Reapers of the Dark (Cora Roberts #4)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Stolen moments should be treasured.

I should have known my grandmother would ward herself against ghosts, given she was dabbling in the afterlife and manipulating the second souls left on Earth. I felt so very, very stupid for thinking otherwise.

My father stretched out his legs and cradled his steaming mug of hot chocolate with all the trimmings as we sat around the fire in the parlor.

“I’m sorry, Miss Roberts,” Harry said for the umpteenth time.

Abaddon lasered him with a look. “Stop apologizing for something you have no control over.”

Harry froze. My father never spoke to him, so his words had more of an impact.

Hudson wrapped his arm around my shoulders and drew me close to his side. “What do you think she’s done?” he asked.

I shrugged, trying to piece together all the moves my grandmother had made into a bigger picture. She wasn’t known for embellishing the facts. She’d indicated everything she had done had led us to this moment, so it would be prudent to unpick the reasons.

“I don’t know, but I can’t overlook the fact that White Castle’s residents became more incensed when the school board lowered the age at which they introduced sex education in schools than about their ghost problem.”

“She seemed shocked that there was a hot spot in White Castle,” Aunt Liz said.

“I agree,” I responded. So why were they here? Me? It didn’t make sense. Harry said there wasn’t a special pull to me, and there weren’t ghosts lined up on my property line looking for a moment with the daughter of the angel of death. Then again, my wards kept all the dead folks but Harry out.

“How many are we talking about?’ Abaddon asked.

“A few hundred,” Dave answered. “Maybe more.”

My father tilted his head and pursed his lips before taking a sip of the hot chocolate and coming away with a whipped cream mustache. Lucifer raised a brow, looking amused, but nobody said anything.

“Do you have any idea why they are drawn here?” I asked, trying not to stare at the white foam. Someone should tell him.

“There are several possibilities,” Abaddon said. “If Donn’s involved, weird shit will happen, all of it linked to death. His very presence in the world will unbalance it, given he hasn’t walked the Earth for centuries. That kind of power will have a ripple effect.”

Wonderful. We had a rogue deity wandering the world, creating chaos.

“Why White Castle?” Dave asked.

Abaddon’s eyes caught mine. “He will know about Cora through Eloise, as she will no doubt have confided in him. He wouldn’t stand for secrets.”

“Wait, do you know him?” I asked.

Abaddon nodded. “I know all the ancient gods. Just because they’re inactive doesn’t mean they simply disappeared.”

“Is there a retreat for retired gods?” I smiled a little at the thought of all those old gods sitting around a pool, sipping margaritas.

“Not exactly. They just no longer play in this realm.”

Everyone froze as that sank in. One realm at a time, Cora. The thought of worlds beyond ours was too enormous to comprehend. Perhaps when my grandmother wasn’t hellbent on altering the future of this one, I could poke at the others.

“So Cora is responsible for White Castle’s haunting?” Dave asked.

Aunt Liz slapped the back of his head, and Aunt Sophia pointed her crochet hook at him. “My grandniece might dance with death, but she is not responsible for a mass group of remnants.”

Dave scowled and rubbed his head while Hudson snorted.

“Are there any other reasons?” I asked. “Because blaming my heritage is rather convenient.”

“I agree,” Sebastian said. “Eloise and Donn would actually benefit from keeping this from us for as long as possible.”

Abaddon narrowed his eyes like he was trying to pick through all the possibilities. “Then there are only two reasonable causes left.”

“Which are?” Rebecca asked. She’d been quieter than normal, almost subdued. Was it Ezra that was getting to her, or something else? I needed to make time to speak to her.

“Well,” Abaddon started. “One could be that someone else sent them here to warn Cora, who would then draw us together. It’s a warning. Perhaps someone in The Order, or maybe one of Donn’s followers.”

I grimaced. “Donn has followers?”

“A small sect, yes. You mentioned a ghost came to you from Peach Tree to tell you of the atrocity there?”

Ice slid down my spine. “Yes, Caleb.”

Abaddon nodded. “I’d suggest paying them a visit. They’re located in Ireland, as one would expect. Take your mate in case things get ugly. His prehistoric tiger will give them pause.”

Looks like we were going to Ireland. “What’s the second option?”

“Sometimes, when spirits gather in a particular area, it’s to witness something, like an apocalyptic event. Or maybe He’s planning on a visit.”

“He?” Dave asked.

I stared at my father, meeting his unnerving gaze. “You did extend a dinner invitation,” Abaddon said with a shrug, making my stomach flip. “But He sent me with His apologies as He had a prior engagement. I don’t manage His diary, so I’m not sure where He is. However, souls often feel His presence and intent, resulting in a gathering of the deceased. They are drawn to the light, and He is the light.”

Oh shit.

The house was quiet. My family and friends had retreated to their rooms or returned to their homes. Hudson watched me clean the already spotless parlor. I had too much nervous energy. Everywhere we turned, there was another powerful being. I was surrounded by entities that played with our lives like we were pawns, and it was suffocating.

Hudson caught my wrist as I moved to go back in the kitchen. A spot of wood polish would help the dining table shine. He drew me to his chest and wrapped me in his arms, his fingers gently gripping my chin as he tilted my head back to stare into my eyes.

“It’s three in the morning, Cora. Time to come to bed.”

“But I’m not tired.” It was the truth. I had all this nervous energy bombarding my body, and it needed to be burned off. Maybe I should go for a run?

He pried the mop from my hand and placed it against the wall before threading his hand into my hair and tugging it back. His lips caressed mine and chased the icy dread away. “Come to bed,” he coaxed as he began unbuttoning the front of my dress while walking me backward toward the stairs.

“I have so much to do,” I whispered. The refrigerator still needed organizing and the pantry checking for outdated food.

My heels hit the stairs, and he guided my body back. “Come to bed,” he said again.

I shook my head. Bed is where sleep happened, and I had so much to do. The house needed to be perfect.

Hudson’s hands gathered the hem of my dress, and he sank to his knees as he raised it slowly. “Come to bed.”

“No.”

“Then I guess I’m going to do this here on the stairs where anyone can find us.”

“Do what?”

His hands yanked my knees wide, tore my panties in two, and pressed his tongue against my core. My hands threaded in his hair as my mind went blissfully blank.

“Yes,” I whispered as I raised my hips to meet him. I needed this. He gripped my waist and pinned me to the stairs as he teased me relentlessly. “I need to come.”

He chuckled against my inner thigh and nipped it lightly. “And I need you to come to bed.”

A door opened above us, and footsteps padded along the creaking floorboards. “Seriously? It’s not even a full moon,” Sebastian whined. “Get a room.” A door slammed closed. I stared at Hudson, and we both burst out laughing.

“Fine, bed.”

He didn’t need another invitation. He swiped my torn panties in one hand, scooped me under my butt with his other, and ran up the two flights of stairs, covering the distance in seconds. My body flopped onto the bed with a bounce, and he ripped off his shirt. Buttons bounced off the walls as he tore his jeans down his legs.

“Get naked, Cora. Now. It’s a beautiful dress, and I’d hate to ruin it.” My dress and bra hit the floor in seconds, and he climbed over my body with a lethal look in his eyes. “Time to show you how cats do it,” he promised. “You’ll need to funnel a little of Indigo’s power.”

I already was, because Indigo was wide awake and very interested in what he was doing. He kissed me deeply, his tongue tangling with mine, and I grew restless underneath him.

“Stop teasing,” I growled.

He grinned. All teeth. All male. All cat. “This is part of the package. Teasing is in our nature, so get used to it.”

I scowled at him. He chuckled, flipped me over onto my front, and put his hands under my belly to draw me to my hands and knees. Now we were talking. He nudged my thighs apart wider, a little wider still. Then his hand collared the back of my neck and pressed it to the soft pillow. I opened my mouth to protest the vulnerable position, but then his tongue did something magical between my legs and I lost the ability to talk coherently.

“Hudson,” I groaned as he pushed me toward the cliff edge with ruthless determination. He was done teasing, and all I could do was hang on tight. My hands twisted in the comforter, and I raised my ass higher.

Heat raced down my spine, and pleasure burst from my core. A scream tore from me, and his teeth latched onto my clit, extending my release with a perfect bite of pain. His hand steadied my hip as he tore his mouth away and thrust inside of me, stretching me with a sudden force while I was still spasming, putting me right back on the edge. How did he do that?

I tried to rise up on my elbows, but his hand pinned my neck to the bed as he powered inside of me until I’d taken all of him. He paused, letting me feel the stretch.

“You good?” he checked. My mate was dominating, bossy, and impossible—but also loving and caring. It was intoxicating being the center of his world.

“I’m good.”

He tangled his hand in my hair and yanked me backward, my legs spreading wider as he brought me to his lap, his chest to my back. My hands rested on his thighs as he scraped his teeth down the side of my neck and across my collarbone.

“Ride my cock, Cora,” he murmured, his hot breath along my neck sending a shiver through me.

My legs slid wider for purchase, and I rose before sinking down onto him. I was so close. My fingers skimmed my clit, but he grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back, holding my wrists prisoner inside one of his hands.

“Naughty little witch. That’s mine.”

I gritted my teeth and tensed my muscles, making him growl. “Learning to play?”

I grinned as I rose before sliding down slowly with a small twist of my hips that made him curse.

“Fuck, do that again,” he groaned. I did, alternating between slow and deep, hard and fast, and no discernible rhythm, which kept him on the edge as I learned to play with a cat.

“Can you take a little more?” he growled against my ear.

“What?”

“More, Cora. Can you take me?”

I froze, feeling him pulse in the most intimate of caresses. But I was sitting flush against him, and he had one hand flattened against my lower stomach, keeping me pinned to him.

“Yes,” Indigo roared in my mind. Her power released fire in my veins, and Hudson jerked in shock.

“Tell me to stop if it hurts.”

How much more—my mouth fell open as the sensual pressure arched my spine. He was growing inside of me, inch by glorious inch. I gasped, and he held me tighter.

“You okay?” I nodded because words seemed like an impossible feat. “Good,” he said as he pulled free, spun me around onto my back, and slid back inside my body all in a breath.

He smiled at me as I wrapped my legs and arms around him. “You’ve been holding out on me,” I accused.

“Didn’t want to scare you.”

“You flatter yourself, Principal.”

“Hold tight to that conviction.”

His hands gripped my ass, lifted, and then sunk me down. I reveled in him. In his passion, his pain, his power. It was all-encompassing, and all mine. We got lost in the carnal dance, our beasts taking playful swipes at each other as we fell into our own world. I would give anything to stay with him in this moment.

He laid me back and took me slowly, drawing out our pleasure before we both came with a roar.

“Mine,” he snarled so loud the windows rattled. He buried his head against my neck and rolled us to the side. Still connected, still very much full. He stared at me like I was his sun and stars, and I gifted him with trust and my heart. We had to steal these moments and keep being selfish with them. If we didn’t, we’d go mad. You had to cling to the good times to shore up your defenses against the bad.

“Mine,” I uttered before I lost my fight with sleep.