Everlasting Bad Boys (15 page)

One shifter’s soul after another.

“Some of the coven tried to run, but it didn’t do them any good. They all still
died.
” She drew in a ragged breath. “When the rest of the witches in LA found out, they were scared as hell. Most of the unbound ones cut out of the city—”

“Like you did?” Why else would his little witch be all the way on the other side of the country?

“I couldn’t stay in LA without Jayme. I couldn’t live in her house, day after day, when she was gone.” Serena shook her head, and a twisted smile curved her lips. “Besides, I thought I’d be safe here,” she muttered. “And for a while, I was.” Her lips, the ones that he really wanted to touch, firmed as her smile disappeared. “Then the asshole showed up here and started marking
my
coven—the only damn family I have any more.”

Ah, the coven. To hereditary witches, a coven tie was deeper than blood. The coven was power, security, trust. Life.

“You have to stop him.” Serena’s pointed little chin lifted into the air. “If you don’t, then I’m dead.”

He stirred at that, as a wave of tension rolled through him. Why should he care if one more witch—or even a dozen—passed to the next realm? There were others who would take her place.

And yet…

Her eyes.
There was just something about them. So deep. Greener than the fields near his mother’s old home.

Those eyes…
innocence.

No
. There was no way the witch was an innocent. Too much knowledge filled her voice, and she’d used the darkest of spells to rip him away from his promised drink.

And
the promised fuck that had been waiting for him.

“I will do anything,” the witch said, and the desperation on her face and in her words was undeniable. “
Anything,
if you help me and my coven.”

Ah, the pleading. He’d heard it before. Too many times to count. Normally, that shit didn’t do a thing for him.

Her eyes.
What was it about them? The woman was no virgin, not with that ripe body. He could smell her power in the air, and the lush scent of her body.

Sex.

No, not innocence in her eyes, Luis realized.

Hope
.

How long had it been since he’d seen that?

“There are thousands of others in this world who could use me,” he told her, keeping his voice hard. His hands were fisted because damn if he didn’t have the urge to draw her close. To press her tight against him and feel those breasts against his chest. “But I’m not a savior.” He’d tried that route once, and fucked up admirably. No, saving wasn’t really his bit.

Seeking vengeance, sending monsters to hell, yeah, that was more his deal.

“Help me!” Her nails dug into his skin. For an instant, he imagined the two of them together. A dark room. Rumpled sheets. Her nails digging deeply into his flesh. “I have power, I can give you
anything—”

Again with that magic word.
Anything.

A dark, hungry temptation flickered through him.
Because I am my father’s son.

It had been far too long since he’d lain with a witch and tasted the magic on her tongue and sipped the power from her body.

Anything.

Those green eyes…

He lowered his head toward hers. She was so small, her head barely came to his shoulders. She didn’t back away when he closed that distance. Her eyes widened, but she held his stare.

A fire there. Burning inside her.

He’d always liked to play with fire.

“Are you trying to put me under a spell, witch?” A possibility. Her magic was more focused, even with the first binding mark, than any other witch he’d ever met. The hunger he was feeling, the stirring in his groin, it could be a trick.

Sure, a succubus was far better at laying a sensual trap than a witch, but with the right spell, Serena would still manage to turn him on.

Had
managed to turn him on.

He’d been aroused from the first glimpse of her pale skin. As soon as the fog cleared and he’d seen her, he’d wanted to fuck her.

Not a usual response for him.

Killing, yes, that was normal.

But wanting to fuck on first sight, not so typical.

Unless a spell was involved.

Serena licked her lips and the sight of that pink tongue nearly made him groan. “I-I only had enough power left to summon you. I c-can’t hold a lust spell now.”

He stared into her eyes and let his own power out.
Truth.

One of his handy talents. A soul-hunter held the power of truth. He could hear lies—the words twisted, grated in his ears. He could discern truth with but a light push of power.

Before he killed, he liked to make certain he was executing the right monster.

He inhaled softly and caught her breath. Tasted her fear and her need.

The witch would do anything to save herself and her coven.

Luis realized he should probably admire that.

But he didn’t.

Because the hunger he felt for her was growing too strong. His decision was made in that instant. A choice that came fast and wild—just like the need he felt for the curvy little witch. “I’ll find the one after you.” It wouldn’t be easy. The hunts never were. The psychotics were always smarter than they appeared, twisting and turning and leaving a tangled mess for him to sort out. “But it
will
cost you.”

That hope flared even brighter in her gaze and her whole face seemed to light up. Not pretty,
beautiful.
“My coven will—”

“Not your coven, sweetheart.” He wasn’t interested in the others. No, he only cared about the witch who’d drained her powers to summon him.

And then offered the man feared by all
anything.

“What do you want?” No fear. Good, because he’d never wanted fear in his women.

“You.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.” But the dawning realization was in her eyes and her voice pitched too high in his mind.
Lie.

Luis didn’t call her on the falsehood. There would be time for that, later. Just as there would be time for much, much more. “You will, witch.
You will.
” Because he wasn’t just talking about sex. A few hours of mindless pleasure.

He wanted all of her. Body and soul.

The hunt was on.

E
xhaustion flooded Serena’s body, but she walked doggedly forward, putting one foot in front of the other and focusing as hard as she could on not falling face-first onto the ground. She’d barely managed to cleanse the earth and break the remnants of her spell before the last of her power deserted her.

“Uh, is walking around naked out here a real good idea?” The
cazador
spoke from behind her.

She didn’t stop. Couldn’t, or she just might do that face-first routine. “Look, hunter—”

“Luis.” Soft. “Luis D’Amil.”

Now she did pause, glancing over her shoulder. This was almost worth a fall. “Where are you from, Luis?” Luis—that was a Spanish name, and it fit with the Spanish designation the hunters had long ago been given. But D’Amil—

“Once upon a time, I grew up in the area you know as Spain.” His lips twisted into the faintest of smiles. “As the legends say, many of my kind hailed from that rich land.”

Rich in magic. Always had been, but…“You don’t sound Spanish.” His voice was deep and dark, and completely devoid of any accent.

A shrug. “Witch, I’ve been everywhere on this earth. Languages, accents—after a few hundred years, they all blur.”

“But you have to…live…somewhere now. I mean, you do have a house, or an apartment or
something,
right?”

A shrug. “I travel. There are safe places for me to stay.”

I travel.
OK, big euphemism for stalking prey. She swallowed. “I didn’t…ah…take you away from your family or anything, did I?” Serena hadn’t even thought of that. Oh, damn, but what if he had a wife who was frantic because her hubby had up and vanished? But the guy had just propositioned her. Well, she was ninety percent sure he’d propositioned her, and the jerk had better not have a wife at home who—

His smile died. “I have no family left.” Cold. No,
arctic.
Then, “My mother died in the Burning Times.”

Oh, shit.
The Burning Times.
Those horror-filled years when witches had been hunted and hundreds, no
thousands
had been put to the flames. She shouldn’t ask, really shouldn’t, but…“Your father?” A level-ten demon was the only sire for a
cazador
, and level tens were all but immortal themselves.

In the demon world, there were several levels of power. The weaker demons were generally considered levels one through three—they barely had powers above a human’s inherent psychic gifts. But the big, dangerous bastards who were ranked as level tens—well, those were the guys who could bring true meaning to the old phrase, “Hell on earth.” Get them angry enough, and folks around the level tens would literally fry.

“My father died after her. He trusted me to save her. I didn’t, and he couldn’t live without her,” he bit off the words. “See, witch, I’m not a savior—I couldn’t spare my mother from the flames.”

Her lips parted.
What do I say?
“I-I’m sorry, Luis.” And she was. She knew just how much it hurt to lose a loved one to the fire.

He kept talking, as if he hadn’t heard her—and maybe he hadn’t. “I tried to save her. When I learned what the villagers had planned, I tried to help her. But I was too far away and couldn’t get to her fast enough.” His eyes narrowed. “And we all know just how fast witches burn, don’t we?”

The image of her aunt’s charred body flashed through her mind.

Serena swallowed back the bile that wanted to rise in her throat.

“Still sure you want my help, witch?”

Taunting, but she could hear the echo of pain in his voice.
Pain for the family he’d lost.
Perhaps the
cazador
wasn’t so very different from her after all. “Absolutely.”

He was her best bet.

Her only chance. “I’m sorry about your family, Luis, and you may not believe me—but I
do
understand.”

The wind blew against her cheek. He stared into her eyes, and after a moment, his shoulders seemed to relax, just a bit. “I do believe you.”

Well, that was something.

“But don’t waste your time feeling sorry for me. I don’t need your pity.”

Her brows shot up. “Sympathy isn’t the same thing as pity.”
Jerk.

“I need neither from you.”

“And just what is it that you need?” she demanded, but she knew, dammit, deep down she knew—

The smile that curved his lips had her heart slamming into her chest—and her nipples tightening beneath the robe.

Dangerous.

“I’ll show you exactly what I need. Very soon.” A darkly sensual promise.

She just bet he would.
Serena cleared her throat.
Enough.
Keeping her shoulders straight, she turned and resumed her march.

She felt his stare upon her with every step that she took. Heavy, hard and—

“You didn’t answer me, little witch.” Answer him? What had the question been? She paused, and then, when the rest of his words sank in, she almost snorted. Little, her ass. Her abiding love for chocolate and all things dessert meant that she generally stayed out of the “little” category.

He snagged the back of her robe, and Serena stumbled, barely catching herself. “Wait! Stop!”

“Aren’t you concerned about wandering around naked?” He grated, and there was a different note in his voice. Anger?

Shoving a lock of hair out of her eye, she muttered, “Not really. This is coven land. No one but us should be out here.” If any human intruders tried to cross the protected land, well, they’d find themselves turning and inexplicably walking the other way—fast.

Oh, the power of a good spell.

His hold on her loosened. “And we’ll return to your house…with you unclothed?”

The guy was obsessed with her nudity. “I’ve got clothes in the car, OK?” She wasn’t a flasher. Just a really desperate woman.

“Good.” He
finally
released her.

“Glad you approve.” Arrogant ass. But an arrogant ass that she needed.

They trudged the rest of the distance in blessed silence and Serena soon saw the glorious sight of her beat-up Chevy and—

Luis grabbed her, locking his fingers around her wrist and moving in a whirl to stand before her.

“What—”

“We’re not alone.” The shoulders before her were tight with tension.

As his response sank in, her eyes widened. But she hadn’t sensed any danger. Even weakened, she should have felt a premonition of warning.

Rising to stand on her toes, Serena peered over his shoulder. Then she saw them.

Robed figures. Four. No, five of them. Walking from the woods near her car. Black hoods drawn over their heads.

“Don’t get in my way,” Luis ordered. “I’ll take them down, stay back and—”

“
No!”
OK, maybe her scream came too loudly.

But the hunter didn’t even flinch.

She pushed against his back. “Luis, they’re my coven!” What was left of the coven, anyway.

The women walked toward them. Serena scrambled to Luis’s side, a nervous knot tightening in her stomach. One by one, the women drew back their hoods. First, Susan, the stylish matriarch who didn’t look a day over fifty, but who Serena knew was actually pushing seventy. Patricia was next, her cloak falling away to reveal her long, straight black hair and her perfect, dark cream skin. Patricia’s twin sister, Pamela, tossed back her hood almost in unison, exposing her delicate features and her close-cropped hair. Then Sasha, the youngest member of the coven, shoved back her covering. Sasha was barely nineteen, but, like Serena, she had grown up hard in a big city. The girl was tough as nails.

The last face to be revealed was that of Vanessa Donnelley, a fiery redhead Serena had met shortly after moving to Atlanta. Vanessa worked for Dr. Emily Drake—or, as the paranormals in the city called her, the Monster Doctor. The psychologist only treated the
Other,
and Serena was pretty certain that by the time this whole mess was finished, she’d have to pay the good doctor a visit.

Susan didn’t look at Luis. Her horrified stare went straight to Serena. “What have you done, sister?”

Condemnation. She should have expected it but, “I’m trying to save this coven.” They were all marked. They knew that death was coming.

No sense running.
Why couldn’t they see that?
Serena wondered, as her hand rose to brush against the always wild locks of her hair.

“I-is this him?” Sasha asked, eyes wide as she stared up at Luis.

Serena glanced to the left. Saw Luis smile. “What do you think, witch?” he murmured.

The women flinched.

“You’ve destroyed us,” Susan whispered, but the words carried easily on the wind. “The
cazadores
aren’t to be trusted. You know that—you know the stories. They turned against the council years ago, slaughtered innocents—”

“Careful, lady, you’re about to piss me off.” His words were easy, but the power suddenly pulsing in the air was hard.

Susan fell back a step. Hmm. Fell back, or was pushed? Before Serena could decide, the elder witch stiffened her shoulders and said, “He’ll demand a price from you, from
all
of us.”

Luis laughed. “Serena already knows my price, and she’s agreed to pay.” A shrug. “I have no interest in the rest of you.”

Pity flashed across Susan’s face. “What did you do, Serena?”

The only thing she could.

“I’m hunting now.” From Luis. “I won’t stop until I find the one after your coven.”

“And then?” Vanessa’s voice trembled. Normally so tough, but now, she was afraid. As were they all.

“Then I’ll make him disappear. Permanently.”

Soul-eater.

“We’re leaving,” Patricia muttered quickly. “Getting out of town until—”

“Won’t do you any good.” Luis crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her. “He’s got your power trail, that’s how he’s binding you,
all
of you. He has something personal, and he can track you now, no matter where you go.”

Yeah, Serena had been telling them all the
same damn thing.
But when the
cazador
said it, well, the witches gulped and whispered. And their plans changed.

“Tell us when you find the bastard.” Susan lifted her silvery mane proudly. “We will help you.” The glow of magic lit her body.

Luis shook his head. “I don’t need you to help me.” He waved a mocking hand toward them. The witches were standing between them and Serena’s car. “I just need you to get out of my way…”

The witches moved, fast.

As Serena hurried toward her car, she was given one last warning.

“Be careful, Serena, once you use the dark magic, there’s no going back.” Susan’s eyes flickered with power. She knew that the summoning spell Serena had used wasn’t on the light spectrum. No, it tipped the scales sliding into the darkness—as did any spell that utilized force on the unwilling.

Dammit, she hadn’t wanted to use the summoning spell—it had been her only option. Dark magic scared the shit out of her. When she’d been performing her spell, she’d heard the whispers of temptation from the damned. The lure of the ancient power.

But she’d resisted the whispers.

Done her job—and gotten her
cazador.

There had been no choice.
She lifted her chin. Squared her shoulders and heard her mother’s voice whispering through her mind, “
The cazador, he comes after witches when they’re bad.”

Well, it looked like he was already after her.

But just what he planned to
do
with her…she was a bit afraid to find out.

His little witch needed more clothes. The black T-shirt and too-tight jeans barely covered her body, and he kept getting a teasing glimpse of the smooth flesh of her stomach.

The
tattooed
flesh of her stomach. A five-pointed star enclosed her navel, and a glittering gold hoop flashed from the center of her belly button.

Luis didn’t even bother acting as if he weren’t staring at her flesh. He’d been so busy admiring his witch’s breasts earlier that he’d missed the tat and the piercing.

A pity, because the gold was damn sexy on her body.

Was she holding any more secrets on her flesh? He would discover them all—very soon.

She braked in front of a small ranch house. One on a perfectly normal-looking street. One that had small, blooming purple flowers along the sidewalk.

Her fingers clenched around the steering wheel. “I’m not going to just wait around while you hunt.”

Her words had his brows rising.

She turned to him, jaw locked. “You’re not gonna shut me out of this, do you hear me? I
summoned
you, and that means I have some control over you. You’re not gonna shove me in some corner while you go off and hunt alone.”

Ah.
He almost smiled at her fierce words. Almost. Instead, he moved fast, catching her shoulders and pulling her against him. “Time for the rules here, witch.” Her lips were parted in surprise. It always amazed him that even the
Other
were surprised by the speed of his movements.

“R-rules?” Her eyes were wide and so damn green. He could stare into those eyes for hours.

He drew in a deep breath and caught her scent. “Yeah, rules.” Although, really, there weren’t many. “First rule, no one controls me.”
Ever.

Her mouth opened ever more. “But—”

He kissed her. Took her mouth with his tongue and his lips like he’d been fantasizing about for the last half hour. And, damn, but the witch tasted good. Sweet, hot. Fucking incredible. Her tongue moved against his, tentatively at first, as if she were almost afraid to respond.

He didn’t want her fear.

His arms wrapped around her, his embrace becoming more like that of a lover. Her breasts pushed against him and the feel of her nipples pressing into his chest made his cock swell. He stroked her with his tongue, holding on to his control, courting her,
not
demanding…but he needed her response.

Her willing response.

A moan built in the back of her throat. The sound shot straight to his erection, made the lust double. Then her fingers were on his flesh, digging into his shoulders.