Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(46)

He grinned then, his nostrils flaring.

Her breath panted out. Then the ice turned to heat, and a flame flicked her clit.

She detonated, shutting her eyes, crying out. As the waves pummeled her, shooting through her, he lifted her hips and powered inside her with one strong stroke.

The second he filled her, she went off into another climax. He was so big, so hard, her flesh stretched around him with a sizzling burn that shut down her brain. She tried to jerk her hands free, to touch him, but those invisible bonds held tight. She came harder at the thought.

Finally she drifted down, even while he powered inside her, pumping hard and fast. She bit his shoulder, trying to find any sense of an anchor in the wildness.

As her teeth broke his flesh, her palms ached with a solid burn. The marking of the witch. If she marked him, she’d mate him. But she couldn’t move, so she released his shoulder from the bite of her teeth.

Sudden, fierce ecstasy bowed her back, and she arched against him. Hot and wild spasms vibrated through her, throwing her into pure pleasure. He held her, hammered harder, and dropped his head to the crook of her neck as he came with a shudder.

They lay against each other, both panting, their ragged breaths echoing through the room. It took her a moment to realize her hands were free. She lowered them, caressing over the hard sinew of his shoulders and down his damp back.

He lifted up, gaze searching.

She smiled, lightness filtering through her. “Let’s do that again.”





Nick stacked another pile of papers at the edge of the long kitchen table, rapidly clicking facts into place. He hadn’t forgotten her mention that she had something to tell him, but gut instinct warned him to proceed slowly. “Those bank records hold your signature.”

“I know.” She twisted her lip and glanced out the wide window toward the green rolling hills.

What the hell? He reached for several documents that showed money being transferred through accounts from a deceased witch named Trevan Demidov to Trivet Corporation, an entity that he’d traced through several shell corporations that seemed to own mines producing planekite. The transfers had taken place after Trevan’s death, which apparently had been nearly twenty years ago. “Tell me about Trevan,” Nick said.

Simone cleared her throat and fidgeted. “He was a member of the Coven Nine, we dated, and he tried to kill me.”

Nick stilled. “Excuse me?”

She shrugged a delicate shoulder in a pretty lavender silk blouse. “Well, to be honest, I tried to kill him first.”

The reins he kept on his temper began to fray. “Start explaining now.”

Defiance crossed her features, and she tossed her head.

“I mean it, Simone.” He was done playing nice. The woman needed a good defense, and he was starting to wonder whether he’d be able to offer one. “Talk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Trevan was a complete dick who was trying to take over the Coven Nine with the love of his life, Grace Sadler. Oddly enough, she had been mated eons ago and had lost her mate, so she and Trevan couldn’t do more than spend time together. They never touched, or the mating allergy would’ve killed them. He was killed by a vampire, and cousin Moira challenged Grace to a power fight, winning Grace’s place on the Coven Nine.”

Nick frowned. “Moira isn’t on the Nine.”

“No. She won but she wanted to remain an Enforcer, so she nominated her sister, Brenna.”

Damn witches and their secrets. “Grace died?”

“No. She’s probably licking her wounds somewhere, and it should take another couple hundred years for her to regain her power. We’ve kept tabs on her. From her earlier mating, she has two grown children. They’re outlaws, and Phillipe Sadler has been known to speak out against the Nine. He’s weak but loud.”

Nick tapped the papers, his instincts humming. “Grace and her adult kids are still alive. Do you think she’s the one who set you up?”

“No.” Simone reached for more papers to study. She should probably tell him the full truth about her activities throughout the century. “I don’t think Grace has any contacts or power, but we should probably double-check with the Guard. Whoever has targeted the Nine has also set me up. We have many enemies, you know.”

He rubbed the shadow along his jaw. “That does seem odd. Everyone has been targeted with darts, even you, but you’ve also been targeted with these allegations.”

She paled. “What are you thinking?”

He hated to say it out loud. “I think you have more than one enemy making a move right now. It doesn’t make sense for somebody to spend all this time and resources on creating darts filled with planekite to harm the Nine and also put together this elaborate case against you.”

“Oh.” Her lips trembled when she gave him the weakest smile he’d ever seen.

“Don’t shut me out.” He tried to soften the order, but his temper emerged with bite. “Not now. Work with me.”

“I’m not shutting you out. It’s just a surprise that I need to look over both shoulders and not just one.” She reached behind her to the pale yellow counter to grasp the coffeepot so she could pour two more cups.

“Simone?”

“Yes?” she asked, her gaze on the cups, but not fooling him a bit.