Dark as Cole [The McAlisters of McKenna Downs 4] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

by Zoey Marcel

  “You’re sick,” Jasper sniffed.

  “Cute little bastard.”

  Danielle smiled when she looked up and saw Cole in the distance. He looked so handsome and sexy in his suit.

  The club was decorated with all sorts of Christmas stuff and he was so beautiful and regal standing there like every dream she’d had incarnate. Her heart beat a little faster when he walked toward her.

  * * * *

  Cole had been watching them in the distance. He’d been on the phone with Dominic discussing police work, but now that was over with and it was time to focus on Danielle.

  He knew their stories, could read them simply by watching them.

  He scanned the two men standing near her. The one was scruffy and had a Southern drawl he discovered when he approached.

  Religious convict with good manners and a taste for men.

  He’d done a bit of research since those two men were newcomers in town.

  The bald, muscle-bound one with the deep voice was a bit harder to crack.

  Ex-Marine with a dark past.

  He was surprised that they’d been let in since the owners of the club did background checks on everyone first. Shane never would have let them in. Perhaps Aiden’s criteria for membership was significantly more lenient than Shane’s.

  The punk DJ standing behind the bar next to his girlfriend wasn’t difficult to read in the slightest.

  Homophobe, emotionally abusive.

  His eyes drifted to the barmaid.

  Doormat, sweet but naive. Possibly in love with her best mate.

  He’d seen her texting someone before. Her face glowed and he’d heard her talk about someone named Billy a time or two. She didn’t strike him as the cheating kind, but he was under the impression that her heart was lost to this Billy, even if she was too ashamed of her wandering eyes to let herself admit to her feelings.

  His gaze shifted to the barman, who seemed antsy and indecisive.

  Conflicted about his identity, has a flame for his employer.

  Jed patted Diesel on the arm. “Come on, bud. Let’s go get good and naked. We’ll be thinking of you—Jasper, wasn’t it?”

  “You shut your mouth.”

  “Someday, boy. You just wait. Come on, Diesel.”

  The pair wandered off together.

  Cole noticed a man harassing Aiden Friel, one of the club owners.

  “Did I ever tell you about my goats?” the older one asked the Irishman.

  Aiden appeared annoyed. “You mentioned it once or twice, yes.”

  His jaw locked when the man touched his arm. “I got another one.”

  “Ah, good.”

  Cole didn’t really like many people and he loathed small talk.

  The goat lover babbled on to a vexed Aiden.

  Avoid at all costs.

  He was here for his lady, not for idle chatter.

  Shane Huntington strode over to relieve Aiden of the prattler. “How are you?”

  The older man pivoted to face him. “Hey, Shane. I got another goat.”

  Shane grinned. “You did? What’d you name it?”

  “Charlie.”

  He laughed. “Not after my brother, right?”

  The man blinked at this and then guffawed. “Hell, no. It was just a random name. That’d be pretty funny if I named a goat after him.”

  “Well, sometimes he’s ornery like one,” Shane said.

  Aiden had slipped away, mouthing a thank you to Shane. Cole couldn’t read him. Aiden was cynical, but that was all he could see. The man was a mystery.

  Cole tuned everyone else out.

  Jasper had walked away and when Danielle paused in her conversation with Felicia, he seized the opportunity to make his presence known.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  He kissed her forehead eyes closing momentarily. “It’s good to see you.”

  She took his hand and gave it a caring squeeze. “It’s good to see you, too. I see you brought some things.”

  “I did. Are you ready?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  She got down from the stool and they went into a private room together. He was proud of her for wearing what he’d told her to. Not that he expected any less. She was a good one. It was a simple top and knee-length skirt with brown boots. She looked wonderful in them.

  “Lift your skirt, Danielle, so I can spank you.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  She faced the wall and raised her skirt, baring her naked bottom to him. She’d worn a thong per his instruction. It was a fetching red one in the true spirit of the holidays.

  “Lovely.”

  He spent some time fondling her ass and kneading it, which she seemed to enjoy very much.

  When he was good and ready to, he began spanking her. Those lush handprints fading into her skin and the delicious combination of rosy pink and creamy white flesh inspired primal need in him. He couldn’t wait to bury himself in the tight, heated depths of her ass. She was the best thing he’d ever felt.

  He moved her knickers aside just enough to insert a bullet vibe into her pussy. She jolted when he flipped it on, moaning gently.

  “Be still, darling.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  She tried her damnedest, but his slaps got faster, harder. The buzzing vibe hummed inside her walls, becoming even more stimulating when she clenched it. Her sounds and movements told him everything.

  He petted her in quiet reverence for a minute and massaged her shoulders. Next he warmed her up some more with a spanking. He’d bought a horsehair flogger he wanted to use on her. He’d told her it would be intense. She’d said she was looking forward to it and a bit nervous.

  Her flinching and wails when he used the horsetail flogger on her did things to him.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m good, Sir. It just hurts.”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “That’s okay, Sir. Please keep going.”

  He kissed her head and then turned the speed up on the toy that buzzed inside her.

  “Oh!” she howled.

  The way she writhed against the wall, desperate for the relief he denied her was beautiful to him.

  He kept lashing at her ass with the coarse flogger, but he had no intention of going crazy with it. This was an edgier one, not for those afraid of pain. She took it all like his perfect match.

  “Tell me what it feels like.”

  He’d tried it on himself before to test the impact it had before ever using it on anyone, but he wanted to hear it from her.

  “It stings really bad in a hot, fiery kind of way. It doesn’t really deliver much pressure, though.”

  “And the vibrator?”

  She moaned and slumped against the wall. “It feels great, Sir.”

  “Details, love.”

  “I can feel it humming all inside me. It’s strong and feels so good. I’m getting really tingly all over.”

  “Good to know.”

  He flogged her several more times. After a bit her cries of pain became sharp whimpers of pleasure and submissive gasps.

  “Cole, I need to come.”

  He used a lighter hit on her thighs, but it most definitely got her attention. Yelping, she straightened up.

  “Call me Sir, Danielle.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “You won’t come until I say you can.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  He smeared lubricant into her crack and probed her hole with his fingers. She clawed at the wall and practically made love to it while he primed her.

  He held her thong aside and speared his pulsing erection into her body, relishing the volcanic, silken hug of her inner walls clinging to his swollen flesh.

  “God, Danielle,” he breathed. “You’re killing me.”

  “I can feel you inside me.” Her voice trembled as did her frame.

  “What does your pussy feel?”

  “It’s so strong. The vibe is pressing against my … Mmm.” Her words were
cut off by a passive moan when he sank deeper into her inviting bowels.

  “It’s so good,” she whispered.

  He couldn’t agree more.

  With every sublime thrust he felt her walls gripping him, massaging his stiff penis and thrilling every nerve ending he had there. She was so tight, so deliciously hot and soft everywhere.

  He turned the toy up, gritting his teeth when the palpitations increased. She cried out and clutched his erection with her ass, depriving his lungs of air in that moment.

  Sliding his hand around her, he dipped his hand into her knickers. The crotch was coated in the stickiness of her feverish longing. A pleasured sigh resulted when he casually rolled her clitoris around in teasing circles.

  “I don’t think I can keep from—”

  “Fight it,” he urged firmly.

  Every deep, steady shove into her body sent immense pleasure swarming through him. She was fantastic, beautiful in every way.

  He rubbed her clit faster, pumped his hips deliberately, driving his cock as deep as it would go.

  “I’m so wet.” Her inflection came out shaky. “It’s getting stronger.”

  “Obey me.”

  “I want to.”

  “Then do it.”

  He felt moisture leak out of her when he made erotic demands of her that way.

  “Come for me, Danielle.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  She choked on a gasp that became a scream when her cunt locked down on the vibe and her asshole sucked down hard on his dick.

  A mangled cry got stuck in his throat. Her scream and the violent suction massaging his member made him come with her. They rode the waves of their orgasms and the electricity surging through their privates because of that energetic toy.

  “God, Cole!”

  He heard and felt her pussy gush. Her shuddering sex had her squirting hard and drenching her knickers with all her womanly pleasure. He shut the toy off.

  When it was over, her cream coated his finger, pulsing steadily from her spent body. Her knickers were soaked, catching most of the runoff of her dripping folds. Her ass quivered around his sated dick. His cock still throbbed furiously from his release and the lingering ripples of the previous vibrations.

  He slipped carefully from her body, pleased by the splash of cum that streamed from her. He nestled her thong back into place. After taking the vibrator out of her vagina, he cleaned it off while she caught her breath.

  “My panties are soaked.”

  “Take them off.”

  Her eyes widened. “Y-you want me to walk around in public without any underwear?”

  He flashed her a mischievous smile.

  “But I’m so wet. It’s dripping down my legs.”

  “I know. I want you soaked and uncomfortable. Think of how humiliating it would be to speak with the townspeople all the while feeling your pussy leaking down your thighs, hoping no one sees it.”

  She licked her lips and her pupils dilated with interest. He almost became erect again from it.

  “If that’s what you want, Sir.”

  He winked at her, adjusting his clothes. “That’s what I want.”

  “Yes, Sir.” She bit her lip in a shy smile he found rather sweet. “I’m so glad you came back.”

  He smiled fondly at her. “So am I.”

  She was the easiest of anyone to read and the only one he saw himself reflected in when he gazed into her lovely brown eyes. He studied her in quiet awe while she smoothed the wrinkles out of her shirt and ran her fingers through her mussed hair in an attempt to look decent. He loved that she had the look of a woman who had just been shagged.

  His heart stirred as he assessed the woman standing in front of him.

  The love of my life.

  * * * *

  The next day Cole was at the morgue to investigate the latest victim of the serial killer. He looked down at the corpse of someone who’d been named Nicole.

  “It was the serial killer again,” Greg Friel informed him.

  He needn’t have. The evidence spoke for itself.

  “He raped her,” Dominic Hartwell told him. “Nicole was as straight as they came and he didn’t care. After he took advantage of her he slaughtered her as a sacrifice, the same as he did with the others who weren’t bi.”

  That baffled him. “He raped a heterosexual woman?”

  Greg nodded quietly.

  “Yes. I told you not to get involved in this,” Dominic scolded him. “We wasted all our time researching that fucking cult and he’s not even following the rules of it. Hell, he could have started his own cult or just be fucked in the head.”

  “I’m sorry, Cole,” Greg said sympathetically. “I really thought you were right.”

  He was always right. How was he not this time?

  “He used a condom,” the female examiner told him.

  “What?”

  “He took it with him, but there were other little things that gave it away,” she explained.

  “Why would he use a condom with her, but not with the bi women he raped?” Greg asked.

  Cole wondered the same thing.

  The examiner shrugged.

  Dominic shook his head, seeming vexed. “Because he’s insane. I told you he was fucked up. There’s no method to his madness. Sometimes he wears a condom. Sometimes he doesn’t. He sacrifices some victims and just kills the others. Men. Women. There’s no pattern. It’s all random.”

  Cole didn’t believe that. He’d been so certain that the killer was a member of that cult. It was possible he wasn’t, but his methods were identical up until now. Somewhere there was a pattern. He knew there had to be. The killer was too precise and meticulous in his every move. They were missing something.

  Chapter Seven

  Aiden Friel stood on the balcony alone in the dark, overlooking the snowy landscape. Moonbeams reflected off the snow, illuminating the darkness with its pristine coldness. Behind him soft light bathed Leather & Lace in warmth as the sounds of revelry faded into the background. He tuned it out, staring into the nocturnal stillness in front of him.

  He recognized the sound of Justin Huntington’s footsteps, smelled his addictive cologne before the young man even reached him.

  “It’s almost midnight,” he said.

  Aiden had to smile at the boy’s ridiculous headpiece. Justin wore shiny silver bug antennae on his head that bobbled when he walked or had a look around.

  “You do know this is New Year’s Eve, not Martian Day, don’t you?”

  “Ha ha. Read my antennae, buddy. It says 2015. See, there are two numbers on each side. This is my New Year’s garb, and you love it.”

  “Well, it’s not something I would wear, but you pull it off.”

  “Thank you.” Justin gave him a smug half bow before standing near him with his arms on the railing like Aiden’s were. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?”

  “Enjoying the view. Have you been drinkin’?”

  “Pfft. Not much. Don’t worry. I waited until I clocked off to have any. What are you drinking?”

  “Water.”

  “Whoa.”

  “I drink water every day. It’s not unheard of.”

  “I know, but New Year’s Eve is an excuse for alcohol and you never seem to need one.”

  Aiden smirked and gazed off into the moonlit horizon. “I have some things on my mind.”

  “Your son?”

  The little fella’s intuition surprised him. “How did you know that?”

  Justin shrugged. “You said he went off to college a while back. I figured you missed him.”

  Aiden traced his finger on the railing, withdrawing eye contact from him. “He didn’t call on Thanksgiving, but he called on Christmas, so I suppose that’s good enough.”

  “I’m sorry. Maybe he was cramming in a bunch of studying for a test.”

  “Right. We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”

  “Why is that?”

  “He�
�s rebellious and ungrateful.”

  “So no fault on your part, huh?”

  Aiden threw him an annoyed glance. “I sacrificed a good portion of my life for him. A feckin’ phone call once in a while isn’t too much to ask for.”

  “Did you say anything to hurt his feelings?”

  “Are you listenin’ to me? It’s his fault we’re not on good terms.”

  “That could be, but a lot of times it takes two to screw up a relationship. You guys should talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. The past is the past.”

  “Even better. Don’t bring up whatever got you guys upset with each other. Just move on and be buddies.”

  “You make it sound so easy.”

  “All you gotta do is call him.”

  “With my luck he’s probably plastered at a party, or gettin’ mugged in Times Square, or fucking some girl he’s gonna knock up and ruin his life over.”

  Justin snorted. “Wow. Or he could be watching the ball drop and drinking responsibly, maybe share a sweet kiss with his new love interest at midnight.”

  Smiling faintly, Aiden unscrewed the cap on his water bottle.

  “What school is he going to?”

  He answered the lad after taking a drink. “Columbia.”

  “South America. That’s interesting.”

  Aiden massaged his forehead with his fingertips after setting the bottle down. “Columbia University is in New York.”

  “Oh,” Justin said slowly. “That’s why you mentioned Times Square.”

  “How much have you had to drink?”

  “Just a couple. I’m not drunk or anything.”

  “By the way, the country is Colombia with an O, not a U.”

  The boy pointed at him. “I knew that.”

  “Sure, you did.”

  “Any New Year’s resolutions?”

  Aiden stared straight ahead. “I don’t do resolutions.”

  “Can’t stick to ’em, huh?”

  “It’s not that. Why should I change? It’s the world that’s ugly, unforgiving. I don’t owe anyone anything.”

  “I can’t tell if that’s cynicism or narcissism. At least you like yourself.”