by Vivi Anna
His hand was edging down to her pants. “I don’t want to upset your ankle by taking off your pants.”
“Just tear them off. You already halfway did anyway.”
“True.” He grinned, and then with one impressive pull he ripped the rest of her pants away, tugging the torn material out from under her and tossing it onto the floor, leaving her in just her panties. “There. Perfect.”
She half moaned, half laughed as he yanked on her cotton panties to pull them down over her hips. Then his fingers, still hot and sweaty, were buried between her legs, stroking her gently, and she lost all thought and reason.
* * *
Ronan had to bite down on his lip to stop from tearing into her. The feel of her hot slick lust on his hand was enough to leave him feeling hard, hot, and desperate to take her until she screamed his name.
Desire clawed at him as he nuzzled her breasts. He bit down on a nipple while plunging his fingers into her core. She cried out as he stroked her fast. He wanted to watch her face when she came. He wanted to see the ecstasy in her eyes. Ecstasy that he gave her.
His fingers pumped harder and faster until her breath came in short pants. He sucked on her nipples, hard, nipping at her skin every so often. He alternated between plunging into her and flicking his fingers over her clit. He could feel the muscles in her body clench.
She squeezed her eyes shut as he pinched her sensitive nub then stroked her firmly again. Back and forth he went. Rubbing, flicking and pumping. Until her hand tightened on his cock and he knew she was going over the edge.
And just as she came, Ronan tugged down his briefs, pulled her leg up over his hip and plunged his cock into her in one swift, powerful thrust.
Her eyes flashed open and she cried out. “Ronan!”
Gripping her behind with his hand, he drove into her again and again. He pumped and thrust until his whole body was wet with sweat. Until the muscles in his legs and arms vibrated with strain.
She was panting and mewling, her hands everywhere on him, pulling and tearing and holding on. He gritted his teeth and pulled her down to him as he thrust up hard with his hips. He buried himself deep inside her. Her flesh contracted around him, squeezing him tight.
Then, in a flash of light and heat and delicious agony, he came.
For five minutes, neither one of them moved. It was as if they were frozen in time, fused together like some complicated marble statue.
Ronan opened his eyes and studied her face. Her eyes were still closed and she was almost smiling. It was sexy the way her lips twitched up at the side. She must’ve sensed he was looking at her because the smile widened.
“I’d say I’ve completely forgotten about my ankle.”
“Well, good. My work here is done, then.”
Ivy opened her eyes and met his gaze. “I’d say that you earned some overtime pay.”
“Is that right?”
“Yup.” She snuggled closer to him and pressed her lips to his neck. She traced her fingers up and down the line of his sternum. “Mmm, you smell like perfection.”
He chuckled at that. “I think you’re drugged from sex.”
“You think right.” She closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Her hand curled up to rest on his chest.
He pulled her tight, his other hand resting on the rise of her hip. He played it gently back and forth along her smooth, pale skin.
She sighed. The cadence of her breathing slowed and he sensed the exact moment when she fell asleep. With his chin resting on her head, he smiled, and then closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift off. And just before he was asleep, Ronan thought how perfectly they fit together.
Chapter 17
Ivy jolted awake. Rubbing at her eyes, she slowly sat up. Did something wake her? Had she heard a strange noise? She glanced up and saw a fat brown squirrel at the window. Its thick bushy tail thwacked against the glass as it busily collected food.
A bit confused about where she was, she looked around the small room. Her gaze landed on Ronan sleeping next to her on the bed. He was naked, a sheet lightly drawn over his hip. She drank in his naked form. He was definitely a looker. No doubt about it.
She shook her head. But what the hell was she doing having sex with him again? Hadn’t she learned the first time? No good could come of their...
Whatever it was. It would only get in the way. And once they found Quinn and Ronan took the key, or tried to, what would they have in common anymore?
She rubbed at her face again, then swung her legs off the bed. She set her feet down on the floor and tested her left ankle. It was sore, but looking down at it, no one would ever be able to tell that the bone had snapped and ruptured her skin. The flesh around her ankle was bruised dark purple, but there were no lacerations. No puncture wound. She glanced over her shoulder at Ronan. He was truly gifted with the power to heal within his demon blood. Go figure.
A cool breeze blew over her skin, bringing attention to the fact that she was naked. Everything had ended up coming off during their hot sex session. She stood, wobbled a bit then went to search for her bag for a pair of pants.
Once she was dressed in khakis and a T-shirt, she went to see about finding them some food. They both needed the energy. Especially after the sexual bout they’d had. It had been intense and her thighs and belly still clenched in remembrance. Her orgasm had been fierce and not something she could easily erase from her mind.
With one last glance at Ronan’s sleeping form, she silently exited the room. She stole across the hall and into the kitchen, careful not to make any noise in case someone had come home without their knowledge. Once in the kitchen, Ivy glanced out the window to the drive. There were no vehicles parked on the dirt path. She breathed a sigh of relief and began searching the cupboards and pantry for something edible.
After a thorough search, she dumped a can of mushroom soup into a saucepan and brought it to a boil on the stove. She also found some crackers to go with it. As she stirred the soup, she thought about their next step. The first thing was to find a vehicle and get back on the road. Getting to Quinn was even more important than before. Because someone obviously didn’t want that to happen. This was the second attempt on her life. Well, both their lives.
She’d thought the first attempt, at her house, had been the demon Sallos’s doing, but now she wasn’t so sure. What if someone else wanted to stop her from finding Quinn? It obviously wasn’t the Crimson Hall Cabal. No, they wanted her to get to Quinn so Ronan could take the key for them. So, if not them, then who?
“Smells good.”
Ivy swung around to see Ronan leaning casually in the kitchen doorway. He’d slipped on a pair of pants, but forwent a shirt. And she couldn’t stop herself from gobbling up his hard pecs, flat stomach and the dark line of hair that arrowed down to the waistband of his pants. Her fingers itched as she remembered tracing a seductive trail down that path.
“It’s mushroom. All I could find. There was tomato but I hate tomato.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He came all the way into the kitchen and sat at the little two-seater table.
Ivy turned off the stove, and then poured the soup into two big bowls. She set the bowls down on the table along with spoons and the box of crackers.
She expected him to pick up his spoon and start eating, but instead he stared at her expectantly. She stared back, not sure what he wanted her to say. It wasn’t like she’d had a lot of experience in morning afters. She usually didn’t sleep with men. She’d had sex, but she’d usually kick them out afterward. It was interesting that sleeping beside Ronan had been more intimate than any of her prior sexual escapades.
After another minute, Ronan sighed, then picked up the spoon and began to ladle the soup into his mouth. He grabbed a couple of crackers, crushed them into the soup and continued to eat. She followed suit, until a few minutes later they both had empty bowls.
He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “So I figure we need
a vehicle.”
“I was just thinking that.”
“There’s a small barn in the back. I’ll check it to see if there’s anything that’s useful.”
She nodded. “We need to get back on the road as soon as possible. That second attack tells me that we are on the right track to Quinn.”
“I know.” He pushed back his chair and stood. He left the kitchen and returned to the den, she assumed to put on a shirt and his boots. After another minute, she heard the back door open and close.
This gave her time to go back into the den, get her boots and gear—and her mind—back together. Nothing was going to get accomplished with her fantasizing about Ronan’s body and remembering how it felt as he filled her tight. She had to put her mind where it needed to be: on finding Quinn. Nothing else was important. No matter how much her body told her otherwise.
* * *
Ronan marched across the back lawn to the barnlike building. Anger made the muscles along his jawline jump. He supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything other than the cool reception she’d given him. It wasn’t like she was going to prance across the kitchen floor and fling her arms around him to kiss him. It was just that he thought maybe something had changed last night, was hoping that something had shifted between them.
He didn’t want it to be just sex between them. He wanted more from her.
But wanting more from the ice-queen demon hunter was a lesson in futility. It wasn’t going to happen. And he had to get that through his head. He was a means to an end for Ivy. And that was all he was ever going to be.
The door to the barn opened easily and he stepped in. It smelled of mildew and old hay but also had the unmistakable odor of motor oil. He smiled when he saw the vehicle barely visible in the shadows. He hoped it would run.
He approached the car, a two-door Ford T-Bird, running his hand along the old hood. The windows were cranked open and he peered inside at the dark leather interior. He smiled again. He really liked old cars. This one was a classic and it looked like the owner took real good care of it.
“Is it drivable?”
Ronan swung around to see Ivy standing in the open doorway. “Looks to be in good condition.”
“Can you hot-wire this thing?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah, no problem. It’s a lot easier to hot-wire old cars compared to new ones. All I need is a screwdriver.”
She moved along one of the workbenches, searching the surface for tools. She found what he needed, picked it up and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed as he took it. There was an electric jolt between them.
Ronan’s eyes came up and locked on hers. “Ivy, maybe we should—”
“No need to talk about it.” She went to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“Last night was more than just sex.”
She didn’t deny it, just stared into his eyes.
“I think we should talk about it.”
She shrugged. “Why? What does it matter? Does it change our plans?”
“No.”
“Then why can’t we just leave it be?”
“Because it matters.” He tugged her closer to him. “You matter. I want you to know that in case, you know, anything happens.”
“Fine. I know it. Thank you.”
He wanted to shake her. She was so exasperating. He leaned down and covered her mouth with his. He kissed her hard, snaking his tongue between her lips, tasting her, possessing her.
She moaned into him, fisting her hands into his shirt. She gave just as good as he did. Trading stroke for stroke, nibble for nibble. They kissed until they were both breathless.
Ronan pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
She was silent for a moment, but he could tell she was thinking, considering her next words. She sighed, and then said, “Fine. You matter to me, too. There, are you happy now?”
He pulled back and smiled, then chucked her chin. “Yup.”
She shook her head at him. “Great. Now get this car running and I’ll go get our gear. I want to be out of here in the next ten minutes.”
He saluted her. “Yes, sir.”
She turned on her heel to leave, but he saw her grin before she exited the barn.
Chapter 18
True to Ivy’s command, they were back on the road within ten minutes. Ronan had easily hot-wired the old T-Bird and they were cruising down the main road in the baby-blue car. Ronan was grinning the whole time, clearly enjoying the fact that he was driving the classic car.
She couldn’t care less. It was a vehicle and it would get them from point A to point B. Point B being, hopefully, where Quinn was located. She almost felt frantic now that she was so close. This was the best lead she’d had on his location in the past three years. Everything else had been rumors or mistaken identity.
She was still trying to decide the first thing she was going to do when she saw Quinn again. Either hug him or punch him in his pointy chin. Right now she was still fifty-one, forty-nine, the former being the punch.
If only it was that easy with another man.
She glanced briefly at Ronan. He’d made her admit something she wasn’t quite ready to cop to. But his kiss had been fierce and it had pulled at something inside her. It had been more than a lusty punch in the gut; it had tugged at her heart. Just a little, mind you. But it was enough that she couldn’t ignore it.
And the feeling wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Especially since she was still saddled with the cambion for another few days at least. Once they found Quinn, then what? Would he go his own way? She hoped so. Then she could shake him from her psyche.
Until then, he was firmly planted there. It was an inconvenient truth, but she had to deal with it.
After another couple of hours, they drove through Salem, stopping for lunch and much-needed coffee. They grabbed a couple of burgers and got back onto the highway. Another few hours and they would hit Washington, then the small town of Sumner, where supposedly her brother was holed up.
It seemed like a really odd place for him to be. But knowing Quinn, he had his reasons. Strange they might be, but he had them. He was always like that. Doing things unconventionally, but when he explained why, it would all make perfect sense.
Ivy missed him a lot. He’d always been her strength and her direction. Living without his leadership had been hard. But she’d done it. Thrived even. Maybe that had been his whole point.
“What are you thinking about?”
She turned and looked at Ronan.
“Your brow is creased. Looks like you’re thinking about killing someone.”
“Quinn. When I see him.”
He chuckled. “Ah. I thought maybe it was me.”
“Well, not right now.” She smirked. “Who’s going to drive this junker?”
“Good point.”
For the next few hours, they didn’t speak, which Ivy appreciated. The silence was surprisingly comfortable. As if they’d known each other for years instead of days. That was just another thing she liked about him. He knew when she needed the quiet. When she needed to be left to her thoughts.
It was late afternoon when they drove into Washington state. Only three more hours before they hit the town of Sumner. Ivy wasn’t sure what she expected when they arrived. Would Quinn still be there, or would he have moved on? For some reason she sensed the former. That he was still there. The closer they got, the more on edge she felt. Something was definitely going on in the small town of Sumner.
She’d looked up the place on the internet before they left. There was nothing remarkable about the town. It was like any other sleepy picturesque American town. The council met every Wednesday night, and the Thanksgiving parade promised a giant turkey and more pumpkin pie than the average person could eat. There was nothing supernatural about the place.
After another hour, Ivy’s head started to pound. She’d had plenty of headaches before, some self-induced, but this one
was different. It came on like gangbusters and wouldn’t relent. It was as if some tiny person with a chisel and a hammer had crouched up inside her skull and was chipping away at her brain.
She brought a hand up to her temples and started to rub them hard, wincing the whole time.
“What’s wrong?”
“My head hurts.”
Frowning, he reached over the seat and touched her shoulder. “Did it just come on?”
She nodded, her tongue too thick to talk.
“I’m pulling over.” He swerved to the shoulder and came to a stop. Once parked, he turned toward her. “Let me see.”
She turned to him. He pushed her hands away from her temples and wrapped both his hands around her head, his fingers splayed wide. She could feel the pressure of his fingers on her skull and she wanted to pry them off, but she knew he was trying to take the pain away. After a few more minutes, the screaming agony in her head abated. She sighed and felt herself go lax. Ronan removed his hands from her head and set them on her shoulders.
She looked him in the eyes. “I have a feeling this means something.”
He nodded. “I can feel it in my head, too. It doesn’t hurt me as much, though.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means we’re going to be walking into a shit storm.”
“Demons?”
He nodded again. “I fear there’s more going on in Sumner than just Quinn hiding away.”
“How long until we get there?”
“Two hours max.”
“I suggest we arm ourselves, then, before we hit town.”
“Agreed.”
Twenty minutes later, they both had their knives strapped to their bodies with varying harnesses. Ronan had his shotgun laid across his lap, loaded with blessed rock salt and silver shots. Ivy outfitted herself with several holy-water ampuls and a liquid-silver spray. She’d put it together like a can of mace. Effectively, it was used in the same way. A silver shot to a demon’s eyes was enough to blind.
