Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (3 page)

She liked to instill pain; she said pain brought fear, and fear equaled respect. It was strange to me. I didn’t choose to live with her, but after my parents died, the court ordered me to live here until my Aunt in Germany got Jims and Julia straightened away…That was three years ago.

I shook off the memory, washed up, and headed out. I had a full day ahead of me.

A half hour later I was standing in the station house prepared for the day.

“Hey.” Riley held up a cup of coffee for me. I took the nasty smelling brew and thanked him, and wondered if I could drop it so I didn’t have to choke it down. “So I guess we’re working the eighteen-hundreds beat? Let’s hope we don’t have a repeat of Connors’s day.”

I nodded into my cup but blocked the hole with my tongue as I pretended to take a swig. He followed me to the squad car and slipped into the passenger seat. “Good boy,” I whispered as he took his seat. I didn’t have the patience to teach him that he worked for me. That he would take a bullet for me. That his life was insignificant compared to mine. Really, Riley was just a prop to toss in front of a possible threat. I dropped my coffee under Johnnie’s car and slid behind the wheel. I checked the mirrors, the internal temp, and my seat settings. Riley watched me, but I ignored him. He had no idea what I was capable of, and if he was smart, he would keep his trap shut. I tapped the brake twice, then eased out of the parking lot.

***

Seth

I felt her wiggle out of my hold, as she broke free and left me cold. “No,” I whispered and tucked her back in place, “take the day off.” I nuzzled into my favorite spot on her neck.

She sighed and kissed my hand. “I can’t.”

“Mmm…” My hips pushed into her back. “I’ll make it worth your while.” She went to turn, but I held her in place. “I won’t let you use your big blue eyes on me this morning.” She laughed. She knew I was on to her. My hands moved to her lace panties and shifted them down enough so I could slip my hand around to cup her warmth. One finger skated around her opening, and it showed me she was ready. Her legs clenched around me. She wanted it, and so did I.

“Seth,” she moaned, “I don’t have time. You’re going to make me—” I lifted her leg, lined up, and gently pushed inside of her with ease. She was like velvet, so soft and smooth.

“Make you what?” I murmured into her neck and pushed deeper, until I was fully in. I held my breath as her tight walls eased up around me. My hand slid up between her breasts and sprawled out against her chest, pushing her harder into me. “Late?” I rolled my hips and started to ease in and out, and her moans made my dick twitch. I fought not to pound her hard from behind. I liked it rough, and so did she. It was a thing we had. Sometimes I thought we picked fights just so we could have angry sex. I didn’t care if that wasn’t healthy. It was hot, and we both got off on it. It was something we needed. It was our outlet for all the shit we’d been through. I guessed you could call it our own brand of therapy. I rolled her nipple between my fingers. She flexed around me.

“Yes,” she panted as her hand roamed between her legs and cupped my balls. She gave them a little squeeze. “I need to…” Her words slipped away as her beautiful, plump breasts bounced when I picked up the pace. “Please.”

“Front or back?”

“Back,” she nearly cried.

I hooked my arm around her waist and rolled her over. Pulling her to the kneeling position, I settled in between her legs, all the while never leaving her. I leaned forward, gripped the headboard, and tested out my knee. It was weak, but I could manage. She must have sensed this and started to move, but I gave her a crack on the ass, which made her still. I clutched the rail, pulled out almost all the way, then thrust in deep and hard, and her body shot forward. She screamed, so I did it again, and again. I increased the force, which drove her wild. I loved the sound our skin made, the way her ass looked with me behind it. The way her body quivered around me, showing me how much she liked it when I controlled her. She was so fucking sexy, I could hardly tear my eyes away. My knee grew weak quickly, so I stood and leaned over her. I drew her up a little higher and came at her from a different angle. I nearly fell when I sank back in at a speedy rate.

“Seth! I can’t! It’s too intense!” she cried, but she met my thrust just as hard. “Don’t stop, oh my God.”

“That’s my girl.” I was so close I could taste it. I let go with one hand, then my fingers found her spot and softy pressed inward with a flick to the left. That’s all it took to make her clench around me and lose all sense, and I took off chasing her orgasm.

I dropped to the bed and brought her with me, but sadly this moment was lost when she glanced at the clock and jumped up with a curse.

“Dammit.” She started to run around the room. I propped up on the pillow, one hand tucked behind my head. “Seth, you and your…” She shook her head. “My professor hates when people are late.”

I stopped my eyes from rolling. Professor Dean was in love with her. Emily could do no wrong. “Then skip his class and stay home with me.” I grabbed my erection. The mere sight of her red cheeks and wild eyes made me hard again. I moved the sheet and gave her a little show. She stopped dead in her tracks, and I thought she was about to agree when her face dropped into a scowl.

“Like whenever I’ve asked you to take time off in the past?” Her arms folded and pushed her breasts up. She made it hard to focus. “You hardly ever take days off, Seth. You work way past your hours. Why should I bend to you when you never do to me?” Shit, she was right, and she knew it.
Well played
. She sighed and reached for her clothes.

I waited until I heard the shower door open before I stepped into the shower with her. I spun her around to look at me.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry.” A few moments later she gave me a little nod. “Let me make it up to you.” I scooped down and caught her lips with mine, my tongue pushed my way into her mouth, and three swipes later she gave in. I grabbed her ass and lifted her against the wall. I didn’t mean to come in and do this. I was going to show her I had control, but I didn’t, not when she was mad, wet, and so damn sexy. I zoned in on the little mark on her neck I made last night and started to suck ever so lightly. “I need you again,” I whispered as I lapped my tongue around the water drops.

She wiggled out of my hold, so I placed her back down. “I don’t have time.” She turned and squeezed some shampoo into her hand. I sighed and watched her lather her hair and felt like an asshole. I thought with my dick, not my head.

I stopped her hands, gently pushed them aside, and took over massaging light circles into her scalp.

“Sorry,” I whispered as my fingers inched toward her temples. Her frustration faded slowly, and all the while I gave myself a mental ass kicking.
Way to rub your time off in her face, jackass
. I turned her into the spray, washing her free of the suds. When her eyes opened and I saw she was still a little pissed, I kissed her cheek and let her be.

After a brief nap on the couch, I cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, fixed the patio door, and restrung some lights around the barbecue. It was only two thirty in the afternoon, and I was going mad. I needed to do something. I didn’t mind having a day off, but five was going to bury me.

I texted Garrett, but he was busy and bitter about having been stuck on desk duty today. He said he’d come by later.

Seth: You in class?

Emily: Nope, how’s the knee?

Seth: Fine, where are you?

Emily: Good, get some rest.

Seth: Why are you avoiding my question?

Emily: Not, just I know you, and you’ll show up and be a distraction…like this morning.

Seth: You didn’t seem to object the first time.

Emily: And I didn’t want to the second time, but you made me late, and I had to see Prof Dean after class to explain.

Seth: And he didn’t care, right?

Emily: You know what?

Seth: What?

I waited and wondered if she was going to respond. I headed into the kitchen to make myself a late lunch. It wasn’t until I was cleaning up that a text came through.

Maddy: You have the day off! Yippie! Gretchen said she’s going to drop me off at your place in ten. YAY!

Oh shit. My head dropped into my hand. An afternoon spent with a fifteen year old girl…I was screwed.

Seth: You’re dead.

Emily: Sorry, baby, but you made me.

Seth: What am I supposed to do with her?

Emily: Be her big brother, she loves you, and you did promise to spend more time with her.

I gave Pete a quick call; he’d know what to do.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later my little sister bounced on my patio and rang my doorbell like it was going out of style. I opened the door, only to have her leap into my arms and give me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, Seth!” She beamed up at me with big, round, blue eyes. “I couldn’t believe when Em told me you had the day off and nothing to do.” She dropped her bag on the floor and looked around the house. “Wow, this place is nice.”

“You want something to drink, Mads?” I closed the door behind her, then headed toward the kitchen. “Coke, Pepsi, water, juice?”

“Pepsi.” She followed me, and I realized she’d never been here before. “Wow, that’s quite the patio.” She opened the door and whistled. “I can see why you never come home.” I felt a pang of guilt. I really needed to work on that more.

“I work a lot.” I handed her the soda. “So I don’t enjoy it as much as I’d like to.”

I pulled out a seat for her at the patio table and sat across from her. “So, why aren’t you at school?”

She sat and downed nearly half the glass. “It was mainly Halloween festivities today and tomorrow, and when Em told me you were off, I came home early to come see you.”

I nodded. “Right on. What’s Mom up to?”

Her face dropped, and the excitement faded from her eyes. “She’s up north, seeing Dad.”

“Oh.” A loud crack from my water bottle gave my tension away.

“Yeah, I heard Mom on the phone last night. They were arguing about one of Dad’s clients coming by the house Friday. I wasn’t home, so I didn’t see him, but I guess he scared Mom a bit.” I cleared my throat as a way to stop my outburst.
Fuck my father
. “Dad gave him the passcode, so he didn’t even have to check in at the gate. Came right inside when Gretchen opened the door.” She shrugged her little shoulders. “Anyway, Mom called Dad to talk to him about it, and I guess he was a real dick.” She looked up at me to see if I was going to give her shit for swearing. I didn’t. She was right—he was a dick. “Somehow he convinced her to come and visit, so she’s there until tomorrow morning.”

“I see.” I nodded and attempted to keep my cool. “All right, well, I’ll get the watchman to change the gate code, and make sure he keeps an eye on you guys. Does Nick know about what happened?”

She shook her head as she stirred what was left of her soda. “He’d have to pick up his phone in order for him to hear anything.” I rolled my eyes. Nick loved to avoid any kind of drama, even at the expense of our little sister.

“Sorry, Mads, we’re bad at communicating.”

“It sucks.” She looked up at me. “Like I miss hanging out with you. But Emily is great, and we talk all the time. She even took me out to lunch the other day.”

Really?
“She did?”

“Yup.” She grinned a little, and I could tell she thought it was great I didn’t know this. “We even went shopping. She helped me pick out a dress for the Halloween dance.”

“Good.” I needed to remember to kiss Em extra hard for doing this. I glanced at my watch. “You ready?”

“For what?”

“I have someone I want you to meet.” She was going to love this.

***

“Oh my God, Seth, I can’t believe you did that!” Maddy squealed while she scrolled through her pictures on her iPhone. “How in the world did you pull that off?”

“Pete.” I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement, although my ears still hurt from her screams as Zayn Malik came out of the sound booth to greet us. I wasn’t sure what all the hype was with him. He reminded me of someone you’d find on one of the soaps Gretchen watched while she cooked.

Maddy scrolled through her iPhone before she removed mine from the cord and plugged in hers. “Listen, this is one of their older ones, but one of my favorites.” Moments later, I heard a peppy beat strum through my speakers. Maddy started to sing along. I leaned my arm out the window and wondered if I should roll the windows up before anyone witnessed this show. “Oh, come on!” She started to dance, trying to get me to loosen up. She belted the chorus, and I laughed at her moves. “Fine.” She turned down the music.