Some Like it Wicked (2 page)

She had lived without the important stuff for twenty-five
years and she couldn’t do it any longer. Those desires made her leave
everything she knew behind in Shreveport in search of a new life.

And now here she was, in Charmstone with a demon.

Chapter Two

Zeke had taken many lovers to his bed—humans and
supernaturals alike—but no woman, mortal or immortal, had ever stirred such
hunger in him. When he had spotted Bryanna at the side of the road, dripping
wet, he had slammed on his brakes without a second thought. The corset she had
worn created ample cleavage and he craved to dip his tongue between the valleys
of her round breasts.

Even now, walking alongside her on the street, she bewitched
him. The contrast of her long dark hair against her creamy white flesh, the
swirl of her hips she unknowingly made when she walked had him biting back a
groan. He wanted to fuck this witch until he branded her with his body. But
even as that thought crossed his mind, he also found the little witch
intriguing. So hidden and drawn into herself, which he suspected came from the
refusal of her magic.

She unintentionally put forth a challenge and he happily
accepted.

For more years than he cared to count, Zeke had waited,
searching for the reason that validated his choices, which had caused his
banishment from hell. He had desperately sought to find a soul innocent enough
to test him. Could he deny the need to feed and in turn, save her instead of
steal her?

His demonic instincts told him Bryanna held an innocence any
demon would lust after to consume. A soul as good and pure as hers was rich
food for a demon, but Bryanna would not be a meal to him. He might no longer be
evil, he might not want to harm her, but one thing was certain, he would devour
her.

“Can I ask you something personal?” she asked.

He dragged himself away from the images playing in his mind
of her naked, sprawled out before him with her legs spread wide, showing off
her damp pussy. “Depends.”

Nibbling her lip, she stared up at him with beautiful
crystal-blue eyes, which were presently full of suspicion. “On?”

He couldn’t quite tell if her nerves around him were from
his demonic heritage or if she fought against her earlier heated reaction to
him. He hadn’t been blind to her long study of him, nor the sizzle in her gaze
that appeared thereafter, and he would definitely use her interest in him to
his advantage.

At his regard of her, her eyes widened—a bit scared and a
little intimidated—and that reaction fed his demonic needs. Leaning down toward
her, he grinned. “Bryanna, I’ll answer any question as long as I’ll continue to
look good after I answer it.”

She stared at him for a long moment as if he shocked her,
then she laughed, shaking her head. “Hearing a demon say anything about being
good is funny. You do know that, right?”

He nodded in agreement. “It is unusual, yes.”

She appeared to want to ask more and gazed at him with
interest, but she drew in a long breath and focused back on the street. As they
passed by the Spellbound Spa, she stayed silent and smiled at the witch exiting
the spa. When they approached the Blessed Be Bakery, she looked back up at him.
“I’m curious about you being a demon and, well, living in Charmstone.”

He arched a playful eyebrow, placing a hand over his chest.
“You think the town should banish me?”

She stopped dead, turning to him and folding her arms under
incredibly delectable breasts. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Well now, the little witch did have some strength in her
sexy-as-hell body. “Ah, you mean why am I not out stealing souls and doing
Satan’s work?”

“Precisely.” She once again strode forward. “Why aren’t you
doing
that
?”

Perhaps he made her as curious as she made him. He regarded
her, considering how to answer such an important question, and he chose his
words carefully, hoping she could relate. “Just because I’m a demon doesn’t
mean I have to live by rules that others set out for me.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Seriously? You woke up one day and said,
‘Hmm, I’m done with this whole soul eatin’ bit’.” At his nod, since it had been
much like that, she gazed at him as if he had horns growing out of his head.
“Why?”

Along the sidewalk, a warlock approached and Zeke inclined
his head in greeting before he glanced at her and shrugged. “I grew tired of
creating fear and causing death.”

Her examination of him was long and slightly awkward, then
she finally asked, “So, just like that you up and quit?”

He chuckled. “It’s not really something you can quit.”

She gave a firm nod, now looking at him as if those horns
she imagined were on fire. “Yes, well, I figured as much. So, what happened?”

While normally he wouldn’t dive so deep into his past, he
couldn’t help enjoying how she asked questions about him and wanted to know who
he was. Maybe it meant she was trying to see past what scared her. He liked
that thought. “My assignment brought me to a young woman in her early twenties.
She wanted to make herself better, be prettier and smarter—just be
more
.
For all of that, she was willing to sell her soul to get it.”

He paused to let her process, but she urged him on with a
wave of her hand. “And…”

On a deep breath, he looked at the ground, avoiding her
gaze. “I went to the woman, offered her the choice and she accepted. From
there, it all went as it usually did and the woman received everything she
asked for.” The painful memory he had held close to his heart. He never wanted
to forget the impact it had on him. “But it was that woman who changed it all
for me.”

“Things changed
after
you stole her soul?”

He nodded at the sidewalk. “The woman had everything anyone
could have dreamed of: a powerful life, beauty and anything she could ever
want.”

“Well, that’s the point, isn’t it?” Bryanna laughed softly.
“So, what’s the problem? It sounds like it all worked out for her.”

“Sadly, it didn’t.” He glanced sideways at her and suspected
the pain burned into him from the past showed on his expression, because
Bryanna’s eyes saddened. “She might have had it all and had the life she dreamed
of, but it didn’t give her happiness. That loneliness—emptiness—never went
away.”

Bryanna hesitated, her eyes searching his. “But why would
that make you deny your demonic roots?”

He stopped and turned to face her, drawing in a deep breath.
“I’m not sure I can explain what happened that night. Why I suddenly awakened
to the reality of what I’d done.” He exhaled. “But after that night, I couldn’t
make the offer for the exchange anymore. To do so seemed wrong and my loyalty
to Satan ceased to exist. As my punishment, Satan banished me to walk this
realm forever, not realizing that was what I wanted anyway.”

“Zeke, that’s…” her head tilted, sending those long locks
over her bare arm, “incredible.”

There, in her gaze, he witnessed confusion and a hint of sympathy.
Perhaps even a little warmth in her features toward him now. That pleased him
far more than anything else. “Enough about my past. Let’s get you dry.” Even if
he would rather get her wet instead. With a smile, he gestured to the store
behind her. “This is where you’ll want to go.”

The sign above the old wooden door had
Dragon’s Whips
carved
into the dark cherry wood. Bryanna’s fists clenched, as the name alone was
indication enough of what this place was. Only further confirming her
suspicions was the female mannequin in the window dressed in a leather bra and
a string thong.

Inhaling a harsh breath, she turned toward Zeke and narrowed
her eyes on the demon who had made her heart melt a moment ago. Oh how he
fooled her with his sad story and changed ways. Perhaps he had read more into
her naughty thoughts of him and assumed she planned to act them out. “Where in
the elements have you taken me?”

He frowned. “A store.”

“Yes, I see that it’s a store.”
Smart ass
. “But—”

Not allowing her to finish and brushing past her, he grabbed
the wrought iron handle and opened the door. “You need new clothes, so we’re
getting clothes.”

She glared at his back, wishing she could conjure the fire
element to set him aflame. “I don’t know what kind of witch you think I am, but
I’m not going in there.”

Keeping the door ajar, he turned to her and cocked his head.
“Why would that be?”

“Because it’s a sex shop.” She hated that her cheeks warmed
under his hard stare. “I don’t want sex toys.”

He stared at her for a moment, dead serious, then his eyes
crinkled. “I realize you’re not in the market for sex toys.” Leaning in toward
her, he trailed a finger up the side of her corset. “I thought this attire
suited you and that you would want to get another.” He arched an eyebrow. “Am I
wrong?”

As he withdrew his finger, she gulped. Bless the elements,
she felt his touch as if his finger lingered on her bare skin and burned into
her soul. “Yes, a new corset. I want that.” Without another word, since her
limbs trembled and skin was flushed, she walked through the door of the shop.

However, when she faced a room full of dildos, whips and
bondage items—a sexual playground indeed—the increasing heat in her cheeks had
nothing to do with Zeke’s touch, but the awkwardness of the moment.

Not to say the naughty items appalled her, but she had
always been a romantic at heart. Soft, sensual touches aroused her more than
the rough stuff, even if she’d only fantasized of romance.

Layton had always been more of a get your rocks off type of
guy. He never cared if she received pleasure and simply pumped himself into her
with little thought of her orgasm, only of his. It hadn’t always been that way.
At first, he’d been sweet and she believed for a while that he did love her.

Now she knew better.

A sudden nudge on her elbow broke her away from both her
shock and thoughts of a crappy ex-boyfriend. When she glanced over her
shoulder, Zeke gestured toward the back the room with a gentle smile. “It’s
this way.”

Following in behind him, she passed by the salesman who
stood behind the dark wood desk and the warlock smiled at her, which she
returned. Turning away from him, she focused on the demon walking in front of
her, pondering his intriguing past.

Funny how she didn’t fear him anymore, but how could she? He
denied his nature, even if it banished him from everything he knew. There was
something to be said for a creature like that. Someone who chose his own
destiny and didn’t adhere to what others told him he had to be. She found
herself a little mesmerized by the strength he had to possess to make such a
choice and she discovered that quality made him all the more attractive.

Gorgeous, kindhearted and powerful—a beautiful combination.

As she passed by a large display of butt plugs in every
color and shape, she noticed another room tucked into the back corner of the
store. Zeke entered first and the moment she stepped into the small square
room, she gasped, “Oh my.”

She scanned the room in a fast sweep and tried to take it
all in. Rows and rows of corsets lined the walls, skirts of all lengths and
fabrics, boots, shoes—she had found heaven.

Zeke chuckled. “You can apologize any time for making me
look like some pervert who planned to use sex toys on you.”

“I’m sorry,” she exhaled, not at all hesitant to give him
the respect he deserved. Besides, the corsets in the room were her primary
focus. “Back home, stores like this just didn’t exist. Corsets aren’t,” she
raised her fingers up and mimed quotations, “typical attire.”

“Luckily for you, Charmstone doesn’t share the same view.”
Striding forward to the far wall where five corsets hung on display, he
approached the rack below and took a black corset with crimson accents off the
hook. When he turned back to her, his eyes twinkled and he herded her toward
the fitting room. “Give this one a try.”

She laughed, unsure of his intent. Was he simply being nice
and helping her pick out a new corset? Or was he choosing the corset he wanted
her to wear for
him
? Needing to know where his thoughts lay, she asked,
“Do you want me to model it for you?”

“Precisely.” At his husky tone, she peeked up at him and she
hadn’t misheard the lust in his voice; his dark eyes smoldered. Under his
stare, heat flared between her thighs and she found herself growing damp, her
clit hardening and rubbing against her panties.

After she entered the fitting room—which looked much like a
small closet—he propped his shoulder against the wall, folding his arms with a
wicked grin on his face. As if he knew the effect he had on her and how
incredibly aroused he made her with a simple look.

With a squeeze of her thighs, she restrained her moan as her
body awakened with greedy need. She’d never been so aroused in her life. Not
even Layton had made her so hot. And all Zeke had done was touch her corset and
give her heated glances. Perhaps that was why; Zeke was a total bad boy, even
if he was a little good. Something about his naughty side made her pussy ache.

As she stared at him, she also realized her clothes were as
damp as the slick flesh between her thighs and more than uncomfortable. She
turned her back to him. “Can you help me out of my corset?”

She didn’t hear his approach, but sensed him close in on
her. The warmth from his body enveloped her as he said, “Undressing you would
be my pleasure, Bryanna.”

Her breath caught in her throat as he began to unlace the
ribbon. Without a doubt, this wasn’t the first time he had removed a corset.
His moves weren’t hesitant or jarring, but smooth and fluid.

In a matter of a couple minutes, Bryanna pressed her damp
corset against her chest with one hand as the garment fell free from her torso.
But when Zeke’s finger slid down her now bare spine, she dropped the corset to
the ground.

“You have lovely skin,” he murmured.

His finger traced her back and she shivered, closing her eyes.
A hot wave washed over her, finally pooling low in her belly.