by JL Weil
My fingers spread over his abs, and a rush of warmth gleamed down my arm. There wasn’t a female alive that could argue Chase Winters had a rockin’ bod. And he was all mine.
Trailing his fingers down my shoulder, he slipped one under my bra strap. I held my breath as he reached behind me, releasing the clasp. It was utterly ridiculous. This wasn’t our first time, but I felt a rush of self-consciousness that made me want to cross my arms in front my chest.
“You’re perfect.”
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” I said shyly.
The corner of his mouth lifted as he moved down to take possession of my lips again. I squirmed, desperate to get closer, and he let out a low moan. I don’t know if it was my heightened senses, but every touch, every kiss felt particularly sensitive. When his teeth scraped along my collarbone, I gasped.
Oh wow.
After that, it was all intense feelings of love and passion, brought together by two people who treasured each other reverently. Guys like Chase set the expectations of love at an impossible bar for the rest of the world.
I rolled over so we could spoon, succumbing to the warmth of Chase and the rhythmic beat of his heart. He reached around my waist and pulled me near. My eyes fluttered closed as I relished the feeling of his arms.
Chapter 21
{Chase}
I sat up, the sheets bunching around my waist, and shoved a hand through my rumpled hair. Angel was fast asleep, and she wasn’t restless or whimpering my name. Her face looked peaceful, softened and lit by moonlight.
It was hard to leave her after being steeped in the rich glow of loving her. Being close to Angel was magic. She seduced my heart, my soul, and my body, and I wasn’t referring to our bonds. The sweet sound of her even breathing enthralled me.
I wanted there to be a day when I didn’t have to leave her in the middle of the night. When I could spend night after night with her in my arms, not worrying about what slinked outside my windows. I wasn’t sure that day would ever come, but I wasn’t giving up without a fight, which was why I was leaving the comforts of my bed and the warmth of Angel’s body.
I’d only been back to Spring Valley a few weeks, but I couldn’t help but be on edge. What was taking him so long? I’d stolen the one thing Hell desired, a way to inhabit Earth, and yet there hadn’t been a single demon attack, other than Kira and her pesky dogs. She didn’t count. I got the sense she had been banished here. And that brought about more questions.
Who was she really?
Or more importantly, what was she?
It worried me.
Kira owed me answers, and by god, she was going to give them to me.
I pressed a light kiss to Angel’s temple, careful not to disturb her sleep, and let my eyes roam over her face one last time. Then I slipped out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweats and a wrinkled T-shirt. I moved soundlessly through the room, shoving my phone in my pocket. Downstairs, Colin was crashing on our couch.
I shook my head.
Travis was sitting in the recliner, waiting for me. “You ready?” he asked.
Oh, I was definitely ready, but was he? I had to tell the truth about the demon we were hunting tonight. “Emma coming?”
“Nah. Not tonight. She went home to see her mom and sis.”
Good, now I didn’t have to worry about being hit in the back with an arrow. “Just like old times, cuz.”
“What are we going to do with him?” Travis asked, giving a small nod in Colin’s direction.
“I know what I would like to do to him,” I mumbled.
“I hear you, but Lex would never forgive us. She still cares about him.”
I grunted. “Then we better go before I decide to give him a rug burn with my fist. If he ends up hurting her…”
Travis leaned a shoulder on the doorframe. “I’m right there with you.”
We snuck out of our house without waking a soul and headed off into the woods. There was a crisp bit to the autumn night, but I didn’t feel. My blood was pumping. I stretched out my senses, listening and looking for the any sign we weren’t alone. Dried leaves blanketed the forest floor, crunching under our feet.
After five minutes or so of walking, Travis asked, “Are you going to tell me why we’re tracking this certain demon?”
My foot snapped a twig. I didn’t care if she heard us coming. I wanted her to, and if my demon senses were right, she’d been following us for the last four minutes. “I’m getting around to it.” I didn’t want to blindside Travis as I had with Lexi. He deserved to know what he was getting into and have the choice to walk away.
“Let me guess, she’s hot.”
I coughed, suppressing a smirk. “If you’re into the whole slutty MILF.”
“Okay, you’ve piqued my interest. Why you haven’t put a dagger in her heart yet?”
“Oh, I have. The bitch came back. She’s the one who helped me bring Angel back from the brink of darkness, and she is like no demon I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.”
“It sounds like she’s gotten her claws in you.”
I snorted. He didn’t know how close to the truth that rang. Not her claws, but she had managed to what no other demon had. Make me in her debt. A fury balled in the pit of my stomach, my demon growling inside me and causing my eyes to glow. I wanted to bury Kira so far into the Earth’s crust she could taste China’s soil.
“You think she will tell us how to destroy her own kind?” he asked, skeptic.
I continued to steer us as far from the house as we could get in the woods. “Yeah, I do.”
“Why would she do that? I know demons are heartless, backstabbers, but they don’t usually turn on each other, unless it’s a territorial thing.”
“It’s not about staking claims.”
“Then what is it about?”
I lowered my voice. “For Kira…it’s family.”
“Kira? What, are you guys on first name basis? And since when do demons care about family? You know firsthand that they don’t give two-shits about us.”
I know that he was trying to razz me, something we’d always done. A way to keep us grounded while the world around was going up in smoke. “Kinda. She’s your mother.”
He stumbled, his long legs getting tangled up together. “What. I thought you said—”
My chest heaved. “I did.”
Travis froze, clenching and unclenching his fists. If he decided to bloody my face, I wouldn’t stop him, but instead he only stood there. “How long have you known?”
“Long enough to piss you off.” I kept my eyes on the tall trees in front of me. It was enough to hear the hurt and surprise in his voice. I didn’t need to see it in his face as well.
A series of silence followed; the air filling with the chirping of crickets. Indecision and confusion framed his face. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. Or what the hell I’m feeling.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Look man, you don’t have to do this. I can handle it on my own...handle her.” I didn’t know how to apologize for not telling him sooner. Expressing feelings wasn’t my strong suit. With Angel it was so much easier—she already knew how I was feeling without me having to say anything.
He squinted at me, then looked into the dark woods. “How do you plan to track her?”
“I don’t.” Travis was more than my cousin—he was my best friend, and I should have known he wouldn’t abandon me. No way. I knew Travis, and he would see it as missing all the action. It didn’t matter who she was. “She’s been following us for some time.” I could feel her practically breathing down our necks. How could he not?
Abruptly, Travis stopped in his tracks a second time, eyes wildly searching the dark and thick forest as he adjusted his heightened vision. “She’s been trailing us?”
I nodded. “Since we stepped into the woods.”
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. “That explains why my mark’s been on fire.”
I was going to
give him one more shot to bow out before things got real. “You sure about this?”
“Who doesn’t have mommy issues? Yeah. Let’s do this,” he said.
I spun around. “Kira, you can come out now.” The cat was out of the bag, no use prolonging the inevitable. Whether I liked it or not, there was nothing I could do to stop Kira from trying to contact Lexi and Travis.
She stepped from the shadows, blonde waves standing out in the twilight. For a change, Kira didn’t look like she just came from the clubs. In jeans and a white flowy top the wind blew behind her, she could have easily been mistaken for an angel or a ghost, until they got a glimpse of her eyes…or she opened her mouth.
Her sinister lips curved. “There’s no need to yell, luv. You’ll wake the dead.”
Travis stiffened beside me.
My eyes chilled, sharpening. “Save the endearments for someone who cares.”
Travis and Kira locked eyes, and I held my breath. Anger slithered through my veins like poison.
“I’ve waited for this moment for many years,” Kira said in almost a whisper. Her eyes ate Travis up.
He put his hand out, and for a second, I actually thought he was going to hit a chick, not that Kira really counted as a girl. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I’m here for one thing only, and that’s Chase. Clear?”
She was less than thrilled, but what had she expected? “So much for the tender family reunion. Fine, have it your way, for now. I know what you’re looking for, Chase. I know you want to kill your father, and who could blame you? Demons aren’t exactly parents of the year, but…you’re going to need my help.”
“Why would you want to help? What’s in it for you?” I demanded, once a cynic always a cynic.
“You would never believe me,” she answered.
I folded my arms. “Try me.”
“You’ve done an exceptional job keeping your family safe all this time. Would it kill you to put a tad bit of faith in me?”
Yes, I believed it would kill me, especially when I wanted to put my foot up her ass. “You still haven’t told me why I should believe anything that comes out of your mouth. As far as I can tell, you haven’t done anything without ensuring you get something in return. Typical demon.”
Her eyes kept flicking to Travis who refused to look at her. “Some habits are hard to break.”
“So are some human bones, but I’m not above breaking all the ones in your host’s body to get what I want.”
She laughed, a sound too musical for a demon. “We’re more alike than you want to admit, nephew.”
“If you won’t tell Chase why you’re suddenly eager to help us, then tell me. I’m asking you, as your son,” Travis said.
An emotion I never expected to see on a demon’s face swam in Kira’s eyes. I couldn’t call it love because demons weren’t capable of such a feeling, but an emotion similar. I was taken aback.
She tilted her head to the side. “What I’ve always wanted. To keep you and your sister safe.”
Travis was having none of it. “Yeah well, you haven’t exactly done a bang-up job of that, have you?”
“There is so much you don’t know, don’t understand,” Kira said in a rush.
“Enlighten us,” I stated.
Her eyes were fixed on me. “The sun will be rising soon and we don’t have time to waste. What is important is you have the only weapon capable of destroying the flesh and soul of a demon.”
Huh? What weapon? “Explain.”
“There is only one thing that can end a demon’s soul, dissolving them from Hell and Earth, and its fire from the chosen’s hands—a demon slayer forged by demons and death.”
My mind started to turn, pieces of the puzzle falling into place as I processed what I thought she was saying. A slayer. But it was the “forged by demons and death” that caught my attention. I didn’t need Kira to spell it out for me.
Fate had a way of really twisting things up. I slumped against a nearby tree trunk, and the branches overhead shook at the impact. I rubbed my face. “You’re not suggesting…”
“I’m doing more than suggesting.”
“You better not be wrong.” Venom dripped from my words.
Chapter 22
{Angel}
“What color? Naughty ’N Nice or Lacy Not Racy?” Lexi asked, holding two bottles of nail polish in each hand, one a deep red, the other a soft pink.
“You’re asking me?” I replied flatly.
“Right.” She swirled in her chair toward Emma propped on the floor. “Okay, which one, camo girl? You used to at least have a girly streak.”
“Who says I still don’t?” Emma grumbled.
“Seriously, this is important stuff.”
It was just the three of us, hanging out, having a girls’ day like normal college girls. We needed a bit of normalcy before the crap storm on the horizon hit. Lexi had made coffee and cranberry-lemon scones for us.
“Totally. It’s not like we have to save the world or anything,” I said around a mouthful of my scone, covering my mouth to keep from dropping crumbs all over Lexi’s bed.
“Exactly. The way I see it, who says I can’t go to war looking my best? At least my nails will be fabulous at my funeral.”
“That’s not funny,” I mumbled.
“Finally, emotion. I wasn’t sure if that was my best friend or a zombie on my bed.”
I squashed an eye roll. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep.”
Lexi and Emma both grinned. “You never did make it home last night, did you?” Lexi asked.
She knew I didn’t, thanks to the morning run-in in the hallway. I crinkled my nose. “Oh, and where is Colin today?”
Lexi pouted. “He slept on the couch while Travis watched him with one eye open.”
I giggled. “A-w-k-ward. Does your dad know he spent the night?”
Lexi made a ghastly face. “Are you kidding? No. He would go ape shit. Anyway, he was at your house last night. I guess someone made an offer on your house.”
I gagged on air. “What?” Disbelief stared back at me in the mirror behind Lexi.
She angled her head, causing her cherubic curls to fall over one shoulder. “Are you going to miss it?”
If someone would have asked me six months ago, I would have probably said no, but now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Even next door. “Yeah, I think I will.” Polishing off the last bite of my scone, I rolled on my belly, dangling my feet in the air.
Lexi crossed her legs, taking a sip of her hot tea. She didn’t guzzle coffee like it was the fifth food group as Emma and I did. “When do you guys plan on going back to school?”
Emma and I groaned in unison. “I’m thinking of not going back this semester. I’ve missed too many classes already. I’ll probably just start my freshman year over again in the spring.” Mom would love that, an entire semester of tuition gone down the crapper.
Emma stretched her legs. “Yeah, I’m kind of thinking college might not be for me.”
“Guys! You are not ditching me. I can’t go to college on my own.”
This time I did roll my eyes. “Yes, you can, Lexi. You were born for college life.”
“It just won’t be the same without you guys.”
And just like that, the three of us started to realize we were growing up and in different directions. Unlikely of friends—a half-demon, a hunter, and a mutated human—but we had been brought together for a reason. I couldn’t be more grateful for the bond of friendship we had, and I wanted it to last a lifetime.
Sitting up, I swung my feet over the side of the bed and reached for my cup of coffee. “I don’t think our lives are ever going to be the same.” My voice had gotten grimmer than I’d intended; I tried to soften the effect with a small smile.
Lexi’s brows drew closer together, but she didn’t say anything. “Why do you think he hasn’t made one threat on our lives? It doesn’t make sense.”
Emma made a sort of irritat
ed sound in the back of her throat. “Since when does anything a demon does or says make sense?”
“Have you said anything to Travis about, you know?” I asked over my steaming mug.
Lexi shook her head. “Not yet. I still can’t wrap my head around it. I mean, I actually saw my mother yesterday, and I didn’t even say anything to her.”
“Did you want to talk to her?”
She shrugged, swiveling her chair back and forth with the tip of her toes. “No. Yes. Maybe. I shouldn’t want to have anything to do with her, but I’ve always wondered what she looked like. What her name was. Why she chose my dad. Why she left us.”
“It’s normal to be curious about a parent you’ve never met,” I said.
“I’ve dreamed about it countless times, good and bad dreams, but not once did I ever dream it would play out like it had. But what I had a aaahard time understanding is why Chase didn’t tell me.”
“He didn’t do so to hurt you.” Of course I came to his defense. It was second nature to me.
“Which is why I’m having a hard time processing. I know Chase would never intentionally hurt me. From the day I was born, he has only ever protected me, often too much, and it makes me wonder if that’s what he’s doing. Protecting me still.”
“I guess in his way he is.”
Lexi’s eyes narrowed. “If you know something, you better spill your guts.”
I frowned at the floor, struggling with my loyalty to my best friend and my boyfriend. Chase had a reason for everything he did, but he had gone too far this time. “Chase made a deal with Kira to save me.”
A unified gasp erupted in the room. “He didn’t.” Outrage was evident in Lexi’s voice. “Idiot,” she muttered.
“Moron,” Emma added.
“It was the only way she would tell him how to save me,” I defended, not because I didn’t think he was some days an idiot and a moron, but because he was mine.