But useful.

  "What the…?" Shane stared at his hands. Then rubbed them on his thighs as if they burned.

  "You okay?"

  "I didn't know he could do that." He nodded as he walked back toward her, toward the car. She scrutinized his eyes to confirm they’d gone back to clear blue. They had.

  "We need to get inside. Got to wash." She took his hand and ran for the front door.

  One knock. Two. No answer.

  "What about Antonio? Should we wash him?" He glanced to the trunk of the car where the vampire was caught in day sleep.

  "Vampires are as affected by a necromancer's power." Where had that knowledge come from? The crystal, which she hadn’t shed, warmed. "He’ll be fine for now." She peeked through the front door window "Shower. Have to wash this off. Can’t you feel it trying to burn into your skin, to find a way to take hold?"

  "Not really." He rattled the locked door.

  She glanced around. "Maybe we can find a spare key?"

  "I got this." Shane nudged the door with his hip. It broke open.

  She searched. The only bathroom was a small standing shower stall that would barely fit both of them inside.

  "You go first," Shane said, resolving the uncertainty of the small shower.

  Madeline, shivering next to him, butt naked and freezing, said, "We have to do this together so I can do the cleansing spell."

  Him naked with the literal woman of his dreams in a shower? Terrible idea.

  "I’ll be fine."

  She glared. "No. You won’t. You’re getting in the shower."

  "What kind of spell is this, exactly?"

  She chewed on her lip. "You’re tainted from years of this muck. Today is an opportunity to get rid of it."

  Not thinking about how they committed a crime to break into a human’s house. Not thinking about her naked.

  Not looking.

  Oh, so looking. Who was he kidding? He’d already looked. Her curves were perfect. Her breasts were perfect, not too large and just enough to put his hands around. But the three slash marks on her stomach still wept blood. She grabbed a small hand towel to hold over it when she caught him staring.

  "I’ll live," she said.

  It was about to become another amongst a legion of scars that crisscrossed her skin. Lots. Her skin told the narrative of years of dodging death. He longed to touch each puckered mark and learn the story behind it. He couldn’t erase the painful memories, but he could offer understanding.

  She turned on the water and waited. "Come on, hot water. I’ll take warm water. I’m not a cold water shower girl." She glanced up. "I can feel the negative energy from that being eating at me. Can’t you?"

  He nodded more to offer assurance than because he actually felt anything. This kind of "filth" wasn’t new. He didn’t feel more or less phased by it than at any time in the past. Never had he done anything this extreme to "purify" after such an experience. Usually, he might change clothes when he had the opportunity and take a shower. Was he supposed to be committed to cleansing afterward? Maybe it’d help him not feel as exhausted by the constant exposure to different forms of evil magic.

  "Don’t suppose you can conjure us new clothes after we shower?" he asked.

  "I’m a witch, not a magician. So, no." Moments later, hand under the water spray, she grinned and did a butt wiggle. "Warm water. Get in."

  She grabbed the bar of soap off the sidewall and scrubbed him while muttering, "Send back the evil put upon us. Send it back to where it came. Wash away evil. Wash away blame. Wash away hatred. As I speak, so shall it be."

  As she continued washing, uttering the words over and over he felt a weight he hadn’t realized existed lift. That necromancer actually left an evil residue? He hadn’t believed himself affected, until now. Maybe his disbelief reduced the power of the necromancer’s magic. Maybe many beings left this damaging energy or whatever it could be called—impression, force, aura—on him. Her cleansing words washed away what felt like decades of filth.

  Her hands gentled over the areas with today’s injuries that were already healing and almost gone, but still sore. Every part of his body tingled, his veins pumped with need, and his heart hammered rapidly.

  When she moved to his back, she pressed a kiss between his shoulders. The area tingled. Had to be over the angle tattoo. "Thank you for watching over him."

  Another kiss. His muscles twitched under her touch. His teeth ground together. "Madeline…"

  The soap dipped lower down his abdomen…

  He grabbed her hands to stop her and got the soap from her, not willing to let this get any more difficult. Trying to be good here, but I’m no saint.

  Her turn. He began washing her, going lightly over the deep gashes on her stomach. He uttered the healing words along with her.

  When the warm water began to wane, she said, "I think we’re good." Yet she didn’t turn off the water. Her hands roamed the contours of his chest and down his abdomen.

  The energy shifted, heavy with need. She looked up to meet his gaze and what he saw stole his breath. Tortured eyes. Pained past their limit. He could feel the anguish racing through them.

  "What’s wrong?" he asked. "Did we not get it washed off in time? Is it hurting you somehow?"

  "I’m sorry you got hurt today. It’s my fault that you’re forced to do this kind of thing. That you keep getting hurt."

  He enclosed both her hands in his and brought them to his mouth. "This, today, wasn’t your fault."

  "If I hadn’t cursed you, you wouldn’t be out facing this kind of evil."

  A harsh laugh escaped him. "Yes, we would. The need to purge the world of evil is in our souls. It’s what we do. It’s what I do. It’s why we willingly agreed to work with the monarch on a consultant basis before she screwed us, but we forgot the single truism my father taught us: never trust humans. Things like today don’t bother me. Someone has to stop those things and we’re uniquely skilled." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "This isn’t your fault."

  She blinked.

  He said again, "It’s not. But I don’t like being told what to do and how to do it by humans who sit in their golden tower never getting their hands dirty to help. I despise being forced to bow to someone who can say do this but don’t do that when it’s possible the task we’re ordered not to do might be the one that needs doing most."

  "I’m sorry. I swear I’m going to fix it. I’ll lift it for you."

  "You will. There’s no option."

  She tugged his mouth to hers. He kept his mouth closed because one taste of her and he’d lose his grip on control. One, two, three… He continued slowly counting in his head to distract himself from getting lost in the feel of her.

  Her fingers teased along his shoulders.

  "This is too much," he whispered hoarsely as he pulled away after the kiss. He caught her roaming hands. "You have to stop. I can’t… I’m trying to be good here."

  "Me too," she whispered. "But this is hard. Everything is hard."

  "Yeah," he struggled to get out. She was killing him. Literally dying. He dragged a finger across her shoulder down to her breast. He cupped one, letting the weight float in his hand. Her head fell forward as he massaged, using his fingers to roll her nipple.

  She moved closer so his long, hard erection was trapped between them. "Demon, I need to be sure this is only Shane right now. Let me have him alone for a little while."

  Baku receded as if tamed by her words. For the first time in too long, he didn’t feel the demon pushing to be the one running the show. In fact, he didn’t feel his presence.

  "How’d you do that? Is he gone? As in out of my head?"

  "No. It’s still there." She stared deeply into his eyes. "I wanted this to be only you and me. Glad it listened. I’m not into demons. Only you." Her gaze bounced over the angles of his face. "Tell me you dream of this. That you want this right now. If you say no, we’ll get out. We won’t kiss. We won’t do anything. We’ll deny ourselves." Her hands traced the ridges of his back. "I want you so much. If you need an excuse to say yes, our passion will drive out any evil left."

  "Maddy…" He breathed against her skin as he kissed along her cheek and neck. "It’s a terrible idea."

  "It’s an awful, dreadful, and terrifying idea. You and me, beyond now, can’t be. Neither of us is a user. This step is serious for me, and I think it is for you too. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about dancing in the rain. Tell me you don’t want me. Be strong for both of us and somehow, I’ll stop touching you. I promise. But I need to hear the words from you. Otherwise, it's time for us to dance in the rain." She traced the globes of his ass. She went on tiptoe and kissed the column of his throat down to his collarbone. On a hoarse whisper she said, "You alone fully clothed is almost too much for me to deny, but you naked…the magic in me amplifies temptation. Can’t you feel me shaking?"

  Oh God, he was weakening. Who was he kidding? He’d been lost the second she shed all her clothes.

  He threw up as a flimsy excuse, "I don’t have condoms."

  "Not a worry for me."

  "What do you mean?" He shut off the water, which had turned cold, and used the single towel to dry them both. "Pregnancy would be bad on many levels."

  She said so quiet that he almost didn’t hear, "Children are no longer an option for me."

  What exactly did that mean? In human terms, she’d advanced way beyond her reproductive years, but for a witch she was young. Had she been injured in a way that left her sterile?

  He scooped her up to carry her to the bedroom. Nope. Not putting her on the bed. It was unmade and stank of unclean male human.

  "What do you mean they’re not an option? Did something physical happen to you?"

  "I think biologically I could have kids, but I…" She looked away and chewed her lip. "I have an expiration date that makes them impossible."

  "Explain." He hadn’t released her yet.

  "Things are now set in motion to guarantee I won’t be here for much longer." She rested her palm on his face. "There’s only this moment, Shane. Don’t get caught up in what that means. There may only be right now."

  He lay her on the only sofa. "Are you sure about this? Your stomach is torn up."

  "Positive. It’ll heal both of us. It’ll heal the damage. I swear." She scooted to position herself beneath him. "Kiss me."

  He caught her mouth, their instant connection drowning out the hum of everything external. With a shattering intensity the kiss deepened, and their tongues glided against each other. She wiggled beneath him to tempt him into rushing, but he didn’t take the bait. He began kissing down her, wanting to taste all of her.

  She caught him. "This can’t wait, Shane. I need the connection now. Later we can go slow. Later you can drive me nuts before you let me come and kiss me everywhere…wherever you want."

  "Don’t rush me," he growled.

  "Please. Trust me on this. I’m not trying to trick you into anything. We need the explosion of energy. Its magic will cleanse us."

  "Is there another way to do this cleanse?"

  "It involves a potion, but I don’t have the ingredients to make it. I’m also crap at potion making."

  He moved his hand gently over the damage on her stomach. "I don’t want you hurt."

  "I already said this will heal me. It’s magic."

  A foreign fury lacerated his brain. "Do you do this any time you need a healing boost after some injury? Find some random guy to screw?"

  "That was crude. Totally uncalled for." She cupped his face with both of her hands, scowled for a minute and then broke into a grin. "This is you jealous. I get that because I can’t stand the thought of you with anyone else. I’m a highly possessive witch. It’s a character flaw." She nibbled on her lower lip. "I’ve never done this before for my gain. I usually put up with injuries until they heal. Sometimes I go to a human hospital for help." She moved her hands from his face, down his shoulders, to his chest. "The thought that someone else might have all of you now or in the future…" On a barely audible whisper she said, "I can’t stand thinking it."

  His fury ramped down. He’d never experienced these extremes of emotion over a woman. Never been this invested. In the past, both he and his partners enjoyed each other but he didn’t care about their other lovers.

  "Then we’re doing this my way." His eyes stayed on hers as his hands moved between her thighs. "You will not deny me the pleasure of seeing you come against my mouth."

  Oh.

  Dear.

  Lord.

  She wanted to be consumed. She needed the magic. But his intensity was going to force her to feel this. To be in this for more than the momentary high and healing magic. Damn the lycan. He must’ve guessed she wanted to stay as emotionally uninvested as possible.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip.

  "I need a yes or a no, Madeline. We’re doing this my way if we do it. You’re going to be with me, feeling with me, the entire time."

  She could practically feel him between her legs, his coarse five o’clock shadow rubbing her inner thighs while his mouth pressed on her.

  With a nod, she gave him the green light, but he didn’t move. Instead, he said, "I want to hear the words. Say that you’re okay with this and I’m in charge."

  She moistened her lips, her heart racing. "I want you, Shane. We do this your way. But I want to know this is only you. That the demon has nothing—I mean absolutely nothing—to do with this."

  "It’s only me." His eyes darkened, but not in a way that suggested the demon stepped in. He slid down her body. She watched as his hands slowly moved up her inner thighs. He didn’t say anything, didn’t look at her. Instead, he remained fixated on her center, slowly pushing her legs further apart until she was exposed to him.

  He dipped one finger in her. "Has any other man made you this wet? This desperate?"

  "No," she answered honestly. "Never."

  His fingers glided against her. Then his mouth touched her lightly for a brief second before moving down her thigh. She groaned in frustration.

  "Your body was made for me," he said. "You were waiting for me just as I was for you."

  Those were dangerous words, ones she didn’t want to admit might be true.

  No thinking. Only feeling.

  She was so worked up from the way he commanded her body. Just thinking about it made her hotter. Then his mouth descended on her clit and her back arched.

  "Oh, wow. Where’d you learn to do that?"

  His tongue circled and flicked, applying enough pressure to make her mad.

  "You taste amazing." He sucked her, pulling and teasing and making her body feel like mush.

  Before she could catch her breath, he put two fingers inside her and curled them, hitting a spot that made her see spots as his tongue continued to pulse against her. The rhythm, the organization… He didn’t attempt to kiss anywhere else and didn’t give her any leeway to breathe.

  "Come for me. Let me hear it."

  The words, low and commanding, were her undoing. The pressure built, delicious and blinding, forcing her to feel what this forbidden lycan was doing to her body. She couldn’t think and couldn’t feel anything other than Shane between her legs.

  He added more pressure as his tongue swirled.

  "Don’t stop," she yelled. "I can’t hold on."

  "I got you."

  The pressure built and built until her body spasmed. Her scream bounced off the walls of the small house. She rode out the orgasm against his tongue.

  This life-altering pleasure could be addictive. You’re thinking. Stop it.

  Shane hovered over her, nothing between them. "I like seeing you like this, submitting to me. I’ve never seen anything sexier in my life than you right here." He wet his lips. "How much do you want me?"

  "More than I care to admit." She looped her hand around his neck.

  He thrust against her but stopped. "Still concerned about pregnancy…"

  "I can do a spell to prevent." She wasn’t going to live long enough for children to be a problem.

  "Do it now. Before we go further."

  She uttered the words of a spell intended as contraception, not that she’d ever tested it before. Trusting someone to be this intimate other than her husband? Never. Yet, it wouldn’t matter. She was going to die. She would get him free to live his own life before then, though.

  "Oh, God," she moaned as he entered her. His pace stirred pleasure deep inside her. But he was holding back. The veins in his neck and the clench of his jaw said he could give her more and that he wanted to.

  "Please, Shane. I need you to move. Be you."

  "You’re not the one in charge."

  She wrapped her legs around his sides and met his small thrusts with her own. "I need you so hard."

  He didn’t give in to her eagerness. "We’re not going to rush this, not if this is all we get. We’re going to squeeze every second of pleasure out of it."

  He trailed his lips up to her mouth but didn’t kiss her. Instead, he lifted up a few inches. Then he crashed his mouth into hers as he pulsed his hips.

  He captured her moan in his mouth as her legs dug deep into his back to try to control the pace of his thrusts. To push him faster. But he wasn’t giving in. She was right there on the edge. Pleasure pooled at the base of her spine, the euphoric feeling amplified with every push.

  So close.

  "Shane, please, I need more. I’m at the edge."

  "Good." He brought his mouth back to hers, as if wanting to prolong the moment for as long as possible.

  She contracted her inner walls around him on purpose.

  "Jaysus, Maddy." His nostrils flared with a wildness that excited her. He seemed to get bigger around her—muscles, teeth, strength. This was him shifting to his more primitive lycan form. Lord, it was hot.

  "Like that, do you?" She did it again.

  "Don’t—"

  "Don’t what? Do this?" she asked as he thrust into her again and she contracted tight around him.

  He hissed out a groan. "I won’t last or control the change."

  "I want to see all of you as you should be." She wanted him in his primal form.

 

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