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ONE

Micha

The pitter-patter of feet echoed down the hallway, the noise bouncing off the walls. As I waited, the sound transformed to carefully measured steps designed to avoid detection.

The woman’s excitement was tangible, momentarily clouding my senses, and I couldn’t help myself. I inhaled, drinking in the anxiety through my parted lips.

Her emotions were so heightened I could taste each of them from all the way around the corner where I stood, hidden from prying eyes. Each sentiment she experienced had its own unique flavor. It was the savory spice of her worry that dripped down my throat, drawing my hunger. She’d given away her intent, flooding the air with waves of adrenaline and topping it with a sprinkling of fear. It was delicious, but everything about her was.

I knew what she was doing. There was no other conclusion to come to, though I desperately wished there were. At this hour, there was one reason for her to be sneaking around like a common thief. Her effort to continue on silently was unmistakable.

Disappointment weighed heavily on my soul, the same as if she’d held me underwater. I should’ve known. Humans were so tricky, after all. Foolish of me to expect she’d be any different. Ridiculous of her to think I wouldn’t be watching.

Unfortunately, there was only one way to handle this treason.

The exit signs hanging overhead illuminated with an orange glow, and thin, neon blue bands of light shone from underneath the row of doors beaming against dark, glossy flooring. The combination was just enough to silhouette her lithe form, to lovingly trace her graceful curves. I’d have seen her either way, but she sparkled like a grand prize with the extra touch of manmade light highlighting her figure.

It was easy for me to disappear in the dark shadows, to become utterly invisible. Surprising her would be very sweet and I was thankful no one else would discover her. She belonged to me.

As much as she’d always frustrated me, I wasn’t eager to finish her. She wasn’t the first woman to steal from me, but she would be the last.

I’d thought she was different, and it was infuriating that my impaired judgment made me blind to her actions. After everything I’d done for her, this was how she repaid me.

The woman was spectacular, and it confounded me she’d stoop to this level, sneaking around where she didn’t belong.

She was phenomenal at her job and constantly ahead of everyone else. She got along with anyone she encountered, even when she held herself at an arm’s length. She was scared of something, it seemed like.

Ashley was the lead in employee in our social media department here at Ipomoea, the pharmaceutical company me and my best friend Josiah owned and ran. While she had other managers to answer to, I was her boss. Finding her here after hours, in an area where she did not have security clearance, did not bode well.

Our rules were harsh and punishment for breaking them—swift. There were no second chances. Many of our products were innovative and experimental and security breaches had the potential to destroy what we’d painstakingly built. Every employee signed a confidential contract and non-disclosure agreements upon hiring. Punctuality, discretion, respect, cleanliness, and adherence to those rules were nonnegotiable.

I’d had to use a heavy hand with her more than once to keep her in line with my expectations. Perhaps it was her independence that led her to this illicit after-hours activity of hers.

I’d tried but she didn’t appreciate my input or direction to correct her behavior, and she thought I didn’t know she had me listed in her contacts as “Asshole.” Remembering that tidbit sent a frisson of pleasure coursing through me. I was significant enough in her mind, she’d given me a special moniker.

She seemed oblivious to my affection. She didn’t notice the effect she had on me and others, the way she lit up every room the moment she entered, her joy and love of life was infectious, touching everyone around her. No one was immune, including me. I’d taken special interest in her, always making sure she had whatever she needed, including her favorite coffee. Before Ashley, I’d never favored any employee above the others. It was a shame it had to end this way.

Thump, thump, thump .

The frenetic beat of her heart pulsed in my ears.

Her scent grew stronger as anxiety and the resulting rush of adrenaline in her veins urged her to suddenly race onward toward her demise. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be in this area of the building without permission, and she knew the consequences. What happened next would be entirely her own doing.

When she signed the employment contracts, the agreement was legally binding. It was always too late when people found out our termination process was in fact quite literal.

Ipomoea was owned and run by vampires and demons, and our security was nearly infallible. She would quickly find out we were not a business where one could break the rules.

The electronic chirp of a keycard being used broke the silence.

The woman’s scent grew stronger, refilling my head with her mouthwatering aroma The unique fragrance had bewitched me the very moment I’d first set eyes on her. Her in a little skirt and the fuzzy black sweater she wore all the time permanently stamped a picture inside my fantasies while I sat at my desk in quiet moments. She’d walked into the office that first day, her curly hair bouncing around her shoulders, and instantly, I was smitten.

Employees were off-limits for what I had in mind with her. Sinking my teeth into her heart like an apple while plunging my cock into her silky depths for relief were regrettably forbidden.

It’d turned out I wasn’t the only one recently afflicted with a burning desire for one of these mortal women we’d hired. Ashley and a friend had been at a street festival when the other woman spotted Josiah, my best friend and boss, standing over a body. The friend had assumed the scene was merely a reenactment or show put on by a theater group enlisted to provide the evening’s entertainment.

It was not. It was the result of a breach in our security.

No one should have seen us, but we’d gotten distracted. Ashley’s friend Della would have been killed, but Josiah wouldn’t let me touch her.

Now, Ashley was here, in a zone forbidden to her, and she was risking everything. I’d wanted her for myself and now I wouldn’t be able to have her. Not if she was doing what I thought she was. But why else would she have broken in?

She didn’t hear my soft footsteps tracking behind her as I followed into the room. My heart was hammering against my ribs while I watched her creep across the expanse, dodging tables, counters, and machines.

A cell phone gripped tightly in her palm, the flashlight on and shining a beacon. It highlighted her riotous brown curls like a halo. She was an angel and I, the hornless devil stalking her.

Ashley took a left, appearing to have a specific destination in mind. Her pace increased as she recklessly threw caution to the wind in a fit of ill-fated confidence. My little angel thought she was safe.

The very moment she let her guard down, her elbow knocked into a shallow tray. It was almost as if I could feel it myself, the drop of her stomach, and then the blood rushing as panic seized her soul.

The metallic clang when it fell off the counter was akin the blare of a fire alarm. The piece of metal tumbled across the solid floor; the sound magnified in the absolute stillness of the room. She squealed and her hand shot up, covering her mouth.

Too little, too late . I grinned but remained unseen by my target.

Curiosity kept me from pouncing right away. The desire to know exactly what she thought she was doing down here was stronger than the need to immediately punish her for the transgression.

Ashley crouched and then lifted the medical grade pan, carefully placing it back on the counter. Her eyes darted back and forth, scanning for danger but missing the imminent threat. For a full minute, she held perfectly still, her heart beating a panicked rhythm while I bided my time.

My lips parted as I inhaled once again and savored her—more than justified—panic. The impulse to consume the woman slashed through me—her soul, her blood, and her tears. But I was patient.

All I could think about was holding her sleek body against my own and drinking her down. Visions of my fangs digging into her plump chest and gorging myself on her blood danced through my head.

The whispers of temptation commanded me to drag her away kicking and screaming so I could take my time plundering my treasure. How would she taste? Would she be sugary, like decadent frosting? Or perhaps spicy, like cinnamon and nutmeg. The menu potential was so mouthwatering, I had to bite the inside of my cheek to ground myself while I clenched my hands.

Instead of giving in to impulse, I pulled the black nylon mask down over my face and head, shielding my profile from inquisitive eyes.

She waved the keycard in front of one singular locked drawer. It was painful, the despair that ran through me, knowing she was crossing a line and the damage done couldn’t be reversed once she’d gone over. The personal betrayal stung deep. I could’ve stopped her, but I needed to see what she would do, observe her true self.

I’d watched her, keeping myself at a distance for months, the very picture of self-control. The things that Della and Josiah had gone through, and the issues with our governing body, the Collective, had been life-altering. Those weren’t problems I’d wanted Ashley to have to deal with until I had a plan. By breaking away from their control, we’d betrayed them on a fundamental level.

Josiah was once their high court’s enforcer and I’d been his righthand man. The esteemed positions we’d deserted in our home Realm were revered and privileged and we’d left them behind to strike out on our own, building a company in the Third Realm under the guise of service to the Collective. The Second Realm, where we were from, was unforgiving.

I’d been lost in an idyllic dream, waiting for the right moment. Imagining the possibility of a future with her smiling up at me, her soft body curled in my arms. I’d been thinking maybe she was the one I’d keep, the woman meant for me.

No one had ever fascinated me quite the way she had, though many had tried to tie me down over the years. The one who’d come closest, had severely violated my trust. I preferred not to think about her and didn’t even allow Josiah in when it came to the subject matter.

Just the thought of Anna had me seeing red. I’d trusted her, dare I say loved her, and she spat in my face.

Securing willing women had never been a problem for me but lately, finding one I could tolerate spending more than sixty minutes with was. Apparently, identifying a woman who wouldn’t break my heart was beyond my realm of capability.

By this one simple act, Ashley had shattered my illusion she was the one.

Hope for the future had been dashed and replaced by a white-hot anger that coursed through my veins. The more I thought of the destruction she racked by her actions, the more my fury grew. She’d ruined everything and burned it to ash.

Thou shalt not suffer a thief to live .

My eyes squeezed shut and I clenched my fists, taking a deep breath. When I opened them, she was carefully tucking multiple items into her pocket, including a velveteen pouch—Onychinus. It was our newest creation here at Ipomoea, and it was transformative.

The elite drug, designed with a very specific purpose, was one of a kind; no one but us had anything like the medication. It was similar to a popular club drug known as ecstasy but without the hazardous and unwanted side effects.

Imbibing the pill enhanced one’s sensations while also heightening intuition, the combination of which assisted with consensual exchanges—physically and emotionally. Not that I was worried about consent, but the general public seemed to appreciate it. They liked it so much they’d added untold sums of money to mine and Josiah’s coffers for the opportunity to ingest it.

This woman, who’d enslaved me with her beauty and sweetness, had turned out to be a common criminal. I knew she used to have a reckless propensity for excitement, I’d read her background check, but I never thought she’d go as far as to steal from me.

I’d never claimed her. I’d made no overt declarations of love or ownership, never exposed my true heart. Seeing as how it would’ve been all for naught anyway, I took my lapse as a blessing in disguise.

She’d had to have known she was special to me. It wasn’t as if she’d seen me pay any other woman the amount of attention I did, her. I didn’t bring anyone else their favorite coffee or personally oversee their work when I’d hired others to do that job for me.

By keeping myself close to her, I’d made sure nothing ever happened to her and that her performance was high. Today, I’d failed on multiple accounts.

My head buzzed from the combination of her scent and aura with my angst and hunger. The letdown of her behavior was debilitating. All I could do was stare, not wanting to believe what was right in front of my face.

I had every right to dig her heart straight out of her chest, to rip it up from beneath her ribs. That would be the proper thing to do.

Zero tolerance.

Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead of doing what I was supposed to, I slid up behind her, winding one arm around her neck and the other around her waist. She held her breath and her energy field retracted, away from me, balling itself into a little knot deep within her belly. She was beyond terrified and precisely where I wanted her to be, in my arms and hopeless.

Bending my head, I dragged my covered mouth through her curls, and then along the side of her neck. Her pulse increased when I flexed my arm and lifted her to her toes, tightening the noose. A couple inches forward, and her ass was against my thighs and her back to my chest.

I took a deep breath, luxuriating in the feel of my body next to hers along with the taste of her misery rushing between my lips. My swollen cock pressed into her spine, and she faltered, her legs weakening as she fought to gain a foothold.

Ashley was hanging almost entirely by her neck. Thrusting a leg forward, I propped her up. She whimpered and began trembling, the tiny pills jostling together in the little bag somewhere in the cluster of items she grasped. Her heat and fragrance seemed magnified far more than it should’ve been, given her precarious position.

I pressed my thigh inward, pushing her against the countertop. Her hands fell forward to brace herself, the satchel hitting the surface with a rattle. Her pussy was practically burning my leg. The girl was hot for me, her aura starting to glow a fiery crimson and her scent muddled not only with fear, but the distinct flavor of crushing lust.

The notes danced around me, heady, airy, clutching at me as if they would drag me down to hell. Intrigued, I cursed the facemask blocking my mouth when I lightly dragged it over her cheek, right next to her lips. If I could’ve, I would’ve sunk my teeth into her succulent flesh. My hand traveled to her hip, smoothing along the curve before I wrapped my fingers around her hipbone. It would be so easy to tear away her clothes sink my cock into her molten heat.

So easy.

At that thought, I released my hold on her waist and dropped my arm from her neck, sliding it down her shoulder before smoothing a gloved hand along her arm, all the way to the little bag of stolen goodies clutched in her fist.

As much as I wanted to drink from her, I wanted her to suffer. And suffer, she would. There was no Realm in which this behavior could go unpunished. She deserved everything she had coming to her.

While I began planning her torture, I moved my covered hand to hers, tracing a circle with my finger over her soft flesh. She shivered beneath my ministrations, remaining too fearful to try and see who had captured her. It was overly easy to pry her stuck fingers from the packet she had a stranglehold on, and the other items fell to the floor.

Slipping the silky material into my pocket, I backed away. Ashley remained slightly hunched over the table, her false belief I wouldn’t hurt her an almost living entity, tangible. She relaxed her shoulders, and her spine straightened with a false sense of bravery.

What should’ve happened next, if I wasn’t going to kill her, was an interrogation, an ordinary firing, followed by a formal escort from the building. Perhaps, even, a phone call with local law enforcement.

None of that occurred.

My fists clenched yet again, and I turned on my heel, walking away.