Синтия Иден - Midnight Sins

The pen skittered across the paper as Dr. Drake jotted down a quick note.

“I didn’t mean to,” Cara said at once, then winced. Even though the doctor’s expression hadn’t changed, she still felt the need to explain herself. To justify stealing into a man’s thoughts. “I swear, Dr. Drake, I never meant to join him in dreams.”

“Then why did you?”

If she couldn’t be honest here, in the safety of Dr. Drake’s quiet office, she couldn’t be honest anywhere. “I want him.” The want was a gnawing ache inside of her. An ache that grew worse every moment.

“It’s all right to desire a man, Cara. We’ve been over this before.”

No, this was far different from the men before. “I-I gave up sex.” Said in a rush.

Dr. Drake’s eyes widened and her pen stilled. “Cara, you know you can’t do that. It’ll kill you.”

“No, I don’t think”— okay, she hoped— “that it will. I’ve got an arrangement with a friend. He has this place for the Other . I’ve been singing there for a while. When I’m on stage and have the focus of the crowd, I can the pull their sensual energy to me.”

“But will that be enough for you?”

“I don’t know, it seems to be working so far. I mean, it’s not like there are a lot of succubi around here that I can ask if I’ll be able to survive—”

“No,” Dr. Drake’s quiet voice cut straight through her words. “That’s not what I meant.” She put the notepad facedown. Leaned forward. “Your kind exist for sex. It renews you. Powers you. I don’t know if the situation you have will keep working for you, though it’s certainly a novel approach for a succubus,” she murmured. “But is it enough for you? Are you happy stealing wisps of pleasure, or do you want your own release?”

Her own . Her lips pressed together to keep the words back, but she knew when Dr. Drake lifted one brow that the psychologist understood.

“And you want it with him, don’t you?”

Hell, yes. She wanted sex with her cop so badly that she was losing control of the demon inside and slipping into Todd’s mind. “I can’t control him.” Or herself. “I can dreamwalk with him, but I can’t compel him, not when he’s awake. No hypnosis, no—”

“Control is important to you, isn’t it?” She eased back in her chair, casually reached for her pad once more.

“Yes.”

“Because of what happened before? When you weren’t able to stop your sister’s murder?”

Ah, damn, but she hadn’t even seen that one coming. Leave it to good old Dr. Drake to knock her right between the eyes. “Yes.” A jealous lover. A human lover had killed her sister. A man who had managed to learn far too much about her kind, and the weaknesses that demons possessed.

Nina. It hurt too much to think of her now, even years later. Her twin. The only other being who’d ever truly loved her. Who’d understood her. Inside and out.

Killed by that bastard.

She’d made certain he got exactly what he deserved. Sometimes, she could still hear his screams.

She squeezed her eyes shut. No. She wasn’t going back there, not now.

All humans weren’t evil. She knew that. Had long ago come to terms with the fact that monsters resided in men, just as good spirits, good souls, could reside in the bodies of monsters.

Such was the way of her world.

“Do you think that because you can’t control him that this man might one day betray you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” The guy had suspected her of murder and he’d sure been quick to haul her off to jail.

“You came to me in the beginning because you were tired of puppets. Tired of men who turned away from you the moment you stopped using glamour and magic.”

Her nails dug into the cushions of the couch. “Yes.”

“But now, you have a man you can’t control, one who certainly won’t be a puppet. You want him. Tell me, does he want you?”

She could still taste his hunger. “Yes.”

“Then you’re going to have a choice to make, Cara. You can keep living this new life you’ve made for yourself…”

The life without sex. Stolen pleasures. Empty nights.

“Or you can take a risk with a man beyond your control.”

She pictured Todd in her mind. Dark hair. Sculpted jaw. The chest she’d yet to kiss. The cock she wanted to taste.

Beyond her control.

She’d be vulnerable with him. And if he learned her secret, he could destroy her.

But demons didn’t exactly have a reputation for playing it safe. She’d been trying, but it had been hell.

Though she liked to pretend that the demon and the woman were really two separate parts of her, the truth was, deep down, she was all demon.

The demon, well, she wasn’t afraid of a risk, and she was very, very hungry for her pleasure.

A pleasure only to be had with one man.

A man beyond her control, but easily within her reach.

If she just dared to reach for him.

The demon decided she’d dare. Oh, yes. She would.

“Is the city in the clutches of another killer, one who preys on the sexual fantasies of men? The cops aren’t talking, but rumors of the Bondage Killer are rampant on the streets…”

The reporter’s words stopped the killer cold. He turned around slowly, his gaze jumping to the television screen. He listened to her, stunned…and enraged.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Fury nearly choked him when the redheaded bitch said she was broadcasting live from the Dayton Hotel, “the scene of a brutal murder.”

But not his kill.

“A body was discovered here last night. A male body. The man was naked, and he’d been bound to the bed.”

Oh, hell, no.

Not his.

The reporter’s eyes seemed to bore into his as he glared at the screen. She lifted her microphone. “Tune in later tonight for more details on this savage crime. Until then, this is Holly Storm for News Flash Five , signing off.”

His fingers slammed onto the top of the remote and instantly, the TV screen went black.

Not his.

He threw the remote against the wall.

This wasn’t part of the plan. No one should have died at the Dayton Hotel.

Fuck.

His fingers shook. His ears rang. And his control began to shatter.

He knew exactly who was trying to take over his game.

Not gonna happen. No one was gonna to screw with his plans. He’d waited far too long for his vengeance. Planned far too carefully.

A bitch wasn’t gonna steal his power.

Time for the game to change. Time for a solo act. Time for more death.

With the next kill, he would be the one to steal the victim’s life away.

No matter how much she begged…

He was watching her again.

That night, Cara stood on the stage, feeling the swirls of magic and power around her. Desire beat in time with the music of the band. Driving higher and higher in the crowd, and in her own body.

Todd was in Paradise. She hadn’t looked at him yet, but she could feel his dark gaze on her body and pleasure filled her.

He’d come for her.

Slowly, she began to shift her attention around the room. Singing softly, the blues carried in the air as she voiced the old lyrics.

There . He was at the bar. Staring up at her. Face hard. One hand wrapped around a shot glass. He was dressed casually, in a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt.

She wanted him naked.

She was tired of pretending to be good.

Tired of fighting the need and hunger.

No more.

Giving up sex just really hadn’t worked out so well for her. One temptation, one very strong temptation, and she’d been screwed.