Night (Hero Society Book 4) Read online

  My chest arched against his body as his hot mouth fucked mine. He tasted like icing and pure desire, making my hands move to his neck, pulling him into me more. He growled, and I moaned at the sound. Oh God, he was sin incarnate. Dorian knew what he was doing, and he was currently possessing my body through his lips.

  Then he pulled back, his eyes smug as he took in my wet lips, blushed cheeks, and hooded eyes.

  “Best present I could give you, other than my cock. Enjoy the memories.”

  It was like he dumped a giant bucket of ice-cold water over my head. This was a—no, I couldn’t even come up with what the hell this was.

  In my anger, I gripped the small hairs at the back of his neck, enjoying his snarl from the pain it caused.

  His eyes flashed with revenge but then smoldered into something different, something that made me feel like he was about to kiss me again and this time not stop.

  I let go of his neck and pushed him back, ready to get out of the supply closet he’d dragged me into.

  His face and body posture were still rigid like a man on edge, one that was close to lunging for me. Nope. Fuck that.

  “Thanks for the memories. Now I definitely remember why I hate you.” I opened the door and walked away with as much cool composure as I could. I heard the door behind me open and close hard, but he didn’t come after me.

  Once I got home I would let myself think about what just happened, but right now I had to focus on my job. Especially when two men came in via ambulance from a bad car accident.

  I had people who needed me, and I could help them, one way or another.

  Chapter Three

  Dorian

  She thinks she won that round in the supply closet.

  But all she’s done is show me that the little mouse has a backbone, and that has made me curious.

  I’d ventured into the breakroom knowing they’d have some party for her birthday, and I knew it would annoy her for me to be there. Something about getting her to let go of the good-girl mask made the sharp edges in my mind dull. She normally just ignores me, which is better for the both of us, if I’m to be honest.

  I’d never looked at her as anything more than a nuisance: a woman gifted by the gods, yet didn’t use her power. I knew the moment she walked up to talk to me on her first day that there was something different about her. That stench of life and death in one body…the Fates had blessed her with that gift.

  But they were also cruel, and I’d no doubt that she would eventually give all her life away to save someone. She was pure good, through and through.

  Which is why I’d left her alone. Her petite, elven-like face and frame didn’t call to me as a man. I’d break her in two. And her power, combined with the innocence inside her, didn’t make me crave her for my side of the war. It wasn’t worth the effort to try to keep out of the hands of the Hero Society. She would help them as best as she could, but it would either kill her in the end, or she wouldn’t affect anything. So, I’ve let her be, allowing her to play nurse and living out her trivial life.

  Until she tried to shoo me away, like I was a fly begging for cake. Her eyes had dilated, and her lips had parted as I licked her fork, and my mind conjured an image of licking that icing off her creamy skin instead.

  The desire to taste her drove me wild, and her words made me chase after her, compelled to savor that fight on her tongue.

  Now she’s shown me that she can play my game without yielding.

  I’m curious, and when you’ve lived as long as I have, things don’t make you curious anymore.

  There was still some time—a few weeks before my army would be ready. I wondered how long it would take to bend her to me, to use her body and break in her mind.

  For the last few days, following our kiss, she wouldn’t look at me unless we were in front of a patient together. She was trying to move on and forget that her body trembled at my touch, that she moaned into my breath, and her hands had pulled me closer. There was no forgetting that.

  “I can feel you staring at me.”

  She was checking the unconscious patient’s vitals while I administered his medication. Technically she could have done this all on her own, but I thought tagging along would aggravate her and maybe she would show me her backbone again.

  “I’m wondering what noises you make when you come,” I remarked and smirked as her cheeks grew red.

  She looked tired today. Her hair was up in that disaster she called a messy bun, her scrubs were wrinkled, and her face looked pale. Well, paler. Even the freckles that covered her face looked dull.

  She sighed and finished writing a note in her chart.

  “I don’t have time for this, Dorian. Can you go back to being an asshole, thinking I’m an incompetent nurse, and stop with the innuendo?” A plea. I sneered hearing it. Where was the feisty woman who shooed me away, who gripped my hair and made my cock hard?

  “Why are you so tired?” I demanded, not liking it one bit that she wasn’t up for playing with me. She peered at me with an expression that said it was none of my business. True, but for some reason I was making my business.

  “I just have a lot going on, and you are making it worse,” she told me and then walked out the door. If I wanted to, I could chase her down and demand she tell me what the problem was, but I stopped myself.

  I had a plan, and I was so close I could finally feel victory in my grasp.

  After looking around and seeing no one else was there, I flashed to one of my many homes.

  This one in particular housed my weapons—men and women I’d found in the chaos of their lives and easily won over with promises of a life without fear for people like them. They could be who they wanted to be without anyone saying otherwise. Humans were beneath them. Beneath me.

  My hands clenched at the thought of how beneath me they were.

  Me, the sole survivor of the demigods.

  That familiar taste of anger and bitterness crept over my tongue. I swallowed it down, feeling it burn as it moved throughout my body.

  Those with powers that had been gifted by the gods were just that—gifted. They had no blood of the gods running through their veins; they were chosen.

  The gods cared so much about the humans that they made sure they could protect them after they perished.

  But their own children were left for dead, murdered by each other’s hands and the hands of their parents.

  The only reason I survived was because I had given myself a toxin that would make me appear dead. I woke up days later to see that every last one of the demigods had been slain.

  I’d been good once, a healer for man, and always doing the work of my father, Apollo, god of the sun, music, medicine, and prophecy. He was an eclectic bastard. But still I yearned for his approval, using my powers to help mankind until the gods turned on us, deeming all demigods expendable. Even the good ones, like I was.

  I watched with my own eyes as they chose Draco to be their leader of heroes.

  I watched as they gave him their power and burned into his back with their blood searing tattoos of their godly symbols into his skin.

  The chosen one. Chosen over their own children.

  I was angry and jealous, and I let it all fester. My hatred for Draco grew, and I sought to destroy him, only to find out he was immortal. Even demigods would die eventually.

  So, I drafted my plan: become immortal, stop Draco from succeeding in his mission, and let mankind fall to their own chaos.

  The first part was easy. I’d found immortality through the blood of the gifted. The other two had been my obstacle all these years.

  But I was almost there. I’d slain those Draco had found if he didn’t do it himself.

  When man was given the power of the gods, they tended to want to use that power for their needs. I couldn’t fault them for that. Draco did, though. And still his Hero Society forgives him for killing people like them who he deemed unfit.

  I would have let them loose, and soon I will.
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br />   His blood has been the key all along.

  By mixing Draco’s blood with others that have the power genes in the DNA, the powers have kept in their new hosts. Finally, I will have my revenge.

  Chapter Four

  Esme

  “Thanks for inviting me out. I haven’t had a girls’ night since…well, a very long time,” I told the three women that were sitting around a table with me at Club V. The music was pumping, and the drinks were flowing.

  “Sometimes we just need to get away from all the testosterone in headquarters,” Rose said with a grin, and I smiled back. She and I were kindred spirits, sweet, but underneath lay a warrior’s heart. I’d yet to find mine, but I could feel the beast inside me rumbling. Lilith and Echo nodded, and I held out my shot for a toast. They raised their lemon drops, and I looked into their eyes.

  “Here’s to bringing some more tits into the Hero Society!” I laughed and downed my drink. Gross. Drinking was not my thing, but I was taking one for the team tonight.

  They all cheered and drank their shots in unison.

  I was tired from working the past few days without too much sleep, but I was ready to enjoy my night with the girls. It made my day when Rose suggested we all go out.

  Echo looked different tonight—a positive change I’d seen in her since she caught Dr. Nathan. The guy had always creeped me out, I tried to stay away from that section of the hospital if I could. She seemed freer, like she could be happy for once, and I was glad.

  Lilith was the woman I always wished I could be. Brazen, smart, and totally confident. Whatever she wanted, she went for. She didn’t hold back. She also had a gift for making any woman around her feel beautiful, which I completely appreciated.

  Everyone looked beautiful tonight. Rose was wearing a pretty sweater dress and knee-high boots. Echo wore her signature look of black jeans, boots, and a shirt with the leather jacket, but it still looked hot on her. Always did. Lilith was wearing boots as well, joined with high-waisted shorts and a crop top. It was snowing outside, and seemed impervious to the cold.

  I was wearing my only pair of skinny jeans, with black boots and a skintight sweater that came up to my collarbone but then dipped around my neck and plunged to my lower back. I bought it years ago, thinking I’d be brave and wear it out on a date, but I hadn’t been on a date since before that purchase. That was a depressing thought.

  “I miss sex.” I voiced my thoughts, and the girls looked at me, puzzled expressions on their faces.

  “When was the last time you got some?” Lilith asked, and the others waited for my answer.

  My head dropped to the table in shame as I told them.

  “One year, eight months, and sixteen days.”

  All three of them groaned, and Rose reached over to rub my back in comfort.

  “I was a virgin until Draco,” she said, and I looked up in surprise. I wouldn’t have guessed that. She kept going with her story, explaining that with her powers, she just didn’t trust anyone until him. He was the only one she wanted, and he didn’t let her down. Every time they were around each other it was like seeing two halves of a soul. They were magnetic.

  Lilith gave me her story next, then Echo. I felt bad having brought up that I hadn’t had sex in a while, when each of these ladies until recently had never had sex or had horrible experiences beforehand.

  “I always wanted that kind of love you read in old legends, the kind of love that never dies. So, I kissed a bunch of frogs, and all I got was lots of heartache and disappointment. I’ve just been working too much to even attempt something now.” I ordered another shot and quickly swallowed it down once it hit the table.

  “You should get drunk and have wild sex tonight,” Echo commented, and Lilith looked at her like she just solved the mystery of life. Her squeal was loud, and she clapped her hands together in excitement.

  “Yes! Tonight’s mission: get Esme drunk so she lets that cute-girl layer melt off and the sexy siren come out to play!” Her excitement was making me smile, and I wished I could do as she said, but I still had reservations. I wasn’t a one-night type of girl.

  “Honestly, with everything going on in the world, you might as well do what you want and live it up. Who knows when it will be our last day?” Rose shrugged and ordered another drink for herself. I studied her, soaking in her words because they were the words I tried to live by since my brother died. I had been living my life to a point, but I was still hiding. I had wished moments before that I could be like Lilith, because she just did what she wanted that made her happy—but now was my time.

  “Screw it. Live hard, love strong. Let’s do this!”

  We drank, we laughed, and let whatever worries we had go for one short night.

  Lilith convinced me to go into her favorite bird cage and dance my heart out. I did it, and I felt the opposite of caged—I felt free.

  Rose was all giggly as she made Echo dance with her to a famous pop song about being twenty-two. Echo smiled and let go, which was hard for her, though alcohol probably helped. It was sure as shit helping me let my good girl go, and allow whatever hot mess I was inside out to have some fun. I wasn’t even thinking about men as I danced to the beat, purely enjoying myself.

  I left the cage for a bathroom break, and when I came back, the girls were dancing together. I watched them and felt the bonds of sisterhood grow between us. I was glad I decided to join them, not just because of their cause to help people, but because they were a family, and one I wanted to be a part of.

  My hips started swaying to the beat as I moved toward them, but then hands loosely wrapped themselves around my hips and pulled me back against a hard torso. I closed my eyes, feeling myself relax, letting my hands reach up to touch the person behind me. I didn’t care who I was with, but I knew for certain that I was indeed dancing with a man. And if my hands were feeling things correctly, a man with a fantastic body.

  His hips moved with mine, grinding in unison as if there were no clothes between us. I hadn’t really considered getting laid, even though the girls had decided it was going to be my goal for the night, but I was thinking about it now.

  Whoever I was dancing with was sexy as hell, and the way he moved against me, his hand keeping me flush to his body was turning me on like nothing else. A memory flashed in my head of the last time I was turned on this much, and I knew if I hadn’t been completely drunk I would have realized who this was much sooner. There was only one person who made me feel like this.

  “What are you doing here Dorian?” I spun around in his arms, running my hands over his hard torso, feeling his muscles flexing with every move of his hips.

  His brown eyes met mine, and that smirk of his appeared. I wanted to kiss that smirk right off his face.

  “I was having a chat with a friend of mine, and spotted you dancing like a teenager in her bedroom. So, I thought I’d get a better look.” He was provoking me, as usual.

  I leaned in close, rubbing my breasts against his chest, moving down his body then back up. He was completely in control of himself when my eyes met with his gaze. I thought I would have at least gotten a hiss out of him or some reaction. Oh well.

  “What are you doing, Esme?” His calm voice had a bit more bite in it.

  I swayed, enjoying myself whether he was dancing with me or not.

  “I’m on Operation Get Esme Laid,” I sang out in my drunk-ass voice.

  That brought a reaction out of him. His eyes darkened, and his fingers gripped my waist a bit harder. I wished I knew what he was thinking, so of course drunk me asked. His head leaned in, his breath tickling my ear since my long hair had been braided to the side so my back could be seen.

  “I’m thinking about fucking you and getting my curiosity out of my system.” His words were low, and I felt the vibrations shiver down my skin, making me shudder.

  I turned back around, pulling out of his grasp, my finger waggling at him.

  “Too bad you wouldn’t stoop low enough to fuck me in the on-c
all room, huh, Dorian? I would have rocked your world, but instead you couldn’t pull that stick out of your ass, and you lost this bomb-ass pussy,” I said, stalking away, feeling like a goddess for setting him straight. Even if I would totally regret it once I was sober and working with him the next day.

  Lilith pulled me in for a hug and then held my hands, moving me with her to the beat.

  “Your emotions feel strange, like a big weight was lifted off your shoulders but also some kind of regret. You okay?” Rose shouted as she danced next to me.

  “Yeah, I just finally told my dick of a chief physician, who said he wanted to fuck me, that he missed his chance, and I had bomb-ass pussy,” I responded. Rose stopped dancing. In fact, all three of them did. Echo immediately scanned the club, as if there was a threat.

  “It’s all good, guys. I’ve been dying to say that for a long time. I feel so free!” I tried to get Lilith to dance with me again, but she was apparently done.

  “Come on, guys! Dance with me!” I pouted as I continued to shimmy and bob to the beat.

  “Dorian was just here?” Rose asked, and I nodded. That bastard ruined everything, including my night out with the girls, it seemed.

  “Yeah, he’s an ass. Please, can we go back to having fun?” I tried again, not ready to let go of my drunken night of freedom. They looked at each other, having a silent conversation, and began dancing again, but it wasn’t the same.

  We stayed for another hour before they dropped me off at my apartment and went back to their men. I bet they had awesome sex, while I slept alone and dreamed of dancing under the stars with a man with a stupid smirk.

  Chapter Five

  Esme

  It was official.

  The dam had been broken, and the Esme I’d always wished I would be was out in the open. I woke up feeling like complete crap, but one thing I didn’t feel was regret. I didn’t care that I’d grinded on Dorian or told him how he missed his chance. I lived hard last night, and I loved it. I wanted that feeling to never go away, so I drank a big glass of water, took some pain reliever to help with my hangover, then went back to bed and slept it off until I had to get ready for the third shift again.