Man about the House (Wicked Wraiths) Read online

  “It’s been said before.”

  His comment was followed by a deep, male chuckle as he closed his lips over her again. The vibration from his chest rumbled through his body and directly to her. Heat flooded her lower body as the tension in her loins reached breaking point.

  She held her breath as she balanced on the precipice. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff and seeing the waves crashing against the rocks below. Knowing you were going to fall into it and shatter into a million pieces.

  “That’s it, babe, ride it out. Come for me.”

  He drove his tongue deep into her pussy as though to catch all the evidence of her arousal. She bit her lip and let go. Blood pounded in her ears as lightning arced through her veins. Pleasure raced over every inch of her body, through every cell, as she dropped into the maelstrom of ecstasy below her.

  Chapter Five

  “You taste fantastic. I could do this all day.”

  He crawled back up her body, wiping his mouth with one hand as he braced himself over her. Janelle blinked at him, the waves of pleasure rolling through her quickly giving way to an even greater need as he dipped his hips and ran the broad head of his cock over her sensitive lower lips.

  “Hmmmm…”

  Unbidden, her hips lifted as he pressed against her. A silent invitation and demand all in one. His smile was quick and full of a very male triumph as he pushed against her. Janelle caught her breath as her body parted to allow him access.

  Hell, he’s big. After what Tori had said, had she expected anything else? A hunk looking the way he did, how could he be anything else but built along Adonis proportions? It wasn’t like he was human, where there had to be some payoff for the looks, was it?

  He grunted slightly as he pressed into her a fraction then withdrew, not enough to pull out of her. More taking the pressure off and allowing her body to adjust to him. Within a heartbeat he pushed again, sliding into her slick channel another half inch. Janelle’s eyes rolled back in her head as he repeated the exercise and worked into her in quick, short movements.

  It didn’t take him long. With a groan he pushed for a last time and seated himself to the hilt in her pussy, his balls pressing against her ass as he gathered her under him. His hot lips sought her throat, nuzzling at the spot under her ear that made her go weak.

  “Just stay still, honey,” he begged in a hoarse voice. “Otherwise this is gonna be over way too fast for either of us.”

  Surprise hit Janelle low and fast, her eyes widening as she looked up, unseeing, at the bedroom ceiling. He was really affected by this. From what Tori had said, Janelle had thought she’d just be one of a long line for him, but the raw need and plea in his voice didn’t fit. Not one little bit.

  Not sure what to do, she did the only thing she could think of. Lifting her hands, she smoothed them down the muscled expanse of his back soothingly and made nonverbal reassuring noises. He held himself motionless above her, body near vibrating with tension.

  He didn’t see her as fat. The way he looked — the way he was trembling above her as he fought for control — it was all because of her. Janelle smiled as a sense of her own feminine power filled her. “It doesn’t matter. We can take it slow next time,” she promised. “Just fuck me already. Okay?”

  A start of surprise went through him, and he lifted his head to look down into her eyes. Concern, hope and desire all warred for dominance. “Are you sure? Please, God, tell me you mean that.”

  “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t meant it.”

  It was easy to smile, to pretend this meant something more than sex, and that she hadn’t summoned him with a spell to fulfill a sexual need, but to pretend they’d met earlier. Perhaps in the club and he’d walked her home… then she’d invited him in for coffee…

  “Stay with me, babe.”

  He pulled out and stopped, looking down at her. Shit, he’d sensed her mind was someplace else, weaving a fairytale around this. Janelle plastered a smile over her lips and reached for him.

  “Don’t worry, I’m right here.” Her voice was low as she pulled his head down for another kiss. “Now, are you gonna do this or do I have to get Bob out of the drawer?”

  “Bob?”

  He slid into her in one slick ride of sheer sensation. Janelle caught her breath as a wonderful sense of fullness filled her again. It was almost too much, the line between pleasure and pain close. He rolled his hips and her eyes followed suit, rolling back in her head as he took her held breath and stole it away.

  “Who’s Bob?” he demanded as he pulled out of her. Janelle managed to get a breath before he slammed back in again, much harder this time, all the muscles in his perfect body tensing to drive his cock deeper.

  “Mhhmmm… Battery-operated boyfriend.”

  He looked down at her in sheer surprise. “Darlin’, if you need to resort to a bit of plastic, then I’m sure as fuck doing my job wrong. And believe me, I’m the best at what I do.”

  Oh hell, you aren’t kidding. Janelle bit back a whimper as he proceeded to show her exactly how good he was. Forget being able to talk, she was barely able to think as he gathered one of her legs over his arm and took her ruthlessly. There was no gentleness in his movement but it didn’t bother her. She’d always dreamed of being fucked good and hard by a man who didn’t care what she looked like, even — and this seemed unbelievable to Janelle — one who preferred her curves to a half-starved waif.

  His face, what she could see of it, was hard with determination and need. Blue eyes blazed down into hers as though daring her to try and look away. She gathered her lower lip in her teeth as he rolled his hips. If she’d thought her climax earlier had been the end of it, she was wrong. He’d managed to work her back up without effort, something she’d never encountered with another lover. Normally she just came once, but that was nice, safe sex under the covers, with the lights out.

  This wasn’t nice, safe sex. It was rough, wild outrageous sex and she was loving it. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she strained against him and tried to match the rhythm of his hips with her own.

  “Stay with me,” he growled, and Janelle’s eyes snapped open to look directly into his. He held her gaze as he thrust into her so she could see his reactions to every little sensation. Arousal swirled through her veins, fizzing like the bubbles in expensive champagne, but unlike the drink, these bubbles didn’t dissipate and fade away. They just increased, colliding with each other and exploding in showers of sensation until she was nearly at the edge again.

  “Oh God, I’m gonna –”

  “That’s it, babe. Come for me.”

  The tendons on his neck stood out as he pounded into her over and over, all finesse gone, leaving just raw power in its wake. He thrust again, then again, heavy thrusts that slammed his hips against hers. She moaned, clenching her pussy tightly around the cock buried deeply inside her. Then she was there again, balancing right on the edge. One more touch, one more thrust, and she would topple over it and soar.

  “That’s it, darlin’, just a little more. I want to feel you come all over my cock,” he ordered, with his hands hard on her hips as he held her against him and rolled his pelvis. Janelle cried out, her back arching as pleasure slammed into her. The tight knot deep in her loins shattered into a thousand pieces, like a dropped mirror, each shard reflecting light and colour as it tumbled and turned.

  Warmth enveloped her, running through her veins as it raced to her core. Liquid heat flooded her tight sheath, wrapping around his body buried in hers as she clenched around him.

  “Fucking hell!” The oath escaped him on a hiss as his body trembled. With a deep moan that was more roar than anything, he thrust into her one last time and went rigid. Janelle whimpered as his cock jerked and pulsed within her, bathing the neck of her womb in his hot seed.

  He collapsed over her and she welcomed his weight, her arms around his shoulders and her pelvis cradling his. He was still hard within her, the pulsations of his cock slower now. Gently,
she stroked the short hairs at the nape of his neck. Pleasurable aftershocks coursed through her body as she closed her eyes.

  “That… was amazing. I know you’re a wraith, and you probably do this all the time, but for me, that was wonderful.”

  She sighed in contentment as he rolled over, sliding from her and pulling her into his arms in the same movement. Sleep was already starting to steal over her, making her limbs relax and her eyelids heavy.

  “Tori said I had to ask to get you to stop. Please, stay the night?”

  * * *

  Babe, I’ll stay for eternity. The question and the hesitant way she’d asked it was still lingering in Corvin’s mind the next morning. He flicked the feather duster over the crammed bookshelf with a single-minded determination to eradicate all dust. He’d never been particularly house-proud before, but this morning he’d embraced the cleaning like it was a newfound, lifelong dedication.

  “Hex,” he muttered as he decided that just dusting the shelves wasn’t going to do, and that he was going to have to crack out the polish. It was obvious what had happened. Hex had taken the opportunity for some payback. “I am so going to kick your ass for this one.”

  “Hmmm?” Janelle asked from the table as she belatedly realized he’d said something. Her expression was distracted though, so he knew whatever he said she wouldn’t really be listening. Just like all the other times he’d tried to distract her this morning.

  Damn woman’s got a single-track mind once she’s got those things out. He cast a jealous look at the books she had spread all over the table. He’d tried to look at them but Corvin and reading didn’t go down too well. He got bored too easily. Not Janelle though. No amount of stretching and posing in front of her got more than a couple of quick looks and, once, a slight blush.

  He finished off the shelves with a frustrated flick of the duster. If she’d rather study than spend time with him in bed then that was fine. He pouted to himself. He wasn’t used to being ignored. He didn’t like it, not at all. The phone behind him rang shrilly. Corvin turned automatically and then stopped. He couldn’t answer it, not in this form.

  “Great.” Janelle dropped the pen on the table and stood up with a sigh. “Bloody typical. Sit down and try to study, and all I get is a hunk posing all over the place, and now the phone won’t stop ringing.”

  Corvin opened his mouth to point out the phone had only rung once. He caught a look at the expression on her face as she passed him en route to the phone, and shut his mouth with a click. He recognised the expression. It was one many men had seen, right before they said something stupid which got them verbally flayed, chewed up and spat out. Or if Storm was the woman in question, hit by a bolt of lightning. Between that and Hex’s habit of cursing anyone who pissed him off, the three of them had been banned from most bars in the city.

  “Hello. Oh, hi, Tori! How you doing? Yeah, I’m good, thanks.”

  Corvin carried on cleaning as Janelle answered the phone. All the time he made sure to keep himself in her line of sight, bending and stretching as much as he could to showcase his body to best effect.

  “… shift last night. You know, the weirdest thing happened. You remember Steve, don’t you?”

  Never knew, he might get lucky, and she’d be overcome with lust for his body and drag him back into the bedroom for round… Were they on round six or seven now? He had no clue, to be honest. Clamping the feather duster between jean clad thighs, he swept the cloth over the top of the TV.

  As he moved, he cast a glance down at his hand and stopped. He couldn’t see through his hand anymore. Corvin lifted his hand up to the light streaming in the window. Shit, the curse was starting to wear off.

  “Hex, you sloppy son of a bitch, can’t you even get a curse right?” Grabbing the cleaning supplies, he headed for the kitchen. He stuffed them under the sink and sat back on his heels. What the fuck was he going to do now? It wasn’t like he could explain the situation, now was it?

  Yeah, sorry, darlin’. I was so desperate to get into your panties that when you turned me down I decided to lie and cheat to get what I wanted instead. He groaned. The stupidity of what he’d done had turned around and was biting him in the ass. If he told Janelle the truth, he could kiss goodbye any chance of seeing her again, so what the fuck did he do?

  Sitting on the kitchen floor certainly wasn’t an option. Quickly grabbing the first thing that came to hand, the bathroom cleaner and a couple of cloths, Corvin did the most adult thing he could think of in the circumstances. He went and hid in the bathroom.

  * * *

  “Excuse me? Run that by me again, would you?”

  Tori’s startled comment halted Janelle mid-stream. Now that the wraith had headed off to clean the bathroom, she’d relaxed a little. Without him listening, she could give Tori all the hot details of last night without her cheeks becoming a damn inferno.

  “Huh? Oh… yeah, as we were… you know –”

  She made vague motions with her hands, then realised Tori couldn’t see her down the phone line. Which was a good thing, really, since it was Saturday morning, and she’d done both her hair and make-up already. This was unheard of for Janelle on weekends.

  “And he was whispering all these things in that sexy-as-hell voice of his. I tell you, I could have come on the spot just listening to him.”

  The frown was evident in Tori’s voice as she answered. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you said. Janelle, is he between you and the door?”

  Janelle blinked in surprise at the change in Tori’s manner. She looked toward the closed door to the bathroom and at the front door next to her.

  “No, I’m right next to it.”

  “Okay, good. Here’s what I want you to do. Grab your keys, your purse if it’s near and walk out.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “Because whatever that guy is, honey, he’s not a wraith.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t tip him off that you know!” Tori snapped down the phone, her voice full of authority. “Listen, I’m texting Jacob right now. He’s out at the moment but I’ll get him to come straight around for you. Just walk out and wait outside. We can deal with this.”

  Janelle opened and closed her mouth soundlessly as she looked toward the bathroom door again. He wasn’t a wraith? But he’d appeared right after she’d done the spell. “But how do you know he isn’t? He looks exactly as you described. See-through and… Well, the guy’s sex-on-legs.”

  “Because he’s talking! Wraiths are silent. It’s part of their code. They don’t talk.”

  “Jacob did. You told me.” Janelle’s brain was working on automatic, providing answers as her anger simmered inside. If what Tori was saying was true, then she’d been played for a fool. Whoever was in her bathroom, he was an imposter. An imposter who was damn good in bed but an imposter nonetheless.

  “Yeah, but Jacob wasn’t really a wraith. He was just trapped as one.”

  “So this guy could be the same?”

  There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Janelle could feel Tori’s frustration and fear radiating down the line. “Jan, honey, it’s possible but think about it. Two sorcerers trapped as wraiths? Who just happen to have been summoned by women who are friends?”

  “Stranger things have happened…” Janelle shrugged as she inched along the wall toward the bookshelves on silent feet. Every step of the way she kept her eye on the closed door ahead of her. “Like high-waisted pants, Peter Pan necklines, and let’s not even start on the big hair.”

  She was talking to keep her mind occupied mostly. Reaching around, she felt down the side of the bookcase for the baseball bat she kept there. Originally her little brother’s, she’d kept it out of sentiment and just in case she ever needed it. Like now.

  Unfortunately Tori knew her way too well, the suspicious tone in her voice saying it all. “Janelle Allen, you’re not doing what I think you are, are you?”

  “Depends on what you think I’m doing.”


  Jan’s hand closed around the handle of the bat, and she withdrew it from its hiding place. It knocked against the bookshelf with a wooden thunk and she winced. Surely he’d heard that in there.

  “Shit, you’re going to confront him! Jan, don’t you dare! You have no clue what he is!”

  Janelle gritted her teeth as she swung the bat, loosening her wrist up. She’d been good at hitting home runs in school. So it had been a long time ago but still, it wasn’t something a person forgot.

  “Oh, I know what he is, all right.” She padded back to the front door and put the lock on the latch so it could be opened from the outside.

  “You do? What?”

  “About to be very fucking sorry he lied to me. Tell Jacob to come straight up. He might want to bring some paramedics with him.”

  Leaving the line open Janelle dropped the phone on the couch as she passed it. Tori’s shriek of frustration faded behind her as she marched up to the bathroom door and knocked on it. “Right, Mister Whoever-the-fuck-you-are, get your ass out here now. Or else!”

  Chapter Six

  She was pissed off and she was onto him. Corvin stood by the bathroom door, his hand on the lock. Hex’s curse had completely worn off now, and he was as solid as he had been in the club last night. “Listen, darlin’. Let me explain.”

  “Oh, you’ll explain, all right. Get out here right now. Don’t make me come in there after you!”

  She would too. Corvin held no illusions she wouldn’t march right in here and drag him out by the earlobe, much like his mom had done when he was a teenager, and she’d caught him spying on the vestal virgins in the scrying bowls.

  Actually, she was very similar to his mom. Not physically — he didn’t have a mother fetish going on or anything freaky — but she was a strong woman just like Minerva. He had a feeling the two would get on like a house on fire, if he survived long enough to introduce them.

  “Well? I’m waiting.”

  Sighing, Corvin reached out and flipped the lock. The bathroom had a window so he could escape if he wanted to. Hell, he could have just waved his hand and wiped her memory if he really wanted. It was well within his power.