Lure of a Demon

ILSA

Snatching the paper from Ray, I unfolded and studied it. This address wasn’t marked on the map I had made, so whoever this was, he obviously kept himself below the radar.

“We need to be armed,” Ray said, glancing back at the club.

“We can’t kill him, Ray.”

“No.” She made a face, somewhere between a pout and a sneer. “I know, but we at least need to scare or fuck him up a bit. Then you can hand him over to your precious cops.”

“Under what charge?”

“I have no idea. That’s not my problem.”

“It kind of is your problem.”

“Whatever! We’ll sort it out later.” She scoffed as she was on edge. The exchange with Emrick had hardly been pleasant, but it seemed odd it had thrown her so much.

“Wing it again, you mean?” I asked.

“Sure, it’s got us this far.”

Stopping, I grabbed her arms and spun her to face me. “Is this really how you function? Just making shit up as you go along?”

She shrugged. “Well, yeah.”

“Unbelievable.”

“It’s worked so far, hasn’t it?”

Humorless laughter escaped me. “Oh, yeah! Really! Well… you’ve been shot, I’ve been jumped, and a man almost died. It’s working a treat.”

“Almost died, Ilsa. Key word.”

Rolling my eyes, noticing she had glazed over the whole being shot thing, I turned and glanced down the street. She was right about one thing though, we’d need to be armed when we went to find this man. But we couldn’t go in there guns blazing since that’s how Ray had gotten into trouble in the first place.

“Well…” she started walking again, “… I’m going to go check it out. You can either come or not.”

“Fine,” I hissed through a murmur. “But don’t blame me if everything turns to shit.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She giggled then, back to the Ray I knew.

“At least let me get some knives from home.”

“I thought you didn’t want to kill him?”

“I didn’t say I was going to, I just don’t want to go in there naked.”

“Might distract him, though, if you were naked. I know it would distract me.”

My mind flooded with the feeling of her on me, the flurry of her hands and teeth as she lost control.

“We don’t need another incident like before,” I said.

“I’ll be good.” She batted her eyelashes at me, and I huffed out an unamused breath through my nose.

“Yeah, right.” I wasn’t convinced.

Ray giggled again and led the way back to my apartment.

Flopping herself down onto the couch as if she owned the place, Ray stared at the ceiling and whined, “Do we need to go straight away?”

“Do you have somewhere else to be?” I asked, digging through my bags and grabbing a selection of knives I could conceal easily and one I didn’t plan to.

I jumped when I felt her hands on my waist as I hadn’t heard her approach. How the fuck did she move so quickly and silently in those heels?

“We’ve got unfinished business to take care of.”

“I don’t think we do,” I said, brushing her hands away.

Remind yourself, woman.

Demon.

Unnatural.

Immoral.

Dangerous.

Demon.

On top of all the bad decisions I had made before, considering being with Ray was next-level shit.

She spun me around to face her, jolting her head out of the way as I turned, still clutching the knife I had picked up. The large butcher knife hovered between us, and Ray’s eyes shifted from it to me and back again, but I couldn’t put it down. The blade felt like a barrier between us, a wall that if I were to break it down, it would destroy whatever self-control I had left.

My resolve melted the moment she touched me.

She promised she wasn’t using some demonic power shit on me.

She promised me.

Could I trust her, though?

Were these feelings really my own?

“I won’t hurt you, Ilsa,” Ray whispered. “I think you should know that by now.”

“I do.” I could barely breathe, and the lust that radiated from her body was so strong I could almost taste it.

“Put the knife down,” she said.

When I didn’t move, she ran her tongue up the blade, and my eyes widened. Ray wrapped her hands around mine, gently prying my fingers from the handle.

“Ray…” I was practically whimpering at this point. “What is this?”

She looked at me, and I know she knew what I meant.

What was happening between us?

What were these sensations?

Because although I thought I recognized them, it couldn’t be possible, not with her, not these feelings.

Demon.

Love.

Please, don’t let it be true.

“I don’t know…” she confessed. “But of the two of us, you’re the only one still fighting.”

“How can I trust you?” I whispered.

Minutes ago, we were in a tense situation with a stranger, and now my body was filled with a different kind of intensity. Her lips, her eyes, her scent, everything about Ray was intoxicating—her smile, her laugh, hell, even her impulsiveness.

She removed the knife from my hands and placed it on the counter behind me. Her hips were against mine, pinning me in place.

“You still carry a silver knife, and I trust you.”

“You do?” The words were almost nothing on the air between us.

“Of course.” She smiled. “I can read you like a book.”

This time when she kissed me, it was soft and gentle, a stark reflection from the urgency and violence of our last encounter, and I know she was trying to make up for it. Her lipstick smeared against my cheek as she dragged her lips across my face before kissing her way down my neck, gently kissing over the places she had bitten earlier.

“You don’t have to be so gentle,” I whispered, and she giggled again.

Facing me, she took my cheeks in her hands, forcing me to pout before pressing her lips to mine and grinning. “Oh, I’m not going to be. I know you like it rough, soldier, but I need you to know I can be gentle if you need me to be.”

“I think I just need you.”

“I know you need me.” She kissed her way across my cheek again. “Who wouldn’t?” Another kiss. “I’m fucking delightful.”

Chuckling, I placed my hands on her hips and moved to push her away from me. I needed the space from her. I needed her not to be touching me because I couldn’t concentrate when she did. The electricity between us was too much, and I felt more alive with her than I had in a long time. But she simply pressed against me harder, the counter pushing painfully into my lower back, the feel of her hips making me moan.

“Don’t be under any illusions you’re in control here, Ilsa,” she muttered, biting at my earlobe and making me shudder. “You’re mine.”

Her kisses became urgent again, making my stomach flutter with the memory of her tongue between my legs, lapping at my sensitive clit and sending me over the edge.

“Do you have any toys?” she asked, and I nodded, making her giggle again. “Show me.”

Testing the waters, I shifted again, and this time she let me move away from the counter before I had a chance to change my mind. I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. When I went to open a drawer, Ray shoved me out of the way, catching me with one arm when with her strength, she had made me lose balance on my leg.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

My weakness was embarrassing, and it ignited a spark of resentment inside me, but I simply pushed my hair from my face and told her it was okay without making eye contact.

Ray stared at me, studying my expression until I looked into her eyes, checking for anger, I supposed. If there was any, it wasn’t at her for playfully shoving me, it was at myself. Placing a hand on my chest, she pushed gently until I sat on the edge of the bed. Kneeling in front of me, Ray undid my boots and slid them off, followed by my socks and pants.

As she was sliding my boots off, she ran her hands over each of my feet in turn. “You think you deserve to wear these boots? You’re just a human who likes to play with guns and knives.” When the corner of my lip lifted in a scowl, the anger flaring in my eyes again, she smirked. Ray removed her shoes and pants, leaving her in a t-shirt and panties before pulling my boots over her feet and lacing them up. “I’m in charge today.”

Ray stood and slammed the boot on the mattress between my spread legs. “Is that going to be a problem, soldier?” Her eyebrow arched, and when she first stood, I almost smiled with amusement. But for some reason, I shrunk under her gaze. Perhaps it was her using my humanity against me, her harsh comments coupled with the playful edge to her voice. I found myself staring at her legs, following the inviting line of her skin up to the lace of her underwear. When I reached out to touch her leg, she slapped my hand away before kneeling in front of me again.

“This drawer?” she asked, and I nodded. “Finish getting naked, soldier. I’m going to make a selection.”

She was commanding, hints of a raw edge to her voice I’d heard only once before—when she had attacked me. Pulling my top over my head before unclasping and discarding my bra, I waited as she shuffled through my bottom drawer. The drawer I hadn’t opened in much too long.

Without looking at me, she added, “Panties too. Don’t make me punish you.”

I felt the warmth flush between my legs.

Maybe I wanted her to punish me.

As though reading my mind, she glanced up at me, smirked as she took something out of the drawer and placed it by the side of the bed and out of my view.

Too entranced with watching her, I hadn’t moved fast enough for her liking. With a snarl, Ray gripped at the sides of my underwear and yanked them down, forcing me to lie back on the bed before grabbing my hips and dragging me forward until my legs were dangling over the edge of the mattress, spread on either side of her shoulders.

On her knees, she brought her face between my legs again, her breath warm against my sensitive clit, causing me to shudder again.

“Keep those legs spread,” she commanded, and I jumped when the cold touch of rubber slid between my waiting pussy lips. “How long has it been, soldier?” she asked, the devilish grin evident in her voice.

“Too long,” I all but panted out.

“That’s what I thought.” And with that, she pushed the dildo inside me, slowly but in one smooth motion, it filled me up. It wasn’t large, but it didn’t need to be. Curved at the end, it rubbed so perfectly against my G-spot I shuddered again when it was fully inside me.

“We’re playing a different game today,” she said as she began pumping it in and out of me. “You’re going to come on demand, and if you don’t, I’m going to tease you until you beg me for release.”

Nodding, I spread my legs wider, crying out when she smacked my inner thigh.

“When I give you a command, you’ll respond with Yes, Drill Sergeant.”

“Yes, Drill Sergeant.” I moaned.

God, the army never felt so good. This was wrong on so many levels, and yet I was lapping up every bit of it, getting lost in the pleasure of her expert ministrations.

“Now listen closely. After my count, you’re going to come on one.”

“Yes, Drill Sergeant,” I gasped out as her lips found my clit once again, sucking at my bud and sending an explosion of pleasure through me.

“Ten,” she mumbled against my skin. She increased the speed of the dildo’s thrusts only slightly, and I shuddered.

“Nine.”

Ray’s lips and tongue were ecstasy against me, the heat of her mouth matching the heat of my body.

“Eight.”

She was building me to a perfect climax. I was butter under her touch, completely helpless to her heat.

“Seven.”

Gripping the bedsheets, I lolled my head to the side and squeezed my eyes shut, concentrating only on the sensation of her tongue flicking over my clit and the sensitivity of the dildo hitting the perfect spot inside me, filling me up as I clamped around it.

“Six.”