Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)

Her screams quickly died as she bled out. Her breath came in small, shallow gasps. I felt her heart stutter so I pulled away, leaving the rest in Kale’s hands.

The blood had sated my physical hunger, but the lack of sensual energy had robbed my metaphysical need. Thanks to Arys’s incubus nature making me a succubus, I needed to feast on the heady energy of desire as well. Sylvia’s abundance of fear had fed Kale’s longing, leaving me feeling like I needed more.

He took his time with her, dragging out every moment. It was glorious to watch. Kale was in his element. Seeing him take his vengeance in such an intimate manner was like watching a thunderstorm. He was wild and terrifying but mysterious and captivating as well.

My desire grew with every last beat of Sylvia’s heart. When at last it was still, Kale picked her up and carried her several yards away. He deposited her out of sight, amid a cluster of headstones.

“How long do you think it will take the FPA to find her?” he asked, licking a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth.

That subtle action was crazy sexy. I heard his question, but my focus was elsewhere. I saw what I wanted, and I was going to have it.

Feeling brazen and daring, I grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it up and over my head. I let it drop beside me before hooking my thumbs in the waist of my leggings.

“Alexa?” Kale’s voice was hoarse. He watched me kick off my boots and slide the leggings off.

I sauntered over to his car, step by slow step, never taking my eyes off him. Next to hit the ground was my bra and panties. When I perched on the hood in nothing at all, Kale swore and ran a hand over his face.

Biting my lower lip, I lay back on the hood, reveling in the way the cool metal felt against my bare skin. With a bent finger I called him to me.

His gaze slid over me from head to toe. There was no hesitation when he came to me. He pulled his jacket off and tossed it on the Camaro’s roof. Then he stepped between my legs and leaned down to kiss me.

With our bodies aligned and his mouth on mine, we let go of resistance and let the forbidden fire consume us. I tore at his shirt in my haste to touch his hard chest. His hand was warm on my skin. Across my stomach and up between my breasts, Kale’s gentle caress was the answer to a deep-rooted longing.

He kissed my neck, lingering over my jugular before whispering, “Tell me this means more to you than a power trip.” He stared at me intently, waiting for me to break his heart.

I peered up at him through a haze of desire. I knew it was wrong that I couldn’t let him go, but he had a place in my heart, no matter what. This was not about taking what he had to give. I was offering myself to him. Feasting on Kale’s lively essence was a bonus I planned to enjoy, but it wasn’t my sole reason for seeking out this intimacy.

“The only time I feel alive anymore is when I kill,” I said. “I need to feel something real that is born of love, not death.”

I thought he might refuse or overthink the situation until the moment slipped away. Whatever had happened during our time apart tonight, it had done something to him. I could see it in the way he looked at me, like I was his wildest dream and his worst nightmare.

“This is love,” he murmured right before he buried his face in my breasts. His hands were on me, touching me in ways he never had before.

Staring up at the night sky, I felt liberated by Kale’s passionate touch. With my fingers entangled in his hair, I trembled beneath him. My arousal burned with a preternatural intensity. I suspected that making love as a vampire was going to be more mind blowing than it had been as a shifter.

Kale’s hands were everywhere: in my hair, caressing my stomach and finally, between my legs. His touch was gentle, so delicate I barely felt it. Then he grew more demanding.

My back arched as a finger slid inside me. An explosion of pleasure rocked me, and he’d barely begun. A low growl rumbled in my throat.

His mouth followed the same path as his hands until he descended between my thighs. A wave of power splashed over us as I writhed atop the Camaro. Kale dragged his tongue over me, targeting my sensitive place and bringing me to a near whimper. We had never been so close, so intimate, not even during our one previous sexual encounter. It was better than I’d dared to let myself imagine it would be.

The wind picked up, blowing my hair about. It was only around us though. Beyond the car everything remained calm.

It felt so good to have Kale touch me in such a manner. With both fingers and tongue, he explored me, coaxing throaty cries from me. Opening myself up to him felt right. It was what I wanted.

A sharp and sudden sting on the inside of my thigh gave me a jolt of pained pleasure. The warmth of his mouth quickly followed as he licked the blood that spilled from the small bite.