Wicked Nights (7 page)

“Well, I do know a few tricks to prevent that from happening.” His hand moved up her thigh, and she gasped. He smirked. “Sorry, is that distracting?”

She groaned and he laughed, feeling the flow of energy between them deepen.

“Go on, keep asking,” he urged her.

“You’re making it hard to concentrate on questions.”

He smiled. “Try harder.”

She took a deep breath. “Were you born like this? You know … hmmm … magical?”

“Part of the magic is innate, but we’re all different. Some of us are stronger, some have specific powers.”

What he didn’t mention was that some of them were bent on using their powers for darkness. Corneliu hadn’t been the first. He wasn’t even the worst. When Alex decided to play the part of an illusionist, it had been mainly as a way to get to a few of those people. He wanted to get to the family members who had gone into hiding after doing horrible things — or in preparation for them. Becoming such a public figure had a lot of risks, but it also let him into a world of secrets he wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise. Of course, all the money didn’t hurt either. In fact, the money had made it a lot easier to find the ones trying to remain hidden.

The luxuries and the women who came with his fame? Well, those were bonuses. Especially the one in his arms right now.

He looked into her eyes. “Are we done talking?

“Why?”

His fingers reached for her clit and she whimpered.

“That’s why,” he whispered.

The next thing he knew, they were entwined, skin burning and fingers touching, exploring, greedy. He wanted her. All of her. No more teasing touches, no more soft play. He wanted to be inside her. Needed it. Now.

Do it
, she whispered into his mind, and his whole body jolted in response.

His hands reached under her body and turned her around so she was on all fours. He could smell her desire, wet and hot between her legs. Without a word, he grabbed her hips and slid into her with a single thrust. Laurie moaned in surprise, then pushed against his moving hips to increase the pressure.

More
, she pleaded.

He drew himself out and slammed into her again, groaning. She moaned in response and clamped her muscles around him, holding him tighter inside her.

”Fuck,” he growled, rocking into her harder.

The golden fire of the ritual was back, shining over her body and making her look like a goddess. Her breasts bounced every time he thrust into her, and each movement just fired him up even more.

He moved into her again and again. Harder. Deeper. Until their bodies were in a frenzy and the energy humming between them felt like a fire burning through them. Her head fell back, her chest heaving from the heat.
 

“Is this how you like it?” he growled, burying himself inside her as deep as he could go.

“Yes, yes,
please
, yes. More!”

His whole body was aching for release.

He heard her cry out as she reached her climax, and he pushed into her one more time. Then his body exploded in waves of pleasure.
 

Laurie had finally convinced Alex to let her go back to the city to pick up a few things. But all she really wanted was her gun. It had been a stupid move not to take it with her in the first place, and she was ready to remedy that.

As powerful as Corneliu might be, he wasn’t bulletproof. At least not if she could get him into her line of fire while he was busy doing something else. And even if she couldn’t shoot him, she still wanted her gun by her side.

Alex had agreed to let her go only if Emily picked her up, which was fine with her. She had been dodging Emily’s calls all morning, and she couldn’t keep doing that for much longer. Better to see her and somehow deal with the situation.

When Emily pulled into the driveway, her expression was a mix of confusion and amusement.

“Thanks for coming by to pick me up, Emily.”

“Did you call a mechanic?”

“It’s been arranged, don’t worry.”

She got into the car and fastened her seat belt, hating that she had to lie to Emily about all this. They’d known each other for so long, and it felt like a betrayal. “I’m going to need you to drive me back here in a couple of hours so I can deal with the car,” she said apologetically.

Emily turned to look at her. “So you didn’t get a chance to talk to Volman at all?”

“He cancelled yesterday, and then this morning he left almost as soon as I got there, before I realized my car wouldn’t start.” She cleared her throat before continuing. “He had a meeting of some sort, I guess. But I’m supposed to meet him again this evening, when I pick up my car.”

“So what do you think?”

Laurie had practiced the lines over and over, and she still wasn’t sure they sounded convincing. “I don’t think he’s connected to the
mur
— disappearances. But he knows what the
stang
symbol means, so he might be of some help.”

Emily frowned without taking her eyes off the road. “And how does he know that?”

Laurie didn’t want to talk about it anymore, because every word was a lie or led to a lie. And the more she lied, the harder it was going to be to get out of it later on.

“It’s some sort of magical tool used by magicians. I mean, in magic folklore. Witchcraft.”

Emily was quiet for a second. “Do you think the kidnapper could be another magician?”

Laurie was suddenly relieved to have a way out. “Maybe. You could check who else performs in the city.”

Pushing Emily away from the whole situation seemed like the right move. Alex was right; this was something the police couldn’t help with.

** **

As soon as she opened her apartment door, she knew something was wrong. A subtle sweet perfume lingered in the air, a mix of rotting flowers, moss and wet wood. It was the kind of aroma you’d expect to find at a cemetery. Her whole body froze, and Emily bumped into her.

“What the hell?” Emily hissed, annoyed.

“Can you smell that?” Laurie whispered.

“Smell what?”

Every cell in Laurie’s body screamed at her to get out. She was close enough to the door that she could still turn around and leave. Without her gun.

That second of uncertainty changed everything. As she reached for the light switch, she heard something stir to their left.

A scream caught in her throat. “Emily, don’t—”

And then Emily went flying through the air and into the wall to their right with a loud thump. She slid down the wall and lay motionless on the floor.

“Nice to see you again, Laurie.” Corneliu stepped out of the darkness and into the path between her and Emily. Between her and the gun. “I’m not really happy with Alex right now.”

Laurie’s eyes darted around the room, looking for a sign that Emily was still breathing and searching for a way out at the same time. Emily’s chest was rising, slightly but steadily.

There was a loud rumbling in the room, almost like a soft earthquake shaking the foundations of the place, except that nothing was moving.
Corneliu’s
magic. She could feel him too, and she didn’t like it. His magic sounded dark, chilling. Like an approaching thunderstorm, bringing destruction and gloom with it.

“I would’ve loved to be the one inside you.”

Her stomach contracted, and she felt nauseated. She took a step backwards and realized her legs were numb. Her heartbeat was somewhere between erratic and frozen. She wanted to scream, but she doubted it would do anything except make Corneliu happy — and angrier.

“Hurting me now won’t change anything.”

“It will make me feel so much better,” Corneliu took a step towards her. “And it will make Alex very, very unhappy.”

Laurie made an effort to keep her voice steady. “He doesn’t care. It was just about the ritual.”

Another step closer to her.

“Oh, but he does. I could feel the electricity between you two.”

Laurie’s back touched the door behind her. The kitchen was just steps away. If she could at least grab a knife….

Corneliu’s
magic vibrated louder now, almost like a ringing in her ears. It was distracting and very unnerving.
 
Just as much as Alex’s magic felt warm and comforting,
Corneliu’s
felt frightening. It felt … wrong and out of tune with her.

Her hand reached for the doorknob behind her. One more move and she’d be in the kitchen.

Except that the knob wasn’t moving.

The kitchen door didn’t have a lock, so it should have opened. Her eyes locked onto
Corneliu’s
.

“You didn’t think I was going to let you go in there, did you?”

Another step closer.

“Please, don’t.” Laurie’s throat was feeling tighter, drier.

Corneliu smiled. For a second, she saw the family resemblance. The same half smile, the same deep eyes with a world of secrets buried within them. But none of the emotion that made her heart sing.

And before something hit her and everything went black, all she could think about was Alex.

** **

Pain. Pulsing, blinding pain. Almost like throbbing, rhythmic flashes in her head. Laurie opened her eyes slowly, and the light coming through the window hit her hard. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the room and the movements around her.

Corneliu.

The memory of what was going on hit her at once. Her eyes darted around the room until she found him sitting in the armchair at the foot of the bed.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I guess the vase hit you harder than I expected.”

She tried to move, but her whole body was pinned against the bed. She panicked for a second, thinking her wrists and ankles were tied, but there was no rope holding her down. Then anger took over and she thrashed against the invisible enemy, trying to get loose.