Her head lifted from his shoulder. She gazed down at him and asked, “How do we know each other, Kage?”
His fingers combed through her long, silky hair. “We met in Scotland. Battled demons together. Then you vowed to the council to be their soldier forevermore, fighting for them to maintain the balance of good and evil. They enchanted you to do so. Made it possible for you to be resurrected whenever that balance is threatened.”
“And you…protect me?”
“You’re entombed when you die.” His chest pulled tight at the subject matter, but she deserved to know the truth. “I watch over you, protecting your mortal soul. So that demons can’t counteract the enchantment. So that they can’t keep you from a reincarnation.”
“But how?” she asked, confusion swirling in her cerulean eyes. “Did the council enchant you as well?”
“They didn’t have to. You did it,” he admitted. “With your smile. With your strength. With your beauty.”
She smirked. “Kage.”
“It’s true. From our first battle together, I was hopelessly devoted to you.”
Her lips brushed over his. “So sweet. So romantic.”
“Hmm. It’s not always roses and sunshine, baby.”
“I can imagine. But…” Her brows knitted. “I don’t understand how you exist…to watch over me.”
Now, it was his gut that tightened. Here came the challenging part.
He told her, “I’m a demon, Taelyn. An immortal by lineage.”
She stared at him, her jaw falling slack.
With a slight nod, he said, “Honestly.”
“Wait… How can that be?” Her forehead crinkled as she tried to process the reality of the situation. “I’m a—”
“Demon slayer. Yes.”
“And yet we—”
“Fell in love. Irony of ironies.”
She opened her mouth to speak again. No words came out.
Kage grinned. “Look at me, stumping the slayer.”
“Ha, ha.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and told her, “This is usually much easier for you to digest. You’re reunited with me and the sword and your memories return. Slaying is the occupation you embrace—I’m the man you embrace.”
“Yes, I imagine it’s near-impossible to resist your considerable charms,” she mocked in a dry tone.
“I am quite charming,” he assured her with a crooked brow.
“Once you get past the cocky smile and the surly disposition.”
“I’m rarely ever surly.”
“Right.”
His mouth claimed hers in an impassioned kiss. Then he murmured against her lips, “I’m only surly when you don’t have any fucking clue who I am and it makes me want to break shit or throttle wolves.”
As she swept her fingers along his temple, she said, “Trust me, I wouldn’t mind remembering every time you’ve made love to me. It’d also be nice to know who I really am.”
“Ah, that’s an easy one, love.” He kissed her again, then told her, “Exactly who you’ve been since the day I met you.”
Taelyn shook her head. A haunted look flashed in her eyes. She sat up, still straddling him. “That’s not true.” Lifting her right hand, she turned it to show him the ring on her finger. “If I’m me, then why the hell am I wearing another man’s ring?”
Rage roared through him.
But Kage couldn’t direct his angst or pain toward Taelyn.
First, he asked, “The man who sometimes visits you, usually in the middle of the night… He gave you that ring?”
A look of contrition and remorse crossed her beautiful face. “Yes.”
“He didn’t place it on the right finger, though, did he?”
“No. It’s meant to be a promise of an engagement.”
Kage let out a hollow laugh. “A promise to get engaged? What the hell sort of commitment is that? Either one wants to get engaged, get married—or they don’t. If he needs to think about it, then don’t tie up the prospect with the mere hint of an engagement.”
Taelyn’s teeth sank into her bottom lip. Her brow crooked.
“What?” he demanded.
Clearly fighting a smile—the corners of her mouth quivered—she said, “You’re offended for me.”
“Hell, yes, I’m offended for you. Does he know what he’s missing out on?”
She laughed.
“You find this amusing?” Kage asked.
“In a way. I mean, the relationship I’ve had up until now…it’s not the same as with you. Vander—”
“Vander?” He rolled his eyes. “You’re kind of, sort of, maybe engaged to a prat named Vander?”
“People don’t use that word anymore.”
“I’m old-school.”
“Hardly. Now, whatever exception you take to his name and, yes—” she gritted her teeth—“his interim proposal, I do contend that he is a very intelligent and kind man.”
Kage’s gaze narrowed on her. “Who sneaks into your house in the middle of the night?”
“We’re not teenagers, Kage,” she said with a tinge of exasperation. “He has a key.”
“And his own bed?”
“Well…no. Of course not.”
Kage started to sit up. She pushed him back down. Forcefully. Which ignited his lust all over again. He let out a groan of frustration. Because they were talking. Not fucking.
Taelyn said, “Try to remember that I have no recollection of a past with you. I won’t deny that there was an instant connection that day you came into my shop and a vague familiarity, but I don’t know of anything that existed between us before that time, other than what you’ve recently told me.”
“I know,” he said with resignation. “I’m sorry. This is complicated for you. Perfectly laid out for me, but you’re still in the dark about so much.”
“Yes. There’s also the matter of me being alone in Rhode Island with no family to speak of and no real friends. I felt comfortable when Vander came into my life. We have things in common and he’s very easy on the eyes and… I don’t know. I guess I…needed him. In some ways.”
Kage’s gut wrenched.
Apparently, his torment was visible on his face because she quickly said, “We shouldn’t discuss this anymore. I don’t want to hurt you. Suffice it to say that I pretty much knew, in my heart, that this ring wouldn’t stay on my finger for long. Vander’s a wanderer. He’s always scouting collectibles, usually on a different continent. I suppose the idea of getting married appealed to me from the stance of wanting to finally belong to someone. But even as he placed the ring on my finger, I knew it wasn’t going to be a lifetime commitment.”
Kage stared intently at her and asked, “Do you love him?”
“No,” she confessed. “I respect him. I admire him. But love…?” She shook her head. “One week with you and I’m so much more versed in what love should and could be than I was after an entire year with Vander.”
In a grand gesture to back up her words, she clasped the enormous ruby with her finger and thumb to remove it from her hand. She pulled gently.
Nothing happened.
Kage’s jaw set.
She tugged again. Swore under her breath. Tried once more.
“Problem, love?”
She gave him a sassy smirk. “My fingers are swollen from the humidity. I’ll have to try soap or butter to loosen it.”
“You genuinely want to remove his ring?”
“Kage.” She lowered herself to him again, her arms around his neck, her naked body pressed to his. “I can’t wear another man’s ring after you’ve made love to me. I’m sorry I am right now. I didn’t know about you when I accepted the…promise.” She gave a half-snort that managed to placate him, despite the pain still slicing through him. “With all my heart, I don’t believe I belong with Vander.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” He kissed her. Then said, “Especially since you’re already married. To me.”
Taelyn gaped.
; Kage held up his left hand. “You have an identical ring. I keep it when you’re entombed. Return it to your finger when you have your memories back.”
Her heart did an odd skipping of beats in the most erratic way. A contradictory reaction to feeling his torment and reveling in joy over the fact that she truly was his.
Tears burned the backs of her eyes. She searched for the right words but she couldn’t adequately wade through her jumbled thoughts.
He said, “We married two days after you defeated the first demon sent specifically to destroy you. No promise of engagement. There were rings, an officiant and a marriage.”
“Just like that,” she whispered.
“Just like that.”
Her lips curved upward. Her heart swelled. “Because you knew to the depths of your soul that you wanted to marry me?”
“As you did me.”
“Oh, Kage…” The fat drops pooled in her eyes.
He said, “The very second I made up my mind, I had the rings made for us. And the first chance I got, I asked you. It was after your victory on the battlefield. You were injured but recovering quickly. A physician tended to you and within hours, you were up and walking. Feeling strong enough to consider your next big movement—which demon faction to take on as rumors spread throughout the country of more attacks. I was so proud of you. So in awe. So in love.”
Tears crested the rims of her eyes and tumbled down her cheeks. “I bet I felt exactly the same about you.”
“Well,” he said as he whisked away a few drops. “I am rather studly.”
“Kage!” She half-laughed, half-cried. “You are so arrogant.”
“No,” he said in a suddenly somber tone. “I’m just a man who does what he can with the cards dealt him, love. When you agreed to the council’s proposition for resurrection, I had two choices. I could walk away. Or I could stand by you always.”
She sniffled. More tears fell. She asked, “Do you regret the decision you made?”
“Not for a second. Not when you die. Not even when you’re…with another man. Which has never happened until this last rebirth, by the way. So my guess is after all these centuries, you’re starting to feel lonely, sweetheart. And that hurts me even more.”
“But it’s not your fault,” she insisted. “If I’m lonely. You have rules to abide by, correct? The council governs how the resurrection works?”
“Yes. I watch over you from the shadows. Keep my distance until called upon.”
“And there’s obviously no guarantee of how I’m going to respond when I’m needed by the council. Because this time, the reunion is completely out of whack.”
He nodded. “I’ve no idea what’s gone wrong. The problem is,” he said as the backs of his fingers tenderly caressed her cheek, “the enchantment is clearly broken, you don’t have your memories and when you die this time…it’ll be the last time.”
Her eyes widened.
Kage told her, “I’ll hold you close until you take your very last breath. And spend the rest of my eternity knowing you’ll never return to my arms.”
“Oh, my God,” she choked on a sob. “I’m so sorry this is your fate.”
“I chose it,” he reminded her, his own eyes misting. “No one forced this upon me. The council presented the opportunity to you. I was honored when they did the same for me. Above it all, I viewed this as the chance to be with you for longer than one lifetime. Because I’m immortal and you’re not. But I also couldn’t fathom for a second not being at your side to protect you.”
“Even when I’m dead.”
“Even when you’re dead.”
She snuggled close to him. Inhaled the scent she’d become addicted to from the first time she’d breathed it in, when she’d been pinned between his hard body and the wall of the storage room.
His fingers swept lightly along her spine and she did, indeed, tremble. As he’d claimed the day they’d played darts.
“Taelyn,” he said in a tentative voice.
Which gave her pause. If there was one thing Kage Deville was not, it was tentative.
Her head lifted from his chest. “What?”
“There’s something else you should know.”
She blinked. “I’m not sure I can handle much more at the moment. I’m seriously overdue for a massive sobfest.”
His gaze held hers as he said, “We have a son.”
CHAPTER NINE
Taelyn gawked. A full-on gawk.
Her heart stammered.
Her body stiffened.
Her pulse quickened.
Kage said, “His name is Liam. He’s twenty-one. He was born the last time you were resurrected. The threat against you was late in coming. You were alive for a couple of years, with your memories intact. We had our son, and then the demon attack came. You prevailed, but succumbed to an infection later on. Precisely how you died initially—two days after we were married in the twelfth century. One day you were fine. The next day you were bed-ridden. The day after that…” He shook his head.
“Where is he?” she asked. “Our son?”
Kage sucked in breath. Visibly put effort into rising above all the heartache he’d endured himself over the centuries and proudly announced, “He’s a Marine. And currently battling the ‘terrorists.’ Though he knows they’re demons.”
“How does he know?”
“He’s well versed. I made sure of it.”
“And you’re aware of his whereabouts?”
“Yes.” Kage stroked a hand along her hair. “We’re always in touch with each other. He understands about the uprisings and feels it’s his duty to do what he can to counter them.”
“But, Kage. He could get killed!”
Kage cupped her face and said, “He’s extremely difficult to harm. He’s a demi-demon.”
“A what?” She scooted away from him and stood. Snatched the throw from the end of the sofa and wrapped it around her.
As she paced in front of the fireplace, Kage told her, “I’m a demon, you’re human. I’m immortal, you’re mortal. So he’s of mixed blood. Like demi-gods of Olympus. Hercules, you know? Infinitely more resilient than a human but not as infallible as a full-fledged god.”
She pulled up short and glared at him. “So our son can die?”
“Yes.”
“And you let him become a Marine?!”
Kage chuckled. “I didn’t exactly have a say in the matter. He’s a lot like his mother.”
“Oh, my God.” She sank onto the stone-trimmed ledge that ran along the elevated fireplace.
“Sweetheart. He possesses my mad skills and your instinct. The kid—man—is his own force with which to be reckoned. So don’t obsess over his safety at present. He’s among the elite. A bit of a badass himself.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.”
Kage stood and stepped into his pants, tying the drawstring at his waist. He knelt before her and clasped her hands. “I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t think you could handle it. Conversely, I’ve not yet made mention of your resurrection or your connection with the council to Liam. He doesn’t know about any of that. I feared I’d give him false hopes that you’d always be around.”
She nodded. “Definitely no guarantee of that. Still… Will I get to see him before I—” she swallowed hard. But bucked up and continued. “Before I pass?”
“He’ll want that, I’m sure.”
Kage straightened and pulled her to her feet as well. Then he scooped her into his strong arms and carried her into the bedroom. “For now,” he said as he set her gently on the mattress, “I want you to sleep.”
She gazed up at him. “You’re not taking the couch tonight, are you?”
“Of course not. I’m sleeping with you.” He swept the covers back and she crawled under them. Kage settled next to her, holding her close.
Her palm splayed over his pecs and her head rested on his shoulder. She said, “I imagine I made the deal with the council for selfish purposes.”
“Being?”
“I would have only had that one encounter with you in the twelfth century. By agreeing to be their slayer through the ages, there was the prospect of many more years with you.”
“For an eternity, you were promised. But no one suspected the enchantment would be broken.”
“I wonder how it happened.”
“Believe me, I’m dissecting it every second of the day. The council is equally baffled.”
“But they can’t fix it?”
Kage was silent for a few moments. Taelyn listened to his agitated breathing between rumbles of thunder and the crackle of lightning.
Eventually, he told her, “It was a one-shot deal, love.”
“Game over,” she whispered.
“Yes. Game over.”
Kage slipped out of bed early the next morning, careful not to disturb Taelyn. He dragged on another tank top and stepped out onto the deck as the sun was rising.
“You look like a man who’s been offered the key to the city and sentenced to death at the exact same moment.”
Kage grimaced. “Something like that.” He and Marcus clasped forearms, then Kage added, “Since you’re here, I’m to surmise trouble looms on the horizon?”
“Laoghaire advances.”
“And he’s coming for Taelyn.”
With a nod, Marcus said, “She’s the one who can mobilize her own force, once she’s confident in her fighting skills and leadership abilities. It always takes an adjustment period following her resurrection. That’s when the most powerful demon under the alliance strikes. To ensure her army can’t rise up against the immortals.”
“You allow this standoff to happen in order to keep the balance.” Kage heard the angst in his tone. Knew it wasn’t wise to challenge a council member but they faced different circumstances this time. Much more dire than ever before. “You realize without the enchantment, she’s no longer your steward. Nor am I? We’ll fight to the death, have no doubt. But when that fight is over…if neither of us stands, we never again will.”
“I’m aware of that.” Marcus began to pace. “I’m not happy about it, Kage. For fuck’s sake, you have to know that. I also can’t do anything about it. Whatever happened regarding the spell on Taelyn…I have no control over it. And can’t reinstate it.”
BodyGuard (Butterscotch Martini Shots Book 2) Page 24