by Marcel, Zoey
“Don’t kill him! I love him!” she pleaded tearfully.
“Then you might want to turn your head for this part,” Joaquin warned.
“Joaquin!” Dakarai raised his voice but lowered it when the vampire turned to look at him. “Put yourself in her place.”
Joaquin snarled and rammed Cameron’s head against the wall. “He’s seen too much. So has she. They will report what they’ve witnessed.”
“No, we won’t, just let us go. I only came here for help and I’m sure he was just checking up on me because I wasn’t asleep in bed,” Hilary explained.
Joaquin looked irritated but shoved Cameron toward the door. “Do not prowl around my club after hours again, and if you report what you have seen here it will be to your own detriment.”
Cameron nodded quickly. “Sure. No problem.”
Hilary headed toward the door, but Dakarai gently tugged her arm. His touch felt cold like the night air.
“With the exception of a protection spell, I wouldn’t use any more magic for a while if I were you. It makes it that much easier for him to trace you,” he murmured near her ear so only she could hear.
She nodded. “I tried to use a protection spell over our apartment, but he took it from my memory.”
“We could stand watch over your residence if you like.”
She glanced over at Joaquin, whose fangs had been put away, but his eyes were still black and deadly.
“I’ll be all right. Thank you.”
Hilary headed outside where Cameron was waiting for her. She walked briskly to avoid his inevitable questions, but he matched her step for step.
“Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?” he demanded.
“Not particularly. It’s none of your business.”
He yanked her by the arm to stop her and stepped in front of her. “Like hell it isn’t. What were you doing there?”
“If I wanted you to know, I would have asked you along. What were you even doing spying on me?”
“I followed you because I thought you were going for a walk alone at night and I wanted to protect you. Then when I saw you go into the sex club with one of the owners after hours, I thought—”
She folded her arms. “What?”
Cameron looked angry and hurt. His voice lowered, breaking with misery. “I thought you were cheating on us.”
“What? So you can sleep with me and take up room in my home, but you don’t trust me?”
“I do trust you, Hilary, but when you hide the fact that you’re a witch and then sneak off to a sex club at night, what am I supposed to think?”
“Oh, you want secrets? What about the fact that you and Callie were messing around behind my back?”
“You abducted me to be your plaything and hers. You didn’t have a problem with me touching her before.”
“I still don’t, but I would like to know what is going on in my own home.”
“Yeah, so would I,” he snorted.
“It’s not your home.” She brushed past him.
“No, of course not. I’ve just been staying there for the past two months, but that’s just a really long visit. Everybody knows that,” he quipped. “You know what your problem is?”
“You won’t leave me alone?”
He quickened his pace and stepped in front of her to halt her in her tracks. “You’re afraid of commitment.”
“Speak for yourself. You gallivant around with two women and I haven’t seen you on your knees asking for anyone’s hand lately.”
“Why would I propose to you when you won’t even acknowledge me as your boyfriend?”
“You are not my boyfriend. You are Callie’s. Have you not been carrying on a relationship with her?”
“Well, yeah, but I have with you too.”
Hilary shook her head with a humorless snicker. “What we have is not a relationship. You were my slave, nothing more.”
“I don’t believe that. And why did you say ‘were’?”
“I release you from bondage. If you truly care about Callie then marry her. If this was all a game to you then leave now. I won’t have you breaking her heart if you’re not serious about her.”
“I am serious about her and you.”
Her stomach fluttered and her fingertips tingled and trembled. “Callie likes you. Take her. She is the far better choice.”
“I want you both.”
She whirled around in annoyance. She wanted it that way too, but he couldn’t know it. The relationship must end tonight or he would follow her and Nex would kill him. “Well, you can’t have it both ways, Clyde—Cameron.”
Cameron appeared surprised by her mistake. “Who is Clyde?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. You said his name once before in your sleep. Now tell me, who is he?”
She pushed his hands off her. “Don’t touch me!”
“Why did you go there tonight? Why did you walk into a demon’s lair?”
“Dakarai isn’t as bad as you think.”
“They’re demons! We should tell someone. Nothing out of hell is allowed in Temptation.”
A tiny tremor of pain moved through her heart. “I’ve seen hell. Are you going to throw me out of town too?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Forget it.”
“Damn it, don’t do this.” He grabbed her arms and made her stop and look at him. “You keep pushing me away, but I can help you.”
Tears pricked her eyes like knives. “You can’t help me, Cameron. I’m not like Callie. I’m not sweet and pure. I didn’t lose my innocence to some pervert. I gave it away willingly to a lot of people.”
“I don’t care.”
“Well, do you care that I had someone killed before deliberately?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I practice dark magic. I’ve called on demons and underworld gods and goddesses before to do my bidding. Usually I get my power from nature and the elements, but on occasion I rely on the powers of darkness. Those demons you want to run out of town—I’m no different than them. So don’t patronize or pity me. I deserve to be in hell.”
Cameron stepped closer. “No, you don’t. There is good in you, Hilary. I’ve seen it. You healed Callie and you gave me a purpose. On a lighter note, you made my shop an even better business than it was before you came. None of that stuff you told me matters to me. All that matters is what you said to me in that club.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks when he caressed her face and caught one of the droplets on the pad of his thumb. She averted her gaze to make her lie more convincing. He would know the truth if she looked into his eyes. “I only said that so he wouldn’t kill you.”
He gently angled her chin to enforce eye contact between them. “Look me in the eye and say it and then I might believe you.”
The depth in his eyes proved too powerful and her sorrow too great to linger there. She closed her eyes in misery and tried to pry his grip from her chin. “Let me go.”
“I can’t let you go, knowing how you really feel about me. I need to be with you. This triad relationship that we both want, we can have that in this town without having to worry about criticism or judgment.”
Hilary almost said yes to him, but in her mind she heard Nex say her name in that Scottish accent of his, reminding her how futile her hopes and dreams were. She slapped Cameron’s wrist and he released her chin. “There is no happy ending for me, you fool! I had my chance at life—my sad, pathetic attempt at living—and I blew it. There is more than one dimension of hell and this is just another one.”
“Hilary, wait.”
She turned to face him one last time and held out her hand, using invisible energy to throw him back onto his behind. “Do not follow me unless you have a death wish.”
The tragic confusion and injury on his face broke her heart as she turned and hurried away. This hell was far worse than the previous perdition she had known.
* * * *
Cameron and Callie were good drivers, but originating from the fourteenth century, long before the invention of the automobile proved a setback for Hilary. Cameron tried to teach her before, but it turned into a power struggle oddly enough, and she vowed to travel by foot from then on.
Right now Hilary wished she had swallowed her pride and continued her lessons with him so she could actually operate this machine. She kept forgetting which pedal was the gas and which was the brakes. She hit both and the beast screeched at her. She eased off one and floored the other only to be launched forward at a startling speed. She slammed on the other and came to a sudden, noisy stop. No big deal. She could cover a good deal of ground at that speed and slam on the brakes when she needed to stop.
She pressed random buttons in search of those wand thingies that wiped the rain away. Instead the radio came on. She swallowed nervously and floored that pedal just as some horrific death metal came on. She screamed, searching for those damned elusive wands. A click sounded and she noticed a flashing green arrow. She turned it off and finally found the wipers.
There, much better, except that Cameron stood in the middle of the road with his arms near his sides as if braced for a fight, and she was heading toward him at ramming speed. He would move. He didn’t move. It was time for the other pedal now. The mechanical beast screeched its protest and halted a few feet from him.
Hilary got out of the car, slamming the door shut.
“Turn the engine off,” Cameron ordered, looking like she did before she disciplined him.
She turned the key in the ignition and the beast quieted down and went to sleep. Perhaps with more rest he would behave like a gentleman for her when she started driving again.
“What are you doing here?” She slammed the door shut and stomped toward him.
His hair was matted from the downpour and water trickled down his adorable face. His white T-shirt clung to his toned body and the drenched denim hugged his legs. He looked manly and ravishing.
“Your driving is still crappy, I see,” he said with a snotty cockiness that bugged her.
“I told you to stay away from me.”
“Not going to happen. I’m not going to let you leave like this, Hil. Not when I know how bad you want me.”
“You arrogant ass!”
“Do you deny it?”
“Get out of here or you’re going to get hurt.”
He smirked. “Are you going to beat me up?”
“If I have to.”
He stood his ground and folded his arms. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not supposed to tell you.”
“Bullshit. Tell me.”
“Someone from my past has it in for me and I don’t want you or Callie to get hurt. If I leave now you won’t.”
“Is this person an ex-lover of yours?”
“No, he’s an enemy who wants me dead.”
“Okay, good.” He exhaled a sigh of relief. “I mean, that’s not good. I’m just glad it’s not somebody you’ve screwed. What’s his name?”
“Nex.”
“That’s a new one.”
“It’s Latin.”
“Look, don’t worry about this Nex guy. I’ll keep you safe.”
“You can’t.”
Cameron rolled his eyes. “Geez, have a little faith in me, will you? I beat the crap out of Brent when he tried to assault Callie the second time around and I can protect you from Nessie.”
“Nex, and no, you can’t. He is a great deal stronger than Brent.”
He shrugged. “So what? I can take him. Now come home with me.”
“I can’t.”
“Then tell me what else is bothering you. Why did you call me Clyde last night?”
She looked away, thankful the rain pouring down on her would effectively hide any tears that escaped. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, I do.”
She shook her head frantically.
“Is he the one who hurt you so bad you’re afraid to be with me? Tell me, Hil, what did Clyde do to you?”
The tears broke free. The rain concealed them, but the pain surfaced in her broken tone. “He betrayed me! I gave him everything—my heart, my dreams, my time, my body and he threw it away. I performed sexual acts I’m embarrassed to speak aloud. I made a whore of myself and I did it all for him because he was my world, but he had wandering eyes and hands. I suspected him of it for the longest time, but I always believed him when he said he was faithful, even though deep down I knew better.”
The cold shower made her shiver, but the memory of what happened next proved equally responsible. “He left me when I approached him about commitment. He said we were over and that was when I turned to women for solace. He eventually returned to me and I forgave him. I found him one night in bed with another woman—my closest friend at the time.”
Cameron’s countenance bore sympathy, anger and pity. He pulled her close and held her tight, rubbing her back as she sobbed onto his shoulder.
“I was so devastated and angry I turned her into a fly and him into a frog. He ate her and then I turned him back into a man and told him what he did. I cursed him to look so hideous that no one would ever want him again. I wanted him to know what rejection and loneliness felt like all the days of his life.”
“I’m so sorry.” Cameron kissed the top of her head and nuzzled her. “I can’t believe anybody would be stupid enough to cheat on you.”
“I know. The fool knew I was a witch.”
“No, I mean because you’re so beautiful, so sweet and wonderful.” He squeezed her tight. “You never gave another man a chance after that?”
She shook her head and let out a tearful whimper. “I drank poison.”
Cameron pulled back and held her at arm’s length, looking startled. “What?”
Hilary sobbed harder. “I drank poison and died. This was back in the fourteenth century. I went to hell.”
He wrapped his arms around her when she flew into him and wept. “Well, that explains a lot—the weird speech mannerisms and shitty driving. How did you come back to life?”
“A demon resurrected me.”
“Oh, wow.”
She pulled away, sobbing uncontrollably. “I’ve said too much. I have to get out of here.”
“Hilary, listen to me. I can protect you. I don’t know what you’re running from. Are you worried I’m going to cheat on you?”
She mewled in torment and her lids milked the tears from her eyes.
“Baby, I’m not him. You know that.”
“I know, but I can’t stay.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Clyde was just like you—charming and sweet with a good sense of humor and very attractive. There were no warning signs. He hid his dark side extremely well. I can’t go through that again. It literally destroyed me.”
He elevated her chin so she met his loving gaze. “Listen to me, I will never leave you or cheat on you. I swear to you.”
She wanted to believe that, needed to with all her heart. “That’s what he said and it meant nothing.”
“Damn it, I’m not him. And I’m going to prove that to you, even if it takes the rest of my life.” Cameron jerked her into him and trapped her mouth with his. His arms snaked around her body, fondling her with loving, passionate touches as his tongue made love to hers. He hoisted her up onto the hood of the car and took her soaked top off.
Her body ached and tingled with need. They were doing this. They were really doing this. She rolled the hem of his shirt up and lifted it over his head, kissing his washboard torso in awe as he unclasped her bra and tossed it aside.
“You look so good,” she breathed, running her hands all over his arms and chest.
>
“Oh god, so do you. Fucking gorgeous.” He buried his face in her bosom, kissing the twin mounds and sucking the tender nubs into tight peaks.
Hilary moaned, closing her eyes as the rain pelted onto her lids. The hood of the vehicle was hard and slick, but it didn’t matter. He was here with her and had her in his arms. Sometimes he made her believe that this time around could turn out better than her other experience. She hoped so.
Cameron groaned wildly when she groped the bulge in his drenched jeans. He practically ripped at her wet fly to get her pants off her while she fumbled with his. They yanked their shoes off in a hurry, slipping and sliding across the hood while they pulled their pants and underwear off. Both chuckled breathlessly, trying not to fall. They made out and rubbed their naked bodies against one another, genitals becoming engorged with blood as their hands journeyed the planes and curves of each other.
Hilary braced herself when she slipped a bit, hands making a squeaky sound across the slick hood, but Cameron covered her body with his to hold her in place.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, legs entwining with hers. He hovered over her to shield the rain from her eyes as he took his erection in his hand and guided it to her damp pussy.
Her pulse quickened and time stood still as she held his loving, enthralled gaze while he pushed his cockhead into her vagina. His gasp sounded feral when he entered her. She cried out with bliss and arched her back, taking more of him. Knowing he had never done this before and wanted her to be the first one he shared it with made her eyes water and her heart swell with gratitude and appreciation.
Cameron eased in until he bottomed out inside of her. He looked as blown away by the experience as Hilary felt. She figured he wouldn’t last long, given how this was his first time and they were both already so worked up sexually.
He braced himself on the slick hood while he tunneled inside of her slowly, groaning like a whore when she caressed every inch of him that she could from that angle. His thrusts became manic and their breathing grew heavier.
The thought briefly crossed her mind that someone could drive by even if this was a back road, but right now she didn’t care. She only prayed that insufferable sheriff didn’t happen to pass by while they were going at it like bunnies.