Darkness Burning Read online

  Byron’s grimace reflected disgust. “Damn weird. Zombies, werewolves…demons who think human hearts are snack food. I’ll be glad when things get back to normal. Gimme a serial killer any damn day.”

  “Speaking of which, find any more bodies matching our demon’s MO?”

  Byron shook his head. “Been quiet. Think you and Nicolas were right about him movin’ out of the city.”

  “Heard from your family?”

  Byron grimaced. “Talked to the wife earlier. She’s already plannin’ on how to spend the insurance check when it comes.”

  “You had flood insurance?”

  “Damn straight. Doesn’t mean I still won’t take it in the ass. No amount of money’s gonna fix what’s wrong with my house.”

  “Have you been out there yet?”

  Byron shook his head. “Saw my rooftop on the news. Gonna have to gut the place, if it’s even salvageable.” His jaws stretched wide around an enormous yawn. “Better get back out there.” He bent to slip on his shoes, then stood and cracked his neck side to side.

  “I’m leaving the city tonight,” Alex announced.

  Byron’s eyebrows rose. “Plan on comin’ back? This section’s had a helluva turnover lately.”

  “Plannin’ on it.”

  “You don’t sound so sure.”

  Since Alex hadn’t a clue about what he faced at Ardeal or how things would go down in the coming days, he just shrugged. “I’ll be back,” he said, infusing his tone with determination.

  “You’ve only been part of the team for a few days, but I’d hate to lose you. I need you here.”

  Alex nodded. He understood why Chessa had clung to her life in New Orleans, fighting tooth and nail not to be drawn into the coven’s politics. She knew who she could trust here. Plus life as a homicide investigator was much simpler than navigating through the Underworld.

  Byron’s heavy footfalls echoed on the linoleum floor as he walked away, but Alex was already straightening his desk, closing folders and filing them away before doing the same to Chessa’s desk.

  Sitting in her chair, he inhaled her scent. He pulled open drawers, found her slim makeup bag, and held it to his nose. Her soft floral scent, a scent so at odds with her terse, edgy demeanor, clung to the fabric.

  The first time he’d met her, she’d worn no makeup, save for black eyeliner. Along with her black hair and black leather jacket, the eyeliner had lent her a ghoulish appearance: armor to warn away anyone meaning to mess with her. Including him. Especially him.

  She hadn’t wanted a new partner to replace Rene Broussard. Hadn’t suspected that the replacement was Rene’s son. She’d been slow to trust. Slow to let anyone see beneath the brittle, hard-edged façade she showed the world.

  His father had prepared him to be her partner in order to protect her. Simon had encouraged him to get even closer. And Alex had. Now, he wondered whether he’d done the right thing. Chessa had become more to him than just an instrument in the coming conflict.

  He missed her. Even loved her. But her heart belonged to Nicolas. Alex had seen to that.

  CHAPTER 3

  Finding proof of monsters living in the midst of humanity was disgustingly easy. One short walk from the front of Aftermath down a dimly lit corridor, and Miki entered another realm.

  A dark realm filled with decadent, wanton delights—if the soft, breathless laughter and throaty moans were any indication. The lack of electric lights and music did nothing to dampen the mood of the people crammed into the small, airless room.

  Candles lined the bar and the wooden shelves behind it, casting golden light to the edge of the counter, but not penetrating the gloom beyond. Not that Miki needed illumination to know what was happening in the darkness around her. Bodies writhed together. The musty scent of sex and blood was almost overpowering.

  Miki elbowed her way to the long, wooden counter and leaned over it to get the bartender’s attention. “Anything on the menu that isn’t red?”

  Young, blond, and amused, his glance flickered over her. “As long as you take it straight from the bottle. No ice. First time here?”

  “Yeah.” Her gaze swept past him to roam the room again. Not sure what she was looking for, she came back to him. “Do you know a man named Alex?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Maybe.”

  Was he one of them? A vampire? Or just another groupie trying to get his buzz on? “I know Alex. I’m trying to find him.”

  The bartender’s blue gaze lifted beyond her shoulder, and a smile curved his lips. “Guess it’s your lucky night.”

  Miki shivered when a body pressed against her back. Warm breath feathered the hair skimming her cheek.

  “Sarah.” Alex’s rumbling voice vibrated against her skin. “Looking for me? Must have made quite an impression.”

  “A couple of dents, actually,” she said breathlessly, keeping her gaze straight ahead. Her body jerked at his soft laughter. Not from fear. Already she thrilled to his presence, and she realized why she’d really come. She wanted…more.

  A hand slid around her belly and insinuated itself beneath her jacket. With the bartender’s smug smile deepening, Miki shook herself and scowled. “I’m not here to give you seconds.”

  His hand slid upward, stopping just below the curve of her breast. “Curious, then? Wondered how long it would take until you were ready to nose around for answers. Although part of me hoped you’d play it safe.”

  “It’s your own damn fault. You had to know I’d want answers. Can we talk? Face-to-face, this time. I don’t even know what you look like.”

  “Conversation isn’t free,” he growled deliciously. “I just stopped for a bite. Maybe we could negotiate payment.”

  Knowing she was going to cave, she groaned. “Shit.”

  “Not a flattering reaction to my pass.”

  “Let me just get this straight. I let you…bite me…and you’ll entertain a question or two?”

  “Depends on what you want to know. And you don’t have to let me take blood,” he whispered into her ear. “I can feed another hunger. Your choice.”

  She didn’t need him to spell out what he meant. His sensual invitation lay simmering among his casually spoken words. She rolled her eyes at the bartender, pretending irritation when her body was already melting inside. “Tell me something,” she said, finding it hard to gather a deep breath. “Are you guys always so damn horny?”

  The heat of his body against her back and bottom increased as he pressed closer. “Only when inspired, sweetheart.”

  Feeling quivery, she slowly relaxed against him and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Is it always so easy for you to get what you want?”

  “You tell me.” His hand cupped her. His thumb scraped her nipple through the thin shirt. “Can you resist…now that you’ve had a glimpse of what it could be like?”

  She honestly didn’t know, but she hoped she could keep her wits when she surrendered—and she knew she would. She had to know more about this other, darker world. Her curiosity and the desire flooding her body demanded it.

  But first she had a choice to make. If she let him take more blood, would she be left weakened, like Leo? Maybe she just wanted an excuse to find the kind of release Alex’s voice and playful fingers promised.

  She clamped her hand over the one exploring the underside of her breast. “The second choice, I think. But where?”

  “Look around you. Does it look like anyone cares what we do? Most people won’t remember what they’ve seen. Not the details.”

  She would. She planned to get them in her notebook as soon as she had a moment to herself. “I can’t do what you want with other people watching,” she said, deepening her glare at the blond, who grinned at her dilemma.

  “Outside then.”

  She hesitated, remembering the alleyway where they’d first met and the violence she’d witnessed.

  He squeezed her waist. “You’ll be safe with me. I promise.”

  Alex hadn’t harmed
her before—he’d kept her safe while the battle had raged in front of her. “All right. But we talk afterward.”

  “Still want that drink?” Blondie asked with a smirk.

  She glared at the man, then let Alex lead her through the crowded bodies that seemed to part like water around them, down the corridor again and through a side exit to the street. She caught only glimpses of the back of his head, the thick, wavy brown hair he wore a little long, his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Taut, muscled ass. Nice.

  Outside, darkness swallowed them again. Shadows deepened.

  “Private enough?” he whispered, not letting go of her hand.

  “Yeah, but I can’t see you.”

  “Does it matter what I look like?”

  “Do you look like Spike with the horny head?”

  His soft laughter raised goose bumps on her flesh. “Nothing protruding from my forehead, I promise. I’m handsome. Women find me irresistible.”

  “I just bet they do,” she murmured.

  “This alley smells pretty rank. Come with me.”

  He grabbed her hand and led her to a doorway in a building on the opposite side of the alley. First, he tried the handle, then he set his shoulder against the door and shoved. The wood splintered, and he swept her inside.

  Standing in the room, Miki shivered in complete darkness. She reconsidered her options, wondering if she’d been foolish to trust that he wouldn’t harm her. No one would hear her, even if she screamed as loudly as she could.

  His hand closed around her wrist, and he tugged her deeper inside. “I can’t see a thing,” she groused as she stumbled after him.

  “I can see perfectly. Just follow the sound of my steps.” Deeper into the room, he stopped and gripped her waist.

  Miki gasped as he lifted her off her feet. A long ledge met the backs of her thighs, and she let him sit her on top of it.

  “A counter. It’s strong enough. And low enough for what I have in mind.”

  Nervous now, her body trembled harder. “Do you have a condom?” she asked as she listened to the sounds of clothing rustling.

  “If that would make you feel better, I’ll use one. But vampires don’t need one. They’re all sterile.”

  Factoid number one. But he’d said “they,” not “we.” She shrugged away his semantics, knowing she was latching onto unimportant details to fight a major case of nerves. “Should I worry about catching something nasty?”

  “We don’t carry STDs. You’re safe.” The metal in his buckle thunked on wood, and she knew he’d dropped his trousers.

  God, she was really going to do this. Really going to fuck a vampire she’d just met. She collected data like tokens for the favors she allowed. Her teeth began to chatter as fear and sheer sensual tension gripped her body.

  He stepped between her thighs and wrapped his arms around her back. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear, nipping the lobe before drawing back. “I won’t hurt you. Your pleasure is mine.”

  With his warm breath gusting just above her mouth, her head tilted back. Why pretend she was only doing this for information? Since her “awakening,” she’d yearned to touch and be touched, but she had been so busy learning about her world that she’d allowed little time for relationships.

  This wasn’t a relationship. Not anywhere close to one. This was fucking in the dark. She didn’t know what he looked like. He didn’t know her real name. Two complete strangers.

  Could anything be more liberating or sexy?

  Slowly, she lifted her arms and slid her hands around his naked torso, smoothing them along his sides and around his back. Everywhere she touched, he was hot and hard, his skin soft over tensile muscle.

  She couldn’t resist trailing her fingers over his face. Nope. No horns or bony protuberances. Then she forgot to be afraid as his lips lapped, dragging hers in circles as he moved closer, rutting the thick column of his cock between her legs. God, it felt divine.

  When his hands slipped between them, she murmured, not in protest but encouragement. He grabbed the edges of her jacket and spread them open. His mouth didn’t leave hers as he unbuttoned her shirt, flicked the clasp of her bra, and burrowed underneath to cup her naked breasts. He squeezed her, rubbed the flat of his palm over her engorged nipples, then tugged them with his thumbs and forefingers, twisting gently.

  Miki moaned into his mouth, slid her tongue along his, sucked his lips, finally bit them—anything to incite him to hurry.

  Eager now, impatient to feel his skin on hers, she tugged her cuffs and slipped the jacket and shirt off her shoulders to puddle behind her. He quickly skimmed away the bra.

  Their hands met at the top of her jeans, but she let him open them, sighing when the zipper slid down and humid air licked inside.

  When his hand thrust down the front of her pants and long, thick fingers slid between her moist folds, her head jerked back, breaking the kiss. “Please, the rest of my clothes, too.”

  He drew away immediately, tugged off her boots and her jeans, dragging her panties along with them. Before the tiny scrap of material settled to the floor, he pushed her back to lie across the cool counter.

  Staring into the darkness, she sighed when his mouth found an aching nipple. His lips closed around it, drawing hard, then releasing it. “Delicious,” he muttered, and then he gripped it between his teeth and tongue, delivering a softened bite.

  Miki’s thighs hugged his hips while he licked his way across her sternum to the other breast and teased it to a point. When the scrape of his beard caressed the areola, she moaned and thrust her hands into his silky, curling hair, pulling it to bring him closer to her feverish skin.

  Alex trailed his lips downward, stopping to suckle the soft skin of her belly, tonguing her navel, pausing to rim it over and over again, giving her a delicious glimpse of what he’d do when at last he reached her sex.

  As he kissed her lower belly, his fingers combed through her short curls and traced a path along her slit.

  Already wet, already pulsing, she moaned as he slid two fingers between her folds and thrust them inside. Her pussy clasped them, drawing them deeper, and he began to pump his fingers in and out while his tongue found the hardening kernel of her clit and flicked it.

  With his encouragement, she draped her legs over his shoulders and lay there as he licked and stroked, until her head rolled side to side and her heels dug into his back to leverage her hips up and down, begging him silently not to stop.

  “Deeper,” she whispered. “More…”

  His thumb sank into her moisture, then traced a path lower.

  Her breath hitched. “Oh God.”

  Soft laughter vibrated against her sex.

  Miki bit her lower lip and squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to let him know just how close she really was, how tightly the heat in her belly curled.

  When his thumb rubbed her small forbidden hole, she jerked slightly. “No, no, no…”

  “Yes,” he said softly and growled as he pushed his thumb inside, continuing to swirl his fingers in and out of her pussy.

  Miki went still, not knowing how to react to this invasion. The tight ring of muscle constricted around his finger, trying to prevent his entry, but the burning pressure wasn’t unpleasant. When he began to work his way out, then back in, along with the stroke of his fingers above, she thought she’d die.

  Her whole body convulsed, her pussy squeezing harder on his fingers, her belly and thighs quivering. Inside, heat coiled tighter around her womb, and she began her ascent.

  “Not so quick.” He withdrew his fingers, lapped the creases where her outer labia joined her thighs, trailed his lips down her legs, then stood back.

  With her whole body shaking, Miki let him ease her up to sit at the edge of the counter. When he snuggled his chest and belly against hers, a thin mewling cry broke through her lips.

  The contact was too much. Her nipples dragged across his lightly furred chest, sending darts of electricity straight to her
sex. His cock rocked up and down her wet slit. Just a few more lazy slides and she’d be there.

  “God, you’re lovely,” he breathed. His hands closed on her buttocks and slid her closer to him, until she perched on the very edge. Something tearing and a soft pained groan accompanied the sound of latex snapping, and a few moments later he was back.

  A vampire didn’t need condoms, but he came packing? The thought flitted away as his cock glided downward, and the thick, blunt tip nudged against her slick seam. She reached behind herself to brace her hands on the counter as he slowly slid his cock up inside her.

  They both groaned as he stretched her inner walls and more moisture seeped from inside her to ease him deeper still.

  Balls-deep now, he halted. “Lie back,” he said, his voice thick and strained.

  She let herself down, first to her elbows, then with her back pressed flat on the counter. His arms hooked beneath her knees and he pulled her closer, fitting her snug against his groin. “Ready?”

  A short, garbled laugh broke from her. “Expect me to talk?” she gasped, so full she thought she’d burst.

  Alex pulled out a little and circled his hips, screwing gently back inside her. “You’re tight. Really tight. How come?”

  What could she say? She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made love. Really, couldn’t remember. “I’m choosy?”

  “Sweet, Sarah.” He pulled out again and stroked back in, this time stronger, harder. “Let me know if I’m too rough.”

  “Just move,” she begged, her body contracting inside again.

  His hips drew back, pulling out slowly, his thickness and the softly ridged texture of his shaft dragging at her walls.

  “You’re driving me crazy,” she said, wriggling, pulsing to bring him back. “Fuck me.”

  “God,” he groaned, then slammed back inside.

  Miki’s back arched, and a thin, plaintive cry crowded through her tight throat.

  “Christ, can’t stop,” he said, the urgency in his voice driving hers higher.

  Miki reached between her legs, her fingertips scraping through the crisp hairs at his groin, then opening to slide around the base of his cock. Thick, turgid—fuck, she couldn’t believe how good it felt. Her pussy swallowed it up, her channel rippling along its length.