Aidan shrugged, not meeting Will’s gaze. “We’re still in the flirting and getting to know each other stage. I don’t want to rush him. We spend a lot of time together. We talk a lot.”
“So you two haven’t—”
Aidan glared at Will. “Dude. I sooo did not get all Penthouse Letters over you and Kal when you first got together, okay? Lay off.”
Will laughed. “Sorry.” He didn’t let it drop, couldn’t resist the urge to playfully tease Aidan. “Kal thinks he’s got a cute ass.”
“Oh, hell no. Do not tell me your fiancée is checking out my boyfriend.” But he smiled when he said it.
“Then you two are an item?”
“Aw, come on! Don’t bust my balls about this tonight, huh?” He sighed and looked at Will. “We haven’t ‘done’ anything.” He used finger quotes. “I’m waiting for him to let me know what he’s comfortable with. He’s only what, barely a couple of months out of the closet, not even that. I’ve got forever to wait, dude. I’m willing to wait.”
Will smiled. “You are, huh?”
“Yeah.” Aidan realized what he’d said. “Okay, so yeah, I really like him. I swear, if you and Ryan sick a wraith on him, I’ll kick both your asses to home and back!”
“I don’t think Ryan’s stupid enough to pull that trick twice.” Will frowned. That was such a mixed bag. Yes, he was glad he was now soul mates with Kal, but there was still something deeper there on Ryan’s agenda he hadn’t quite put his finger on. What Ryan had done to bring him and Kal together was sneaky, and supposedly just to get him back to The Firm. Will suspected more. It couldn’t be that cut and dry with Ryan.
It never was.
* * * *
Cabrio caught something on the FLIR camera. When Purson helped him check the room again, he realized they were dealing with an intelligent haunt. Purs had arrived late on the scene, after setup was complete, so he had to conceal his irritation as he worked with clueless Cabrio to gather evidence.
At one of the breaks, Purs shut off his mic and leaned into the van. The film crew was checking their batteries and couldn’t hear.
“You’re a dick, Aidan,” Purs grumbled low enough the crew couldn’t hear.
“What?”
“You didn’t tell me there was anything in there. A heads-up would have been nice. It’s not strong, but it’s intelligent.”
Aidan blushed, a deep red that set Will to laughing. “He’s a little distracted, Purs.”
“I get that. Get laid so you can get your freaking mind back on your work, dude. Okay?”
“Fuck you, Purs,” Aidan sniped.
“Not in your wildest dreams, buddy. You’re my friend, but not in your wildest dreams.” Purson stomped off.
Will shook his head in amusement. “That’s not like you to miss something.”
Aidan didn’t look at Will. “Like you said, I’m a little distracted.”
Will grinned. “Aidan’s in luuurrrrvv.”
“Shut the home up.” But he smiled.
* * * *
Later that evening, Ryan stood in his Atlanta condo and stared out at the skyline. No game tonight, Turner Field lay shrouded in darkness. Then the air shifted and an obnoxious perfume assaulted his senses.
“Bera,” he said without turning.
“Hello, Ryan,” she purred.
“What do you want?” He wouldn’t give her the courtesy of facing her. She could talk to his back or get the fuck out.
Her hesitation told him she’d expected a warmer greeting. “I was hoping for a little company.”
“Not tonight. I’m not in the mood.” He wanted to be alone with his memories of Kal. He hadn’t slept with Bera in quite a while. Frankly, he never wanted to sleep with her again.
“Please?”
“Why are you so insistent? You can easily find a man to take care of you. Any man you want.”
“I don’t want any man. I want you.”
“Fancy that. A while ago you were devilishly eager to take Will to bed.”
“He’s got a soul mate now. You know he won’t. He was never interested in me like you were.”
“Let’s clarify a critical point, Bera. I never was interested in you and you damn well know it. You were merely a distraction.” Ryan had a thought and turned to her, his gaze narrowing. “Why not another archdemon? There are plenty out there without soul mates who would willingly sleep with you. What is it you want?”
She looked nervous. With his next flash of insight, Ryan answered his own question. “You want to get pregnant, but because of your unusual parentage you can’t get pregnant by a human man. So why not another archdemon?” He studied her, her anxiety now washing off her in ever increasing waves. “You are far from mothering material. What is your game, hmm?”
She didn’t answer.
He pressed on. “You have a specific father from a very exclusive group in mind, don’t you? Will’s no longer available, Aidan won’t be interested. I, however, am not fathering a child for you. I told you that already. If that’s the only reason you’ve been sleeping with me, it’s been a waste of your time and mine. If you wish to have a child you can consult with another archdemon but it will not be me.” He turned away from her again.
“Oh, come on, sunshine—”
“Bera.” His firm, irritated growl stopped her in her Manolo-clad tracks. “I said I’m not in the mood. Get out.”
“But—”
He waved his hand, sending her away. Only when she was gone did he turn, trying not to breathe through his nose until the odor of her horrible cologne dissipated from the room. He touched his amulet and muttered a phrase, effectively locking her out of the building.
No, he had no stomach for Bera anymore. She’d been an occasional fling for him and the only physical relationship, if you could even call it that, he’d had for a while.
He couldn’t have Kal, yet he had no desire for anyone else, either. Especially not Bera.
Ryan had tired of Bera’s games, of her scheming and conniving. When Abby died Bera had set her sights firmly on Will. No such luck for her.
Bera was a troublemaker, a typical Tanuki, especially considering she was half demon. Hades and the rest of the Dodekatheon finally gave Ryan permission to take her out if required. Last resort, considering who her father was. From the unconfirmed rumors he’d heard it increasingly looked like it might be necessary to do just that.
* * * *
Aidan volunteered to supervise the wrap-up while Will returned home. Will stripped and slipped into bed with Kal. Even in sleep she immediately molded her body against his.
Part of him wanted to wake her up and gently make love to her. Part of him loathed to disturb her when she was so beautifully asleep. They’d go in late to work anyway, might as well sleep.
He smelled coffee a little after daybreak and realized she’d left their bed. He found her in the kitchen, wearing his robe and nothing else.
He wrapped his arms around her, kissed the back of her neck. “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered.
She turned and threw her arms around his neck. “You snuck in. You didn’t wake me up.”
His smile warmed his face, as always turning his stony, slate grey eyes into a welcomed sight. “I didn’t have the heart to wake you.” He pulled the robe open and slipped his hands inside, feeling her flesh warm against his. “Why don’t we go back to bed for a while?”
“Only for a while?”
“How about the whole morning?”
“Now you’re talking, mister.”
Will smiled and scooped Kal into his arms as she giggled. He dropped her onto their bed and straddled her, kissing her. This never got boring, making love to her. His lips traced a familiar path from her sweet mouth to the base of her throat, between her breasts and down her tummy to the short, soft nest of down between her legs.
She sighed with pleasure. He teased her, not letting her do anything but lie back and enjoy it. He could easily spend eternity between her legs
doing this to her. He craved hearing the sounds she made as she enjoyed his touch.
Then he pushed two fingers inside her and her back arched as she cried out with pleasure. Her slick muscles grabbed at him as he flicked her clit with his tongue. Only when she lay limp and trembling before him did he relent.
He folded her into his arms and kissed her. “How was that?”
“Wonderful,” she mumbled. He shifted his hips and his cock slid inside her. Instinctively she hooked a leg around his and rocked her hips.
“I love you so much,” he whispered.
She pulled his head down and ground her mouth against hers. Will felt their souls connecting in that familiar way as his release took him. His soul mate. He could barely remember the agony he’d felt after Abby’s murder. The little ache still remaining in his soul was nothing compared to the love and connection he now had with Kal. He had resigned himself to an eternity of pain when he agreed to take Kal as his soul mate to save her life, never realizing doing so would take away most of his agony.
He didn’t know if that was because she’d been Abby or not.
Did it even matter?
As he drifted to sleep with her cradled in his arms, he realized it didn’t matter at all. The only thing in his life that truly mattered to him was safely nuzzled against his side, more than willing to spend her life loving him.
* * * *
Bera tried to contain her rage and miserably failed. She pitched a tantrum, threw any and everything available in her living room. Aidan was totally not interested, Will was newly bound to Kal, and even Ryan turned his back on her. How the fuck would she ever get knocked up now? It had to be one of the top three to give her a line heir, the soul brothers.
The three fucking Stooges.
Dammit, if only those fuck-ups I’d hired hadn’t screwed up my plans, I’d have a rugrat now and even Ryan could never kick me out of The Firm. Goddammit, she never told those hired assholes to kill anyone!
That stupid bitch Will was married to had to go and summon Ryan, and the jerks panicked and killed her.
That’s what she got for hiring cheap help. Bera knew Abby would never call Will to her if she thought he was in danger, but she never thought she’d call Ryan. It was supposed to be a simple ransom transaction. Abduct her when she refused to give up Will, then get a little sperm for the return of Will’s soul mate.
Boorman wasn’t pleased in the least, either. What a cluster fuck this had turned into. All so she could get knocked up.
Bera kicked her sofa. She winced, collapsing onto the cushions and rubbing her toes. She had to get pregnant by one of them in the next ten years or so. Time was running out and her deal would fall through. Dammit, this was so not fair! Fucking Tanuki genes anyway. If one of the Stooges didn’t knock her up by then, she’d only be able to get preggers by another Tanuki.
Yuck.
Not to mention that wouldn’t do her a lick of good in getting a line heir.
This would take more planning.
“Fuck!” She kicked off her shoes and sprawled on the couch. Well, maybe she could take one last stab at the doofus before resorting to drastic measures. It didn’t matter what human form she was in when she got pregnant as long as she got knocked up.
This called for a stake-out.
She knew where Aidan lived. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out the fastest way to his heart. She knew from various scouting runs over the years that the dipwad didn’t date much. Just proved how stupid he truly was considering how cute he was. Any guy would be happy to have him.
Bera placed even money on Aidan having a thing for that guy he worked with. John… Jake… Jeff. That was it, Jeff. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him for risking Aidan sensing her presence, but he would be the type Aidan would fall for. An innocent human without the stink of any kind of darkness on his soul.
Considering how much darkness Aidan had seen throughout the years, it didn’t surprise her. He was the original goodie two-shoes, even though he’d done his fair share of blood-letting in the dark and crazy days when Ryan was still active in the field, before the Three Stooges convinced others Earth might not be the greenest pastures out there for them to shit in.
Well, maybe if Ryan was good, she’d let him beg her to spare his life once the tables were turned.
The next evening, she followed Aidan when he left his house. He headed for the same condo complex Will lived in, that figured. There he picked up…
Yep. Too bad she couldn’t win money on that bet.
They headed for a restaurant on St. Pete Beach. She waited a few minutes, shifted to look like a girl that had waited on her a few months earlier—like Jeff and Aidan would really pay any attention to her looking like that—and walked inside to get a table. She nearly gagged watching the two of them sit and stare at each other.
Fuck him and get it over with, why don’t you? she thought.
Finally, they paid their bill and left. She was about to do the same when a large hand clamped around her wrist as she reached for her purse. She started to protest when she realized who the hand belonged to. She stared as the large man, who now looked a little like Michael Caine, sat across from her.
She hoped her voice sounded steady. “Hello, Daddy.”
“Don’t you ‘hello Daddy’ me, you little bitch. I don’t know what your fucking game is, but you’d better cut it out.”
She reddened, fighting back a wave of anger. Getting into a pissing contest with a Demi who had his nose buried so deep in just about every one of the Dodeks’ asses that he might as well be a Dodek, even if he fathered her, was never a wise idea. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He shook his head and lowered his voice as he glanced around the restaurant. “Let me pass on a little friendly advice. Ausar has received permission from the higher ups to remove you from the picture if you keep pissing him off. I don’t know what stupid little half-baked plans are racing through that Tanuki brain of yours, but if you know what’s good for you you’ll keep your nose clean and your head down and quit attracting attention to yourself and let things die down.”
He wouldn’t feel that way when his daughter was carrying his grandchild and in line to take over The Firm. “Why are you suddenly wanting to go all parental on me?” She yanked her arm away. “It’s not like you’ve shown much interest in me before now.”
“I know. It’s not your fault your bitch mother got knocked up. I admit you’ve paid the consequences for her actions. But the last person you want to go pissing off is the son of Hades, you of all people should be smart enough to know that. When Tanukis try to outsmart Demis and Dodeks, they will lose every time. History can and will repeat itself.” He leaned back. “I felt it was my duty to warn you.”
She sneered. “Your duty? Puhleeze. You haven’t spent centuries living like I have. You might think differently if you’d been in my shoes. Not that you were ever around to see what I’ve had to go through.”
He waggled a finger at her. “That’s the kind of entitlement attitude that got your mother bitch slapped all the way to Tavares. Consider yourself warned.” He angrily pushed back from the table and walked down the hall toward the bathrooms. She watched as he glanced around, then touched the amulet around his neck and disappeared.
No one else saw him.
Bera fought back her nearly overwhelming rage. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her glass of water and took a deep gulping drink. How dare he?
Spoken like a true Olympian asshole. Well, she’d show him.
She’d show all of them.
Chapter 3
Kal sat at the end of the conference table. Her boys, as she euphemistically referred to them, were all gathered around the table—Will, Aidan, Jeff, Purs, and Gery. As well as Cabrio, some of their production assistants and other volunteer investigators.
She briefly thought back to her early days with the show, before all…hell…broke loose. When she couldn’t pay Will to show up at a production meeting un
less she bullied him into it. Of course, she didn’t know then what she now knew.
He looked up from his notes, met her gaze, and winked. A warm tingling sensation filled her body.
Oh, yeah…
When the network camera crew arrived, Kal started the meeting. This was a pre-production meeting, because their next shoot was tomorrow night at an old office building going through major renovations, not too far from their office just north of downtown Tampa. She would go out with Aidan after the meeting to scope the place and plan their equipment placement.
Smaller homes, especially if they were close to the office, weren’t usually checked out ahead of time in great detail. Frequently, for smaller structures, they chose to send out their volunteer caseworker with a preliminary film crew to mix up the show a little. Only if the structure was large did one of the archdemons personally visit the site ahead of time, usually Aidan or Purson since their skills were the strongest in that regard. It saved them setup time and allowed them to focus on the areas most likely to provide good film opportunities for the show.
While the show made it look like it all happened on the fly, the truth was they’d usually mapped out all equipment placements and handed out investigator assignments before the night of the investigation so they could maximize use of their time in the building. Whenever possible, they set up most of the equipment several hours ahead of time, leaving just enough for the network crew to film for the episode. Some buildings were so large and had logistical challenges requiring hours of preparations that would cut into their investigation time if they didn’t pre-set.
In her months working on the show, Kal had quickly developed her own style as her confidence increased. Ryan assured her the show’s high ratings were genuine, not manipulated by him, and that he was quite pleased about that. He wasn’t the only one, she had to admit. The fact that her first big job, even with the unusual circumstances, was a smashing success had bolstered her confidence.
Having Will’s love and support behind her didn’t hurt either.
She loved that he took a hands-off approach and let her do her job. He never tried to play on their relationship to get his way. He never played the “because I’m a heckuva lot older than you” card. He never argued with her or overruled her in front of others. Heck, he never overruled her at all.
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