He reached over and tugged her bra back down, tucking her safely out of sight. “I can’t make love to you. It’ll push you over the edge if our souls merge.” He glanced around. “And we’re in the middle of a burned-out baseball stadium. Anyone could come by and catch us.” He felt like growling at the thought of anyone spying on Paige. “Your first time can’t be here. It should be surrounded by candles, on a four-poster mahogany bed with white silk sheets, champagne and strawberries, with something romantic playing on the CD player, with a guy who you love who will love you forever . . . or some shit like that.”
She stared at him, her mouth open.
“What?” He eased her shirt back down and pushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“You’re a romantic. I can’t believe it!”
He scowled as he rubbed dirt off her cheek. “Screw that. I’m damned.”
“A damned romantic.”
He retrieved his phone, stood up, and held out his hand to her. “Come on. We need to get out of here before we’re arrested for destroying the outfield. We don’t have time to be arrested.”
She grabbed his hand and let him pull her up, intentionally rubbing her body against his as she rose.
He scowled and pushed her back. “Don’t push it. I’m not made of stone.”
She grinned. “No, you’re hard muscles and sexuality.”
He turned and started walking toward the dugout as his phone rang again. He scowled and answered it. “I was in the middle of seducing her and you ruined the moment by calling. Stop calling and I’ll get it done sooner.”
“Damn. Sorry. I’m just so excited. I know she’s my key to taking over hell,” Junior bubbled. “I’ll stop calling, I promise.”
Jed snapped his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket. “Ten to one he calls back within five minutes.”
“Why do you keep answering?” She caught up to him and settled in next to him, grabbing his hand and entwining her fingers with his, and he couldn’t bring himself to push her away.
“Because if I don’t, I’m afraid he’ll get pissed off and take it out on Rafi. It’s not worth the risk.” They reached the door to the dugout, and it was locked. He cursed, then dissolved into shadow and slipped under the door. He felt the darkness consume him as soon as he took the shadow form, and he instinctively checked the hall for a victim. For someone to take.
He forced himself to reform before finding release, and dropped his head against the door as Paige knocked on it, reminding her not to forget about him.
“Hang on,” he muttered. “I still want to kill you. Need a sec.”
He closed his eyes and waited for the call of evil to subside. After a minute, he stood back up and opened the door from the inside. Paige was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.
He frowned. “You okay?”
She opened them. “I’m worried about the fact Jerome hasn’t called us back yet. He should be all over stopping the vortex of hell thing, right?”
“Yeah, well, it’s the Council. They aren’t always predictable. Jerome probably got the message, and now his team’s probably trying to figure out a way to use the vortex as a way to increase their power.” He flicked his hand. “Let’s get out of here. The Yankees are out of town, but I can’t imagine this place is deserted.”
She didn’t move, staring out over the field. “If we broke the contract, and Rafi was free, and you were no longer bound to Satan Jr., what would you do with your life?”
He grabbed her wrist and tugged her to her feet, set his hands on her shoulders, and began propelling her toward the door. “I’d never go shadow warrior again.”
She glanced back over her shoulder. “But that’s your destiny. You’d walk away from it?”
“Yep.”
“But won’t that leave you feeling empty and lost?”
He shrugged as they came up a ramp to a main hallway. “I’d find a way to live with it, I’m sure.” He pointed. “Exit sign. Let’s go.”
There was a sudden shout and they both looked back to see a security guard standing at the end of the hallway.
“Damn. I wish I could just fireball him.”
He raised his brows. “And I don’t believe you really want to kill him.”
“Well, if it weren’t for my wraith I would—”
“Really? Or is it all talk because you’re trying to prove you’re something that you think you have to be?” He touched her face. “It’s okay to be who you are.”
The guard started running toward them, his feet pounding on the cement as he spoke into his radio, giving their location. Jed glanced at him, then back at Paige. “Run?”
“Fine. Let’s go.” She pushed past Jed and started sprinting toward the exit, him close on her heels.
“Just so you know . . . ,” she huffed as she ran, “we can no longer think . . . about dating . . . because . . . I can’t . . . be with . . . a man . . . who tries to keep . . . me . . . from . . . my destiny . . . as a badass Rivka. . . . Hell, I’m . . . out of . . . shape. . . .”
“Your destiny is to harvest the souls of people who deserve hell,” he shot back as he jogged next to her, not even remotely out of breath. They ran through a doorway, then Jed paused to shut the door and throw the bolt. He wedged a row of metal footlockers across the door and then turned to face her. “Not slaughter innocents.”
“Well . . . yeah . . . that’s my destiny . . .” She turned and started walking down the hall, confident that no human would be able to open the door with the lockers wedged across it. “But I want to expand and kill innocents.”
“Bullshit.” They reached a metal fire door and stopped. It was locked and solid steel.
“I’m a Rivka. If I’m not bad, then what am I? Nothing. I’m like a gateless shadow warrior, but worse, because I walked away on my own. It’s who I am, Jed. Without it . . . I don’t have meaning.” She flared up a fireball and threw it into the metal door, then rolled her eyes when it ricocheted back at her and slammed her in the chest. “Yeah, fire door. Duh.”
They heard shouts and then pounding against the door they’d locked behind them as the guards failed miserably at getting through it.
Jed grabbed her and slammed her up against the fire door, pressing her shoulders against the cold metal. “Who the hell cares if you don’t follow the Rivka path? It doesn’t define you. You don’t need to slaughter innocents to have meaning in your life. You’ve got friends, you care about people. Goodness oozes out of every pore of your body and it’s so appealing I can barely keep myself from throwing you down right here and losing myself in all that you are.”
She closed her eyes and let her head drop back against the metal with a clunk. “I’m so confused.”
He softened his grip on her shoulders. “Don’t be confused. Just listen to who you are.”
She opened her eyes to look at Jed. “But how do you know who you really are? How am I supposed to know if what I think I am or supposed to be isn’t me at all?”
He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. “It’s in you. Just listen.”
“I’m trying. It’s a little crazy in there right now.”
There was a sudden shout of triumph and they both tensed as the sound of running feet echoed through the halls. Jed cursed and glanced around to find another way out, but before they could move, five security guards rounded the corner, guns out.
“Freeze!”
“Put your hands up,” another one ordered.
Paige bit her lip, her gaze flicking to the security guards as they eased closer, yelling orders. “If they grab me . . .”
“I’m on it.” Five deaths on her soul would do her in. Unacceptable.
He whirled around and slammed into the front guy.
Thirty seconds later, there were five bodies on the floor, and none of them were his. “Let’s go.”
Paige stared at him, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “That was amazing. Why were we running if y
ou’re that tough?”
He started walking back down the hall. “I’m in human form.”
“Ah.” Paige jumped over a couple of the bodies and trotted next to him. “Have you ever killed in human form?”
“No.”
“Have you ever hurt anyone in human form before this?”
“No.”
“How did it feel?”
“Sucked.”
“But you did it anyway? For me?”
He said nothing.
She smiled and tucked her arm though his. “Thanks.”
Nineteen
By the time they got back from Yankee Stadium and dodged the Men in White posse which had caught sight of them outside Jed’s apartment, it was time to meet Dani and Theresa at Saving Grace to recruit angelic help. Jerome hadn’t called back yet, and there was no word from Zeke on the scientist. The deadline for Bandit’s vortex was fast approaching, plus Satan Jr. had called Jed six more times, each time promising it was his last. Paige had finally answered it the last time, and Junior had hung up without saying anything, like a little boy caught with his pants down.
He was becoming a joke between them, but his constant calls were an ugly reminder that time was running out for both of them, and so were options.
When Paige finally walked into the alley behind Saving Grace and saw Dani and Theresa, her eyes filled up and she almost threw herself at them. “You came! I was so worried you’d be too afraid of me to show up.”
“No way,” Dani said. “We’re here for you.”
“Amen to that, sister.” Theresa put her arm over Dani’s shoulder and beamed at Paige. “This is going to go great, I promise.”
Dani smiled with genuine warmth, though there was still a bit of wariness in her gaze. “I took care of Bandit. He cleaned up well. He’s hilarious.”
Paige grinned. “Isn’t he? Did you give him a last hurrah?”
“I was tempted after I got him cleaned up.”
“You were? Seriously? That’s great.” Maybe he’d really be presentable enough to convince Jerome of the truth of his words. If Jerome ever called back.
Theresa’s grin faded and she gave Paige an appraising look. “How are you doing, sweetie?”
“Great. Fine.” God. She felt such an aching sense of loss that she couldn’t hug her friends. Her calf was a steady pulse, but her inner wraith was quiet, digesting its meal of Yankee Stadium outfield grass. “Did Zeke find the scientist?”
Theresa shook her head. “No. Sorry. He’s still searching, but I think you stumped him.”
Paige bit her lip against the surge of panic. Without the scientist, her only chance was the angel. “So, I guess I have to do this, huh?” Jed stiffened against her, and she peeked up at him.
He gave her a grouchy look as Theresa handed Paige a Neiman Marcus bag. “It’ll be fine, Paige. Here. Put this on.”
Paige reluctantly released Jed to open it. She held up a lacy white dress that was both demure and sensual. “This will attract an angel? I was thinking of a nun’s outfit.”
“Men are men. You look like a woman, and they’ll come crawling.”
Jed took the dress from her and held it up. He scowled, then handed it back to her without another word.
“Well?” Theresa set her hands on her hips and looked at Jed. “You’d do her in that dress, wouldn’t you?”
“I’d do her in a nun’s outfit.” His face was dark, his voice darker, edged with a sensuality that made her insides curl.
Paige suddenly felt better.
“Oh.” Theresa’s eyes widened. “Oh. So that’s how it is.”
“It isn’t any way,” Jed growled.
But Dani grinned. “Who exactly are you?”
He fisted his hands. “Bodyguard.”
“Jed Buchanan. He’s protecting me from myself,” Paige added. “What about my feet?”
Theresa held up a pair of white satin stilettos, and Paige frowned. “How am I supposed to fight in those?”
“You’re here to seduce, not fight,” Dani pointed out.
Theresa spun one of them around in her hand and pressed the tip of the heel into Paige’s chest. “See? Lethal weapons.”
“Oh, I like those.” Paige took it and flicked her finger over the tip. “Is that a metal stud in the end?”
“Specially made in case you run into trouble. Nice, huh?”
“Yeah. Really nice.”
“Get dressed.” Theresa clapped her hands. “I have a table reserved starting at a quarter after, right down in front next to the dance floor. Puts you in prime viewing position.”
“Right.” Paige glanced around for a place to change, realized that they were in an alley, and short of climbing into a Dumpster, there was nowhere to go. She sighed and yanked her shirt over her head, smiling to herself at the grunt from Jed as she exposed her bra.
“I’ll watch to make sure no one’s coming.” Dani jogged over to the end of the alley and peered around the corner as Paige started to slide the dress over her head.
“You cannot wear that black bra with that dress! Are you crazy?” Theresa grabbed the dress back and held out a sheer lace bra. “Put it on.”
She felt her cheeks flush as she took it, and she couldn’t help but glance at Jed. He was staring at the new bra with such heat that her legs almost got wobbly. “This isn’t my style,” she said. “I’m not into the nipple-viewing thing.”
His gaze jerked to her face, and then he turned away, giving her privacy.
What? No sneak peeks?
Damn.
“Do it anyway,” Theresa ordered. “You can’t wear that nun bra you have on.”
“It’s not a nun bra,” Jed said. “I like it just fine.”
She grinned at Theresa. “He likes it.”
“But you’re not trying to seduce him . . . or are you?”
“Um . . . I guess not.” She was totally unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice, and she saw Theresa eye Jed with renewed interest as he scowled at the bra.
Then he turned away again.
“Fine. I’ll change bras.” She yanked her existing bra off and traded it for the new one, and Jed didn’t even try to turn around. Too much the gentleman. Sigh. Theresa took one look at her old bra, then tossed it in the Dumpster. “For someone descended from Satan, you have a serious lack of good lingerie. If you survive this whole thing, I’m so going to take you shopping.”
“I will survive.”
“Sure. Of course. I know.”
She glanced at Theresa as she tugged her jeans down over her hips.
“Good God, Paige! No wonder you’re still a virgin. Haven’t you heard of granny panties?”
Jed coughed.
“I know what they are, and these aren’t granny panties.” She eyed the white silken thong dangling from Theresa’s hand. How uncomfortable did that look? “I really don’t think I need that to be sexy.”
“Of course you do.”
“Jed? Opinion, please.”
He cautiously turned to look at her, his gaze dropping instantly to her body, and she belatedly remembered that she was wearing only the see-through bra and her own silk bikini underwear, and her socks. His face darkened and she held up the thong. “Do I need this to be sexy?”
“Hell, no.” His gaze flickered over her again. “I think you should wear overalls and a heavy sweatshirt.”
She grinned. “Because I’m so naturally sexy?”
“No. Because he’s jealous and he doesn’t want anyone else touching you.”
Jed snapped a sharp gaze at Theresa. “She’s too good for the shit you’re trying to dress her in. She doesn’t need it. She’s perfect the way she is. Any angel would see it.”
Paige grinned and twirled the thong around on her finger, just to tease him a little bit.
Jed glared at Paige. “Do what you want.” He turned his back on them for a third time, watching the alley, his arms folded across his broad chest.
Paige decided to go with the tho
ng. Just for fun. “He’s got some issues going on,” she whispered to Theresa as she pulled the dress over her head. “He’s a little stressed.”
Theresa arched her brows. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s all it is. He’s stressed.”
Jed swung back as the dress slipped over Paige’s hips. She couldn’t believe how the cool silk felt sliding over her hips. It was so soft, like a caress. His eyes darkened as his gaze swept over her, and she felt heat pool in her belly.
Theresa cleared her throat, and Paige immediately felt her cheeks turn red. She glanced at Theresa and tried to distract her before she could make any more suggestive comments that completely embarrassed Paige. “You know any loophole experts?” She briefly explained Jed’s issue about needing a way to void his contract with Junior.
“Sure,” Theresa said. “My old roomie, Justine Bennett. As Guardian of the Goblet of Eternal Youth, she had to do some major loophole jumping. And her husband’s hot brother is great at the detail stuff too. He’s a brilliant mathematician, great at decoding. You have a copy of the contract, Jed?”
He jerked his gaze off Paige with a visible effort that made Paige smile. “Yes, I do.”
Paige gave him her back. “Will you do up the buttons?”
Theresa winked at her and ambled off to the end of the alley to stand with Dani.
He grunted, and started to work on the several dozen pearl buttons that went from the cleft of her bottom to her shoulder blades. His fingers brushed the bare skin of her lower back. And again. “You trust these people?”
“I trust Theresa. She’s extremely loyal.”
“So are you.” He lifted the hair off her back and tucked it in front of her shoulder, his fingers slow to release it.
“Of course I am. Friends are what matter in life.” She sighed as he went back to buttoning. “I need the people I care about.” I need you. She blinked. Had she said that out loud? She didn’t think so.
He brushed his fingers over her upper back. “You’re set.”
She took a deep breath and turned to face him. “What do you think?”
He studied her. “I don’t like what you’re doing.” He reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently tugging her until she was against him. He hooked his hands loosely around her waist. “There has to be another way, other than having sex with an angel.”
Sex & The Immortal Bad Boy Page 14