by Lexi C. Foss
Vincenzo smirks. “I’m not drunk enough not to know what I’m doing. I always make it good for you.”
I have no idea what the fuck we’re doing. Enemies, friends, lovers, we’ve been all of them and more. This should be no strings attached sex. Except I can’t get Dante out of my head.
“No.” The word comes out on a moan.
Vincenzo pauses in the middle of nibbling on the curve of my neck, his glance sliding to mine. “No?”
Feeling my cheeks heat in a blush, I curl my arms around his neck. “I mean yes.”
Finding my mouth, he kisses me again, silencing me. His caresses leave me cold. There’s none of the usual spark between us that I can remember. It all feels different from the recollection I’ve recently regained. No heat like when Dante touches me. My tiger growls within me, baring her teeth and showing her displeasure.
“I can’t do this.” Pushing him off me, I scramble from the bed. What the fuck is wrong with me? I’ve never had a problem sleeping with Vincenzo before from the flashbacks I’m experiencing. I’m attracted to him. Always have been. If I’m in heat, I should want to have sex. So why don’t I feel like a raging nymphomaniac ready to jump him?
Still laying sprawled on the bed, his cheeks flushed in anger, his eyes narrow. “I saw the way you were all over Dante.”
“I don’t know what you're talking about,” I croak.
Vincenzo tilts his head, a bitter grin curving his lips. “You're attracted to him. You always have been. It just never ends. It's those damn shifter feline genes screwing you over. Taking away any other choice.”
My stomach twists into sickening knots. “Vinnie?”
“I’m the one to tame you. You're supposed to be mine. Always and forever. Watching you, waiting for the perfect time, and all I could think about was fucking you.” He hums darkly, crawling off the mattress and stalking into my space until he’s so close I can feel his breath on my face. “I made a deal and instead of getting what I want, it's become a shit storm.”
“Deal? What deal? With whom?”
No. No. Not Vincenzo. Please don’t let him have been this stupid.
“I guess I like to play with dangerous things too.” Grabbing my waist, he pulls me into him, his hips grinding into mine making me aware of the hard length of his shaft. “I remember the first time I got between your thighs. You were so frightened, and you cried so beautifully for me.”
His rumbled words chill me to the core. “You're not Vincenzo. The first time I was with him was never like that. He was frightened to touch me.”
As my suspicion grows, it only builds until my sense of dread is so overpowering I know what I’ve just stumbled over has to be true. Fear engulfs me. All I can do is stare in growing horror.
His lips stretch in an unpleasant smile. I have my claws extended and through his neck before he can force a kiss on me. The imposter's shocked gaze meets mine. Blood pours from the wound when I withdraw my hand. Gurgling he slumps on the bed, the crimson puddle spreading across the cover. I don’t move, watching transfixed as he bleeds out. I’m barely aware of the sound of the door crashing open.
“Vincenzo.”
Attention darting to the doorway, I find Mateo watching with a look of horror written all over his face. Behind him I see Vanna, the ice bitch, her expression smug. A dark figure looms to her left. Dante. He looks furious. Blue eyes as hard as glaciers and just as harsh and unforgiving.
“What have you done?” His voice is so low and guttural it sounds barely human.
“I….” My gaze darts back to the man on his knees before me on the floor.
He manages a smile, a hand clamped around the wound, blood pouring through his fingers. There’s no hate in his eyes, just crazed infatuation. His earlier words ring in my ears. Possibilities at his identity scatter my thoughts. No. It can’t be.
Finally releasing an unsteady breath, I jolt into action. In a blink, I’m at the window throwing it open. Vaulting from the balcony down the two floors to land on my feet, I break into a run. I have to get the fuck out of here. Things have become a clusterfuck that's spiraling out of control. I’m not safe. Getting the hell out of Italy seems like the best option.
“Yukie!”
Dante roaring, my name echoes after me as I flee.
12
Dante
“Send someone after her. Hunt the whore down and kill her!” Vanna hisses from beside me.
Mateo already has some of his men going after Yukie, but I already know they won’t find her. What the fuck was she doing with my brother? My gaze scans the room. I note the empty food containers, the bottle of whisky, and the porno movie playing on the TV. Well this is cozy. It looks like the two of them had their own little love nest.
A growl of jealousy vibrates in my throat. She’s mine. Vincenzo should know better than to touch her. My brother knows he’ll be punished for straying.
“She attacked you.” Vanna gazes down at my brother who’s still on his knees, his shirt front soaked through with crimson. He looks a mess. Pale, shaking, breathing ragged gasps.
“Yes.” Vincenzo gasps the flesh of his wounded throat still knitting itself back together. “She’s out of control.”
“She did seem unstable,” Mateo agrees from his position near the door. “If she truly has no idea how to handle her tiger side while she’s in heat, then she’s a danger to us all.”
I’m not convinced. This could be payback for what happened before with Vanna. If she wanted Vincenzo dead, he would be. We both know that. There was something about the haunted look on her face that leaves me unsettled. Yukie had looked spooked.
Dropping his hand from his neck, Vincenzo rises. “Damn and I thought you’d fall for this one, but I can see you're already doubting it.”
The flesh of his face ripples unnaturally. For an instant he’s a familiar looking young man with curly hair and blue eyes. Then the image shifts and suddenly I’m looking at a stranger. Head bald, his forehead protrudes out with the look of thick bone beneath leather. Built like an Olympic wrestler, clearly defined muscles bulge over his bulky frame.
Rubbery lips roll up in all I can assume is a smile. “If you want to break the spell, you need to kill the tiger shifter.”
Mateo snarls and attacks, only to be thrown aside by a meaty hand. When my other guards move forward, I signal them to wait.
“And how would you know that?” I ask calmly.
The smell of sulphur grows strong around the creature. “Because I’m the one running this show. I’ve had you play out so many different scenarios you’d be a hit running sitcom by now. You all dance to my tune as I pull your strings.”
So this is the demon Yukie mentioned? It looks like her theory was right. With a quick gesture, my werewolves attack. He tosses them aside as if they're nothing more than mortals.
“Kill the hunter. It’s the only way this ends. If you don’t, you’ll face eternity stuck in this loop slowly going mad.”
Baring my fangs, I go for his throat, lunging while he’s distracted with Mateo. “Where’s my brother?”
A half smile touches his lips. “I’d worry more about yourself.”
His fist powers into the side of my head so fast I have no time to dodge it. Pain explodes, flashes of white spots dancing in front of my eyes. Darkness crushes in around me, and I feel myself falling into unconsciousness.
“I want to bite your tits,” I rasp in my lover's ear. “While I fuck you with three fingers.”
Hand caressing up her leg under the table, I tease up the edge of her skirt. Her smaller hand covers mine ending my quest.
“Not here,” Yukie begs in an urgent whisper, the tremble in her words betraying her excitement. “Everyone’s looking. Your guests…”
We both know I can have her wherever I want her. If I chose to, I could fuck her on this table. Fill her, stretch her around my cock and make her moan. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve screwed in public.
Taking her face in both han
ds, I stare into her jade green eyes and kiss her possessively. I don’t give a damn who sees us. Let them watch. When I finally pause and look into her gaze, her face inches from mine, she’s slightly breathless. I want her wet and ready for me. Elevate her heart rate and make her veins hum with need. Have her dizzy, spinning and as drunk as she makes me feel every time we’re together. Our chemistry is volatile. It has been since the beginning. Tonight, she’ll finally be mine in every sense of the word, and I don’t give a fuck who knows.
13
Yukie
The sharp insistent ringing of my mobile phone demanding answering brings me groggily to consciousness. For a split second, I’m tempted not to answer it. Let whoever it is try again at a more civilized hour but know in my line of work I’ll most likely not get my wish. Groping for it on the bedside table beside the mattress, I press it to my ear.
“Yukie.” I murmur, my voice still thick with sleep.
“You can’t hide forever, Pussycat.” Dante’s velvety dark voice is low and cold. It brings with it a mental image of the Italian, tall, strikingly handsome, and frighteningly intelligent.
Snapping fully awake, my head thickens with a sudden overwhelming tension at the sound. Sitting up straighter in bed, my body stiffening in self-defense. With one scan of the room, I see that I’m alone. No vampire in sight, not unless he’s gotten passed all the security devices in the EVIE office. Giovanni and Monica have been kind enough to give me somewhere to lay low. A sanctuary from the outside world. Running didn’t get me far. The moment it struck midnight on Saturday night, I found myself back in my hotel room. Luckily for me, I was out of there before Dante and his minions could get to me.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“I’m not interested,” I tell him, thankful we’re just talking over the phone and remembering how hypnotic his eyes are. They can pry out the most guarded secrets. The hungry, aching need for him whenever we’re close.
“We’re still stuck in a time loop, and we need to figure out how to break this curse. Besides you know you can’t keep away from me, so why not just give in? I bet you're dying for a taste of my dick.” The lazy mockery in his tone makes me want to punch the smug expression I’m sure he’s wearing right off his face. “Did you close your eyes and pretend it was me sliding into you when you were with my brother? My mouth on yours. My fingers thrusting in and out of your cunt checking how wet you were. Was it my name you wanted to call out instead of his?”
“No and I don’t need you for anything. I can find plenty of dicks without ever needing yours,” I spit down the line before cutting off the call. Turning off my phone, I leave it on the pillow.
Damn him.
My connection to Dante is nothing but the instinct to mate. Why would I end up with a vampire and not another shifter if that side of me is now firmly in control? I don’t want to be trapped by the powerful male. He already hates me. The contempt I’d seen in his eyes is burned into my memory. Maybe I should be grateful for it. This way I know he won’t come after me when I break the spell unless it's to kill me. If that happens, I'll simply outrun him and his minions.
Tensing, I sniff the air, a familiar scent hitting my nostrils. The rot of decay and a hint of sulphur. Something I associate with home not here. Hairs rising on the nape of my neck, everything inside me turns cold with fear.
“Hello, Yukie.”
The figure stands, obscured by darkness, but the gleam of his eyes are bright as blazing stars. Even before he takes a step forward into the softness of the lamplight, I shrink away in dread.
I can’t hide my shock at seeing my ex mentor. He’s just confirmed my worst suspicions.
I doubt he’s let his mask slip to many people to show the monster he is beneath. The handsome man he used to be is only a facade. Like many of the Devil’s minions, he hides his beast. One that I glimpsed when I turned eighteen. He's worn different faces in the past, but his own is made up of nothing but ugliness and terrible shadows. They unfurl like octopus tentacles extending from his bald head, melting in and out of existence as they move.
My gaze lowers. “Julien.” I breathe, the oxygen around me vanishing with his menacing presence. “You're the tempus demon. How long have you been pretending to be Vincenzo?”
The thought of what he’s probably done to the real prince has nausea rolling in my stomach. For all I know, Vincenzo is a pile of ash somewhere.
Julien slinks closer, dimming the lamp light as he moves and throwing the room into semi-blackness. “You spurned my affections when you were a child. Didn’t return my love. You ungrateful little bitch. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for payback?”
My throat dries, nerves balling in my stomach. “Who summoned you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Tell me.” I mouth the words, my voice gone as sickening memories from the past try to claw their way up into the forefront of my mind. I almost bite my tongue off trying to block them. The night of my eighteenth birthday. Hands groping me in the dark under the blankets. Julien’s hot breath on my neck as he’d taken something I hadn’t given him permission to have. Anger, pain, the gut-wrenching feelings I’d experienced back then explode.
“Watch your tongue, or I’ll remove it.” His intense gaze drilling right through me, digging for any signs of weakness. Grabbing my arms, he throws me down across the mattress. Feeling his weight crash down on mine, I’m terrified he’s about to force himself on me.
Lips brush my ear. “Kill the Vampire King, Yukie. It’s the only way to break my spell. If you don’t, this will never end, and I promise you I’ll keep you aware of it forever. The only one. Reliving these days over and over until they become your own personal hell. Trust me, I can get very creative when I want to. Chaos is a work of art, and I know how to paint it.”
Closing my eyes, I remain where I am as he pushes off me, and I know he’s gone. Julien offers me a fair change. My freedom for Dante’s life. It’s not like I haven’t killed vampires before. The demon’s words haunt me as I collect all the things I need.
Crumbling under the Vampire King’s charms further is something I can no longer do. This thing between us can’t last. Dante has to realize that. I’ve breathed and bled this life since the day I was created. Somehow, he has reached inside of me and caressed every inch of my frozen soul. Coaxing it, captivating it. Tailoring me to lay part of myself in the palms of his cruel hands.
Dressed and ready, I slip from my room and head down the stairs. Giovanni and Monica have rooms on the floor above. If I’m careful, they won't hear me leave. Silently reaching the main hall, I make my way toward the front door.
“And where are you sneaking off to?”
Swiveling at the rough voice, I find its owner standing in the darkness. Flipping on the hallway light, the Archangel Gabriel watches me speculatively a half-drunk bottle of whisky gripped in his hand.
“Gabe, what are you doing up?” I ask, side stepping his question. He’s trapped like the rest of us now. Stuck in the loop because he came to help. Instead of being resentful, he’s worked his butt off going through the EVIE and the Vatican’s private libraries trying to find a way to get us all back into the normal flow of time. Ironically I’m the one who knows what has to be done. Maybe I can get the Angel to help me.
“Getting drunk. I haven’t slept since I got here. Too many books to read and it keeps my mind off the trouble outside this bubble I’m now trapped in.” His smile is tinged with bitter humor. “Did you know a tempus demon can wipe someone from existence if they choose to? They have to be under its spell, of course, for that to happen.”
Fuck.
The news brings a different kind of resolve. I won’t risk anyone else. Julien is dangerous. He’s here for me, and I won’t put the others under this roof at risk because of it.
“I’m a good listener if you want to talk about what’s bothering you,” Gabriel continues, offering me the bottle of alcohol.
�
�It’s nothing.” Glancing away from his probing blue-eyed gaze, I take the whisky from him.
“I sensed another demon upstairs. You had a little visit from someone.”
Of course, he did. Was I really expecting this to go easy? He also knows I’m part demon from the sound of it. What else does he know about me? I’m supposed to be one of Lucifer’s secret assassins. Living by a code of silence to my true allegiance. If I’ve been compromised, it only means I have a shit storm heading my way. Other assassins in the Devil’s employee have lost their heads for less.
“It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.” Lifting it to my lips, I take a long sip letting the liquid burn its way down my throat to warm my stomach. It does nothing to thaw the chill in my veins. Handing it back to him, I nod before turning away.
“Watch for the glitches,” the archangel calls, watching me walk away.
It doesn’t take much to sneak back into his penthouse. I’d taken the time to scope the place while I’d been there. Like my nickname, I slip in like a ghost without the vampire guards even being aware of my presence. I don’t need to search far to find him. Dante’s scent is enticing and intoxicating just like the Vampire King himself. An open bottle of scotch is beside the bed, the smell of alcohol strong.
Drunk?
Laying on his stomach the blanket covering him, all I can see is the dark hair on his head. Slipping closer, I keep my steps light. This is better. I don’t have to look in his eyes when I do this. Placing the gun at the back of his skull, I hesitate. Everything inside me is screaming this is wrong. My tiger claws within me fighting to get out and stop this madness. She lashes out, confused at my actions. This male is mine. Has always been destined to be mine. I’m about to destroy all that with a bullet to his head. Unwanted tears trickle from the corners of my eyes. Why am I crying? I don’t even like him. I’m so confused.