Mistress of Souls, page 3
My back straightens and I breathe deeply, with my eyes closing in bliss. The scent is unique: pines, fresh coffee, and wood smoke. It is comforting and woodsy. It reminds me of a cold winter night with a campfire crackling in the open woods. Crisp air and fresh snow on the ground with a large mug of rich coffee in my hands.
Opening my eyes, a smile plays around my lips. I need to know who that scent is coming from. It is damn delectable.
I swivel my head toward the door and spot a delicious creature.
The top of his head grazes the frame as he bends slightly to enter the bar. His dirty-blond hair is long and untamed, the waves going in all directions. A gorgeous smile spreads across his face as he scans the bar, looking for an open stool. I swear he could be a toothpaste model for one of those idiotic commercials that humans love. I don’t know what caused the smile to grace his face, but damn, it sets my blood on fire.
The alcohol buzzing through my system has my senses in disarray. His scent and features alone make me overwhelmingly horny, and I can’t stop staring at him. I don’t usually find blonde, happy males attractive. However, this one might do for an epic night of fooling around.
I wasn’t in the mood to partake in any kind of social interaction when I arrived at the bar unless a one and done tempted me. It’s why I sat in my usual corner, with my back to the wall. Drinking so much is the best or worst decision I will make tonight. But all my plans have changed, as I feel my core tightening and moisture pooling between my thighs. This is the second time in my life I have felt this type of lust.
How am I so turned on by his smile and scent alone?
I wonder if he has a deep, gravelly voice to match that body.
He continues to smile while he leans one forearm on the bar while talking to Teddy. I notice he has slightly elongated canines.
What are you?
I need to get closer.
I do my best to elegantly slip off my stool, but I slightly stumble and make my way to his side of the bar. He didn’t walk in with anyone, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t meeting a girlfriend or a date. Either way, I don’t give a shit at this point because I have my eyes set on him. I have claimed him for the night. Maybe it’s the tequila talking, but I don’t care.
I lick my numb lips, leaving a slight glossy shine over them. How much alcohol did Teddy put in my drinks? Three margaritas should not knock me on my ass this quickly, especially with the speed of my immortal metabolism.
I continue making my way toward the beast of a male.
My tail knocks into other bar patrons as I swagger over. When drunk, I don’t have nearly as much control over it, so it wanders mindlessly. Luckily, it hasn’t become a grab-ass tonight, because that has gotten me into shit in the past.
My sight darkens on the devilishly handsome male who now has taken notice of me. His eyes trail down my body with an appreciated eye-fuck, and I see the heat banked in his moss-green eyes as he flicks them back to my own gray ones. There’s also a slight shimmer to them that ebbs and flows.
Good. I need someone to play with; he looks like just the type I could take a bite out of. Shit, maybe I’d let him take a bite out of me too.
Those sharp canines of his would sink deeply into my flesh. A soft moan slips out of my mouth at the thought, and he sits up a little straighter in response.
The stools surrounding him are filled, but he knows my game.
He abruptly kicks the stool out from underneath the chick sitting next to him, vying for his attention by twirling her hair, pushing her plump breasts up and touching anywhere she thinks she can get away with. He obviously had no interest in the bottle blonde attempting to get into his pants. Luckily for everyone, he took action, since I have confidence in spades and would have dragged her off that stool by her hair.
At least while I don my mask my confidence shines.
Nope, I’m not thinking about that right now.
I refocus on my task. There is a hot as fuck male unknowingly awaiting my presence.
As I near the bar, the blonde is in a pile on the grimy floor, glaring daggers at him. I cackle as I step over her but accidentally-on-purpose step on her pinky. I put my other foot on the bottom rung and attempt to climb onto the stool. I almost fall off, but I feel warm, large hands grab my waist and settle me securely on my ass.
I look up to see if that same gorgeous grin is on his face.
His eyes zero in on my parted lips as my tongue unconsciously plays with my lip ring. The tip of his tongue slips out, a piercing on it shining briefly when it flicks the middle part of his top lip just under his cupid’s bow.
I’ve never seen anyone make that exact motion except in a porno, but it still sends powerful pulses directly to my clit.
Something about it makes me think about all the things he could do to me with that tongue, not forgetting about the bonus of his piercing. I swallow, trying to keep myself from fucking him right here on the bar.
With his long dirty blond hair wildly framing his face, I stare into his moss-green eyes and notice them swiftly change to black. I see something else in him through his dark orbs, something violent and destructive. It wants to play, and my own darkness acknowledges it. Shit, I think it’s even attempting to call it to the forefront.
I feel my power rising to the surface, my tail curling sensuously around his calf. He lets out a startled breath, looking down at my tail, which is now rubbing itself on his leg over his pants. He raises a pierced brow and smirks slightly. His face is only a foot away from mine as we unconsciously lean closer.
Time itself does not exist. It is irrelevant. All that matters is the beasts that live within us, acknowledging each other.
Teddy slamming another margarita down in front of me shocks me out of our state of limbo. I glare at Teddy when he looks from me to the stranger, realizing he just fucked up and interrupted something intense. He raises his opaque hands and backs away. The odd gait of his half-ghostly body disappears in spots as he moves down the bar.
I then noticed the growl coming from the male next to me as he glares down the bar. He’s watching Teddy, his eyes still black, with a gaze that promises violence. I touch his toned forearm, and he whips his eyes back toward me. I grip tighter, and his gaze slowly returns to green.
Warmth is building underneath my hand. The longer my skin is touching him, the more heat rises with it. Soon I feel a sharp pain, like his skin is burning mine. A magical pulse ripples between us. I know he feels it too, because his eyes widen. His bearded face morphs into a mask of amusement and fascination.
I pull my hand away, but he puts his large one over mine. The calluses on his palm scrape my knuckles.
He gruffly clears his throat. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, gorgeous.”
I was right. His voice is gravelly, sexy, and so incredibly deep. And he has a Scottish accent.
A shameless grin appears on his face.
I throw out my hand. “My name is Mariax, not gorgeous. And just who the fuck are you?” I ask cheekily.
His warm palm meets mine as we shake. ”I’m Hunter, and the pleasure is yers I’m sure,” he says, and winks.
Wow. He is the definition of an alpha-hole. With that thought, something tickles the back of my mind. Shifter. That’s what the wild part of his scent is.
I tilt my head to the side, narrowing my eyes and analyzing him.
“What are you?” I ask firmly.
He laughs loudly and so hard tears trail down his face, waking up the entire bar to our conversation.
He continues laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes with the bottom of his T-shirt. I get a glimpse of his tan, toned abs and the top of his happy trail before his shirt falls back into place. My mouth waters. My attraction to him is unmistakable.
“Well fuck, lassie. I’ve had no one come right out and ask me that question. Usually, they feel my alpha vibes and either stay away or drop their pants,” he says with a confident smirk. “I don’t know what yer deal is, but I’m game to find out.” He winks roguishly.
Proven by his pants-dropping statement, he has no problems getting laid and does so with ease. What is the fun in that?
“Don’t you like the chase anymore?” I ask bluntly. “Also, seriously, what the hell are you? You say you’re an alpha, but an alpha of what or whom?”
His grin widens across his face. “I’m a fucking lycan, baby. Chances are ye haven’t had anything like me before,” he says, leaning closer to me once again.
I raise my right eyebrow with clear disdain.
“A lycan?” I question.
“Aye, a lycan can shift at will and control said shift. A werewolf only shifts during the full moon and cannot contain the shift.”
I laugh.
“First of all, Pup, thanks for the lesson in the intricacies of shifters, but I have met several shifters. You’re not rare. I just couldn’t place what you were in the food chain. I don’t know what you think makes you more unique than the others of your ilk.”
He lightly chuckles. “Might have something to do with me being an alpha. Gives me the right to be a little more high-handed than the rest you’ve bounced on.”
I roll my eyes to feign annoyance, but I actually don’t think I’ve been with an alpha shifter before. Sounds kind of fun. Would he be rougher and more dominating, perhaps even wilder?
Just the idea causes my pussy to clench in anticipation, but his smug attitude still gets the better of me.
“You’re still a youngling compared to me. You are just coming out in this world, and I don’t know what you think you can offer me that I haven’t experienced already, alpha or not.”
He looks at me incredulously, like I’ve grown a second head. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t fawning over him like most women might have, but the look in his eyes says he’s trying to figure out how old I am, since I look around thirty-two in human years.
“What does an alpha lycan even do? Do you have a pack, or do you just run around the slums like the rest of the lone wolves, calling yourself top dog?” As I volley questions at him, each one filling me with malicious humor, his annoyance rapidly shows on his face. “Also–
Hunter cuts me off with a growl so lethal it raises the fine hairs all over my body. Now that’s a sound I could happily get used to in the bedroom.
“I can smell yer arousal from here, luckily for ye–” he breathes in deeply taking in my scent further, “–it is curbing my annoyance from yer rudeness.” The growls rumbling from deep in his chest never cease, even as he speaks.
His interruption annoys the fuck out of me, so I continue where I left off. “You might be sexy as fuck, but you are still a pup.”
In response to my purposeful attitude, Hunter’s hands grip the counter firmly, the bones of his skeletal tattoos running the length of each finger appearing starker for a moment. Other features of his body tighten as well, but most curiously is the growing appendage in his jeans.
I tilt my head the other way when I notice the extra bulge around where the base of his dick is. I’m insanely curious about what kind of supernatural magical dick he’s blessed with.
He rolls his shoulders back and sits up straighter, his resolve to be a respectable alpha evident in his posture.
”Well, since ye asked so pleasantly, I’ll spill my guts then, aye?” he asks sarcastically, but his cocky smirk is sneaking back across his sexy mouth from my compliment.
Before I can answer him, he answers me.
“An alpha takes care of their pack. They see to the needs of everyone within it. I am in charge of all of their lives, every minor aspect. Nothing goes on within my pack that I don’t know about. They live within my territory for safety, family, and…” He reaches across the space and grazes my earlobe with his index finger and thumb. “To seek pleasure.”
He bites his lip and releases it, small white indentions from his teeth showing briefly. Murder moths flutter in my stomach with the endearing gesture. Butterflies are much too delicate to live within me, so I adopted the idea of murder moths, fierce creatures that bash my stomach lining and force me to feel things.
My cunt throbs as he strokes the pads of his fingers along the shell of my ear, massaging with just enough pressure. I close my eyes, attempting to regulate my breathing, surprised I’m allowing him to touch me like this so openly.
The floor gives a scraping sound as he pulls my stool to between his legs and replaces his fingers with his mouth, sucking and nipping my earlobe. His breath hot on my neck and wetted ear makes a shiver rush down my spine.
He pulls back slightly, and whispers gruffly, “lycans have a very healthy sexual appetite. So, I can be quite busy.”
I knew he was sexy, but I didn’t know he had a bit of humor mixed in with his total-alpha-hole personality. He’s said all the right things, while flashing teasing grins, and I found them disarming the chaos that usually gets my back up and puts me on the defensive.
Leaning back, he grabs the beer that Teddy finally brought him, although Hunter hadn’t ordered anything. He looks at me and lifts the bottle, his furrowing brows and eyes, saying, What the fuck? I didn’t order anything.
Something deeper simmers between us.
“What do ye say, Cheetie? Do I drink a random beer?”
I wave him off and laugh. “Teddy has this thing, especially with me. I’m guessing he’s including you now. He brings me what he thinks I’ll like that night. Tonight, it’s margaritas.”
I raise my glass and gesture in a mock cheer. The tequila is making me feel nice. I’ve lost count of how many I’ve consumed.
He grins with a flash of teeth. “There’s a reason they call it te-kill-ya. See if ye like his drink choice in the morning.”
My thoughts are swirling around in my brain as if afloat on the alcohol I’ve consumed. I ignore him as I suck in a big mouthful of icy, bitter sweetness.
“Wait! What in the actual fuck is a cheetie?” I ask, since he called me that earlier. It better not be some kind of insult, or he’ll learn quickly that it’s best not to disrespect me so brazenly.
Hunter laughs deeply and with a wink, responds, “Och, it means cat or kitten.”
No one has ever called me a kitten before; something so soft and innocent, something that needed taking care of. Why did it make my heart shyly flutter and want to retract my claws so I could be petted?
Such a strange response, considering who I am and what I did for a living.
Hunter takes a swig of his beer and gestures toward me with the bottom of the bottle. “Now, so as to keep things fair, what are ye and what is it ye are, Mariax, and what do ye do?” He feigns a conversational, joking tone, but the gravel in his voice and his slight Scottish accent thicken as he purposely uses my name.
Shivers race down my spine. I love the way it sounds. I could listen to him say my name over and over.
What would it be like if he moaned my name?
I decide to give him a brief and confusing answer. Flirting with Hunter is too much fun. I haven’t smiled like this since… my smile falls. Since Him.
I shake my head and focus on Hunter, hoping he doesn’t notice the slip.
The muscles in his arms bulge and tighten as he grips the bottle, and I watch his veins rise to the surface. There is not an ounce of fat on him. His thick frame is corded with muscle. I can easily picture him raising a car over his head and howling at the moon.
I snort at the thought, but I ignore him as he looks at me with questioning eyes. He finishes the last of his beer and slips the bottle through his fingers to settle on the bar top. Teddy swiftly replaces the bottle with a fresh one, and we continue our conversation.
“I’m a demon” I answer snarkily, gesturing to my tail and then horns, “in case you haven’t noticed.” I pause for dramatic effect, “And I own The Snuggle Palace. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“I’ve seen the sign, but I’ve never been inside. It’s down in Fishtown in between two stores, aye?” Hunter inquires.
“Yep, it’s between a liquor store and a gift shop. But,” I say with a sly smile. “It’s not the building that you need to be worried about. It’s what’s inside of it. Or under it, I should say.”
“Aye, what’s inside yer building?” The innuendo is thick in his tone. “Cannot be too frightful, considering it’s got a wee lass like you inside it.”
“A sex dungeon,” I say bluntly, and take a large gulp of my margarita.
He chokes on his beer, and I reach out and slap him on the back before trailing a hand down his spine, saying, “Yep.” I speak bluntly, popping the P at the end. “A sex dungeon.”
He takes the towel Teddy flings at him as he goes past to serve another drink and wipes spilled beer from his fingers and the counter.
“Well, that’s different,” he says with amusement, before taking another swig of his beer.
He wouldn’t be so full of amusement if I had him in one of my punishing rooms.
The image of me standing over him, running my bladed tail down those abs I glimpsed under his T-shirt… A trail of blood follows in my tail’s wake, my gaze eating up his muscular naked form. The sight of his thick cock growing harder with the knife play…
I’m getting way ahead of myself. I don’t normally think of my potential clients in this way. It’s got to be the fucking alcohol.
Suddenly, panic blooms in my gut, gripping my throat as I remember Him bringing up the idea of teaching me how to be a dominant someday. He is the one who taught me everything, who taught me the importance and trust involved in a dom and sub relationship.
A cold sweat breaks out on my forehead, and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to let my panic overload my system.
I tell myself, you’re not in Inferuna. You got out. You’ve been out for over two hundred years.
A large hand grips my thigh, and I open my eyes. Hunter’s face is inches from mine, concern evident in his pinched brows. A little V appears between them.
“Are ye okay, Cheetie? Where did ye just go?” he asks with worry.
