In Pursuit of Prey: Of Gods and Consorts, Book 1 Read Online Free Page B

come.”
    “Awesome.” That stupid smile’s back, crinkling my cheeks, I can feel it. “The show will be right here. So, no searching if you’re new to the area.”
    The night’s winding down and the clock on the wall confirms it. Then, right on cue, the DJ teases into the mic, “This is what she really looks like, guys.”
    Normally, it’s a real eye-opener to see the woman you thought was a goddess and find you’ve been seeing her through beer goggles.
    The house lights come on, as if the “goddess” brought them up with the power of her sexy smile. No alcohol clouding my vision or impairing my judgment. She’s the single most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.  
    Bouncers start herding the patrons out the door. She laces her fingers in mine and follows a step behind. Her energies swirl, tickling across my tattoos, itching on my nerves. She’s so much more than these people see. I pause in the doorway, tug her back to me hard enough that her soft curves crash into my body, and my cock expresses interest in crashing back into her.  
    I can’t fight the husky, eager tone out of my voice when I say, “Do you have a place to go for the night?”
    “Of course,” she purrs, fingers tracing my bottom lip. “Do not worry about me. I shall return to my Temple.”
    “The Temple?” I decide to play along. We both know she cut time and space to be here. “Is that the new hotel on Third Street?”
    “I didn’t pay attention to a street name,” she evades.
    Of course not, I think. Besides, they don’t name back alleys around here.
    “Okay, cool. Keeps me from stalking you and calling your room all night.” Which I’m sure I would do. I laugh, and so does Jazz, standing just outside the door, leaning on the wall beneath the neon Seduction sign.  
    She leans in, gazes locked as the shock of her lips brush mine. The jolt hits my heart, and I inhale her breath, taking her head in my hands and kissing her back. There’s no getting-acquainted moment—we’re way past that. She parts my lips, licks across my tongue. I bite her bottom lip. Then, she’s pulling away and taking her heat, leaving the connection.
    That feline essence rolls through every step she takes, makes her ass rock in her jeans, a physical beckon to chase her.
    Instead, when I reach my cocaine-white Chevy Nova, I wolf-whistle. She turns around, and I shout, “Nice ass!”
    Her smile is feral.
    And I like it.

Chapter Five
    The Goddess
    I know magick, and there’s something about Mace.
    In the alley where I first arrived, I lift my human hands to my face and inhale. The difference in his humanity lingers in his scent on my skin. I can taste it when I run my tongue over my lips. I knew the moment we touched that he’s something more than human. It explains his immense draw and our intense connection.
    But what is it? Is he even aware?
    And why did I feel such a dark thread sucking life from his soul?
    The amount of magick I poured into him broke the binding, and a break like that would’ve killed a normal human. Mace kept on and kept up with me. The snipe at the bar might not have been his, but she’s been tainted with magick too. Some other female with dark powers has had her claws in both of them. The girl is too simple to control it on her own; she’s a puppet.  
    And Mace is my man.
    This scenario has shades of an old nemesis in it.
    No matter. Mace is my prey. I know it, he does too. Tomorrow I will bring him home to my Temple.
    Lifting my arms, I release my grip on this plane, release my hold on my modern self. Moist light glows on my body, lighting the shadows I hide in. The clothes disappear, my flesh becomes translucent. Exhaling a breath, I heed my body’s beckon to immerse myself in night. I dissolve to a state of pure consciousness, a fluid entity slicking the pavement.
    Focusing on the rhythm the sky goddess Nut brings when she swallows the sun, I disappear from the modern plane and rest in the in-between…
     
    The following