The Hunger (2 page)

        He was the bad boy incarnate that had you whispering a reluctant no even as you dreamed of him slipping those strong fingers under the edges of your panties. Galen was heartache and restless nights, but also moments of such exquisite pleasure that when he was deeply embedded inside you his bad boy ways didn’t matter. He was the ultimate predator, and it would take all the strength Mia had to resist him, because though she could deny her dark other half the pleasure of blood and flesh, they both longed for the pleasure Galen could create with one well-placed kiss.

        “You have had your fun--it’s time to come back home,” he stated flatly, interrupting her wandering thoughts.

        “My departure was approved by the elders. Your trespassing is in violation of that agreement,” she replied firmly.

        “Would you punish me, sweet Mia, for breaking the rules?”

        His question was like the warmest caress with the hint of a sharp sting. She resisted blushing as the memory of such caresses surfaced in her mind. Mia would not succumb to the charms of the bad-boy predator. No matter how enticing those charms were.

        “Not me personally, but I’m sure a call to the elders would suffice,” she retorted, raising her chin in defiance.

        “That is assuming you can reach the phone.”

        “Unless you plan to restrain me, I don’t see there being a problem.”

        As the words left her mouth, she stifled a groan of frustration at the smirk his luscious mouth formed. He stepped farther into the light, and she resisted the urge to retreat, even as the dark intensity of his sea-green eyes held her in their snare. She should never have mentioned restraints to Galen, because that had always been his favorite form of play.

        “Oh, sweet Mia, I would so love to have you bound for our pleasure.”

        The deep timbre of his voice washed over her body, and she could almost feel the cool texture of the satin ties he used wrapped around her wrists and ankles. He would have her spread open, aching and waiting for his masterful touch. His strong fingers would
knead
sore muscles and his delicious mouth would kiss skin sensitive from having him so near.  He would trail his too-sharp teeth gently across delicate parts of her body, nipping where needed as he kept her hovering between a state of pleasure and pain. She both hated and loved his unique ability to do that to her body.

        Mia took a deep breath and ignored the way his nostrils flared as the scent of her arousal permeated the space between them. She was her own person now, and the bad-boy predator was not going to drag her back. Straightening her spine, she gave him a cold look before she brushed past him to her front door. She disengaged her locks and opened the door swiftly, indicating with her head what she wanted him to do. He gave her a toothy smile that was white perfection and too-large teeth and sauntered in her direction.

        “Resisting always makes the chase that much more exciting,” he whispered close to her ear before he walked into the night and the shadows.

        Mia slammed the door behind him and ignored the sound of his husky laugh that seeped into her apartment like a provocative perfume. Her darker half whimpered with a need that had nothing to do with her earlier hunger, and Mia wanted to sit down and cry with her. She should have known it was too easy when she was released from the fold and told she could go out on her own to discover a world made in her creation. She envisioned a world that wasn’t ruled by The Family, one where she chose to live as human. Mia should have been more suspicious, a little bit more cautious, but now that she knew they weren’t going to play fair, she would be on guard and ready for the next time they sent their messenger out on a call.

        Mia slowed as she passed the mouth of an alley. She couldn’t articulate what slowed her, but she knew there was something in the dark shadows of the deserted access way that she was supposed to see. The hairs on the back of her neck felt as if they’d been infused with electricity as they crackled against her skin. Taking deep breaths, she was thankful she’d declined her coworker’s offer to walk her home. They lived in opposite directions from the coffee shop they both worked at, but Mia’s destination would take her through the less savory area of the neighborhood, and her coworker worried about her walking it alone. Suggesting instead
to accompany Mia and have
the coworker’s boyfriend pick her up from Mia’s place.

        It was a sweet gesture that spoke of kindness Mia hadn’t quite gotten used to. She had never been abused with the Family but little niceties had never been part of her existence. One either thrived or didn’t, and the thought that someone cared for her safety warmed her enough that she almost gave into the temptation, but as she stared into the too-quiet darkness of the alley she realized she’d made the right choice.

        “You might as well get this over with, because I’ve had a long day and don’t have time for bullshit.”

        She infused her statement with as much bravado as she could muster. Mia really was tired; she hadn’t slept the night before, as her dreams were plagued with dreams of submission. They were torturous, promising fulfillment but never taking her where she needed to be. She’d woken several times in the night after the sensation of the cool press of leather against her skin or the tingle of her hair being pulled by familiar, strong hands sent her body into a frenzy only to have her mind squelch the pleasure with reality. Mia was grumpy, and if the family wanted a fight, she felt obliged to give them one tonight.

        “Oh, piss off!”

She screamed into the dark alley and turned to continue on her way only to be stopped by a whimpering plea for help. Mia knew it was a mistake, but the siren song of that plea drew her forward and caused her dark half to rise out of the deep, dark place where she’d been sequestered. Someone was possibly injured, weak, and vulnerable inside that alley, and Mia’s darker half salivated in anticipation. She was just at the lip of the alley and held herself back from making that final crossing. Clenching her fists, she took a deep breath and shook her body sharply, displacing some of the need that had overcome her.

“I’m going to call 911. Just stay calm,” she called out as she fumbled in her bag with numb fingers.

Calling for help was so counter to who she was that she focused on who she wanted to be, a person that didn’t prey on the weak, or she would falter in her decision. If there was someone injured inside the alley, there was nothing she could do for him or her without the aid of medical professionals. She would only tempt the tenuous hold she had on her control after her sleep-deprived night, and if she was going to beat her inherent drive to conquer by subduing the predator that resided inside her, she had to avoid all opportunities for temptation.

“You really aren’t any fun anymore.”

Mia almost dropped her phone at the sound of Galen’s voice. This was the second time he’d caught her unaware, and she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid. Growling with frustration, she shoved her phone back into her purse and stared into the smug face of her tormentor.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Yes, but the person I want to do better with isn’t willing to play,” he said with a lecherous grin.

She wanted to knock out those perfect white, too-sharp teeth. Not only that--she want to shave off that rakish mop of wavy raven hair and mess up the perfect angles of his strong jaw. Mia wanted to shake him until he fell apart and wasn’t such an archetype of sex and sin taunting her back into the life she’d chosen to step away from. Giving him the bird, she pulled her hobo bag closer and walked away. His husky laugh should have irritated her but instead it strummed a primitive tempo against her clit.

“If you are committed to being a part of the herd, I insist that I walk you home,” he said as moved alongside her.

“I don’t need anything from you,” she answered tersely.

Her hardened nipples called her a liar, but she knew they were confusing the brisk night air for the promise of his fingertip caress. Grinding her teeth, she ignored her wayward nipples and the incessant throbbing of her neglected clit and looked at Galen from the corner of her eye, scowling more at how he seemed so at ease, her bad-boy predator. The crooked smile he gave her when he caught her staring only infuriated her more, causing her to speed up her pace in order to get to the sanctuary of her home. She would need a calming lavender- and jasmine-scented bath again tonight, and possibly the expertise of her newest electric toy.

“I’ve missed you.”

She hunched her shoulders at his confession, refusing to hear truth in his words.

“I know you don’t believe me, but I have.”

Mia pressed her lips tightly together and resisted the urge to respond. The industrial building that housed her apartment was in sight, and if she could stay silent long enough, she’d make it home where she could shut out his words and their possible meaning.

“I miss how responsive you were when I applied the right amount of pressure. I can still feel how wet you’d get in the palm of my hand after I’d given that lovely little pink clit of yours the spanking it deserved.”

Mia almost faltered in her step as he finished his declaration in a voice gone even deeper from arousal. She didn’t respond though, because she was afraid of what might come out of her mouth if she spoke, and more importantly what might find its way in. Instead she squared her shoulders and gave Galen a scathing look. He was completely unrepentant and gave her a mocking wink as he kept pace with her hurried steps. The little light she kept on above her door was a beacon in the night, promising salvation from the torture he was bringing.

“No comment, sweet Mia. Usually that lovely mouth of yours was quick to put me in my place.
Which inevitably was inside you.
” He chuckled to himself at his own statement.

Mia practically ran the final yards to her door and fumbled around in her bag, searching for her wayward keys. She could feel him at her back, waiting patiently for an invitation she couldn’t give if she planned to keep her sanity. If she let him in, he would have her--dear God, would he have her--and when she was at her weakest he would convince her she didn’t need to stay away. He would be all rational facts and examples of how centuries of evolution could not be wrong, and she wasn’t a monster when she fed her darker half’s needs. Those sea-green eyes would stare into hers, and she would believe every single word, and there would be nothing of her left. She needed to stay strong, walk in her front door, and shut it firmly behind her.

Focusing on what she needed to do to put distance between her and Gale became a mantra she chanted as she tried desperately to find her keys in her ridiculously large purse. She kept repeating each step in her plan as she felt him behind her, waiting patiently in the shadows of the night. It was on a continuous loop as she fitted her key in the lock and pushed her door open to freedom, closing out her bad-boy predator. It was even the thing that kept her grounded as the husky sound of his laugh slipped into her studio, reminding her just how patient a predator can be.

        Mia’s nerves were frazzled, and she was surprised she hadn’t snapped at some point during the day. If she’d barely slept two nights ago; last night she hadn’t slept at all. Galen’s words to her the night before had their intended effect, and she’d fitfully turned in her bed as her body ached for the release only he could provide. She taken matters into her own hands, literally, but it wasn’t the same and instead, even though she’d come, she’d never found release.

        She rubbed the counter vigorously, hoping the motion would burn some of the unspent energy that was riding her hard. She and her manager were closing up, and Mia almost had the place sparkling as she manically cleaned every surface and appliance. Tully had retreated to the small office in the back to finish closing paperwork and leave Mia to her newly acquired OCD tendencies.

        “I don’t think that can get any cleaner, Mia.” Tully chuckled as she walked out from the small office.

        Resisting the urge to snarl, Mia gave her a weak smile before gathering up her cleaning supplies. The idea of moving, picking up and planting roots somewhere else, far away, entered her mind, but she knew the Family and she knew Galen. There wasn’t a place far away enough. She sighed with frustration as she put the cleaning supplies away and hurried to gather her stuff so she and Tully could leave.