Needing her there. “It’s still early. Shouldn’t you be at Paradise?” The woman usually played at least three sets.
“I told Niol I had business tonight.”
“Business,” he repeated the word softly. “Is that what I am?”
A slow shake of her head. “I looked for you in the crowd, but you weren’t there.”
There was something in her voice. “Missed me, did you?”
A faint frown appeared between her brows. “Yes, actually, I think I did.”
Well, damn. He hadn’t been expecting quite that level of honesty from her.
“We need to talk, Todd and—” Her gaze darted behind him, landed on the pile of books he’d tossed haphazardly onto the sofa. A golden brow arched. “Doing some light reading?”
Shit. “Just some books I picked up. Nothing important.”
But she brushed around him, heading straight for the sofa, those delicate hands reaching down and—
“Demonology: A Hunter’s Guide.” She grabbed another heavy volume. “Unmasking the Demon. ” As Cara reached for the third book, the one he’d made the mistake of leaving open, a gasp tore from her lips. “And what the hell is this?”
He didn’t need to see the picture to know what had pissed her off. He could remember the image perfectly. One side of the page featured a sketch of a beautiful, naked woman, hair streaming down her shoulders, lips curled in a smile of anticipation.
Then, on the other side of the page, the illustrator had drawn the picture of a “real” succubus. It was a demon with a long, pointed tail, a body covered in scales, a face like a dog, and a snarling mouth full of jagged teeth.
“Ah, Cara…”
She threw the book at him. It missed his head by about three inches. “Is that what you think I am?”
He hoped to heaven not. “You said demons used glamour—”
“I use it to hide my eye color, not to disguise the fact that I’m some kind of freakish hag! Ugh!” A flush stained her cheeks. “That writer is a complete moron, and so are you, if you’re buying into that crap. A succubus looks, well, damn it, look at me! Just like a woman.”
A beautiful woman. Seductive. Physically perfect.
He lifted his hand to her. “I think you’re exactly what you appear to be.”
Now she eyed him suspiciously. “And what’s that?”
“The woman I want.” His head still swam with the new knowledge that he had, but one thing was absolutely clear to him. He wanted Cara.
Her face softened.
“Why did you come here tonight?” He asked, trying to force his gaze to stay on the lines of her face when the hunger demanded that he stare at her body. Those breasts. Such a wonderful size for his hands—and they tasted so sweet in his mouth.
And her legs…He wanted them wrapped around his waist. Holding him tight as he thrust deep inside her.
“I didn’t just take from you, Todd. You aren’t prey to me.” She crossed back to his side. “I want you to understand that.” Her hand rose to his chest, pressed just above his heart.
At her touch, his cock swelled even more with a flood of arousal. “I thought that was what you had to do. Take energy.”
“We can take, but we can also give to our lovers.” The heat of her hand seemed to sear him through the thin fabric of his T-shirt.
“Tell me, how have you been feeling since we made love?”
Better than he had in weeks. Months. A cautious “Good” was his only answer.
Her lips curved. “We did that. The energy from our bond spilled into us, renewed us—and made us both more powerful.”
That sounded like a pretty good deal to him. “So it’s not always like that? What usually happens?” Not that he wanted to think of her with others.
The smile faded away. “Usually we take what we want. Humans are left with pleasure, but their bodies are much weaker than before. The weakness can last for a few hours or even days.”
“Why didn’t you just take from me?”
“I don’t know.” Stark.
Again, more honesty than he’d expected. Her lips were just a few inches away from his. Her eyes were so blue. A deception, that.
He didn’t want any more deceptions. “Show me your eyes. Your real eyes.”
Her lids lowered in a slow blink. When her lashes lifted, her eyes were blacker than the night. He raised his hand. Traced a fingertip under her left eye. “Beautiful,” he murmured, and meant it. With Niol, the dark eyes looked scary as hell, but the darkness didn’t detract from Cara’s appeal. It added to it. Made her look mysterious, wild.
“I want you.” There was no coyness in her. “Naked. Inside me.”
That was exactly where he wanted to be.
“I don’t want anything between us. I can’t catch any diseases that humans have, and I control my own fertility.”
Handy.
“I want you, flesh to flesh, with me.”
The lady had caught him at “naked.”
He bent his head. Kissed her. A slow, tasting kiss. When she moaned, the sound rumbling in the back of her throat, every nerve in his body tightened.
She pulled away from him, licked her red lips. “But first, I want a taste.”
Her powerful scent surrounded him. Sex. Woman. Magic. When she dropped to her knees before him, Todd actually felt light-headed for a moment. “You don’t have to—”
But her hands were working on the buckle of his jeans, easing down the zipper and then shoving the rough denim and his boxers out of the way.
His cock bobbed toward her. The head was stiff and a drop of moisture already coated the tip of his arousal. Her hands wrapped around his swollen length. Tightened. Stroked.
Pleasure lashed through him.
“Relax,” she murmured softly and Todd realized he was growling in anticipation. “I’m only going to give.”
Then her mouth was on him. Lips parted and soft. Tongue caressing as she closed her mouth over him.
His fingers wrapped around her head, dug into the silken tendrils of her hair.
A powerful energy snaked through him. Her mouth was heaven. Every sexy move of her lips paradise. But there was more. More than he’d ever felt.
The feelings were magnified, spiraling along his nerves and cells, the pleasure pulsating within him.
Her mouth caressed his cock, her lips featherlight. Her fingers circled the base of his shaft and she moved her hand in time to the seductive motions of her lips and tongue.
Driving. Him. Insane.
His cock swelled even more under her ministrations. His hands fisted in her hair, and each move of her mouth had him nearly begging.
But then she pulled away. Easily broke his hold and leaned back, bracing her palms against the floor as she gazed up at him.
No, damn it, not yet, he wasn’t—
“I like the way you taste, Todd. I like it a lot.”
He swore he could actual hear the rip of his control shredding. He fell to his knees beside her, hands trembling. A roar filled his ears and a growl churned in his throat. A red haze of need covered his eyes and he reached for her with hands that were too rough, far too strong for her delicate skin.
She met him eagerly. Fought with him to jerk off her shirt. To bare those breasts that he loved. Then he shoved her bra out of the way. Caught one tight nipple between his teeth while his right hand fondled her other breast. The heady scent that was pure Cara thickened in the air.
He suckled her, drawing her breast into his mouth, then slipping back to lave her nipple. God, but the woman had great breasts.
Pink nipples. Sweet, firm flesh. Not too big. Just right for his mouth.
He dragged his fingers down her body. Managed to push down her pants as she shifted, and Cara kicked off her pumps and the pants in a hard, fast move.
With a last lick, he lifted his head. She wore only black panties now. A small scrap really. Barely covered her mound. His fingers wrapped around her hips, and his eyes zeroed in on that tempting flesh.
She’d gotten to command his body. Turnabout was only fair.
“Spread your legs.” A guttural demand.
Cara smiled, pure enticement, and spread those long, slender legs.
He eased down between her thighs, lowering his head right over the dark silk. His nostrils flared as he caught the scent of her cream. The rich promise of hot sex.
The promise of her.
His lips pressed against the silk. A stark kiss. She arched beneath him, sliding more fully against his mouth.
Just where he wanted her.
He could feel the soft nub of her clitoris pressing through the underwear. He rubbed his tongue over the sensitive spot, loving the way she sighed his name with each soft touch.
But it wasn’t enough.
The fingers of his right hand caught the silk. Tugged and the fabric tore free. Then her sex was bare. Open. Ready for his kiss.
He put his lips against her first. Explored her creamy flesh. Moved as slowly as he wanted so that he could learn every inch of her.
Learn what she liked. What made her moan and twist and shake.
Then he used his tongue, sliding it into the folds of her tight core, taking the rich cream and giving pleasure. He lapped at her.
Tasted. Drove his tongue deep. Again and again and—
Todd felt her climax against him with a shudder.
He drank up her release, driving his tongue deeper into her body, hearing her cries and loving the feel of her nails as they dug into his shoulders.
When the shivers faded, his head lifted, just a few inches. Todd licked his lips as his fingers slipped over her mound and stroked the center of her need. Oh, damn, but she was wet and more than ready for him now. The flesh swollen, warm and waiting to be fucked.
Todd drove two fingers deep into her straining sex.
He felt the sudden tightness of her body beneath his with a rush of satisfaction. His succubus wanted to come again for him. Her sex clenched around his fingers, a telling sign that he wouldn’t ignore.
Todd pulled away from her, only to reposition his body, lodging the head of his cock against her moist opening. The feel of her sex against his, the creamy warmth, the silken skin, had him gritting his teeth as he thrust forward.
Her hand rose. Covered his heart. For an instant, he stilled.
Then her gaze met his. Black eyes. Dark and deep.
Her lips curved.
He caught her hand with his. Pressed it harder against his chest. Felt the air around him seem to shimmer, to pulse.
He drove into her, burying balls-deep in one hard move.
Then he was moving. Thrusting. Withdrawing. Thrusting. Cara wrapped her legs around him. Arched into his driving hips.
Her face took on a faint glow. A light from within. A faint stir of gentle wind blew against his face, then all over him, and her hand stayed steady and warm against his chest.
His thrusts became harder. Deeper. “I want to feel you come,” he gritted. He wanted to feel her release, to see it on her face.
“Then you will,” she whispered, and gasped, tipping back her head and squeezing her legs even tighter around him.
The feelings hit him then. The ripples of pleasure that weren’t his own. The shattering euphoria that danced along his skin.
Hers.
He didn’t understand how, but he was feeling her release. Riding the wave of her pleasure, just as he plunged into her body.
“Ah…Todd! Kiss me!”
His lips caught hers. His tongue drove into her mouth.
And his hips pistoned against her.
His climax hit him, rolling over him in a furious burst of power.
When she stiffened and moaned into his mouth, he knew she felt the surge of release, too.
An exchange. Not just taking. Giving.
From both.
He held her tighter. Kept thrusting, trying to wring every drop of sensual satisfaction from their bodies. His skin was slick with sweat, his muscles trembling. But he didn’t want to stop.
Not ever.
So when the climax ended, he just kept thrusting. His cock swelled within her. Her legs gripped him tight, and she stared straight up at him with her midnight eyes.
Magic was around him. Pressing in the air. Dancing on his skin. The glow of power lit her body.
And his.
It gave him strength, a stamina he’d never had. Not so quickly. Never as fast—
So the thrusts continued. The strange link that he had with her intensified. He knew what she wanted. Knew exactly where to touch and kiss, without her having to say a word. Their breaths panted out, their hearts thundered in a mad, matching rhythm, and the furious race to climax had them locked tight.
So tight that he could almost touch her soul.
When they came again, they came together. Mouths, bodies.
Spirits.
A demon and a man.
No, a woman and a man.
A perfect match.
He held her, arms too tight, and knew that he’d go to hell for her in a heartbeat.
A sobering thought for a man who’d already fought the devil once in his life—and had the scar to prove it.
“I know you didn’t kill House.” He spoke in the darkness, when the heat of the passion had cooled, but the magic still fired their blood. “Or any of the others.”
They were in his bed. Naked. His body curled over hers, his right hand on her breast. His left arm rested beneath her head.
She turned to look at him. “Do you mean that?”
“Yeah.” He’d touched her in ways most men wouldn’t understand. Not physical. Her heart. Soul. He’d felt her, down to the core of her spirit. Cara wasn’t evil. “You’re not a killer.” He’d said the same words at the station, but he needed to say them again, now, with her in his arms and her scent on his skin.
She swallowed. “I told you from the beginning that I didn’t kill Michael.” There was an ache in her voice when she said the other man’s name.
