“You feel so fucking good, Selina. Tight. Wet.”
She twisted in his arms, jerking at his restraining grip, but he held tighter and moved to kiss her mouth. A diversion was definitely in order. Her lips parted under the pressure of his, her tongue thrusting out to tangle with his. The kiss went wild in moments, each of them biting, sucking, tasting, and taking. He slid his free hand between them again, rubbing her clit in time with his thrusts. She moaned into his mouth, and he felt her sex fist around his cock. A few more strokes, another flick of fingers over her clitoris, and she went over into orgasm, her explosive ecstasy bursting within his consciousness.
It was the most erotic thing he’d ever experienced, knowing—not just guessing—exactly how much pleasure he gave her, knowing how much she enjoyed his touch, how he turned her on, turned her inside out and made her scream. Nothing had ever even come close to this. Magic or chemistry, he didn’t know. He just knew it was phenomenal.
Every plunge of his cock into her wet pussy caused another wave of climax to crash through her, sent another shock of a spell roaring over him, until he could do nothing more than give in to the orgasm that beckoned. The magic, the sheer physicality of being on her and in her, her soft skin on his, her slender wrists trapped in his hand. It was too much to resist, and his hips hammered against her, the slap of their skin echoing in the room as come burst from his cock to fill her.
He groaned, shuddering. Burying his face in her throat, he sighed and relaxed against her. He should get up. Magickal or not, he was bigger than she was and he had to be crushing her. In a moment, he would move. Right now, he let himself enjoy the sensation of her pliant and soft body under him, of their hearts pounding, their breathing ragged gasps.
It was the best sex of his life, reaching down and taking hold of something deep inside him. Burning off any frustrations that cropped up during this case was going to be a lot of fun.
For the little time they had together, he wanted as much as he could get. It was all he could promise either of them, all he’d ever been able to promise since his wife made sure before she died that Jack knew all the problems in her life began and ended with him.
It occurred to Selina when she woke up later that night and went to the bathroom to pee that she should probably tell Theodore their quarry had resurfaced. Not the best time or place to think of the old man, but it didn’t change the fact that she should let him know. The Normal had retired years ago, after age had slowed him too much to do the job with any hope of success. Though she suspected his wife’s leukemia had done it more than anything else. He’d quit hunting to stay with her to the bitter end.
Skirting past the bed so she wouldn’t wake up Jack, Selina picked up her cell, walked out into the living room, and sat on the couch. Grim lumbered up from where he’d been sleeping in front of the fireplace and came over to rest his chin on her thigh. He made a questioning noise in the back of his throat.
She stroked a hand down his neck. “Nothing’s wrong. Just calling Theodore.”
He yipped, and Selina shushed him.
“I’ll tell him to say hello to your sister. Just don’t wake up Jack.”
Grim sighed but remained silent. She continued to pet him and used her free hand to scroll through her numbers until she reached the one for Theodore Holmes. She glanced at the clock. It was late, but the man lived alone now. He’d pick up.
“Hello?” The young voice of a teenager came through the line.
“Um ... I’m looking for Theodore Holmes. Is this still his number?” It was programmed into her phone, so she knew she hadn’t misdialed. Had he changed his number without telling her? Her heart squeezed—had he died and she hadn’t heard about it?
“Sure, one second.” There was a rustling sound for a moment, and then she heard in the background. “Grandpa, the phone is for you.” A pause. “I don’t know, I didn’t ask. Some lady. Did you pick up any chicks at the grocery store today and give them your number?” She laughed at whatever the response was to that.
The line picked up. “I’ve got it, Riley. Hang up now. Hello, who the hell is calling me at midnight?”
Selina cleared her throat. “Good to hear from you, too. There was a time when midnight wasn’t so late.”
“Grayson.” The tone warmed considerably. “There was a time when I wasn’t an ornery old cuss.”
She grinned at that. “No, just an ornery cuss. Not an old one.”
A grunt was the only reply he had for her.
“So, your granddaughter is visiting? Sorry I woke her.” Small talk with Theodore was like pulling teeth. With no anesthesia. He’d talk your ear off for hours about how best to hunt, trap, and kill a vampire, but idle chitchat wasn’t his forte.
“Riley lives with me now. She gives me a run for my money on ornery.” There was a rich irony and affection in the tone, as if he knew an old bastard like him shouldn’t be raising a young girl, but he liked it all the same.
Selina’s eyebrows almost arched off her forehead. “You’re child-rearing now?”
“Someone had to. She’s a good kid.” There was a wealth of love in that simple statement, but he gave no more explanation than that. No information about whether Riley’s parents had died, or abandoned her, or given up on her as a lost cause. Typical Holmes not to fill in any personal blanks. “Are you just checking in to make sure I’m still kicking or did you need something?”
She hesitated. No matter how much she burned inside to catch the motherfucker who killed her cousin, she found she just couldn’t take the old man away from a child who needed him. A child he obviously adored, in his own gruff style. She knew what it was like to live in a place where you weren’t wanted, and if Holmes came to help her with this hunt and something happened to him, then Selina would be putting a teenaged girl in the same situation she’d been in for so many years of her young life. She couldn’t do it.
“Just making sure you’re still alive and breathing.” But Grim nudged her with his nose. “Oh, and Grim wants me to say hello to Boleyn.”
“She’s right here.” A dog barked in the background. “And I’m not dead yet. That all you wanted?”
“Yep.” She chuckled. Same old Holmes. “Take care of yourself. And Riley and Boleyn. Bye.”
He grunted a farewell and disconnected.
She hung up, burying her fingers in Grim’s fur. The Normal had something left to live for, and Selina didn’t. She didn’t know if that was sad and pathetic, or just fitting. Shouldn’t she go when she had nothing left to keep her here? What better time was there? One last hurrah and then the show was over. Somehow the thought just made her feel ... empty. So she set the phone aside and went to wake up Jack for another round of distraction.
6
Selina’s feet pounded against the pavement as she ran. Her heart pounded, the blood and adrenaline racing through her veins. Air rasped in and out of her throat, and her lungs burned. Still, she pushed herself harder, faster, one hand clenched around the thick leather of Grim’s leash.
Her familiar had no problem keeping stride with her, his long body stretching into a gallop. So far, running herself into the ground hadn’t made her mind shake loose anything new about this case.
Frustration seared through her. She wanted this to go faster, to catch this guy and give his victims some peace. To give his victims’ families some peace. To give herself some peace. She ignored that that was going to be more Rest in Peace than peace of mind.
“Ready for more, Grim?”
He barked in return, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his dual-colored eyes gleaming. They’d been stopped a couple of times so people could look at his unique gaze, but Selina just wanted to run today. Sometimes it helped her think, and sometimes it just gave her an hour to outrun herself.