by Cynthia Eden
So she stepped forward, still holding her thin sheet. Her arm brushed Keenan’s because their bodies were so close.
The demon couldn’t seem to tear his gaze off Keenan, and yes, that was fear in the guy’s eyes.
She slanted a quick glance at her hero. He didn’t look particularly scary to her. Sexy and strong? Double check. Scary? No.
But he was sure making the demon tremble.
“You don’t want me as an enemy,” the demon finally said, but he made no move to approach them. Actually, she was wondering if the guy could move.
“Yes,” Keenan said flatly, “I do. You ... and your boss.”
Why did everyone but her seem to know what was happening here?
“So go run back to Sam and tell him that she’s off-limits. There’ll be no more vamp hunting, not unless he wants to lose his demons.”
The demon’s head jerked in a fast nod, but as he stepped back, his gaze darted to Nicole.
Her breath sucked in on a hard gasp. Hate. There was no mistaking the hatred and fury in that demon’s stare.
Even as the guy turned and ran, she knew she’d be seeing him again. She also knew that if she faced him alone, he wouldn’t hesitate to go for her throat.
“We have to get out of here.” Keenan’s eyes were still drilling through that broken doorway. “Even in a dump like this, that crash would’ve attracted attention, and the cops are the last thing we need now.”
Right. She realized her claws were out and that burning black eyes were imprinted in her memory. “He was scared of you.”
“He should be.”
“I’m the vampire, but he was scared of you.” She turned and caught his arm with her right hand. Her left still gripped the sheet and held it just above her breasts. “Before I go anywhere with you, I want to know just what the hell you are.”
That same grim smile tilted the corners of his perfect lips. “I just told you, sweet, I’m your guardian.”
“Bull.”
He turned away, those strong shoulders shrugging, and her gaze dipped down the taunt lines of his back. Golden flesh, muscle, and—scars.
Bright, angry red scars. Two of them—each about seven inches long—sliced right along his shoulder blades.
“What happened to you?” The scars were still fresh and damn vicious.
He grabbed a T-shirt and yanked it over his head. “I made a mistake.” He pulled another shirt out of a small gray duffel bag and tossed it to her.
She caught it and her fingers squeezed the soft cotton. “What kind of mistake?”
This time he tossed her underwear—her bra and panties. His gaze lasered on her. “The kind I won’t make again.”
Right. Nice and mysterious and broody. Keenan was sure striking her as a broody kind of guy. She let the sheet fall and saw his eyes widen when he stared at her naked flesh. Uh, huh. Look. “You realize that tells me nothing.”
He didn’t speak. His eyes locked on her breasts as he took a step forward.
“Don’t even think about it,” she whispered. “Guardians are supposed to guard, not touch.”
That light flush stained his cheeks again. “Maybe we do both.”
Her nipples pebbled. Down, girl. She still didn’t know him. Sure, she’d tasted him, but she hadn’t gotten so much as a whiff of his past or his current life with that drink.
He could be anyone. Anything.
No matter how sexy, she couldn’t.
Yet.
“Why’d you strip me?” She put the shirt he’d given her on the table, then pulled up her panties. She took her time hooking her bra.
He licked his lips. “I had to bathe you ... to get the blood off.”
Nicole didn’t remember that. Actually, the last thing she remembered was that truck ride from hell. “Guess I should thank you for that.” She just kept on owing the guy. At this rate, her tab was going to be huge. Suspicion whispered through her. “Just what all did you touch while you were bathing me?”
The bra was in place, pushing up her breasts. Yes, his gaze was still on them. Men, supernaturals or humans, were always the same.
“Not enough,” he muttered.
Her eyes narrowed.
“When I touch you with sex in mind, you’ll know it, sweet.”
He seemed so confident. But why did she see a slight tremble in his fingers?
He spun, giving her his back and showing her those red scars again. “If we stay any longer, the cops will be here.”
“I can handle Mexican cops.”
He laughed, a rusty, rough sound. “Maybe, if we were in Mexico.”
Oh, no. She shoved her hands into the sleeves of the shirt and popped her head through the top. The shirt swallowed her and smelled like him. Her fingers rubbed the bottom of the T-shirt. “Tell me, please tell me that you didn’t drag me into the U.S.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome. When you passed out, I saved your butt and got you out of Mexico—and away from the locals there who were out for your blood.”
She yanked up her jeans. In seconds, she’d found her boots. Nicole managed to shove her feet inside them just before he grabbed her arm and they stumbled through the broken door.
And, yes, sure enough, the wail of a siren was already cutting through the night. She stayed quiet while they stuck to the shadows and hurriedly jumped into the truck. They eased out of the lot, driving nice and slow, and cruised right by the black-and-white patrol car that raced into the hotel’s parking zone.
Nicole waited a minute, then five more, and as the truck ate up the miles, she finally spoke the words she had to say. “I’ve heard demons recognize each other on sight. That they can look right past the glamour and see the monster inside.” Her nails tapped against the rough armrest.
The truck sped up.
It was the way of the paranormal world. Like recognized like. She always knew when she was near another vamp. She’d heard that witches felt the power pull of their brethren.
“That demon,” she continued, “he took one look at you, and he got scared.”
“Because he was smart.”
Right. “But just what did he see?” She asked, letting her eyes sweep over him. “When he looked at you, what did he see that made him back off?” Not just back off—run away.
Keenan’s head turned toward her. Even in the dim lighting, she could see him clearly with her vampire vision. He had such beautiful blue eyes—wait, those eyes were getting darker. Darker ...
Demon eyes.
“I guess he saw through the glamour,” Keenan told her, his voice quiet.
Oh, damn.
She was in trouble.
Sam stared up at the night sky. So many fucking stars. Millions of them glittered down on him.
Humans looked at the stars and they wished and they dreamed.
He looked at the stars and knew they didn’t matter. The stars were just chunks of glass in the black sky. No, the stars were meaningless.
Others were up there, though, nestled in the heavens. Powerful beings were pulling all the strings and making the puppets dance.
Footsteps thudded behind him. Sam inhaled, catching the scents of the one who approached. Alcohol. Cigarettes. Demon. Elijah.
No vampire. Fuck. The bastard would bleed for failing again. How hard was it to bag one newbie vamp? The lady was so fresh she’d probably barely cut her fangs.
Sam turned around, ready to slam a burst of power right at the demon, but the fear in Elijah’s black gaze stopped him.
And made him smile. Finally.
“Y-you never said she’d have backup.”
Because Sam hadn’t thought the vamp would. He’d worked so hard to cut her off from the rest of the world. Her silly little comfort system she’d had in New Orleans—ripped away. Her job—gone. Her home—destroyed. No family, no friends—they were all terrified of her now. No one wanted to be close to a killer.
When you isolated your prey, it was always so much easier to take ’em down.
“
He could have fuckin’ killed me!” Elijah snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.
Sam raised a brow. “He?” His voice came out mild, as always.
“Him—yeah that fuckin’ angel that was at her side. And she smelled like him. Shit, ain’t there some rule about angels fuckin’ around?”
“Probably.” Undoubtedly. Another way to get cast out. Angels didn’t enjoy nearly the preferential treatment that the humans did. Screw up once ... get ready to burn.
“And fuckin’ with vampires?” Disgust etched deep lines on the demon’s face. “What the hell?” Elijah didn’t much care for vampires. Who did? And as for angels ...
Demons were right to fear them.
Sam took a deep breath and asked, “You’re sure the man with her was an angel?”
Elijah’s head bobbed in a quick nod. “There’s no damn way to kill one of ’em, you know that!”
“Everything dies,” he snapped, sick of the lies that the Other chose to spread, particularly lies about themselves. Only one being was immortal. All the others ... we can all die. Some of them just had the unfortunate pleasure of perishing over and over again.
Yeah, life could be one fucking blast.
Elijah yanked a hand through his thick blond hair. “Well, I don’t want to be that everything.”
Too bad. Elijah was already marked for death. Sam had seen the bastard’s end coming for days. Mostly because he’d planned it. Elijah had his uses. The guy was strong, evil, and usually ready to rip and tear. But even a killer had to die some time.
“Describe him to me.” There were hundreds of angels. Thousands. Could be any—
“Blond, black eyes, with black wings that hung over his shoulders ...”
Black wings. An angel of death.
“I didn’t even see the wings at first. They moved behind him, like weird-ass shadows.” A pause. “Just like yours.”
Sam rolled his shoulders and slowly stretched his back as he felt the ghostly flutter of wings that weren’t there anymore, not really.
Elijah hissed out a breath. “Weird-ass ...”
The shadow wings were just an illusion. A magic memory. Only seen by demons or angels ... any who had the blood of the celestial beings in them.
Lucifer hadn’t been the only angel to fall. So many others had lost their grace. Or traded it for the chance to be like the humans.
No, the demons who walked the earth now weren’t puppets of the devil. They were descendants of the Fallen. Not as favored as humans, but not as cursed as most of the monsters, no matter what some of the zealots liked to think.
“Did he have any unusual marks?” Sam pressed. Who was he up against? You couldn’t fight a battle without knowing your enemy.
He’d been right. The vamp had been the link. The key. The Fallen had gone after her, just as Sam had suspected he would.
“No,” Elijah said with a shake of his shaggy head. “He was blond, and he had black eyes. He was one of them damn pretty-boy angels but ...” The demon’s eyes narrowed. “When I first saw him, I swear I felt a cold wind blow right over me.”
Sam’s breath expelled. Perfect. There were so many angels out there, so many different kinds—some harmless and some very, very dangerous. He didn’t want to waste his time with the harmless variety.
“How did he act with the woman?” A freshly-fallen angel would be confused. Unprepared for the onslaught of emotion—and need. Lust.
Easy pickings.
Elijah glanced over his shoulder. But, the demon didn’t need to check for a threat behind him. The real menace was right in front of him. Was the guy truly becoming a trusting sort now? Fatal mistake.
“His eyes kept going to her ...”
Interesting.
“And he said he was her guardian.”
Sam’s lips quirked at that. He suspected the guy was far from a benevolent guardian angel. But if that was the spin the Fallen wanted to play, then who was he to bust the vamp’s bubble? At least, not yet.
“I’m all about killing a vamp.” Elijah crossed his arms over his bulky chest. “But I ain’t taking on that bastard.”
“You’re that sure he’ll take you out?” The demon’s fear was new. Elijah had never been afraid of a hunt before.
But Elijah was backing down. “I know Death when I see him.”
Yes, Sam was rather betting that he did.
“We’re done,” Elijah said, turning away and giving Sam his back. Oh, bad move. “I’m sick of dancing on your damn string ...”
Right. Same song, different fucking dance. “And where will you get your special brew, Elijah? When you walk away from me, who will help you?”
Now that stopped him.
Elijah looked back, and the struggle was clearly etched on his face. Like so many of his kind, Elijah had a bit of an addiction. Demons and addictions. When Elijah used his drugs, he could focus his thirst for blood and violence. With the drugs, he didn’t kill just anyone—he killed specific targets.
Without the drugs ... women, children—everyone became his prey.
Sam liked to think he’d been doing his part to keep the dog on the leash these last few months. But if Elijah was ready to bite the hand that had been feeding him ...
“You’re not the only game in town,” Elijah muttered and kept walking.
Oh, but I am.
“When you change your mind,” Sam called after him. “Maybe I’ll help you.”
Elijah was nearing the top of the small hill, his body a dark shadow.
“And maybe I’ll just kill you,” Sam whispered, smiling, because he knew that the demon couldn’t hear him.
His dog would be back. Probably within forty-eight hours. And if he wasn’t ... there were always other demons. Others who needed what he could give them. Others who were weaker, and so easy to control.
Demons came in every size, color, and power. Some barely tipped the scales, those with powers between one and three. Those poor bastards might as well be humans. A power scale of ten was supposed to be the strongest. A level ten, or L-10, was the alpha of the demon land. So the stories said.
The stories were bullshit.
He glanced back up at the sky and all those glittering stars and he began to whistle.
It took a while for a Fallen’s powers to come back. The crash and burn wiped out an angel. This new opponent wouldn’t be at full strength yet.
It was the perfect time to play.
And time to see just how attached the “guardian” truly was to his charge.
Would he kill for her? Bleed for her? Die for her?
One way to find out ...
A star fell, blazing a trail across the sky.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nicole lunged across the truck and grabbed the wheel. She jerked it hard to the right and the truck careened across the road.
Keenan fought to push her back, but he’d been totally unprepared for her attack. “Nicole, what are you—”
The truck plowed into a wooden fence and fought to hurtle forward.
Keenan shoved his foot down on the brake and the vehicle bounced twice, then steam exploded from the engine as the truck finally stopped.
Of course, Nicole had already flown from the truck by then. Her door hung open, swaying in the breeze, and he caught sight of her curving, come-get-me hips as she ran away from him.
Again.
He jumped out of the truck. Yeah, that piece of crap wasn’t going anywhere, but if he didn’t hurry, Nicole could easily vanish.
“Nicole!” He shouted. Great. He couldn’t see her now. With a vamp’s speed, she could be anywhere. “I’m trying to help you!” Keenan called out into the night.
The hit came from behind. A hard, fast tackle that sent him slamming into the ground. He rolled, moving in a blink, but it still wasn’t fast enough. Nicole pinned his hands to the ground and loomed over him.
“Why do I need help from a demon?” She demanded and her teeth lengthened as he watched.
She straddled h
is body. Her hips and sex pushed down onto him. Keenan had never been in this particular position with a woman. He rather ... liked it.
A lot.
His cock began to swell. “I don’t ... I’m not here to hurt you.” He didn’t bother letting his eyes change back to blue. She’d see him as he was. Probably would be better that way. Keenan could break from her hold in an instant, vampire strength or not, but he lay on the ground beneath her and let his gaze slowly rise to her face. “If I’d wanted you dead, I could have killed you back at the hotel. You couldn’t fight back in your sleep.”
“Maybe killing me isn’t the plan.” Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Death is the easy part.”
He’d always thought so. Until her.
“If this is all some trick that you and your demon buddies are working, think again.”
Now she was starting to offend him. “I have no demon friends.” Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure that he actually had any friends.
She leaned closer to him, and her thighs slid against his hips.
Like it.
“What’s so special about me, huh?” The darkness shone in her eyes. To fight or fuck. He’d heard the whisper before. A vamp’s eyes changed to black when she was either getting ready to battle or to screw.
“Tell me, Keenan ... Why do I get a guardian? You don’t know me. You know nothing about me.”
Her scent surrounded him. Her hair brushed his cheek. If he wanted, he could lunge up and reverse their positions in about two seconds. Maybe one.
If he wanted.
I want.
He put a stranglehold on the beast that was growing inside of him. A beast he hadn’t even known about until her.
Lust.
“You’re not special,” he managed to grit from between his teeth.
She blinked at him. “Uh, I—”
“You’re just like every other human out there.” If he said it enough, it would be true.
“Wrong answer, hotshot. I’m not exactly human.” And she let her claws scratch his flesh. A light, painful sting.
It shouldn’t have made his cock twitch.
It did.
He sucked in a breath and tasted her. His eyes squeezed shut. But now ... now he could feel her. Supple thighs. Slender, soft body. Control. “You ... you were just like the others.” His words came out as a growl. “Going to work. Teaching at that school. Work. Home. Over and over.”