Embrace the Night (18 page)

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Authors: Crystal Jordan

BOOK: Embrace the Night
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A chuckle slipped out, and he lifted his head to look down at her. “Would two or three orgasms before I get to come be penance enough?”
She sniffed. “Three.”
“I'll see what I can do.”
“Good.” Humor glinted in her eyes, the shifting kaleidoscope of greens and browns, blues and golds, all the clearer from this close.
He licked his fingertips, lifting his torso to be able to reach between them. Stroking his damp fingers over her clit made her gasp and writhe, which forced his cock even deeper inside her. They both groaned, but he continued toying with her while her flesh grew wetter, her muscles flexing around his shaft. She squirmed beneath him, the gold flecks in her eyes glowing with magic.
“Do you want me to use spells, or should we do this the old-fashioned way?” He let his fingertips circle her clit with slow, deliberate promise, so she'd know exactly what she was in for.
She lifted her hips into his caress. “Is that really a question?”
Chuckling, he let a spell vibrate down his arm and out through his hand. Her eyes went wide, and she screamed, arching as she came for him, her pussy fisting around him. A wave of her magic hit him, skated over his skin, and lodged in his belly, a slow fire that made his cock jerk. He had to grit his teeth and run through police procedure in his mind to keep from coming with her.
“That's one,” he said when he could speak again. Sliding out of her made him groan, but he knew he wouldn't last if he stayed inside her for her next orgasm.
Kissing his way down her torso, he let his tongue flick out to taste each plush nipple in turn. They tightened for him, darkening to a deep raspberry. He sucked one hard, and his fingers plucked and twisted the other. Sending a light shock from the tip of his tongue made her jolt and squeal. Her thighs closed around one of his, and she rubbed herself against him.
He grinned, kissed his way upward to lick her throat, and sent a swift tingle to her from every inch of skin that touched her. She shivered, gooseflesh breaking out. Working her with his thigh, he rocked against her pelvis until she gasped his name in his ear, nipped at his shoulder, and sucked on his earlobe. “Please, Merek. I'm going to come again. Please.”
He rode her clit with his leg, flexing the muscles until they burned with the strain. Her nails raked down his back, sending wicked pleasure into his flesh, a spell that made him choke with need. She arched under him, the magic they used cycling, reverberating, expanding their ecstasy until a hoarse cry burst from his throat. Her wetness increased, the scent intoxicating as it dampened the hair on his thigh. Gods, he wanted inside her, wanted that wet heat hugging his cock. He groaned against her neck, biting down on the tendon.
“Merek!” Her fingers dug deep into his shoulders, and he felt her pussy spasm against his leg. She gave a little sob as she bucked in his arms. He held her in place, sliding down to kiss the soft curve of her belly, nip at her navel, until he reached the part of her he wanted most. She whimpered, “Oh, gods. I don't think I can . . .”
“Nuh-uh. Two more for you, and one for me. No backing out now, Standish.” How many times would he need to make her come before she was exhausted enough to sleep through a dark night in the wilderness? He was about to find out. Flicking his tongue against her swollen clit, he heard her broken moan.
“Please,” she whispered, but her fingers slid into his hair, holding him close to her slick sex. Gooseflesh broke over his scalp from a fresh pleasure spell. His hips arched in reflex, rubbing his cock against her sleeping bag.
It felt too good, and he fought to keep from moving his body in the same rhythm he worked hers. Turning his head, he bit the inside of her thigh. Hard. She choked, her fingers clenched painfully in his hair, and her back bowed. “Yes, Merek!”
Forcing her thighs flat to the sleeping bag, he opened her for his feasting. The sweetness of her cream flowed into his mouth, and he buried his tongue in her soaking pussy, thrusting until he felt her excitement crest. Her low cries, her pleading moans, kissed his ears. He formed his lips around her clit, sucking it hard. Sinking his fingers into her hot sex, he stroked her until she could take three fingers easily. Her channel clamped down on him, and he bit her clit, holding it between his teeth as he flicked his tongue rapidly across the little nub.
“Merek . . . Oh, gods. Oh,
gods!
”
The feel of her squeezing around his fingers, the scent of her musky passion, the sobbing cries, snapped his control. He bolted upward, settling on top of her, and shoving her thighs even wider with his. He thrust deep, the last of her contractions wringing his cock. Kissing her lips, he let her taste her own wetness while he began moving within her. He couldn't hold back, couldn't stop.
Inside the tepee, he didn't have to worry about a Normal seeing the lightning bolts of his favored pleasure spells like he had in the lake. Here, he could make her writhe and scream for him. He licked a slow path up the side of her throat, sending a jolt here and there with the very tip of his tongue. She sucked in a breath, but arched her neck for him. Her nails raked down his back, her own spells making the pleasure-pain burn beneath his skin and spread.
The pace he set was hard, pounding, punishing. She wrapped her legs around his waist, lifting herself into his thrusts.
“Sweetheart, you feel so fucking good.” And so fucking tight. Her passage was so narrow and swollen, she squeezed him in an iron grip.
Grinding his hips downward, he sent a bolt of magic sizzling into her hard little clit, down the length of his cock and into her creamy pussy, stimulating them both until they groaned and shuddered at the intensity.
She squirmed beneath him with a gasp, her lush breasts rubbing against his chest. “Merek! Gods, yes. I love it when you—
Merek!
”
His name on her lips was enough to send him over the edge. He forced his eyes to remain open, to watch her come with him. He loved the look on her face as those sharp hazel eyes glazed with fulfillment. Fulfillment he'd given her. It was the most potent aphrodisiac he'd ever known. His back hunched, his hips bucked, and he slammed his dick hilt-deep into her sleek pussy. He jetted his come into her, letting go of the unraveling edges of what remained of his discipline. “Chloe!”
Long, long moments later reality began to return by degrees. He lay sprawled on top of her, breathing in the female scent of her. He had to be crushing her, so he hauled himself up onto his elbows to keep from smothering her.
Gods, he'd been wild, out of control, savaging her. He winced as his gaze snagged on a lurid bite mark forming just below her collarbone. It wouldn't be visible with a shirt on, but he'd know it was there, know he'd marked her. What the hell was wrong with him that he liked that idea? He wasn't one of the fanged races, but it didn't stop the primitive, possessive pleasure that coursed through him at seeing
his
bite on
his
woman.
She could heal the mark in the morning, and she'd probably hex his ass if she knew what he was thinking. But she hadn't said so much as a word since they'd climaxed. Concern punched through him. He swallowed a hard lump of dread, and forced his gaze away from the bruise.
“Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
But she was already asleep, her hair fanned out on the pillow, her cheeks ruddy, and her breasts rising and falling in the slow cadence of deep slumber. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and couldn't help the smile of satisfaction that curled his lips. Sliding out of her made him grit his teeth and sweat break out on his forehead. Gods, but he wanted her. Still. Again. Always.
Rifling through her suitcase produced a nightshirt, which he managed to work over her head without waking her. If he lingered when tugging the shirt down over her breasts, smooth belly, and supple thighs, no one would ever know except him. She was so beautiful.
He forced himself to move away from her to go and dig through their camping supplies until he came up with a small, battery-powered lantern. Flipping it onto its lowest setting, he deposited it beside her. The batteries were new, so they should last all night long. Then he went and gathered up Ophelia. She mewed in annoyance, but he petted her until she relaxed. Laying her in the sleeping bag with Chloe, he covered them both up. He might not be able to hold her, but he wouldn't make her spend the night alone.
Bending forward, he kissed her forehead gently, so as not to awaken her. “Sleep all night, and have only sweet dreams.”
It was a benediction, a prayer, a wish, and if he was lucky, a spell that would make it so. Her inner demons could unravel his magic, but he hoped they slept tonight, too.
8
“I
want everything we don't absolutely need in the morning loaded in the car tonight before Alex heads out.” Merek growled the command as he picked up Chloe's biggest suitcase and his own duffel bag.
Alex and Chloe stared at him for a long moment, but then Alex shrugged and went to get his stuff. Chloe plucked a few things from her smaller suitcase and then closed the lid. “I'll keep out the clothes I'm wearing tomorrow. We can just load up the rest.”
“Okay, I'll do the same,” Alex said as he shuffled clothes around, zipped up his backpack, and slung it over his shoulder. Then he followed Merek to the car and helped him stow all their gear.
When they were done, the only things left out were the sleeping bags and pillows, two lanterns, and a few personal items.
Still, Merek's shoulders twitched. It was an itch he couldn't scratch, and it had started just as they were cleaning up after dinner. The feeling had only intensified as the sun sunk toward the horizon. He had no idea what was coming, but he knew something was. He didn't even know
when
it was coming. Tonight, tomorrow, next week.
He. Didn't. Know.
Fuck.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he suppressed the frustration that roared within him. There was nothing he could do about this now. His precognition was unreliable in this situation. He could only be as prepared as he could be. It was ironic that he normally had to have a stranglehold on his sight, and now that he'd give anything to call it up, it had abandoned him to the same blind fate that most people dealt with all the time.
“Hey.” Chloe's softness pressed to his back, her arms wrapping around his waist from behind. “You want to tell me about it?”
He sighed and let his hand drop away from his face. The lake stretched before him, as smooth and unruffled on the surface as he usually was. The thought didn't reassure him at all. “There's nothing to tell. I don't know anything. I can't
see.
”
“You're doing the best you can.” She pressed her forehead between his shoulder blades, her fingers moving in soothing circles on his stomach.
He caught her hand in his, flattening it to his belly. Much more of her stroking and his body would respond with embarrassing enthusiasm. “It might not be enough.”
“I know that.” She slipped around until she leaned against his front. Tipping her head back, she met his gaze. “Alex knows that. There aren't any guarantees.”
“If anything happened—” He choked off the sentence, unable to finish it, but he forced the words to grate out. “I can't watch you die, Chloe. I can't.”
“You won't have to.” She propped her chin against his chest, cuddling closer. “I know you'll get us through this. We're going to be fine.”
He snorted to cover the depth of his reaction to her trust in him. He'd wanted it, and now he had it. “Did the voices tell you that?”
She pinched his butt. “No, my precognition isn't really strong enough for that. I just know that I trust you, and I have faith that we'll come out of this okay. I have to believe that.”
“Why?”
A sigh flattened his T-shirt against his chest before she dropped her arms and stepped away from him. “Because you and Alex don't. So, that's my job.”
He caught her hand, keeping her close. She gave him a soft smile when he lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Thank you.”
She shook her head. “Thank
you.
For everything.”
For coming along on this case with her and Alex? For last night? The words hovered on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to know if her gratitude was specific to
her,
to
them,
or just for his being a cop. Why he was making that distinction now, when he normally thought of himself as a cop first and foremost, was beyond him.
He was saved from making a bumbling ass of himself by Alex. “The moon's going to rise in about ten minutes. You guys need anything from me before I shift? I like to Change before the moon goes up. I don't know if that makes my chances any better because I can already feel how it pulls at my bones, but . . .”
The kid trailed to a babbling close, his fingers clenching and unclenching, his eyes red-rimmed, his body twitching with all the signs of a junkie just off a bender.
Merek nodded. “Do what you have to do. We'll be here when you get back. I want to head out at first light, so you can crash in the car on the drive.”
“Sounds good.” Alex nodded with the speed and elasticity of one of those wobbly-headed dolls. “I'll be back as soon as the moon starts to set.”
“Take care of yourself.” Chloe stepped forward, lifted up on tiptoe, and popped a kiss on his cheek. “Try not to get in any trouble.”
He flashed a quick grin, which bared his long, curved fangs. “I never do.”
“I know.” She stepped back while he paced in a restless circle. “You're an awesome kid. Young man. Whatever.”
“Thanks.” That wild smile shone again, then a shudder rippled through him as the last rays of the sun began to fade from the horizon. “Gotta go.”
Spinning, he all but flowed into the tepee, his body so primed to Change it'd probably taken all his control to stay in human form as long as he had.
Merek tensed as he heard the kid shifting, and held his breath, waiting to see if Alex made it over or if they lost him right there. Chloe reached back for his hand blindly. He took her hand, hauled her to his side, and felt her flinch at each sound of a bone breaking. Sweat popped out on his forehead, trickling down his temple and sticking his shirt to his back. His gut churned as the silence stretched on for long, long moments and there was no sign of Alex.
Somehow, this hadn't occurred to him as a possibility, that they might lose the contained young wolf just because he was a wolf. Merek's jaw clenched. He should have seen it coming. The boy's mother had died the same way, Chloe had told him so. He let go of her hand, met her haunted gaze for a fleeting moment, and then strode toward the tepee. “I'll check on him.”
Check and see if he'd made it through, but the eerie silence was damning. Every footfall rang too loudly in his ears. He didn't want to go in, didn't want to see, didn't want to
know.
His heart pounded in slow, painful thuds. Sucking in a deep breath, he braced himself as he reached the tepee's opening.
I'm here.
Alex's telepathic voice sounded in Merek's mind, and relief hit him with the subtle force of a freight train. The wolf stepped outside, but ugly memories lurked in the pale eyes as they met Merek's.
It's always . . . harder at first at full moon. And then it's way too easy.
“I understand.” He laid a hand on the wolf's back, one of the few times he'd deliberately touched the wary boy. The muscles twitched beneath his hand.
Do you?
The question was sharp edged, brittle.
“I have my own powers that are a bitch to control. They don't threaten my life, but I can relate to some of what you go through.” Leaving his hand where it was, he sent a wave of soothing calm to the vibrating young wolf. Full moon fever wasn't easy for a wolf to fight, and with his pack in Seattle, Alex wouldn't have had to work as hard, would have had older wolves to help and guide him. He'd have had the protection and freedom of running on pack land.
The muzzle dipped in a nod.
Maybe you do get it.
He kept up the stream of discipline and control that flowed from his hand to the wolf, knew from the way Alex quivered that he felt the magic, but didn't try to escape it. Good. Anything Merek could do to help, he would, and he wanted the werewolf to know it. “Chloe and I can never understand exactly what you go through, but we're here if and when you need us. Believe that, if nothing else.”
The wolf's eyes closed, and he finally leaped sideways and shook.
I believe you, but I have to go. Now. The need to
run
is ripping me up inside.
“Go. We'll be here.”
Alex shot forward, passed Chloe, and slid to a stop at the lake's shore to fling back his head and bay at the moon.
The lonesome sound ended in a howl of agony when the lupine body jerked sideways as though struck by an invisible sledgehammer. The report of a rifle came a split second later, followed by the reverberating gut-punch of Merek's warding spell being breached, and then time assumed the elastic quality of battle.
Merek launched himself forward, knocking Chloe to the ground in the same motion as he pulled his weapon from his concealed holster and fired into the stand of trees north of their campsite, just beyond the stretch of his warding spells.
“Fuck,” he snarled. How many of Smith's men were there? He stretched his senses, found four distinct energies lurking beyond the line of trees. Not good.
“Alex!” Chloe screamed; terror and rage rang clear in her voice. Well, at least she wasn't going hysterical on him. Then again, it was Chloe.
She tried to crawl out from under him, and he shoved her back to the ground. Bullets slapped into the dirt around them, made it spray in their faces. “Stay down, damn it!”
“Alex was shot, damn it,” she retorted, flinching as he returned fire on the terrorists.
“I'd like for him to be the only one, so stay where you are.” He felt the bullets exploding through his shields, then the hot slicing blade of the Magickals combining their abilities to rupture the warding spell entirely. They were powerful; he could feel the strength that only came with age.
Sweat filmed his skin, made his clothes cling to his flesh. He ignored it, shoved the discomfort away. That didn't matter now. Only Chloe and Alex mattered. He could see the kid convulsing on the beach, his lupine body jerking spasmodically in the flickering firelight. Fear coated Merek's tongue, but then he locked any emotion away until there was nothing left but the heightened senses and intensified magic of battle fever.
The overwhelming silence pounded against his ears. Gunfire had ceased, but he knew they were moving, separating. He waited, every muscle tense, and he leaned more heavily on Chloe, silently telling her to be still. Alex's harsh groans made her quiver, but exposing themselves on the beach would be suicide. Merek prayed harder than he ever had in his life to any deity who would listen that the kid hung on until Merek could get to him.
A twig snapped, far too close for Merek's comfort. He threw out his free hand, and a ball of flames exploded outward. It hit a man, highlighting him and the deadly rifle he carried. This was the one who'd shot Alex. Cold rage coalesced inside Merek, and he blasted another stream of fire into the Magickal. The scent of cooking meat made his stomach jolt, but the flaming corpse hit the ground before the guttural scream finished echoing against the surrounding mountains.
Something moved between Merek and the fire, a shadow almost too fast to be anything but another flicker of dancing firelight. It was an enemy, he could feel the magic, taste it in his mouth. Vampire. Half-shifted, so it had enormous bat wings stretching from its back. Meaning they didn't give a shit that a Normal might catch a glimpse. Anyone that careless was especially dangerous. Even most Magickal criminals obeyed the laws against Normal interactions because if you fucked that law in a big enough way, it carried an automatic death sentence.
They needed to get out of here. Now.
The vampire swished through the air above them, dropping something large on the far side of the fire. Another terrorist? He couldn't tell. The bloodsucker came back, sweeping forward to hover right over them, and Merek knew they were caught. He flipped over, weapon extended, aiming for the wings. A few shots hit, the explosive ammunition designed for Magickals lighting up the night. Blood rained down on him in hot torrents, drenching his clothes. Shock showed in the red eyes that gleamed like embers in a pale face. The vampire screeched, its broken wing contorting so he dropped to flop like a great wounded bird on the ground.
Snapping a fresh clip into his gun, Merek rolled into a crouch. He wrapped an arm around Chloe's waist and hauled her up next to him. He scuttled to the far side of the tepee, dragging her in his wake. The cover was pretty fucking feeble, but vampires could see in the dark, and he couldn't. He kept his senses open as wide as possible, trying to pinpoint the other terrorists.
Fishing in his pocket, he jerked out his keys. He shoved them into Chloe's hand and leaned close to breathe in her ear. “Get to the car, and I'll get Alex.”
He could hear her swallow, feel her turn her head away from the fire and toward the pitch blackness that swallowed up the SUV. Tension screamed through her, and he waited for her to master her terror, knowing that she would. “I—I don't . . .” She shuddered. “Okay.”
“That's my girl.” He squeezed her hand, curling her fingers over the keys. “If we're not there in five minutes, I want you to get out of here. Contact Luca and Millie.”

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