Prologue
POV: Veronika
Cold stone against my bare lower back was a terrible substitute for a mattress, but when you’ve just banished a six-hundred-year-old soul-eating wraith, you take what you can get.
The dust of the cleansed temple was still settling around us in shimmering violet flecks, lighting up the decaying gothic arches overhead.
Josh Chandler stood between my open knees, completely unbothered by the fact that we had roughly ten minutes before the Bureau’s cleanup squad arrived to inspect the carcass of our assignment.
He looked infuriatingly flawless.
Not a single smudge of soot on his high-collared leather coat, not a single hair out of place, while I was sitting on the edge of a sacrificial altar covered in ancient rune burns and sweat.
“You’re in my personal space, Chandler,” I said, leaning back on my elbows and kicking his thigh with the heavy sole of my riding boot. “And your shift ended ten minutes ago.”
Josh didn’t back off an inch.
Instead, his hands dropped to my ankles with deliberate, possessive precision.
“You lost the bet, Pearson,” he said, his fingers untying the tight laces of my right combat boot with practiced ease. “The soul went into my trap first.”
“Your trap was sitting in my trajectory,” I shot back, though my breath hitched when he tugged the boot off and let it drop onto the flagstones with a heavy, hollow thud. “That’s grand theft KPI.”
“Cry to the Union.”
He grabbed my other ankle, sliding his thumb over the sensitive skin above my socket before yanking off the second boot.
The cold air of the crypt hit my bare feet, but the heat radiating off Josh’s chest was practically searing through the damp fabric of my tank top.
He didn’t pause to let me argue.
His hands moved up my calves, rough palms gripping my skin as he unbuckled the tactical leather belt at my waist with a single, smooth snap.
“What are you doing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, though I didn’t move an inch to stop him.
“Collecting my penalty fee,” he replied smoothly.
He undid the top button of my fitted jeans, the metallic clink echoing through the silent, ruined sanctuary.
I gripped the edge of the stone altar, my knuckles turning white as he pulled the denim down over my hips with unhurried authority.
I kicked my legs free, tossing the jeans onto the stone floor beside my boots.
That left me in nothing but a black cotton tank top and a thin strip of silk between my thighs.
“You think you’re in control here, don’t you?” I murmured, tilting my chin up as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my lace panties.
“I know I am,” Josh said quietly, looking straight into my eyes as he dragged the lace down my legs and discarded it without looking.
Now I was completely bare from the waist down on a cold sacrificial slab, under the flickering glow of dying magic.
Before I could hurl another insult, Josh grabbed my knees, lifting my legs and draping them heavily over his broad shoulders.
The sudden shift in geometry trapped my hips right at the edge of the altar.
My thighs were pinned against the lapels of his leather coat, completely opening me up to him.
“Josh,” I warned, my voice cutting through the damp silence.
“Shut up, Veronika,” he whispered, stepping closer until his chest pressed against my shins, completely locking my lower body in place.
Then he leaned down.
His hot breath hit my wet center a second before his tongue made direct, agonizingly slow contact.
A sharp gasp ripped from my throat, my back arching off the cold stone as electricity shot straight to my spine.
He didn’t give me time to recover.
His hands clamped down on my hips, pinning my pelvis to the altar so I couldn’t squirm away from the relentless pressure of his mouth.
His tongue swiped upward over my clitoris, firm and heavy, drawing a low groan from my chest that I hated myself for making.
“Still think I stole your kill?” he murmured against my slick skin, his voice crisp and dangerously close.
“You’re a... arrogant bastard...” I gasped, my hands flying to his dark hair, intent on pulling him away, but my fingers ended up gripping his locks, holding him tighter against me instead.
Josh chuckled against my inner thigh, the vibration sending another wave of heat straight to my core.
He sucked my sensitive flesh into his mouth, his tongue swirling in precise, maddening circles that made my toes curl.
The contrast was absolute insanity—the freezing air of the ancient crypt against the scorching heat of his mouth devouring me.
He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
He dipped two fingers inside me, stretching me wide while his thumb maintained a steady, punishing rhythm on my clitoris.
I bucked against his shoulders, my legs tightening around his neck, trying to force more depth, more speed, but he held my hips in a vice-like grip.
“Patience, Pearson,” he said, drawing his fingers out slowly only to slide them back in deeper, hitting that exact spot that made my vision blur. “You like to run fast, but right now you’re not going anywhere.”
“Fuck you,” I panted, my head falling back against the stone, my chest heaving as the tension inside me coiled into a tight, dangerous knot.
“Later,” he promised, his tongue working over my peak with increased intensity, pushing me right over the edge. “First, give me what’s mine.”
He swallowed my ragged scream as my orgasm crashed over me.
My thighs trembled violently against his shoulders, every muscle in my body locking up as waves of intense pleasure shattered my composure into a thousand pieces.
Josh didn’t pull away until the last tremor left my body.
He slowly slid my legs off his shoulders, lowering my feet back onto the cold stone floor while keeping one hand anchored firmly on my waist.
He stood up straight, wiping his lip with the back of his hand, his dark eyes glittering with absolute, dark satisfaction.
“KPI collected,” he said, giving me that insufferable, confident smirk.
I sat up, breathless, my pulse hammering in my throat as I glared at him through tangled strands of dark hair.
“You’re going to pay for this, Chandler,” I rasped, though my body was still humming with residual heat.
“I’m counting on it,” he replied, tossing my jeans back into my lap. “Now put your pants on. We have an inspection in two minutes.”
