By the Enchantment of Moonlight (The Forbidden Realm #2.5) (9 page)

D
evin's office had been easy enough to find. The building was unmistakable; Sandstrom Industries was emblazoned on it in huge, bold letters. Pimma and Swift darted between buildings and over trees as they made their way to it. The humans around them were completely oblivious to their presence, fully engrossed in their mundane lives and unable to see through the Veil that separated their worlds.

“Up there.” Pimma pointed. “Aliya said there was a balcony beside Devin's office, way up in one of the top floors. That must be it.”

Just as she had described, the upper floor of the building cut away to allow for an elegantly designed terrace. From here, Devin Sandstrom could stroll out of his office and survey the entire city below him. In the distance, the complex of warehouses at the lake's edge could be seen, and the marina where his boat had been docked was just beyond that. The man's entire world was laid out for his perusal from this vantage point. He must truly be someone important.

Yet he probably had no idea the danger he was in. They had to warn him.

“The doors from the terrace into his office are open,” Pimma noted.

She moved hesitantly toward them. It wouldn't be wise to just go rushing in there. Devin might know of fairies and mermaids and the Forbidden Realm, but he might also not be alone. They couldn't risk other humans seeing them.

Swift hovered silently at Pimma's side. She didn't regret accompanying him on this mission, but she would really have just rather gone off somewhere alone with him. So much could go wrong here! He seemed perfectly confident and sure of himself, but he was an enforcer, after all. He'd been trained for tense and dangerous situations. Pimma hadn't. She'd have to rely on Swift to lead the way if things got complicated.

Complicated
was exactly what things were right now. As they moved toward the open doors and peered in, it was obvious that Devin was not alone. He was seated in a chair in the middle of his posh office, his hands and feet clearly tied.

Miranda loomed over him, circling like a predator eyeing her prey. She traced her fingers over his arms, his shoulders, his neck. Her movements were clearly intended to entice him, to sway him to her will. She seemed to be using all of her wiles, and Pimma assumed it would be just a matter of time before the succubus succeeded.

“Why do you fight me, Devin?” Miranda cooed, leaning to whisper the words into his ear, her blouse falling open before him. “We've been so right together. I know how to make you feel good.”

“Not anymore, Miranda,” he said. “You're wasting your time.”

“Are you sure about that? You never used to complain when I did this.”

The succubus turned his chair around to face her. She placed one long leg on either side of his knees and lowered herself to sit on his lap, straddling him. Pimma couldn't quite see what she was doing with her hands, but she thought she could hazard a guess. As Miranda had done with Wain in the warehouse, she was seducing this human.

“It won't work,” Devin said, his voice sounding strained. “Whatever you want from me, you're not going to get it.”

“Of course I will, darling,” she murmured, kissing his lips and nuzzling his cheek. “I always get what I want.”

“Not this time,” he growled. “Do what you want to my body, but I swear to you, I don't know anything about mystical light.”

“A
Being
of Light,” Miranda corrected him, the sultry lull in her voice fading just enough to reveal her annoyance. “You have been given something by a Being of Light—something that I need. Where is it?”

“I don't have any idea what you're talking about,” Devin insisted.

“Don't lie to me! I know you carry magic. I can feel it all over you; it's what drew me to you in the first place. So where is the crystal?”

Pimma glanced silently at Swift. He shrugged at her, indicating he had no better idea than she did what Miranda was talking about. Devin seemed just as confused.

“I don't have any crystal. No one ever gave me a crystal, and I am most certainly not covered in magic,” he said, struggling against his bindings. “Now untie me and let me go immediately.”

Surprisingly, Miranda suddenly gave up on her seduction. What was she doing? Pimma tucked herself behind Swift and hoped they hadn't been spotted. Miranda didn't seem to sense them, though. She was simply changing tactics.

The succubus rose, moved away from Devin, and straightened her clothing. All her heated panting and desperate desire was instantly gone.

“Oh well. I guess I
am
wasting my time,” she said with a careless toss of her head. “If you're not up for sex, then what good are you to me? I guess I'll just destroy your fancy office building here and go find someone who can help me. Like maybe your wife.”

With that, she walked to a bookshelf and shoved it aside with remarkable ease. Pimma swallowed back a worried cry. Was Miranda going to rip apart Devin's office with her bare hands, searching for this crystal she wanted? What would she end up doing to Devin?

The answer to those questions become obvious in a moment. When the bookshelf was moved, it revealed a panel in the wall behind it. Miranda slid that open with a maniacal laugh. An oddly familiar machine was inside.

“How did that get there?” Devin asked, craning his neck to watch her.

“I had it installed,” Miranda replied. “We made this one extra powerful, too. If you've got that crystal hidden here somewhere, this ought to take care of it. If not…well, let's just say I hope there isn't anyone you care about in the building today.”

“You're insane!” Devin exclaimed. “I don't know what the hell crystal you're talking about, but if that's some sort of bomb—”

“It's not,” she said, running a finger over the machine as if she intended to seduce it. “It's a Regulator, like all of the others. That's what your company has been making, Devin, and you don't even know it. You've been working with a secret fairy coalition who think they are making magical machines that strengthen the Veil. You do know about the Veil, right? It's that thing you can see through that most other humans can't. It's what is supposed to keep the Forbidden Realm hidden from humans.”

“How do you know that I can see through the Veil?”

“I know all about you, Devin. Maybe I know more than you do, but it won't really matter soon.”

“What are you going to do? There's no magic here for that machine to soak up.”

“So you say, Devin, but I don't believe you. The crystal was put into your keeping, and I'm going to destroy it.”

“By soaking up magic? Do you even know how crazy that sounds?”

“Oh, that sounds crazy, does it? Well, how about this. I've had some special modifications made on this particular machine. It won't just soak up the magic, but it will convert it.”

“Convert it to what?”

“Raw energy, of course.” Miranda pursed her red lips at him and then gave a short laugh. “I guess you were right, after all. It is some sort of bomb.”

“You're going to blow up my office?”

She nodded. “Yes, and probably this whole building. Including the crystal. I'll flip this switch and everything will be taken care of. Well, all but a few loose ends out there. Like your wife.”

“You leave my wife alone, Miranda!”

But the succubus just rolled her eyes. “You're such a sap, Devin. You were a sap for your first wife, and you're an even bigger sap for this one.”

“I will stop you, Miranda,” he snarled at her, tugging at the bindings and coming very close to freeing himself.

She seemed to take note of that and didn't much like it. “Hmm, yes, you certainly will try. Pity. I was going to enjoy letting you suffer as your world crumbled around you, but I can't risk you actually getting away.”

With that she grabbed a small statuette off the shelf and swung it at Devin. He was able to turn his head at the last moment and avoid taking the full brunt of Miranda's blow, but the side of the statuette clipped him. The force was enough to cause Devin to slump in his chair. For a moment Pimma thought he was dead, but he shifted and moaned, sinking into unconsciousness.

Miranda shook her head. “Too bad. You really were one of the best, Devin. I honestly enjoyed myself with you over the years. Oh well.”

She went back to the machine, and, as she had threatened, flipped a switch. A panel of lights immediately came on and the room was filled with the whirring hum of the equipment. She made some more adjustments, poking buttons until some of the lights on the panel changed color and the machine's hum altered frequency. Then she stepped back and smiled smugly at her accomplishment.

“Try to hide things from me, will you?”

She gazed once more over her handiwork and seemed to decide she was done. Pausing to kiss Devin on the top of his motionless head, Miranda stalked from the room into the wide hallway beyond. Her pointed shoes clicked on the floor, the sound disappearing until they could be sure she was gone. Meanwhile, the hum of the machine grew steadily louder. Pimma blinked in stunned silence at Swift.

“What do we do?” she asked finally.

“We've got to get him out of here,” Swift said, buzzing through the open door and hurrying to light on the arm of Devin's chair.

Pimma joined him as he began yanking at the bindings. It was no use. Magic would be needed to free him, so she reached for her pouch.

Swift did the same. Two puffs of glittering Fairy Dust and Devin was untied. He was still unconscious, though, and slumped deeper into his chair.

“How do we get him to drink the Spring Water and eat the seed?” Pimma asked.

“I don't know,” Swift said. “But we'd better hurry. That equipment is gearing up quickly. I can feel the effects already.”

She had to agree. The same thing they had felt earlier in the warehouse when they encountered that first awful machine was washing over Pimma's body. Desire was filling her, and she was becoming less and less interested in rescuing Devin. Rather than getting him out of this building, she wanted to spend her energy on getting into Swift's pants.

Swift realized he'd forgotten all about the human passed out in the chair. His eyes had settled on Pimma, her narrow waist and the way her wings caused her blouse to pull tight over her rounded breasts as she fluttered nearby. His hands ached to touch her, to push that tiny skirt out of the way and find her hot and wet for him again.

The rational part of his brain understood that this was artificial desire, caused by that machine humming loudly at the other side of the room. Of course he desired Pimma—he always would—but right now he needed to keep focused on the task before him. How could they get this human out of there before whatever Miranda did to the equipment caused it to overload?

When Swift noticed the way Pimma was eyeing him, his own equipment nearly overloaded.

“I want you so badly right now,” she said, her wing strokes faltering.

Swift felt a little off balance himself. “I know, it's that machine. We have to ignore it…somehow.”

“I can't,” she said, shaking her head and moving closer to him. “It's too strong for me.”

Swift had to agree. The sensual effect from this machine was stronger than what they'd encountered before. If they didn't get out of there right now, he was going to lose himself. He would pull Pimma into his arms and drive himself into her over and over again until…until they accomplished what they had that first time when they were caught in that box.

Pimma must have had the same thought at the same time. She broke into a smile.

“But we know how to short out that machinery, don't we?”

“We certainly know how to try,” he agreed.

He snatched her right out of the air and swooped across the room, landing on one of the shelves next to the hidden equipment panel. Pimma was yanking at the fastening on his pants before they'd even touched down. She shoved him to sit on the shelf then perched forcibly astride him.

He was practically bursting out of his clothes by the time she finally had his cock free. By the Skies, the desire was surging through him now. Every touch of her skin, ever wisp of her breath that wafted over him nearly drove him insane with need. He pulled her blouse open and cupped her breasts, teasing her with his touch until she pressed herself tightly against him. His hands slid around to her back and held her closer to him. Her lips were so tempting and so near…He kissed her like a drowning man desperate for air.

Her hands fondled him, but this measure of foreplay was not needed. He burned to be inside her. It was almost painful, this agonizing wait.

“I need you,” he groaned, latching on to her tender butt and pulling her against him.

He was so hot for her that he knew his actions weren't as gentle as they could be. She groaned as he penetrated her. The sound of her voice only made him more desperate to drive them both to climax.

“I'm sorry…I'll try to be careful,” he rasped.

“You're so huge,” she said, falling against him and nibbling at his neck. “I'm going to come too quickly.”

“Just concentrate,” he said. “Let's ride this together, let the passion build. We have to be sure it will knock out the machine.”

“Just make sure we come together, Swift. I don't know how much time we have so we need to make this work.”

By the Skies, it was certainly working for him. This wasn't about any machine, this was about the raw need raging inside him. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to move slowly, carefully. She shifted atop him and it nearly undid him.

Clearly she was having the same struggle. She moaned, sliding her body against him, pulling slowly away only to come crashing down on him again. He bucked up against her, thrusting deeply.