Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) Read online

  “Ali,” he said reverently, releasing her ass in order to run both hands up the length of her spine. “You’re sure?”

  She gasped softly at his touch, arching slightly forward, and curled her nails into his shoulders. “I am,” she said.

  Mick swallowed heavily. Then he was on his feet, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his hips, and moving toward her queen-sized bed. He let her back hit the mattress and kneeled above her in order to remove his own shirt. And he loved the way she watched his chest. Her sweet tongue slipped past her lips, wetting the edges in a slow, subconscious caress that had him visualizing all sorts of raunchy things.

  He captured that tongue in a hungry kiss moments later, pressing his chest wholly into hers and relishing in the feel of her lacy bra scraping his skin. She rolled her hips against him at the same time as she buried another hand in his hair and Mick bucked against her. He propped her up with one hand, her tongue sucked into his mouth now, and fumbled with her bra with the other hand. It came free and they worked together to discard it, their kiss barely breaking.

  Ali fell back, letting her arms rest above her head, and Mick soaked in the sight. Half naked, hair mussed, chest rising and falling rapidly, legs still curved around his hips. She was breathtaking. And he had to taste her.

  ****

  Allison nearly cried out at the first touch of Mick’s wickedly delicious lips over her center. He’d stripped her shorts and panties from her in a sexy rush, wasting no time in crawling down her body. A man driven. Driven by need. And that need was for her. Just that very knowledge was enough to make her want to moan, but she held it back until his tongue slid up the inner curve of her thigh. He braced a hot, powerful hand on her hip and let his tongue trace the line of her slit.

  “Oh!” she said on a gasp, her deprived body already singing. How long had it been since she’d been touched like this?

  No, she’d never been touched quite like this.

  Mick rumbled with a sultry chuckle and dragged his tongue back up, slower. She couldn’t help but squirm. At least as much as the hand on her hip allowed. Then his tongue slipped past her folds and swept into her body. Swirling and stroking, wringing an endless stream of moans from some part of her Ali didn’t know.

  His free hand simultaneously found her clit and he rubbed it between thumb and forefinger. Spots of white sparked behind her vision and Ali’s eyes fell shut as her back arched. God, she didn’t think she’d ever been this aroused before. This desperate. “Mick!”

  He plunged two fingers into her without warning, sinking them deep, and sucked hard on her nub. It was enough. It was too much. She wasn’t sure, because her body erupted and a sound she wasn’t used to tore from her throat.

  Her body was still burning when her senses slowly refocused moments later. She suspected that was due to the slowly pumping fingers still between her legs. Or perhaps the hot, wet kisses Mick was raining over her chest. Whatever it was, it was wonderful. She felt just relaxed enough to lose what sense of self-conscious awareness she’d been holding on to.

  Tangling her fingers in his thick, soft hair, Ali tugged and moaned his name. “Come here,” she demanded as he released her nipple from his mouth. The rush of cool air over the moistened bud made her shiver with anticipation.

  “Did you want something?” Mick teased, a wicked grin assuring her he knew what he’d done to her.

  “Yes,” she said, looping her arms around him and trailing her searching fingers down. “You.” She found his ass—still covered in denim—and squeezed deliberately.

  Mick chuckled, lips beside her ear, and let his devious tongue slide the length of her throat. “Mmm, trust me, baby, you’ll get me.”

  “Now?” she asked, fighting yet another moan as he closed one hand over her breast. He’d ceased his ministrations below and was bracing his weight with one arm.

  Trailing kisses up to her lips, Mick devoured her mouth, crushing his body to hers. Leaving no doubt about his desires. He rocked his hips twice against hers, the coarse friction of the denim only spiking her sense of need. Then he pulled back, entirely off the bed, and kicked off his shoes.

  “I hope you’re prepared to lose sleep,” he said, his usually deep timbre gruff with hunger.

  Allison felt her core pulse in answer to that tone and spread her legs a little wider for him. “Hurry up,” she said, “or I might just do this myself.” A bold declaration for a woman who’d never successfully brought herself to orgasm. But he didn’t need to know that just yet.

  Mick paused, shorts unbuckled and button popped. His green gaze washed over her like molten lava. “That might be worth it, actually,” he said.

  Ali swallowed. She hadn’t expected that response.

  With a single rush of movement the rest of his clothes were discarded and he was fully exposed to her view. And what a sight he made.

  Depositing the condoms he’d snagged from a pocket moments ago, Mick lifted one from the pile and climbed back over her. He positioned himself between her legs and rested his weight on his knees. He looked her in the eyes and something flickered as he said, “You’re breathtaking, beautiful.”

  Ali felt her cheeks flush and fought the need to reach for him. “Flatter me later,” she said. “That’s not what I need right now.”

  He grinned, the mischief back in his expression, and tore into the package in his hand. “Yes, ma’am,” he teased. “Although I’d love to hear you articulate what it is you do need.”

  Two can play this game. Before he could slip the condom over his impressive arousal Ali leaned forward, grabbed his cock, and dragged her hand forward at a deliberate angle. “I need this,” she said. She released him and let that same hand fall over her exposed center. “Here.”

  She swore he growled and was amazed he didn’t tear the condom in half the way he practically shoved it into place. “That can be arranged,” he said, his voice thick and sending anticipatory shivers over her skin.

  Ali leaned back again, her hand falling away, and put on her most innocent smile. “What are you waiting for, then?”

  Mick caught both of her hands and lifted her arms over her head, his fingers laced with hers. She felt his cock brush up against her folds and squirmed. When he was leaning directly over her, his emerald stare holding her attention in place, he eased his way into her body. Slowly. Torturously. She did her best to hold still. To let him set the pace and see what he would do with her. But she couldn’t stand it. She wanted him inside her now.

  Her hips snapped up with barely a thought and he was buried impossibly deep in her body. She moaned and he cursed under his breath, the sound more groan than actual word.

  “Ali, baby,” he murmured, releasing her hands in favor of touching her. Finally. He didn’t said anything else before his lips were over hers, hot and demanding.

  Ali moaned against him and wound her arms around his shoulders as her legs coiled around his hips. She rocked against him, meeting him thrust for thrust while their tongues dueled.

  She was nearly delirious with pleasure. Her body was on fire and the rough, gentle hands roaming her skin only fueled the blaze. He fell into a strong, steady pace, burying himself deeply into her body over and over again. Grinding his hips to hers before pulling away to do it all over. She kept up easily, digging her nails into his back as his kisses trailed down her neck. She gasped as he sucked on the hollow of her throat, arching hard against him.

  Mick groaned her name over her skin, latched his hands to her hips, and drove himself home harder than he had before.

  The scream of ecstasy that ripped from deep inside her only echoed the explosion in her body. Everything went white, hot waves of bliss crashing over her. She arched and rolled against him, holding him as tight as possible.

  She didn’t think she’d ever felt so good.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mick pried his eyes open slowly the following morning. His body was still blissfully sore and the warmth curled up at his side was a perfect remin
der why. But he couldn’t have had enough sleep already, not with the way he’d spent most of the night, so why was he awake?

  “Mm, what’s that?” Ali’s sleep-laden voice asked at the same time as he registered the sound that had roused him.

  His phone.

  Damn it. It was probably Doon again. But he wouldn’t reach the damned thing in time, anyway, so he opted to ignore it.

  “Mick?”

  Tightening the arm he had comfortably draped around her waist, Mick said, “My phone. It’s probably my boss.”

  He felt the tension return to her beautifully bare body and wasn’t at all surprised by her response. “Shouldn’t you get that?”

  “I’ll call him back.” He rolled properly onto his side, tugging her up to his chest. “Good morning,” he whispered as the ringing ceased.

  Ali relaxed into him and offered him a smile. “Good morning, sexy.”

  He bowed his head, catching her lips in a slow, leisurely kiss. There was a lot he needed to work on later in the day, but he intended to enjoy this moment. And he hoped like hell it wouldn’t be the only time he woke up with her in his arms.

  Allison had curled her fingers into his chest when the ringing started again.

  Mick broke from the curse with a harsh exhale.

  “You should probably get that,” Ali said, the regret in her voice telling him all he needed to know about her opinion.

  “I hate my job sometimes,” Mick said with a grunt as he rolled to his feet. His arms were cold already. But he tried to ignore the feeling as he moved to the floor beyond the bed and dug out his stupid phone. Finding it, he put the device to his ear with a grunted question. “What?”

  “That’s no way to greet an old friend,” Doon lectured calmly. “Or is it too early for you where you are?”

  Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mick said, “Skip the ‘where are you?’ part, Doon. Why are you calling now? I thought the Council already met.” And if that was so, his fate would already have been decided. How had he never recognized how screwed up this system was before?

  How had it taken a warm-hearted werewolf to open his eyes?

  “We did,” Doon declared. “But out of respect for your late parents, I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

  And now he’s playing that card. Mick moved and sat on the side of the bed. He reached for Ali’s nearest hand as she pushed to a seated position, the comforter held around her chest. The woman took his breath away with the simplest things. Focus. Dragging his attention back to the call, he said, “Fine, what’s this ‘heads-up’ you’re offering?”

  “We traced your cell phone,” Doon declared. “And they’re sending Rhea.”

  Shit. “Gee, I appreciate that,” Mick said. “It’s good to know I’ll get the common criminal treatment the minute I decide to take a breather.”

  “Thare,” Doon said, “you know it’s not that simple.”

  “No,” Mick snapped, threading his fingers through Allison’s. “I know it could be but you’re all a bunch of sticklers for outdated rules. You realize Rhea’s not the most by-the-books option you have, right? She’s as likely to drown me as to bring me in alive.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Doon replied coldly. “She’ll do as she’s told.”

  “Maybe.” Mick disconnected before he could say anything worse. And to think, for a beat, he’d actually considered turning to the Council for help with this vampire problem he’d landed in. They’d have just sent Rhea for that, too. Probably.

  “Mick,” Allison said slowly. “What’s going on? Who’s Rhea?”

  Tossing the phone onto the nightstand beside the clock, Mick turned and managed a small smile for her. “Rhea’s a colleague of mine. But she’s dangerous. Temperamental. And she’s been ordered to apprehend me.”

  “Apprehend you?” Ali straightened, pulling her hand from his, and narrowed her eyes. “You’re not some criminal! You just took a leave of absence!”

  His lips twitched. “That’s now how they see it,” he said. “And I knew that when I ditched. Hell, that’s why I ditched instead of asking.”

  “It’s still wrong,” she said firmly.

  Mick turned and cupped her face. “You’re so sexy when you’re all riled up,” he said before covering her lips with his. She braced her palms over his chest as if to push him away, but she gave in without resistance to his kiss. Their tongues danced for a long minute before he pulled away reluctantly.

  “I guess we can’t just stay in bed all day,” Ali mumbled, adjusting and tucking herself beneath his chin. She wrapped her arms around his torso, pinning the comforter in place with his chest.

  Mick wound his arms around her in return. “You could,” he said quietly. “You don’t have any obligation to this. And you’d be safer.” He personally preferred that option, actually. He just figured she wouldn’t go for it.

  “I can’t leave you to fend for yourself,” Ali argued without lifting her head.

  He grinned. “You do know this is kind of what I do for a living, right?”

  This time she pulled back to frown up at him. “You said you’re an earth witch,” she said. “What can you really do on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic?”

  “That is a complication,” he said. Attempting a bit of humor he added, “But Rhea’s a water witch, so if she gets here fast enough I might be able to talk her into taking out a vampire.”

  Ali scrunched up her lips in that adorable thinking expression he realized meant she disagreed with him. “She’d do that?”

  Smoothing his thumb along her lips, Mick said, “Not likely, no. She’d probably say it was someone else’s problem.”

  “That makes no sense,” Ali said. “I thought it was your job?”

  Mick leaned forward, brushing a kiss to her forehead, and said, “I consider it my job. Rhea … does her own thing. She just does enough of it to the Council’s benefit that she gets away with that.”

  Ali opened her mouth, probably to say more, but knocking at the door interrupted her.

  Mick turned and looked toward the offending noise with a frown.

  “Who could that be at this hour?” The question was Ali’s, but it echoed his own concerns.

  Without a word Mick stood and stepped into his shorts. Whoever it was, no way in hell was Ali opening the door to them wrapped in a comforter. And he couldn’t think of anyone who had a good reason to be pounding on her door first thing in the morning.

  “Mick, I should get it,” Ali said, sliding to the edge of the bed.

  “Just pull the comforter up,” Mick argued, settling the belt at his waist and starting forward. “I’ve got it.” Now he just had to decide if he hoped it was Jude or a crewmember. Chances were it wasn’t Rhea.

  He hoped.

  The tears in Jude Michaels’s eyes when Mick opened the door, however, had him rethinking his wish to see the man. It couldn’t be more obvious Jude came bearing bad news. Guilt and deadly anticipation twisted a dark, burning knot in Mick’s gut. “Jude.”

  “I-I’m sorry,” Jude said, his voice barely stable. He swallowed so heavily Mick could practically feel the lump in his own throat. “I just … my mom, she’s … dead.”

  Mick squeezed his eyes shut, his grip of the door tightening. Damn it. There was no doubt in his mind the vampire on board was responsible. It even made sense. She’d survived an attack. She was a witness. It would be bad for a vampire looking for discretion to leave witnesses on a crowded ship. Why had that not occurred to him immediately?

  He was slipping.

  “Jude,” he said, forcing his eyes open. “I’m so sorry.” He was about to add more when a door just down the hall opened and another, unfamiliar, man stepped out. The stranger made no attempt to hide that they were his focus.

  “Who the hell are you two? What’s going on?” the stranger demanded.

  Mick knew instantly who the nosy man was. Warner. Ali had said he was just down the hall from her. A new kind of fire filled him, temporarily smother
ing the guilt in his chest, and Mick stepped forward. He heard Ali shift on the bed somewhere behind him and quickly pulled the door shut. No way in hell was Warner getting even a glimpse of her as she was.

  Still, he tried to keep his voice civil. “This is nothing that concerns you,” he said. “If you don’t mind, we could use some privacy.” Or go ahead and cause a scene. It’s not like I have murdering vampires to worry about.

  “That’s not your room,” Warner said, ignoring Mick’s words completely as he stepped closer. At least he had the sense not to shout. “What’ve you done to Allison?”

  “Is,” Jude started, looking between them, “now a bad time?”

  “No,” Mick assured him, settling a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “You’re fine.” He turned his attention back to Warner. “He’s the one with bad timing.”

  “Well I’m so sorry,” Warner said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “One of us is at least decent enough to worry about the single woman who’s supposed to be in the room behind you.”

  Mick’s arm fell back to his side. He didn’t often get the urge to punch out a regular human, but he couldn’t deny the appeal right then. “Ali’s fine. I’d thank you for your concern, but frankly she’d rather you found a different obsession. And so would I.”

  The door opened behind Mick before anyone could say another word. Ali emerged in the shorts she’d worn the day before and a new, loose fitting top. Apparently the woman knew how to dress in a hurry.

  She ignored Warner completely and moved straight up to Jude. “Oh, Jude, I am so sorry,” she said, her voice full of sympathy and sorrow. She pulled him into a hug. “Why don’t you come inside. It’s more comfortable.”

  “Allison,” Warner called, one arm lifting as if he intended to reach for her.

  Mick, who’d caught the door to keep it ajar behind her, turned a glare to Warner. “Mind your own business.”