“Well that just makes you sound like a complete prick then.” I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away from him. So he meant to hurt me had he? Because he was a demon, because he was male. What a fucking cop-out.
“I’m sorry.” Tarin said softly leaning forwards to me.
“Just shut the fuck up. I don’t want to hear it.” How could he do this to me? How could he make love to me like he felt everything through me and wanted more and then turn around and strike all that down by saying he got off on hurt, hurting me, later?
If I lived through whatever was going to happen to me, I sure as shit was never going to have anything to do with demons, ever again. I had it right, I decided, living by myself, keeping to myself, ignoring the rest of the world for the most part. I needed to forget about Tarin Armadel completely when this was done. Ensure whatever completed this deal between us got done, so I could move on and just forget he ever existed and had ever come into my life in the first place.
“How do I can’t break it?” I threw back at him, glancing over at him. “There has to be an escape clause or something, all deals have them for both parties usually. How do we end this?”
“This?” Tarin asked raising his eyebrows, unsure what I was saying.
“Yeah, this thing between us. Relationship, deal, binding whatever the fuck you want to call it.” Tarin looked at me like I’d struck him. I couldn’t believe he was surprised after all we’d gone through. He looked and around the van, either like he was trying to brace himself not to cry, or he didn’t want to be heard out loud. I couldn’t tell.
“The deal is not done.”
I glared at him with all the indignity I could muster. “What the fuck Tarin? You mean to tell me you’ve got me in bondage because what, you don’t want to let the best fucking sex you’ve ever had go, is that it? Is that all it is?” My ire was on the rise. “I’ve done the fucking job and what, you thought you’d have a bit of extra booty for value for money?”
Tarin ignored me and I fumed back at him silently.
14
I had no idea about how long we traveled in the back of that van. I was tired, and emotionally drained. Just looking upon Tarin hurt me over and over again. I honestly felt things I’d never experienced before meeting him.
Was this what people in love felt like all the time? What a fucking horrible roller-coaster to be on if it was.
“Katelyn,” Tarin said after a long period of silence. I looked over at him and rubbed my eyes. Was it daytime yet and was this shit over with? “I just want to say,”
“If you fucking say you’re sorry I will personally come over there and rip your fucking tongue out of your head.” Tarin tilted his head to the side and studied me.
“Is that you speaking or Asha?”
“Oh baby, this,” I said moving my hands above my body in an up and down motion. “Is pure, pissed off Katelyn Phoenix. Do you even get the concept of forgiveness and what it fucking entails Tarin? One week of playing nice boyfriend isn’t going to do it. A car ride without killing me isn’t going to do it. Saying sorry, repetitively, isn’t going to do it.”
“Why?” He seemed curious by my reaction. I sighed and just wanted to scream. Frustration and tiredness were not my friend.
“Because, you started this. You found me, you inserted yourself into my life, created this thing between us. I could’ve walked away from it if it was just about business, but now,”
“Could you? Would you have?” Tarin asked cutting me off. I stared at him. “Walked away from the chemistry between us even if the job had been done and dusted?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm. Why would you deny yourself, the experience of feeling or exploring this connection that you’ve never had with anyone else before? That seems kind of cruel.”
I ran my hands through my hair and drew up my knees. “We’re not doing this.” I muttered annoyed at him.
“Doing what?”
“Stop with the fucking questions Tarin. We,” I said waving a hand between us. “Are not trying to have some meaningful fucking get to know you twenty questions conversation like we’re actually dating. We’re done. Get it through your head demon boy. No more us.”
“How can you be so sure that’s what you want?” Tarin replied shifting to pull himself up a bit more on the van wall he was sitting against opposite me.
“Because you’ve fucking sold me out to the highest god damn bidder and I’m currently in the back of some miscellaneous white van, being transported to them. You used me. I would’ve thought you of all fucking people, would grasp the concept of what that feels like.” I spat out angrily at him.
“Oh wait, you probably don’t remember because you were too fucking high on truth-sayer blood, or is it more like being drunk?”
The only indication I was fucked, was the twitch in his jaw and then he flew at me. In the confined space of the van I had nowhere to go. He moved with effortless ease in reaching me and slamming me back against the van wall as the van bumped and jostled its way along some unsmooth road.
“Why don’t we find out?” He said mouth opening to bare fangs down on me. As one hand wrapped around my throat pressing my head back into the van’s side.
“Tarin,” I gasped as he licked his lips and looked at me with a different kind of focus to what I’d seen before. It wasn’t quite lust. It was something else. My hand went up to his.
“By all accounts juicing me up might help our current predicament, right?” He moved his head from side to side, studying me. “It would tire you, and you might therefore be of no use to whoever wants you, if you presented as drained and hopeless, they might just toss you aside and leave you be.”
“What does the blood do to you?” I croaked out, my eyes tracking his fangs every movement.
He smiled then and my eyes widened as I looked at his face, deep into his eyes. At the thing behind his eyes. Was this the demon, the true demon side of him or was it something else?
“That’s my girl.”
“Asha?” I asked.
15
Had Asha body hopped out of me? Shit. Was I in bigger trouble than I first suspected? I tried to ask but the grip on my throat had tightened and just as Tarin opened his mouth to answer me, the van’s back doors flew open. We were both so focused on one another we’d failed to feel the van stop moving and realized, we’d come to our destination.
We froze and both looked towards the opened doors and the vampire and succubus standing at the end of the van with tazers in their hand. The kind that shoot spring loaded electric currents at you.
“Get off her.” The succubus instructed. I wanted to thank her, but thought better of it.
“Out, let’s go.” The vampire chick commented as Tarin’s hand slipped off me.
I scrambled quickly out of the back of the van, ahead of Tarin. If Asha had body jumped from me to Tarin, then I could be in serious fucking trouble. She was a god, a pissed off one at that, who I knew, didn’t like me being in charge of the both of us. Could it be she’d be looking for pay back on me? Dear baby Jesus, was there anyone in this world on my fucking side other than me?
Does there need to be? A small steely part of me asked myself. Or was that Asha? I was so confused. I slid out the back of the van and onto solid ground and stood upright looking around me as Tarin followed out. It looked like we were in the twilight before dawn break. At some historical site. Ye old English looking with ochre coloured stones on the walls and stained glass windows.
“Where are we?” Tarin asked the two women.
“End of the line.” The vampire smarted nodding her head and indicating we should start moving to the left. “Don’t look so sad sweetheart, relationships with demons never work out. It’s not in their nature to be the settling down kind.” The vamp said as I passed her.
I turned around ready to punch her. But she raised the Taser and Tarin stepped between us to stop me.
“How heroic.” The succubus commented like she couldn’t
care less. “Let’s pick up the pace.” We walked down a well worn dirt path into a building behind the red stone one. Passing a lone peacock wondering what looked like large, lavish grounds around the building.
At the back of the building, we entered into an attached courtyard, with a long rectangle pool with aquamarine water dominating the scenery of all that was around it. It was perfect and beautiful. The court yard was split level and had wrought iron and wood chairs and tables, complete with white umbrellas on top of the higher level that overlooked the pool below. It screamed elegance and riches and still didn’t help me figure out anything about my situation.
As we continued on through and past the courtyard we walked through woods into a forest of tall, straight, spaced out pines and stopped in a section not that far from were we’d come. We weren’t the only ones there. Arlow was being held up by two beefy looking muscle men and dragged ahead of us the same way we were going. He looked terrible. A lot worse for wear then he had been when we’d last fought.
A familiar figure came into view. He was large and rotund and I’d only met him the once before, but Tarin knew him quite well. “Birnie?” Tarin asked as he waved a hand at our two guards.
“Bring them this way.” Birnie Seacombe said and walked on ahead of us. The succubus shoved me forwards and I stumbled a few steps and gave her a filthy look.
“Birnie, what the hell is going on here?” Tarin burst out with actually sounding surprised for once.
“We all got dues to pay, Tarin. All of us.” He said simply. I stared at him hard. Birnie looked back at me. “And if I’d known what you truly where Miss Phoenix, I’d never have left you leave the party with Tarin Armadel in the first place.”
“Oh yeah, what would you have done?” I said back at him.
“I’d have paid double whatever he wanted for you.” Birnie said smiling at me. “Do you have any idea how valuable you could be to someone like me?” I frowned at him, hating him more than I’d disliked him when we’d first met and he’d sleazed his way through meeting me.
“Like I fucking care.”
He smiled. “You will.” He said walking ahead of the guys carrying Arlow. I glanced around unsure what I was looking for.
We came across another building. This building was smaller, grey and looked like it was made out of cobblestones. Tarin stepped up and walked in front of me, I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted this charade to end or if it was to protect me from whatever was on the other side.
Birnie opened the heavy wooden doors and we walked into the dim interior. It had polished wooden floor boars that were so shiny they reflected us back at them. Wooden pews like church pews were on either side of us and at the end of the long room, was a rounded wall with four floor to ceiling length lead light windows. He nodded his head at our two guards and they walked off leaving us with him.
“What the hell does Birnie want with us? I thought you said he was a bunyip and he dealt in real estate!” I hissed at Tarin as we walked towards the lead light viewing area.
“Land deals, he deals in land.” Tarin said walking beside me. “If he’s here it has something to do with the land, connection to the land.”
In front of the windows, was a long, and antique looking lounge. The type that you lounged down one end of and posed for painting on which is exactly what the woman in the long gown like dress on the lounge looked to me like she was doing.
“You know how I told you to not do that thing without my permission?” He said casually in a low voice back at me as he looked towards the woman before us again.
“Yes.”
“You’ve got my permission.” He said slipping his hand into mine as we walked towards our fate.
She’d chosen this room, to frame herself and show off her beauty and to put on a show for us. I saw Tarin stiffen beside me as we walked to her, along with Arlow.
“Who is she?” I whispered at Tarin from the side of my mouth. Tarin remained silent and I looked across at him as he stared down at the women gloriously lounging before us. My mind raced as I looked from her to Arlow and Birnie and Tarin.
“Leave us.” The woman ushered the two men holding Arlow up.
They released his arms and he fell heavily to his knees before her, his head bowed, his body almost limp. The way he was positioned before her, made me think it was reverent, like he was kneeling in prayer or respect to her. Even though I could tell it was more to do with how badly beaten his body had been.
And still, it made me wonder and my eyes darted to Birnie Seacombe who dealt in land deals, in particular for the paranormal community. There was no humans here amongst us. We were all paranormal beings.
Which meant something, I realized as Birnie nodded his head, his eyes slightly downcast at the woman before us all. She waved him off with a flick of her slim hand. He was dismissed because he was no longer needed. Which meant, now we were dealing with the power player who’d put everything into motion.
She had to be my age, in her thirties. And yet her prescience, sense of prescience seemed far older than that. Was she a vampire?
16
The woman in charge of us, had auburn curly hair, it amassed around her like it was perfectly controlled and in place. Her hazel eyes looked me over just as I did of her. She had fair brown skin, so it looked like pale skin with a hit of colour to it and pale pink lips. She had freckles all over her face and up and down her chest and arms. She was slender and beautiful in a way I could never be. She looked flawless.
She wore a mustard yellow ball gown that billowed and spilled off the lounging sofa off her, it had a white top that cut across her breasts, allowing a healthy sight of cleavage to be seen, with black straps that went over her shoulders. She looked beautifully expensive and proper. And I had absolutely no idea who she was in relation to me in the slightest.
But I had a feeling her connection was not to me, it was to Tarin given his body language and the fact that he’d given me permission to read him. Yet I was still here for a purpose and I wasn’t sure my purpose had anything to do with Tarin. I couldn’t figure out how Arlow fit into anything.
I mentally focused on reading Tarin, it had to have something to do with this woman. So that’s what my focus inside of him was on. I thought it would be hard to read him, given his demon nature of conflict. But I was wrong, I was so wrong that I was sorry I was wrong. It was only then and there that I realized what Asha had purposefully being doing to Tarin, she’d been making it easier for me to read him, to see him for him.
Tarin was scared, internally, mentally scared, I felt the scars like little white rises in the skin, permanent markings everywhere on him. Scar tissues of the emotional, psychological kind.
I must have been frowning because she turned her focus to me, even as Tarin looked at her.
“Do you get it yet?” She asked me with a smile that was deliciously evil and purely meant to offend my shaky sensibilities. I wondered if she knew about me. She clearly knew of me or else I wouldn’t be there, but did she know what I could do?
“He does, I can see it.” Tarin might be looking like a meal on a plate to her because of his compliance, but I suspected it had more to do with my doing and me.
I glanced across at Tarin my demon lover, who was avoiding all eye contact with me. Part of me wanted to hit him and kick out at him, that was the part that was building with rage. Unprecedented, pure, Katelyn Phoenix rage. The other part of me didn’t feel like that at all.
Before I’d met Tarin, fallen in love with him, I’d never really had a need for feelings. Never really indulged in them. I’d never had to. Because I didn’t have a boyfriend or lover or even a fuck buddy. I had clients, johns, who wanted what they wanted from me and it sure as hell wasn’t emotions. They used me and I let them for the right price, that was the deal with my bodily transactions.
But that went straight out the window when I met Tarin Armadel, Shadow Demon and I had no idea why, I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me, and now, t
hat was going to cost me, dearly. Or just wasn’t sure if it would cost me Tarin or myself.
It was the cost for being naive about love and what it truly meant to be loved. I felt that in Tarin. He knew what that meant, he’d had that feeling once and then it had become twisted.
I remained silent and glared at her. Why give her any more satisfaction than she was already getting out of me?
“Oh, sweetheart, you don’t understand what this is all about do you?”
“Yeah, I do.” I growled at her and looked back over at Tarin.
“It’s about him. And how he can’t fucking keep his cock in his pants.” Tarin looked back over at me then. His eyes were locked onto mine, searching me. Despite me dropping my hand from his, but keeping minimal contact between us.
“Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you never once had a thought about fang fucking your beloved god. Remember, the only way you drink blood is not cold, and it’s not in a wine glass.” I said throwing his own words back at him. He’d said them to me not a week earlier. Referring to an incredible experience we’d shared, when he’d bitten me with his fangs at the height of my orgasm.
“Where you after me, was it ever about me or was it just her.” I seethed at him. I didn’t have enough time to read him properly, it would become to obvious if I searched him internally for the answer and then our evil host would be displeased with us.
“That’s not true Katelyn.” Tarin spoke solemnly.
I took a guess anyway. “It’s always been about her.”
The woman before us was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. I didn’t know if she was a vampire or not yet. I suspected she was, but I didn’t have any visual confirmation yet.
“You are seriously fucked-up, Tarin. Damaged even.” There was a small visual flinch in his face at the sting of my words. Probably because he knew they were true.
I looked back at the woman before us. She was glowing with pride at having one over me. At succeeding in her plan to snare Tarin Armadel with the one thing, he could not resist and it wasn’t me, so much as it was what was within me. That was the whole reason he’d stayed close to me, when we’d gone into hiding, that was why he’d tried to apparently rescue me from Arlow. Not out of obligation, not out of love even, it was out of need.
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