Claire held on as she swallowed him.
As soon as he was done, she didn’t even get a chance to speak. Beckett pulled her off the floor and began tearing into her clothes.
He was wild.
Reckless.
Needy.
She loved it.
When he got her pants down to her ankles, they got tangled with her boots.
He didn’t care.
Instead, he picked her up, placed her ass on the cold desk, and then slipped her tangled legs over his head until she could wrap her legs around his waist.
It was time.
Beckett couldn’t wait. Instead, he drove into her, full force, taking his wife.
Claire came from that intense drive into her body. It was hard not to when her husband was filling her as he took as much pleasure as he could.
As she rode out the orgasm, her husband rode her.
It was rough.
It was primal.
It was Beckett being Beckett.
As he leaned over her, his body buried in hers, he braced his hands beside her head. All the while he drove into her, she couldn’t move.
Claire was trapped.
It was Heaven.
“More,” she begged, as she felt that climb back up for another fall.
Beckett heard her, but he was helpless to respond. This was rutting at its darkest, neediest, and he couldn’t help himself.
He wanted more.
He wanted all.
The edge wasn’t even close.
He wasn’t close.
When Claire fell again, her whole world moved as Beckett picked her up, carried her to the couch, and sat.
She was still impaled as her body reacted to his.
“Ride me, Claire. God! Ride me hard!”
She gave him what he needed. His moans and groans turned her on, making her body want more and more from his. While she rode him, like she was trying to steal his breath, Claire could feel his body reacting.
There were ripples of energy coming from him, and it was making her giddy.
She was going to make him cum.
As she ground down, he whimpered in need.
“So close,” he admitted. “Claire, I need to cum!”
She didn’t stop. Bouncing in his lap, she stared into his eyes. Together, they made that climb, and when they reached the top, she was ready to tumble.
With him.
Only with him.
His hands went to her waist as he focused on her gorgeous Native face. “You’re my heart,” he whispered.
It stole her breath.
Even lost in the haze, he was focused on her.
“I love you, Beckett. You’re my soul.”
He could feel the oppressive cloud breaking around him. Claire had that magic touch.
As he was able to focus, he realized one thing.
He really needed to explode.
So, he did.
Beckett came so hard, it shook his whole body. As he poured into her, she rested against his torso.
Claire had fallen, too, and now she needed to catch her breath. Pleasing her sexy man was exhausting.
“Hold me,” she whispered.
He did.
Beckett wouldn’t ever give this up. With Claire, he’d found a way to be himself. He was accepted, loved, and safe in her world.
That’s where he wanted to be.
By her side.
This Native woman with brown eyes and silky soft hair was his, and he’d never give her up. He couldn’t. Without Claire, he’d die.
As the haze dissipated, he couldn’t help himself and began laughing. Beckett couldn’t stop.
“You’re amused?” she asked, leaving openmouthed kisses across his throat.
Oh, he really was.
“That was…really good.”
She snorted. “Only good?”
“Wild?”
She shook her head.
“Hot?”
She again shook her head.
“What would you call it then?” he asked, still harboring that lingering fear that one day, she’d realize that he was out of control and run from him.
If he were in her shoes, he might.
Beckett’s gift was a lot to handle.
“I’d call it us,” she stated. “That’s what makes us so good together.”
“The sex?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, the fact that you trust me and I trust you. That’s our foundation, Beckett.”
She was right.
And it was one hell of a one at that.
Chapter Six
Monday Night
T ori and Julian were ready for the detective’s arrival. Beau and Nyx were there, and they were sitting in the conference room not far from Lena’s desk. While they trusted the man, they weren’t letting him onto the second floor where all the offices were housed.
It was too early in this relationship to take any chances. They had to have some control of the situation. While Arsen Woods might be a good guy, they were going to make that decision.
Before they got this show on the road, Tori wanted to deal with the problem at hand. Nyx looked off, and Beau was leaning away from her body.
That was unusual.
Normally, he’d be holding her hand, or she’d be tucked beneath his arm. It looked like he was trying to put space between them without the woman seeing it.
And his face spoke volumes.
He was watching his sister and practically begging for her help.
Well, she was game.
Tori was about to ask Nyx what the hell was going on with her, when there was a distraction from outside the office. They all swiveled in their chairs when there were shouts emanating from main waiting area.
Something was wrong.
Heading out, Lena was there, and she was screaming at the detective.
The man looked shocked as he tried to back away from the erratically ranting woman.
“Get out! Get out!” she shouted, pulling at her hair. “You can’t be here!”
Tori didn’t know what the hell was going on. Before, Lena seemed perfectly fine, and now…
Not so much.
She was raging around in a circle, and no one knew what the hell to do. Even Julian, who ran a tight ship, seemed to be at a loss.
“Lena!” he stated.
When she ignored him, he raised his voice.
“LENA!”
She mumbled and kept ignoring him.
The detective looked like he was ready to bolt from the crazy farm.
“Lena, you have to stop,” Tori stated.
That seemed to get her attention. The woman was at least standing still.
“Maybe I should go,” Detective Woods offered. “You seem to have some bigger issues to worry about.” He’d seen enough crazy for one day, and he was off the clock. What wouldn’t he give for a beer, his bed, and a few hours of forgetting the dead were a thing?
“No, stay,” Tori stated. “This isn’t like her. Something is up,” she stated.
Timing it perfectly, as if to prove Tori was right, Lena shoved everything off her desk and began kicking it across the room.
Now, the whole team was there, watching the fallout. It was a train wreck in the making, and Julian wanted to stop it before the building was trashed or the media outside was alerted.
He didn’t need this on the nightly news.
Hell!
He didn’t need this in general.
“Lena! Knock it off or you’re fired!”
She stared at him. “What did you say?”
“You’re not the boss here. This is my place, and you’re acting like an asshole. I’ll be damned if I’m going to put up with this bullshit.”
She approached him.
“Leave.”
She kept walking toward him. When she got closer, Tori saw it coming.
Lena swung out, punching Julian in the face.
He hit the ground.
Everyone gas
ped—even the detective.
Tori was on her so fast, that no one saw it coming. She had Lena pinned to the floor, and she was not amused.
“No one puts their hands on my husband. This is our business. You can take a fucking leap off a building before I’ll ever let this shit go down.”
The woman stopped moving and fighting Tori.
“Now get the hell out!”
Tori got up and she gave Lena space. “You’re on suspension. Take a few days to figure out what the hell you’ve done.”
Lena grabbed her things and headed out. She was now sobbing and shaking. It looked like some crazy drug induced high. Lena was not herself.
Julian stood there, befuddled.
He’d never seen this coming.
“What the bloody hell?”
Even Justin was shocked.
“That didn’t seem right,” he stated. “Lena, while an ass buster, isn’t someone who is violent.”
Tori was aware.
Was this her mother?
Was this some sick manifestation of what was going on there? First there were scissors and pens flying around, Beau thought something was haunting Nyx, and now this?
This was way off the normal things that went on in their business.
Detective Arsen Woods cleared his throat.
They all glanced over.
“Nice place you run here,” he offered, trying to break the ice.
“That was not normal,” she stated.
He shrugged. “I work in an office with hookers, drug dealers, and criminals. What’s a little mêlée every now and again?” he teased.
While she appreciated what he was doing, Tori knew they had to focus. “How did you get past the crazies out there to reach the crazies in here?”
He snorted.
“I told the media when they got excited to calm down. I simply had some interviews to redo. Sorry, but that’s the only way I can get away with showing up on the evening news coming here. I have a job to protect, and already, my partner will wonder why I’m working when I told him I was taking today off.”
They all got it.
“Did you bring the list?” she asked.
He held it up. “I did. You get this once I get to see what the hell goes on here when the blinds are closed—well, other than the show I was privy to just now.”
Tori figured as much.
If this was going to be tit for tat, of course the detective was going to want to see what they had to offer.
She couldn’t blame him. It threw a wrench in her plans, since she wanted her team working while she did this with Nyx, but part of the job was rolling with the punches.
“Nyx, are you feeling up for this?”
She wasn’t but that didn’t matter. She knew she was needed to help save Beau. Still, she’d be lying if she said a part of her wasn’t scared shitless.
What they’d just seen go down with Lena screamed Evangeline. In this building, she had access to every one of the family, and she was making her rounds.
That was on Nyx.
She’d brought her home.
This was going to be tricky. Evangeline was growing in power, and she was tough to handle. If she could go back and change what she’d done, she would.
Now, Nyx saw the truth. There was no way she could keep Evangeline under control. The woman was still angry, and she seemed to hate everyone. It wasn’t exclusive to the people who hurt her. The Easton family may be gone, but they weren’t forgotten to the furious spirit.
Men had used her.
Women had abused her.
She was hell bent on destroying. The only good thing was that Lennox was nowhere near the place. Nyx was afraid what would happen if she showed up.
God!
What the hell had she done?
“We should get started,” Nyx offered. “I think everyone should stay,” she stated. “I may need to use energy to control this,” she admitted.
What she wasn’t telling them was there was safety in numbers. When she was home with Beau, and Evangeline possessed her, she was helpless.
Here, there would be backup. Tori might be able to save her. After all, she had Trey and Bethany.
That helped calm her.
“I’m ready,” Tori offered.
The cop took off his blazer but he was still wearing his sidearm. Plus, there was a clutch piece at his back.
“Overkill?” Julian asked, noticing all the weapons on his body. Someone was packing some heat.
“Not in my world, and certainly not after what I saw today. Toss in your crazy-ass secretary…I think the more guns the better at this point,” he admitted.
Honestly, Julian couldn’t blame him. Arsen had seen a whole lot of scary today.
“I’ll set up,” Nyx offered. She began setting up a few candles, some incense, and the crystals she always used to channel.
“The media can’t see us, can they?” asked the detective. “I don’t need this getting back.”
Julian reassured him. “The windows have a film on them. We can see out, but they can’t see inside.
Well, that was a stroke of good fortune. He’d have a hell of a time explaining this bag of crazy.
“Where do you want me?” he asked.
“Have a seat on the couch,” Nyx offered. “This is mostly about Tori and myself. She draws the dead to her, and I channel them. She’ll ask me anything you need to know, once I’m open to them.”
Beau hated this part the most.
There was nothing he liked less than watching Nyx be the poster child for spirit possession. It freaked him out.
He’d been raised Catholic, and he knew this was going to end badly. One day, they’d be unlucky.
“Whatever you say.”
Tori sat across from Nyx. “I’m ready.”
Nyx closed her eyes. “Go for it.”
“Shelby, I know you’re here. I can feel your greedy little fingers touching me. Show your ass up. You’ve made one hell of a mess for Beau!”
The candles flickered along with the one lone light they’d left on in the room.
Still, there was nothing.
“Hurry up, Shelby, or I’m never doing this again. You have one shot at this, and then I’m having your pathetic ass exorcised to wherever shitty mothers go to spend their eternities.”
That threat seemed to work.
The room got cold.
“Trey, is she around?” Tori asked.
Her cell app chirped to life.
“SHE. IS. HERE. SHOW. YOURSELF. SHELBY.”
Tori looked around in the darkened room. She could see the shadows, but not her dead mother. Her gift didn’t work that way.
“She’s here,” Nyx whispered.
Suddenly, the detective gasped and jumped up from his seat on the couch. He began backing away from the group.
Everyone, including Tori, looked over.
“Are you okay?” asked Julian with concern in his eyes. The man looked off.
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you see her?” he asked, staring straight ahead.
Julian looked around, but he wasn’t able to see anything. There was nothing there.
Tori looked around too. She rarely saw a spirit head on. She relied on her peripheral to catch them. “I don’t see her,” she admitted.
The man kept moving away from the group until his back was against the one wall.
“She’s there!”
Tori focused on him. “You see her?”
He nodded his head. “She’s right there,” he said, pointing at the secretary’s desk. “Sitting on it. She’s wearing a red coat and rainboots.”
“That’s Mom’s favorite outfit,” Beau offered. There was now no doubt in his mind she was there.
“Does anyone see her?” asked Julian.
No one did.
Well, it looked like the detective had a gift of his own. He could see dead people. That was going to freak him the hell out at some poi
nt.
Yeah, his life was going to change.
“I can’t keep this up for long,” Nyx offered. “I need Tori’s spirit guides to help me,” Nyx said.
Tori focused and could hear Bethany in her head. She was directing her gaze to the location where her dead mother was standing. She was getting flickering glances of her each time she’d blink. They lasted a second, and she didn’t doubt it was Bethany trying to help her.
“Shelby, what the hell did you do?” Tori asked.
There was a pause.
Silence.
Then Nyx began channeling, and it was her voice answering the questions.
“I needed to survive. I needed to live better these last few months. You didn’t care that I was poor and suffering.”
Tori got angry. Even in death, it was all about money with her mother.
She was over it.
“You didn’t care that you left me behind,” she stated. “When you left Trey and myself with Lawrence, you changed the game, Shelby. This was your choice—not mine.”
Nyx screamed and grabbed her head. They all knew it was from Shelby’s anger. Tori gave her the answer she didn’t want, and she was going to erupt.
“Nyx can’t channel you long, Shelby. Stop your dramatics and tell us about what happened. If you want to rest in peace, I have to clean up after you.”
Tori knew this was going to wear Nyx down, and fast.
“We don’t have much time, Shelby. What were you doing?”
“Blackmail.”
“Not drugs?”
“Blackmail.”
Detective Woods regained enough of his composure that he could finally focus. If he didn’t look at the dead woman, he’d be okay.
Right?
This was some freaky shit, and he was seeing it up close and way too personal.
“Who killed you?” he asked, taking over for Tori. It was time to cut to the chase.
Nyx got quiet.
“WHO?” he asked again.
Why wasn’t she answering him?
“This would close the case, and we could all go home and call this a night.” Boy, did he really need that to happen. He was seeing ghosts and really needed one hell of a drink.
It didn’t work.
“Why won’t you tell us?” Tori asked, sensing the detective wasn’t going to get answers from Shelby.
“I am so ashamed.”
Tori knew she had to be patient. They’d dealt with enough ghosts to know that in time, they would spill what they knew, but it wasn’t going to be forced out of them.
Kiss of Souls Page 13
