In the Witching Hour Read online

  "I should take you home," Adrian murmured.

  "I should call Frazier," she said startled that she'd forgotten again. Reality intruded, demanding her attention. Time to go back to her job and her life. With the addition of a vampire lover to her routine. That thought made her laugh.

  "What's so funny?" Adrian asked.

  "Nothing," she said, giving him another suggestive kiss. "Take me home."

  The End

  Adopt-A-Demon

  By

  Ashley Ladd

  CHAPTER ONE

  Meghan Lenihan draped synthetic spider’s webbing across the corner of the ceiling above her computer desk giving it a touch of Halloween ambiance. Plastic spiders clung to the web but with a quick tug, she pulled one down so that it would dangle ominously above her head while she worked.

  How she loved Halloween. It was her very favorite season. The little imp inside her got to come out and play and no one questioned if she was really 26 years old when she acted more like 13.

  Her bunny ears shifted uncomfortably on her head so she readjusted them. She hummed along to Bobby "Boris" Karloff’s "Monster Mash" as she dragged her pumpkins onto the table to be carved into jack-o’-lanterns. Everything had to be ready for her cousin’s visit. Lucy was due to swoop in any minute. A justice-of-the-peace for a Las Vegas wedding chapel, she visited Meg every October so they could celebrate Halloween together. If possible, Lucy loved the pagan holiday even more than herself.

  Immersing herself in the season’s spirit, Meg sliced the lid off the largest gourd and began scooping out the seeds and pulp, delighting in her very favorite scent. She kept pumpkin spiced candles burning year round, even in the height of summer. She would be ecstatic to live in a place where eternal autumn reigned. Colorful falling leaves, harvest golds and oranges, the slight chill in the air, all invigorated her. The only thing she liked as much as Halloween was a giant pumpkin patch, and face it--didn’t the two go hand in hand?

  Elbow-deep in pumpkin pulp with a goodly amount of the orange stuff splattered on her face, she was in her element when Lucy waltzed in. "Cousin!" Having grown up next door to one another, staying over night, weekends, and going to summer camp together, they were closer than most sisters.

  "Boy oh boy, you’re a sight for sore eyes." Lucy dumped her cases by the door and rushed to hug her, pumpkin pulp and all.

  Giddy, Meg overflowed with joy. Life without Lucy had grown empty and boring. Heaven forbid, she’d even given serious thought to pulling up stakes and moving out to Las Vegas to be with her. Only the dismal prospect of perpetual summer had kept her rooted in the Ohio Valley. Somehow she didn’t think the desert sported many pumpkin patches or cool autumn breezes.

  "How was your trip?"

  "Awesome! I was about to puke if I had to marry one more Elvis impersonator this week." Lucy wiped a strand of pumpkin pulp from Meg’s cheek with a saucy grin.

  Knowing her cousin’s aversion to the Elvis impersonators, she’d hidden her vast Elvis record collection. She couldn’t blame her and supposed she’d be sick to death of all the glitz and glamour, too, if she was fed a steady diet of it.

  "Better you than me." The idea of flying nauseated her since 9/11. Turn her into a bat and then let her fly on her own steam. Only under extreme protest did she fly anymore and that was for work to visit Lucy. Unfortunately, it took four or five long hard days of driving to go from Cincinnati to Las Vegas and she only got two weeks vacation yearly. She always took one at Halloween when Lucy visited and then one in the spring to visit Lucy in Las Vegas.

  "You’ve barely begun to decorate!" Lucy clucked her tongue and shook her platinum blonde head. "You’re falling down on the job, girlfriend."

  Perplexed, Meg frowned as she checked out her apartment. Spider webbing hung from every other corner. A huge skeleton dangled across her sliding glass balcony door. Cute black cats and whimsical witches perched on several shelves. Lucy had to be getting at the fact it wasn’t dark and gruesome enough for her maudlin tastes. Practically a mistress of the night, Lucy would make an excellent vampire queen. She’d only be happy if they made the place into a crypt.

  "What d’ya mean? Every surface, every wall is decorated. I’ve even carved my first round of pumpkins." Turning the happy-faced cutesy pumpkin toward her cousin, she winked. "Isn’t he precious?"

  Lucy’s amber eyes widened in shock. "Only you would ruin a perfectly good jack-o’-lantern by carving it into a smiley face. Get with the program. Halloween’s supposed to be creepy and spooky, not so-so cutesy." The way she said "cutesy" sounded more like "pukey".

  Meg sighed loudly, shaking her head. "Halloween doesn’t have to be morbid to be fun."

  "I’m still amazed our moms came from the same womb, we’re such opposites." But she threw a companionable arm around Meg’s shoulders and squeezed them affectionately.

  "I could really use a drink. Want to go out on the town?"

  "For some sizzling Cincinnati nightlife?" Lucy’s silvery laughter tinkled over Meg. Of course glitzy Las Vegas had made her blasé.

  "Yep. I think there’s an Oktoberfest across town." And everyone knew the Germans had the best beer and brats around.

  "The big Oktoberfest at Fountain Square?" Lucy’s eyes glittered. Obviously her home town measured up in at least one area. Meg seriously doubted Las Vegas boasted an authentic German Oktoberfest like Cincinnati did. She’d bet they didn’t cordon off their downtown for it like Cincinnati did. The more she racked up the merits of her hometown the more she decided to persuade Lucy to move back home. "Not yet. In another week or two, but any Oktoberfest has to be good as long as it keeps pouring the rich German brew...."

  "You’re on, cuz. Lead the way." Lucy linked her arm through Meg’s, excitement thrumming in her touch.

  * * * *

  Hours later, loaded with the premium German lager, the cousins stumbled out of their cab and helped each other upstairs to Meg’s apartment. Laughter bubbled from their lips as they plopped onto Meg’s couch.

  "I forgot how much I love Oktoberfest and Zinzinnati." Lucy’s tongue twisted around the special pronunciation usually reserved for Oktoberfests and Cincinnati Red’s home games.

  Meg hadn’t forgotten. She loved her hometown about as much as she loved Halloween. To have the two best celebrations of the year in the same month was nirvana. Too bad she couldn’t take the entire month of October off from her interior decorating business. Really, October should be a national holiday.

  "So, tell me about the man in your life." Lucy gazed at her expectantly as she suppressed a wide yawn.

  Meg’s lips twisted wryly. "What man?" As far as she was concerned, all the good single men had fled town or were hiding extremely well. Everyone she’d met lately had been, well, freaky. It was almost as if they only showed their true faces during Halloween and wore normal masks the rest of the year.

  Snorting, she finally admitted, "The only man in my life is the hottie who visits my dreams." Although he’d been showing up more frequently, he always evaporated in the mist of wakefulness. Not a very useful lover. She needed a real flesh and blood man in her bed to chase away the loneliness. Dream lovers were sweet but not very practical.

  A frown tugged at Lucy’s lips and she shoved her fingers through her wind tossed locks. "My mission this visit then, is to find you a man."

  Horror of horrors! That proclamation had not just tumbled off Lucy’s lips. "Now marrying people isn’t enough for you? You have to play match maker, too?"

  Then a thought struck her. "Hey! Does this mean you’ve found someone special?" If not, then she just needed to back off. Lonely as the night could get, she would find a man in her own time to her own specifications. No freaks wearing normal masks for her. Working in Las Vegas, Lucy should be sympathetic to that.

  Lucy snapped up straight in her seat. "Oh, no no no. I’m not in the market. Marriage isn’t for me. If you saw the same men getting married every year, you’d know what a lying, cheating bunch they are."


  That rap on the male species could only mean one thing. Meg’s heart went out to her cousin. "You got dumped."

  Lucy sniffled and her lips pulled into an exaggerated pout. "Yeah, by an Elvis impersonator no less."

  Meg did a double take and quickly tried to shutter her shock. She’d best ship off her Elvis collection to a friend for safe-keeping.

  "The lying conniving scoundrel expected me to marry him to his new bimbo. Can you believe it?" Lucy punched Meg’s favorite throw pillow and then began twisting it as if choking the bastard.

  "So did you?" Meg ducked fast when the pillow rocketed at her.

  Lucy rose to her unsteady feet and braced herself against the wall. "Oh, go rendezvous with your dream hottie. On second thought, he’s much safer than the real men out there. On that note, I’m getting some shut-eye."

  Fantastic idea! The beer was making it difficult to keep her eyes open. "Sweet dreams."

  Meg’s eyes drooped the moment her head touched the pillow, and she rolled onto her side and gathered her covers over her. The chill autumn air made the perfect sleep aid, and she drifted into her netherworld.

  Before long, the mists lifted and Jason, her dream lover, joined her. "I thought you’d never come, my love." The 6’4" hottie gazed upon her with a passion that made her groin tingle. His smoldering blue eyes seemed to reach into her very soul so that the chasm separating them magically disappeared.

  A deep longing for him flooded her. She craved him more than life, needed him more than life. Theirs was a timeless, everlasting love.

  Jason opened his arms and his husky voice washed over her making her quiver. "Come here, love. Let me hold you."

  She was in his embrace before he’d finished speaking, snuggling impossibly, incredibly close. She pressed her eager lips to his warm chest, molding to him perfectly. "I missed you so much. I hate it when I wake up. I’m so very lonely without you."

  He squeezed her tightly and feathered warm kisses across her forehead. "Soon, my love, we’ll be together all the time, again."

  She frowned and pulled back far enough to peer up into his beautiful, beloved face. Never had she met such a gorgeous man, with a long straight nose, firm, chiseled lips, a strong square jaw, and a devilish, sexy gleam in the brightest bluest eyes she’d ever seen. "Again?"

  "I promise it’ll all come back to you in time." Jason bent his head and captured her lips in a heady, mind-numbing kiss that stole her breath. Tingles cascaded through her and she shivered deliciously.

  Against her mouth, he asked seductively, "Cold?"

  Uh-uh. Just the opposite. "Feverish." For him. Only for him.

  His hands explored her body, one coming to rest on the swell of her breast, the other cupping her buttock. "Guess you’ll be needing some special first aid."

  "Uhm. Desperately." Quivering with lust, she pressed against him and coiled her arms around his neck. Parting her mouth, she licked her lower lip with the tip of her tongue as she tip-toed up to him. Although not a small woman at 5’10", it was still a stretch to reach her tree-top lover.

  "Desperately, huh?" His gaze sparkled down into hers, love blazing in them.

  "You wouldn’t be making fun of me, would you?" Coquettish, she batted her lashes up at him. God, but he was so very excitingly normal. Wonderful. Luscious. If only he was real.

  "I am real," he said as if reading her thoughts.

  A wave of sorrow tried to drown her euphoria. Biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling, she got a grip on herself. "I mean alive."

  Jason slid a long finger under her chin and forced her to gaze up into his hypnotic eyes. "I’m more alive than you know."

  Perplexed, their gazes locked. "What does that mean? Must you talk in riddles?" Why did dreams have to be so annoyingly complex and symbolic? Did everyone have such confusing dreams?

  "Hey! Don’t get sad on me. Being with you makes me the happiest man in the universe."

  Now she knew he was too sweet to be real. He was in her dreams so of course he had to say what she longed to hear, fulfill all her most cherished fantasies.

  "I don’t have to. I just want to," he drawled against her lips. Gathering her close, he pillaged her mouth with kisses as he slid her gown from her shoulders. "I want to be everything you desire, the only man you’ll ever need."

  How she yearned for that, too! But he wasn’t real. Still, she needed him now and she’d take what she could get. If it was merely as a dream lover, so be it. Anxious to be one with him body and soul, she unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off, revealing a smooth, muscular chest.

  He drank deeply of her lips, intoxicating her. "You’re so very beautiful. I’ve missed you so very much. I will find a way for us to be together forever."

  Bewitched, his sultry voice washed over her and she basked in his adoration. "Why can’t real men be so wonderful?"

  "But I am real. Have faith."

  He spoke so oddly for a dream. Dreams with Jason felt so much more real than any of her other dreams. If only....

  Faith in dreams.… "You’re no more real than Lucy’s Elvis impersonator." And no more dependable. He’d leave her before she awoke.

  He treated her to a very stern look. "Trust me. I will find a way. Follow your instincts."

  Her instincts told her there were much better, more erotic uses for his tongue than empty promises and assertions. To test her theory she plundered his lips and molded herself to him, writhing against his delicious length. "Love me."

  "Always and forever." His charm and sweetness oozed over her as he kicked off his slacks.

  She detested the doubts and pushed them aside. When his finger massaged her clit, and his mouth found her nipple, she arched against him wishing this exquisite love would never end.

  Needing him more than any other man she’d ever met, she curled her fingers around his thick, pulsing cock. "Love me."

  "Always...." He straddled her, his weight pressing her deeply into the mattress, his cock teasing the hyper-sensitive flesh between her legs.

  Burning up for him, she thrust her eager hips to him until she just grazed the tip of his velvety slick penis. "Ravage me."

  "I’ll devour you. You’re all mine." He plunged into her with a deep, sure stroke.

  Gasping from the wonder of him, of their soulful love, she clung to him as the powerful rip tides threatened to drown her with their force. Lost in him, she met him stroke for desperate stroke.

  His cock filled her, seared her, setting off an all-consuming out-of-control wild fire. If the flames weren’t sated soon, she would surely burst into flame. She had never been so wickedly, delightfully on fire for any man. Since when were dreams so vibrant? So very real?

  "You have a lot to learn about dreams. They’re so very much more than you know." His rhythm accelerated. His thrusts intensified, his sheer power thrilling her.

  They were one, body and soul, united mystically. Spoiling her for the real men of the world, she belonged to him. In a strange, hazy way, she somehow knew she had always, would always, be his. And he was hers. They were bound by forces more powerful than Earthly bonds. Their love would transcend death and dreams. They were but temporal phases. How she knew that, she hadn’t a clue. It was just a deep, abiding, gut feeling.

  Crazy!

  She couldn’t dream away her life, yet all she truly desired was to be with him. She’d gladly give up Halloween forever to be in his arms.

  Give up Halloween? This was seriously insane. Spooky. Thrilling.

  Lightning flashed and thunder rocked her very being as brilliant white light exploded in her. Needing all of him, she ground her hips against him, milking every last ounce of his precious seed.

  When they were sated, he cradled her against him and she pillowed her cheek against his warm chest. His strong, steady heartbeat lulled her as his arms wrapped securely about her. "Stay."

  "I’ll find a way. I think I have...."

  His puzzling words echoed in her mind until she could think no more.


  CHAPTER TWO

  Jason signed his name on the contract at the Adopt-A-Demon center, promising to let a human adopt him for Halloween. It was quite harmless on his end and it was a long shot, but it provided a possible escape from his demonic plane where he’d been trapped for centuries. The closest, before the Internet, he’d come to escape was on the dream realm which was simultaneously invigorating and more frustrating than hell.

  He could visit his reincarnated love, Meghan, in her dreams, just to have her evaporate in his arms upon her wakefulness. And she was surprisingly lucid on the dream realm, doubting his existence even as she gave him a taste of heaven.

  He snorted. Heaven. What business did a half-demon, half-human have wanting a slice of heaven? His demon side damned him to hell, much as he longed otherwise. His hell was being separated from his soul mate, getting a taste of her, wetting his appetite, just to have her yanked from him time and again.

  Was it asking so much to be with his soul mate? Didn’t his human side promise him some happiness?

  The beast within raged while the human indomitable spirit sought a solution. As long as Meghan lived and breathed there was hope. If only he could control the raging beast. The dichotomy of his two halves forever battled for supremacy and it was only with sheer determination that he kept the beast caged. But the locks were weakening and the beast grew in strength. If he wasn’t careful, it could devour their love--again. It was the beast which had sent her to her death before....

  He hated the beast and he couldn’t blame her if she did. But the beast wasn’t the whole summation of him. He was so very much more. Foremost, a man deeply in love and longing for his soul mate.

  The proprietor of the site looked him up and down. "You seem awfully sedate to be a demon. You sure you can live up to your part of the bargain?"

  The bargain called for him to cause mischief and mayhem for the season of Halloween, which worried him that the man had a larger plot brewing. If he was 100 percent demon that prospect would faze him, would probably tantalize and delight. As it was, it concerned him. But he was desperate to escape his prison bonds, to be with Meghan again. He snarled fiercely. "Let me at them."