I’D USED ALL the possible methods I had trying to track down the Blood Hunter’s vulnerabilities. Just one would have been enough. I’d searched government databases, news articles, and archived reports on both the normal and dark web. I even spent hours searching the cameras around the city and the club for any sighting of the Blood Hunter’s face, but the man was too fucking careful.
So I was left pacing the rug, hoping that the constant movement would give me an inkling of another idea. That was all I needed: one idea that would bring results.
This was now all-out war against the Blood Hunter. I couldn’t leave the house without being recognized as a criminal, and that was all because of him. The man knew what he was doing by tearing us apart one piece at a time, and I was the only hope at finding some weak spot we could use to give him a taste of his own medicine.
I had to figure this out for all of our sakes, but most importantly for Dess’s.
I looked across the room to where she sat on the sofa, her legs crossed in one of Julius’s meditative poses. I could tell that it wasn’t working for her as her closed eyelids twitched every few seconds from the thoughts that likely whirled through her mind. After a moment, she readjusted her position… again.
She might act strong, and she could certainly put up a fight whenever one was required, but she needed help tackling this monster. Help I hadn’t been able to give her. I’d never cared about anyone as much as I did about her, and yet I couldn’t figure out a way to keep her safe. Wasn’t that the most important part of caring about someone? Keeping them alive?
A heaviness settled in my chest at the thought. It was a pretty familiar sensation these days, no matter how much I tried to suppress the feeling. Even as I walked around the room, I couldn’t summon any of my usual light spirits—my ability to get through all the challenges and keep going forward as if nothing could drag me down. Now, I felt like my feet were sticking to the floor, unable to guide me through even half of the upcoming obstacles.
If I couldn’t protect Dess from those obstacles, I’d lose her. There would be nothing any of us could do to stop it.
No new inspirations were jostling loose in my head. I was probably thinking too hard now, jamming up my creativity with the stress I was putting on myself. I forced my feet to stop and rubbed my forehead, my gaze settling on Dess again.
Even struggling to quiet her own thoughts, she was gorgeous. And not just because of the lovely lines of her face and the dark waves of her hair. So much strength and ferocity emanated off her. She really was the perfect woman for this crew.
For me.
A different feeling swept through me—an unexpected one that made my heart flip over. I wasn’t coming up with any new plans. She didn’t have any missions to put in motion. Why shouldn’t we milk the moment for all the enjoyment we could get out of it? There was no way of knowing when we’d have another chance… whether we’d have another chance. I didn’t want to spend what might be my last moments in her presence pacing and gritting my teeth.
I didn’t have to be miserable, and neither did Dess. Hell, maybe enjoying our time together would be the best way to clear both of our heads and spark an idea that would get us through this disaster.
“I can feel you staring at me,” Dess murmured, straightening her shoulders beneath her tank top.
I smiled at her. “That’s probably because I am.”
“Is there a reason for that?”
She didn’t sound irritated, only amused. I cocked my head. “I’m not allowed to stare at a beautiful woman?”
“Someone is laying it on thick.”
But finally she opened her eyes and looked over at me. She uncrossed her legs and planted her feet on the floor before her, stretching her arms to the ceiling and twisting her back with a small groan. I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the locks of dark hair that tumbled over her shoulders and across her breasts, a few small pieces getting caught down the front of her tank top.
I had no doubt that we could squeeze quite a lot of enjoyment out of whatever time we could get together.
I walked over, holding out my hand. “Come with me?”
My heart had a minor palpitation when she clasped my fingers without a single moment’s hesitation, using my weight to pull herself from the sofa. “Sure. What’s up?”
I let my lips curl into a slyer smile. “You’ll see.”
What had I ever done to deserve someone like Dess? She followed me willingly as I led her into the bedroom I’d been using here on the first floor. I’d made the bed, but not particularly well—I always got too impatient to tug all the wrinkles out of the covers. Not that it mattered right now.
I kicked the door shut behind us and didn’t give myself one moment to second-guess my decision. Gripping her hips, I shoved her backward into the nearest wall.
Dess’s gasp cut off with the force of the impact. Then I was pressing my lips against hers with an intensity that I had never used with her before.
I typically preferred a gentler seduction, gradually drawing out every possible pleasure from an interlude. But I knew that wasn’t Dess’s style. She liked a little brutality in her foreplay—in the act itself. It might not be my go-to approach, but I could deliver what would excite her the most. Knowing how much she’d appreciate it already had my dick hardening.
Dess’s lips moved against mine, a soft sound escaping her throat. I deepened the kiss, prodding her tongue with my own and molding my body to hers. Every hard and soft part of her reacted beneath me, responding to my forcefulness. I knew this was what she liked most, and I’d give it to her. I’d give her everything I could.
When she rocked against me, my cock stiffened even more. I let it press between her legs through our clothes, and a groan spilled out of her. But I hadn’t managed to totally turn off that sharp mind of hers.
“What—” she said, her voice cut off between my kisses. “—are you doing?”
The answer was so obvious I could have laughed if I hadn’t had better things to do with my mouth. Somehow I’d never let myself speak it out loud before, but I shouldn’t let the moment for that slip past me either.
This wasn’t just random fucking. It mattered because of how much we both needed it—needed each other. It mattered because of the way I felt about her.
“I love you, Decima,” I told her, yanking up her shirt to palm her breast and pressing determined kisses down her neck. “I’m not going to waste any more time leaving that unsaid. I’m going to show you how much I mean it, and then I’ll keep proving it in every way I can for as long as we’re together.”
I felt her tense briefly against me. She tucked her arm around my neck. “Blaze, I—”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You don’t have to say it back. I just want you to know how I feel. And I want to make you feel all kinds of other delicious things.” I leaned in to whisper into her ear, allowing my breath to trickle down her neck. “I’m going to fuck you so hard you’re shaking for more, Dess.” My tongue darted out, gathering the lobe of her ear and nibbling it just hard enough that her gasp showed her surprise. “Do you want to know all the things I’m going to do to you?”
I peeled her tank top over her head, and when both her arms lifted, I gripped her delicate wrists and pinned them above her head with one hand, the other lingering between her breasts. Her heart beat viciously against my palm, and I knew that mine was matching it.
“What?” she gasped, struggling to find her words, her pupils dilating with desire just as I’d hoped.
I brought my other hand lower, unfastening the button of her pants with a flick of my fingers. “First,” I said, taking control of the encounter in the way that Dess had always done before. I slid her pants low enough that I could mold my hand around her pussy, using my thumb to roll teasing circles at the apex of her thigh. Her hips bucked involuntarily as I drew a short moan from her. “I’m going to finger-fuck you until you come on my hand. Then, I get to taste you.”
She quivered at my words, and I proceeded to work my hand between her panties and the skin there—the warm skin that had turned slick with her arousal. I swirled a finger in that proof of her pleasure as I watched her gray eyes roll toward the ceiling in the ecstasy my touch provoked.
As she bucked into my hold, straining to touch me in turn, I tightened my grip on her wrists. “Not yet,” I murmured. “This time I’m calling the shots.”
No doubt she could have jerked free if she’d really wanted to. I had plenty of physical conditioning under my belt, but nothing compared to her training. Instead, she panted and moaned as I plunged one finger into her, working slow circles around her channel. With the way I was holding her, my grip on her wrists might actually have been a little painful now.
And she liked it.
As I worked her over with one finger and then two, she basked in the sensations, her muscles tensing and loosening with the waves of the pleasure. Had she not reacted with so much blatant interest, I might have been uncomfortable with this pose, but there was no denying the eagerness of her moans.
I listened to the way her gasps intensified as she swayed into my hand and then inserted a third finger, filling her. God, she felt so incredible against my body. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself deep inside of her.
It only took a few more swivels of my hand before she writhed with the impact of her climax. I pressed my lips into hers and devoured all of the cries of pleasure that I wrung from her. Only when they dwindled did I pull back for the next stage of our love-making.
My cock throbbed beneath my pants. I released her hands, eying her with an intensity that drove my fingers to my mouth. I sucked on the dampness there, taking in the sweet taste of her as she watched. Then, when I withdrew them, I pointed to the bed.
“Lie on your stomach,” I demanded.
Even after the reactions I’d just witnessed, it surprised me a little that she did exactly as I asked. She walked over to the bed, peeling off her pants and undergarments as she walked. She sprawled out on the covers, revealing the entire expanse of her naked body.
If it was possible, I throbbed even more beneath my pants. I stripped them off in record time as I took slow steps toward her, surveying the gorgeous terrain I had to work with. I gripped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it off in a fluid motion, leaving me standing just as bare behind her as she was before me.
Maybe one day, we would do this again, and we would be able to stay in bed all day long, just the two of us.
I climbed atop the bed—atop her—and began rubbing the heels of my hands against her back.
“What are you going to do next, Blaze?” she asked in a voice that was sweetly sultry. Just like that I was twice as hard all over again.
Ideas sprang into my mind with brutal intensity as I considered what she seemed to like the most. I restrained a groan, deepening the massage on her back. “I’m going to fuck you with my cock this time.”
She turned her head and looked up at me with teasing narrowed eyes, biting her bottom lip. “Oh, that’s all?”
I reached forward and placed a hand beneath her chin, lifting her head more. I knew the gesture would momentarily take her breath away, and she writhed beneath me as I did it. “Among other things.”
I dropped her chin and sat up, lifting her ass in the air and pressing the small of her back down in a delicate arch. Then I ran a finger down her crack to her still pooling arousal. She jerked, and I smiled before rearing back a hand and lightly slapping her ass.
I expected her to gasp, but the moan that escaped her as she bent back into me sent need throbbing through my dick. As I lifted a hand and smacked it down on her ass once more, I aligned myself with her pussy. Her sounds intensified with the greater force I used. She leaned back into me, urging my cock to drive into her, and her gasp turned breathy. “I understand what you meant by ‘among other things’ now.”
I laughed as I did it again, and this time I thrust in time with the slap, gripping her hip with my other hand as I rocked into her. The sweet satisfaction of plunging into her without a barrier—without anything separating us—was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. We’d all gotten tested, and she was on birth control, so protection was no longer necessary, thank all that was holy.
“Harder,” she muttered, and I shuddered, spanking her ass just as firmly as before. I wouldn’t hurt her, not really. If she wanted me to push this farther, I wasn’t sure I could. Instead, I leaned in and gripped a handful of her hair, tugging her head back as I pounded into her heat.
“God,” she rasped, her cries of satisfaction filling the room.
I slowed my thrusting, holding myself together as I tightened my grip on her hair. I was too close to the edge, and she deserved everything I could give her. Dropping my head, I trailed my tongue up her spine.
“Fucking harder, Blaze,” she cried, and what could I do but oblige? She asked, and so she received. I bucked into her faster again, and just like that she clenched so perfectly around my cock. A ragged noise escaped my lips as I felt her reach her second release, quaking beneath me.
I sped up the tempo of my thrusting even more. With each slam of my hips, her breasts swayed, her mouth slightly agape as she panted through her release. She glanced over her shoulder at me, and the sated expression on her face sent me toppling over. Her eyes brought me more release than thrusting into her ever could.
I spilled myself inside her, tingles racing through every inch of my body. My world exploded around me, and her moans grounded me. I caught my breath above her, breaking eye contact and looking to the ceiling. “Shit,” I whispered as I withdrew myself from her and collapsed to the bed beside her.
She lay there, sucking in deep breaths as she stared at the same ceiling. I wondered if we looked at the same spot as we collected ourselves in one another’s presence. When I tucked my arm behind her head, she tipped her face toward me, pressing the gentlest of kisses to my shoulder.
My heart swelled, but I couldn’t remember another time when my mind had felt so clear—so ready to tackle the problems that surrounded us.
All of the problems.
Something clicked into place. I’d been searching all the usual places I knew—his associates and colleagues, the club’s ownership records, and his possible appearances around the city—but there was an entirely different angle that I hadn’t even considered. My eyes widened. “I think I know what to do.”
Dess looked up at me, but I was already springing to my feet. If this worked, I could find him. This would work. It had to.
“You know what to do about what?” Dess asked.
“The Blood Hunter,” I said, louder than I’d expected. I tugged on my boxers and hustled for the door in just those. On the threshold, I paused and glanced back at her, the thought of leaving her so soon after having my way with her tugging me in the other direction. I turned back toward her. “It can wait a few minutes.”
She laughed without any hint of offense. Of course not. Dess knew to take me at face value. “No,” she said, waving me toward the hall. “Go and do your magic.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I rushed to my laptop. I could finally solve our biggest problem if I played this right.
