Otherworldly [McKnight, Perth & Daire 1] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Beth D. Carter

  “I came by to return Zach’s ring,” Charlotte said softly and pulled the ring from her purse to lay it on the desk. “He’s not pulling me toward it anymore.”

  Alice Braddock-Masters looked sadly at it. “The police were by yesterday, but of course, I knew. I want to thank you for finding him.”

  “Mrs. Braddock-Masters—”

  “Alice, please. My last name is a mouthful.”

  Charlotte smiled. “All right, Alice. Did Zach ever mention his girlfriend?”

  Alice’s eyes pulled together. “I didn’t realize he’d been seeing anyone. He certainly never mentioned dating to me. Although…”

  “Yes?”

  “He was very withdrawn the last few times I saw him. Quiet. When I asked him about it, he said that work was getting difficult.”

  “He didn’t say why?”

  Alice shook her head. “No, and I didn’t press. I figured working around dead people was stressful enough.

  “Yes, definitely grim work.”

  “Did you…did you see something?”

  Charlotte nodded. “Though I’m not sure what to make of it.”

  Alice reached out and patted Charlotte’s hand. “Whatever you can do, I appreciate it. And I’m sure that Jonas appreciates it.”

  “Well, I’m not sure if Jonas knows what to make of me,” Charlotte admitted.

  “Jonas has always been a serious boy,” Alice said. “He and Zach were only two years apart in age, and their parents lived across the street from one another. Zach was the more outgoing of the two.”

  “Jonas was very angry at what happened.”

  “Yes,” Alice acknowledged sadly. “The grief of letting go and guilt of not being able to do more. I’m afraid Jonas will hide his feelings.”

  “I don’t know,” Charlotte replied. “He’s been very open with me.”

  Alice’s eyebrows rose toward her forehead. “Then I’m doubly grateful you’ve come into our lives.”

  Heat blazed across Charlotte’s face. “I’m only here a few more days. Just until I can figure out the visions I’m having.”

  “Of course, my dear,” Alice replied. “Would you like some tea?”

  “Oh, no, I’m afraid I should go,” she replied and walked around the desk to hug the older woman. “I won’t forget you, and I won’t forget Zach. I know they’ll catch the person who did this to him.”

  Alice squeezed her back. “Jonas won’t rest until they do.”

  “And, um, stay away from windows. Those paparazzi have telescopic lenses, you know.”

  Alice nodded. “Stay in touch, my dear.”

  “Will do.”

  After she maneuvered through the throng of reporters, Charlotte drove away from the mansion on the hill with her thoughts racing. In the second vision, Zach’s arm had been bandaged. And wouldn’t a man who worked with an ME go to him instead of going to a hospital? Maybe Zach’s boss could shed more light on what had been bothering Zach.

  Charlotte drove to a grocery store she had seen on the way to Jonas’s house. She bought chicken drumsticks and thighs, potatoes, corn on the cob, and a cherry pie for desert, as well as her favorite Riesling. Pleased with her purchases, she drove to Jonas’s house with a smile on her face.

  Not knowing when Jonas would be home, she hurried to prepare the chicken pieces, stuffing them into a too-small baking pan and covering with aluminum foil. Once the oven heated to the right temperature, she put the chicken inside it and closed the door, then hurried upstairs to take a shower.

  The hot water sluiced over her skin, temporarily washing away all the thoughts and questions of the past twenty-four hours. She leaned her head under the spray, the force massaging her scalp like a little bit of heaven.

  She dried herself off with a big fluffy towel and pulled on the cutest pair of panties she had with her, a pair of pale-blue boy shorts with dark blue polka dots on them. On each hip were bits of white lace allowing her skin to peek out. As she looked at her ass in the mirror, making sure the panties flattered rather than made her butt look big, she heard a loud woman’s voice coming from downstairs.

  Perplexed, she pulled on a tank top before opening the bathroom door and heard a loud voice saying “Fire!” over and over. Eyes widening, she rushed downstairs to see the kitchen filled with smoke.

  “Holy hell!” she cried and rushed to the back door, throwing it open to allow some fresh air in.

  “Fire! Fire! Fire!” the alarm kept saying in a very loud, very annoying tone.

  “Shut up!” she cried and grabbed a dish towel to start fanning the smoke away from the detector. She spotted a reset button and hurried to find a broom. Thankfully, the smoke was starting to dissipate. She found an ordinary broom in the pantry and grabbed it, trying to line up the reset button with the handle, but the handle was too wide and couldn’t fit in the small button slot.

  In the meantime, the detector kept yelling “Fire” at her, and Charlotte was contemplating smashing the damn thing with the broom when the front door opened.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jonas yelled over the alarm.

  Charlotte gave up and covered her ears. “Shut that thing up!”

  Jonas stood on his tiptoes and pushed the button, and silence descended. Charlotte took her hands off her ears and glared at him.

  “Who in their right frickin’ mind would have a talking fire detector?”

  Jonas didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned off the oven and grabbed an oven mitt before pulling out her overstuffed chicken pan. Some oils from the bird had spilled over the side, lending to the smoky atmosphere.

  They both looked at the half-cooked chicken, sitting very unappealing in the foil. Jonas tossed the oven mitt aside and looked down at her.

  As their eyes met, she became aware how undressed she happened to be, in only her panties and a mini tank top, with too much skin exposed. Heat flared up in his dark eyes, and he turned casually from her to the back door, closing it and clicking the lock into place.

  When he turned back to her, she saw his intent burning in his eyes. Her heart immediately started to hammer in her chest. Her nipples hardened with need just as her pussy went wet, and all she could think was how much she wanted him to take her and fuck her until she lost consciousness.

  “I know we haven’t known each other long, but I see nothing wrong with acting on our attraction,” she whispered.

  “No?”

  She shook her head. “We’re two consenting adults with location advantage on our side.”

  “Is that right?” he murmured, advancing slowly. “Location advantage?”

  “Thrust under, um, unique circumstances.”

  “Yes, thrust. I like that.”

  “Why, it’d be almost criminal if we don’t—”

  He didn’t let her finish her sentence. Jonas cupped her face, bent his head, and captured her lips in a full on assault of her senses.

  Chapter Ten

  His mouth landed on hers with an urgency she matched. His tongue met hers, twining together in a way that mimicked their bodies straining to get closer. His hands moved down to grab her ass. Each cheek gripped firmly as he pulled her into the crook of his thighs to rub her up and down against his hard cock. His hardness kept hitting her clit with enough pressure to make her juices run like a faucet, invoking an overwhelming need to have him seated firmly inside her. It was almost too much for her. Never had she felt such an instant connection to someone, such deep-rooted lust. She seemed possessed, the raw compulsion for sex something new and foreign.

  While one hand gripped the back of his neck, her other hand traveled down until it found his zipper. He groaned as she unzipped him and slid her hand inside, worming her way through his boxer-briefs until her seeking fingers brushed over him. Then, while still rubbing her groin over his, she grasped his hard cock. With the wetness leaking from the head, she coated her hand enough to start sliding it up and down the shaft, learning its sizeable girth and tracing the vein that bubbled from the
head. He started moving his body in tune with her manipulations, breaking their kiss so his lips could feast on her neck. He walked her backward until she hit the wall. He freed his hands. One grabbed her leg and flung it around his waist. The other hand dipped into her panties, and his finger ran along the edge of her panties, dipping under the seam to tease. Her eyes flared in excitement and anticipation. His fingertips brushed over her clit, lightly caressing the nerve cluster until she stared, undulating her hips in a silent beg for more. The pressure of his hard cock plus the softness of his fingers soon drove her out of her mind.

  “Can we continue in a more horizontal position?” she said, panting.

  “Horizontal, vertical, hands and knees,” he answered back. “Let’s try them all.”

  He withdrew his hands, pulled back from hers, and then swung her up into his arms as she wrapped hers around his neck.

  She nuzzled his skin, breathing in his scent. Warm male and spice and a hint of mint. She could dine for hours on just licking him from head to toe. A moment later, he stood her in the center of bedroom and proceeded to pull her tank top over her head. Charlotte backed up until the back of her knees hit the bed, and she sat down, wiggling her panties off.

  Slowly, Jonas took off his clothes, acting out a striptease, tantalizing with every layer peeled. The tie, the shirt, and the jeans, down to his underwear and socks. Then he stood before her, naked, and something devilish entered his gaze. He reached down and grabbed his tie before he stalked her, eyeing her like a predator about to pounce. Charlotte crab-walked backward until she couldn’t go any further, and then Jonas began to arouse her all over again.

  He leaned over her, licking and nipping his way down her body, paying close attention to each nipple. He sucked one into his mouth, laving it over and over with his tongue and teeth, while rolling the other between his fingers. Charlotte arched in pleasure, her legs falling open as if urging him to continue his exploration.

  Lost in a haze, it took her a moment to comprehend what he was doing with his tie. He gathered her wrists and slipped the silken material around them, looping the material together until it made a halfhearted knot.

  “You’re mine to do with as I please,” he whispered.

  Her hands tested their bond and found the more she moved her hands the stronger the knot became, which only intensified the thrill.

  With one last flick of his tongue, he continued his teasing with a path of kisses and nips. His fingers reached her pussy first, playing along the lips and dipping in to flick the nub that glistened with arousal. He dipped his finger in again, pressing deeper, her walls contracting on the intrusion and wanting more.

  Finally, his mouth caught up and his tongue flicked out to run along her slit, making her wither as he would dip in a bit and then pull out, following the motion of his finger as it fucked her.

  Charlotte reached with her bound hands and started playing with her nipples, tugging on them to heighten the pleasure-pain factor. Her body withered under his, her hips bucking.

  “I want you,” she moaned.

  “You want my cock?”

  “Yes,” she gasped as his mouth settled onto her clit and sucked hard. She thrashed her head back and forth, totally lost in the pleasure he wrung from her body. And just as she lay balanced on the precipice, he rose from her. She groaned her frustration, barely conscious of him pulling out a condom and sheathing himself. She lay panting as he lowered his body onto hers and, with a drive of his hips, possessed her fully.

  Charlotte gasped at the exquisite pleasure, her back arching her chest off the bed.

  “Oh fuck!” Jonas groaned into her ear. She could feel his heart jack hammering.

  She wiggled her hips in encouragement, wanting more.

  “Hold still for a moment or this will end too quickly,” he grumbled.

  Sweat poured from their bodies. Then he grabbed her tied hands and yanked them over her head, holding them in place as he rose over her, flexing his hips more firmly into her.

  “Do you know how good you feel?” he asked in a strained voice. “I could fuck you all night.”

  “God, yeah,” she answered. “Please!”

  He stared down at her as he started moving, small thrusts at first but speeding up a little at a time, going deeper with each penetration. Small popping sounds soon were heard as he pulled out only to pump back in, harder and faster. Their rhythm gathered speed, his balls slapping against her with the rocking motion of his hips.

  Charlotte strained against her constraint as he hammered into her, using his own strength against him as leverage to help him go deeper. Harder. Faster. In and out, over again. Jonas trailed one hand up her body until he found her breast, squeezing it in time with his hips. And just as she thought the pleasure couldn’t get any better, Jonas pinched her nipple, tugging it until she splintered apart in a thousand pieces.

  She might have passed out, or the world might have exploded, she wasn’t quite sure. One second she was floating somewhere in space and the next she heard Jonas groaning as he climaxed, their bodies locked together as he erupted inside her. She could feel the jerking of his cock next to her womb through the thin latex barrier.

  * * * *

  They both lay on their sides, facing each other. He had untied her hands, and the tie now lay forgotten on the duvet. They stared at each other. Studied each other. He reached out and lightly touched the necklace she always wore, a silver butterfly with a diamond in the center.

  Even though they just had sex with each other, they were still strangers, although Charlotte didn’t feel like Jonas was a stranger. No, he felt like…warm honey. Spaghetti Bolognese with drops of provolone cheese. A sandy beach in the Caribbean. A tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. Her favorite book next to a fireplace. A marathon of Dr. Who on BBC America.

  In short, Jonas Daire had become to her, in a very small amount of time, one of her favorite things. He made her happy.

  And she didn’t know what to think about that revelation.

  “The coroner’s report came in,” he said, jolting her out of her rambling thoughts.

  Charlotte blinked. It took every ounce of willpower to turn her attention around to Zach. “And?”

  “He was messed up being submerged in water for six weeks, but the ME said…he was alive when he was pushed into the water.”

  Her mouth fell open in horror. “Oh my god.”

  Jonas brought his hand up to wipe his eyes. “He, ah, he…”

  And just like that, Jonas lost control. His voice closed up, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Charlotte wrapped her arms around him, and he clung to her as his body shook. She let him ride out the emotional storm, sensing all he needed from her at the moment was her support.

  She wished she could do more. She wished she could hand Jonas Zach’s killer. Or better yet, she wished she could go back in time and prevent his death.

  Finally, his quiet sobs subsided. They continued to lie there, wrapped in each other’s arms, letting the ticking of the wall clock sooth out their heartbeats.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “Anytime,” she whispered back.

  “It was awful, reading that report. I grew up with him. He’s like…was…my brother.” Jonas shook his head. “I’ve told dozens of people the bad news of a loved one dying, and yet I never understood how it felt.”

  “What else did the report say?”

  He sighed. “He’d been beaten, with wounds around his head. No defensive wounds, which indicate that he knew the person. Toxicology results are still pending.”

  “What about the wound on his arm?”

  Jonas frowned at her. “What wound?”

  “Remember? I told you about when I had that second vision. He had a long slash on his forearm.”

  Jonas thought for a moment. “That wasn’t in the report.”

  “Shouldn’t it be?”

  “Yeah. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Jonas. I’m very sure.”

  H
e thought for a moment then pulled her in close to his body. “Then tomorrow we’ll ask Zach’s boss about it.”

  “I thought you’re not supposed to talk to witnesses.”

  Jonas shook his head. “He’s Zach’s friend. It won’t be an interrogation.”

  “Well, I never read Nancy Drew, but I’m willing to cosplay.”

  Chapter Eleven

  As the layers of sleep lifted, his eyelids opened enough to see the sunlight filtering through his windows. Jonas blinked and stretched, his calf grazing against warm, female skin, and his eyes shot open as he gazed to the other side of the bed. Charlotte slept on, her features completely unguarded. She packed a lot of energy into her small body, and he liked that he had a moment to study her without barriers.

  Holy shit, he’d had sex with the psychic.

  And it had been pretty fucking awesome.

  There’d been no denying he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Every time she’d come near his skin would sizzle with awareness, like all his nerve endings had been dunked in ice water. He’d never felt such an intense response to a woman, not even his college girlfriend who knew how to do some amazing things with her mouth.

  But what the hell had he done? He wasn’t a twenty-year-old walking hard-on anymore who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. He’d never been so crazed with lust that he virtually attacked a girl only a couple of days after meeting her. So just what the hell had he been thinking?

  The answer to that question shifted in her sleep and rolled, presenting one of the finest asses he’d ever seen. Instantly, his morning wood turned into something different, and he pressed himself into her as his arm snuck under her arm to cup one warm breast. A second later, she stretched and pushed her hips back into his groin, making his groan a little at the exquisite feeling.

  “Mm, good morning,” she murmured. “Is that a banana in your pocket or you just glad to see me?”

  “I’m not wearing any pants,” he replied as he kissed her shoulder.

  She ran her hand over his hip. “Oh, yes, so I see. You must be very, very happy to see me.”