by Michele Hauf
“No knife,” he said.
“Then take a bite, yeah?” She waggled her finger before him. “I just need a couple drops.”
“Take a bite?” Aghast at her moxie, he shook his head in bewilderment. “What the hell?”
“Seriously, vampire? Just prick my finger with one of your fangs. Come on, you want to find this demon or not?”
Tonguing the insides of his upper teeth, he met her assessing stare, which wasn’t so much aggressive as impatient. She was trying to cast a spell with the tools she had to work with. Yet a taste of blood could do things to him. Things that would bring up his erection again. He shouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
Fuck, this woman challenged him on so many levels. He’d not expected this mission to become fraught with...emotion and utter mental challenge.
But he would not reveal his consternation. If he’d learned anything about Tuesday Knightsbridge, seeing him in a quandary would make her too happy.
Fangs lowering, he grabbed her wrist and pierced her finger with the pin-sharp tip of one of them. Blood scent curled into his nostrils. It was more alluring than the usual quick bite’s coppery, chemical-laced blood. This blood was deep, thick and steeped with the centuries.
He quickly shoved her hand away so the temptation would not drip onto his tongue.
Tuesday squeezed a couple drops onto the iPhone screen. She glanced at him. “You okay, vamp? Not going to attack me in a raging blood hunger?”
“I am perfectly capable of being around blood without turning into a monster.” Turning into a horny flesh-pricker, on the other hand? When had he last smelled such...tempting blood?
“Good for you.” She stuck her finger in her mouth and sucked at it. “Holster those fangs then, will you? Makes me nervous.”
“Really?” He leaned forward, brandishing his fangs boldly. “You scared I’ll attack?”
“No, I just like the bite too much.”
Startled by that reply, he sat back. Was she a fang junkie? He’d thought only humans succumbed to such base lust for the bite. It was the orgasmic sensations the bite delivered. Such highs could become a drug. Some humans could not get enough.
She winked at him. Ethan willed his fangs to rise to their normal positions.
“Hey, it’s as good for the bite-ee as it is for the biter,” she said. “You know that. So! Let’s get this spell going, yeah?”
Sure. But it was difficult now not to think about clasping her long white hair in his hand as he breathed against her neck, dripping with blood. It would taste like the world and all he had lived through. And such memories were both sweet and sour.
Tuesday drew the demon’s S-shaped sigil on the phone screen with the blood. A line was drawn through that, connecting both curves. The GPS app was open, he noticed, and now he found it easier to turn his attention to what she was doing instead of slipping into a lusty fantasy of slurping at her neck and making her come with nothing more than the bite.
Pressing her bloodied finger to the sigil between her breasts, Tuesday bowed her head and began to chant. The air in the car grew throat-clutchingly humid, and then it took on an icy chill that hardened his sinuses before returning to normal. Ethan coughed. The phone jittered. The blood purled and rose in droplets, reaching for the hand Tuesday held but inches from the phone. And the scent swarmed Ethan’s senses and pushed him headfirst into the unavoidable fantasy.
She would taste old and ancient, laced with centuries of experience. He could sup at her, drain her of her magic... A vampire could steal a witch’s power by enacting bloodsexmagic. It required having sex with the witch while drinking her blood and enacting a spell. He’d never thought to do something so wicked. Until now.
A snap of fingers stirred Ethan back to the now. “What?”
“Where were you, vampire?”
In a heated embrace with a witch who could give him so much more than he’d ever dreamed to have.
“Sorry, got lost for a minute there.”
“Oh, yeah? Are you aroused?”
He tilted his head, sneering. “You think a few drops of blood is enough to get me horny?”
She shrugged. “I do. Truth be told, I’m feeling it. I mean, like I said, fangs do it for me. Seriously.”
Ethan ran his tongue under the tip of one fang. Oh, the serious action he could show her. But he wasn’t a fool. And he was a man on a mission. “Did it work?”
“I got a hit.” She tapped the phone. “Looks like he’s north about a quarter of a mile.”
The twosome got out of the car. Ethan scanned their surroundings. Beyond a copse of ancient oak trees rose a gated community that likely sheltered old money and self-made tech millionaires.
“You ever break and enter?” he asked.
“I don’t think I should answer that one.” Tuesday shrugged up her coat and then shook her hands out at her sides as if preparing for a gunfight. “But whatever fun you’re planning? I’m in!”
* * *
Attempting to enter a gated community in full daylight was probably not the wisest move, but Tuesday was in it to win it. Besides, she wanted to see if Ethan had a plan. He didn’t have a plan. She knew it. But she’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Until he failed, and she’d have an argument for her release and could be done with him.
Telling him about her past hadn’t been a problem. She held no emotion for the stupid witch she’d once been. Smarter, wiser, she now did better because she knew better. And she hadn’t been looking for sympathy from the vampire, though she’d felt it rise off him in the car. Whatever.
She’d revealed her curse, but she would never tell him the ridiculous means to break that curse. That was a secret she’d take to her grave. Besides, knowing it would keep it from ever happening.
They’d parked a block down from the black wrought-iron gates and now strolled casually along the hornbeam hedgerow that grew eight feet high. Hands shoved in his coat pockets, the vampire kept a keen eye from behind the sexy blue sunglasses. Not many were out walking because the day was chilly.
One small reason to be thankful—when she’d been kidnapped she’d been wearing her alpaca coat. She loved this thing, and it was warm.
The vampire looked...cold. His coat was short, stopping below his waist, and revealed a nice tight ass that was emphasized perfectly by the dark jeans. If the fangs in the car hadn’t started her engine, that view certainly revved it to a wanting purr.
To do the guy or not? Everything about his controlling authority screamed no, run away! And everything else, from the fangs to the sexy smile, begged her to give him a chance. One more kiss. One good fuck. A no-strings hex-fest of nudity, fangs and orgasms unending.
Tuesday suddenly bumped right in to Ethan, who had stopped walking for some odd reason.
“Really?” he murmured. “I thought witches had a built-in sixth-sense kind of thing. Were you walking with your eyes closed?”
“My sixth sense isn’t tuned to idiots,” she responded. Good save. She’d been thinking about his fangs in her neck and how strong of an orgasm that would give her. If her tale of taking the curse wasn’t enough to remind her what a fool she could be for a handsome smile then...whew!
The entry gate was twenty feet ahead. Time to pull on her stern witch and focus. “What’s the plan?”
“I don’t have a plan.”
“I knew it.”
“Why not just stroll in?” Ethan asked.
“Awesome. The direct approach, it is. Let’s see you work your skills, vampire.”
“I’ve got skills.” And with that he strode toward the small, freestanding office situated next to the entry gate. He cast her a smirk over his shoulder.
And Tuesday was all in with the tease. She hastened her steps, following him like a witch to the lying witch hunter.
Inside the outhouse-sized office situated
before the gate, a man pushing ninety lifted his chin and eyed their approach. He shook his head, obviously not recognizing Ethan, and said, “We don’t allow solicitors, monsieur. Move along.”
Ethan slid his hand through the small space beneath the protective Plexiglas window and smiled charmingly. “This won’t take long.”
The old man shoved at Ethan’s hand, but then all of a sudden his fingers shook and he dropped them onto Ethan’s palm. The vampire clasped his fingers and said calmly, “We’re here to visit friends. Won’t be long. You won’t remember us, nor will you consider anything out of the ordinary. Open the gates, please.”
Dropping the old man’s hand and stepping back to stand next to Tuesday, Ethan waited while the gates swung inward.
“Nice.” She marched forward, giving the gatekeeper a thumbs-up as she did. “Persuasion?”
“I can convince a man to jump into flames,” he said as he passed her by and wandered along the edge of the curbed and curved drive.
The road was bare of snow and Tuesday assumed it had heat coils beneath, for she could sense the electric vibrations as she walked it. Ethan’s steps moved faster and all of a sudden she was tugged along against her will.
“Damn binding spell.” She picked up her pace.
There had to be a way to crack the bond open. For as intriguing as it was to follow Mr. Tight Pants, she could not abide this humiliation for much longer. This was one curse she had not asked for.
Ethan paused before the garage entrance. To each side of the underground lot stood a massive four-story complex that stretched longer than a football field in each direction.
“Now what?” she asked.
“What’s your tracker say?”
She checked the GPS on his phone. One tiny blood drop moved over the screen as they had walked. “He’s to the left.”
And her heart dropped as she realized she could be so close to the one demon she’d tried to avoid and had done so successfully for centuries. Why was she walking into a grand old reunion now?
“Wait, Ethan.”
He turned and waited for her to speak.
“Maybe you can take it from here,” she said, hating her sudden rise of worry and weakness. She stood up to demons all the time. She was witch! Hear her cackle!
But Gazariel?
The image of the demon’s silk shoes with painted red heels standing but inches from her face was the most heart-wrenching memory.
“You think he’s going to hurt you?” Ethan asked. “I don’t know why he would. It sounds like you took the one thing from him he least wanted. He should welcome you with open arms.”
“Yeah? I don’t think so. He probably thinks I can return the curse back to him.”
“Can you?”
“No! The only way to break the curse is...” Yeah, that part about a true love willing to die for her? Ethan didn’t need to know about that. “Like it or not, we are connected. He probably knows I’m close right now.”
“Which means we should hurry. Whether he’s happy or angry to see you, we’ll find out soon enough.”
She grabbed him by the coat. “Give me a plan, yeah? I mean, when we do find him, what then? Are you going to slap a pair of handcuffs on him and hope the steel doesn’t instantly melt, and in turn, the demon melts us?”
He took the phone from her. “I’ve got a containment crew on speed dial. They’ll be here five minutes after my call. Can I, uh...use this now?”
“Yes, sure.” She wiped off her blood from the screen and he started to scroll. “But what are we going to do while we wait out those very long and most likely painful five minutes in the demon’s presence?”
“Certainly Jones gave me a demon manacle.” He patted his pocket. “It’ll contain the subject.”
“Let me see it.”
“Don’t you trust me? Do you think I’d walk in on a demon ill-prepared? I’ve done this before.”
“Have you?” She wasn’t feeling it. He hadn’t seemed to have a plan yet. Why all of a sudden should he be prepared?
“Don’t worry, Tuesday. I’ve got this one.”
She sighed and dropped her shoulders. Wasn’t as if she had a right to argue. She was merely the lure. And she did want to get this show on the road. The sooner they found Gazariel, the quicker she would be freed.
Ethan talked to someone on the line, confirming arrival in five minutes.
Time to let the guy show her he was the man and that he had everything under control? In her experience that never seemed to go quite as spectacularly as the man thought it would. And she was always left to sweep up the bloody pieces.
He smiled at her as he conferred with whomever he was talking to.
Why she should let Ethan take the alpha route was beyond her, but she submitted because...that ridiculous charming smile did possess a magic of its own.
As did the wanting, needy witch who had been willing to summon a demon to save her fickle lover’s eyesight.
“Let’s do this then,” she said as Ethan hung up. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you in advance. This is not going to go well.”
Chapter 8
Ethan did not appreciate that the witch had no trust in him. Before taking the cozy seat of director of Acquisitions, he’d been a retriever for a century. He knew this job and had chased every artifact, magical spell and creature in existence. Demons were easy enough to subdue if a man had the proper bind. And CJ had promised the manacle he’d given him would work.
He checked his pocket for the small iron pod, which he need only toss at the demon to bind him. And at his wrist he’d drawn a demon protection spell with a felt-tip marker before leaving his loft. He would be able to approach Gazariel, but it should deflect any demonic magic until the subject was securely bound.
Proceeding onward, he strode toward the elevator in the building lobby. Tuesday followed. He probably didn’t need her from this point on. The phone GPS spell had taken them as far as it could. The demon was somewhere in the building. But the fact she wore the demon’s sigil, and was feeling the demon’s presence now, could not be overlooked.
And as long as she was with him, he could protect her from Gazariel. “Up and to the left,” Tuesday reported as they stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed behind them. Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” hummed out of the speakers while they slowly rose two floors.
“You’re tracking now from a...feeling?” Ethan asked.
“It’s the sigil. It senses the demon. As I’m sure he feels me. And that is not a pleasant feeling, let me tell you.”
“You can wait outside.”
“Don’t think so, vampire. I’m not a pussy. I’m in it to win it. Besides, how do you intend to enter a private residence?”
Vampires could not enter a private residence unless invited. It was something that didn’t ever cause Ethan concern because he’d developed ways to get around that detour over the years. “I’ll call out the demon.”
“Not going to happen. He’s too smart. You’ll have to follow me inside.” She looked upward, then closed her eyes. “Must be the top floor. Yep.” The doors dinged and she strolled out, heading left down the hallway. “You should probably call in your containment crew right now.”
“They should already be on the grounds.” Ethan took out his phone. He dialed and gave the team leader directions to the building and floor. Estimated arrival time was less than five minutes.
“I feel like it’s...just ahead,” Tuesday said as she pressed her fingers between her breasts. “Must be that door at the end of the hallway.”
“Must be?”
The witch stopped and tugged apart her blousy shirt to reveal the glowing sigil. It was faint but glowed red, as if it burned. Definitely working.
Ethan nodded. “All right. It’s that suite. I suppose if a demon is going to live it up in the ritzy part of t
own he should go for the best. Let me take the lead.”
“Why? You got magic to keep back the demon?”
“I’ve got the manacle and demonic wards.”
“That’s sweet.” She stopped before him, hands to her hips. “But what are you going to do when the bastard charges us and then smokes out of sight? You can’t manacle smoke. We need to catch him unawares. Which I’m guessing is going to be impossible thanks to your bait.”
She suddenly hissed and swore, pressing her hand to her chest. Actual smoke tendriled between her fingers.
“He’s close. I gotta ward myself.” She stretched out her arms over her head, then swung them down along her body to her feet. A whoosh of cool air prickled across Ethan’s skin. “You want in?”
Ethan didn’t have to consider it. “Hell yes.”
She slapped her hands to the top of his head, then dragged both down along his shoulders and his length to his feet, drawing around him with what he felt as a tightening tingle that briefly squeezed his skin. He’d never submitted to witchcraft before, but this adventure was offering up a slew of new challenges.
“What will this do?” he asked.
“Hopefully, keep the demon from peeling our skin off too terribly quickly.” She noticed his gape. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s not the skin-peeling type.”
“I thought you knew this demon?”
“I do, but it’s not like we had coffee and got to know one another. Last time I saw him was in the seventeenth century. And he placed his hand on my heart and filled me full of yuck.”
“A yuck that you asked for.”
“Stating facts isn’t going to win you points.”
“I know. You were near death. Anyone would have taken what he offered just to stay alive.”
“Right, I wasn’t thinking with all my faculties. And hey, I’m still alive, so I guess I should be thankful. Now. You take the lead. Knock on his door, why don’t you?”
Ethan stepped up and took a moment to consider what he was doing. Casually knocking on a demon’s door? Perhaps a team fully armed with semiautomatics and full assault gear? His days of knocking down the door to a werewolf pack’s lair with a battering ram were long gone, but he never lost the skill or the caution.