by Lexi Blake
His smile was slightly shy and did strange things to my insides. “I bought you a slave collar. Does that count?”
“Asshole.” I slapped at his perfectly cut chest.
He laughed. “From you, babe, that’s a term of endearment.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled away from him. He was too comfortable. I was a bundle of raw nerves and he was laughing. “What’s wrong with you, Gray? This is serious.”
His lips tugged up in a rueful half smile. His hands cupped my shoulders. “But we’re going in together, Kelsey mine. Everything’s going to be okay.”
He tried to lead me on. I knew where we were going. I remembered where the bedroom was. “Gray, is this some sort of trick? I’m here to back you up. I’m here because this situation is beyond serious. I don’t have time to play games.”
“No games, Kelsey. You can’t go in like that. People would talk.”
I noticed the young man from the sex club sitting at Gray’s bar. He was quiet. His big blue eyes took in the room with a sort of fatalistic acceptance. There was no curiosity there. He was simply waiting for the next thing to happen to him. I wondered briefly what his childhood had been like. I bet it had been even crappier than mine. All thoughts of Matthew’s slave’s shitty lot in life fled when I realized he was wearing a perfectly respectable cashmere sweater. Sure the pants were leather, but they covered him up.
“Why does Matt’s boy toy get to be all dressed and I don’t?”
Matt laughed. He ran a hand possessively through the young man’s platinum curls. “Oh, dear, he certainly won’t be so clothed when we get to the duke’s. How cruel are you? Do you want him to be cold? He would look very silly getting into the limo wearing nothing but leather short shorts and his collar.” Matt petted his boy toy. “Don’t worry, puppy. I’ll take care of you. I won’t let the mean girl hurt you.”
My eyes rolled. “Yes, I want to hurt the passive victim. Actually, I think I spent time with his twin earlier. It’s weird. He looks just like this werewolf…”
I was cut off when Gray pulled me firmly down the hall.
“Let’s not talk about that.” Gray seemed eager to put some distance between us and the other couple. I heard Matt talking softly to the blond as we walked into Gray’s enormous bedroom. “My brother had a relationship with a wolf a couple of years back. They lived together for a long time. Don’t bring it up unless you’re willing to listen to him moan about his long-lost love.”
“Okay, I give, Sloane.” He had a goofy grin on his face. It was making me crazy. “Why are you so happy? Don’t bullshit me.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” His eyes were that deep purple they got when he was serious. You can tell a lot about a demon by looking in their eyes, at least the half demons you can. “I had a long talk with my brother last night, that’s all.”
“About what?” I had a suspicion.
“You.” And it was confirmed. “I didn’t understand the whole Hunter trainer relationship. Now I do.” He looked smug, but sadly, smug suited him. “You don’t love Vorenus.”
“I never said I did.” I wanted him so much it felt like love. My life would be infinitely easier if I loved Marcus. Why couldn’t what I felt for Marcus be love?
“You need him. You’re drawn to him because you need a trainer. But you won’t need him forever. You’re strong, Kels. So strong. You’ll be on your own before we know it.”
I backed away from him. It was hard not to look at the big bed that dominated the room, but I was determined to ignore it. It was the first place Gray and I had made love. It was the first place where someone had loved me enough to take care of me. “Hugo Wells married one of his Hunters.”
It was stupid, but I held on to that piece of history like a plate of armor. It could work. Marcus said he loved me. We could have a life. I would grow old and he would stay the same. I would die and he would go on.
I would be a sidenote in his history.
Gray shrugged and took away the option of ignoring the bed. He threw his body on it and grinned up at me. “Hugo Wells isn’t your trainer. Vorenus is. Tell me something, Kelsey mine. Has that vampire of yours had any prophetic visions about you lately?”
Gray’s power as a demon went beyond his ability to change forms and his strength. He had power that allowed him to see things the rest of us can’t. Gray was the culmination of centuries of his father’s attempts to breed the power into his line. Gray could touch an object and sometimes he would get a vision. From what I understood, it was sometimes the past, most often the future. Gray had first seen me in a hotel room in Dallas. He’d taken a suite at a hotel and when he lay down on the bed, he was suddenly transported to his wedding night. I played the role of the not-so-blushing bride. According to Gray, our wedding night was hot. Or it was going to be.
“Of course not,” I replied. Marcus wasn’t a prophet. “Why? Have you had another one?”
Gray wasn’t a prophet either. He couldn’t truly control his powers. A true prophet was an extremely rare thing.
He shook his head. “No, baby. Just the one. But I believe it, more now than ever.”
I felt my eyebrows come together. It wasn’t attractive. It gave me a deep crease in my forehead, but I couldn’t help it. “I haven’t given you any reason to, Sloane. I’m committed to Marcus.”
“Two weeks ago, I would have sworn you would never speak to me again. But you did. I would have bet my life that you wouldn’t work with me again. But you are. And I definitely knew you would never walk into my bedroom again. Here you are, Kelsey.”
“I don’t have to stay.”
Gray sat up. He chuckled to himself. “It’s easy to forget how prickly you can be. I suppose I put you on a pedestal the last few months. It’s good to see your stubborn side again.”
I wasn’t aware I had another side besides the stubborn one. “Sloane, if you spend one more minute on our non-relationship, I’ll call Marcus and he’ll come get me. He’s sitting with his phone in hand praying I’ll make that call.”
Gray held his hands up in defeat. “Understood. On to business then. So Vorenus doesn’t want you anywhere near the duke. Any new reasons?”
“We got attacked last night.”
Gray sat up straight. The playful look in his eyes was completely gone, and the Texas Ranger was back in the building. “They attacked at Ether?”
“They attacked in my uncle’s home. They were bouncers from the club.”
Gray ran a hand through his hair. “That’s one of the most secure buildings in the city. Winter has spread the drug a lot farther than I thought. This is bad, Kelsey. Are they dead? Did they manage to hurt anyone?”
“My niece got the scare of a lifetime, but otherwise Quinn and I took care of them. I killed my guy, but Quinn’s lived. Henri scanned his brain. It’s the same thing as the first victim. The frontal lobe is damaged. We can’t give him vamp blood. His own werewolf healing power isn’t fixing the problem, so Sharpe wants to try something.”
“Demon blood.” Gray was sharp as a tack. His eyes glanced down at my arm. “I know it was a different issue, but it worked on you.”
“Better than you think, Sloane.” I quickly gave him a rundown of my ability to change. He stared at the arm with an odd smile on his face. “Zack thinks it’ll go back to normal. I mean, if you consider having a wolf claw pop out of a perfectly human hand normal.”
“Can I see it?”
“No,” I said crossly. I didn’t want to see it again. I certainly didn’t want my ex-honey to see my freaky demon arm. “I’m not even sure I can do it again. It took the king’s influence to make it go back to normal.”
Gray nodded, but his disappointment was an almost tangible thing. “Okay. Tell the king I’ll donate for the cause. I might only be a half blood, but I’m royalty. My blood is strong. The doctor is probably on the right track. Brimstone is supposed to weaken wolves and shifters. The duke would have made certain the vamps couldn’t use their own blood to save themselves. But
he would want an out if things go bad. He’s walking a fine line. He can’t break the contracts with the vampires.”
“Master, I have the clothing you ordered for my mistress.” I turned to see Syl standing in the doorway. He carried a small bag that couldn’t possibly contain too much clothing. He was roughly a foot shorter than me, and he hadn’t bothered with a glamour. His red skin stood out against the pure white of his shirt. He was dressed in a shirt and tie and crisply pressed black slacks. He was every inch the proper butler, if one excused the red skin, small horns, and goat feet poking out of his slacks.
“Hello, Syl.” It came out as a low growl. I wasn’t trying to be friendly. Syl was the asshole demon who fed me fertility drugs. Syl might call Gray master, but he definitely answered to Gray’s dad.
The demon bowed from his waist. His dark eyes seemed ageless in his slightly wrinkled head. “My mistress. It is an honor to behold you once more. You grace the home with your presence.”
“I am not…”
Gray stopped me. “Don’t bother, Kelsey. He’s my familiar. He’s connected to me. He’s seen the vision. You won’t convince him you aren’t his mistress. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to rid myself of him? He always comes back.”
The demon got on his knees. “I know I displeased my mistress. I am prepared if she wishes to beat me.”
“I’m not going to beat you.”
Gray shrugged. “It wouldn’t do any good anyway. He likes it.”
“Oh, but I promise to cry and wail if my mistress needs it.”
I walked over and pulled the bag out of Syl’s hands. He cast his eyes down as I stood over him.
“I am here to serve my true mistress.” He leaned over and before I knew it, his lips pressed to my feet. I jumped back and nearly fell on my ass. Gray was there to catch me.
“Syl.” Matthew’s voice was deeper than I had heard it before.
I saw Syl shake slightly. The small demon might be willing to take a beating from me, but I could see he was afraid of Gray’s brother.
“My Lord Nem…”
Syl was silenced when Matthew slapped him soundly across the face. “You forget yourself, servant. My brother’s mate has what she needs from you. Go and see to my slave’s needs. And Syl, if your tongue slips like that again, I shall cut it out.”
Syl’s body shook as he backed out on his hands and knees. His head was down, but he didn’t seem to dare turn his back on Matthew. He didn’t get up until he was well out of harm’s way. Then he hurried down the hall to do the master’s bidding. Matthew’s face was perfectly pleasant when he turned back to me. But I’d seen his true nature. Demons are tricky things. They can seem entirely normal, but they are always, always at their core brutal creatures. Gray’s brother seemed perfectly human, and he could be quite charming and pleasant when it suited him. It would be a mistake to think that he would act humanely.
“I’m not his mate.” I responded out of pure reflex. Why did I care what Gray’s brother thought? I found my footing and shook off Gray’s hands. They’d gone around my waist when he caught me, and I could feel the heat of his body.
Matt shook his head and clucked sympathetically. “Our mates are stubborn things. I think it’s our family curse. First, my mate runs from me after years of bliss, and now yours refuses to accept her fate.” He turned his eyes on me and they darkened as though he could press his will outward. “You can play around with the vampire all you like. It changes nothing. In the end, you will marry my brother. You will bear his son, and you will follow him home.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but the look in Matthew’s eyes stopped me. He wasn’t going to listen to me. He really believed. I could see from Gray’s face that he believed it, too.
Matthew snagged the bag in my hand. He dumped the contents on the bed. I saw a leather mini skirt, a brilliant red corset, and thigh-high fishnets.
“Am I his lover or his hooker?” I was getting sick of the various costumes this mission required. I longed for the day I would be required to wear sweatpants and a T-shirt.
Matthew shook his head, dismissing the accusation. “My brother would never engage the services of a prostitute. Now, take off your clothes so we can get you properly dressed. Brother, you know what to do.”
Gray walked to the bathroom and when he returned, he was running a fluffy towel across his body. It soaked up the sweat from his workout.
“This is your idea of cleaning up, Sloane? Seriously, you smell like a water buffalo.” He didn’t. He smelled like a hot, sweaty man and it did something for me, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. “Are you telling me we don’t have time for you to take a quick shower?”
Gray ran the towel over his head and then under his armpits. “I promise to smell as sweet as a rose, baby. I turned on the shower already. The water is heating up as we speak. This is for you.”
He tossed me the towel and gave me a wink.
“Now I’m the maid, too?”
Gray laughed as he walked into the bathroom. He didn’t bother to close the door. He kicked off his shoes and shoved his shorts off his hips. I was left with the perfect vision of his muscular backside as he stepped into the shower.
Matthew had a knowing smile on his face. “Do you want a clean towel to wipe off the drool, dear? That one you’re holding is for something else. Please get undressed and wipe that all over your body. Pay close attention to sexual erogenous zones. We need you to smell like you spend a lot of time with my brother on top of you. Unless, of course, you would like to do it the old-fashioned way. I assure you, my brother would be more than happy to mark you in any way you like.”
“Jerk.”
He shrugged. “Get dressed, love. It’s almost time to go.”
Matthew glided out of the bedroom. He called for Tristan, and I was left with my ex-fiancé’s sweat. When this case was over, I promised myself I would stick to cheating spouses and lost dogs. I would take on any case that didn’t involve smelling like someone else.
* * * *
Being a duke of Hell pays. I was certain that Winter’s place on the Hell plane was probably built on the souls of the damned or something, but here in Dallas, he lived in a gorgeous French country estate complete with a stunning fountain in the circular drive. I stared at it as the driver pulled up. It was completely frozen—as if the weather had flashed it, capturing the perfection of the water. It was a statue now, a tribute to the power of the cold.
Winter was powerful. His mere presence in the city had brought about this crazy freeze.
Gray’s hand found mine, his fingers tangling. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll take care of you.”
“What does she think is going to happen?” Matthew asked, his hand on the silent Tristan’s knee. “Does she think we’re going to allow Winter to kill her in front of us? We’re not without power, Kelsey. And all those ridiculous fears you have about the vampire mean nothing since you won’t be with him for long.”
“Brother.” The word was a warning coming out of Gray’s mouth.
Matthew put a hand on his forehead as though it pained him. “Well, she’s bombarding me with it. I don’t understand it. She fears she’s unlovable, but you love her. It isn’t logical for her to be apart from you. We could take over her training.”
“She’s afraid of me. I explained that to you. Let her be, and this isn’t the place to discuss family issues. There’s our host.” Gray’s jaw had tightened, a sure sign he was anxious.
The door was opened by the driver and Matthew drew Tristan out.
“I’m not afraid of you.” I needed to remember Matthew’s power. It was easy to think of Matthew as not that powerful. He was in a human body after all. Gray had explained to me that despite Matt’s status as a full-blooded demon, he was forced to possess a human body when he wanted to walk the Earth plane. He wasn’t physically strong enough to manifest in his demon form here, though he could be called to hand. The singular time Matt could show up in his ow
n form was when a dumbass human managed to work up enough magic to call him. Then he was forced to do the human’s bidding. In this way, Gray was much stronger than his brother, but Matt wasn’t without power. He was an empath, so he picked up on strong emotions. I was pretty much a big stinking ball of those right now.
Gray glanced down to the place where our hands were joined. “You are and you have every right to be. I pushed you too far, pulled you into a world you weren’t ready for. I’m still doing it. I can only promise you that I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe. Anything. I’ll earn your trust again.”
He moved out of the car before I could go over all the ways that would never happen. I had them all on the tip of my tongue, but he gently pulled me along with him, and then there wasn’t time to talk or argue. We were being shown through the massive doors of the mansion by a tuxedoed butler who offered to take our coats.
For all that the man loved winter and was likely quite comfortable with the chill, the duke had obviously made concessions for his guests. His home was nice and toasty.
“Welcome.” The man himself strode into the foyer. He was dressed in an immaculate suit, his white hair pulled back. Chilly blue eyes stared at us, stopping briefly on me before glancing over Tristan. “I’m glad you all could make it. Please come into the library. I’d like for you to meet my business partner.”
Gray walked up to shake his hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the man. We’ve all watched Mr. Bellamy’s rise through the business world.”
I held back because I’d felt Winter’s touch one too many times this week. I wasn’t sure I would be able to bring myself too close to the demon.
“Do you own his contract?” Matthew asked, affixing a leash to Tristan’s thick collar.
If Gray thought that was happening with me, he was about to get his hand taken off. I didn’t give a shit that it would blow my cover. This was my Dirty Dancing rule. No one got to put Baby in a corner. Well, no one put a fucking leash around my throat. I could handle the collar. The collar was pretty.
Gray simply reached for my hand and leaned over. “Never in a million years, baby. I like my balls where they are.”