DemonWithin Read online

  Dakota wiped away the tears pouring down her cheeks. Poor Brady Knox. He’d come looking for help and Nanette—whom it turned out had actually wanted the creature inside her, had performed a ritual to bring it into her body—had told him all about her. Only she’d never performed an exorcism by herself. Not successfully. The one person she’d needed to save had died. She’d failed at what she’d been born to do and because of her ineptitude she’d never hear her mother’s sweet voice again or look at her face. Never again would they talk about what they wanted to have for dinner or discuss some inane news story. Life had gone dark and it never would be light again.

  Thank God Dakota had sent Brady on his way. Helping him would destroy his life worse than it was now.

  Maybe he would actually listen to her and stop trying to save his sister, although she doubted it. Something about his steady gaze had said he didn’t give up, even with the odds against him.

  She walked into the dining room and poured herself a glass of the red wine she’d been looking forward to. It tasted sour. Maybe she’d left it too close to the heat.

  The knock on the door didn’t surprise her. She didn’t have to look to know it was Brady Knox. On legs that felt heavy, she walked to answer it. She hadn’t thought him the type to quit. Apparently he hadn’t given up on her either.

  Chapter Two

  Pizza and red wine. Brady waited patiently at the door for Dakota to answer. He hadn’t gotten to where he was in life by taking no for an answer. Not that anyone—other than Dakota—had said no to him in a very long time.

  He’d liked the way her spine had stiffened and she’d stuck to her guns. She didn’t do exorcisms anymore. Fine. She could simply do this one then go back to her life. Whatever she wanted he’d give her.

  If he had to, he’d seduce her. She’d responded to him—he’d seen that at the school and he hadn’t been immune to her either. Blonde hair, curvy figure, big brown eyes covered by a pair of glasses that looked as though they had seen better days. Adorable. She fitted right below his chin.

  It wouldn’t be any big sacrifice to take her to bed and fuck her. Especially if it got him what he wanted.

  She swung open the door, wearing a pair of bunny pajama pants and a white tank top that showed off her fit, toned arms. When she’d been conservatively covered at the nursery school he hadn’t had a clue that she had a very large rose tattoo covering her shoulder. It wasn’t the traditional rose color but was instead blue.

  A blue rose? He wondered what it meant. The second thing he noticed were the tear streaks covering her cheeks. Had he had something to do with that? He hoped not.

  Although maybe he could use her distress to his advantage. He had to be ruthless about this. If this woman could fix Sydney and wouldn’t…then he didn’t need to have a care with her feelings. How cruel could one person be?

  “You okay?”

  Dakota nodded and his eyes flew down to her displayed breasts. They were large and popped over the top of her tank top as if she were wearing a push-up bra, though he suspected she wasn’t.

  “How did you figure out where I live?”

  “It wasn’t easy.” He lifted the pizza. “Hungry?”

  She looked down at his offering then moved out of his way so he could walk by. He stepped into her apartment, sniffing the air. Had she been burning incense?

  “You can set it down over there.”

  He placed the pizza and the wine on the table she indicated. Her apartment seemed sparsely furnished. There weren’t the little knickknacks he’d come to expect in women’s apartments. Small touches that told their stories. Dakota had one picture of a younger version of her and an older woman, presumably her mother, on her mantel. Other than that, nothing. The walls were bare. Even he had books and trophies. Star Trek posters. Framed articles about his company. Things that he wanted to look at when he went home.

  “Since I’ve already told you that I’m not performing an exorcism for you, can I assume that you’ve come here for my fine dinner conversation?”

  He shook his head, letting his eyes trail over her body. Usually he wouldn’t be so obvious, but the way her pupils dilated told him she liked it.

  This was new ground for him. Women came on to him as if simply being in his presence would make them rich by association. Dakota clearly desired him but she wanted his absence more than she craved anything physical between them. He needed her. That meant he was going to have to change her mind.

  Stepping forward, he stroked her cheek where her tears still stained it. Heat rushed up his arm and a tenderness he could have done without threatened to tighten his chest. Emotion couldn’t play a role in what he was about to do. This had to be seduction—nothing more. Best-case scenario, he would fuck her, give her lots of pleasure then convince her that she wanted to help him. In the end, he’d leave her a rich woman and he’d have his sister back. Worst case, he’d fuck her, make them both come and she’d tell him his sister didn’t have a demon inside her.

  Either way, he won by even getting her to go and check Sydney out. Two years it had taken him to find the woman Nanette had insisted was the only person alive capable of getting the demon out of his sister. Apparently falling off the grid was possible if you basically avoided computers altogether. That had frustrated the shit out of him considering he basically owned the grid she’d taken herself off.

  Beneath his fingers, Dakota shuddered. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. She froze, not immediately softening to his mouth. With his tongue, he gently pushed at her until she sighed, giving him deeper access. Her tongue tasted of red wine. For a few moments their mouths fused together and he felt her shudder.

  She pulled back to regard him, her eyes clearer than he would have expected. “Even if we sleep together, I’m not going to take a demon out of your sister.”

  Brady ran his fingers through her hair, placing a piece of it behind her ear. Dakota wasn’t just blonde—she appeared to be a mixture of every shade of blonde imaginable. How had he not noticed that before?

  “Tell you what. Regardless of whether we sleep together…” They’d be fucking, he felt certain of it, but there seemed to be no need to push the issue when the outcome had already been set in his mind. “You come with me and at least tell me if she is possessed. Then, if you don’t want to do it, you can leave and I’ll find an exorcist who can do a better job than that priest did years ago.” He stroked his finger down the gentle slope of her nose. “Maybe you can even recommend someone.”

  “I don’t know…”

  He silenced her with his mouth. Brady didn’t want arguments, he wanted action, and right now what he truly desired involved getting Dakota’s pants off.

  She stopped their kiss again, which made his fists clench. As much as she seemed to enjoy him, she remained somewhat aloof to his charms. “Tell you what…” She imitated his phrasing from earlier and he couldn’t help his grin. The woman had spunk.

  “Yes?”

  Leaning back, she raised one eyebrow as she spoke to him. “I’ll come and tell you if your sister is possessed. That’s no trouble whatsoever. You don’t even have to pay me.”

  “Not that I’m not thrilled that you’ve just agreed to help me, but why the sudden change of heart?”

  She touched the side of his face, running her finger from his chin to his ear. He swallowed as his cock jumped in his pants. When was the last time someone had been so gentle with him?

  “Because I feel sorry for you.”

  “What?” He didn’t mean to yell. Brady knew his reputation as a cool son of a bitch who could fire someone in the same tone of voice he used to order lunch. He’d created his image perfectly. Dakota Daniels had just found a way under skin and he didn’t like it.

  “You think that to get what you want you have to push the boundaries of what is acceptable, that no one will help you simply because it’s the right thing to do.” She took a step back from him. “I know I said no earlier. I have my own reasons. Truth
is, despite Nanette’s recommendation of me, I’m not that good at exorcisms, even if I have the power to do them. My mother had the true gift—I’m a mediocre replica.”

  He would deal with her lack of confidence in a moment. If Brady knew anything, it was how to motivate an insecure employee. But first he had to understand her earlier statement. “And why do you feel sorry for me?”

  “First and foremost, because your twin sister is suffering and there’s nothing you’ve been able to do about it for twenty-five years.”

  Brady turned his back on her, stalking to the window. Well, she’d certainly hit the nail on the head with that remark. Yes, Sydney. His sweet sister, whom he’d never been able to save. He supposed pity was the appropriate emotion. But not for Brady. For Sydney, Dakota could feel sorry.

  “And then because you think you need to seduce me to get what you want, which means that you have a ruthless streak. I can see it in your aura—it pulsates with brown and yellow when you act that way. Your soul hates what you’re doing.”

  Brady took a deep breath and turned around. “My soul hates what I’m doing? My aura? Are you for real?”

  Dakota laughed aloud, a long, hard sound before she bent over and slapped her knee. “You come in search of exorcism and you think to question souls or auras? You’d better get onboard if you want to play in this world.”

  “I don’t want to play in it. I want to fix my sister and then never think about any of this fucking shit ever again.” He couldn’t believe he’d sworn at her. What the hell had happened to him? Years of etiquette training at the hands of his mother had made him classier than that. Raising his hands in front of him in a gesture he hoped she’d take as an apology, he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for my language. Please forgive me.”

  “I’ve heard those words before. Hell, I’ve used them myself on occasion.” She walked toward him and took one of his hands in hers. “Believe me, the things the demons say are much worse than that.”

  Brady cleared his throat, feeling as though someone had just taken the wind out of him. His back felt looser and, for the first time in months, he wasn’t worried that he was about to punch a hole in the wall.

  When he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse. “Sydney says the most horrible things.”

  “I can imagine.”

  He’d bet she could. His knees felt weak and he sat down on the couch. All the plans he’d made for seduction and manipulation had gone out the window. She could see his aura and that, apparently, meant she could see right through his plans. What the hell was he supposed to do?

  She squeezed his hand tighter. His cock hadn’t caught on to the idea that he wasn’t going to be getting any from the hot blonde in front of him. It still wanted to come out and play.

  Dakota touched the side of his face, positioning herself between his legs.

  “What are you doing?” He didn’t want her to get the impression he had complaints, but he wasn’t entirely certain what she intended.

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want you. It could be that I find lost puppies to be really appealing.”

  He laughed. “I think you’re the only person on the planet who would call me that.”

  “Then I guess no one else is looking hard enough.”

  She leaned down, pressing her body against his. When their lips met, he took her in his arms entirely. He hadn’t anticipated this. Before he’d arrived at her apartment, he’d assumed Dakota Daniels would be sexually repressed. Apparently his assumptions had been all wrong.

  As she ran her hands down his shirt, goose bumps covered his whole body. She pulled at his shirt. “I want this off.”

  Hell, yeah. “Yes, ma’am.”

  He helped her to remove his shirt, suddenly wondering if the tattoo he’d gotten on his twenty-first birthday looked really, really dumb. A four-leaf clover had seemed like a good idea at the time. He’d needed a change in his luck.

  She thumbed the design. “Wishful thinking?”

  “You guessed it in one.”

  Dakota bent over, licking his chest as her hands roamed over his chest hair. He hissed, all his breath fleeing his body. Wow.

  She straddled his body, pressing closer against his rapidly increasing erection. His balls ached and pulsated with every little movement she made against him.

  “If you keep that up, I won’t last through this very long.” The confession cost him his pride, but if it got him inside Dakota he’d be happy to confess all his insecurities.

  “I think you can make it. You seem downright strong to me.”

  He was glad she had faith in him, since he wasn’t so certain himself. But then all rational thought fled as she yanked her shirt over her head, proving his assessment of her being braless true. He reached out to touch her pink nipples, and her tattoo caught his attention again.

  “I guess we’re both people whose ink would surprise the people who work with us.”

  She licked the side of his face, breathing hotly in his ear. “I don’t think three-year-olds know anything about tattoos or think about it at all.”

  “Fair enough.”

  He took her breast in his mouth. Dakota’s mouth had tasted of wine—her skin now brought to mind strawberries. Her pale skin had a rosy hue. He let go of her nipple for long enough to take a small nip between her breasts. She sighed and the sound moved through him like fire igniting his blood.

  Touching her bellybutton, he admired the small curve of her stomach. Dakota felt soft in all the right places. She had a body made for sex and she hid it all day like a secret in her nursery-school clothes. Brady felt as if he’d unwrapped his own private package that the rest of the world knew nothing about.

  She stroked his cock through his pants and he groaned. “Seriously, I’m telling you, I’m so fucking hard. I don’t know if that’s smart.”

  “I know you can make it.” She stared into his eyes and he could tell that she believed what she said. “Don’t prove me wrong.” She opened his belt and went to work on his zipper.

  “I had no idea you were such a controlling person. I like it.”

  “Good, because you seem to bring out the director in me.”

  He snorted. “You mean dictator.”

  She pinched his nipple and he yelped, rolling her over until he was on top of her. “I want a chance to undress you.”

  He took off her pajama pants, revealing long, shapely legs that were toned and muscular. But he could only spare a second to look at her shape because he immediately saw that she wasn’t wearing any undies at all. Her beautiful pussy, almost covered with small blonde curls, was splayed out before him. She didn’t wax and it made his erection even more impossibly hard. When was the last time he’d seen a woman looking the way the universe had made her?

  In two seconds he had his shoes and pants off. Dakota didn’t waste any time cupping the top of his cock. “See, I told you that you could make it.”

  “Not inside your sweet pussy yet.” He growled as he spoke. It took every ounce of self-discipline he possessed not simply to plunge inside her and claim her for his own.

  “What’s holding you up?”

  “I want to feel you first.” He had to be out of his mind. The woman had given him leave to get right inside her, but all he could think about was touching her first.

  He scooted forward, rearranging them on the couch until he could lie partially on top of her. Brady had been with many women but right at that moment he felt like a novice, as if his next moves were pivotal and not just another fuck to quickly forget.

  He placed one finger inside her and was rewarded with the throatiest moan he’d ever heard. For a second, he searched until he found her clit. Circling it, he lost himself in the warmth of her pussy and the delectable sounds she made as she became more and more excited.

  Brady had to taste her. He placed his tongue in the spot where his fingers had been. Her curls tickled his face as he lapped at her clit. Dakota’s muscles clenched around him. She was very close to coming—he co
uld feel it. He’d love to bring her to completion more than once. Maybe he could convince her to do this all night. Who needed sleep when there was Dakota to fuck?

  His whole body throbbed, begging for release, but he felt determined in his movements. She would explode in his mouth before he fucked her pussy. Brady was a man who always got what he wanted and he desired her completion more than anything else.

  As if she’d read his mind, Dakota let herself go, her muscles spasming as her sweet juices danced on his tongue. He held her in his mouth as she rode out her orgasm, treasuring every second of her uninhibited response.

  Finally he backed off to stare down at her face. At some point she’d lost her glasses. Her brown eyes looked glazed and unfocused. He ran a hand through her mussed blonde hair. All in all, Dakota seemed to be the definition of a woman who had just been well-fucked.

  “You taste like wine and strawberries.”

  She blinked rapidly as her cheeks became a deeper red. “You’re going to embarrass me.”

  “Really?” He didn’t think so. “You can be embarrassed?”

  She sat up. “Not easily, no.” She shoved at his chest until they’d adjusted positions, this time with Dakota on top.

  “I’m glad your couch is so sturdy.”

  She grinned, licking her lips. “When you were going down on me, the ceiling could have caved in and I wouldn’t have noticed.” He watched her mouth moved as she spoke.

  “You have no pretenses, do you? You don’t hold anything back.”

  “Life is too short and it can all end in the blink of an eye. I don’t have time not to live the way I want to.”

  That sounded like heaven to Brady. What would it be like to be so unconcerned with what other people thought? Without anyone to answer to? Her honesty and unabashed passion was as much a turn-on as her hot body.

  “If you would bend over and get a condom out of my wallet, I would be very grateful.”

  He’d be beyond grateful. Eternally thankful might be a better description but words were leaving him. Soon he might only be able to grunt and point. His balls throbbed, begging for the pleasure he knew would come eventually.