by Jodi Redford
Her expression pensive, Cass scooted closer to the edge of the couch cushion. “We have reason to believe you’re in danger.”
Somehow Marabella doubted that was in reference to her immense desire to lick Sam from head to foot. Though goddess knows, that was certainly a danger to her sanity. “I’m afraid I don’t follow your meaning.”
Cass smoothed her palms over her jeans. “There’s a woman with considerable influence, power and dubious motives who’s developed a shady interest in you.”
“Don’t forget soulless, greedy bitch with lousy taste in goons,” Sam added with a snort. “No self-respecting description of Pricilla is complete without that one.”
“Thank you for those helpful clarifiers, Sam.” Her lips twitching, Cass hugged her knees. “So do you see why it was important for us to speak with you?”
“Not really. For starters, why would this woman—who I don’t think I even know—be interested in me?”
“Because you were able to break Sam’s seal.”
She frowned. “His what?”
“My seal.” Sam took a swig from the wine cooler before continuing. “It’s what made me a soul collector.”
She gaped at him. “How in the world did I do that?”
“By having sex with me. Or more specifically, coming your brains out.”
Marabella’s cheeks burned in embarrassment. It was tempting to smack the smirk from Sam’s face. Even if he was only speaking the mortifying truth.
A reproving sound issued from Cass. “Sam, this isn’t the time to be blunt.”
Shrugging, he chugged another swallow from the bottle clutched in his fist.
Her own cheeks slightly pink, Cass cleared her throat delicately. “Sam is technically right, though. It was the energy spike from your, uh, union, that fried through his seal. Although I’ve got to say, we weren’t expecting some of the odd side effects that came along with it.”
Expecting? Marabella ping-ponged her stare between Cass and Sam. “Wait a minute. Did…did you guys plan this whole thing?” Without warning, Sam’s answer to why he wouldn’t leave the ball ghosted through her mind. Not until I get what I came for.
Oh goddess. Just like a fool, she’d stepped smack-dab into the middle of the trap he’d laid out. She glared at Cass and received a shamed look in exchange, but when she leveled her narrow-eyed gaze onto Sam, he had the despicable indecency to lift the wine cooler in salute. “Congratulations, babe. You’ve figured it out.”
“Don’t call me babe, you rotten son of a bitch.”
He chuckled. “Don’t know what’s got your panties in a twist. In case you don’t recall, you had a good time. You know, that whole coming-your-brains-out part?”
The grinding of her teeth didn’t quite drown out Cass’s admonishing retort. “Sam, you’re not helping here. Why don’t you let me field the rest of this conversation?”
He gave another mocking wave of his bottle. “The floor is all yours.”
Cass gazed at Marabella pleadingly. “Please know none of this was done to intentionally hurt you.”
An enormous lump of regret stuck in her throat. “Did he tell you I was a virgin?”
Cass winced before shooting Sam a withering glare. “No, he didn’t.”
A portion of Sam’s callous disregard cracked. Amazingly enough, his expression even turned momentarily sheepish. “You can stop looking at me like I’m a damn puppy killer or something, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t know initially. By the time the deed was done, it was too late.”
Cass gave him a strange look that wasn’t easily decipherable. When she glanced back at Marabella, the deep consideration in her eyes intensified. “Hmm, interesting.”
“What?” Sam and Marabella demanded in unison.
“Nothing. Just mulling around some theories. But getting back to that night…” Cass lifted to her feet and paced in front of Marabella. “Sam was in a desperate situation. We wouldn’t have pulled you into this unless we absolutely had to, believe me.”
The conviction in Cass’s tone acted as a dab of salve to Marabella’s hurt. “I still don’t understand. What does my breaking his seal have to do with it all?”
“He had to break it in order to sever his familiar contract with Pricilla.”
“The soulless greedy bitch with the bad taste in goons, I presume?”
Cass nodded. “She weaseled the demon king into granting her Sam’s contract, rather than executing him.”
The statement knocked Marabella square in the solar plexus. “They were going to kill Sam?” The realization prompted an icy shiver of horror down her spine. Which made no sense, considering what a heartless bastard he was. Why should she care if he’d nearly been executed, especially after the way he’d used her? Still, it didn’t ease the queasiness sloshing around in her stomach.
“It was supposed to be his punishment for aiding in Antoinette Delacroix’s demise.”
“B-but why would he have been punished for that? She was a crazy, evil bitch.”
Sam grunted. “Hell, that’s putting it lightly.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Cass interjected. “The demon council has a strict code of conduct for their soul collectors. Endangering any of the members or your master is basically the biggest no-no.”
Marabella stared at Sam. “If you knew there was a good shot you’d be killed…why did you do it?”
He remained stubbornly tight-lipped. It wasn’t until Cass opened her mouth and started to blurt something that he finally deigned to speak. “None of that is relevant to the here and now. Long story short, you and I knocking boots stripped me of my seal and now, like it or not, you’re on Pricilla’s radar.”
“Why? What could she possibly want from me?”
“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Cass frowned. “Unfortunately, I’m finding that a lot harder to do since there’s a security block on your soul.”
“A what?”
Cass took her hand and led her to the couch. Once they were both seated, Cass cocked her head to the side. “Remember I told you I was half demon? Well, the other half of me is reaper. My genes grant me the ability to read the blueprint on anyone’s soul. Before you, I’ve never encountered anyone who I’ve been denied access to read.”
Marabella gaped at Cass, trying to correlate the image of a grim reaper with the woman sitting beside her. Where was the black cloak and sickle? She shook her head to get her scattered thoughts back on track. “Why would there be a block on me?”
“I’m not sure. My best guess is someone is trying to hide your identity. Someone who is pretty freaking high up in the ranks, judging from the security issue required to perform this level of block.”
“But I don’t get it. You can easily get any of my records through the state. There’s nothing to hide.”
Cass patted Marabella’s knee. “Your soulprint carries far more detailed information than things like where you live and if you have too many speeding tickets. A reaper can read your DNA and even trace your family tree back to the beginning of time within the blink of an eye.”
“Wow.”
“Exactly. So you can see how having a block on your soulprint amounts to having your entire history under lock and key.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” But she still couldn’t wrap her mind around why there would be any reason for such a block on her soul to exist. She suddenly remembered Madam Regina’s insistent warnings. “Wait a sec. I was able to have a psychic read me. How was she able to get through the block?”
“By read, I’m assuming you mean she told you your fortune or something?” Cass smiled. “Nothing against psychics, but that’s nothing like what reapers do. Mediums aren’t digging around in your soulprint.”
“Okay, that makes sense. Not to mention she told me I’d be cursed with virginity for life. Not exactly accurate.” She slid a glance toward Sam and noticed that he was staring at her intently. A flush traveled over her skin and made her nipples bead. She was immensely grateful to be wea
ring a padded bra that concealed the traitorous buggers.
“What about Nikki?” Sam asked suddenly. “Maybe she has higher clearance than you.”
“I doubt it. But it still probably wouldn’t hurt to have her swing by later and take a shot at reading Marabella.” Cass caught her quizzical look. “Nikki’s my sister. Technically, of the two of us, she’s the legitimate reaper. I pretty much try to stay out of the family business.” Her lips adopted an ironic twist. “Try being the operative word.” The couch springs creaked as Cass once again rose to her feet. “Speaking of Nik, I should probably head back to Sam’s and make sure she followed orders.”
Sam quickly drained the last of the wine cooler and pushed away from the wall. “I’ll hit the head before we leave.” He glanced at Marabella. “Okay if I use your bathroom?”
Cass paused in the process of flipping open her cell phone. “Uh, Sam, you’re staying here.”
She and Sam both gaped at Cass before simultaneously yelling, “What?”
Cass winced and rubbed her ears. “Damn, you two have some serious lung capacity.”
“I’m not fucking staying here, Cass,” Sam growled.
For once, Marabella was in full accord with him. Sam under the same roof as her? Talk about the mother of all complications. Between her thoroughly inappropriate lustful urges for him and the danger of him being discovered in her apartment, it was a disaster in the making. “He’s right. He can’t stay here.”
“I’m sorry, but he’ll have to.” Cass stuffed her cell phone into her pants pocket and strode to Marabella. She took a hold of Marabella’s hand and offered a squeeze that was likely meant to be reassuring, though Marabella felt anything but. “You’re in danger, and we dragged you into it. We can’t leave you unprotected. Not until we figure out what the hell Pricilla is up to.” Cass glanced over her shoulder at Sam, who was glaring at them with the blackest scowl to ever darken a face. “You know what I’m saying is true. Pricilla is aware a witch broke your seal, and she knows the perpetrator is local. She has enough information to start a modern-day witch hunt. It’s our responsibility to safeguard Marabella. Would you be able to live with yourself if something happened to her?”
Deep lines of tension bracketing his mouth, Sam continued staring at Marabella for a long spell. A brief flash of some unrecognizable yet intense emotion glimmered in his eyes. “Fine, I’ll stay.”
She wanted to argue. Panic even cattle-prodded the words along her throat, but before they found exit, Cass swiveled and headed toward the stairway. Cass stopped at the banister and beamed a megawatt smile. “This will work out. You’re a thousand times safer with Sam watching over you.”
Marabella veered her focus to Sam and met his hot, predatory gaze. She gulped. That’s debatable.
Chapter Fifteen
“I need to go back downstairs and open up my shop again.”
Sam gave a lazy swipe of his chiseled belly. “I’m gonna use the john and then I’ll be right down.”
She gaped at him. “You can’t hang out down there. What if one of my colleagues shows up?”
He arched one dark eyebrow. “What if Pricilla does?”
Damn, she hated to admit it, but he had a point. “Okay, but I expect you to disappear at the first sign of another witch.”
“No argument from me there, babe. Two witches in the same room is two too many for me.”
Ooh, he was so damn irritating. Which only made it all the more frustrating when she caught herself ogling his ass as he sauntered toward the bathroom. Her grumble leaking free, she turned and stormed down to the store.
She managed to distract herself from Sam’s presence for a whopping ten minutes while she finished unpacking and pricing the remaining suncatchers. Her composure slipped when he strode into the small room where their illicit rendezvous had occurred. His gaze immediately trekked to the brass daybed. “You changed the pillows.”
“And the sheets and comforter. I couldn’t exactly leave it after…”
His hot, smoldering scrutiny returned to her. “After we burned the sheets fantastic?”
She blushed. “I wasn’t going to phrase it that way, but yes.”
Sam’s focus dipped to her mouth and lingered there for an endless moment. “How were you going to phrase it, sweet Bella?” he asked in that silky-smooth tone that provoked tingles in inappropriate places. “The way I see it, you can’t get more accurate than that.”
“Oh no? How about after you tricked me into having sex with you, after which you snuck away into the night? Has a nice truthful ring to it, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t sneak away. You were sleeping, damn it.”
She shot him a disbelieving stare. “You might be the only person I’ve had sex with, but that doesn’t mean I’m so innocent I don’t realize just how lameass an excuse that is.” It was tempting to give him a further piece of her mind, but she tempered the urge. Why bother? It wasn’t like he possessed a damn conscience about such things. Instead, she picked up one of the suncatchers and polished it with the soft cloth she’d fetched from the kitchen. She could feel Sam watching her, but she refused to verify it with her own eyes. Maybe if she remained silent long enough, he’d get the point and take his aggravating self elsewhere.
“I figured I was doing us both a favor by leaving.”
His reluctant admission jerked her head up, and she met his gaze. He scratched the dark stubble on his jaw, the gesture oddly vulnerable. “You and I both know nothing could have come of that night beyond the amazing sex.”
Yes, she did know that. But the damnable part was her brain seemed to be fixated on the least important section of his admission. “You think the sex was amazing?”
His attention drifted to her lips again. “That’s an understatement.” He took a step toward her, and she unconsciously tilted her face toward his. His mouth descended, and her pulse accelerated with anticipation and excitement. When their lips were a hairsbreadth from touching, the chimes tolled. They both jerked away from each other like a thunderbolt just struck between them.
“I—I better go see who that is.” She pushed past Sam and dashed from the room. The phrase saved by the bell had never been more apropos.
The remainder of the work day passed with no further close calls. Still, that didn’t keep her from feeling paranoid and jumpy as she locked the doors and traipsed upstairs with Sam. She wished she could say her nervousness stemmed from the past several hours of dealing with fear over Sam being discovered or the mysterious Pricilla walking into the store. But the truth was a large portion of her jitters primarily revolved around the prospect of being alone with Sam. Yes, they’d mostly had the store to themselves, but that wasn’t the same as spending the night together in the close quarters of her cramped apartment.
They stepped onto the top landing, and a whoosh of air hit her seconds before Cass and another redhead appeared out of the ether. Marabella bit back a yelp.
A chagrined smile tipped Cass’s mouth. “Sorry, didn’t know you guys were on your way up here.”
Sam grunted. “So I take it you scrounged up a teleport bracelet?”
“Yeah, mine.” Cass grimaced. “Trust me, I had a tough time convincing Pops that this isn’t a sign of me wanting back in the business.”
“Fuck.” Sam’s eyebrows slashed low. “You didn’t tell Tobias your reason for wanting it, did you?”
“Of course not. Although he did ask if I knew you had a bounty on your head. Safe to say he’s suspicious about where Nik and I have been.”
While Sam muttered several more colorful swear words, the statuesque redhead next to Cass extended her hand. “Marabella? I’m Nikki.” She flashed a grin that displayed her pearly whites in all their glory. “Huh, during all of his delusional ramblings, numbnuts over there didn’t get around to mentioning how pretty you are.”
Delusional ramblings? Before she could inquire what Nikki meant, Sam clamped his hand on his cousin’s shoulder, effectively tugging her hand away
from Marabella’s.
“My car better be in one piece.”
“It is. Mostly.” Nikki chuckled in response to Sam’s growl. “Relax, Cujo. It’s safe and sound in your garage.”
“Good. Make sure she stays that way.”
Nikki sent Marabella a commiserating look. “Does he constantly bite your head off too? Or am I the only lucky recipient when it comes to that charming aspect of his personality?”
“Hell, I was pleasant today,” Sam groused. “I even helped with moving some furniture and shit around.”
Nikki’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s almost civil of you.”
Cass cleared her throat pointedly, breaking into Sam and Nikki’s private jab fest. “I take it there wasn’t any trouble from Pricilla?”
Sam shook his head and stepped past the sisters. “How about on your end?”
Cass followed him to the couch. “No, but as predicted, we spotted a pair of her goons parked in a black SUV down the street from your house.”
Sam sprawled onto a cushion and rubbed his chin. “Sooner or later, Pris is gonna get wise to the cuff switcheroo. Especially if they don’t spot me ever leaving the house.”
Marabella joined them at the couch and frowned. “Cuff switcheroo?”
Sam hiked up the leg of his jeans, revealing some kind of strange silver manacle banding his right ankle. “Courtesy of good ole Pris.”
“It’s a tracking device,” Cass explained. “We were able to exchange its chip with the one from Nik’s reaper cuffs.”
“Reaper cuffs?” Wow, she’d really had that cloak-and-sickle thing all wrong.
Nikki plopped onto the arm of the couch. “They lock into the electromagnetic field attached to spirits and keep them bound until the soul is transferred to its proper resting place.”