storm thinks I can handle this meeting without her… but look at me.” I was sweating like I just ran a marathon. My fingers were shaking like a junkie. And I was yelling like a deranged cast member from a reality show. “I won’t last five minutes in the presence of that detective. He’s pure evil.” I knew that in a matter of seconds of being exposed to him, I’d be overwhelmed by his energy, taking his feelings, and losing mine.
Reason’s eyes widened with alarm. “Where is Storm? Is she with Knox?”
“She better not be.” As much as I was relieved that she was finally getting some from Knox Gunner rock star hotness, now was not the time for being knee deep in hot and sweaty sex. We had major issues with a detective with a stick stuck up his ass sideways and the likelihood of me going straightjacket insane.
Reason’s eyebrows furrowed. “Detective Burrows requested a meeting with both of you. It's too damn late to cancel without arousing further suspicion.”
I rubbed my now-throbbing forehead. “She’ll be here.” At least, that’s what I hoped. I’d been calling her like a stalker and still no response, which was totally out of character.
Reason grabbed my hand, rubbing it gently. “Don’t worry. Once she gets here, she’ll do that weird Fae thing and fix you right up.”
“I can't continue using her as my crutch,” I responded flatly.
“And you can't continue pretending that you're resigned to your fate. You’ll find a cure just like Demi’s vision predicted.”
My mouth flattened at the mention of Demi, the daughter of the Coven High Priestess. Demi was adamant that the solution to my empath dilemma was a “Bringer of Death.” But due to her unreliable gift for predicting future events and erratic personality, her predictions almost never made sense. “I love your optimism, but there’s no magic Fae wand that’s going to save my ass.”
Reason wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “It could be a man.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s the last thing I need in my life right now. Besides, I'm on a no-sex lockdown.” It was hard in the beginning to give up something that I loved—sex—but it got easier as the months went by. Besides, I didn’t need the drama of a man in my life. I was too complicated, too emotional, and definitely too unstable. Red flags that made the possibility of having a long-term relationship simply impossible. Red flags that enabled my habit of discarding men like disposable shavers.
“Maybe that’s what you need right now, someone to take the edge off.”
I scoffed. “No offense, but I'm not interested in dating advice from someone who hasn’t had sex in years.”
She pursed her lips. “I’m not willing to settle.”
“What you really mean is you’re not willing to settle for getting married to some coldhearted vampire your father picked.”
“Exactly. He’s just so obsessed with marrying off his hybrid vampire daughter that he’s willing to make a pact with the devil.”
My head snapped around when I heard Tabitha, Reason's administrative assistant, say in a whiny, little bitch voice, “You can't all go in there!”
My body shivered with unease as I scooted back into my chair. My unease heightened when my body instantly went on high alert like a cornered animal. I watched with narrowed eyes as the door slammed open. Storm and Knox walked through followed by three men. My unease increased tenfold when my eyes were drawn to the only man on earth who simultaneously made my sex clench with lust and stomach roll with hatred—Ryker Alfero.
His eyes darted to the empty bottle of tequila sitting in front of me. He snorted with distaste. “Oh, there she is, my beautiful drunk.” He held up two fingers. “How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked mockingly.
I gave him the middle finger. “One—now fuck off!”
“Baby, that dirty little mouth is making me hot,” he growled.
He sauntered toward me with fire in his eyes. His eyes locked on me, and he trapped me against the chair with his beefy arms. He growled when my ton
gue snaked out to wet my lips. His lips grazed the shell of my ear when he said, “I would love to see what else that dirty little mouth can do.” With those little words, my body shivered as a surge of energy zipped into my body, unlocking something that I didn’t understand. My brain started functioning with a clarity I hadn't experienced in years. No warring emotions, just calmness.
Oh, God no! Any man but fucking him!
My heart and pulse raced as panic set in. The energy snapped like a rubber band and the dreaded, dark emotions came flooding back with a vengeance. Sweat broke out on my forehead. Perspiration trickled between my breasts.
“God. This is going to be a rough fucking ride.” My voice was hoarse and ragged.
“I’ll do my best to break you in slowly, submissive,” he hissed with a voice dripping with raw sex.
Shit! Shit! Shit! I was in serious trouble.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
About the Author
Sedona Venez (also known as T.L. Clarke) writes New Adult and Adult fiction novels inspired by her love of music, tattoos, and sexy musicians.
More about the Credence Curse series can be found at:
http://sedonavenez.blogspot.com
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Books in the Credence Curse series:
Breaking the Storm (Credence Curse, #1) – Available Now
When Lightning Strikes (Credence Curse, #2) – April 2014
Reason to Love (Credence Curse, #3) – August 2014
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Books in the Valkyries: Soaring Raven series:
Infinity (Valkyries: Soaring Raven, #1) – Available Now
Infinity Unleashed (Valkyries: Soaring Raven, #2) – October 2013
Infinity Reloaded (Valkyries: Soaring Raven, #3) – May 2014
