by Jacey Ward
His stomach clenched at the memory of exactly how he had pleasured her earlier, but also how he had drawn it out. Longer than she ever thought she could have survived. The orgasm had been cataclysmic – so powerful that neither of them would ever forget it.
As her lips began moving lower, her hand caressed his thigh. His balls clenched in anticipation as his cock jerked with impatience.
“Hmm, what do you want, Kalen?” she asked with a sultry voice as her fingers slid down to grasp his sac.
“Be careful, baby. You’re playing with fire,” he growled.
He barely breathed as he watched her move between his thighs, her hand grasping his cock lightly.
Ah hell. He could barely breath as he watched her, her tongue reaching out and teasing the head of his shaft.
“Fucking hell, Circe!” Every muscle in his body tightened as shots of sensual energy flowed from her tongue to his cock.
Then, in a move designed to destroy his mind, her lips parted and her sweet, hot mouth wrapped around the head of his shaft, pulling him deeply into heaven.
Her tongue rimmed the top of his shaft, paying special attention to the bundle of nerves under the flared head. Her hand stroked his shaft simultaneously, blowing his ever-loving mind.
“Enough!”
Desperate, desire nearly tearing him apart, his fingers clenched in her hair, he drew her mouth from the pulsing head of his cock and pushed her onto her back.
A gasp rose from her as she found herself firmly beneath him once again. Anticipation flowed through her as she watched him move between her thighs, pushing them apart, his mouth lowering to her core.
Sensations exploded through her as his tongue streaked over the sensitive bundle of nerves in her clit. She felt the passion rise even higher in her, she was burning, the firestorm building to uncontrollable levels.
With each lick and each tantalizing suck, her forced her body to his whim, taking her to heights she hadn’t known existed before meeting this demon. The need for orgasm built until she felt tortured, almost lashed by each fiery streak of passion tearing through her.
He teased and tormented her, building each sensation until when she exploded, the cataclysm was mind-numbingly explosive. The convulsions rocked her over and over until she almost wept with the pleasure.
Before the spasms could ease, he was rising over her, pausing briefly at her breasts to tongue each nipple, then treat it to a series of sharp little bites, just enough to send her body into another paroxysm of ecstasy.
“Beautiful. So fucking beautiful…” he whispered, almost to himself.
He lifted her thighs and spread them wide. He leaned his hips forward, and the steel-hard crest of his shaft pressed deeply into the folds of her pussy.
Circe felt the stretching burn as he pushed into her, gasping at the pleasure, the sense of being complete, that always seemed to overcome her when he thrust into her body. She moved her hips upward, trying to try him even deeper within her.
“Look at me, love.” The demand was rough and she was helpless to ignore it. “Let me see your eyes as I take you over the edge again.”
Her hands raised from the sheets, clenching at the muscles of his chest. She felt the power beneath her fingertips and that somehow made her even hungrier for him to possess her.
A strangled cry tore from her as he suddenly shifted the angle of his plunge, sinking deeper into her, pounding that sensitive spot deep inside her.
The world receded as explosions went off behind her eyelids. Breathless cries escaped as her world became only him, only the pleasure he could bring her. Each impalement forced streaks of pleasure/pain through her body, the feelings tearing through her senses as the ecstasy finally overcame her one final time.
Her violent shudders of release milked Kalen’s cock and the pleasure tore through every muscle in his body. His sack tightened and the fire raced through him.
He roared his satisfaction and she felt every pulse of his release inside her. When the last spasm ended, he fell to the side, rolling her with him so that they remained joined at their cores. He gathered her in close and kissed the top of her head lightly.
“You could be the death of me, Valkyrie,” he whispered into her hair.
The moment felt touched with a powerful magic and neither partner was ready to break apart.
Why does the world always have to intrude? both silently asked themselves.
7
The feeling of dread growing inside Circe had nothing to do with the search for Uvall which was going nowhere.
In fact, for thirty-six hours, she and Kalen had remained in their suite, playing chess, making love and watching movies as they waited for word from Kalen’s associates as to where the demon might be.
Circe felt as if she hadn’t eaten as much in her entire life as she had in that suite.
“They’re going to need to roll me down the runway at Fashion Week,” she groaned, laughing. But it didn’t stop her from opening her mouth to accept another chocolate covered strawberry from his fingers. It was incredible to let loose and be spoiled and she relished the feeling, knowing how fleeting it would be.
At first, Circe had wondered if Kalen was even looking for Uvall. Something made her think that he was looking for a reason to whisk her away for a few days and keep her for himself.
It didn’t upset her in the least; not really. It was charming to believe that he desired her enough to want to do that, but as the hours ticked by, it became increasingly obvious that Kalen was becoming as stressed as she felt - but for different reasons.
Whenever the phone rang, they both jumped.
From her end, Circe knew it could only be one person; Analeigh. The model’s voicemail was surely already full, the agent livid that she had checked out of the Mercer without a word to anyone and had not met the other models at LaGuardia for their flight to Italy.
Circe couldn’t bring herself to answer, even knowing that this act of insolence was going to be taken out on her fellow models. But Uvall’s capture took precedent. Or at least that was what she told herself.
Anyway, I’ll be back in time for Fashion Week. She’s getting her knickers in a knot for no reason.
It became clear, however, that Kalen hadn’t simply sidelined the Valkyrie for the mind-blowing sex, because with each call he took, he became more annoyed.
“Where the actual hell could this bastard be hiding?” he snapped, smashing the phone into the sofa after yet another disappointing call.
“How do you even know he’s still here in New York?” Circe asked curiously.
“It was the last known sighting,” Kalen explained. “But you’re right, he could be anywhere by now. It’s been days since anyone has seen him.”
“It’s gotta be hard for him to move with every Deviant in the country looking for him. It’s a miracle he made it across the country without being nabbed.”
“Yeah, well our lovely sorceress Rowan helped him with that. He boarded a plane and was almost snatched in the airport but Rowan enshrouded him with a temporary veil and he was gone before anyone could get a handle on him again. He’s off the radar, no cell, no hotels. He’s living like…”
“A troll?” Circe offered, watching his face closely as she said the word. She had noted the pained expression when she had brought up the subgroup of Deviants the previous day and she wondered why it had bothered him so much.
It was true, the trolls were undesirable, but they were no real threat to anyone. They were like raccoons; annoying and a little devious, but generally they kept to their own kind. In fact, they had almost disappeared several hundred years ago and no one heard much about the race any longer. Yet Kalen seemed to cringe at their mention.
I wonder why.
“Yes,” Kalen said quickly. “Like trolls.”
He shifted his eyes away and turned his attention out the window but Circe was intrigued by the idea.
“Is it possible that he’s located trolls here and is hiding among them?�
�
Kalen’s face turned opaque at the suggestion, his eyes flashing a prism of greens, yellows and browns as he shook his head.
“There are no trolls here,” he growled. “You said so yourself.”
“Well, I only know what I’ve heard. All groups manage to survive. Hell, there are still living Zoroastrians living in the world. Who’s to say that a few trolls didn’t stay behind and rebuild in the undergrounds. Maybe we should check abandoned subway – “
“No!” Kalen roared and Circe’s mouth parted in shock at his tone. Immediately, a look of contrition fell over his face.
“Trust me, Uvall is not with the trolls. He’s above ground.”
Circe’s eyes became slits.
“What is it with you and the mentions of trolls?” she demanded, unable to keep silent.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t? You just bit my head off for mentioning them and every time I say the ‘T’ word, you get a funny look on your face.”
“You’re imagining things,” he said flatly. “Anyway, we’re talking about Uvall.”
“I think it’s worth a shot to check out the underground tunnels. Hell, trolls could be living among the homeless, and gods know, there are thousands of them in NYC. We can’t just sit here anymore, Kalen. I have to leave for Milan in a day and a half. I have contractual rights to fulfill, Kalen. I’m in enough shit as it for being here.”
She had not meant to say the last sentence.
“Why?” he demanded. “Why are you in shit for being here? Are you supposed to be somewhere else?”
“Yes!” Circe exploded. “I’m supposed to be in Milan!”
“Not until Friday. It’s Wednesday. Who’s giving you a hard time?” He stood up, looking ready to fight the person that was pressuring her immediately.
“There are parties to attend,” Circe sighed, wishing that she was not having the conversation. “We’re expected to be at events.”
This is your own fault. You brought it up.
“Expected by whom? Is that in your contract?”
“Not exactly…”
Circe exhaled in exasperation.
“It’s complicated. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You have to admit, sitting here is not solving anything.”
“Circe, if Uvall catches wind of me anywhere near, he’ll disappear so fast, none of us will have a chance.”
“Fine. I’ll go looking for him.”
Kalen growled.
“You think you’re any match for a fallen demon lord and a high priestess? He knows who you are, Circe. No, we have to wait until we have intel. I’m sorry but that’s the end of it.”
She shrugged and sank back into the sofa.
“Fine,” she replied. “But thirty-six more hours and then I have to go.”
“Not if I order you to stay.”
She balked, her eyes becoming slits.
“Excuse me?” she choked. “You would order me to stay?”
Kalen’s face twisted into stone and for the first time since she had met him, Circe felt a stab of fear as she stared at him.
“Don’t make me do it,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be making you,” she hissed. “You would be making me. How can you even ask that of me? You’d be putting my entire career on the line.”
She searched his face for any sign of remorse or shame but she saw nothing, her back tensing.
It was all an act. He’s a Deviant, through and through. I was just clouded by the amazing sex. Now that I’ve succumbed to him, he thinks he can control me.
Circe was furious with herself and she swallowed her anger.
“We’ll see what happens,” Kalen told her and she wrenched her hands out of his, bile rising through her. She wished she had not flushed her phone down the toilet.
Someone pounded on the door and they both turned toward the sound.
“Did you order room service?” Kalen demanded. Circe only shook her head stiffly.
She watched as Kalen moved out of her line of sight, silently making his way toward the door.
“Who is it?” he called, his voice gravelly. For a split second, she thought she heard some regret but it was gone before she could be certain.
“It’s me.”
She didn’t recognize the man’s voice through the door but Kalen seemed to, the swear tearing from his lips giving clear indication that he was not happy with whoever was there. Circe heard him opening the door.
“What the hell are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?”
A stunningly handsome stranger sauntered into the suite and Circe rose.
A vampire.
“Oh…” the immortal said when he saw her. “I didn’t realize you had company. I’m Evander St. James.”
He stretched out his hand to introduce himself but Circe was far too angry to accept it.
“And I was just leaving to find my own suite,” Circe replied, shooting Kalen a scathing look. “You can call the front desk to find out where that is if you should need me.”
“Circe, wait!” he growled, but before he could speak again, another figure shuffled into the room, dragging a gimpy leg behind him.
“You brought him?” Kalen roared at Evander. Circe gasped and stared at the troll in shock.
Is that why he didn’t like me mentioning trolls? Because he works with one?
Circe felt a slight sense of shame in her gut as she thought about what she had said about the creatures. She had no right to be so judgemental of the beasts, just because they were unattractive. After all, she had never known one personally. But whatever shame she was feeling did not override the fury she had toward Kalen in that moment.
“Yes, sire. I have missed you, sire!” the troll gasped as Circe shoved past the group toward the door. Kalen’s hand shot out and clasped her slim forearm.
“Wait,” he snapped again. “We’re not done talking.”
“I am done talking!” Circe yelled, pulling her arm free. “Obviously you can force me to stay if you want, but I won’t spend another minute in this suite alone with you.”
“You cannot speak to my lord like that!” the troll hissed, his broken body lurching toward her. “He is the leader of the Corpus! You must show respect!”
She looked at the troll, his drooping face earnest and upset, before turning her head toward Kalen. She felt as if the world had slowed entirely, her movements exaggerated.
“Is this true?” she whispered, her heart freezing in her chest. “You’re from the Corpus?”
“He is the leader!” the troll insisted and suddenly, Circe was dizzy.
“Oh gods…” she mumbled, throwing out her arms as if she had suddenly become blind as she felt her way toward the door.
How had she not put it together? Of course, he was the lord of the mafia underworld, he damn near exuded leadership and power.
It had not occurred to her because that way of life was so removed from anything she had known in the Americas. The Corpus reigned in the Old World, but she had never had any dealings with them. Rumors, though, abounded. The organization was powerful and sometimes vicious – it had to be, the Deviants it ruled over were the most vicious of all the Deviant species.
And now I’m in the middle of some obscure mob hit on Uvall? Why didn’t I listen when I told myself to stay away from demons? Nothing good has ever come from demons…Arya just got lucky.
Circe wondered if her envy of her best friend’s life had clouded her better judgement with Kalen, but there was no time to wallow in her poor choices, not when she still stared him in the face.
“Anderly, shut your fucking mouth!” Kalen hissed, but Circe was already gone, running down the corridor toward the elevator.
“Circe! Stop!”
She whirled, her eyes glassy with disbelief.
“What?” she barked. “What could you possibly say to make this okay?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you – “
“Whi
ch part? That you’re the leader of the mafia or that you used me?”
At least he has the decency to look away, she thought sarcastically.
“Circe, this doesn’t change anything – “
“It changes fucking everything! You’re not chasing Uvall for the good of the Deviant world. You’re chasing him because he owes you money that you gave him for the purposes of the uprising! You were banking on him winning the civil war and you lost!”
“No – “
“Just leave me alone, Kalen. You’re on your own. Find another patsy to help you with this sick search of yours.”
She was shuddering with anger as she spun back toward the elevators when his voice rang out again, tearing through her heart.
“I can compel you to stay.”
The steel in his voice twisted the knife in her heart but she steeled herself against any emotion, turning toward him, a deadpan expression on her face.
“Your threats might work in the slimy mob hell you run,” she retorted. “But if you force me to stay with you, I will be forced to call on Dante.”
It was the last thing in the world Circe would ever want to do. Having to admit to Arya that she had done such a wickedly stupid thing was more than she could bear.
I am supposed to be the strong one, the protector. I can’t bring this to Arya and Dante.
But she would swallow her pride if the alternative was remaining under Kalen’s rule.
The mobster leader stared at her, his teeth gritting in fury at her threat.
“Yeah,” she spat. “That’s what I thought. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch. I’ll send for my bags.”
With a heavy, sick feeling in her chest, Circe forsook the elevator and darted down the fire stairs. She couldn’t bear to look at Kalen for one more minute.
8
“Why have you come here?”
He didn’t even recognize his own voice, his fury beyond anything he had ever known in his life.
Evander seemed to realize that he had crossed a line, more so by bringing along the troll than by showing up himself, but it was done and the vampire knew he could do nothing but stand strong in the face of Kalen’s threatening visage.
