Ashes

  “You also tried to kidnap my daughter,” snarled Richie. “At what point did you think that would go unpunished?”

  Dean’s gaze darted from face to face, as if searching for an ally. When he looked at Harper, she shrugged and said, “You really should have known better than to fuck with my family.” And then they were gone.

  Knox turned to Harper and drew her close. Her scent dulled the rage that seemed his constant companion these days. She slid her arms around him and smoothed them up and down his back, comforting him and taking comfort. Sweeping a hand down her hair, he kissed her temple. “I wanted to kill that fucker so bad.”

  “So did I.” Harper leaned into him. “But Jolene needs to do this. It’s hard for her to stand back while we deal with the person who sent those hunters after me.”

  Knox nodded. “Killing Bannon allows her to get vengeance for both you and Heidi. I know she needs that. I know Richie has more of a right to punish Bannon than I do.” He rested his forehead on hers. “That didn’t make it any easier not to slice his throat open.”

  She pressed a kiss to his neck. “Your restraint was appreciated.”

  As the two sentinels joined them, Tanner scraped a hand over his jaw and said, “You know… I’ve been thinking.”

  “Did it hurt?” Harper quipped, hoping to lighten Knox’s mood.

  Tanner shot her a mock glare. “As I was saying… it’s possible that they’re not targeting you to get to Knox. Maybe this is about you.”

  Knox had been considering that since the moment he heard that Heidi had almost been taken. “I’d like to disagree, but it does make sense,” he told Harper. “At first, I thought the person who hired the hunters was most likely one of the Horsemen and had made yet another attempt to make me lose my control by hurting the only thing that matters to me. Now, I’m not so sure.”

  She tilted her head. “You don’t think the Horsemen are behind the recent events?”

  “I think we’ve assumed that they are,” Tanner replied. “Maybe we shouldn’t have. If I were one of the Horsemen, I would keep a low profile for a while. A lot of our kind are investigating the matter. Would it be wise of them to strike out at you during this time? I don’t believe so.”

  “He’s right,” Levi told her. “Look at Heidi – what would the kidnapping have truly achieved? Sure, Knox would have paid ransom money, but it’s not a matter that would have hurt him. Pissed him off, yeah, but not hurt him. If the idea was to ask you to switch places with Heidi, you would have been prepared to do it.” Levi turned to Knox. “But would you have let her, or would you have found another way to get Heidi back?”

  Knox said nothing. That question didn’t require an answer. Everyone there knew that Knox would never have allowed Harper to trade herself for another, not even for a child, not even for a child of her own blood. He would have done whatever it took to get Heidi back, but he would not have handed his mate over to anyone. Every single demon would know that.

  Tanner nodded at Levi. “The hunter said that the person who hired them doesn’t want Harper dead. But taking into account the pain she went through and that they wanted her cousin kidnapped, they clearly want her to suffer. That sounds personal to me. Still, I’m not saying we should rule out that Thatcher has anything to do with all this – his name has cropped up twice now. Even if these attacks are personal to Harper, it’s possible that he’s involved.”

  “Would Thatcher have any reason to be angry at you?” Levi asked her.

  “I don’t think so,” replied Harper. “I barely know him. I get the feeling he looks down on me, but many demons do – I’m a Wallis, after all. Do you think that whoever’s behind all this is counting on us to blame it on the Horsemen?”

  “Yes,” replied Knox. “That’s exactly what we did, isn’t it?”

  “My main enemy is Alethea – she would love to see me reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes. But as Tanner pointed out, this person doesn’t want me dead. Could Carla or Bray want to hurt me for what my demon did to Roan? Sure. But I don’t think they’re smart enough to do all this and remain undetected.”

  “You’re probably right,” said Levi. “But we won’t dismiss any of them as suspects.”

  “If the Horsemen are hoping to fly under the radar for a while, they won’t be happy that they’re being blamed for something they didn’t do,” Keenan pointed out.

  Agreeing with that, Knox nodded. He telepathically reached out to Larkin and informed her of the day’s events. After the harpy was done cursing, he said, We need to explore the idea that this person wants to hurt Harper, not me. Still, everything keeps leading us back to Thatcher. Find out as much as you can about him. Dig as deep as you can go. If he has any link whatsoever to Harper, I want to know about it.

  If there is one, I’ll find it, Larkin promised.

  Turning Harper toward the exit, Knox said, “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

  “Who were you talking to?” Harper asked him. As their psyches were connected, she could feel the echo of his telepathic conversations; she simply couldn’t understand the words.

  “Larkin,” he replied. “She’s going to search for any possible link between you and Thatcher. If he has any sort of grievance with you, we need to know what it is. And we need to know before he acts again.”

  Nodding at that, Harper slipped her arm around his waist as they began a slow walk out of the boathouse. “Onto another subject, how did your meeting with Dion go?”

  “Well…”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The sting of teeth biting into the back of her shoulder snapped Harper out of sleep. Before she could wince, a hot tongue lapped and swirled over the mark to soothe the hurt. She realized that she was lying on her stomach while Knox was draped over her like a blanket, caging her in.

  “Morning,” she purred. Her demon stretched, luxuriating in his attention.

  “Morning, baby,” he said against her skin.

  The throaty rumble made her stomach clench and her nipples tighten. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  Understanding her meaning, Knox smiled. “I’m starving.” But he wouldn’t give her what she wanted just yet. He wanted to play first. Before Harper, he hadn’t “played”. Sex had never been anything but a basic need until she came along. He’d never cared for any of his partners. Never needed or craved them. Never been so focused on ensuring that they loved every minute of it. But it was different with Harper. Everything was different with her.

  Harper fisted the bedsheet as his mouth traveled lower down her back and left another suckling bite that seemed to send a dart of pleasure directly to her pussy. His mouth explored her back, leaving little marks everywhere and licking along the sensitive lines of her wings. Wet and restless, she squirmed and tried arching into him. A hand pressed down on her lower back, keeping her flat against the bed.

  “Don’t move.” Knox cupped her ass with his free hand. Boldly. Possessively. “I love this ass. Smooth. Pert. Biteable. And mine.” He gave it a firm squeeze.

  “Knox —”

  “Shh.” Knox plunged a finger inside her pussy. She tried to arch into him again, but he pushed down on her lower back to keep her flat. “I said, don’t move.”

  “You’re a damn tease.”

  Knox spoke into her ear. “No, I’m just playing with what belongs to me.” No one else had ever belonged to him, and he’d sure as hell never belonged to anyone else. That Harper was all his, that he had rights to her that no one else would ever have – both as his mate and as his anchor – intensified the raw possessiveness he already felt for her.

  As Knox sank a second finger inside her, he curved it just right, smiling at her gasp. Fisting her hair, he pulled her face to his and took her mouth. Consumed her. Dominated her. Greedily feasted on her as he fucked her with his fingers. “That’s it. Take it.”

  He burned for her. Day. Night. All the fucking time. It took nothing more than for him to shift in his seat and suddenly scent her on his shirt. Just like that,
even in the middle of a conference room, he’d be rock hard. Right then, his cock was full and heavy, aching for release. For her. For the only thing is his life he’d ever loved.

  Harper gasped as ice-cold psychic fingers parted her folds, leaving her clit exposed to the mattress. The finger already deep in her pussy began to thrust in and out, rocking her against the bed, sending shockwaves of pleasure to her clit. It felt so good, but she needed more. Needed him filling and fucking her. “No more teasing.”

  “I’ll give you what you want,” he assured her, pausing to swirl his finger. “Soon.”

  Soon? “I like ‘now’.” The words came out kind of breathy with need. “‘Now’ sounds way better.”

  Knox drove another finger inside her, loving how hot and wet she was. Loving that her scent had become warmer and sweeter as her need built and built – it always did. What he loved more was that she held nothing back; that she was his with no limits or boundaries or doubts. She didn’t even hold back from his demon – a fact that the entity treasured.

  Kneading her scalp, Knox licked at a bite mark he’d left near the dragonfly tattoo on her nape. The mark gave his demon the same wicked masculine satisfaction that it did him. Knox bit down, and her pussy rippled around his fingers. His cock throbbed as if in envy.

  Out of her mind with the need to come, Harper bucked hard enough to get to her knees. “Knox, I’m serious, you need to —” His fingers and body heat disappeared, and then his tongue stabbed inside her. “Oh, God.” That talented tongue licked and lapped and swirled. Her thighs quivered, and she wasn’t sure how much longer they could support her weight.

  She jerked as a psychic finger plunged inside her while another flicked her clit. Her pussy began to burn and spasm until it was almost unbearable, and Harper could do nothing but ride the wave as her orgasm barreled into her with such force that her head spun. But the pleasure didn’t fade. No. Because then the psychic fingers dissolved, and her pussy went from burning to inferno hot.

  Knox blanketed her back again and growled into her ear, “Tell me.”

  Cheek to the mattress, Harper licked her lips. “Tell you what?” she asked, just to fuck with him for teasing her.

  Knox tsked at her sass. “Baby, you know better than that.” He slid his hand around her throat, covering the brand there. “If you want my cock inside you, you’ll tell me what I want to hear.”

  His hand squeezed her neck in warning, but Harper only smiled. Even then, with his body trapping hers and his hand tight around her throat, she felt safe and… cherished. She knew he’d never hurt her. Knew that she was completely safe with both him and his demon. So she gave him those three little words he wanted. His long, thick cock plunged into her – forcing its way past swollen muscles until he was balls-deep in her pussy, exactly where she wanted him to be.

  “I love feeling your pussy wrapped around my cock. All snug and warm and slick.” Knox gripped both her shoulders, holding her still, as he pounded in and out of her. His pace was feral, his thrusts were savage. Her hot pussy squeezed and pulsed around his cock, showing him that she wanted it, that she loved it. Maybe even needed it.

  Every throaty little moan shot straight to his cock. She was so fucking tight. He needed to be deeper. Needed to be so deep that she’d never forget the feel of him; that his name would be imprinted on her soul.

  “Knox…”

  It was a warning, but he hadn’t needed it. He knew her body. He could sense that she was about to come. He also knew that she was expecting him to force her to wait. He didn’t. “Come for me. That’s my baby.” His balls tightened as she came with a scream, squeezing and milking his cock. He jammed himself deep and exploded, shooting jet after jet of come inside her.

  Feeling hollowed out, he pressed a kiss between her shoulders. “I love you too, baby.”

  “Then life is good,” she slurred.

  He fully agreed.

  The bed beneath her rattled, and Harper’s head snapped up. She blinked, realizing she wasn’t in bed. She was in her office, and she’d fallen asleep at her desk. Damn.

  Raini stood opposite her, one brow raised, lips pursed. She gestured at the brown paper bag she’d obviously plonked on the desk, waking her. That was the second time she’d been woken by someone else that day. She much preferred Knox’s method.

  Rubbing at the ache in her temples, Harper picked up her take-out cup of frothed milk, disappointed to find the cup cold. “What’s in the bag?”

  Raini folded her arms. “Open it.” There was a challenge in her tone and posture, and Harper didn’t like it.

  Just to be awkward, Harper said, “Maybe later.”

  “Don’t play with me, Wallis. Open it.”

  “Or…?”

  “Or I’ll tell everyone exactly what’s in that bag. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else. Don’t force me to.”

  Out of morbid curiosity alone, Harper grabbed it with a sigh. Opening it, she froze. “You have to be kidding me.”

  “You need to use it, Harper,” Raini insisted.

  She shook her head and tossed the bag onto the desk. “Not necessary.”

  “Isn’t it? I disagree.”

  “Well, I disagree that you have a need to disagree.”

  Raini picked up the bag. “Then it won’t do you any harm to use this and prove me wrong, will it? Come on, Wallis, let’s see who’s right.”

  Harper sighed. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

  Eyes softening, Raini put a hand to her chest. “Do it for my peace of mind, if nothing else. Please.”

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little ridiculous?”

  “Some days. Not today.”

  Again, Harper sighed. “Fine. I’ll do it later,” she lied.

  “Now you’re just lying.” Raini took Harper’s hand and pulled her out of her seat.

  “You’re stronger than you look.”

  Raini shoved the bag at her. “Go get it over with.”

  The urgency in Raini’s tone sent a chill skittering down Harper’s spine. She cocked her head, watching the succubus closely. “You really do think this is necessary, don’t you?”

  Raini gave her a wan smile. “Yeah, I really do.”

  Swallowing hard, Harper strode out of the office and went off to “humor” Raini so she could have that peace of mind she seemed to need. But when Harper walked to her station ten minutes later, she wasn’t feeling so nonchalant anymore. Raini took one look at her face and flashed her a small smile that was both anxious and supportive.

  Devon’s brow creased. “You okay, Harper? You’re awful pale.”

  Harper licked her lips. She wasn’t ready to tell them yet. Besides, Knox should be the first to hear the news. “I just feel a little lightheaded, that’s all.” That wasn’t entirely untrue.

  “Huh.” Devon’s expression said she wasn’t buying it.

  “Knox called me,” lied Harper, gently tapping her temple – a temple that still ached like a bitch. “He wants to see me. I shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes.”

  “Take as long as you need,” said Raini.

  With a nod, Harper cleared her throat. Pretty much in a daze, she grabbed her purse, and slipped on her jacket. Ignoring Khloë’s intense scrutiny, she walked out of the studio with Tanner close behind.

  Sidling up to her as they walked along the loud, busy strip, he said, “Where are we going?”

  “Knox wants to see me.” If the hellhound detected the lie, he didn’t show it. He simply stayed at her side, protective as ever, guarding her from pedestrians.

  It didn’t take long to reach the office that was located above the combat circle. Heading behind the dome, she jogged up the flight of stairs and over to the door where Levi stood like a sentry.

  Surprise briefly flashed in Levi’s eyes, but he stepped aside and knocked on the door. “Harper’s here to see you.”

  “I could have done that myself,” she grumbled at the reaper, but he just smiled.

  At Knox?
??s “Come in!” she turned the metal knob and pushed the door open, feeling a little like she was walking to her doom. Leaving Tanner with Levi, she then closed the door behind her.

  Mouth curved, Knox rose from his leather chair, rounded the desk, and crossed to her. “Hey, baby.” He slid his arms around her waist and kissed her long and hard. “This is a surprise.”

  Harper almost laughed. If he thought this was a surprise, he was going to find her news one hell of a shock. “How are you?” Yes, she was procrastinating – go judge her.

  “Better now that you’re here.” He nipped her lower lip and then laved the mark. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what brings you here in the middle of a work day?”