“Is that a deal breaker?” Ennis teased and Jase laughed.
“God no!”
Ennis fully seated himself in the tight heat of Jase’s ass and just stared into his lover’s dark eyes. Jase wanted him. He could scent that hunger, even feel it. And the demon reveled in it. The tattoos on his cock rose. They would add a hint of texture and enhance pleasure.
He began to move in him, needing to pound into him, take him hard and fast, but he fought it. He took Jase slow and easy, feet pressed into the floor as he savored the tight grip around his throbbing cock.
Jase’s face suffused was passion, eyes dilated and aroused. Ennis knew he felt the tattoos stroking inside him and liked it.
Jase kissed his shoulder. “God you feel so good. I can’t describe the feeling inside me.” Jase curved his legs around Ennis’s hips, and bit him as Ennis began to move faster.
“Jase,” he murmured. “Fuck!”
Jase held on as Ennis pounded into him, the mattress squeaking, and the sound of damp flesh slapping against damp flesh filling the air.
“Yes, Ennis!” Jase screamed.
He was so close, but he needed to hold back just for one more minute. Jase first.
He thrust into him and Jase tightened around him and chanted his name as his orgasm washed over him. One more thrust, and he felt the condom break, and the cum shoot into Jase’s ass. He threw his head back and roared his release.
* * * *
Jase groaned as he crawled to rest on Ennis’s chest and threw one leg over his a few moments later. “My ass is going to be sore.” He kissed his chest. “You were fantastic.”
Ennis stroked his back. “You were perfect.” He kissed his temple. He loved Jase’s scent. Even now he picked up that bite of citrus over the sex that perfumed the air.
He loved the light feel of him in his arms as well as that lack of demonic buzz attached to the incubus aura. Jase’s energy was harmonic like Brahm’s Lullaby. A death stalker would love him because Jase had the kind of energy that was virtually endless. Draining him was nearly impossible and feeding off him was bliss.
He was an incubus mate. A gray spade’s mate.
“Tell me about the tats. Why did you get them? What do they mean?”
“They’re the markings of a sort of secret organization I belong to.”
“Are you mafia or something?” Jase asked, stroking Ennis’s side.
Ennis laughed. “I’m not mafia.” He dumped Jase onto his back and leaned over him. “They represent the shadows within the light.” He kissed him as he stroked his chest.
Jase lightly scrubbed his nails down Ennis’s back and draped his leg over his hip, urging him closer. Ennis deepened the kiss and sighed softly.
“Me, too,” Jase said lazily. “I want to spend the night with you tomorrow night.”
“We will be spending the night together.”
“Really?”
“You will be staying with me during the time I’m protecting you,” Ennis told him firmly. “I could put guards here, but your place is too small. Besides that, they’d draw too much attention.”
“So, this is just about my protection,” he said sadly.
“J, listen. Your safety is important to me. You’re important, that’s why we’re installing a security system at your studio. I want my sub safe.”
Jase offered Ennis a tentative smile. “Your sub huh? I guess you’ll pick up dinner. Maybe we’ll actually eat some of it.”
Ennis chuckled and rolled onto his back, taking Jase with him. “Let’s clean up and eat that delicious food you slaved over the stove making, and we can savor the cheesecake I brought for dessert.”
“You’re going to turn me into a fat pig.” Jase groaned. “Maybe I should just have you for dessert.”
“Tomorrow.”
* * * *
Jase arrived early at work as usual the next morning. Ennis had asked him to wait for him. He’d said he’d go in with him after he checked something out.
He couldn’t wait hours. He had clients depending on him to have their items ready this morning. So, he’d decided to go in and be careful. He checked the studio’s alarm and found it still engaged.
No windows appeared to have been tampered with, so he unlocked the door and stepped inside to turn off the alarm. As he did so, he heard footsteps on the concrete just barely as a car passed on the semi-busy street. He turned and his eyes widened in fear as a man in a ski mask strode toward him.
Jase quickly struggled with the lock. The man yanked on the door just after he slid the bolt home. The intruder pulled a gun from the back of his pants and Jase quickly backed up and fumbled for his cell phone. He took off running as the man fired at the door, breaking the glass. He heard the heavy shards thump to the carpet and it seemed like only seconds later a firm hand closed around the back of his neck. The man’s fabric-covered fingers squeezed tight and gave him a shake.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he drawled in a voice Jase recognized.
“Easy,” Jase said in a small voice. It was the guy from the wedding. Rebecca’s not-date.
“I know you were at the Claremont wedding, I want the video you took of the murder.”
“I gave everything to the police,” Jase answered.
“Not everything,” he said. “Now, hand over the copies of what you gave them and the video footage of the murder.”
“I gave it to them,” he snapped.
He was shaken again and thrown into the wall of the narrow hallway. His intruder backhanded him and Jase cried out as the crack of pain exploded through his cheek and reverberated through the rest of his face. His hand went to his cheek as his eyes watered.
“Are you going to get me what I asked you for, or do I have to break your fucking arm first?”
Jase swallowed tightly. “The darkroom is this way.” He straightened and pointed in the direction of the darkroom.
“Let’s go,” he snarled. “Don’t pull any shit, Jase Kinney, or you are a dead man.”
* * * *
Ennis rapped on the door around the summer wreath again. Having gone over the file Rey had sent him yesterday, he’d met with Rebecca’s mother on his way to Jase’s. She’d been very forthcoming and had given him the names of Rebecca’s two closest friends. So here he was at Amy West’s home hoping she could shed some light on why Rebecca had been killed. Even the smallest clue could help him find the death stalker’s boss.
He listened intently for sounds coming from inside. Hearing nothing, he stepped closer to the door and glanced around before holding his hand over the doorknob. His fingernails elongated and he used the sharp claw to jimmy the lock open. He stepped inside to the scent of old blood and stale energy.
Son of a bitch!
He stepped over a lamp that had been knocked to the floor and spied bloodstains on the carpet and a coffee table. Ennis stepped into the hallway and stared from end to end, deeply inhaling before heading to left. The bedroom door was open and lying facedown on the floor in the middle of a ransacked room was a feminine form.
“Amy!” His voice was rough with rage as he rushed to her side. He felt for a pulse, but knew the moment he touched her she was dead. Her skin had started to cool and her life force gave off no sparks. There was spilled energy over her back where someone had pulled it from her in a hurry to feed off her.
Ennis stood and removed his cell phone and punched in Rey’s number. He sighed as he waited for him to answer.
“What’s up?” Reynard answered on the second ring.
“I’m at Amy West’s home, a friend of Rebecca’s,” he said. “She’s dead. Looks like she’s been stabbed. I touched her to check for a pulse, but I’m stepping away from the body even as we speak. Her bedroom is a freaking mess, but the rest of the place is neat as a pin.”
Reynard sighed roughly. “I’ll call it in. You can wait for them, but don’t touch anything,” he ordered. “Who’s with Jase?”
“I have someone watching
him, but I’m going to get over to his studio. I want to be there when my team gets there to put in the new security system.”
“Right. Talk to you later.”
Ennis stared down at the girl’s body. Her cell phone had been crushed and it looked like the SD card might be missing. Glancing around her small bedroom he took things in, carefully searching for anything out of place.
He didn’t see a computer or a desk so he headed back to the living room and found a small desk against a wall. The desk was neat, but there was no computer. He checked the singular drawer but there was nothing more than the usual suspects of pen and accessories. He also found a small envelope addressed to Amy from Rebecca.
Opening it, he found nothing inside and replaced it. The death stalker had probably gotten whatever it was, but most people had at least two electronic toys not counting their phone, so he headed back to the bedroom in search of a tablet.
The death stalker had been thorough, he noted as he stepped over clothing torn from drawers. A look in the closet yielded less disastrous results. Her killer had been in here, but he hadn’t done more than riffle the contents on the shelf and yank out some clothing.
Ennis didn’t find anything there, so he stepped back out and looked around the room again. The bed was the only thing really intact. He went to it and lifted the pillows. Beneath one pillow he found a tablet. He searched for an SD card slot and found one. There was no card. He turned it on, glad it didn’t require a password.
Ennis went through the files and found one labeled Rebecca. He tapped on it just as a low buzz of fear erupted in his mind.
Pushing it aside, he watched a video of a man’s murder. The man being killed was one of the victims from the file he’d compiled on the death stalker murders.
The fear became a scrape across his mind, drowning out the man’s groans as he was fed from.
Jase!
Chapter Thirteen
“The police will be here soon,” Jase told him with bravado as they stepped into the darkroom. Hope was a fleeing vessel in his mind. Darik would be here soon, but he needed someone who could protect him.
“I don’t give a shit,” he snapped. “Just get me what I want, or I’ll kill you and torch this place.”
“Okay,” Jase said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “I have to get them from the file cabinet.”
“I want the digital files erased, and I want the camera you used at the wedding.”
“You already broke the camera.” He rounded the corner to the file cabinet which was a series of open shelves neatly organized alphabetically and his cell phone burst into song. He winced.
“Who the fuck is it?” his intruder demanded.
“My boyfriend,” he said, giving the masked man a look over his shoulder.
“Course you have a boyfriend,” he muttered. “He’s obviously too dumb to work and make money to spend on you.”
“If I don’t answer he’ll come tearing over here,” Jase said in a voice oozing confidence. If only that were true. Ennis would probably think he was in the shower or something and couldn’t get to the phone.
“Don’t do anything stupid, or I’ll kill you while he listens. Now, answer it.” He showed Jase the gun which only made him want to blurt everything out and hope for the best.
He pulled his phone from its holster clipped to the waist of his pants. “Hey…umm yeah, I’m fine. I’m just working.”
“Hurry up,” the intruder muttered, keeping his voice low.
“I know I was supposed to wait for you, but I had some work to do…I really have to get this done, Ennis,” he said, fear nibbling at him as he felt the gun at his back. He didn’t want Ennis to hear him begging for his life as he was killed. “I’ll talk to you later.” He disconnected and turned his phone off. “This shouldn’t take too long,” Jase said.
“If it does, I’ll shoot you in the leg and then the knee. Now, get busy.”
“The more you remind me you’re going to kill me, the harder it gets to concentrate on where I put the files,” Jase said, hands shaking at his sides.
“Look, you sissy.” He shoved Jase against the wall, neck to the cabinet, and Jase shoved him back. “Forget the pictures, and show me your computer. We delete the cloud files and that takes care of all my problems. Then, you can hand over any copies you still have lying around. After that, you can get back to your boring-ass life.”
“Stop pushing me!” he snapped. “I’m already so worked up I can’t think! I’ll never be able to find anything if you don’t back off.”
“I do not have time for this.” He gritted the words out through clenched teeth and closed his fingers around Jase’s throat. He squeezed and Jase’s eyes widened as his attacker brought him toward him. “I am not here for a tea party but since you’re offering me refreshments I’ll just take a taste of you.”
Jase struggled to breathe and tried to stay calm. A taste of him?
“You’re a vampire?” Jase demanded. “Why did you stab Rebecca then?”
“Because the bitch was too stupid to tell me what I wanted to know, just like you.” He moved toward Jase, lips pulled back in a snarl, showing off his fangs.
“No!” Jase kicked out and his foot connected with the bigger man’s shin.
“Little bastard.” The man shook him and Jase threw a punch at him that thumped against his jaw.
His attacker used his free hand to punch him in the stomach. Jase grunted and landed another punch before the masked man hit him in the jaw, causing his head to thump against the wall. Disoriented, Jase just stood there limply as his attacker ripped Jase’s shirt open before lowering his head.
His attacker’s eyes widened, and he screeched. The high-pitched sound made Jase cry out as it attacked his eardrums.
“Son of a bitch!” His attacker roared and hit Jase again.
Jase didn’t have time to do anything more than gasp in pain before his world faded to black.
* * * *
“How could your freaking lover be one of us?” Phil raged and allowed Jase’s body to sag to the floor.
He paced away from him angrily. This was the last thing they needed. A gray spade’s scent was subtle enough to miss, but the bite on the photographer’s neck was distinct. The fangs of the gray spade had a slight curve to them.
The spade would kill him for fucking with his mate. Bastards didn’t mark anything unless they’d laid claim to it. He had to get out of there before the SOB showed up. Phil threw Jase a covert look and then sank down next to him.
He really did need a pick-me-up after that tussle. He lowered his head over Jase’s arm as his tongue snaked out.
“Jase!”
“Shit!” He released Jase and leaped to his feet. He needed to feed. He wasn’t strong enough to deal with the gray spade right now.
“Jase, answer right fucking now!” Ennis called, his voice full of command.
Phil stepped out into the corridor and headed for the back door. He was hit almost immediately from behind and taken to the floor. Phil struggled to get the other demon off him, but the incubus hit him in the side so hard he screeched.
Ennis climbed off him and flipped him over. Phil kicked Ennis in the stomach and struggled into a sitting position before throwing a small ball of navy energy with blue-black flames at him.
Ennis batted it away and threw an energy ball of his own. Phil knocked it aside before aiming one at Ennis’s ankle. Ennis jumped to avoid it and Phil knew his chances of survival were decreasing with every moment he had to expend his precious energy reserves. The gray spade would be fine in the heat, but a death stalker was truly at his most energetic at sundown.
So, Phil shifted into his demon form. He was a sooty skinned demon with yellow eyes, and the tats on his arms stood out in sharp relief. He roared, drool rolling down the corner of his mouth. He threw another energy ball. This one was black with red fire-tipped blades rising out of each side.
Ennis backhanded the ball with the tough skin of h
is blue fist and sent it into the wall. He lunged forward, knocking Phil into the wall and punching him with a fist spiked with electricity.
“Damn it!” Phil snarled as his jaw smarted from the electric jolt.
An electricity thrower? Really? What the hell had he done to deserve to run into one of these badassed gray spades? Why couldn’t the human have fallen for a non-electricity-throwing spade?
“That was just a love zap,” Ennis snapped, reaching for Phil.
Phil tried to step back. The rage in the man’s eyes was comparable to that of a mate’s. But he wasn’t fast enough. Claws scraped his side, drawing a harsh wince from him.
Phil tried to shake him off. The determination that shone in those rich copper eyes struck fear in him as a blue hand closed around his demon’s throat.
The gray spade was the most respected of the incubus breeds for their strength, their restraint, and their ability to defend their territory with a tenacity that left the gray spade and his men the only ones standing.
“Are you fucking insane?” Ennis hissed. “Going after what’s mine is a death sentence.” He drove a punch into Phil’s stomach.
Phil punched him back and gave him a shove. If he didn’t get out of here right now, he was a dead man. So, he threw another energy ball, but this one was aimed over Ennis’s shoulder. “It’s me or your boyfriend,” Phil taunted as the deadly ball spun toward its destination.
Chapter Fourteen
Ennis jerked around and the demon took off for the door. There was no one behind him except the still air. He contemplated going after him, but decided it wasn’t worth it. He would kill the death stalker but not this time.
He stalked back to Jase’s darkroom to the tune of glass being smashed. Ennis stepped into the darkroom and went to the sink to rinse the black blood of the death stalker from beneath his nails. Then, Ennis hurried to the file section where Jase lay slumped against the cabinet.
He kneeled down next him as Jase began to stir. A wave of relief washed over him. If he’d been even a second later Jase would be dead.
Seducing His Brother's Best Friend Page 7
