Moments of Malevolence (The Hunters Book 1)

“HOW MUCH LONGER IS THIS going to take?” I’m sitting on her bed, watching her while she perches on the floor in front of her full-length mirror doing her makeup. Her hair is already curled and arranged in some half-up half-down style.

Her narrowed eyes meet mine in the reflection of the mirror. “Beauty takes time, Zuko.”

“Well, okay then.”

“Do you think women just throw together a look and hope for the best? No, we have to shave, wash areas that need to be washed, apply moisturizer everywhere. Dry our hair, style our hair, and hope to God it works. And then we do our makeup.”

“I’ve seen you get ready before. You usually throw things together and hope for the best.” I wink and she gasps.

“I look fabulous. But yes, you are correct. On a normal day, I would do that. But for a gala, I want to feel like a princess. Are you denying me that happiness?” she bites back.

Fuck. Okay.

“You know I wouldn’t deny you.”

“I do not know, hence why I asked.” She turns her attention back to her task in hand and continues swiping something on her eyelids. “You do look very handsome, though. Did I tell you that?”

I glance down at my all-black attire. My shirt is silk, and my slacks probably cost more than my watch. But having her compliment them makes me want to go out and buy twenty outfits just like it and wear them every day for her.

“You didn’t,” I say, hoping how much her words affect me doesn’t come through in my voice.

“Well, you do.”

I lower to the floor and crawl over to her until I’m at her back. She’s wrapped in nothing but a big, fluffy towel. Not able to resist touching her, I place my hand on her bare shoulder and slide my fingers over her smooth skin.

“We can’t have sex. That will require me having a shower after, and I can’t get my hair wet,” she says as my lips touch her neck. She visibly shivers at my kiss, and the brush she was using to apply her makeup pauses an inch away from her face. “Zuko,” she says in a breathless whisper. “You don’t want me to make you late, and this will definitely make us late.”

“Mm-hmm…” is all I can think of as a response.

I reach in front of her and undo the knot in the towel, letting it drop to her lap. I see the top of her ass and am happy to report she is not wearing underwear. When I check over her shoulder into the mirror, I see her eyes darken. She uncrosses her legs, and my eyes pan down her reflection, taking in all of her. And she is beautiful. My hand slides up and grips the back of her neck, pulling her backward until she’s lying on the floor. I stand, hovering over her, and slide up my sleeves as I stare down at her.

“Zuko…”

“Watch me in the mirror,” I demand.

She nods, and I get down on my hands and knees in front of her. She pushes up to her elbows and turns to look at the mirror as my mouth lands on her clit. She jolts a little before she relaxes.

My mouth starts to move, and I push her leg down that’s closest to the mirror so she can see from every angle just how much I love tasting her. My tongue works her clit, dipping lower so she can feel it everywhere. When she starts to squirm, I slip a finger inside her, and she pulses around me as I add another, never once slowing my mouth.

“Zuko…” My name comes out on a moan.

“Hmm…” I hum, then ever so slowly swirl my tongue in circles around her clit while she wriggles, screams, and bucks into my mouth.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she yells as I feel her come.

“No, it’s Zuko, Zuko, Zuko,” I correct her, pushing my fingers in deeper. I pull away as she closes her legs around my face, too sensitive now for further touch, and offer her my hand. She takes it, and I help her sit up so she doesn’t hurt her belly.

“I—”

“Yes, you can call me God, but I do prefer my name uttered from those lips,” I tell her, rubbing them with the fingers that were just inside of her. She opens her mouth, and I lean forward and kiss her. She groans as I palm one of her breasts, squeezing her nipple. I pull back, and she graces me with a slow smile.

“You need to get ready.” I stand, and she turns back to the mirror, leaving her towel where it is. When I look down at her, I see her swollen lips—not the ones I just kissed, the ones I tasted.

“Can you grab my dress from the closet?” she asks as she resumes applying her makeup. “Or would you prefer my lips to go around your cock before I put on lipstick?” She raises a brow.

“I’ll wait until after. I’d rather you stain my cock with those luscious lips.” She grins, happy with my response, as I retrieve her dress. She applies her lip gloss and then stands. I unzip the dress, and she steps into it, shimmying it up her waist, then slides her arms into the lace sleeves before turning around for me to zip it up.

“Is black the theme for tonight?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“It must be one of your parties, for sure.” She giggles.

“It is my party,” I inform her.

Her eyes go wide. “What? Is it really?”

“Yes. It was my idea when I was first introduced into this world to meet those who would likely one day be my competition. But what it turned out to be was a way to make contacts. When they can’t do the job, they come to me.”

She shakes her head.

“Um… Wow, okay.” Grabbing her sky-high heels from the floor at the foot of the bed, I kneel down and slide them on for her, so she doesn’t have to bend.

“Do you plan to wear any panties?”

“Nope.” She smiles happily. “Will that be an issue?”

“Well, as long as no one else knows, I don’t see an issue.” I shrug.

“Good, because I wasn’t going to wear any even if it was.” She turns, grabs her purse, and heads to her bedroom door.

“Do you plan to eventually get your own place?” she asks.

“Why? Do you want me gone already, even after I just made you come?” I question.

She shrugs. “I don’t much like sharing.”

“I sleep on the couch,” I remind her.

“No, you don’t. You come in and hold me.”

She’s right, but I won’t confirm that.

“Do you not sleep better when I’m there?”

“I do,” she answers quietly over her shoulder as she leaves the room.

“Just stay by my side,” I tell Alaska as I reach for her hand.

She doesn’t pull away as I slide mine into hers.

Her eyes scan the crowd, her face half hidden by a lacy, black mask that matches her dress. I pull on my mask and wonder why I came up with this stupid idea years ago. I see a few people I know—dirty, scumbag killers—and think how much I hate most of the men here. Some come into this life because they have no other option, and some do it for the love of killing. I’m a little of both. I fell into it, but I never let it turn me the way some of the people here have been turned.

“Zuko, you brought a date,” Pops says, coming up to stand near us. He glances at Alaska and then back to me. “You never bring a date.”

“Hello, Michelle.” I nod to Pop’s new plaything. She inclines her head back to me but quickly avoids eye contact. Alaska looks around, not paying us any attention.

The room is somewhat dark. Two waiters move through the crowd, and even they are people who are just getting started in this world.

They want to be like us.

They want our secrets.

They want to be me.

Someone clinks a glass, and the twenty or so people who are here move toward the table. I spot my brothers at the head of the table where I usually sit with them, but tonight I sit to the side next to Alaska. When my brothers see her, Kyson scowls, and Kenzo gives her a head nod.

“You brought a date?” Mario asks. He’s known for killing prostitutes—hired by the men who fucked them.

He’s a dick as well.

“So unlike you.” He turns to Alaska and offers his hand. She doesn’t take it, instead sitting down in the seat I pulled out for her—right next to Kyson, with me on her other side. He grumbles something under his breath, and it makes her laugh.

I love that fucking sound.

Almost as much as I love her.