Everlasting Bad Boys (21 page)

His fingers slammed into the invisible wall. His eyes slit. “
Serena.
”

Her brow furrowed as she fought to hold the field. It was weak as hell, but she was making a point! “Don’t
use
me,
cazador
!”

His fist punched against the field. “I’m trying to save your life!”

“You could have warned me about Jack, you could have—”

“I didn’t know that asshole would be hunting here. By the time I realized it was him, it was too late, and he hunts by sensing
fear
. If I’d told you what was happening and how easily I could take him down, your emotions would have changed and he would have sensed it.”

Her temples began to throb. The wall was getting even weaker. “I don’t want to be bait,” she repeated, but this time, she was talking about the warlock. Or maybe she’d been talking about him all along. Her hand rubbed her right temple. “I don’t want to be bound.”

“
I
am with you, Serena. No one is going to hurt you.
No one.
”

“I want to protect myself.” She always had. “I don’t want to be weak.” As weak as the pitiful spell that wasn’t really holding him off. He could have broken through her force field with one push of magic.

But he hadn’t.

“You’re not going to be weak,” he promised and his hand flattened on the field. “We’re going to get the bastard, you’re going to be safe, and I promise, I’ll return you to full power.”

Her hand lifted, hovered over his. “Why did you agree to help me, Luis?” She’d summoned him, but he could have left. Could have vanished in a blink.

“Because I wanted you. From the first glimpse through the fog,
I wanted you.
” Power filled his words.

And she’d wanted him.

“Trust me, Serena. Trust me to save you. Trust me to—” He broke off, shaking his head.

For a moment, her gaze again dropped to the body of the dead demon. Goose bumps rose on her flesh.

Luis had spent lifetimes battling demons like Jack. Fighting to keep the world safe.

Fighting alone. Always alone.

“Why do you do it?” she whispered. “The council is long gone. It’s not your duty to keep fighting these bastards.” Though she’d screamed that it was his
job
the first time they’d met. But it wasn’t. He was entitled to live a life just like any other. So
why
did he do it? Why keep fighting the darkness?

“Because someone has to,” he said simply. “And I’m one of the only beings strong enough to face those in the dark.”

Her heart pounded so hard that her chest hurt. Was it truly that simple for him? And, goddess, but what must his life be like? So many battles. So much evil.

“Serena…” A plea was in his voice now, with even a touch of…desperation? “
Trust me.”

She jerked her gaze away from the demon. Met Luis’s stare. Her lover with the golden eyes and the touch of death. The man who fought evil, when others would have run.

Trust him? Oh, yes, she did. With her life.

And with her soul.

As her spell faded with a whisper of air, her fingers curled over his. “I do trust you.”

He got her off that street and away from the body as fast as he could. Luis didn’t worry about disposing of the demon. The cops would find the body, or, if they didn’t, well, the other demons who frequented the area would make certain that
no one
found Jack.

Another bastard off his list.

Damn. When he’d caught the demon’s scent and realized who was out stalking, he’d nearly lost it. Almost let his power rip out full force.

He hadn’t wanted Serena close to that bastard. Hadn’t wanted Jack to so much as
look
at her.

But he’d known that if any
Other
in the city knew about the warlock, well, it would have been a piece of shit like Jack. So he’d held on to his control as long as he could. Let Serena lure the guy in, and when Jack had made the mistake of reaching for Serena, he’d attacked.

He hadn’t wanted Serena to see him make the kill.

When she looked at him, sometimes,
sometimes,
he’d catch a hint of fear or worry in her eyes.

But she often just looked at him as if he were…a man.

He wanted her to keep looking at him that way. Wanted her to
always
look at him as if he were just her lover.

And not the killer she’d summoned.

His body was bursting with energy. The power of the touch ran through him, pulsing in his veins. The demon’s energy blended with his own, sending the currents of magic pumping through him.

Usually after a touch of death, he found a woman. Got between her legs and rode hard and fast for the rest of the night.

He felt the same wild need now, the same lust.

But he didn’t just want
any
woman.

He wanted the woman who sat so stiffly beside him as she drove her car, streaking down the streets and racing through the darkness.

The woman who had touched him after a kill and said she trusted him.

Truth.

“Luis…” Her voice was husky.

He glanced over at her.

“Something’s…wrong.”

He tried to unclench his fingers from their white-knuckled grip on the door handle.

“Are you all right?”

She hadn’t lied to him. He wasn’t about to lie to her. “I will be.” Once the edge of tension wore off.

In about eight or nine hours.

Fuck.

She braked at a red light. Turned to face him. “Tell me what’s happening. You’re stiff as a board over there. You’re sweating, and you haven’t moved in fifteen minutes. Are you sick? Are you—”

“It’s aftereffects, sweetheart.” The only weakness his kind had. The energy from the kill pumped through his body too hard, too fast. The result was a furious tension and a ravenous sexual hunger.

But then, his hunger for Serena was always pretty ravenous.

The light changed to green, but Serena didn’t take her foot off the brake. “What does that mean? Do you need to rest? To eat, to—”

“Fuck.”

She blinked.

No lies. Not between them.
Not to her.
“To get back to being one hundred percent, I need to fuck. I need to get you, naked, and plunge into that pretty pink sex until the power shock fades and I’m close to normal,”
normal for him
, “and I can stop breathing without my cock twitching for you.”

Her lips parted. “Ah…I…see.”

Probably not. She didn’t understand that he was literally drowning in her scent then, that talking was hard, and that every breath he drew, he tasted her.

And wanted to fuck her so bad he ached.

She glanced around the darkened streets. Gave a nod, then punched the gas and spun the wheel to the left.

“Serena!”

Tires squealed.

She didn’t glance his way. “You want me.”

Hell, yes.

“You need to have sex to…work through this tension.”

He needed to have sex because he wanted inside her. But, yeah, getting past the power surge was necessary, too.

“My art studio is a few blocks away. I-I had to get a place to meet with my clients. It’s not real big, but if you don’t mind the paint and the lack of a bed—”

If he could have her, he wouldn’t mind a damn thing.

“Then we can be there in two minutes.” She glanced at him, and Luis was caught by the desire he saw in her emerald stare. One that was almost a match for his own ferocious need. “And you can have me in three.”

Hell, yes.

T
he scent of paint hit him the moment Serena unlocked the door to the small loft.

“I-I rented here because the light is so good. The clients like the studio and I like to have a separate place for doing their work.” She flipped on the lights.

Luis tried to bite down on his hunger. Her art was on the wall. Same dark colors. Same proud passion. “You’re damn good, Serena.”

Her lips parted in surprise.

He had to kiss those lips. Feel that tongue he could see peeking behind her teeth.

“Ah, thanks. Painting—it’s almost like magic to me.”

She smiled at him, a sweet, real smile.

His heart lurched.

Ah, hell…No way was he going to be able to wait.

Luis dragged her into his arms. Kicked the door closed and took her mouth.

He kissed her with a fury and a hungry need. Started stripping off her clothes. Heard the thud of her boots as she kicked them to the floor.

He wasn’t going to take the time to strip. He unbuckled his pants, shoved them out of the way, caught his straining erection and—

“Let me.” She breathed the words against his mouth.

Then she pulled back and dropped to her knees before him.

“
Serena.
” A few drops of liquid pulsed from the tip of his cock.

Her fingers closed around him. Squeezing. Stroking. She seemed to know exactly how to touch him and make the hunger grow even more.

His knees trembled as his cock jerked eagerly in her grasp.

Her lips curved. Parted.

Then she bent her head toward him, that luscious red mouth open, and took him inside.

His teeth clenched as a ragged groan burst from his lips.

She moved her head, sucked, her cheeks hollowing as she drew on him.

Stars danced before his eyes. His fingers sank into the riotous mass of her curls. So damn soft.

And her mouth was so hot.

She drew him in deep, then pulled back to lick the head of his arousal. Swirled her tongue over his flesh. Another long, deep suck.

Then she swallowed.

His fingers tightened as his control snapped. He started moving her, faster, harder, thrusting his cock, trying to go deeper.

She swallowed again.

Luis came, roaring her name and shuddering helplessly as she drank in his essence.

When she’d wrung every drop from his body, she pulled away from him. Rocked back on her haunches.

Luis stared down at her.

His cock began to swell again.

What looked like white sheets were draped across the floor behind her. Paint spotted the material.

The sheets would be better than the floor.

“Take off the rest of your clothes, witch.” The strongest witch he’d ever met.

She’d bewitched him with nothing more than a touch that first night. Enslaved him with a smile.

He knew the truth now. He would never,
ever
get enough of her.

She laughed as she pushed off her panties. “But I wanted more.” Her eyes danced with hunger and sensual power.

Because she’d just broken a
cazador’s
control.

He dropped to his knees before her. Kissed the delicate inside of her ankle. One, then the other. Licked his way up the silky smooth skin of her leg. “My turn to taste.” He wanted to hear Serena scream
his
name.

And what a cazador wanted…

He parted her legs. Touched the warm, creamy flesh that had already plumped with arousal. Her clit was waiting for him, and when he touched the button of her desire, Serena’s back arched off the floor.

A good start.

He put his mouth on her and
took
.

Her moan was so sweet.

But he wanted more.

His tongue stroked over her. Licked. Fast, hard licks. Then short, slow swipes.

She began to call his name.

But not to scream for him. Not yet.

He pushed two fingers inside her. Felt the delicate muscles of her sex clamp greedily around him. He thrust, driving knuckle deep, then retreating.

Licking.

Her hips rocked against his hand, jerking faster with each move of his fingers.

Luis wanted more.

He pulled his fingers free. Lowered his mouth. Touched her trembling flesh with the tip of his tongue.

Then drove his tongue inside of her.

The scream she gave was pure music to his ears.

Luis thrust his cock into her just as the last tremors of her climax faded.

Serena stared up at him. Lines of tension and need were etched onto his face.

A dark power drove him. She could feel the magic in the air. But there was more.

The hunger she felt for him, the stark lust she’d experienced nearly from the beginning, was reflected in his eyes.

Power to power.

Lover to lover.

Sex to sex.

She locked her legs around him. Held on tight as he slammed into her, driving that thick cock deep into her. Her muscles clamped around him. Clutched tight, and a flash of pleasure had her undulating beneath him.

Then he thrust harder. Curled his hands around her hips and lifted her into his strokes.

His eyes began to darken as he gazed down at her.

The pleasure built again.

She didn’t look away from him. Couldn’t.

Serena tightened around him and rode his cock as wildly as she could.

When the next climax hit her, she didn’t even try to muffle her cry of release.

But then, neither did he.

She slept at some point. After she rode him, breasts bouncing as she took his cock inside. After he flipped her onto her stomach and took her with her hands digging into the paint-stained sheets.

She slept, and he watched her.

His fingers traced the star on her belly. Such a beautiful, simple design. One witches had long used.

I don’t want to be weak.
Her words played through his mind.

His little witch didn’t understand, even without her magic, she wouldn’t be powerless. She was smart, resourceful, and brave. Not many would have stood beneath that streetlight and waited for a lost demon to walk from the darkness.

And not many would have risked using dark magic to summon him.

He brushed his face against her curls. Inhaled her scent.

I don’t want to be weak.

His head lifted. His mother had been weak, at the end.

Life was too short for so many.

He put his hand back over Serena’s stomach. Power and a dark need still filled him.

But his control was back, and it
would
hold. No matter how much his witch tempted him.

Because he had a promise to keep and a warlock to kill.

She shifted against him, and her lashes blinked open. “Luis?”

Bending, he pressed a kiss to her sleep-softened lips. “We have to go, sweetheart.” There were only about two more hours of darkness left.

Enough time to finish this battle.

Understanding filled her eyes as the mist of dreams faded. “We’re going after him.”

“You won’t worry another night about the warlock.” He pulled away from her, found his clothes scattered on the floor, and began to dress.

Serena sat up slowly. “And then you’ll go away. Back to—wherever the hell you were before, huh?” A touch of anger had entered her voice.

Yeah, he’d go back to Mexico. He had a level-nine demon with a death wish to track.

There was always someone to track.

He picked up Serena’s clothes, handed them to her. “Our deal will be over.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You’ll just walk away.” The words were bitten out from between her teeth.

Luis frowned. “What do you want of me, witch?” He’d fight with his last breath for her,
kill
for her.

“More than you can give,
dammit.
” She swiped at her eyes.

Oh, hell, was Serena crying?

“This wasn’t supposed to happen!” She jumped up, jerked on her clothes. Didn’t look at him. “You were supposed to come here, help me, leave and not—” Her words tumbled to a halt, and she shook her head. “Forget it. Let’s go get the warlock and end this.”

End this.
The words echoed in his mind.

Not yet. “What wasn’t I supposed to do, Serena?” The question was important. He didn’t want to have failed her.

Not when she’d given him a glimpse of life. Passion. Warmth.

Things he hadn’t felt or seen in centuries.

Her hands balled onto her hips. “
Care.
OK, asshole? You weren’t supposed to make me
care.”

He stilled.

“This is stupid!” Another hard swipe with her hand. “Look, just forget it. I’m scared, I’m tired, I’m trapped in some weird lust-land with you and I don’t know what the hell I’m saying.” She tugged on her boots, hopping. “Just forget—”

His hands caught her and held her steady. “I’m not ever going to forget you.”

For a moment, her lips trembled. Then she pressed them together and shook her head.

He freed her, then stepped back.

“You will,” she said, voice steady, eyes wide. “When years pass and I’m nothing more than ashes on this earth and you’re still living, you’ll forget me. Just like you’ve probably forgotten so many others and—”

“
I’ve never forgotten
.” The snarl burst from him and the room trembled. “Not a soul I’ve taken, not a loved one I’ve lost.”

Her breath hitched. “Luis…”

“You’re wrong if you think immortality is easy, sweetheart. It’s not. It’s not fun, and it’s sure as hell not pretty. It’s dark and it’s cold. It’s finding villages torn to the ground by fucking killers—and seeing the bodies of innocents left in their wake. It’s tracking murdering bastards—and burying the dead they leave behind. It’s—”

“Stop.” Her fingers pressed against his mouth. “Don’t tell me any more.”

This life, it hadn’t been
his
choice. To walk alone, no, he’d never wanted that.

To kill forever.

And live in the darkness.

Torture. Hell, for him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and her fingers slid down to cup his jaw. Serena rose on tiptoe. She pressed her mouth against his.

His arms locked around her, pulled her tightly against him.

The kiss wasn’t wild this time. Not desperate.

Softer. Sweeter.

Tender.

He tasted her slowly. Savored the flavor of her on his tongue. He brushed his lips over hers, so lightly.

After a time, Luis forced his head to lift.

She hadn’t expected to care. Well, in such a short time, he sure as hell hadn’t, either.

But he cared for her. He exhaled heavily. Why lie to himself? The feelings were a lot more than just
caring.

Lust. Need. Want. Yeah, he felt all of those things.

He also wanted just to hold her. To watch her paint in the sunlight. To see her smile.

That wouldn’t happen. It wasn’t what fate had planned.

At the beginning, he’d thought he’d try to take her. To force her into his world so that he could have a bit of the burning light that he saw shining so brightly within her.

But he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t force Serena to come into his world.

Not when she didn’t belong in his life of violence and death.

She needed life and passion.

She didn’t need him. Even if she had started to…
care
for him.

His mother had warned him of this. Warned that the men in his family fell too quickly, could need and want too much.

His father, for all his power, had died of a broken heart. After all, no mortal weapons could kill one such as he.

But the death of his wife, yeah, that had done it.

Luis gazed down at his witch. “Tomorrow is Halloween.” A day normally celebrated by witches. All Hallow’s Eve.

A nod.

“We have to stop him before midnight. He’ll bind you today if he can, and then he’ll try to kill you—”

“On Halloween,” she finished, voice quiet. “That’s what he did to the witches in LA. Binding, then death.”

Because the magic was always stronger on All Hallow’s Eve. He stroked her cheek. Brushed back a stray curl. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

That pert chin of hers lifted. “Neither am I.”

It would be the end for them, though. Serena couldn’t go with him where he had to travel. She couldn’t,
wouldn’t
want to spend the years of her life battling the dregs of the
Other
world.

The foolish plan he’d hatched in the heat of his hunger and selfish lust felt hollow now.

He’d just been alone for so long, and Serena…she made him feel so alive.

Yet she deserved peace. Happiness. A happy ending, those endings that princesses got in stories, and witches never did.

He’d always hated those stories.

“Are you ready?” He wasn’t.

Serena nodded again.

Then it was time. “Let’s go take us down a warlock.”

Serena drove to Roswell, knowing the area in the northern section of Atlanta well. There was no traffic on the streets—it was far too early for most folks. She and Luis didn’t talk as they drove. Luis was tense and silent, and after her stupid confession fiasco, she wasn’t about to open her mouth.

Once they reached Roswell, there were several houses that sported the white columns Jack had mentioned, but only one concealed behind a huge, wrought-iron gate.

“He’s going to sense us,” she warned, but knew Luis must have already realized that fact. She braked a distance from the house. She didn’t feel the pull of the warlock’s power, not yet, but if she got much closer…

“Won’t do him any good. A thirty-second warning isn’t going to save his ass.”

No, it wouldn’t. Not from Luis. And not from her.

“You…don’t have to come inside, Serena. Let me finish this. There’s no need for you to see—”

Me kill.
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Serena knew exactly what Luis meant.

“I’m coming.”

His lips parted as if he would speak, but then he merely gave a grim nod.

“Luis…” She touched his arm. “I’m not afraid to see you kill. The idea that psychotic bastards are out there and that they might get to keep hurting and killing others—just like this prick has done—that
frightens
me.”