Incantations and Inmates (Prisoners of Nightstone Book 2) Read online

“Are you going to see me as the queen too?” I asked archly, pushing him away just enough to draw the waistband of his pants down his hips.

  He turned then, his tall, leanly muscled body on display. “Well, do I pass your inspection?”

  He didn’t seem to have a scratch on him. “Yes,” I said simply.

  “As my queen?” he asked, answering my earlier question. “I hope you know not just how I feel about you personally, Nasima, but how much I value your wisdom and strength. A vampire’s bond is… powerful… and not merely protective. I can see the goodness that radiates from you and although it makes me worry that our light and darkness may collide from time to time... I will always try to honor that light. I will always listen to you and value your opinions, Nasima. Whether or not that was part of the bond… it would be part of my promise to you.”

  Words failed me. His gaze was intense and serious, but when he leaned forward, twining his hand in my hair, I kissed him then. From the way he responded, trading urgent kisses with me, I knew he understood that I didn’t know how to respond with words to the depth of that promise.

  I should talk to him at some point about how my lifetime’s brief promise would impact him long-term, but today was not that day. He’d been through so much and so had I; now it was time for us to come back together.

  He rolled onto the bed, drawing me on top of him in one smooth motion. I straddled his hips and leaned down, my lips barely leaving his for a moment before we were together again.

  His tongue swept into mine, his kisses fierce. His cock was stiff between us and I ground down against his hips.

  He pulled away to kiss the corner of my mouth and murmur into my ear, “You inspected me, yet rudely remained dressed yourself.”

  “I wasn’t the one potentially in need of medical care,” I shot back. “For once.”

  He smiled at that, even as he helped me undress, the two of us frantic in our need for each other. His eyes smoldered when he pulled my shirt over my head. “Nasima. You are so beautiful.”

  “So are you,” I reminded him, studying his handsome face, his body. It was almost impossible to tear my eyes away from that immortal body.

  But then he was kissing me again, and it was easy to forget that he was more than human when his hands were on my body. Any complications that arose when a mortal loved a vampire fell away.

  I took his cock in hand, teasing his tip through my folds, and his breath gave with desire. His abs rippled under my thighs as he covered one of my nipples with his lips, beginning to tease and suck. His tongue did this amazing flicking thing to my nipple that rocketed all the way through my body and made my back arch. I pressed down on his cock, sliding him inside me, and he stilled himself. I smiled as if it were a competition--which one of us could drive the other crazier.

  Then he returned to teasing me, his hand finding my other breast, his fingers and tongue competing to see which could tease me more. I ground down against his hips, feeling as if I were on the verge of climax already just from the sensation of his big cock filling me and the things the man did to my nipples. I let out a long, low moan.

  He took my wrist in one hand and guided it up to my breast, even as he leaned back, a self-satisfied smile written across his lips. “Another day, I intend to make you come from nipple play alone. Today, though, I want to see you on my cock.”

  “Oh?” I shifted so my feet were planted on the bed, and rose all the way up to the tip of his cock before plunging down again, until my thighs met his hard abs. All the while I played with my breasts myself, pinching my nipples between my fingers as I caressed my breasts in my hands. It felt good for me, but I could tell from the dark smolder in his eyes that I was driving him absolutely mad.

  And that was just what I wanted--to control the alpha vampire just for a moment.

  “I want so badly to fuck you wildly,” he murmured, his gaze heated as he watched me as I slowly rose up and down his cock.

  Instead, he canted one arm behind his head, watching me, his lips parting as his breath stuttered in his chest. He certainly had the same icy control over himself that he had over his vampire clan, because he just watched me as I rode him, until my thighs were burning and yet I didn’t want to stop because the throb at my core was sated so perfectly every time I slid down his cock. And because I loved his hungry gaze on my body and the way his abs began to tremble with the power of his own growing orgasm, as I felt myself flush with heat, my skin beginning to tingle with my own.

  I slid down his cock again and again, beginning to move faster as the growing orgasm took me over, then felt it sweep over me. I fell forward against his chest, and his arms wrapped around me. He moved for the first time, popping his hips ups to pump into me a few final times as I clung to him, feeling the heat and tension roll through me. Then I fell into relaxation, and he held me close, kissing my cheeks and forehead tenderly. He was still buried deep inside me, and my channel squeezed around him with the last ripples of my orgasm.

  “You make me think that there might be another way,” he said softly into my ear. “A way out of Nightstone, for all of us.”

  A way out of Nightstone?

  “What?” I rolled away from him and sat up on my elbow to stare at that handsome, chiseled face.

  “Maybe it’s just wishful thinking,” he admitted. “Maybe it’s the beginning of an idea. Only time will tell, my queen.”

  He pulled me close, drawing my head onto his shoulder, and I settled down against him. “Rest a little while,” he murmured. “I’ll think about it while you nap, if you do. And I’ll wake you in time for your visit with Bane.”

  I thought there was no way I could sleep when I was replaying what I’d try to say to Bane.

  But somehow, curled up against Christian, I was too comfortable and content to resist the pull of sleep.

  22

  Nasima

  I waited as long as I could after the second buzzer and then sprinted to his cell, diving inside right as the third buzzer sounded and barely getting my legs in before the weird light washed through the halls.

  "What the fuck, Nas?" Bane growled as the door to his cell rolled shut and locked behind me.

  I was panting, adrenaline rushing through me, and honestly a little surprised I'd made it work. I wanted to yell in victory. The asshole couldn't escape me now. If I had to talk to him until I was blue in the face I would, but damn it I was going to make him see reason.

  "We need to talk," I said once I was able to catch my breath again. I really needed to start working out or something, this place was making me lazy.

  "Is that so?" he demanded, anger flushing his cheeks.

  It was rare for me to actually piss Bane off, but somehow this had managed it. I swallowed hard at the thought as he stepped into my personal space. "What are you doing here Nasima? I have nothing to say to you that I haven't already said."

  I dropped my voice until it was barely a whisper and leaned close to him so my mouth was right next to his ear as I said, "I know about Canada."

  When I pulled back his expression was stoney, to say the least, but somehow I knew, I just knew, it was the last thing he'd expected me to say. "Yeah, I'm sure you know some big secret, whatever, Nas. I'm going to bed." He stepped away from me and lay down on the cot they gave us to sleep on.

  I wasn't about to have any of that though. Oh no, until he heard me out this bastard wasn't getting a wink of sleep. I knew he'd just put his pillow over his head if I just stayed where I was and tried to talk to him so I did what any mildly reasonable, mostly frustrated woman who saw the future would do, I climbed on top of him.

  "Nas, seriously, what the fuck?"

  "We. Need. To. Talk." I flicked his head with each word.

  "Woman, I will bind and gag you if you don't leave me alone."

  "Is that a promise, Bane?"

  "You are infuriating, you know that, right?"

  "I do, but I also know you like it. And I know that if you don't get some allies in this place soon you
're going to die."

  "Well, that's an obvious statement."

  "Ask me how I know, Bane." I sighed. He wasn't reacting the right way at all.

  It seemed the short amount of time I'd spent with Christian and Ambrose had desensitized me to Bane's heartlessness. His grouchy attitude didn’t deter me one bit.

  "How do you know?" he growled.

  "Because it's all I keep having visions of. You getting killed every which way imaginable, and I have to sit through it and watch it all. So you're going to get your shit together and talk to Ambrose and Christian tomorrow about forming an alliance or something so I can stop watching you die over and over again, otherwise I'm going to fucking break. Do you hear me, you asshole?"

  "I hear you. Doesn't mean I have to do shit though," he grumbled.

  "Yes it does or I'm going to be in here every fucking night with you and you can listen to me have visions of you dying. I assure you they're not quiet and they're not fun for anyone, but especially me."

  "I'll sleep somewhere else."

  "Where the fuck are you going to sleep that someone isn't going to try and take you out the moment you put your ass on the ground?" I demanded as I slapped his shoulder.

  "I can't tell you because then you'll just bother me there."

  "Or it's because you have nowhere to go, and you're hoping I'm bluffing." I leaned down until I was pressed against him and my mouth was against his ear as I whispered, "I'm not. I'll find you, hunt you down like you hunted me, day and night, until we get this shit sorted. Understand?" I had been trying to ignore the fact that I could feel his erection pressing against me through the fleece of his sweatpants, but on the last word I rolled my hips against him.

  His hands were on my hips, clamping down and stopping me from moving so fast it was a surprise that he was actually human. "You want to talk, we can talk, but you have to get off me."

  Had I just broken Bane with the threat of a good time? I knew it wasn't my words that had finally had the right effect so it had to be my body. Well, wasn't this a delicious development?

  23

  Nasima

  I leaned back, and as Bane quickly rolled to sit up, I could feel his ab muscles ripple and contract against my suddenly throbbing pussy. The ripple of heat I felt for Bane when we

  were this close together was almost as powerful as how much he pissed me off.

  “What do you need to talk about, Nas?” he asked, taking my shoulders in his big hands and gently pushing me off him.

  I settled onto the bed, my shoulder blades resting against the painted concrete blocks that formed the wall. Bane settled back too, dragging his pillow across his lap. A little late for that, big boy.

  Bane and I were still close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his body--and he eyed me warily--but there was some separation between us. Hey, as long as he talked. It was the first time I’d ever straddled a man only to have him suddenly grow chatty.

  “Well, we spent all that time together and I never would have guessed you’d turn me in, Bane.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You’re still sore about that, huh?”

  He was doing everything he could to be obnoxious, and Bane certainly had a knack for obnoxious. I decided to take the high road. We had all night, after all; I could always make him suffer for his sins later once I got the information I needed to save his miserable life and stop my nightmares.

  “Just a bit,” I said. “But obviously, I never really knew you. So let’s fix that.”

  He raked one hand through his hair and said, “Christ.”

  “Even he can’t help you in Nightstone,” I promised. “Not tonight.”

  I wanted to know why Bane was really in Nightstone--and why he was so intent on staying away from me, because his story so far was obviously bullshit. Maybe he’d be more honest if I worked my way into it. After all, we had time. I dreaded the thought of still being stuck with him when I’d gotten what I needed, but he looked even more unhappy about it.

  “You said your mom was a magic user,” I said. “Tell me more about her.”

  He stared at me for a long second. “You forced your way into my room to ask me about my mom?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay.” He widened his eyes as if to suggest he was dealing with a lunatic. If he was, it was because he’d made me crazy to begin with. Then he said, “My mom was great. My dad was never in the picture, so it was just the two of us until she remarried when I was nine. My step-dad was… less great… but he didn’t really get too bad until she had my half-brother and half-sister.”

  Bane’s understated less great made me feel instantly worried about what had happened to him before, but all I asked was, “There are more of you? More Banes?”

  “Ha, yes.”

  I tried to picture Bane as a big brother. It was impossible. “What are their names?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Let’s leave them out of this, Nas.”

  That protective flare left me suddenly furious. “Out of this? What the hell do you think I am, Bane? Do you think I’d go after them? If I even could?”

  “I think you hate me,” he said dryly, “for reasons that might be totally understandable, but yeah, I’ve made it a habit to protect my family from people who hate me for reasons that are totally understandable, so…”

  “I’m not just one of those people.”

  He shrugged.

  I almost told him to fuck right off. The sense of hurt that suddenly throbbed in my chest was a fragile, aching thing. But then I saw the way he was watching me, slyly, from under half-lidded eyelids.

  He was trying to manipulate me. Trying to piss me off.

  Instead, I patted his leg sympathetically. His thigh tensed subtly under my touch, even though his face was still expressionless. Good thing he had that pillow over his dick.

  “What did your stepfather do to you?” I asked.

  He snorted. “Really? You assume it was like that? He didn’t do anything to me. He was a controlling bastard, but he didn’t beat me or my mom or anything. But he got more and more...intense… once my mom got pregnant with--” he paused, as if he were stopping himself from saying the name. This time, I saw him watching to see if I would notice. I knew Bane better than to think he’d slip up like that genuinely; the man had plenty of experience being a manipulative asshole as a bounty hunter, after all.

  He went on, “After she had my brother. By the time my sister was born, he had control of all my mom’s money. He wanted me to work, not go to college because he wasn’t going to let her help pay for it or even let me keep living at the house. So I went into the Marines.”

  I stared at him, waiting for the rest of the story. He stared back at me without saying anything. “You just left your mom? To deal with him alone?”

  He scoffed. “I couldn’t make her leave him. Even though any idiot could see things were getting ugly, she still believed in him. And they had two kids together. She was trying to make it work. What was I going to do, drag her out of there by her hair? That would make me a lot better, huh?”

  This version of Bane… was it even real? I couldn’t believe I used to fuck him. I couldn’t believe I used to love him. Maybe I was right; maybe I’d never really known him at all.

  “Okay,” I said. “Is that how you became a bounty hunter? You had all those skills from being a Marine?”

  “Yep.” He drew his legs up and rested one elbow on his knee, which pulled at his shirt, revealing some of the tattoo covering his chest.

  “Why’d you turn me in?”

  He pulled a face. “Come on, Nas. Do we have to do this?”

  “Yeah, I think we have to.” I really wanted to understand what the hell had happened. Maybe I’d never really understood what was between Bane and me. It had been fun, sure, but I’d thought there was something real.

  Suddenly part of me wondered if what I had with Ambrose and Christian was real, too, or if it was just some temporary fun. Maybe we all had to find a little pleasure wh
ere we could get it. The world was certainly a harsh enough place.

  He shrugged one shoulder. “You and I had some fun, but we both knew it was never going to last. I’m a bounty hunter. You’re a convict.”

  I leaned forward, and despite himself, his gaze flickered to my lips. Tension shimmered between us.

  I was so close that I could breathe in his face when I said, “And now so are you.”

  He rolled his eyes, but I could feel the tension through his body. “Yeah, thanks to you. Because I was stupid enough to track down Jason Wentworth.”

  Knowing that Bane had cared enough to run down my story about Wentworth might have made me feel like he cared a little--but not enough--but he managed to ruin even that. “Yeah, whatever happened to him?”

  “Heard he’s missing,” he answered blandly.

  “Maybe he messed with the wrong person.”

  “Maybe he did.” His gaze lingered on mine. “Long time ago.”

  I frowned, but I didn't want to let him throw me off balance. “So that’s what they tossed you into Nightstone for? What was the charge, exactly?”

  The courts moved pretty goddamn fast getting supes off the street, but the system seemed to grind a lot more slowly for humans. And Bane should be in a human prison anyway. He shouldn’t be here in Nightstone, alternately worrying me and making me want to murder him myself.

  “Tampering with evidence. All they could pin on me.”

  “All that for me? I’m touched.” My tone was mocking.

  “It wasn’t for you.” His normally sexy voice was harsh.

  Clearly, I’d struck a nerve. As I stared at him, he turned away and scrubbed his hand through his hair. But there was no escape.

  “It wasn’t? Then why was this all my fault?”

  He snorted. “Because my life started going to shit the day I started banging my bounty instead of bringing her in.”

  “Please. You couldn’t bring me in. Don’t make it sound like you were being nice to me.”

  The old Bane always had a one-liner back at me, but he just stared at me with the same bleak look on his face and didn’t answer. He was certainly trying his damndest to keep up those walls, and at the moment, I wasn’t sure if there was anything behind those walls anyway.