Slayer's Kiss: Shadow Slayer, Book 1 (12 page)

Oh, well.
Fuck Gavin
.

This wasn’t Julian’s fault. There was something different about Kara Reed. And the way she’d growled at him… What in the name of Og had prompted that? She was a wild little hellion, and she hadn’t even reached maturity yet.

When Kara sighed and nestled deeper into his chest, Julian was relieved she was falling asleep. If she were to wake up now and realize he was locked into her like a damn dog, he wasn’t sure his powers of persuasion were strong enough to calm her and keep her from injuring them both.

He pulled a pillow under his head, tried to shove the hurt and confusion out of his mind and simply enjoy the feeling of coupling with a Demiáre female. A very strange Demiáre female. In all his long life, he’d only experienced a coupling four times. Granted, that was more than most men could claim, but each occasion had been bought at a great price and none had produced an heir. Coming to the end of his lifespan, Julian didn’t think he would have this chance again. But here it was, the most amazing gift—and she hadn’t even remembered his name.

After a long while, Kara stirred. Her naked breasts pressing against his chest were heavenly. She blinked her sleepy eyes and ran a hand down the marks she’d made on him, then leaned over and kissed them gently. “Oh, Julian. Look what I did to you. You give me the best sex of my life…and I gouge the crap out of you.” Her words were slow and slumberous, and when she was finished with what she had to say, she dozed off again.

At least she’d gotten his name right this time.

Thinking about what she said, Julian glanced down at his chest and frowned. Superficial cuts like those should have healed within minutes. Was something the matter with him? Was his ability to heal decreasing? Or was it her, somehow?

Julian settled her more tightly against him as he felt his penis finally soften and her muscles release him. He kissed her sweet-smelling hair then eased back into the downy bedspread to sleep. His body had never felt so content as it did in this moment with Kara Reed in his arms. Maybe he could forgive her for wanting his friend. He wasn’t sure. Such was the love of a Demiáre female.

But one thing he did know for sure as he felt Kara’s gentle breath tease the skin over his pumping heart. Gavin couldn’t have her.

Julian wanted the fickle woman for himself.

Chapter Eight

Kara woke in Julian’s arms. They were joined by a thin film of sweat where their bodies touched. The first thing she noticed was she was soaking wet between her legs and her pussy hurt. No, not just her pussy—her whole damn abdomen—like she was getting her period or something. She didn’t remember him being so rough, but then again, some parts were a little fuzzy. That would teach her to mix expensive red wine and hot sex.

She studied Julian as she carefully backed away. God, he was so handsome—black hair, almond-shaped eyes and a body that should be posing for a sculptor. He didn’t belong with someone like her. She prayed he was as heavy a sleeper as his friend.

“Kara.”

She jumped and almost fell off the bed when Julian sat up and latched on to her hand. “Where are you going?”

She smiled to cover the embarrassment of being caught sneaking off. “Oh, hey, Jules. Can I call you Jules? I heard Gavin call you that.”

Julian’s black brows rose and he released her hand. “You can call me whatever you like. Are you leaving so soon?”

Kara glanced at her wristwatch and pressed a small button on the side to illuminate the time. “Yeah. I’m meeting my best friend, Abbey, for a drink.” Or if she was being honest, they might skip the drink and get straight to the hunting.

Julian frowned. “Would you like some company? I could go with you. It’s not safe for a beautiful young woman to walk alone at night.”

Kara was counting on that fact. Walking alone made her look like bait. “Uh…that’s really sweet, but no, it’s just around the corner. And we, uh, need some girl time. I’ll be careful, thanks.” She stood and searched the room for her yellow sundress, bra and panties. When she had them in hand, she clutched them to her front to cover her belly and breasts. It was a little too late for modesty, but it made her feel better. “Would you mind, ah, turning around, please?”

Julian looked at her like she’d sprouted a head out her ass. “Are you serious? After what we shared?”

Kara snorted. She’d known him for a day. One shuttle service to the hospital and one amazing romp in the sack didn’t earn him the right to be difficult. “I’m always serious.”

He narrowed his eyes in her direction, then angled his head away. “By all means, Kara. Dress.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You know, I’ve never minded burnt marshmallows. They may be slightly bitter on the outside, but they have a sweet, gooey center.” He turned back to look at her, his eyes sweeping over her from top to bottom. “When you let me in tonight, it was a beautiful thing.”

“Hey, Jules,” she said, ignoring his comment about her being a burnt marshmallow as she walked naked toward the door. “Thanks for the takeout.”

Sex and slaughter weren’t two things Kara usually had on her mind at the same time. But tonight, with her legs still pliant from her time with Julian and blacktop scuffing under her boots as she walked the night in search of a cold-blooded rapist, she couldn’t help it.

She had never killed anyone before, but she’d wanted to. Every time she and Abbey found another woman victimized, Kara wanted to put the assailant down like a sick dog. Wasn’t that the humane thing to do with someone who’d lost his humanity and had no hope of being reformed?

But she never did cross that line. A few cuts from her blade when they struggled, a few bruises when they got mouthy and one very effective spell to cut them off from their manhood were all she allowed herself.

Truth be told, she wasn’t sure she could take someone from life to death if the moment came. Regardless of what Tray said, Kara didn’t think she was above the law, or even a law unto herself. She operated within a very strict set of rules she and Abbey had come up with years ago before they’d gone on their first mission.

They were so naïve back then. They had no idea what kind of crap they would find when they waded into the cesspool that was downtown after dark. Kara wasn’t sure what was worse, the tourists from around the world looking for a good time, the drug-related crime spilling over the Mexican border, or the native San Diegans stirring the pot, hoping to alleviate their boredom in “America’s Finest City”.

Looking back, Kara wasn’t sure she’d have done anything different these past eight years, but so many nights she wished she could sleep without the images of violence and degradation popping up in her dreams.

Finding the woman last night, being too late to save her and absolutely zero help at the hospital… Well, she couldn’t blame herself for taking refuge in a warm and willing neighbor, even if he was a tenant. It wasn’t as though she’d broken the manager/tenant golden rule or anything…right?

And for one blinding moment, a brief flash in the nebulous shadows consuming her life, she’d felt safe again. Cherished. Like there might actually be a reason males and females walked the same planet together. The fragrance of Julian’s roses permeating her apartment had seemed proof enough.

But now, miles away from the Gaslamp, with Abbey beside her and one big-ass knife hidden in Kara’s even bigger-ass purse, doubt was creeping back in again. What was the world coming to? Even Abbey, who preferred letting Kara do the rough stuff, wouldn’t leave the house tonight without pepper spray and her taser.

Abbey’s troubled sigh was the first sound she’d made in a mile. “Would it be wrong to say I almost hope we don’t find him?”

Kara slowed and glanced over at her friend. She looked adorable in her black jogging suit with vibrant white sneakers poking out the bottom of the pants and her hair in a high ponytail. She wouldn’t know bad-ass if it bit her in the bottom.

“We can call Tray to pick us up. If we’re in over our heads, it would be smart to acknowledge it, right?” She didn’t know if she was offering an out to Abbey or herself.

“Now that he thinks I was at a wild swinger party at your house earlier? No thanks. I’d rather wrestle a salmon from a grizzly bear’s jaws.”

Kara snorted. “Smart lady.”

“I was thinking, though…what’s the plan if you do find the guy? This isn’t just a catch and release. He’s a psychopath.”

Kara clutched her knife tighter to her side through the fake leather bag that enfolded it. She might stalk the streets like she owned them, but she didn’t think she could really kill him. Did the SoCal Rapist deserve to die? Probably. But couldn’t the police handle that in a tidy shootout or something—anything that wouldn’t add to her nightmares? Even the man from the alley had haunted her sleep on Abbey’s sofa, and all she’d officially done was kick the gun at him.

It always seemed to come back to those horrific dreams, those sleepless nights of tossing and turning as she heard the victims cry for help. She was so sick of it.

After the most amazing sex of her life tonight with Julian Mercés, she shouldn’t have been thinking about the shadowy dream lover who’d given her a brief reprieve from the dark visions. But here she was, tracking a criminal, counting the minutes until she could go home, fall asleep and block out the chaos beyond. Talk about easy. Three nights of wet dreams replacing bad dreams, and she was hooked.

She and Abbey turned down another street, getting farther and farther away from Abbey’s piece-of-crap white Neon they’d parked on a side street in Barrio Logan. They walked because Kara couldn’t sense much from the passenger seat, but leaving the car in that neighborhood, she’d be surprised if it was still there when they returned.

“You really didn’t put the feather under my bed?” Kara asked, her mind looping back to the strange dreams.

Abbey glanced at Kara with a look of exasperation. “
What?
Honestly, Kare-bear, I love you, but who gives a crap about a feather right now? I’m walking through gangland, trying not to make eye contact with the drug dealers and the pimps, tracking a guy who carved a woman like a Thanksgiving turkey. A feather? No. I didn’t do it.”

“Okay. Sorry.” That didn’t go over too well. “But if it makes you feel any better, I can tell you we’re getting closer to something.”

Abbey reached over and grasped Kara’s hand. “Is it him?”

Kara shrugged. “I don’t think so. It feels different. More passionate, more personal and not so much like…
death
.” She hadn’t wanted to put a name on what she’d felt last night, but after processing the strange feeling, “death” was the only thing that came close to describing it.

Abbey pulled her sweat jacket tighter as they passed a couple on the street who looked stoned out of their minds. “I don’t know how you do it, all that evil flooding in all the time. Grammy D says she’ll keep working on another spell to try to get rid of it, if you want her to.”

Kara shook her head. “Nothing’s worked so far, no offense to Grammy D. We all know I’m the worst witch in history. There’s no reason I should have to take you everywhere I go to do these spells, Abbs. They look pretty straightforward to me, but they don’t work when
I
do them. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Abbey followed Kara down another dark street where the rundown businesses gave way to old, worn-out houses with tall weeds in place of grass and short fences that didn’t look as if they’d keep in a playful pit bull, much less a really angry one.

“Stop it, Kara. Somehow you think not being a first-class witch reflects on your general value in life. That’s crap. It doesn’t mean anything. Imagine how happy I was to find a friend in the fifth grade who had
any
witch blood at all.”

“You have lots of witch friends.”

“None I want to spend any time with. Without you, it would just be me and Gram.”

“And Tray…” Kara teased. “He may not be a warlock, but he’s definitely under your spell.”

Abbey groaned. “Yeah. And Tray.” Then she looked over at Kara and smiled. “Speaking of sex—’cause there’s never a bad time to bring a penis into the discussion—when are you going to tell me the details of the little romp between you and your newest neighbor? You’re two for two, Kare-bear. I’m so proud of you!”

Abbey reached out for a fist-bump, so Kara rolled her eyes and rapped her knuckles lightly against her friend’s. “Thanks.”

“So…how hot was it?”

As they approached a gray bungalow-style house with a flat roof and peeling paint, Kara slowed. She didn’t need to use her sixth sense to find the right place with all the noise coming from the back of the house. “Uh, not now. I think we’re here.” She reached into her purse and donned her black leather gloves. They didn’t look half bad with her denim skirt and black sweater. “Suit up, Abigail. Don’t forget to wear protection.”

Abbey frowned. “Sounds more like a wife-beater than a rapist. We don’t get involved in domestic disputes, remember?”

Of course she remembered. It was one of their rules.

Kara glanced sheepishly at her friend. “I couldn’t be sure until we got closer. But now that we’re here…”

Abbey reached out and grabbed Kara’s arm. “Don’t you dare! You go in there and try to subdue the guy, and the wife will probably clobber you with a frying pan—and that’s
if
they aren’t armed. Look at this neighborhood. The preschoolers are probably packin’.”

The voices built to a crescendo and a loud scream tore through the night. Kara’s stomach dropped to her feet. “You know what I said about this not feeling like death—I think somebody changed their mind.”

“Kara, no!” Abbey whispered as Kara took off for the back gate.

“
Stay here!
” Kara mouthed over her shoulder, adding hastily, “
Cloaking spell!
”

She hoisted herself over the fence and jumped down, then crept toward the back screen door and dropped her purse in the bushes. She didn’t hear Abbey say the words, but she felt the tingle, like snakes slithering over her body when Abbey cloaked them from view. With Abbey cloaking them both, they could still see each other, but it was hard for her to keep the illusion up for more than a few minutes. At least nobody would remember seeing Kara enter the house.