bedeviled & beyond 05 - bedeviled & besmirched Read Free Page B

praying?”
    I shrugged. “Unfortunately not. This one calls for a bit more finesse. If we want to take them alive we’re gonna have to knock the female out without killing her. The babies will go along with whatever we do at that point.”
    “What are we doing at that point?”
    “That part of the plan is fuzzy. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
    “There’s no way you and I will be able to space shift them to Hell by ourselves.”
    I tried to ignore her but, per usual, she wouldn’t go away.
    “Astra?”
    “I’m workin’ on it.” In a huff, I reached for the door handle without thinking and felt my skin nearly sizzle from the heat. “Ouch!” I sucked the burned area on my hand to ease the pain.
    The air beside me started to shimmer and panic swamped me.
    “Oh shit!”
    Darma turned in surprise as a gorgeous male animal shimmered into view between us. Her pretty, coral-colored lips formed a perfect O of delight.
    He was a little over six feet tall and his hair was midnight black, cut very short, warrior style. The short hair enhanced a very masculine jaw and densely muscled neck. His mouth was wide, with a full, chewable lower lip, and his jaw held a familiar dark stubble. His eyes were gold with black flecks. He was dressed in his usual outfit of tight-fitting pants tucked into tall, scuffed, brown, leather boots and a pecs-snugging, short-sleeved shirt with a round neckline.
    Slayer smiled at me, showing a long, sexy dimple on each cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”
    I pulled my stinging hand from my mouth and grimaced. “What were you doing, sitting on the power wave?”
    His smile widened. “When you suck the mark that hard it’s difficult to ignore.”
    I jerked my hand downward, guiltily hiding it from my sister’s keen gaze.
    “What’s going on, Astra?”
    Bleurgh!
    I twitched my fingers toward her and turned my back on Slayer. “Nothing. I don’t need you, Slayer, it was a mistake.”
    Before I knew what he was doing, Slayer grabbed my burned hand and pulled it upward. I gasped as his tongue came out and swept across the stinging flesh. The skin stopped hurting immediately and the bright red color faded away soon after.
    The damage done elsewhere in my body was harder to repair. My Settling roared to life and swamped me with lust. Heat suffused my face and my sexual core throbbed expectantly. The nerve endings on the surface of my skin exploded into sensitivity, turning even the slightest touch of his fiery skin into the most intimate caress.
    Slayer’s nostrils flared and he stepped close, as if pulled into my embrace by my rampaging hormones. One thickly muscled arm enfolded me, tucking me into his long, hard body. His shaft pressed hopefully against my belly. His lips lowered toward mine.
    My eyes were riveted on those incredible lips. In my mind I was already tasting them. My mouth opened in expectation of his kiss and my body swayed toward his. My eyes fluttered shut and my heart pounded.
    Slayer dropped his mouth onto mine in a ravenous kiss, his pretty, white teeth capturing my bottom lip and nibbling it before sucking it into the hot cave of his mouth. I moaned under the passionate onslaught, my tongue spearing through to dance with his.
    He tasted spicy and masculine and I suddenly couldn’t get enough. My nipples tightened into hard peaks and speared his chest. My panties dampened from his scent.
    Slayer threaded his fingers through my hair and held me in the kiss, deepening it under a growl of need. He drove one well-muscled thigh between my knees, and groaned as I dry humped the sexy, invading limb.
    My mind turned to mush under my Settling. Long weeks of emotional starvation only added to the fire building in my body. My Settling made me crave sexual touch, my place on the emotional precipice made me hunger for passionate fulfillment.
    I was sexual dynamite. And Slayer was a flame looking for something to ignite.
    The only thing that could ruin the event was the wall of