Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (23 page)

I
had nothing to say to that. “Shit.”

“Yeah,”
Rhodes said. “Shit.”

I
chewed on my lip and began pacing, feeling restless. “We can’t sit around and
do nothing. How does a demon pick its victims? Why did it want me?”

“We’re
still trying to figure that out,” Harris said. “Some demons are drawn to power,
others lust. Every demon has its fetish.”

I
frowned. “I want to help.”

“Sally-”
Hector started, but I cut him off.

“It’s
me he wants, right? Why don’t we use me as bait?”

“Absolutely
not,” Hector said.

“Now,
hold up there, teach,” Rhodes drawled. “She might be onto something.”

Hector
spun on him, teeth bared. “You can’t be serious! You’re willing to risk a
civilian to catch a criminal! That’s your job!”

“This
is the first demon the department has had to deal with in over one hundred
years!” Rhodes shot back. “We need any advantage we can get.”

“This
isn’t open for discussion,” Hector said. “This conversation’s done.”

“Hector,”
I started to protest as the agents gathered their things.

He
held up a hand. “Not now.”

I
fisted my hands at my sides and kept my mouth clamped shut.

Agent
Harris turned to me. “We’ll send some agents to help protect you. If you should
need anything, here’s my number.”

Hector
snatched the card from her hand before I could, glaring at her. “Thank you,
officer. Good night.”

She
caught my gaze, her expression no doubt as worried as my own, before at last
leaving and shutting the door.

I
whirled on Hector. “What the hell was that?”

“That
was me trying to protect the woman I love from getting massacred by a madman,”
Hector growled.

I
blinked, taken aback. “Hector-”

He
took my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, taking away every breath I
tried to take. When he at last let me breathe, I was gasping and my heart was
pounding.

He
rested his forehead against mine. “I could have lost you tonight. Again. I feel
like I’m living my days on borrowed time, knowing any minute you could be taken
from me. It scares me to death, Sally.”

I
looked in his eyes, caressing his cheeks. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He
closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself. “Then why
are you volunteering to face your doom?”

“Because
I-I want to help,” I stammered, hating that I worried him. I felt so selfish. I
hadn’t stopped to consider how Hector would feel if I died. “I’m tired of
waiting around for him to find me, and Hector, he
will
find me. It’s
just a question of when.”

He
started to argue, but I cut him off.

“People
are dying over me,” I said. “I can’t even begin to describe the guilt I feel.”

Hector
searched my eyes. “I understand where you’re coming from. But it’s a risk I’m
not willing to take.”

“Hector!
Please, let me try!”

“No.”

“You
can’t keep me in a cage! We can’t live our lives in fear of him finding us.”

“Then
we’ll find another way!”

“How?
By letting more people sacrifice their lives to protect me? I don’t think so!”

Hector
grabbed my hand and pressed it to his chest. His heart was beating hard beneath
my fingertips. “I would fall to pieces if I lost you,” he said. “You’re the one
I’ve been searching for my whole life. You’re like a part of me now, Sally. I
love you too damn much to let you go.”

I
went silent. “You love me?”

“Of
course,” he said, stroking my hair from my face. “I should think that much was
obvious.”

“But
you never said so.”

“Then
let me tell you now, again.” He cupped my face in his hands. “I love you, Sally
Sanders. I am yours.”

I
rose on my tiptoes, overwhelmed with such incredible joy I could burst. “And I
am yours.”

I
kissed him then, with everything I had in me. As if of their own will, my
fingers began undoing his buttons as he unzipped my dress.

Yes.
Finally, this was happening. It wasn’t exactly in the location I had in mind,
or the circumstances, but to hell if I was waiting a second longer to be closer
to the man I loved.

Within
seconds, our clothes were on the floor. When Hector couldn’t tug my dress off,
it burst into flames, melting off me. To my surprise, it tickled instead of
burned, and once he had me stripped down to my underwear, he hoisted me up into
his arms. I wrapped my legs around his torso, kicking my heels off as he
carried me to the bed. With a flick of his wrist, the door locked, and we
toppled onto the bed, never breaking our kisses.

Rip!

He
tore my thong clear off, sending the scraps of cloth to the floor. A few
seconds later, my bra followed suit. He kissed me deeply, thrusting gently, the
crown of his erection brushing my wet folds, teasing them.

I
clawed at his back, his butt, trying to press him into me, but he resisted. His
lips wrapped around one of my erect nipples, sucking and licking. “Hector,” I
said breathlessly.

He
let up just long enough to say, “Yes?” before continuing with renewed fervor.

“You
have no idea… how long… I’ve wanted to do this,” I said between breaths.

“Oh,
love, I’ve been waiting for the day to make love to you and show you how much I
care.” His mouth trailed lower, down my abdomen and over that swollen,
sensitive spot begging to be touched.

His
fingers probed me as his tongue flicked out, lapping at my clit.

I
cried out then clamped my hands over my mouth to stifle the sound.

Hector’s
chest rumbled with laughter, and the sound vibrated through me, making me
tingle deep within. “Don’t worry. No one can hear us. I cast a soundproofing
spell. Feel free to scream my name as loudly as you want.”

He
continued licking me, faster and faster until I was clawing at the sheets and
begging him to finish me. When the world exploded in a fantastic mess of stars
and warmth, I lay panting against the sweat-soaked bed as he crawled on top of
me. His eyes had darkened with lust, and it only made me want him more.

I
reached up and cupped his cheek. “Make love to me?” I whispered.

He
lowered himself, positioning his cock over my folds. His mouth hovered over
mine, and his gaze never wavered. “That’s what I plan to do,” he whispered
back, then kissed me with surprising tenderness.

Our
eyes stayed locked as we kissed, and he started to thrust. I moaned with
pleasure as he first entered me, bit by bit, being careful not to stretch me
too far. And oh, how I stretched. He was bigger than I thought at glimpsing
him, and I knew I would have to be very loose to contain him.

“Am
I hurting you?” he asked gently, going deeper but still not deep enough.

I
shook my head. “Deeper,” I breathed.

He
pushed a little harder, and I rocked my hips with his, angling myself to take
more of him in.

He
kneaded my breasts as he thrust into me, kissing me with growing passion the
more urgent his thrusts became. I rocked with him, my hips meeting his as we
danced to the same sensual rhythm. The tip of his cock was close to my
sweetness, I could feel it. It throbbed with warmth, giving off little sparks
of electricity each time he banged me.

“You’re
nice and loose now,” he said with a wicked grin, though his eyes looked
troubled.

It
took a moment for me to realize why. I smiled at him. “It’s okay,” I whispered.
“You won’t hurt me.”

“Sally-”

I
put a finger to his lips. Without breaking our rhythm, I jutted upward as he
was thrusting, opening myself to him fully.

It
was like a supernova went off in me. For a few breathtaking seconds, I was
speechless.

Hector
groaned, both of us arching our backs, moaning and gasping at the pleasure of
it. It was like sheathing himself drove Hector as wild as it did me, because he
grabbed me and began pumping into me with renewed fervor. His lovemaking was
rawer, more urgent.

Given
access to my core, I writhed beneath him, gasping as he made love to me. Never
had I had someone hit that spot, a white-hot ball of fire that grew and grew
with every push.

I
was coming undone. Everything was Hector, and I became aware of him whispering
in my ear. “Sit up.”

I
obeyed, straddling him as we sat up on the bed, Hector still pumping into me. I
ground my clitoris against him, masturbating as his length stroked my folds. He
gently tilted me back and began sucking on my breasts, tugging and pulling and
teasing with his teeth. I moaned and gasped for air, grinding harder.

He
lay me back and grabbed my legs, resting them on his shoulders while he sat up.
He held my legs in position as he slowed his rhythm.

I
gasped at the sensation. It was so much sharper, each thrust delivering a jolt
of pleasure all the way up my core.

“Am
I hurting you?” he rasped, eyes glued to mine.

I
shook my head. “No. I want more.”

He
increased his speed with each thrust, going deeper until he completely filled
me up. I cried out, grasping at the sheets as my back arched. “Yes. Give it to
me. More. Faster. Harder.”

He
obliged. Soon our bodies were soaked with sweat.

“God,
you’re so wet,” he said. “I want to taste your honey one more time before driving
you home.”

My
whole body tingled with anticipation as he repositioned himself and began
licking my clit.

I
screamed. “Yes. Just like that.”

His
tongue stroked my throbbing sex, sucking on it until I was dizzy with pleasure.
In slow, tantalizing movements, his tongue probed deeper between my folds,
driving me to madness one lick at a time.

“Hector,”
I gasped, “I’m close.”

He
immediately stopped.

I
nearly sat up. “What are you doing?” I started to ask, then gasped as he
remounted me, his cock still hard as steel. He began rocking his hips against
mine harder, with more urgency.

“I
want to feel you come around me,” he said, stroking my aching breasts.

I
leaned back, arching my hips up to more fully take him in. God, he was so big.

He
leaned forward, taking me in his arms and holding me. “Come for me, Sally,” he
rasped, nipping at my ear. “Moan for me.”

It
wasn’t hard. I screamed his name, rocked by the most powerful orgasm I’d ever
felt. The same warmth I’d felt with him at our contact was compounded. I could
feel
him now, like we were somehow connected. His pleasure roared through me a few
seconds later as he came, thrusting a few last times and then falling on top of
me.

We
lay there panting. A warm glow settled over me, lighting me from the inside out
with happiness. I don’t think I’d ever been this happy.

And
it scared the hell out of me.

Hector
sat up, tucking me against him and pulling the sheet up. It was tight in the
hospital bed, but the coziness worked fine for me. “Amazing,” he murmured,
stroking my hair in loving moves. “I can feel your emotions.”

So
I wasn’t imagining it.

“And
you feel nervous and scared,” he went on. “What’s wrong?”

“I…
I’m just so happy.”

“Isn’t
that a good thing?”

“It
is, but… but the last time I was this happy, things went straight to hell the
next day.”

He
kissed my forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I
know.” I snuggled into him. “But what if we get ripped apart? This here - what
we’re doing, what we just did - is against the law.”

“Damn
the law. We’ll deal with it if it’s an issue.”

His
assurance was comforting, his passion, my rock. “You don’t seem surprised about
us being connected. I thought only werewolves and vampires could do that.”

“It’s
called ‘mating,’” he said with a sexy smile. “And yes, while it’s most common
among weres and vamps, other supernatural beings can mate. You and I are
connected forever now. Once a bond is forged, it cannot be broken.”

“Even
in death?”

“Well,”
he said with gravity, “except for that.”

I
shivered, thinking about Damien. No, I refused to let that asshole ruin another
moment of my probably limited time with Hector. “You never answered my
question, about not being surprised we mated.”

It
felt comforting to belong to someone that wholly. Part of me had given up on
finding true love, too much a pessimist thanks to a healthy dose of the real
world.
Showed that girl who’s boss!

Hector
rested his head against mine. “When Erys heard of what my late wife had done,
she cast a love spell, wanting to help heal my broken heart. I would find the
love of my life, my soul mate, as it were, in time, but as a catch I wouldn’t
be able to truly love until I found her.”