For hours the two of them f.u.c.ked him, sucked him, and did everything imaginable to his poor body. When he begged them they would allow him to come, but the relief was short lived and he was hard almost as soon as he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. His b.a.l.l.s were sore from their teeth and hands, his c.o.c.k raw from being ridden like a horse, and his mouth, his lips, were aching from eating them so often. And begging them didn"t stop them. Telling them that he needed a break didn"t matter either. They were having their fun and he was going to give it to them.
"I"m exhausted." The girl grinned at him as she rode his c.o.c.k. He"d come once more since they"d taken him, this time his c.u.m spraying them both as he held his c.o.c.k for them. He"d watched them then, his c.o.c.k still stiff as they ate each other, licking his c.u.m off their supple bodies as they moaned.
Rysdan was at his b.a.l.l.s, sucking them while she played with his a.s.shole. He"d been f.u.c.ked there too, he knew. One of them had produced a d.i.l.d.o that each wore at one point, and they"d used it on him and each other several times. He"d enjoyed it a great deal, but now...he wasn"t sure, but he thought they might have broken him somehow.
"Please. I need to stop this. I"m not used to having this much s.e.x." He put his hand around her hips as she rode him. "You have to stop. I"ve had enough for now."
Said no man ever, he thought to himself. But as she threw back her head and shouted out her release, his own burned from the lack of release. He wanted to come again. He needed to empty again, but was too sore to have them play while he came. He lay there knowing that as soon as she shifted off him, Rysdan would take her turn. He was almost willing to bet they were trying to kill him. When nothing more happened to him, he looked down his body to see Rysdan sitting in a chair that had not been there before.
"We have enjoyed you very much. But you"re right, we have work to do. And my lady will be most unhappy if we play all the time and not do as she asked of me." He looked for the other woman and only just realized she was gone. "I"ve sent her home. She will tell all about the fun day we had with you. You will be famous. But fun, like all things, must end. I"ve come to see you for a reason."
"Is that it? Is that why you"re here? I know you did something to me when you touched my c.o.c.k. I told you I"ve not been hard for a while, so you did something to me so that you could be f.u.c.ked by me. And while I enjoy what you did for me, that was a little much for any man. Men, even men of great magic as I have, will need to rest after something like that." She grinned at him and he saw the fangs. "What are you?"
"I am the servant to the G.o.ddess Temptress. Have you heard of her?" He nodded. "She said that you had. But I wanted to make sure. She would like to know where you are with the daughter. She wants her now. My lady is hoping to get this thing with her completed before much longer."
"I"ve lost her." Rysdan nodded and stood up. She was clothed now, and he felt decidedly embarra.s.sed to still be hard and naked too. He glanced down at his c.o.c.k and moaned in pain when he touched the raw tip to wipe away a drop of c.u.m. "Will I continue to be hard like this? Forever?"
"Would you like to be?" He would like to have an erection once in a while, but not hard all the time. He told her that. "You will have to explain to me when you would like this to occur. I could have s.e.x always, and I do when it suits me. Men should be more like that. Just have s.e.x when it pleases you. Or not. It would be good for me if you were not in the mood, as you are now, that I could take as much pleasure as I wish and not bother with you having to be in the mood as well."
"It doesn"t work that way, sadly. And if you see what you"ve done to me, it will be obvious to you that my body can"t handle that sort of thing either. We usually only are able to come once or twice, but not as many times as I have today." She nodded but didn"t say anything. "What was with the marathon of s.e.x? Not that I didn"t enjoy it, but you didn"t come here for that."
"No. I came to help you find the daughter. Lady Temptress wants her with her now, as I have said. The lady wants her husband to be put into his place. And when I saw the other couple playing?" She shrugged. "I thought to have some fun while here. Men on our realm are not as you. They only want to have s.e.x when it is to procreate. I don"t wish for a child ever. I enjoy f.u.c.king, not making an issue."
He didn"t want to think about what would be going on in that realm if the woman called the s.e.xual shots. Vega could see nothing getting done and people dying from not just all the s.e.x, but simply from starving to death. And he just realized he was starving. He reached for the phone, only just realizing that they were at a hotel, not at Raw and Naked, the place he"d been when she"d shown up. A large pizza sounded so good. But he wondered if he"d be too sore to eat it.
"I"m working on two things at the moment. There is another that I"ve been told to find. A guy that I worked on a few years back. His parents are paying me a great deal of money to bring him to heel." She frowned, but before she could speak, he continued. "I need money now, not when this thing with your mistress is finished. I have to get a lab set up and work on some more magic. I get weaker every time I use what I have, and it"s important to replenish it from time to time."
"I am instructed to give you what you need. Lady Temptress will not care if you use it to find the man too, so long as she gets what she wants. Plus, she has a need of something from you. A part of your body that you will never miss. She said she would pay you handsomely with more magic than you"d ever dream of having. Would you like it?"
He put out his hand to take it. There could never be too much magic when it came to dealing with Awnia. As he laid his hand into Rysdan"s, he was disappointed to feel nothing. Not a single tremor of anything seemed to connect between them. Then when she sat back in the chair, he felt something akin to rage, an uncontrollable urge to kill Awnia.
"It is my mistress. She is going to use your body to escape from her h.e.l.l that Lord Halmar put her in. You will feel pain in a moment. Then she will take you." He shook his head as the rage grew immensely until he could hardly contain it. "She hates the daughter very much. Her magic is all hate. You are feeling that as well. Soon it will even out and my mistress will enter you."
It never settled, it seemed to grow and grow. Blood seeped from his nose, and his ears rang like he was standing next to a bell and it was gonged over and over. His eyes burned, felt as if she"d put a hot poker to them, and he could no longer see out of them. As the pain consumed him, ate him alive, all he could think about besides how much he hurt was that he had to kill the daughter.
Then his body seemed to explode. Not in pain this time, but just explode. As he felt something...another person...move into his mind and rape it, Vega screamed at the images that she brought with her. Darkness was seeping into his head. The pain was no longer an issue, but something that he knew would hold him forever. Vega didn"t just embrace the black hole that seemed to consume him, but fell into it with his burning eyes wide the f.u.c.k open.
He heard her then, her voice, that of Temptress. Her disappointment was profound, and she cursed him for his weakness. Vega knew that, for some reason, he was lucky for it. Otherwise his death, which was coming fast, would be longer than he wanted to have.
Then there was nothing.
Chapter 7.
Awnia watched Margo make a cup of tea again. It was really simple, and the fact that she"d messed it up twice now made her realize how bad she was in the kitchen. But Margo had only smiled at her when she"d had to dump the cup out.
"I should have told you that you must put the tea into a ball." Awnia thought she should have known that too. Who would want to drink something that had floating things on the top? Dark weeds, they looked like to her. "And that you use only a little honey and sugar together. Not as much as you did the first time."
"I didn"t know what you meant when you said that it needed to be sweeter." It had certainly been that. Painfully so. "Are you sure that you have time to show me this? I"m taking a great deal of your time from your bread. I could come back tomorrow if you want."
"I do indeed have time, and this is fun. Once I pull the bread from the oven, you and I will have a whole loaf for our lunch with a cup of the tea you"ll make." As Awnia poured the boiling water into the tiny cup, all she could think about was how she"d nearly scalded them both the first time. As she finished pouring, she set the kettle-not pot, as she"d mistakenly called it-back onto the stove. "Very good, my lady. Very good. See, I knew that you"d be a pro at this."
She"d had to learn that you didn"t just put a bag into a cup and microwave some water. It was what she"d seen done nearly all her life. Now she was learning the proper way to make tea. Mrs. Payne and her son were coming for a visit, and Margo had suggested that she serve her tea. She"d had no idea it was so complicated.
When someone rang the doorbell, she didn"t think anything about it. Deacon was in the front of the house polishing something or another, and she wasn"t supposed to answer the door anyway. But when the doorbell pealed for the second time, she went into the small hall. Deacon was just coming down the stairs when Awnia reached beyond the door.
"Don"t." Deacon stopped moving toward the door and put his hands behind his back as he stood there. "Do you know how to contact...I don"t remember his name...the pride leader?"
"Samuel. Yes, we can contact him. Is his missus in trouble?" Deacon looked afraid, but she wasn"t sure how to a.s.sure him, so she only shook her head. "I am to tell you not to let the person in. He and his mother Summer were nearby. He is also contacting Kennedy, his wife."
The bell rang again, and then the door rattled on the hinges. Hawk touched her mind and asked her if she was all right. She wasn"t sure what to tell him either.
There is a being at the door. Not anything that I"ve ever encountered here. There are a few that work for Temptress. He told her not to let them in. I"m not sure that"s going to be an issue soon. They"ll be able to come in if they...f.u.c.k.
The mist came under the door and formed into its being as she told Margo and Deacon to step back. "And do not touch me. No matter what."
"Yes, my lady."
As Deacon and Margo stood near the stairs, Awnia let her magic go. It was dangerous and would give Hatter a very good idea where she was, but nothing was going to happen to these people. She felt someone, someone like Hawk, come up behind her, but he didn"t speak, nor did he touch her. Awnia felt his support as if he were Hawk.
I"m Big Will. Awnia heard his voice over the roaring of her magic. The being in front of you, I cannot touch him, but I will keep the others safe if you take care of him. All right?
Awnia told him that she appreciated it. They both stood very still as the mist moved around the room as if he had no idea where he was going. But as soon as he stopped in front of her, she held her ground while he began to take shape.
"You are summoned," the being said in a harsh, hard voice. As soon as he was fully formed, he held out a sword. It was one that Awnia had seen before, and knew just where he"d gotten it. "Mistress Temptress of the-"
"No." He looked confused for a moment, then began again to tell her that she must come with him. "I"m not going anywhere. Especially not with you. And you"d do well to not harm those with me, or so help me, you will know pain like you"ve never felt before. And you"d do well to heed me. Do you know who I am?"
"Nay, and it matters little. I"m to bring you back at all costs." She smiled at him, and he took a step back. "You are to come with me gently or I will have to use force to make you come."
"So you said. But what sort of force do you have that you think will outdo mine? Would you like to see which of us is going to come out on top of this? Because if you don"t think it matters who I am, then you are in for a big surprise." Letting her body heat more, she took a step toward him and touched her finger to his outstretched blade. He watched it as it melted and dripped to the floor in a puddle of steel and gold. "Are you afraid, being? Do you know what I will do to you should I touch you like this? You"re flesh and blood as am I, but the difference is, I"m a good deal stronger than you."
"My lady only said that you were a prisoner and that I was to bring you back." His voice trembled a little, and she took another step toward him. "I will kill you if you continue to thrall me. It is well within my allowances from the lady that I use as much force as I deem necessary."
The woman that stepped onto the porch behind the being held a small boy in her arms as well as a gun. With a short shake of her head, Awnia had the woman lowering it, but she didn"t move. Reaching out to her, hoping that the small amount of contact they"d had would be enough, Awnia warned Kennedy that there was danger.
He will kill you if he turns. Your body will not survive his touch. She nodded and moved back, then disappeared from in front of the door. There is a back door to this house. Could you come to that and take both Margo and Deacon to safety? I fear for them. There is another being here as well. I believe him to be a friend of Hawk"s. He said his name is Big Will. Please do not harm him.
I don"t want to leave you, but I"m pretty sure you have this well under control. As for Margo and Deacon, I"ll try to get them to come with me, but it"s doubtful that they"ll leave you. Hawk has entrusted your care to them. She heard voices behind her and knew that the woman had come in. Deacon and Big Will decided to stay, but Margo is coming with me. I could order Deacon to come, but I"d rather not. He is very loyal to you.
Tell them not to touch me. I don"t want to hurt anyone but this person in front of me. And he"s going to die. Kennedy said that she would. I"m going to kill this being. And when I do, it will be...make sure that no one touches me but Vinnie. He will be able to withstand the heat if I need help.
You"re going to be all right then? Hawk will be really p.i.s.sed off if you get hurt while I"m here. Awnia told her she would. Why do I think you"re pulling me leg?
I have no clue what that even means. But I think that Hawk would rather you all were safe than just me injured. I a.s.sure you that I do not wish to hurt either.
The being took a step toward her, and Awnia let herself go. The man in front of her screamed when she reached out and wrapped her hand around his throat. It was over in seconds. His head disintegrated in her hand even as his screams were cut off.
Turning around, she knew that she had to get out of the house. There were a great many wooden things here, and she had to be careful now. Big Will and Deacon were still standing there, and she moved by them to go out of the back of the house. Just as someone, a shifter, came out of the woods, she felt as if she might make it now. Standing in the gra.s.s, she called to Vinnie.
Come to me now, my dragon. She heard his reply, his long scream that was his animal as he shifted. There was a second coming with him. His mate, Awnia knew, and was thankful for their a.s.sistance. Turning when someone said her name, she looked at Kennedy.
"Will you cool off?" She couldn"t answer her, and Kennedy seemed to have understood. "Vinnie can help you. Hawk is frantic, by the way. He can"t contact you either. I"ve told him...I"ve explained to him what has happened. He"s on his way with my mate and mother-in-law. They"ll be here very soon."
Nodding her thanks, Awnia felt rather than heard the dragons. When they landed, their great bodies shaking the ground, she knew that she was causing more problems than these people were used to. As Vinnie took a great lung full of air into his lungs, Awnia held herself steady. When he blew his fire on her, it was going to hurt. But in the end, she"d be so much better for it.
The fire that he blew on her was welcome in its healing power. His breath was cooler than she was at the moment, and it was the only way that she"d found to keep her from getting out of control. It was the first time in centuries that she"d had to call on a dragon to do this for her. And it was only the second time that Vinnie had been the one to do it.
His mate, Abbie, took over when Vinnie had to rest. Then Awnia noticed Hawk. She had no idea how long he"d been there, she"d been so focused on cooling off. There was a man with him, but she was too hot to make out who he was. When Abbie stepped back, her heat doing what she"d needed, Awnia fell to the ground and lay there.
"She"s still too hot." The voice of the man who spoke sounded familiar, but she couldn"t make her mind focus right now. "Just let her be. She"ll be just fine. I had no idea that a dragon could help her. First time for everything, I suppose."
Vinnie and Abbie both blew their fiery breath over her again. As she cooled off, she realized that she was naked. Looking at Hawk, who had sat in front of her, she wondered if she could make him understand what she wanted.
"They"re all gone." She didn"t have it in her to look around. "I"ve sent them away. Kennedy is in the house with Margo and Deacon. Big Will is out patrolling the grounds for me. He said that you had to kill that being. But he had no idea what it was. Samuel is also patrolling the grounds with some of Jimmy"s pack, and Vinnie is in the air. He said that he knew what to look for."
"Hurt." He nodded and smiled at her. "Scared them."
"You did. Mostly Carter. But he got over it quickly when Vinnie gave him a short ride on his back. Apparently that"s a cure-all for everything." He sat there for several moments before he spoke again. "I have to tell you something. Your father is here. I"m not sure how you feel about him, but he"s pretty glad that you"re all right. He thought you were dead all this time."
She looked up at him, then at the house. He"d been the man she didn"t recognize. She knew that now. "How long?"
"He actually came to see me last night. I had to...I had no idea if it was safe or not. Or for that matter if he was your father. I called Yve." Awnia had met the faerie a long time ago. "She said not only was it your dad, but he might be a little on the p.i.s.sed off side too. But not at you. He has it in his head that someone should have told him you were here. He is looking into matters now."
"Temptress?" He nodded. Awnia lay down now, her body spent but healing. She just needed a few more minutes. "That man was sent by her. Whatever she"s up to, she"s getting closer all the time. I know that I"ve said this before, but when she comes here, she"ll try to kill you all."
"Yes, and we"re more prepared than we were before. Your father seems to think that she"s going to come here. And when she does, you"ll be able to take care of her better than you think you can. And there"s someone else we have to worry about. Well, actually, two more. My parents, for one, and a man by the name of Vega Pruitt. He"s the man who took me to a lab when I was younger. He used his magic against me to try and appease my parents by allowing them to think that he was able to take my shifter away from me. I think you might know him as well." She shook her head, but he nodded. "I think he"s your Hatter, honey, and he"s working with Temptress somehow."
Hawk walked around the room. He"d already been in contact with the occupant of the room, but he felt there was more to it than that. The ghost had told him that he"d leave as soon as the owners of the house did what he wanted, like get the h.e.l.l out of his house...which wasn"t going to happen, because they had invested all their money into this home. And it seemed that neither party was giving an inch, as they wanted him out as well.
"You"re just looking for trouble now. Why are you staying here in this room? You gonna steal something?" Hawk ignored him. "You should just go and tell them that I"m not going. I was here first. Perhaps if you tell them I"ll be happy to let them...I won"t bother them at all. What are you doing over there? Get on over here and talk to me. I want you to tell them they won"t hear a peep out of me for the rest of their lives."
The warmth in the floor made him pause. He looked at Clar, who was standing next to the picture of the couple that had called them in. She nodded in the general direction of the ghost. It always surprised him that she could see them as well. His entire life had been so lonely with only having one other person to talk to about them. Big Will came into the room as well and braced his arms over his chest when the ghost looked like he might come at him.
They could be violent when they were angry. It didn"t happen often, but enough that Hawk had begun to like having Clar with him. And Big Will was proving to be helpful as well. Clar told him through their link that she could feel something from the homeowners.
Anger. Like they"re upset that they called you in. Mostly at you right now. Hawk glanced at the doorway and saw them standing there. I think that there"s more here than a ghost that won"t leave.
I feel that too. And he doesn"t want me right here.
The couple moved back out of the room when he stood up and moved to the desk. As soon as they were out of sight, however, he went back to the warmth on the floor.
Working with Clar had kept him focused. Also, she made it so he didn"t have to talk to people, the ones that were living, as much as he had before. Which wasn"t all that much anyway. As he knelt down to the floor, the ghost started talking again. Ignoring him, he put all his energy into what was there, and then she, the warmth on the floor, made her presence known to him.
"I"m going now. Why don"t you come on out with me and we"ll get this done? There isn"t any reason whatsoever that you have to hang around here anymore." Hawk stood up and turned to the man. "You didn"t have to go and look for that. You"re messing things up for me. I was gonna be able to stay here if you didn"t find anything."
"But I did, didn"t I? And it"s not your doing but theirs, right? This isn"t right. And you know it." He looked at Clar. "Call the police. There"s been a murder here. The daughter of the people who own the house. They murdered her."
As she went away, he looked at the ghost. "I didn"t like them at all, but they said if I kept you away from the stain, that after you left they"d call me back. I tried and tried. You"ll tell them that, won"t you? I don"t want to leave here. I never even bothered them until they started in on the girl. It"s been...they didn"t deserve a girl like her. And they went and killed her."
Hawk held out the paper that was his work order. The man leaned down and read it over before looking at him again. He told him he couldn"t read the paper, that he"d never gotten around to learning. "I"m terribly sorry to tell you this, but they lied to you. They said I was to evict you. Do you know what that means?"
"They aren"t going to let me come back here." Hawk shook his head. "I did what they asked. My family grew up in this house. There are memories here that I love. I miss them so much. I just wanted to stay here and then they hurt her. I tried to...she is terrified, that girl. I think...why? Why would someone do such a thing?"
Hawk never asked the people he worked with to cross over, wherever that might be. But he did listen to the people that he found. Like his book and his knife, they were once things that had a purpose, and he hated to hurt them.
"You won"t have to deal with them anymore. I think that once the police get here, they"re going to take them away for a long time." Hawk heard the sirens going off even as he turned to the stain again. "Can you tell me what happened here? She"s so confused that all she can do is whimper, and I can"t really talk to her yet."
"She came home late from some dance or something. They were both waiting for her. To be honest, I went with her, to kind of keep an eye on her, but she was a good girl. Never lied to them about where she"d been or what she"d been doing. Her and that friend of hers just hung out, but never drank nothing like they said she did." Hawk asked him how they"d figured out about him. "That girl told them. She said that I was here. I don"t know why she told them, but she let them know she could talk to me and I talked back. She"s smart. I enjoyed her company. I let them know right away that I knew what they"d done to her. But when they started making noises about calling you in, I got scared. I don"t want to leave. But she"s not liking it here much. We"re going to keep each other company until she thinks on what she wants to do."
"They murdered her and buried her in the back." The ghost had no answer, but when Hawk turned to him he could see him looking in the corner. The girl was there, but she was too new for him to see. Anyone who had been dead less than five years had difficulty staying in a state where he could see them. "Tell her that I"m taking care of this."
"She said to tell you thanks. And that her diary is up in her room. Under some floor boards. She said for you not to read it, she"d be too embarra.s.sed, but to tell the police." Hawk said he would. "She said...I"m thinking that she wants to go on over to the other place about now. I might just go with her. You never preached to me like that other man did. He was here for ten minutes and I sent him on his way."
Hawk had a feeling he knew who it was but said nothing. There were all kinds of people out there taking advantage of people in need. Not the living, for as much as he needed them, he didn"t care for them all that much. As the police came into the room, he told them what he"d found. Two of the officers were men he knew, one of whom he"d had some dealings with, and not all of them good. When he spoke, Hawk simply walked away.
"I asked you a question."
Before he could say anything more, he heard Big Will speaking. He had no idea what he might have said to the officer, but Hawk was able to leave the room without incident.
He wanted to go home. Awnia was there with her father, and he needed to be with her. He"d not wanted to leave the house at all, but Clar had called him this morning, frantic, and he"d come here to a.s.sist. The ghost had been giving her a hard time and she wasn"t going to leave without answers. She looked up at him as they left the house over an hour later. Big Will had said he was going to work on something else.
"The father is being taken in. His wife is claiming that she had no idea what he"d done to their daughter." Hawk nodded. He"d heard from the ghost that they had both been in on it. "She"s claiming that someone else murdered their daughter by coming in while they were gone. The mother has no reason for why they buried her in the back. They"re trying to claim that her daughter was a run away and had left before. I don"t think that"s what the cops are finding out in the diary. How did you know about the book, anyway?"
"Your ghost told me." She nodded and told him that it figured. "You"re doing well, Clar. It"s just going to take you some time for your name to get around to other ghosts."
"That"s probably the strangest thing anyone ever said to me." He laughed with her. "I"m going over to your house. Summer invited all us women to the house to get to know Awnia. I like her, by the way."
"Me too." Hawk told her that Awnia"s father was there. "He said he"s going to protect her. And talk to her about us being mates. She still believes we"re not. I think there"s something that neither of them are telling me, but I don"t know what it is as yet."
"I think you might be right. I think Vinnie might know something as well, but he said she"d asked him not to say anything. I think he wants to, but he is very loyal to her." He nodded as they got into the car. Hawk reached his hand into his pocket to stroke the medallion that Samuel had given him to find Awnia with. It warmed under his touch, as it did every time he touched it.
"Did you know that there are all kinds of ghosts out there?" He had no idea why he was telling Clar this, but now that he"d started, he figured it couldn"t hurt. "There are so many different types. Some that just go about their existence without ever bothering anyone. Then there are the mean types. The ones that break things, move other stuff around to be p.i.s.sy. And then there are the ones that have no idea that they"re dead, and wander around trying to figure out why everyone is ignoring them. And believe it or not, they"re the ones that are the hardest to work with."
She looked at him as if she didn"t believe him, but he a.s.sured her that he was telling her no lie. "The only ones I"ve dealt with are like the guy in there. Just wanting to be left alone for one reason or another. How do you deal with the ones that aren"t aware?"
"About six years ago I was looking at a few pieces that were bought from an estate auction. There were several pieces, most of them c.r.a.p, but there were two that caught my eye. The large desk that had been unearthed in a warehouse, and a large fainting couch." He thought about the desk. "I asked to purchase it and was told that I could have it. There were things about it that I knew needed to be repaired, but they were minor compared to what I knew was in it."
"What?" He grinned at her when she told him to hurry up and tell her. "You tell the worst kinds of stories. I mean they"re good, don"t get me wrong, but you make me want to pound on your head the way you make it suspenseful. Samuel does that too. I"m pretty sure he"s learned it from you."
"I have been tutoring him on the art of p.i.s.sing you off. I think he"s doing very well. Even Kennedy cursed me in Gallic the other night. At least I think it was cursing. Anyway, the desk belonged to a very famous mobster, and he"d used the desk for all sorts of deals." She glanced at him as she stopped at a light. "The desk knew everything that man had done. Things no one else knew."