The Jewel of Darkness [Celestial Jewels 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by J. Annas Walker

  Hadrian wore gray slacks and a lighter gray buttoned dress shirt. Instead of the usual tie, his top two buttons hung open. He read the paper without looking up.

  Delilah wore a white satin sleep gown and no robe. The thin spaghetti straps left her scaled shoulders mostly bare. The pale, sea-foam green skin made the white seem very bright. She had already French braided her hair. She gave them a wide smile, showing a mouthful of sharp teeth. She waved them over, patting the table next to her in invitation.

  Sabrina took the seat closest to the demoness. Part of her said it was because she wanted to show trust. The more truthful part said it was to keep Brandon from getting too close. The jealousy rose, but Sabrina controlled it.

  “I thought tonight we might have a girl’s night out. What do you think? Shopping? Dancing and a late night snack?” Delilah offered.

  “I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to leave the apartment,” Sabrina admitted.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay,” Delilah countered. She continued to smile, sipping the thick, green contents from her glass. “If we’re together, there will be two shadow spots out roaming the city. If you stay here, it might as well hang a flashing sign on the door that says come and get me! Hadrian and Brandon have work to do. Their absence will be noticed if they take any more time off. Go out and be seen. Hide in plain sight, so to speak.”

  “Hadrian, I’m not sure about this,” Brandon said, concern dripping from every word. He filled a cup from the carafe and handed it to Sabrina. He filled the other for himself, but sat it down untouched. “Why wouldn’t we just take her with us?”

  “Remember what I said yesterday about going on with your life as usual? Delilah suggested the same thing. Have you ever once taken your wife to work with you?” Hadrian put down his paper. Sipping his blood, he raised an eyebrow and waited for an answer.

  “No, never. Okay, I see your point. Can Camilla go, at the very least?” Brandon seemed to be looking for way to make security tighter.

  “She has gone out with Sabrina shopping. I don’t see why not,” Hadrian said and looked to Delilah.

  “Oh, I would be delighted to spend the evening with Wolfie,” Delilah said sweetly.

  Brandon gave her a stern look. It clearly said Wolfie was not an appropriate nickname. He stared at her until she gave a huff.

  “Okay, Camilla,” she relented. She nibbled at her steak tartare.

  “I have to ask. I mean, you’re green with shiny scales. How do you go out without someone noticing?” Sabrina asked. The snarkiness practically dripped from her words. She wanted to bite her lip the moment she said it.

  Brandon shot Sabrina a look that clearly asked what was wrong with her.

  Delilah gave a mischievous smile. She stood up and snapped her fingers. Everything about her changed. Peaches-and-cream skin replaced the pale, sea-foam green. The places she usually had scales were smooth. She remained just as buxom and curvy as she usually appeared. Her lips changed to a glossy pink to go with her blonde hair and blue eyes. The sharp, pointed teeth became normal, human teeth. Her white night gown vanished, replaced with a black cocktail dress and matching stiletto shoes.

  “Well, what do you think?” She spun in place. Every detail was perfect.

  Sabrina could feel the envy spread ever-so-slightly from the place she tried to bottle it up. She looked to Brandon and Hadrian for cues. They both stared at the transformed woman, making it more difficult to control her jealousy.

  Hadrian spoke first. “You look very lovely, Delilah. I’m sure it takes a great deal of energy to maintain the façade.”

  There was a swift movement under the table, and Brandon gave a grunt. He nodded in agreement and added, “Thanks for doing this. I’m sure you three will have a good time. Excuse me. I need to call Camilla.” He left the table, taking his cup with him, and went to the living room phone.

  Delilah sat back down and finished her meal. She twirled her finger over the glass of green, and a straw appeared. She gave Sabrina a wink. “Mustn’t smudge the lipstick,” she said.

  Brandon returned. “Camilla will be ready to go in thirty minutes,” he informed them. He put his cup down on the table. “If we are going to work tonight, I need to change. Sabrina?” He offered her his hand.

  She took it, leaving the room with him. She went straight to her closet. Obviously, jeans and a tee made a bad outfit for a night on the town with the girls. She pulled out a bright red cocktail dress and slipped it on. The color set off her dark hair and eyes, making her alabaster white skin practically glow.

  She quickly pulled her long, blue-black hair up into a messy ponytail in front of the bathroom mirror. A couple of well-placed decorative combs finished the accessories. She pulled a curl down along each side of her face.

  “Finished,” she proclaimed, as she added a little eye makeup. “Do I at least look like I belong in her company?” She regretted the question instantly. Why did this woman make her feel inadequate all the time?

  Brandon’s dress shirt hung open, his white tee showing beneath. He slipped his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek. “You look good enough to eat, and I don’t care if she walks around naked. You are always going to be the only woman I love,” he said quietly in her ear. He slid his hand down, lifted her short skirt, and ran his fingers along her slit.

  The words melted into Sabrina’s soul, forcing out the envy. She gasped as his finger found purchase. Her pussy felt wet already. The motion of his fingers stroking along her soft folds made her weak in the knees. Pressing into his body, she felt the lioness wake up with more interest than earlier.

  She curled one arm over her head and around his neck, partly for support, but mostly just to touch his bare skin. She turned her head and met him. In a dance of lips and tongues, they kissed.

  He applied more pressure to his fingers and circled over her swollen clit. More hot cream coated her pussy lips. The sensitive pearl sent tingling sensation through her body. Everything inside her body tightened. Her nipples hardened, pressing into the stiff lace of her bra.

  The lioness within wanted to skip this. She chuffed with impatience. Sabrina gave the primal cat a harsh, threatening growl, and the creature backed down.

  Her noise had been meant for the cat, but it enticed Brandon to do more. He made a swift downward motion with his hand, parting her delicate folds. In the same move, he plunged his fingertips into pussy.

  Nicking her tongue on one of his fangs allowed him to get a taste of her blood. The stronger the copper-penny taste grew, the more he fingered her. He found her G-spot and stroked it. In. Out. Over and over. Lapping at the metallic taste in her mouth and playing with her sweet spot filled her pussy with more nectar.

  Tension built up like a coiled spring. Sabrina whimpered. Just when she thought she could take no more, the lioness roared to life. The tension broke and a flood of hot cum ran down her thighs. She cried out, her voice muted by his kiss.

  Brandon pulled his fingers from her body. Another wash of sticky juice coated his hand. He broke the kiss to suck her creamy goodness from his fingers. As he did, the look on his face shifted from lust to puzzlement.

  Sabrina followed his gaze to the mirror in front of them. Dark rainbows danced on the surface and clouds of hazy shadows blocked the reflections. Muffled whimpers and soft sighs reverberated around them. Sabrina realized they were surrounded by a magical sphere.

  She reached out to stroke the surface of the bubble. When her skin made contact, the entire thing dissolved. The trapped sounds went with it. The mirror’s surface was a flat calm once again, and their reflections had returned.

  “Weird,” Brandon said after everything returned to normal.

  “Exactly,” Delilah said from the bedroom.

  Sabrina turned and buried her face in Brandon’s chest. If she knew how, she would have let the floor swallow her whole in that moment. Damn it. Why didn’t she think to lock the door?

  “Didn’t anyone ever t
ell you it was impolite to walk into a private space without knocking?” Brandon asked. A hint of irritation crept into his voice, but he did not sound at all apologetic.

  He kissed the top of Sabrina’s head and whispered, “This is our house and our room. Remember?”

  “I do recall someone mentioning that along the way, but with all the hocus pocus going on in here, I had to check on you two lovebirds. Don’t want any unwelcome visitors popping in, do we?” She made the question sound more like a statement and gave a toothy grin. “Besides, that was a fabulous protection sphere. I knew you were there but couldn’t see or hear a thing.”

  “Thanks,” Sabrina mumbled. She thought about what Brandon said. This was their home, and there was no shame in a man wanting to be with his wife, or vice versa. Eleanor would never have been embarrassed. If anyone should feel awkward, it should be the unannounced visitor intruding on private space. She held her head up and pretended to ignore the situation.

  “Is Camilla ready to go?” Sabrina changed the subject.

  “Yes, but you might want a minute to fix that,” Delilah said with delight, pointing to Sabrina’s shoes. She got up and strolled casually from the room.

  Sabrina looked down. Streaks of pink tinged fluid ran the length of her legs and over her shoes. “Damn. I loved these heels,” Sabrina complained.

  “Well, your dress seems to be okay, and I’ll buy you all the shoes you want to replace them,” Brandon said. He knelt down and pulled them from her feet. As he did, he looked up at her and gave her a fanged smile. “I expect the favor to be returned later.”

  She smiled back. “I think that’s doable.” She felt the primal power of the big cat wanting to roam free but willed it to stay in its place. The lioness sat quietly, impatiently waiting for her turn to pounce, and eyed Brandon as a prize.

  An hour later, Delilah, Sabrina, and a watchful Camilla pulled into the parking lot of the largest mall in the Atlanta metro area. The valet helped them out of the car and handed Delilah a claim ticket. The demoness-in-disguise shoved the piece of colored paper into her micro sized handbag.

  Sabrina watched as her black, Mercedes GL 63 AMG pulled away. A hint of the green-eyed monster lurking inside reared its head. She wanted to learn to drive. A stab of jealousy hit her. There was one more thing the voluptuous Delilah did that she could not. Recognizing the emotion as a part of Delilah’s borrowed magic, Sabrina pushed it back down.

  Camilla leaned in close. “I know that look. Even if you try to hide it, there’s no keeping it out of your eyes,” she whispered, “It doesn’t have to rule you, you know.” She took Sabrina’s arm and steered her toward the building.

  Delilah was already at the door. She waited, looking giddy as a school girl, and motioned for them to catch up. A snap of her fingers opened the doors.

  Inside, people milled about from one shop to another. Aromas from the food court and restaurants wafted through the air. Teenagers stared at the phones and tables, paying no attention to what happened around them.

  Delilah nearly skipped through the crowd. She made a bee line for an upscale shoe store. She had three pairs of fuck-me shoes in her hands when Sabrina and Camilla finally joined her. The salesperson seemed enthralled with her.

  “Oh, Sabrina, here!” Delilah tossed a shoe at her.

  Camilla snatched it out of the air, handing it to Sabrina. She gave Delilah a nasty look. A low growl rumbled in her chest.

  “Down, Wolfie. She’s fine. See?”

  Sabrina turned the shoe over and over in her hands. Something about them was sexy. They were black with some sort of gray and black reptile skin in the heel. A thin gold chain acted as the strap. Ordinarily, they would never appeal to her, but for some reason, tonight she found them attractive. Holding them up, she summoned another clerk.

  A tall man in his early thirties approached her. He had a broad chest and wide shoulders. While obviously toned, he was not as sculpted as Brandon. He wore the standard issue white dress shirt, khaki pants, and loafers.

  However, no matter how much Sabrina stared at him, his face would not stick in her mind. It was as if she saw him yet he was not there. If anyone asked her to describe him, even though she looked right at him, she knew she would fail.

  Camilla and Delilah sat in chairs across the aisle from her. Both made polite conversation about what outfit or accessories went with which shoes. They seemed completely engrossed.

  Some protection they turned out to be, Sabrina thought. Her annoyance cooled as the man behind her spoke. In fact, a chill ran down her spine at the sound of his smooth, deep voice. He said something, but she seemed unable to register the words.

  Sabrina spun on the spot to face him. Until he spoke directly to her, his face had been a mystery. Now she saw him. A rugged, square jaw covered in neatly trimmed stubble set off his rugged face. Piercing blue eyes looked down on her through dark rimmed lashes. Carefully gelled, black hair lay in artful spikes. The effect was a purposeful mess.

  No one else noticed them. Time felt like it slowed down to a crawl. The sounds around them became muffled. Sabrina paid close attention, hoping she had not caused a magical disturbance in the air around her.

  “Who are you?” Sabrina asked. The scent of myrrh and olive oil grew stronger the closer he came, but the scent was different than any she smelled before. Fear rolled through her. The lioness in her head crouched low in a defensive crouch. Her necklace sparkled, throwing dark rainbows ad shadows around her.

  The handsome man watched the rainbows with a certain amount of curiosity. He gave a little chuckle. “I asked if I can help you and introduced myself. I’m Morse,” he said.

  “Morse?” The name struck a chord deep in her soul. Something about him felt wrong, and she wished Brandon was with her. The guy gave her the creeps. It was time to go.

  Chapter 8

  Delilah gave Sabrina’s arm a hard tug, causing her to stumble backward as she was pulled from the shoe store. Camilla brought up the rear, picking up the pace to maneuver ahead of them in the crowd. Time resumed its normal pace.

  “Where the hell did you disappear to? And in public!” Delilah smiled, remaining animated like girls sharing gossip.

  Camilla smiled and leaned in like she possessed the best secret in the world. “Play along,” she whispered.

  “I didn’t go anywhere. That creepy guy slowed time. Don’t blame me,” Sabrina said defensively. She did not need to try hard to look surprised. Keeping her voice upbeat proved a challenge. Disappeared? She stayed in the store. Delilah must have been confused, she told herself.

  “Time didn’t slow. You flickered and blinked out for a few seconds. I don’t think the staff or other customers noticed, but Camilla just about had an aneurism!” The demoness kept up the happy charade. She even threw in a laugh at the end.

  They stopped outside P. F. Chang’s. Camilla went in first. She greeted the hostess.

  “Hi! Three, please. Something private would be great,” she told the thin, older woman who nodded and showed them to their seats. The werewolf seemed to bore a hole in the woman with her eyes. She scanned the room twice with her eyes and sat down.

  Sabrina wondered why a restaurant. Everyone ate before leaving the apartment. The only reason that came to mind was the need for privacy in the restaurant’s dark interior. She remembered Brandon telling her how strong food smells filled with spices would help mask some of their scent.

  Delilah waited for the hostess to make eye contact and snapped her fingers.

  The older woman’s eyes went vacant. Her jaw slacked. The rest of her body froze in place. Goosebumps rose on her skin as if she were cold.

  “I want you to forget we are here. If anyone asks, we already ate and are finishing our drinks. You are going to get three glasses of tea, but only fill them half-way. Bring them here and then leave,” Delilah instructed her. She snapped her fingers again.

  The hostess perked up. “I’ll be right back with your drinks!” She tottered off. When she return
ed, three partially filled glasses with too much ice were deposited on the table. Without another word, she made her way back to the front to greet the next group of people.

  “Now spill,” Camilla demanded. She gave Sabrina a hard look.

  Sabrina described the man as best she could, but when it came to his face, the details slipped away. Even his name failed to come out right.

  “Mmm…Morris…Moore…I’ve lost it. That fast and I can’t remember it,” Sabrina complained. Since becoming a vampire, she remembered every detail of every conversation and knew right down to the buttons what someone wore. Now, her steel-trap memory failed her.

  “I thought your lot couldn’t find her. Wasn’t that the point to giving her your magic, to hide her?” Camilla made the question sound more like an accusation. She glanced around.

  “It should have. There’s nothing alive or undead that should be able to find her,” Delilah said in a harsh but hushed voice. “Besides, I didn’t see Mr. No-head-or-name. Did you?”

  Camilla sat back with a scowl on her face.

  “That’s what I thought,” Delilah added.

  Sabrina played with the ice in her tea, swirling the straw around to make the contents clink. She tuned out everything but the slushy noise. She wished she was at home.

  More tea poured into her glass. The waiter stood with a fake smile and a black, plastic tray containing a bill. He laid it down in front of her, ignoring the other two women. Time seemed to slow down, again.

  “Can I get you anything else?”

  She did not recognize him, but something felt familiar about him. Then the aroma of olive oil and myrrh hit her. She grabbed for Delilah’s arm but found nothing to grab. Her hand went through Delilah’s frigid skin.

  “Who in the hell are you? What do you want from me?”

  “Funny you should mention hell. I don’t really get down there as much as your demonic friend there, but it can have its charms. As for what I want, I want to get to know you a little better, see what all the fuss is and to get back my property,” he said. As he spoke, his face came into focus. It was the man from the shoe shop. The uniform had changed, but nothing else had.