Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (10 page)

We
got in line and helped ourselves to steaming bowls of soup and salad, along
with iced tea. Fresh fruit was also served, along with lowfat dressings for the
salad. “Guess they want to whip us in physical shape too,” I observed,
wrinkling my nose at the lack of junk food.

“It’s
not so bad when you get used to it,” Angela said, grabbing an apple. “I’ve been
dieting for about two months, and I’ve managed to lose about ten pounds.”

“Nice,”
I said. “I’ve started and stopped several times. My sweet tooth always gets the
better of me. I have a love affair with chocolate I’m not quite ready to say
goodbye to yet.”

She
looked me over. “I don’t see you have anything to worry about. You must be one
of those people who has a good metabolism. I bet you can eat anything and not
gain weight, right?”

“Sort
of,” I mumbled, remembering how Monique had told me the same thing. “Mostly, I
think I burn calories worrying.”

“Isn’t
that the truth,” Angela grumbled. “This look good? I don’t see any other empty
seats.”

She
was right. The tables were quickly filling up, and space was somewhat limited.
“Sounds good to me.”

We
sat down amongst a group of girls who seemed friendly enough. With all the
supernatural energy flying around in here, it was hard to pinpoint what they
were. They greeted us with warm smiles. “Hi,” a petite blonde said, extending
her hand. “I’m Megan. This is Tanya and Jeremy.”

I
introduced myself and Angela, and we shook each of their hands. Tanya was a
mocha-skinned beauty with heavy makeup and crazy-curly hair, and Jeremy looked
like a stoner, thanks to his sleepy look and perpetual bedhead.

“So
are you two from around here?” Megan said. “The three of us were flown in from
Florida a month ago. It’s not so bad here once you get used to it.”

That
explained her heavy Southern accent. “Yeah,” I said. “Or at least, I am. From
around here, that is.”

“I’m
from Omaha,” Angela said. “Go Huskers.”

Jeremy
gave her an appreciative grin, at which Angela eyed him back, giving him a full
body inspection.

Oh,
boy. I recognized that seductive smile. It was the same one Monique got when
her horns came out.

“So
have you met up with your mentors yet?” Tanya said. “Mine seems pretty lame.
And out of shape.” Her lip rolled up in disgust. “You’d think a merman would be
in better shape, like something off of a surfer show.”

Florida
- of course. It was a hot spot for merfolk. Our three new companions must be of
the fin-flipping variety. “Mine’s pretty cool,” Angela said. “He’s a Nephilim,
like me. He rides a Harley, which gives us something to talk about.”

Megan’s
eyes grew wide as she stared at me. “Oh, my gosh, aren’t you the girl who got
paired with that hottie incubus?”

Tanya’s
jaw dropped. “No way. I thought I recognized you. How is he? Have you gotten to
see him naked yet?”

I
sank down further in my seat, my chin dipping toward my chest so my hair would
help hide my face. “Uh, he’s nice.”

“To
look at,” Tanya purred, then she and Megan burst into giggles.

“Sorry
I’m late, guys,” a girl with long red hair said as she sat down. “I was busy
catching up with Regan. Get this - they just found another body.”

Everyone’s
heads snapped up at that.

“What
body?” I said.

She
stared at me. “You haven’t heard?” she said, looking at me as if I’d crawled
out from beneath a rock.

“They’re
new,” Megan said, waving a hand. “Clarissa, Angela and Sally. Sally and Angela,
Clarissa.”

We
gave her smiles and hellos, which she didn’t readily return. She still regarded
us with suspicion.
Jeez, paranoid much?

Angela
didn’t pay her any attention. She still seemed wrapped up in this new swing of
topics. “What haven’t we heard?”

Clarissa
leaned in, keeping her voice low. “There have been three bodies of dead
students found within the past month.”

A
shudder went through me, but I dismissed it to first day jitters. “Well, that’s
not surprising. Fights are bound to breakout among the rougher crowd. We are in
somewhat of a detention facility.” Sort of. Maybe if we lived in Beverly Hills,
for all the glam this place held.

Clarissa
shook her head. “That’s not the weirdest part. All the bodies were found
mutilated: hacked up, mauled, pieces missing, the works.”

Now
I felt nauseous. “Then maybe someone has a sick imagination.”

“Or
someone here is a serial killer.”

The
hairs on my arms pricked, like an icy wind just rolled over me.

“Just
be careful, okay?” Megan said. “The teachers don’t like people talking about it
because they don’t want to lose their funding if people pull their children
from here.” “Children” was a relative term in the paranormal community. It
could mean by blood, as in birthed by a couple, or turned by someone.

“We
will,” I said. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

That
killed the conversation for a few moments, before Clarissa picked it up again,
this time talking about her latest romp in the sack. Angela leaned into me. “Do
you think there’s any legitimacy to this whole serial killer thing?”

I
blew out a breath, a bit shaken. “Dunno. I hope not. I mean, stuff happens,
right? And rumors get blown out of proportion all the time. Maybe there’s no
connection between the murders, and the students are just making things up as
they go. Maybe there aren’t any bodies at all.”

Angela
relaxed, smiling. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s probably just a bunch of stories.”

The
more my brain tried rationalizing with my gut, the more I couldn’t shake the
twisted feeling something was up.

That
something wicked stalked these halls, and I was stuck with it for the next few
months, or however long it took me to get in shape.

Chapter 7

MEATLOAF
AND GARLIC MASHED potatoes
, while normally an awesome meal for me, had
absolutely no appeal. I was too sick at my stomach to eat, thanks to being too
strangled by my worries at a potential wacko running around and by my growing anxiety
at meeting with Hector shortly.

Eight
o’ clock came, and the bell chimed again to shoo us back to our dorms or any
meetings we had. Bidding Angela goodbye, I gulped and made my way toward the
elevator to the second story.

My
heart thudded louder as I approached Hector’s office.

Remember
to breathe. You can do this. He’s just a man.

A
very delectable, sexy-as-hell kind of man.

My
nerves turned to anticipation as I quickened my pace, anxious to see him again
and to learn what it was he had to offer.

The
hall was quiet, save for my footsteps. I stopped before a wooden door with his
name on a plaque slated next to it. Taking a deep breath, I raised my hand to
knock when the door opened and there stood Hector, grinning.

I
let my eyes drink in every inch of his mostly naked form. He looked like he’d
just come from the gym. His torso was bare and covered in sweat, and the
candlelight danced over the most perfectly sculpted muscles I’d ever seen on a
male. His work-out shorts hung low on his hips, revealing the smooth lines of
his abdominal muscles and the top of dark hair.

I
moistened my lips, wanting to throw myself at him.

He
chuckled darkly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were imagining me
naked.”

Was
it appropriate for a teacher to say that to a student? Never mind he was
partially right. I
was
imagining him naked while slowly lowering himself
over me.

A
sigh escaped me before I slapped a hand over my mouth with alarm. “I didn’t -
that is - oh man.”

Something
changed in his gaze. It darkened, becoming more feral. He stared back at me
with hunger, the type that could only be appeased by hot sex. Lots of hot sex.

“Um,”
Hector finally said, his voice husky. “Would you like to come in so we can get
started?”

He
turned around before I’d responded.

My
face burned as I followed him in, sneaking glances at him.  

Did
I imagine that look he gave me? For a fleeting moment, it was almost as if he
desired me.

“Have
a seat,” he said, sitting in his big leather chair.

“Thank
you for coming by,” he said, smiling and getting down to business. “I’ll let
you know I can be a bit of a slave driver when it comes to bringing out the
best in my pupils. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be the top of your
game.”

I
sat up in my seat. “I hope so.”

“Don’t
hope - know it.” He got up, coming around the desk, a wicked glint to his gaze.
“So what did you think of my assignment?”

“It
was… educational,” I said, handing him my notes.

He
chuckled. “I was hoping as much,” he murmured as he scanned my notes. “These
are good. Now to put them into practice.”

Uh,
oh. I didn’t like the smile on his face. Well, I mean, I did, but just not when
it promised he was about to do something that would make me uncomfortable.

He
wasted no time. Soon as he sat down, he pinned me with a lustful stare and
said, “I want to lick you all over, then see if your cunt tastes as sweet as
you look.”

The
logical part of my brain treated this like a puzzle, a challenge that needed to
be answered. Picking up on a line from his tapes, I answered, “I hope you have
a sweet tooth, because I’m pretty damn sweet.”

Hector
laughed. “Bravo! I only detected a hint of hesitation that time, and you didn’t
blush quite as hard. I’ll have your mind rotted in no time.”

Oh,
honey, it’s already there.
I smiled back but kept that comment to myself.

We
practiced dirty talk nonstop for another fifteen minutes. The longer we went,
the easier it got, though I was still a long way from being what he dubbed “a
natural” at it. It was fun, though, kind of like a game to see who could come
up with a dirtier line.

By
the time he glanced at his watch, I could feel dampness coating my inner thighs,
and I squirmed in my chair. Thank goodness he wasn’t a were, or there was no
way he wouldn’t be able to smell my arousal.

Hector
brought out a bottle of water from the mini fridge by his desk, handing it to
me. “We’ll practice more tomorrow. I want to move on to the next topic to
ensure we have plenty of time to cover it tonight, since it’s so vital to a succubus’s
well-being.”

I
gulped down some much needed mouthfuls of icy water, which did wonders for
dousing my growing lust. “Oh? What would that be?”

In
a manner that was all too alike Elias, he sat back and crossed his arms. “Tell
me, how good are you at seduction?”

I
gulped, the word making my body rigid. A sliver of a memory passed through my
mind, and a man’s taunting words, but I firmly shoved them back down. “I’m all
right.”

He
studied me. I squirmed, feeling like he was looking straight into my soul.
“Stand up,” he commanded gently.

“Yes,
sir,” I murmured, rising.

“Go
stand over there,” he said, pointing.

I
went to the other side of the room, a little confused but desperate to become a
better seductress. I really needed this, or my ass was canned.

“Pretend
I’m a client and you’re starting your gig,” he said. “How do you approach me?”

“Um…”
I started at him in a slow gait I hoped was sexy. “Hi handsome.”

He
smiled softly. “Nice, but I believe you’ll find this more effective. Watch.” He
penetrated me with his stare, the promise of passionate abandon stealing my
breath away and rendering me immobile.

“You
are my client,” he said in a low voice that was close to a growl.

He
stalked toward me like a predator, and I felt myself clench in anticipation.

“And
I hope you’re ready for what I have to offer, Sally, because I’m taking you,
one delicious thrust, lick, and caress at a time.”

I
gasped with longing as he took me up in his arms, placing a hand behind my head
and forcing me to look up at him. That familiar electric tingle cascaded
through me at his touch, intensifying as his hands roved my body. His mouth was
so close to mine. All it would take to close the distance would be for me to
stand on my toes. “You are my prey,” he whispered against my mouth, his hand
sliding along the curve of my hip, then my thigh, slowly lifting my leg around
his waist. The hardness beneath the thin cotton of his pants rubbed against my
aching clit, and it was all I could do not to strip him down and mount him.

My
breathing became harder and faster as he nuzzled my neck, his lips trailing
ghost kisses along the sensitive skin behind my ear. “You’re wet for it now,”
he rasped, clutching my butt and pulling me closer to him. He thrust his hips
forward a bit, rubbing his cock against me, and I moaned. God, my whole body
was wired with sensual energy. I felt like I’d jump out of my skin if I didn’t
release it.