Force of Knight Magic (16 page)

“He didn’t have any access to the
I
nternet when he started.
And from what his granddaughter told us he wasn’t very savvy on a computer either.
The other seven murders are on that file there. There isn’t a great deal of information on those
,
but…damn
,
this guy had a lot of notes.”
Myles pointed to a thinner one at the corner of the table.
He looked ready to say something and Phil spoke to him first.

“There is plenty of room at my house.
You’ll be safe there.
Or there’s a nice hotel in town that I’d be willing to put you up in.
I know the owner really well.”

“Hotel sounds good.
No offen
s
e
,
buddy
,
but there’s only so much paranormal a guy can take in one day.”
Myles left shortly after telling them he had to make arrangement
s
with his job.
Dallas didn’t say anything
,
but he kind of figured the guy had been fired.
His mother had overheard a heated conversation earlier.

“I wonder where his source is.
This is really good information.”
Dallas looked over at the vampire as he s
e
t the folder back down after commenting.
“Some of it is crap
,
but he has enough notes in the margins to let you know he thought so too. Do you think he talked to the rogue?”

Dallas understood the need to disassociate yourself from someone you were about to kill. He’d only had to bring another wolf down once before
,
but he’d not known his name and was suddenly glad he hadn’t.
He figured it would haunt him more if he had something more tangible to remember.

“Yes, if his notes are correct.
I think he was talking to someone
,
but he never mentions who. I think it had to be her
,
don’t you think?
I mean
,
he did have a crush on her at one point.
I think there was a wolf at one point as well. He has a great deal of information here that I’m pretty sure would have gotten him killed.”
Dallas didn’t hand this file over.
That was something he’d have to talk to Austin about.
“What are you going to do now?”

“I have to find her.
I wish I could have taken her out at the crime scene
,
but there were too many people moving around and I wouldn’t have been able to get her out of there without bumping into a few humans.”
Phil stood up.
“I have to go to rest.
It’s nearly two in the afternoon and the sun still weakens me a little at the hottest part of the day.
Will you call me if you find anything more?”

“Of course.”
Dallas tried not to look at the man
,
but he had to ask all the same.
“Is Holly…is she going with you?”

Phil didn’t answer right away and finally
,
Dallas looked up at him.
“Do you have a problem with me being with your sister, Dallas?”

“No.
Nothing like that,” he answered quickly.
“But she is my baby sister.
And the thought of you…it’s the sex thing
,
if you want to know the truth.
The thought of her having sex of any kind with anyone is…fuck
,
Phil, she’s my baby sister.”

Phil laughed as he put out his hand.
“You don’t ask me about my sex life with her and I promise I won’t ever give you reason to be concerned.
Deal?”

“Deal,” he said as he took his hand
,
but he didn’t release it right away.
“You hurt her in any way
,
shape
,
or form and I will tear you apart piece by tiny little piece.”

“Deal.”

Dallas worked for another three hours.
He was exhausted and his body ached.
He decided that taking a run was just what he needed.
He was just coming through the kitchen when he could smell his mom in there. She was standing at the stove, her usual place
,
when he leaned against the jamb and watched her.

He remembered his dad sitting in the kitchen when he’d been smaller.
Mom would be cooking something
,
as she was now
,
and he’d be making passes at her.
As a kid he’d thought it was the grossest thing he’d ever seen.
As an adult he was no less grossed out about it
,
but he could understand now how much they had loved each other.
She looked over at him and startled.

“What are you doing there sneaking up on an old woman?
Are you trying to give me a heart attack?
Come here and sit.
I was just coming to get
you to feed you.
You missed lunch again.”
He moved to the table
,
but kissed her on the cheek before he sat.
“You always were a flirt.
For that
,
I’ll give you an extra piece of pie.”

She set a pile of sandwiches in front of him, four ham and cheese on rye
,
two turkey
,
one on rye
;
the other was white bread
,
one peanut butter and jelly with so much jelly on it that it was oozing out the sides
,
and crackers
. There was a pickle and three chips.
He pushed the platter away
,
pushed her into the chair
,
and got her a drink of tea.

“Tell me what’s wrong.”
When she started to no doubt deny that there was anything wrong he nodded toward the plate.
“Tell me that after you take an inventory of that food.
Tell me.”

“She doesn’t need me.”
After sobbing that out
,
she started crying. “I try my best to stay away
,
but I want to help her so badly. But she is so capable and organized that I feel so…so…”

At a loss
,
Dallas kneeled down in front of his mom. He was pretty sure she was talking about CJ and the new babies
,
but he couldn’t be sure.
Alexis was about to have her baby any day now and she was the most organized person he knew.
And CJ was not.
So to his way of thinking
,
it could have been either.

“I’m sure she needs you more than you think.
I saw you with the women yesterday, you holding the baby and Alexis laughing at CJ.”
He wasn’t sure what was going on in the living room when he’d walked in and had beat a hasty retreat before they’d seen him.
“And you cook for us all.
You’ve no idea how much we all appreciate that.
I bet they do as well.”

She rubbed her hand over his forehead then smacked him hard on the head.
“You are such a charmer
,
but you don’t have a clue.
Go eat what you want there and let me be.
I was talking about Stacy
,
you idiot.”

“Stacy? What does that woman have to do with this?
You want to help her?
Shi…darn
,
M
om, she’s half wild and I don’t think she’s capable of spending more than five minutes in this house without picking a fight with somebody.”

Every
time he saw her
,
she would snarl and bite at him like he was something she’d seen crawl out from under a rock. He rubbed his head again when she hit him a second time.

“She’s a nice girl that’s been treated badly.
Shame on you for not seeing that.
Why
,
that girl has a lot to offer this pack and you should be nicer to her.”
His mom stood up and walked back to the stove.
“And she protects
Alexis
as if she was the world to her.”

She did do that.
Dallas thought she’d also make a great addition to his team if she’d stop being so—
“What do you mean a great addition to this pack?
Has she found her mate here?”

He didn’t like the sound of that.
He wasn’t sure why
,
but the thought of her being with another male made his beast snarl.
Dallas knew she wasn’t his mate. He’d been around her enough to know that she didn’t have a scent that drove him over the edge
. I
t was her personality that did that all on its own.

“I think she’s seeing that young boy
,
Vincent Banks.
You remember him, he joined us last fall.
I just wish she’d let me help her set up her house before they move in together.
Here
,
taste this and tell me if it has enough salt.”

He took the proffered bite and nodded. He didn’t have a clue what it was
o
r whether it had too much salt or none at all.
He was still thinking about her moving in with someone he’d not checked out completely yet.

Going outside
,
he stripped down and shifted.
His run was going to be hard and long and he hoped that he’d come across just one animal that gave him lip.
Dallas didn’t know why
,
but he wanted to hurt something in the worst way.
And when he was about a mile from his home he realized that he had forgotten to eat or ask where Stacy was
thinking
she was living.

He was nearly awake when he felt her stir beside him. Phil reached for Holly
,
but she pulled away before he could get a good hold on her. He assumed she was headed for the bathroom and closed his eyes again.
The next time he opened his eyes he nearly came up off the bed.

Her mouth seemed to be everywhere.
His thigh, knee, calf.
Before he could beg her to move upward and not down
,
she took his cock into her mouth.

“Mother fuck, yes,” he shouted out.
Wrapping his fingers into her hair, he leaned up on one elbow and looked down at her.
When she grinned at him from her position he laughed.
“Come up here and let me kiss you.
I want to feel you slide that luscious pussy over my cock.”

She released him with a small pop
,
but didn’t move to where he’d asked her to.
“I want to taste you.
You just lie back and let me have my way with you. Then
,
if you’re really good, I’ll let you fuck me.”

He was going to fuck her anyway.
But he let go of her hair long enough to pull the pillows over and behind him.
He didn’t think he’d last all that long
,
but he did want to watch her.
She went back to her task and he let himself go with it.

She nearly had him coming down her throat twice. Once when she’d swallowed him
,
when he touched the back of her throat.
The second time was when she cupped his balls in her hand and rolled them before leaning down and taking them one at a time into her mouth and licking them.
He begged her to please either finish him or move up so he could taste her too.

He moved her around so that she was now in the same position he’d been in.
He didn’t have any more control than he’d had when she’d sucked him
,
but he was certainly going to try and make her pleasure last a bit longer.
Leaning down
,
he took her bent knees and put them over his shoulders.
He could smell her arousal.

“Phil, please.
I’m so close. Can’t I please have a little climax right now and
—”
Her scream tore from her and he grinned.

“You were saying?
Come again
,
love.
Come for me so that I can drink my fill of you and play.”
Phil moved his mouth to her clit and licked it lavishly.
“Hummm, delicious.
I want more
,
Holly.
Give me more.”

Taking her pussy into his mouth, he suckled hard while he laved her clit with his tongue.
The hard nubbin seemed to be begging him to bite it and he so wanted to oblige it.
Pulling it into his mouth again he pressed his finger deep into her sheath and felt her rise up off the bed.
When her hands laced into his hair he closed his eyes and reached for her through their connection.