Midnight Craving: Midnight Vice, Book 1 Page 3

  She smiled wryly and looked up at him. “Easier said than done.”

  He kissed her temple. “Try harder.”

  Her tummy quivered. She wanted to test the waters of the curse and see just how long she could wait before becoming overwhelmed with the need for release. Wanting to feel his skin, she grabbed the bar of soap from the shower caddy and lathered it between her hands. She turned around to face him and started soaping up his chest. Jace’s hands sat on her waist as she spread sudsy foam across his pecs, over his shoulders and down his steely arms. Her slick palm slid along his rock-hard stomach, her fingers riding the well-formed muscles. She followed his happy trail right down to that impressive cock.

  She grasped his erect shaft and Jace inhaled sharply. Returning the soap to its shelf, she swirled her soapy fingers down the length of his penis and back up again. Her lips curved in satisfaction as he moved into her stroke. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against the turn of his throat. His pulse pounded against her kiss. His reaction fed her excitement. It even seemed to diminish her clamoring need for an orgasm by the tiniest bit.

  As her hand worked his cock in smooth strokes, she suckled and nipped at his neck. Her free hand drifted even farther south and cupped his balls, rolling his sac between her slippery fingers. The ringed fingers of her other hand stroked his cock. Jace’s breath came in short pants. His legs and stomach flexed as he shuddered under her torturous ministrations. His sac tightened in her hand.

  Unexpectedly, Jace pulled free of her hand. Breathing hard, he touched her face. “Not yet. Your turn.”

  Isla smiled mischievously. “If you insist…”

  “I do.” Jace grabbed the bar of soap. “Hands on the tile.”

  A thrill rippled through her. She followed his order. At the first sensation of his warm, soapy mitts on her back, she moaned. The roughness of his palms against her soft skin felt so new and different, quite unlike her usual sea sponge. He missed no spot, his sudsy palms moving in big circles from her shoulders to her feet. Reaching around, he cupped her breasts with his soapy fingers, squeezing gently as he rubbed his thumbs against her perky nipples. He tweaked the peaks and quicksilver flashes arced through her chest.

  Chest against her back, Jace slid his knee between her thighs, nudging them apart. His lips on her shoulder, he slipped his fingers between the folds of her sex. She arched into his searching digits, so incredibly grateful for his touch. Her clit felt so swollen and needy. His fingers expertly found their target. He rubbed tiny circles over the stiff nub. “Ohhh.”

  “You like that?” His heated whisper tickled her ear.

  “Yes.” Her groaned reply reverberated off the shower tiles. Even with so little attention, she neared orgasm. Her thighs tensed and breath hitched.

  “That’s it, baby. I want to feel your cunt pulse against my fingers.”

  “Oh, fuck yes!” A wave of ecstasy crashed down over her. Fingers curling against the tile, Isla undulated and flicked her hips in time with the orgasmic contractions of her body. Jace’s arm slid around her waist, bracing her as she rode out the peaks and valleys.

  When she was completely spent, Jace moved his hand and slowly spun her in his arms. Still in that post-orgasmic haze, Isla let him walk her back under the shower spray. He swept his hands down her body, rinsing away the suds clinging to her. He repeated the process on himself and then shut off the shower. After grabbing a towel off the rack, he made quick work of wicking away the moisture from their bodies.

  She noticed his cock standing at attention, and instantly, the hunger returned. “What about you?”

  A wicked smile curled Jace’s lips as he moved his gaze down Isla’s still-damp and flushed body. Without a word, he swept her into his arms. She gasped and stiffened at first but relaxed when he kissed her. He carried her into his bedroom and carefully deposited her in the center of his bed. Wasting no time, he crawled on top of her. He straddled her upper thighs and pinned her arms over her head.

  Isla’s eyes widened at his possessive maneuver. Her pink tongue flicked out and swiped his lower lip as if to encourage him.

  As if he needed it…

  Jace made love to her mouth, reveling in the sweet sensation of her supple lips and velvety tongue. When he released her hands, she curled her arms around his shoulders and waist, holding him close. She pumped her hips just a little as she caressed his back, her fingertips as light as a whisper against his skin. Settled over her like this, in his bed as he’d imagined time and time again, sent his emotions into overdrive. Tangled in the jumble of emotions, he couldn’t quite decide what he was feeling. Lust? Love? Excitement? Regret?

  As much as he’d wanted this, wanted her, it filled him with fear to finally get it. Over the next nineteen or so hours, he would get to indulge his deepest desires for her. When they freed her from the curse—and they would—Isla would cut him loose. He knew her well enough to know she didn’t like attachments. After having this addictive taste, the thought of the awkward silences and meetings in the future made him ill. The disapproval of his fellow nephilim dampened his enthusiasm. He could just see the disappointed looks on their faces as he made his confession.

  But there wasn’t anything to be done. The curse required this of him, and Jace wouldn’t let her down. Whatever happened after, he’d deal with it according to his usual MO—stoically.

  Isla purred beneath him. Jace nuzzled her neck and inhaled her intoxicating scent layered over the brisk smell of his soap. His hand disappeared in her damp tresses as he devoured her lips. Arching into his weight, Isla’s pebbled nipples teased his chest. The heat radiating off her body was just unbelievable. It seemed to amplify the delightfully sexy pheromones emanating from her body, driving him wild with wicked thoughts.

  Lips dancing down her neck and across her chest, Jace crawled down her body. His tongue dipped into her navel before he peppered kisses along the slight curve of her tummy. Situated between her thighs, he shifted her knees up, opening the dewy petals of her sex to his appreciative gaze. The musky scent of her made his mouth water. He couldn’t wait to bury his face in that delicious cunt.

  “Ahhh.” Isla’s low moan filled the room as he swiped his pointed tongue down her slit. When his tongue slipped into her entrance, the flavor of her slick cream burst upon his tongue—salty with just the lightest hint of honey. He’d always heard succubi pussies were the very best out there but until now he’d thought it yet another urban legend. For the first time, locker room talk proved to be truth. Jace lapped at her yummy nectar as if it were life-sustaining.

  Fisting the sheets, Isla rubbed her sex against his mouth as if to milk every ounce of sensation from his lips. When he concentrated on her clit, flicking it with his firm tongue and sucking it into his mouth, he thought she was going to pass out. The endless litany of undecipherable words falling from her lips convinced him he was exactly where he needed to be. He alternated between up and down licks and tight circular movements, working her into a frenzied state.

  Hands on her thighs, Jace kept Isla right where he wanted her and went completely wild on her clit, moving his face side to side over the little pleasure pearl. Isla’s entire body went rigid for a few seconds. Her juices drenched his chin just before she began to jerk her hips and shout out obscenities.

  Smiling Jace kept at it until she pushed against his forehead and breathlessly begged him to stop. He wiped his wet lips on her inner thigh and moved back up her body. She clutched his face and kissed him hard. This is a first.

  Jace had never had a lover so desperate to kiss him after oral sex. Normally, they shied away from him, as if embarrassed. Isla seemed to love the taste of her pussy on his lips. His stomach clenched at the absolute intimacy of the moment. He brushed his fingers against her forehead, sweeping the hair from her eyes. The claret eye shine in the darkness unnerved him for the briefest of seconds. It was so easy to forget that Isla wasn’t quite as human as she looked. Of course, he too had his little angelic quirks.

&nbs
p; Holding her gaze, Jace slid into place, shifting his hips up and to the left. His throbbing cock slipped right into her slick sheath. Isla’s hands gripped his shoulders as he rocked against her with deep languid strokes. Unlike their first frantic coupling, Jace wanted to take his time, to enjoy the feeling of that hot, wet sleeve enclosed around him.

  Their foreheads drifted together as they undulated atop the mattress. Breaths mingling, bodies melding, they made love with almost torturous sensuality. He wanted it to last forever, but like all good things, it came to an end much quicker than he would have liked. Tensing, gasping, they came together almost simultaneously, Isla jumping over the precipice just before him.

  Later, as Isla drifted off to sleep in his arms, her satiated body fitting perfectly against him, Jace wondered if he would ever feel this complete again.

  Chapter Three

  “Mierda,” Isla cursed as they turned onto the neatly manicured street where Renata’s fourth safe house was located. “I hate cul-de-sacs. Only one way in and out. Makes me nervous.”

  “Yeah, I hear you,” Jace grimly replied as he slowly proceeded down the street. “Just keep an eye out for anything out of place.”

  “Easily spotted.” Isla could tell this was one of those picturesque neighborhoods with an anal-retentive homeowners’ association. Apparently even the most rigid HOA couldn’t keep out the vamps. She wondered what other horrors lurked behind the immaculate façades.

  “There.” Jace motioned with a flick of his head toward the stately home crowning the cul-de-sac. “No way in hell am I parking in that driveway. We’ll walk. It’s not that far.”

  “Better chance to scope out the property.” She gulped the last remnants of sticky sweetness in her soda bottle. Twisting the cap on tightly, she slipped it back into the cup holder.

  Jace eased his black Tahoe up against a curb. He looked tired, as did she. This was monotonous work and had so far yielded no leads. Add to that their entirely too short nap. A few hours after sunup, they were awake and ready to hit the road.

  Well, there’d been that quickie on the bathroom counter before their shower and his oral attention up against the wall in the abandoned house they’d just left. She hoped to last a few more hours before needing some more attention. At least the backseat and tinted windows of his SUV would give them a little privacy.

  Glancing at him again, Isla had to admit she was a little surprised by how well he was taking their current conundrum. She’d expected this morning to be awkward at the very least but it had been shockingly normal. She supposed their prior friendship and close working relationship made the transition to fuck buddies a little easier than if they’d been complete strangers.

  “Ready?” Jace’s eyebrows arched expectantly.

  Isla nodded and patted the various vampire-fighting tools hooked into her tactical belt. The weight of the implements tugged her low-slung jeans down just enough to bare her belly button. She shrugged into her grey hoodie for a little warmth against the chilly November afternoon and to camouflage the bulging weapons sitting on her hips. Hand on the door handle, she paused as she noticed a neighbor staring down at them from a second story window. “Wait, Jace.”

  His half-opened door slipped closed. “What?”

  “Normals.” She gestured to the house. “Glamour?”

  “Good idea. Less suspicion we rouse, the better.”

  Reaching for Jace’s hand, Isla tapped the demonic energy swirling throughout her body and crafted a simple glamour. Energy zinged through her fingertips and into his as the magic enveloped their bodies like a warm embrace. A static snap filtered through the air and he winced. His body tried to fight her glamour, his angelic blood revolting at the demonic magic. She pushed a bit harder, forcing it on him. When she broke the connection of their hands, Jace stretched his neck and tried to accustom himself to the sensation. She could only imagine his discomfort. They’d practiced transmission before and he’d learned to accept the discomfort of their competing energies in much the same way she’d learned to ignore the prickling, irritating heat of his angelic aura against hers.

  “All right?” She eyed him carefully.

  “Fine. Let’s go.”

  From now on, any humans looking at them would see exactly what they expected to see so early on a weekday morning: the cable guy, the water meter reader, a friend stopping by for coffee. For each person, it would be different and unremarkable. Five minutes from now that neighbor peeking out the window wouldn’t even remember she’d seen two people at all.

  The glamour in place, Isla and Jace left the Tahoe and cautiously proceeded toward the house. Eyes peeled, Isla surveyed the property and then the house. The windows were suspiciously bare of any coverings and she pointed them out to Jace. “Odd.”

  “For a vamp hideout? Definitely.” He frowned as they drew near the open front door. “And so is that.”

  Jace shot her a watch-your-ass look before drawing his sidearm containing a clip of specially modified vampire killing rounds. Isla kept hers holstered, preferring the fireball route, and shadowed him into the home. The entryway opened into an oversized living area. She’d expected opulent furnishings but found nothing. The place was empty except for the occasional crushed box or scrap of trash. She had the distinct feeling the house had been cleared out in a rush. And what the hell is that smell?

  “Sulfur,” Jace said, nose wrinkled. “Demons?”

  “Yes.” Isla sniffed subtly. That telltale stink was the calling card of a high-level demon. She recognized it as the scent of her grandfather, a prince of hell she’d met only once. It wasn’t a smell one ever forgot. But there was something else in the air. “Ammonia,” she whispered.

  “Yeah? I don’t smell anything but rotten eggs.” He eyed the marble staircase. His aura pulsed against hers as he used his powers to search for others in the house. “We’re alone. I’m heading up. You do the rest of the downstairs?”

  Isla nodded. “Yell if you need me.”

  “You do the same.”

  With quiet steps, Isla moved through the connected rooms. She approached every closet and doorway with extreme trepidation. As she cleared each space, she kept energy burning in her palm, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. The ammonia stench grew heavier toward the rear of the home. It was tainted with other chemical smells she wasn’t used to breathing. The caustic stench irritated her throat and nasal passages so badly she threw up her arm and used the thick hoodie fabric as a breathing shield.

  In the kitchen doorway Isla coughed and blinked. Her eyes burned and watered. She couldn’t believe the sight before her. The kitchen had been completely converted to some kind of drug lab. By the looks of the various empty chemical bottles, she surmised someone had been cooking meth here. Realizing the danger, she quickly backed away and retreated to the main hallway of the house.

  Jace hurried down the stairs. He shot her a concerned glance as she coughed loudly. “What’s wrong?”

  “You aren’t going to believe this, but they’re cooking meth back there.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, totally. They’ve got a full lab setup in the kitchen. Stinks to high heaven.”

  “Let’s go.” Jace grabbed her arm and hustled her toward the door. “You need medical attention?”

  She shook her head. “Just some fresh air.”

  Once outside, Jace pulled his cell from his front pocket and started dialing. “We’ve got to get narcotics out here. This place is a danger to this entire neighborhood.”

  “No shit.”

  As they hurried back to the Tahoe, Jace alerted narcotics and HazMat. He made sure to request the Midnight Vice units rather than the regular Houston police and fire teams. With vampires and demons involved, who knew what kind of drugs they were cooking up in that kitchen.

  “Demons. Vamps. Meth,” Jace said as they drove away. “Not what I was expecting to find.”

  “Me either. Seems really odd,” Isla added. “Demons have the local drug trade firmly
in their pocket. Renata’s racket is sex and blood, and she and the higher-ups in the Houston demonic circles don’t play well together.”

  “Exactly,” Jace agreed. “That house was cleared out fast so either Renata knew we were coming or the demons found out about her new side game.”

  “Either way it’s not good.”

  Isla continued to ponder the various realities behind their discovery as Jace navigated the streets of Houston toward the next house on their list. Like all the other houses they’d searched, the fifth provided no useful information. It was abandoned and looked as if it had been for weeks. Even though the dead ends annoyed her, she found it comforting that there were only two more places Renata could be hiding.

  Isla eyed the skyline. Her stomach lurched. Fall sunsets came early. They had only a couple of hours until Renata would be free to move about the city.

  “We’re going to find her.” Jace’s reassuring voice calmed her fears. He looked over and smiled as he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I promise.”

  “From you that actually means something.”

  A strange expression flashed across his features before he returned his attention to the traffic. Still holding her hand, he spoke softly. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  Isla enjoyed the calming sensation of her hand resting in his as they made their way to the seventh house. The neighborhoods became progressively crummier, the houses more dilapidated and sad. She took note of all the kids running around in front yards. Involving the public in these supernatural disputes was a huge no-no. They’d have to be super careful.

  “Yeah, I see ’em,” Jace said as if reading her mind. “I doubt we’ll have many, if any, normals around the house we’re heading to. Notice the fences?”

  Strands of garlic and the occasional cross decorated the chain-link fences of the houses they passed. Most front yards sported shrines to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the ceramic statues dripping with roses and candles burning in the tiled alcoves. Isla smiled. “Just like my people to be prepared and defensive.”