When Lightning Strikes (17 page)

“Maybe?” Ryker growled a long, low growl. A growl that turned me on, making me absolutely insane. I nearly swallowed my tongue when he lifted me, sitting me on the countertop. The cold granite felt delicious against my ass. I smiled, thinking about the ass prints that would be left. He pushed me back gently, one hand grabbing firm hold of my wrists while his legs forced my knees apart. His free hand ripped my panties off and slid into my pussy, two fingers pushing inside, stretching me open. I moaned as I clenched those fingers tight. He growled again.

S
HE MOANED AND HIS COCK
hardened even more at the sound. Yeah. Light was a complicated woman, but he wanted her. Forever. His fingers stilled as he straightened and growled, “Are you ready to give me what I need? What we both need?”

Frowning, she asked, “What?”

“I want your submission. I want your body, heart, and soul.” He stilled her hips; otherwise, her constant grinding would have him coming all over her. “I want your beautiful body under me, over me, whatever way I can think of, for the rest of our lives.”

She looked away, an expression of intense thought on her face. He hid his surprise when he realized he’d actually gotten her to consider it. He knew what he wanted. And maybe from the moment he met her, his beast knew. She tried to move away from him, but he held her tight. And he waited.

Finally, she looked at him, her eyes clear but worried. “There’s so much you don’t know about me. Shit. There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

“We’re Others, Light. We don’t play games like humans. You and I know the difference between straight-up physical attraction and something more. This, between us, is something more.”

He leaned into her body as he sucked her tongue into his mouth. He couldn’t hold it back anymore. Not with her soft and pliant in his arms. Her tongue slid around the tip of his, then rubbed under it. He let his hands slide up to her neck, then down her body to her hips. He leaned in and kissed her throat, biting the spot. She moaned, and his cock hardened even more at the sound.

He traced a finger over the small tattoo of a lightning bolt on her left hip. “Submit, Light.”

“Not on your life, Alpha.”

Rubbing his nose against her neck, he growled. “Is that your final answer?”

“Yes.”

He sighed. She still wasn’t ready. He offered his hand, pulling her off the countertop. He kissed her hard on the lips and stepped back. “Enjoy your breakfast, darling. I need a cold shower to get rid of this hard-on.” He turned on his heels and exited the kitchen. As far as he was concerned, this wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

R
EASON LOOKED OVER TO ME
. I’d felt her heavy stare since I got into the SUV but didn’t care. I was still confused about my kitchen tryst with Ryker. We were on the cusp of something great, then I blinked and he was gone, walking away without another word. He left me standing alone in the kitchen for what seemed like hours, fighting the urge to go running after him like an idiot.

I frowned, staring at the passing Manhattan scenery.
Does he actually want me as his mate?
I bit my lower lip.
He actually wants me to be the alpha-female of his pack. Is he insane?

“I’ve never seen you this quiet, Light.” Reason smiled. “So did you fuck him yet?”

My jaw dropped. “What? No!”

Reason laughed. “The guy is crazy about you. And despite your little act, you’re crazy about him.”

I glared at her.

“Oh, what? Was it supposed to be some big secret?” Reason smiled quickly. “So if you didn’t fuck him, what’s really going on between you and Ryker?”

I tried to give Reason an innocent look but failed. “Something happened. Something changed. It’s been weird between us lately.”

“Lately?” She paused. “Light, it’s been weird since your whole X-rated foreplay scene in my office.”

I stared at her, confused. “No, this is different. He’s different. After he gave me his ultimatum…” I gulped. “He wants me as his mate. That’s crazy.”

“And you said no.”

I looked at her angrily. “Of course I did. Look at me; I’m a fucking unstable mess. And now that I know I’m the evil spawn of the Shadows, shit is bound to go downhill fast.”

“But your empath symptoms are not as bad since meeting Ryker. I can tell.”

I froze. How in the hell did she know that? “That’s not the point. I can’t give him what he wants.” I looked at her incredulously. “Can you picture me as his mate? It’s just not me.”

“You can’t, or you won’t? There’s a big fucking difference.”

“Don’t psychoanalyze me, hybrid,” I hissed. “The whole point I’m trying to make is that when I said no, he pulled away.” My teeth clenched. “He had his finger in my vagina and he walked away like nothing happened.” I arched a brow. “Who the hell does that shit?”

Reason snickered. “God, that was genius.”

I jabbed her in the side.

Reason grinned. “What? It was.” She paused. “Put it this way; can you blame him? He offered you his heart and you say, ‘No, thank you, I’ll take your cock instead.’” Reason laughed. “Now who does that shit?” She scoffed. “Lightning Credence, that’s who.”

I started at the observation but tried to play it off. “I’ve seen what offering your heart can do. Tear you apart when it’s abused.”

Reason banged on the steering wheel. “Oh my fucking God! You got your heart broken years ago. Get the fuck over it. Everyone knew Nolan was a fucking prick. But you know what pisses me the fuck off the most? You’re such a damn hypocrite. You’re so ready to give me and Storm relationship advice, but you can’t take it from either of us.” She pointed at me. “I don’t give a shit if you don’t talk to me ever again for saying this, but it has to be said. When you get back to Ryker’s penthouse, you put on your ‘fuck ‘em’ dress with a pair of ‘fuck me please’ heels. Then I want you to prance around like the sex kitten you are and tell him you’re willing to give it a chance.”

I stared at Reason. I had never seen her so mad. She was right, but I’d be damned if I’d admit it right now. I was never going to be perfect. Ryker knew this and fucking accepted it. “Anything else?” I asked dryly.

“I wasn’t done, empath,” she said, pursing her lips. “Then get on your damn knees and submit. And don’t forget to deep throat his damn big cock like the champion I know you are. That’s all. I’m done with this conversation.”

I was still silent but allowed myself a small smile at Reason’s statement. Reason gave me another pointed look. I bit my lip but didn’t respond. “Yeah, but Reason—”

“I know. You’re dealing with stuff. But you cannot ask him to wait forever.”

I didn’t respond.

Reason continued. “Unless, of course, you’re okay with him pulling away.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“It will.”

I thought for a second, quiet as I considered Reason’s advice. Reason pulled her SUV up to Celina’s apartment building and watched as I got out of the car, giving me one last pointed look.

“Don’t think you were saved by the bell, Lightning Credence. As your friend, I’m not going to let this drop. When we get done with this, we’re going to have a long talk.”

“I thought we just did,” I mumbled under my breath.

We walked up to the door, stepping into the palatial lobby. The concierge smiled at us. Human. I felt his lust slithering all over me.

Reason glided up to him, trailing her fingers over his wrist. “Hello, Frank.”

He smiled. “Apartment number twenty-three.” He slid a set of keys discreetly across the counter. “When can I see you again?” he asked with desperation written all over his face.

She ran her fingers over his hand before accepting the keys. “I’ll call you.” She winked at him before pushing me toward the elevator.

I waited until the door slid closed and asked, “What was that?”

She smiled prettily, displaying her canines. “The power of vampire persuasion.”

I arched a brow as we slipped out of the elevator, walking over to Celina’s door.

“I met him last night at the kink party. He had an itch; I scratched it.” She inserted the key in the door and opened it. We entered cautiously, looking around. The place was a mess. The leather couch was slashed. I stepped over broken glass.

“Whoa. What’s going on here?” I whispered. Something caught my eye. I stopped. There was a bloodstain on the floor that looked wet. “Look, fresh blood.”

Reason walked over and stared. “Exactly what type of shit was Celina into?”

I pulled out my cell, turning slowly, taking photos of every angle of the room. Clicking, clicking, and clicking on the patch of blood on the living room floor. “How the hell do I know? She’s killed and then her place gets trashed? Not a coincidence.”

Reason stared at the mess. “They were looking for something specific. You don’t rip through a couch unless you’ve run out of places to look. Maybe they didn’t find what they were looking for.”

I surveyed the apartment. “Maybe it’s still here, but it’s too well hidden. Did you confirm how she died?”

“Her body was found in her car… burned beyond recognition. Extra crispy.”

“Ewww.” I scrolled through my phone, dialing Celina’s number. “C’mon. C’mon, answer.” There was a phone ringing from behind me. It sounded like it was coming from the couch. I searched the cushions and started to take the couch apart. There was blood under the cushions. The ringing got louder, and I found the cell. It was Celina’s phone with lots of missed calls. My heart stopped. One of the missed calls was from Ryker.

Why was Ryker calling Celina?

I scrolled through her call history. She made lots of calls. I recognized many of our client names and numbers and then I saw the number again, Ryker’s number.

Was he fucking her? And most importantly, why didn’t he say he knew Celina?

“What’s with the look on your face?” Reason stared at me. “What’s on the phone?”

“Lots of calls from and to our clients,” I hedged.

Reason shrugged. “So Celina fucked around a lot.”

My fingers clenched. “She made several calls to Ryker.”

“So…” Her mouth dropped open. “Oh… you think they were sleeping together?”

I slipped the cell into my bag. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”

“Uh-huh.”

I glared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Reason stepped back with a smile. “Nothing.”

I walked away, heading toward the back of the apartment. “Not once did he mention he knew Celina. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

Reason strolled behind me. “Celina knew a lot of powerful men. She wasn’t your top wolf-shifter escort for nothing.”

I stepped into Celina’s bedroom, looking around with wild eyes. “Shit. I can’t believe I’m jealous of a fucking dead woman.” I banged my hand on the dressing table. “She fucked him. She actually fucked him.”

“You don’t know that.”

My eyes narrowed. “Celina was a straight-up sex fiend. It’s what made her the most requested escort.”

“Ryker’s not a Boy Scout, but he would have told you if he fucked her.”

I scowled. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s finish searching this damn apartment and get the hell out of here.”

“Fine.” Reason walked into the closet.

I searched through her drawers and found nothing. “Did you find anything?”

Reason stepped out of the closet. “No. But I didn’t think anyone could have more stilettos than you.”

The apartment door slammed open.

“Someone’s coming,” I hissed.

“Shit.” Reason picked up pair of stilettos, handing them to me.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with these?” I whispered.

“The damn heel, use it to stab whoever’s outside,” Reason whispered back while pulling out a taser from her bag.

Wood creaked. I put a finger to my lips. Someone was coming. The footsteps got closer. We both froze, undecided to hide or stand our ground. We didn’t have time to decide. Jackal and Rip stormed into the bedroom with guns drawn.

“Dammit! You two scared the shit out of us,” I snapped. “How did you find me?”

They both holstered their guns.

Jackal winked at me. “We put a tracker on your cell, sweetness.”

My eyes narrowed. “Ryker ordered it?”

“Of course, and if I were you, I’d prepare to bat those pretty little eyes when you go downstairs. He’s pissed,” Rip responded.

“We’ll see about that.” I stomped past him, exiting the apartment.

I was silent as we rode the elevator down.

Jackal stared at Reason. “I can’t believe you broke into an apartment, lawyer.”

Reason rolled her eyes. “It was necessary.”

“It was criminal trespassing,” he snapped.

She studied him coldly. “To-may-to, to-mah-to.” She paused. “And the next time you sneak up behind me, I’ll show you how my taser works, shifter.”

Jackal stepped closer. “Promise?”

I rolled my eyes. “Will you two get a damn room?” I stepped out of the elevator, leaving them behind. I smiled when Reason caught up with me. “Still working the Jackal situation?”

“Yup.” She smiled. “He’s still not ready to admit he has a hard-on for a sexy vampire. But I’m working on it.” She winked.