This Glamorous Evil (3 page)

I sat on my haunches and beckoned him with a finger. I didn’t do seductress, but for some reason my body softened and my lips parted. I wanted the witch in ways I couldn’t quite put a finger to yet. “Let’s get to the summoning. I need to pay my rent.”

I slipped off my shirt because Star had suggested I do so, but I felt trepidation because my lack of attire would only increase the skin-on-skin contact.

You can handle it. You are a man of steel. You are focused. You can do this
.

Star sprawled on the bed, leaning back onto her elbows to display her body to me. I tried not to look over her gorgeous breasts to her taut stomach and down to the sprigs of dark curls, but it was impossible not to do so, so I made it quick.

Pleasure the girl, then speak the spell. Two simple steps. What could be easier?
Think about your brother
.

No. No, that wasn’t going to help me get into the mood required to pleasure a woman. Think…peaches glistening under a hot sun.

I toed off my boots, then crawled over her, straddling her hips. Her hair, so black it gleamed blue in the moonlight, spilled across the silk spread. She drew a finger up my bare chest, stirring chill bumps in her wake. I inhaled at the unexpected touch. I had thought familiars merely lay back for the ride. no participation.

“Relax, T.J.,” she cooed. “You can’t do this all uptight and stiff.”

Did someone mention stiff? My cock was straining against the front of my jeans, and now that she’d brought it to my attention, it would only grow steely-hard and impatient.

“Much as I know this can work and need it to,” I said, “it will still be awkward for us. Don’t you agree? We’ve known each other less than an hour.”

“It’s always awkward.”

“Even with an assistant you’ve worked with for years?”

She nodded. That confirmation helped me relax. Strictly business, I reminded.
Just a job
. Pleasure the girl. Summon the demon.

I leaned in for a kiss.

Star’s hand shot up between our mouths. “So not cool, witch. No mouth kissing. It’s too intimate and the ultimate deal-breaker.”

“Oh. Sorry. That makes sense.”

“You can kiss me elsewhere.” She clutched my hand and slid it over her breast. A hard, ruched nipple beaded against my palm. “I like kisses here. It makes me squirm and gets me hot.”

Hot was necessary. Right, then. I, master of control, could do this.

Bending over her breast, I inhaled her kitten sweetness and kissed dewy skin, dragging my mouth over a nipple and drawing in her delicious aroma in deep breaths. She arched her back and I suckled her nipple, laving it like an indulgent treat. The tiny moan she gave clued me I was doing something right. So I licked the other nipple, and got the same reaction. Her body pressed along mine, skin kisses blazing deep into my pores.

She tasted exquisite, ripe and wanting, like the fruit I’d imagined. Dashing my tongue around the bud of crinkled skin, I teased it harder. Squeezing her other nipple between my fingers, I focused on her responsive movements and mewls of pleasure.

Had I not an hour earlier been toting this same woman about in a cage? Cruel of me. She deserved kindness and touches designed to summon her desirous moans. Star should not be contained, and her body spoke of its need to be set free.

I buried my face against her breasts and laved her skin, tasting her sweet eccentricities, the sameness of her, and the differences that trickled down my back like claws.

Dragging my tongue down the middle of her stomach, I boldly slipped my hand between her legs. She was so hot there, molten. I greedily stroked her, because her scent rose, coiling me in its heady spell, and my body reacted with every brush of skin.

My cock had reached maximum hardness, and I rubbed my groin against her leg, wishing the contact could be skin to skin. She didn’t push me off as if to indicate I had broken a rule, so I continued, developing a rhythm.

Rhythm was key in spellwork. Chanting the spell was only the half of it. To find a tone and pace was paramount, and with my silent actions I found the pace I would later speak.

Drawn to her luscious moist folds, I danced my tongue in and about, designing the same rhythm there. She spread her legs, welcoming my touch. She tasted ambrosial, like forbidden fruit. Exotic, in that I knew this was not how witches summoned demons, but…
I needed this power
. Alternating my tongue with my fingers, I stroked and slid inside her, and then teased at the swollen bud that increased her vocalizations.

Reaching down with my free hand, I squeezed my cock. I wanted to feel Star’s fingers curl around it but knew that was a definite no-no. I didn’t need to climax.

Yes, you do
.
You’re so hard
. Must…reach…pinnacle.

No, the ultimate goal was more important. I had to focus.

Fingers stroked through my hair, igniting every nerve-ending on my scalp and shivering down my neck and tightening my nipples. She was getting inside me, burrowing into my being.

“You’re doing an excellent job, T.J.” she purred.

It was actually spoken on a purr. How sexy was that? Who cared she’d just given me encouragement—during sex. Star’s passion-laden voice melted into my very DNA.

As I stroked her clit she clawed at the sheets and her constant moans found my rhythm. Hot dew dripped over my fingers. I wanted to be inside her, filling her, drowning within her heat, feeling the squeeze of her muscles milk me to oblivion.

I unzipped, but a hand slapped over mine, keeping me from pulling out my cock.
Bad witch
.

“So close,” she murmured tightly. “Faster. Please.”

I stroked faster, bowing my head to her hip and closing my eyes. I loved bringing a woman to orgasm, but the lack of touch to my skin, to my engorged cock, was maddening. My body shuddered, seeking orgasm as much as hers rose to meet the incredible climax.

The smell of her sex, the rough tear of her fingernails along my forearm, the heavy, deep pants gasping—until she ceased all sound—and then cried out. Face nuzzled against her breasts, I clutched her body against mine as her hips bucked and her body quivered in passionate release.

So beautiful. So unfettered. I had released her from the cage, and I did not want to put her back.

I’d forgotten something. What? Wasn’t sure…

Like an angel landing, she sank into the bed below me with a sigh and a sexy smile. I daren’t touch her perspiration-bejeweled skin, but flickered my fingers above it, drawing in the heat, the electric energy glittering with hints of earth magic.

Delicate fingers stroked the front of my rigid abdomen, and over my jeans. My cock strained. I was going to come….

I made a high-speed dash for the bathroom.

The witch had stolen into the bathroom. I knew what he was doing. Poor guy. I’d come gloriously. And he, well, he’d been hard as steel; I’d noticed when he’d made his quick escape.

But most troubling? He’d forgotten to speak the spell.

I’d known he wouldn’t be successful. And it bothered me little.

Deliciously exhausted from the climax, I stretched across the rumpled silk counterpane. Overhead a crystal chandelier glinted with moonlight, and I lay beneath a starry sky. Swimming in the blissful depths of giddy afterglow, I had an amazing realization. This was the first time I’d come and not immediately shifted to cat shape afterward. How cool was that? I’d just had almost real sex!

“Mmm, I could get used to this.”

And yet, while the thought excited me, at the same time it made me sad.

I craved a lover. A man to take care of me, to love me, and to share his life with me. A man I could have sex with and share intimacy. Maybe even lie together in each other’s arms afterward and be quiet with each other. A man who would bring me to climax and expect nothing more—most especially, no demons.

Tears watered my eyes and I sniffed.

“Stupid kitty. You’re thinking fairy-tale stuff.”

T.J. was a man who liked control. Why else cut out the middle man? He would be furious after jacking off. His well-orchestrated plan had failed.

I eyed the envelope on the counter. Time to take the money and run.

Sliding off the bed, I looked about for something to wear. Strewn across a chair was a pair of dark pants with a black leather belt. I slid them up and tugged the belt to the last notch. Still so loose I had to hold them over my hips. But if I wanted to nab the cash on the counter, I’d need to leave in human shape. Cats don’t have pockets.

“Sorry.”

I spun to face the man leaning in the bathroom doorway. Tousled jet hair spilled over his lean yet muscled chest. His jeans were unfastened and sat low at his hips, revealing the dark path of hair sweeping to his navel. No visible erection so, as I’d guessed, he’d taken care of that problem.

“I knew you weren’t capable,” I said plainly, and picked up the shirt he’d been wearing to inspect it. Black with white stripes, it buttoned up. Smelled dark and sexy like him. “You forgot the spell.”

“I didn’t forget it, I…wasn’t capable of speaking it in the state I was in. Hell, I’m sorry. I thought I could handle this. I think it was the newness of the situation. Jumping right into it like we did. I know if you give me another chance, Star, I can do this right.”

“A professional familiar’s assistant trains for months before he is allowed to assist a demon conjure. What makes you different?”

He sighed. I felt only a little bad for him. He had gotten my rocks off, after all. Aren’t I owed a little fun once in a while?

I wandered to the kitchen counter, avoiding the glass, and claimed the thick envelope. Glancing at the disheveled witch, I wanted to snicker at his sorry state. Baffled and drained. Thrown from his element without a life jacket. Oddly sweet. He had been so determined.

I wanted to give him a few pats on the head, ruffle his hair, and tell him he had been a good kitty. Seriously, the good-kitty thing did stroke my ego, so why shouldn’t it his?

I wanted to hug him and tell him it wasn’t as bad as he thought. In fact, he’d rocked my world in a way I couldn’t begin to explain to him. To put my feelings out there would be too risky. I didn’t like being exposed.

Wasn’t like walking around naked in front of a man, either.

I tucked the envelope in the front pocket of the loose jeans. “I’m taking these clothes too, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem. I should have had some clothes for you. This was an ill-planned venture.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “Can you forgive me, Star?

I patted the envelope of money. “Already forgotten. Nice working with you. Hope you have better luck with the next cat.”

“No, please.” He grabbed my arm, and his touch scurried sensation to my belly. Never had a man’s touch so captured me. Made me want to surrender. Just like that.

“I need to try this again,” he said. “Next time I’ll have clothes for you, and I’ll be in the right mental state. Promise.”

It would never work. Not without the proper training. But a second session of almost real sex with Mr. Tall, Dark and Determined? How could I resist?

“This is important to you,” I decided.

“It’s the only way I’ll be able to conjure Navicrux.”

I knew that demon’s name. He was a bad-ass. I shouldn’t ask. I wouldn’t ask. I didn’t care why witches brought demons to this realm, because the day I started to care, I could no longer do my job effectively. And I didn’t want to answer to karma for my participation in evil.

“You’ve set a precedent for my wages,” I said, patting the pocket with the envelope. “I couldn’t do it again for anything less.”

“You won’t have to because I’ll double your pay if you return tomorrow night. Do we have a deal?”

I wanted the word
deal
actually to sound more like
date
. But I would never touch that dream. It wasn’t meant to be. But neither was this witch’s concentration when we got together under the pretext of ‘summoning.’

It was a middle ground I could tread.

“Sure,” I said, and forced a smile. “Deal.”

I didn’t live far from T.J.’s place. Thoroughly Jones. I liked his full name. He’d been as thorough as a man with a raging cockstand could be.

I smiled at the doorman of my building and patted the jeans pocket. “I’m here to stay.”

“That is good to hear, Mademoiselle Star,” he said in his delicious Jamaican accent. “Perhaps you can now afford some new attire?”

“You don’t like the baggy look?”

“It does not accentuate your beauty, no.”

I let that one go, because he was polite and always truthful. If ever I came home in the middle of the night looking like I’d partied hard, he let me know how pitiful I looked. Thing was, it wasn’t usually partying, but rather demon-conducting, that left me less than pretty and slightly out of sorts.

This kitty didn’t party. Much as I’d like to, the job did take its toll.

The apartment was old but cozy, packed ceiling-high in some places with objects I admired. Some, I didn’t recognize, like the odd art nouveau faery in the corner holding the green glass ivy. I assumed it had been obtained during one of my previous lives. I didn’t remember my past lives, which is why I had my address, name and bank account tattooed on my ankle. I’d learned that precaution from fellow familiar Aby, who currently lived in the States with a sexy demon hunter. She’d given up the profession after marrying him, and couldn’t be happier.

Love was possible for my breed. Just not easy.

I plopped onto the violet plush beanbag in the middle of the living room, sinking in and curling my legs to my body.

He wanted me to return tonight to try again.

I wanted to return. But not for business.

Don’t be stupid, Star, he’s not looking for a girlfriend.

I wished he was.

Something about Thoroughly Jones had gotten under my skin, and recalling his hands touching me, exploring, intent on my pleasure, made me purr.