Serena remained silent, slipping her lipstick back into her purse and tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She saw the flicker of Luciana’s smile in the mirror.
“So you haven’t found out yet?” Luciana laughed, a lilting, musical sound that grated on Serena’s ears. “What a pity. I see he hasn’t learned to stop toying with his prey before he goes for the kill. Such bad manners.”
“I’m not prey,” Serena ground out.
“You’re no match for him, my dear. Julian eats girls like you for breakfast. Why, I’ve seen him devour half a dozen little angels in one sitting. I don’t mean to scare you. Perhaps he’ll finish the job quickly before he tires of you and casts you into eternal damnation once you’ve fallen.”
Serena turned to face her. “Look, I don’t know what’s gone on between you two, but if you want Julian, you are more than welcome to have him. Be my guest. Trust me, I’m not your competition. Do us both a favor and take him.”
Luciana glared at her, venom seething in the depths of her demonic green eyes. Out of the demoness’s open handbag, a foot-long snake slithered, its shiny green skin the same piercing shade as its owner’s eyes. Luciana picked it up and kissed the top of its sleek head.
“Watch yourself,” Luciana said languidly. “It would be a terrible shame if you had an accident during your stay here. You never know what creatures lurk in these desert locations.”
The door swung open, and another unsuspecting human woman walked into the bathroom. The demoness tucked the snake discreetly back into her purse, as casually as if she were tucking away a compact.
It was on the tip of her tongue to retort, but Serena realized there was no sense in engaging in conflict with Luciana. She hated to admit it to herself, but when it came to Luciana, Julian was her ally. Better the devil you know? The jury was still out on that one, but between the two of them, she’d take Julian.
The roast vegetable soufflé Serena ordered was delectable, but she barely picked at it throughout the meal. Thinking of the poor waiter, her appetite abandoned her entirely. Luciana’s warning and the presence of the demons around her didn’t help. Julian chose neither the lamb or angel hair pasta that Luciana had suggested, but opted for seared sea scallops and pepper-crusted filet mignon. He proclaimed the food delicious. Luciana, for her part, spent the duration of the meal glowering over her lobster tail, shooting Serena threatening looks whenever the men’s attention was diverted.
“The chef has outdone himself,” Corbin declared, sitting back in satisfaction. “I’m always surprised at the incentive of everlasting damnation to put some drive into these mortals.”
The three demons laughed. Serena wished they’d all go back where they came from: hell. She pushed the remains of her meal around her plate, thinking about how nice it would have been to curl up in the cozy armchair in her living room, beside the fireplace. She’d rather be anywhere but here.
A familiar voice made her head turn. “Serena, Julian! Here you are.”
“Nick!” Serena almost leaped from her seat, she was so grateful to see him. “When did you get here?”
The young actor’s face was shadowed with beard stubble, eyes bloodshot from a bad hangover. She wondered exactly how much he’d had to drink last night, what drugs he’d taken. She’d been so preoccupied, first with her brother’s safety, and then with her own, that she’d had little time to keep track of Nick. He was still her Assignee, and she was determined to protect him as best she could. But he was sliding downhill at an alarming rate.
Even with his rumpled clothes and ashen skin, Nick was still a handsome young man in his prime. Luciana eyed him as though he were more succulent than the lobster she’d just eaten.
He grinned broadly and said, “Not too long ago.” Then he saw Julian’s arm slung casually around her shoulders and his smile faltered.
What a mess. Things were getting too complicated. She wanted to tell Nick there was nothing going on between them, that Julian had coerced her into being here. But she couldn’t. Especially not in front of the Axis of Evil gathered here at the table. Satan’s three helpers would eat both her and Nick alive.
“Looks like it’s double-date night,” Nick said, flustered as he eyed them together. “I don’t want to be a third wheel…”
The demoness batted her eyelashes like an old-fashioned actress as she held out her hand for Nick to kiss. “Tesoro, you’re hardly a fifth wheel,” she said, her accent pronounced as she mangled the idiom. “You’re more like…dessert.”
Nick laughed, lapping up her outrageous flirtation. He bowed gallantly. “It’s you who is utterly delicious, madam,” he said, making a show of admiring Luciana’s figure.
“Come and sit next to me.” The demoness slid in closer to Corbin, pushing him closer to Serena, who was forced to lean even closer into Julian. Luciana patted the smooth leather next to her, signaling for Nick to sit.
“Aren’t you adorable? I’m going to make you my pet, my dear,” Luciana cooed.
Nick grinned. “But I’m not properly trained. Do you mind the kind of pet that bites?”
The demoness giggled. “I absolutely prefer it. You don’t mind, Corbin, my darling, do you?”
Corbin’s pale gaze revealed nothing. Nick slid a glance in Serena’s direction to make sure she’d caught their innuendo. She wanted to leap over the table and warn him. But of course, she couldn’t. It would break protocol to reveal the existence of divine entities. Besides, his human mind would never believe her. But Nick was her responsibility. It was her job to keep him safe. She had to find some way of keeping him out of Luciana’s clutches.
But by the time dessert was served, it was clear that Nick was dazzled by the demons’ charisma and their glamour. Luciana flirted shamelessly with him, feeding him chocolate-dipped strawberries as if they were lovers. Serena watched them from across the table and stirred at her crème brûlée, but found that she had no more appetite for the delicious dessert than she’d had for her dinner.
Between the two women, Corbin had gone quite still. Serena wondered what was going on in his mind. It seemed to her that watching his lover flirt with Nick ought to drive any red-blooded man wild with anger, but it was impossible to tell what Corbin thought. From his earlier behavior, she fully expected him to burst into a fit of rage. Yet, he sat observing the scene as though there was nothing amiss. Serena watched as Luciana flirted simultaneously with both men, touching each of them frequently. But the demoness also threw Julian surreptitious glances. Serena wondered, was the she-demon trying to make Julian jealous?
Corbin drained his drink and set the empty glass on the table. “Why don’t we swing by Devil’s Ecstasy and have a peek inside.”
“Right now? It will be completely empty,” Luciana said, stroking his cheek with the back of her fingers. Her pale gaze widened in mock innocence. “Whatever will we do there?”
On her other side, Nick said, “I’d love to see it bare, without any people.”
“That’s not the only thing he’d like to see bare,” Serena muttered under her breath.
Julian raised a questioning eyebrow at Serena and whispered, “Jealous?”
She shook her head, feeling the fabric of Julian’s suit jacket slide against her bare arm where they touched. Yes, perhaps she was a little jealous. Although not of Nick, but of Julian.
“You must be tired, Nick,” she said, hoping the actor would take the hint and save himself. “You flew all the way from L.A. today. Don’t you want to rest?”
Nick shook his head. “No, Mom. The flight only took an hour. I’m good to go.”
“Well, I’m feeling a bit sleepy,” Serena said, trying not to feel slighted by his little joke. “I might turn in early.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it,” Julian glowered.
The nightclub was a short walk across the lobby from the restaurant. As the group moved, she hung back, pulling Nick aside. “Be very, very careful. These people are dangerous,” she whispered.
He
shrugged and said, “They seem pretty cool to me. Serena, you need to cut loose a little. Have some fun!”
Fun. For the second time that day, Andrew’s words echoed in her mind. She knew how to have fun. She just liked to do it safely.
Nick had no idea that his life was in jeopardy. All he could see was the shiny surface of the demons’ wealth and beauty. She wanted to shout it to the rooftop pool that the three people walking in front of them were demons. Wanted everyone in this sinfully luxurious hotel lobby to turn and stare at them, to drag the demons away and destroy them. But that was impossible. “Supernatural occurrences must never be disclosed to humans, except under exceptional circumstances,” Arielle had told her at the beginning of her training. “It can be done, but you must always seek my permission first.” Which Serena didn’t have. Furthermore, demons swarmed the hotel, by far the majority here. Overpowering them on their own turf would require a massing of angelic forces that was beyond her capabilities at this moment.
She whispered to Nick, “There are things you don’t know about these people. As your friend, I just want you to make the right decisions.”
Julian glanced over his shoulder, breaking off his conversation with Corbin. “What are you two talking about back there?”
She clung to Nick’s arm, glaring a warning at the Archdemon. Julian merely smiled.
They walked into the club, and a feeling of déjà vu swept over her. In design, the club was similar to Devil’s Paradise. But the new club was more garish and more opulent. Crimson draperies swept from the ceiling. A grand staircase rose up from the main floor to the unknown pleasures of the second floor. Through a massive set of glass doors at the far end of the club, an outdoor pool was visible, its still waters gleaming in the moonlight.
Julian climbed the short staircase to the DJ booth, and a moment later, an old, slow song played over the sound system. She recognized it immediately as Chuck Berry’s “Earth Angel.”
Nick took Serena’s hand and led her to the dance floor. He was pulling her into his arms when Julian stopped him.
“Not this time, son. It’s my club, and I’ll christen the dance floor,” Julian said. To Serena, he said, “We didn’t get to dance at my party.”
Luciana stood at the edge of the dance floor, scowling. “There’s so much saccharine in here, it’s making me sick. I need some air,” the demoness announced loudly. She dragged Corbin by the sleeve out the glass doors toward the pool. Nick trailed after them.
Serena pulled away from Julian to follow Nick. The young man was her responsibility, and if something happened to him, she would never forgive herself. But Julian resisted, holding her against him.
“Let them go,” he insisted. “They wouldn’t dare do anything here. It’s my territory.”
She sent another worried glance in the direction the three of them had gone. “You’d better be right,” she said. Then, as Julian’s arms pulled her closer, she protested, “You’re holding me too tightly.”
He eased his hold, releasing her slightly. They danced slowly, circling to the music. It was strange, knowing that the latent power in the arms that held her might turn on her at any second. And yet, he held her with such care, such infinite gentleness. She inhaled the scent of him. He wore an expensive cologne mingled with the subtle undertones of maleness that arose from his body. He was intoxicating, and if she wasn’t careful, he would seduce her before she even realized it.
“‘Earth Angel.’ What a cliché,” she said, breaking the silence. She didn’t bother to mention that she and Meredith danced around their living room to this song on a regular basis.
“Where’s your sense of humor? I bought this record in 1954. Hey, Senorita was the B-side. Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio that year. The French were defeated in Vietnam and the country was partitioned into North and South,” he said, nostalgia seeping into his voice.
“Very impressive. Anything else?”
He paused, looking up toward the massive vaulted ceiling. “The world lost Frida Khalo and Henri Matisse. Oh, and one more thing. The words under God were added to the Pledge of Allegiance.”
“How do you remember these things?”
“Details become important. They’re the easiest way to mark time. When you’re immortal, time becomes your best friend and your greatest enemy. You’ll learn that,” he said, his mouth setting into a thin line.
“Why?”
“Because you have all the time in the world to do the things you’ve always wanted to do, learn what you’ve always wanted to know. Then one day you’ll come to a point where there’s nothing left to learn. Nothing left to know. Oh, you’ll never master everything. That’s not what I’m saying. But there comes a point where none of it means anything anymore. Details are the only thing that distinguish today from yesterday, or the last month, the last year or the last decade.”
“I’m still struggling to keep things together,” she said. “But I can’t imagine a time when life is meaningless.”
“You’re new. One day you’ll understand.”
No, she wouldn’t. Life would always have meaning for her—her life, and the lives of those she loved. As she looked up at his face, she realized that he was miserable. And so alone. But there was probably no point explaining that to him. He would never understand. Could a demon understand love?
The sound of splashing caught her ear. Then, Luciana’s high-pitched shriek pierced the melody of the music.
“Nick’s in trouble,” she said. Julian resisted, but she broke from his embrace and started toward the pool area. This was all her fault. She’d allowed her attention to wander, and she’d left Nick alone with those monsters. He was just a defenseless human, incapable of defending himself. She should have known better.
She heard Julian sigh, but he followed her as she broke into a run.
“Did you plan this?” she shot over her shoulder. “Did you deliberately distract me so your friends could get their evil claws into him?”
“Of course I didn’t. I may be in league with the devil, but I am not in league with her,” he said.
“I never should have trusted you,” she snapped.
Nick was in trouble, all right, but not the kind she’d anticipated.
The three of them were waist-deep in the pool. Luciana’s dress was molded to her body like the water they stood in, and every bit as transparent. Pressed between the two men, Luciana stood with Nick in front of her, his face lost in the valley between her breasts. Corbin stood behind her, and her head was tilted back as she kissed him, open-mouthed and moaning.
Serena gasped.
The three of them turned at the sound and stood motionless as they gazed at her, an erotic tableau that was strangely beautiful in the moonlight.
Luciana’s gaze swept past Serena, to Julian. “Come join us, amore mio. The water’s warm,” she said with a suggestive smile.
“You can even bring your little angel if that’s what floats your boat, old chap,” Corbin said, his gaze sending a shiver of fear up Serena’s body.
“Nick, you’re making a huge mistake. Come out of there right now,” Serena said.
He stood rooted to the spot, his eyes daring her. He clearly wasn’t going anywhere.
She moved forward, ready to leap into the pool after him. At the edge, Julian caught her, holding her back. She tried to shake him off, but couldn’t. To the demons in the water, she called, “You harm Nick, and you’ll have to answer to me.”
Luciana tossed back her glossy black hair and laughed.
Chapter Eight
Julian stepped forward. “You harm him, and you’ll have to answer to me.”
His voice reverberated over the water. Everyone froze.
Moonlight reflected off the surface of the pool, spangled light splaying on their wet skin. Corbin nodded only once, but solemnly and with respect. Luciana fell silent. A glint of that pale light shimmered ominously in her eyes. Julian would gladly have separated her head from her body if he didn’t think
there would be consequences, not only with Corbin, but with higher authorities.
And Nick. Julian didn’t care what happened to Nick. The little bastard could go to hell in a handbasket for all he cared—it certainly looked like Luciana was perfectly happy to take him. But Serena had consistently put herself in grave danger trying to protect her Assignee. Julian knew his only chance of getting her out of here was to guarantee Nick’s safety.
“Is that a yes?” Julian demanded. “I need to hear it. From both of you.”
“Yes,” Luciana said, her mouth tightening from the force of holding in her resentment.
For a moment, Corbin merely grinned. That grin was a mask. He might be ruthless with his underlings, treating them like disposable objects if they made the slightest mistakes. But with another Archdemon, it was not so simple. He was bound by his understanding with Julian, an uneasy alliance that stretched thin between them now, a wire drawn to the breaking point.
But then Corbin relented. “It’s all just an innocent game, old chap. We wouldn’t harm a hair on his head. Unless he asked us to.”
An Archdemon’s word was enough. Satisfied, Julian exchanged a nod of acknowledgment with him.
Nick remained where he stood, still clutching the demoness’s body. Oblivious to the currents that swirled around him. “Why would they harm me? I’m a big boy. I can fend for myself,” he said, a hand tightening on Luciana’s breast. “Serena, just because you don’t know how to have fun, it doesn’t mean you have to spoil it for the rest of us.”
In his grasp, Julian felt Serena flinch. But she gritted out, “Nick, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. If you have any sense at all, you’ll get out of that pool.”
Julian had to haul the angel away resisting. He pulled her back through the club, back into the hotel lobby. When they were safely inside the elevator, he finally released her. They didn’t speak a word on the way back up to their suite. She stood with her lips pursed and her arms folded.
Where Demons Fear to Tread Page 13