by Anthology
I rolled my eyes. “Subtle,” I told the demon, passing him.
He didn’t comment. He didn’t have to. Emeric didn’t share. Not within his territory, at least. He’d thankfully let me loose these last five years, dating as I wished.
Not that it mattered. The soul-mirror had a horrible side-effect. No one else would ever feel as good as Emeric. All who’d come before him had paled in comparison. Those who’d come after hadn’t held a candle to his raging inferno.
I’d gotten some serious shitty luck in my life. I really had.
I stopped at one of the small bars, crowded with all manner of decked-out Halloween-goers. The prevailing theme in the costumes was skin. I probably had the most modest costume, and my little slip of a dress didn’t leave much to the imagination.
Two bartenders sped along behind the bar, just a little faster than a human could comfortably move. They flipped bottles and shook canisters, cracking the mixers open like eggs and spilling the pink or green or red contents into plastic cups. No glass tonight. It was much too crowded.
“Ms. Von Brandt.” A female demon stepped up beside me, green latex covering her from neck to ankles. She was striking, with red hair and a splash of freckles across her cheeks.
“What are you supposed to be?” I asked her as the bartender did a double-take our way.
Red hissed, revealing blackened teeth. “Scary. Is it working?”
“Aside from the dental issues, it probably needs work.”
“Too bad.” She shrugged as the bartender hurried over to us, leaving three people waiting. He had no shirt and a slick, muscular chest. Ms. Latex leaned over the counter to be heard. “She’s VIP. Drinks on the house. She never waits.”
The bartender gave her a professional nod and slid his brown-eyed gaze with a telltale red ring around his pupils to me. “What can I getcha?”
"G&T, top-shelf. Thanks."
He nodded and bustled away.
The female demon winked at me. “If you need anything—anything at all—just click your heels three times and say Beetlejuice. I’ll appear like a genie.”
“There is so much wrong with that string of references, I don’t quite know what to say…”
She laughed and turned, fading into the passing crowd before utterly disappearing. I didn’t know what kind of demon she was, but wow. That was a handy trick.
“Here ya go.” The bartender handed over the drink, knocked on the counter, and sped away. I didn’t bother leaving a couple bucks for a tip. The VIPs tipped at the end, and my contribution would be covered by the house. I’d been down this road.
Sipping my drink, I wound through the crowd. If anyone stopped to chat me up, they grew wings and flew across the room. The splat on the other side was never pretty.
My magic didn’t pulse again, meaning Emeric had moved away. Maybe he liked that I was looking for him, or maybe he was making it clear that in this establishment, there was only him. No one else would get my time. I would be entirely taken care of, in zero danger…and reserved for him.
Anger simmered down deep, as did a thirst I could barely understand. Fuck, why did his possessiveness turn me on?
Despite my frustration, my core started to throb and my blood heated with the need to see him. To feel him.
Anger. Anger would have to cut through this desperate need.
At the stairs, I wound through the crowd to get to the second floor. Halfway up, a hot guy popped a pill, smiled with hooded eyes, and then reached out to me with another pinched between his fingers.
“Oh yummy!” The redhead dressed in green latex appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the pill, and swallowed it down. “Ecstasy. My favorite!” She winked at me again before wandering down the stairs and disappearing into the throng.
She was my babysitter, then. I’d had one of those the last time I was here, as well. This one was a lot less intrusive, though. Emeric had probably realized I didn’t really need one.
I continued up the stairs, reaching the top and feeling my magic pulse. A thrum of heat wormed through my blood and unfurled in my middle, sending shoots of pleasure through me. He was close.
I pushed through a crowd of people at the top of the stairs, looking over shoulders and between faces. My gaze zipped around, trying to find him. Desperate to lay eyes on him and dreading it at the same time. Aching to feel his tongue between my thighs and resolute that I would not.
I caught a flash of black eyes rimmed in gold between two cheerleaders with blood splatter across their chests, one with a nipple peeking out of her haphazard top. She didn’t seem to notice. I did a double-take, a shock of adrenaline coursing through me, but when the cheerleaders shifted, he was gone, replaced by a laughing cat with crooked whiskers and smudged lipstick.
A mouthwatering cologne drifted past my nose. I breathed it in while my eyes drifted shut, so fucking delicious. God, I loved that scent. Mint, blood orange, supple leather, and man. A certain man, with rock-hard abs, perfectly sculpted pecs, and soft, soft lips.
My core clenched as I turned, looking through the crowd. Pushing people out of the way. Trying to follow that scent.
Around the stairs, the crowd thinned. A large balcony to the right supported a throng of dancers, many peering over the edge to look at the main dance floors below. Cages lining sides held slinky women painted in elaborate designs. Mostly bare men swung around poles in the center of the room. Tables stood in various clusters with dancers clustered all around them, the beat throbbing through the air and pounding within me.
A large pair of shoulders encased in a sleek black suit caught my attention at the edge of the tables. A tall man moved in the way before I could hone in on them. A moment later, the shoulders were gone.
Frustrated, uncomfortably aroused, mad as hell, I continued through the press of bodies, sucking down my drink and leaving the cup on a random table. A sweaty form brushed against my side, making me grimace. A person bumped into me on my right, belching in my ear. A loud cackle made me grit my teeth. Where were the people-throwing demons when you actually needed them? I hated busy clubs.
Near the edge of the tables, I caught the scent again. Anticipation sparked within me. He’d been here. That set of shoulders had belonged to him.
Stop being so fucking excited about that fact, you idiot! I thought to myself. He’s bad news. Find out what he wants and get the fuck out. One month, and then we’re done with him forever.
I sincerely hoped it would be that easy.
I knew better than to think it would be.
I stopped at the large, busy bar in the center of the second floor, behind two rows of waiting people. The bartender paused in front of my section, leaned over, and gestured me forward. The people parted in confusion, and the bartender gave me an expectant look. My babysitter had clearly filled her in.
“Gin and tonic,” I called. “And get all these people you skipped a free drink. They deserve it. On me.”
She hesitated a moment but did my bidding. It wasn’t her job to question.
“Hey, thanks,” one of the guys said, turning to me with a sloppy smile.
“No, no.” I held up my finger to him. “Don’t talk to me. My boyfriend is insanely jealous. Just take the forthcoming drink and go dance.”
I hoped Emeric wasn’t in earshot to hear that. It might give him ideas. But it was the easiest way to get this clown to keep from chatting me up and getting his fool ass thrown across the bar.
Back in the crowd, I walked around the bar, glancing left on impulse. A tall man with impossibly broad shoulders leading down to trim hips stood in the center of an open pocket of space, his pristine suit hugging his sculpted body. His jet black hair was swept to the side, partially covering his broad forehead. Piercing black eyes circled with a flare of glittering gold watched me like prey. His incredibly handsome face was as familiar as my own, given how often he appeared in my dreams and waking thoughts.
My blood froze. My heart lurched. My glass dropped out of my suddenly limp hand
.
Two people passed in front of me, and then a crowd seemed to come out of nowhere, blocking my view.
I hurried that way, glass forgotten. I shouldn’t be chasing him. I shouldn’t be playing this game with him.
I shouldn’t be this fucking turned on.
By the time I reached the space, only his lingering smell remained.
Wetness drenched my panties. I couldn’t seem to get enough air.
“Dropped something.”
I jumped as my babysitter appeared out of nowhere with a new drink. She handed it to me with a soft smile before wandering away.
Magic curled around me, beckoning me. Pulling me. This was his magic, reaching out to me.
A bouncer waited at the stairs leading up to the third floor, the high money VIP area. The female demon saw me coming and immediately reached for the velvet rope. She was short and slight with large brown eyes and small features. Dainty. But her eyes gleamed with a killer’s cunning. Anyone foolish enough to try to push past her—and she wanted people to try—would be severely hurt for their efforts.
“Ms. Von Brandt. Nice to see you again.” She gave me a genuine smile.
Overlooking her position as Emeric’s mercenary, often breaking legs or gouging eyes to get payment or see a “favor” carried out, she was a helluva great gal. For a demon.
“Hey Pricilla,” I said, climbing the stairs. “Have you seen him?”
“I know better than to get involved.”
Her eyes glittered with suppressed mirth. She’d been my babysitter on my first visit, and we both knew she loved getting involved, right up until the point of getting punished for it. That edge between compliance and non-compliance was her favorite place to walk, so the fact that she hadn’t twitched or doled out some double entendre suggested she hadn’t seen him.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t on the third level, though. The most powerful demons could teleport, essentially. They called it fracturing, winnowing themselves through space and time and converging at a set point.
Whatever you called it, it didn’t require walking. Emeric, being quite powerful, could travel large distances. Farther if I was at the endpoint. Even without a bond, he could use our mirror connection to draw himself to me. This was true everywhere except in certain pockets of the world that naturally repelled demonic magic. Greensford, Oregon was such a place. Once I made it there, he wouldn’t be able to use our mirror to teleport to me, or even to find me.
The third floor closed down into shadowy rooms and little alcoves. These intimate dance floors hosted slinky girls and guys who’d been brought up for their appearance. Their benefactors looked on, watching the show they had essentially paid for. The bar had muted lighting and two bartenders moving more slowly, both of them human. They were here to both comfort the human VIPs and offer a little thrill to high-powered demons that wanted to skirt the line of propriety. By rule, no visiting demon could make a sport of their host’s staff.
The not-so-good demons believed rules were meant to be tested, however. Hosts were pushed to see how far they would bend.
Emeric enjoyed the game, and his employees were paid handsomely to be the bait.
“Gin and…” I looked down at my full drink.
“Tonic.”
The deep voice coated my flesh in delicious shivers. I closed my eyes as a wave of pleasure washed through me.
Emeric.
I turned very slowly, and it felt like fireworks were going off in my stomach.
He stood about a foot taller than me, his black tie smooth against a black dress shirt. His suit screamed expensive. He looked down on me with those black eyes rimmed with gold. So unique. So expressive. So incredibly appealing, like his face. If I was an angel tonight, he was an angel of death, terrible but beautiful to behold.
His thick black brows swooped low over his eyes, lending to that piercing, focused gaze. His straight nose ended above perfectly shaped lips, the bottom a little fuller than the top. His cheeks hollowed between sharp cheekbones and a severe jaw, giving him an intense look that fit his overwhelming presence. He entranced the eyes, conjuring up a needy longing in me so great that I half wanted to weep with it, and half wanted to knife it out of myself and then knife him.
A flare of anger gripped me. Losing control of my temper, I splashed my drink in his face.
Someone gasped.
To the bartender, Emeric said, “She’ll collect that drink later.”
He reached out and grabbed me, and I knew I was in trouble.
4
Lights and sounds roared around me like a train was bearing down on me in a tunnel. The world spun, my stomach lurched, and my knees threatened to give out.
Emeric caught me, pulling me up against his hard chest. Soft light flowed over his annoyingly handsome face, softening it to the point of heartbreaking. I could barely breathe as I clung to his muscular shoulders and looked up into his eyes.
He bent, his lips aiming for mine, his passion a great swell threatening to sweep me away.
“No!” I struggled out of his grasp. “No!”
Standing on my own, I breathed deep, seeing that we were in his suite in the club.
“Why did you force me to come back, Emeric?” I demanded, clinging to my anger. “What do you want?”
“I didn’t force you to come back.”
“Jack had a different interpretation of your orders.”
“You could have killed Jack and gotten out of the car. You could have killed them all. You haven’t done much with your magic, but you’ve at least learned that no mortal can trap you, yes?”
I stared at him mutely, not acknowledging the answer.
Pride sparkled in his eyes. “I was not forcing you, I was manipulating you. I wanted to tell you in person that the house you planned to rent in Oregon has been sold. Don’t bother looking for another—any that you can afford will be sold by the time you get there.”
“Let me guess,” I said softly. “You?”
“You didn’t think I would make it easy for you, did you?” His grin made my mouth water. It made my rage soar. “It’s time for you to accept your destiny. You will stay, and you will train. You need to be able to protect yourself. You’re old enough now. In that time, you will give in to me. Over and over. I know how hard it is for you to submit, and how much pleasure you get from it. I will give you all that you crave and more. You’re mine.”
“You insufferable bastard.”
I seethed with rage and frustration...and my uncontrollable desire to feel him thrusting into me with reckless abandon, dominating me to the point of an incredible orgasm. I wanted him to lose control, something I knew he hated as much as I hated submitting. Hated it.
Craved it.
I slapped him across the face. My magic pulsed into the air around me. It slammed into him, grew, and then slammed back into me. Before it could fizzle, something that would happen without the bond to secure it, I rode the high and shoved forward, hitting him center mass and throwing him back.
He grabbed my wrists and then sailed through the air, not twisting to protect himself or flailing from the assault. He just held on, pulling me with him. Hitting the ground, bouncing, and dragging me on top of him.
He let go of my wrists, wrapped one arm around my back and tangled the other in my hair. His lips crashed against mine, bruising in their intensity. Delicious. His hard bulge pressed against my stomach, and desire pulsed hard and hot within me.
Unable to help it, unable to stop wanting it, knowing it had been inevitable from the moment I stepped foot inside this club, I pulled my knees forward to either side of his hips. I pushed up until that hard bulge rubbed against my sodden panties, my pussy incredibly wet from the game of cat and mouse leading up to this moment.
He groaned, releasing my hair and running his hands down my sides and to my thighs before starting back up, pushing my dress up my body and over my head. He tossed it away before returning his palms to cup my breasts, running a thumb over a se
nsitive nipple.
I panted, working feverishly to loosen his tie and unbutton his dress shirt.
His hands gripped my shoulders and he rolled us, pressing my body into the rug as his kiss built in passion. I shoved his jacket off his shoulders and then got back to work on his shirt, buttons popping off in my haste. He braced his palms to the sides of my face and pushed off, sitting back to yank off both shirt and jacket and toss his tie after them. He grabbed my panties and yanked them off over my fishnet thigh-highs, pushing my knees apart and bending between my spread thighs.
His tongue licked up through my folds, tugging a heated moan from me. His mouth settled on my clit as first one finger and then another threaded into my pussy, plunging steadily as he sucked in pulses.
“Oh fuck,” I breathed, gripping his hair and gyrating into his mouth. His tongue flicked from side to side, his fingers still working, his other hand reaching up to manipulate a sensitive nipple. The feeling running through me was incredible. Indescribable. The power pinging between us... The magic blistering and sparking all around... The electricity of his touch... It was unlike anything else I’d ever experienced, except for with him.
“Emeric, fuck me. Please.”
He growled but kept going, working faster. Sucking harder. I arched into him. Writhed against the rug under my bare back. My body wound tighter. My muscles constricted. I whimpered under the onslaught of his fingers. And then I exploded, the orgasm tearing a scream from my throat. My body shook and convulsed. No other climax could compare to the ones he gave me, not even the ones I achieved by myself. The soul-mirror heightened our sensations, just like it did our magic, pleasure passing back and forth and growing stronger. A bond would make it even more intense.
I wanted to know what it was like…as much as I didn’t.
He left me panting and languid on the ground while he pushed to standing and undid his pants. He slid them and his boxer briefs to the ground. His large cock sprang up, ready for me.
My mouth salivated to taste him, something I’d never, ever wanted with any other man and it annoyed me to no end. Also turned me on. Something about him was different. Something about the taste called to me, just like his smell and his presence. Magic, obviously.
