Hurricane (Last Call #2)

by Rogers, Moira

  It had been a long time since he’d touched someone else’s magic and found anything clean. It didn’t matter that she was inviting him to violate her in ways he was sure disqualified them both for purity; her aura was pure. Her heart.

  And he wanted to protect the woman stretched out so trustingly on his bed. So break the curse. Pull every dirty trick you need to pull and break it.

  The drawer next to his bed held plenty of supplies for a night of illicit pleasure. He pulled out a couple of condoms and an expensive silver vibrator that gleamed in the flickering light from the candles.

  Her expression was part nervousness and part sharp anticipation, so he smiled at her as he dropped the condoms on the bed and stretched out beside her with his hard cock pressed tight against her hip. “First I’m going to break the curse,” he whispered, rubbing the vibrator slowly up the inside of her thigh. “But you need to come. Hard.”

  She didn’t seem as tense or hesitant as before. Instead, she wiggled her hips and tugged against the invisible bonds of magic that held her hands. “Are you going to leave me like this?”

  Even if he hadn’t been planning to, she sounded far too excited to release her now. Instead he laughed and thumbed the switch on the vibrator to turn it on. “You like it a little naughty, don’t you?”

  “I just want you.” She offered him a shy smile in place of the wicked one he expected. “I like the way you look at me when you touch me.”

  “How convenient. I like the way you look when I touch you.” He nudged her legs apart and teased the tip of the cool metal rod against her clit before sliding it down and dipping it just inside. And I thought I was turned on before… It was hard to tell what was worse, watching the end of the vibrator disappear into her cunt, or watching her face as her lips parted and she let out the world’s sexiest little moan.

  “Ben --” Fiona’s voice broke around his name, and she shuddered. Goose bumps rose on her arms, and her nipples puckered as she twisted on the dark sheets. “You have to break this damned curse,” she hissed. “I need your cock inside me like -- Yes, God, like that.”

  “Jesus, sweetheart.” He clenched his jaw and steeled himself against the way she wiggled and rubbed up against his cock. The candles flared crazily and then all went out at once as he lost his grip on his power.

  Her dismayed moan melted into a shriek that pierced the darkness. The bed began to shake just as she did, caught up in the throes of an orgasm that seemed to go on and on.

  It took every scrap of power he had to keep the backlash from bringing the walls down on top of them. He closed his eyes and ignored the way she writhed against him, ignored the way her first orgasm tumbled into another without stopping. All the power that had twisted up inside her exploded outward for one brief second, and he slipped into its place and wrapped her in his own magic, wrapped her in him.

  The freed power hit the shields he’d brought up around them and rebounded, flying back to sink into her again. Instead it hit him, and the backlash tore through the room, ripping paintings from the wall and sending his stained glass lamps crashing to the floor. Ben tossed the vibrator off the bed and covered Fiona with his body as the whirlwind of magic slowly faded, leaving them in a tiny oasis of order in the otherwise devastated remains of his bedroom.

  He rolled over with a groan and brought her with him, letting her collapse bonelessly on top of him as he smoothed back her hair with a tired but satisfied smile. “That was some curse.”

  “It’s gone,” she murmured, then raised her head and blinked, her face illuminated by the light from the windows. “You did it. Holy shit, you did it.” A laughing smile replaced her disbelief, and she kissed him.

  Ben gave into the kiss, savoring the taste of her mouth as he slid his tongue against hers. It was a slow, languid kiss, even though the press of her hips against his aching cock was its own kind of torture. At least now he could relax into it and enjoy the way she moaned and tilted her head, the way she teased at his mouth with the same skill and enjoyment as she’d sucked his cock.

  She broke the kiss as she pulled away, and he realized she was sitting up. She rocked back on his thighs, her knees pressing into the bed on either side of him, and gasped when she saw the destruction in the room. ”Oh, God. Ben, I’m sorry.”

  He dropped one hand to the tangled bed sheets next to him and groped across them until he found the condoms he’d tossed there before. Contraceptive charms were laid in every room downstairs, but even if he had thought to take such measures in his personal bedroom, he doubted any spells that delicate would have survived the backlash of her curse breaking. So he tore the package open and offered it to her, hoping he didn’t look as desperate as he felt. “Can we worry about my room later?”

  Fiona took the condom from him, a soft look in her eyes. “I’ll fix it,” she promised cryptically, then rolled the latex over his cock, her delicate hand squeezing down his shaft.

  Maybe he should have cared more about what that meant, but she was gorgeous and on display, and if she could ride a man half as well as she went down on one, he was about to have the hottest sex he’d seen in years. He arched into her hand and gave her his dirtiest little smile, the one that made women melt. “All I want right now is you, sweetheart.”

  The naughty smile Ben flashed her made Fiona’s chest tighten, and a flood of tenderness washed through her. He’d touched her with nothing but gentleness and patience, bringing her pleasure and -- more incredibly -- freedom.

  It was enough to infatuate a woman.

  She pushed the thought from her mind and braced her hands on his chest, enjoying the play of his hard, lean muscles under skin. His jaw tightened again as she aligned her hips over his, and the look in his eyes almost made her come again. She moved slowly, lowering her body inch by inch, gasping when his cock stretched her.

  His hands grasped her hips, and he held her poised a few inches above him as he rolled his hips up to fill her. A groan of pure masculine satisfaction rumbled out of his chest as he did it again, retreating and then thrusting up, this time yanking her down to meet his advance.

  If she’d known this was what she was missing, then the torment of her curse really would have killed her. Even the sweet pleasure he’d brought her before couldn’t compare with the way he fit inside her, hard where she was soft.

  A shudder took Fiona, and she bit her lip, afraid to make a sound for fear of breaking the sensual spell they’d woven. But when he drove into her a third time, his name slipped out of her on a sharp cry. She grasped his hands and watched his face as she took over, clenching her inner muscles around his cock with each movement.

  “Fuck!” His fingers tightened on her hips, but he didn’t try to guide her. He whispered something she couldn’t quite understand, and those maddening ghostly touches started up again. Hot power teased down her back and lower, tracing all the way to where they were joined. Then it split, one phantom finger sliding up to circle her clit while the other drifted back and dipped into her ass.

  “Jesus Christ.” Her head fell back. The combination of sensations was intense, almost overwhelming, but exactly what she wanted. To be taken, filled. She ground down against him even harder and moaned. “Tell me --”

  “Tell you what?” The pressure intensified along with the heat, and he slid one hand up her body to cup her breast as his gaze stayed fixed on her face. “That I love watching your face while I fuck you everywhere?”

  “Yes.” Need coiled inside her, and she leaned down to nip at his lips. “You have no idea how good this feels.”

  “I don’t?” His voice sounded hoarse and a little rough. “You have no idea how good you feel. I’ve been desperate to be inside you since you broke my damn elevator.”

  His sensuous words, his need, fueled her impatience, twisted the knot inside her tighter. She slid her mouth over his, catching his surprised noise as she lifted herself higher and slammed down on his cock. Already, she found herself rocketing toward the edge. “Too fast,” she whis
pered against his jaw. “But I can’t -- I’m going to come --”

  “Now.” It was a quiet, arrogant command, and his teeth caught her earlobe

  as he thrust up against her with a rumbling groan. “Now.”

  She drove both hands into his hair, threading the long, sweat-dampened strands between her fingers. Her lips touched his again, and she pulled away to watch him as the world spun away completely for the first time in five years. And the only thing that shattered was Fiona, in a million tiny pieces tumbling after the ecstasy that splintered through her.

  And the best part was the way his fingers clenched on her hips as he arched up one more time, hard and out of control, and groaned in release.

  Her heart pounded as she lowered her face to his neck and rocked, slowly settling into stillness. “Ben,” she breathed, shaken.

  “Shh.” His fingers skated up her back until he cradled the back of her head, the gesture gentle and oddly possessive. His other hand splayed across her lower back, and he held her there for several endless moments while his harsh breathing steadied out. “Rest, Fiona. You need rest.”

  She rolled over onto the bed, her legs still tangled with his, and said sleepily, “Just give me a minute. I’ll be fine.”

  Warm fingers coaxed her tangled hair back from her face, and she felt the soft brush of his lips against her forehead. “I’m sure you will be. After you rest.”

  “Mmm.” The bed was deliciously warm under her, and she relaxed into it. “Good night.”

  “Good night, sweetheart.” A blanket settled over her, wrapping her in warmth and Ben’s scent. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Mmm.” Her limbs felt heavy, and she smiled. “Right back.” Then she drifted to sleep.

  Ben didn’t bother to check the elevator. As soon as he had his jeans buttoned and a T-shirt over his head, he closed his eyes and used magic to step from his bedroom to the hallway that led to the dance floor. The first thing he noticed was that the emergency lights were lit, tiny blue strips along the base of the wall that made it easy to find his way to the door out to the main bar.

  The electricity was gone. Ben fought a rising surge of panic as his senses registered the unnatural quiet. The bar was never empty. Supernaturals kept odd hours and it was well worth the money he paid his staff to make sure Last Call and its more exotic services were always available.

  A whoop from the far side of the room drew his attention, and a moment later the lights flickered on. He squinted against the sudden glare and started across the room to the shapes he recognized vaguely as Bernie and Karl, his on-call electrician.

  Bernie looked up and waved him over. “Miss Hurricane did a number on this place. Had to close up shop and call Karl.”

  “Well, shit. What about the people already upstairs? They’re on a different power source, right?”

  It was Karl who nodded. “I wired the individual magical generators to trip in case of an outage, mundane or otherwise.”

  “Just not the main floor,” Bernie interjected. “And I am not hardcore enough to tend bar in the dark.”

  Karl laughed. “The upstairs rooms shouldn’t have been affected. I’ll have to recharge the generators, though.”

  It could have been worse. He opened his mouth to say so, but the words died when the front doors blew open hard enough to knock back against the wall. His remaining wards screamed a warning in his head as a familiar looking man stepped through. Ten years had passed since the last time Ben had seen Robert Carmichael, but judging by a the graying hair and eyes bracketed by deep lines, time had not been kind.

  Or the backlash of his curse breaking. Ben took a fierce satisfaction in that thought. No matter how much Robert had suffered, it was nothing compared to what Ben would do to him if the man wasn’t smart enough to turn around and leave.

  He stopped in the middle of the deserted room, still littered with empty cups and bottles, and cocked one eyebrow. “Where is she?”

  Fury gripped him. “That’s none of your concern.”

  Robert moved closer and peered at Ben. “D’Cruze. I should have known Fiona would make her way here sooner or later.” He shook his head. “She’s always known how to get what she wants.”

  “Really?” He let his disdain show as he raked his gaze down Robert’s body. “Seems to me like she wanted a little bit of satisfaction, and she never got that out of you.”

  “Fiona’s desires were a little more prosaic, I’m afraid. She wanted a career, and I gave her one.” Robert shrugged. “I suppose I lost my charm after that. But you’ll see that soon enough, Mr. D’Cruze. You vanquished the terrible curse and freed the maiden, after all.”

  “I freed this one.” His magical reserves should have been exhausted after the efforts of the evening, but anger made it easy to gather just enough power…

  He whispered the words before Robert realized what he was doing. Magic tingled through the air, just enough power to make Carmichael think that some sort of magic had been worked against him.

  The older man jerked, and his jaw hardened. “What did you do, D’Cruze, and how sorry do I have to make you for it?”

  As if he had anything to fear from Robert. Ben offered him a lazy grin and nodded for Bernie, who would be more than capable of tossing the man out into the street. “Just a little taste of your own medicine, Robert. If you’re as charming as you think you are, you’ll never even notice. But from now on, no matter how bad you want it, you’re not getting off until your partner’s satisfied. Maybe that will give you a little inspiration to learn how to please a woman.”

  The man barely glanced at Bernie, just kept staring at Ben with a mixture of disdain and pity. “Have it your way, D’Cruze. Look me up when she’s finished with you. Drinks’ll be on me.” He didn’t wait for the muscled bartender to reach him. He turned and stalked out, the doors slamming shut behind him.

  Bernie spun and fixed a hopeful look on Ben. “Please tell me his dick is going to fall off. You’d be doing the world a favor, because that is one bitter, bitter man.”

  “What, that?” Ben snorted. “That was just a little flash and light to make him think I’d cursed him. Maybe he’ll put a little bit of effort into his bedroom games until he figures it out. “

  “If he figures it out,” Bernie muttered.

  “Exactly.” Benito nodded toward the door. “Put a sign up that we’ll open again at sundown tomorrow, and get some rest. Oh, and Karl?” He waited until he had the electrician’s attention. “I need you to look at my private elevator. It’s stuck somewhere between the nineteenth and twentieth floors.”

  Karl inclined his head. “I’ll get a crew out here within the hour.”

  “Good. Tell them not to come up to the penthouse. I earned some sleep.” He grinned at Bernie before turning to the door that led to the back hallway. “But if Robert shows back up here, feel free to beat him within an inch of his life. Just don’t actually kill anyone on the property.”

  The empath yelled after him. ”And who’s going to drive me to the hospital after I pound on Mr. Grumpy’s face, Ben? You and Miss Hurricane?”

  “Nope. We’ll be otherwise occupied.” I hope.

  Fiona tugged the pilfered T-shirt down a little more and swore at the shards of porcelain in her hands. “Where the hell are the rest of you?”

  Finding the rest of the vase would require a thorough search of the room, so she set the pieces aside and picked up a ripped painting. “Oh, crap. Not the Soutine.” She ran her fingers lightly over the rift in the canvas and closed her eyes. Biting her lip, she concentrated until she felt magic run through her and into the canvas, mending the fibers and smoothing the oil back into place.

  The currents of magic in the room rippled, her only warning before she heard Ben’s low voice a few feet behind her. “That’s amazing.”

  Her eyes shot open. “It’s the only thing I can do, really. Put things back together.” Just looking at him as he lounged inside the door made her heart race. “I couldn’t sleep, an
d I told you I’d fix it, so I thought I’d get started. I hope that’s okay.”

  He pushed off the wall and strode toward her in a way that did nothing for her composure. “Don’t belittle that talent. I have massive power at my fingertips, but I never could do anything delicate with it. All of the more subtle spells in the building were cast by other people.”

  “Mmm.” She rose and leaned the painting against the nightstand, then pulled at the hem of the T-shirt she wore. “He was here, wasn’t he? I thought I felt him.” The dread had woken her from a sound sleep and driven her from the bed, like the threads of a nightmare she couldn’t quite remember.

  Ben folded his arms around her and pulled her against his chest, into the warmth and safety of his embrace. “I told you from the start, sweetheart. Robert Carmichael is no match for me.”

  It would be easy to melt into him, to ignore reality. “That isn’t --” She drew back and stared up at him. “I know what he must have said. I heard the same things from him when I left.”

  “I’m not in the habit of listening to anything that a man like Carmichael says.” He lifted a hand and rubbed his thumb along her jaw in a gesture that was more tender than sexual. “Besides, I’ve given him something else to think about.”

  Fiona tried not to smile. “You didn’t.”

  “Mmm, I sure the hell did.”

  Her shoulders shook with laughter as she hid her face against Ben’s chest. “Boils? Chronic bad breath?”

  “Nothing so crude.” His fingers stroked through her hair softly. “Let’s just say I’ve given him good reason to pay more attention to whether or not he’s treating his lady friends with the proper care.”

  She grinned. “I’d better get back to work. The Tiffany lamps alone are going to take all night.” Her hands began to tremble as she took a deep breath. “Thank you for everything, Ben.”