Possession fa-5

by J. R. Ward

  Duke lowered his fork and wiped his mouth with his napkin.

  “Sorry,” she said slowly. “Did I cross a boundary or something?”

  “No.”

  Liar, she thought as she pushed at her food. Damn it, she should have just kept things light and easy. Except that wasn’t really her. Gym body or not, she wasn’t into casual sex and it was hard to pretend she was.

  “I’m …” When he didn’t finish, she grimaced and wanted a do-over, starting at the front door. Or at least when she’d come in here to tackle the lasagna.

  “I’ll be honest, too, then.” He wiped his mouth a second time, as if he needed something to do with his hands. “I don’t deserve the honor.”

  The statement was factual, and he didn’t dwell on it—he just went back to eating.

  “Why do you say that?” she asked.

  He shrugged, and then nodded at her plate. “You don’t like this?”

  “Why?” she repeated.

  It was a while before he answered. “As you know, I didn’t graduate from Union. Looking around your house, I’m guessing that the men you usually go for finish things.”

  Again, he clearly wasn’t in search of sympathy, or subtly manipulating her into an ego stroke: His voice was as level as if he had been discussing the weather.

  As she thought of Thom and his career in finance, Duke cocked a brow at her. “Am I wrong?”

  “I don’t have a long list of men.”

  “Also not a surprise.” He took another bite and chewed. “And let me guess—you almost got married at some point, but it didn’t work out.”

  “Maybe.”

  “So that’s a yes.”

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “College was, it’s true.”

  “Wait, why did you drop out?”

  He glanced at the pan. “Mind if I have some more?”

  “Not at all.” What she would like even more? For him to answer a question easily. “What about you? Did you ever marry?”

  His harsh laugh was reply enough. “Nope. Not in the cards for me, as it turned out.”

  “Sounds like I’m not the only one who almost made it to the altar.”

  He paused with his seconds halfway to his plate. “You’re very smart, you know that.”

  For some reason, the comment made her feel more beautiful than any other compliment he could have given her. “Well, the blond’s just hair color, actually.”

  He hesitated again, his eyes narrowing. “Really?”

  “I’d just gotten it done the night I met you, actually.”

  When he seemed nonplussed, she frowned. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Chapter

  Forty-three

  Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Sissy had the book Adrian had given her on top of a pillow in her lap. Even with all the lights on, and her eyes being excellent, she was getting a tension headache from frowning at the tiny, faded writing.

  Her Latin was so not good enough for this.

  Leaning back against her headboard, she cursed softly.

  “That bad, huh?”

  Turning toward the open door, she saw Adrian standing there with a bag of Chips Ahoy!

  He jogged the sealed cookies. “Want a little sin?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  As he limped in, she wished she knew how he’d been hurt. What had happened exactly. But she had a feeling that was seriously off-limits.

  Sitting down at the foot of her bed, he did the deed of opening things up, and then offered the chocolate-chip cookies to her. She took four.

  “You know,” Adrian said between bites of his own, “Eddie always did say that thing read like stereo instructions.”

  “It’s nearly incomprehensible—and it’s totally discombobulated … like stream-of-consciousness stuff. No organization, just a series of random riffs.”

  “Well, what have you got so far?”

  “Can you people really do spells?”

  “Jim can, yup. I’m okay at it. Eddie was better than I am—he used to tell me I had ADHD and that was the root of my problem. You need to focus properly.”

  “Can you do one for me now?”

  “Like I’m a trick pony?”

  “Come on. I need a break, and I’m honestly curious.”

  Adrian popped another cookie into his mouth. Then he held out a palm. Frowning in concentration, he made a waving motion with his free hand over it.

  “Presto!”

  She leaned in. “What did you do?”

  “I made nothing appear. Just like magic.”

  Sissy started to laugh. “You’re a freak.”

  “Too right. And an idiot. I should have brought up the milk.”

  She looked down at the book again and got serious. “Tell me more about the mirror.” When he didn’t reply, she glanced back up at him. “Please.”

  “You hit me with this even after I hooked you up with the Ahoys?”

  Except he stretched out across the end of her bed, propping his head up on his hand. He kept munching away, somehow not getting cookie crumbs all over the place.

  “The mirror, the mirror …” He shook his head. “It’s the ugliest fucking thing you’ve ever seen. Old and decaying, just like her.”

  “Whenever I’ve seen the demon, she’s been young and beautiful.”

  “Just another of her lies.” He rubbed an eyebrow with his thumb. “Like I said, the thing with her is, she needs that portal. She loses the mirror? She’s stuck on this plane, at least from what Eddie always told me. Now, you’d assume the easiest thing to do would be to break it, but if you do? You get sucked into the shards and you ain’t never coming out. The key would be to get control of the POS. Take it out of her possession and make it so she can’t get access to it. Logically, that’s the only set of chains you’re ever going to put on her.”

  “You found me in that bathroom.” She put her hand across her abdomen. “To protect…”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why didn’t you take the mirror with you when you left?”

  Adrian blew out a curse. “Jim had flipped the fuck out when he saw you, and because he’d tripped her spell, she was coming back at a dead run. It was a choice between keeping the savior from attacking and probably getting shanked … or taking the mirror. We chose him.”

  “So she’s killed someone else to replace me.”

  The angel cleared his throat. “Yeah.” Abruptly, he reached out and put his hand on her knee. “Hey, hey … you need to stop thinking about all that. That’s not your biz.”

  “If Jim felt that way, I’d still be in Hell.”

  “Doesn’t mean you have to be a hero up here.” He took out another cookie. “Or down there.”

  Sissy was quiet a long time. And then she heard herself say, “She hurt him.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I saw Jim …” It was so hard to put it into words, and she didn’t know why she was bringing it up now. “She hurt him. Her … people hurt him. Bad.”

  When Adrian didn’t reply, she glanced up. His face was set in stone, no expression to be found within the composite of his features. And that was when she knew … he’d had the same abuse done to him.

  “Sissy, do me a favor?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell him you saw that, okay? It’ll kill him.”

  “That woman needs to be stopped,” Sissy said darkly.

  “That’s what Jim’s trying to do.”

  Sissy was silent for a time. “There’s another thing I’ve been wondering. How did he get me out?”

  “He traded a win for you.”

  As those simple words sunk in, Sissy felt her head go a little fuzzy. “I’m sorry … he did what?”

  As Duke traced Cait’s blond hair with his eyes, a feeling of dread hit him hard. You don’t suppose … oh, come on, there was no reason to be paranoid.

  “I thought it was natural,” he heard himself say.

  “You don’t like bru
nettes?”

  “Ah, no, that’s not it.” He shook his head, thinking, Enough with that psychic. “The blond looks good on you.”

  “Thanks.”

  As she picked up her fork and started to eat once more, he tried to forget Yasemin Oaks’ warning, the strange men sitting shotgun with him, the sense of foreboding that was killing his otherwise healthy appetite. He should be talking to Cait, pulling a little uncomplicated chatter out of his ass, pretending that he was focused on normal things…

  “God, this is so awkward again,” she said. But then she looked up in a flash, as if she hadn’t meant to speak out loud. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean—”

  “No, I know what you’re saying.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “I just … I want you to know that no matter what happens … I want to be here. With you.”

  He held her stare with his own, and was surprised to find that regardless of the intentions he’d started out with? That was the God’s honest. Sitting in this neat little kitchen, in her neat little house, eating her perfectly cooked lasagna? There was nowhere else he’d rather be—and not because he was making a revenge fantasy real.

  And for some crazy fucking reason, he seemed to want her to know that.

  He broke the eye contact first. “I haven’t …” He cleared his throat forcefully, and thought that he really should shut the hell up. “I don’t feel things anymore, you know? I don’t … well, I haven’t had emotions like this in forever.”

  “Emotions like what?” she whispered.

  Duke rubbed the center of his chest, and skirted the question. “You want to know the irony? I was going to be a cardiologist. I was always fascinated by hearts, how they work, why they work. Didn’t get that far, of course. But that was my plan.”

  “What really happened?” She reached over and put her hand on his forearm. “You can tell me.”

  Well, my brother found out that I was in love with a woman, and he seduced her and left her pregnant … and it fucked with my head so bad, I’ve never gotten over it. Especially because I knew him all along—I knew what he was capable of. And I’ve been waiting for years to get back at him …

  Duke looked across the table at Cait, and finished the thought: You were the way I was going to do it.

  For the longest time, he’d been watching G.B. from a distance, checking up on him from the sidelines, monitoring that career of his. And his fraternal twin had proven to have nothing in common with Duke, except for one thing—he never, ever dated anybody seriously. There had been casual hooks, yeah. Things that happened in bars or clubs or behind the scenes. But the bastard had never once invited a woman to see him sing or perform, a specific woman, a woman who was a quality female like this one.

  Duke had known the instant Cait had shown up at the Palace Theatre why she was there—G.B.’s fans always came in pairs, besties doubling or tripling up to ogle him and hear him spout shit that was the polar opposite of the person he really was.

  Cait, on the other hand, had been there alone, and sure enough, there to meet up with him at his request.

  She’d had to be someone special to him to break G.B.’s pattern, and it was not a surprise that both he and his brother were attracted to her—hell, any man with half a brain would be. So Duke had known instantly what to do—yeah, sure, it wouldn’t be even close to what had been done to him, but then, G.B. had always had a much, much thinner skin.

  Less was required to have the same effect—

  Abruptly, Duke started shaking his head, and before he knew what he was doing, he got to his feet. “I have to go. I’m sorry … I can’t stay.”

  As Cait blanched, he knew he really had to leave. She deserved so much better than all this—even though she wanted him, too, his motives hadn’t been clean at the beginning, and for some reason, that seemed to taint everything about his presence here tonight.

  “I—”

  He cut her off. “This is just a bad idea. I came here for—shit, nothing that you’re going to want or merit.”

  She looked at the dinner she’d so carefully prepared for them—and he felt worse than he had in a very, very long time.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I really am.”

  As she put her napkin down and got out of her chair, she straightened the pretty dress she had put on for him. “Okay. And things are awkward, I know. I just…”

  “It’s not you—”

  “Oh, my God, that line.” She actually smiled a little. “I never thought it would be used on me.”

  Duke stepped into her and touched her face. Goddamn, she was so lovely, and as he paused to soak everything in, he knew he was doing the right thing. The beef with his brother was nasty, evil stuff, and nothing this woman needed to get sucked into—he was still going to take his losses out of that asshole’s hide; he was just going to find another way.

  Duke dropped his arm. “I don’t want this to end.”

  She frowned. “It doesn’t have to.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  Cait took hold of his hands. “Listen, I know you say you’re not good at relationships—and I get that. But I’m willing to give it time if you are.”

  “Cait—”

  “I’m serious. I’m no better at this than you. I haven’t even been on a date in years. After Thom left me for someone else, I’ve just been working and doing all the ‘right’ things. I’ve also been living half a life. I got a wake-up call about six months ago, and I just decided I had to stop putting things off, I had to get out there. I think you’re the same.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “So give me a chance to. I’m not going to beg you to stay—that’s up to you. What I am saying is that I’d like the chance to find out where this is going. If that’s not something you’re comfortable with, then you know where the door is—but I think you’re making a huge mistake.”

  In the tense silence that followed, Duke was astonished to find himself agreeing with her—even though it was probably a bad idea. As much as he hated to admit it, she had woken him up, and he didn’t want to go back to the shadows—but at the same time? The stakes were high.

  He’d already lived through a loss like this once…

  And then he realized, the solution to everything might be easier and more honest than he thought.

  Taking Cait’s face in his hands, he tilted her head back and stared into her eyes.

  “Are you seeing anyone else?” he demanded.

  The answer to that question was the only thing that mattered tonight.

  Chapter

  Forty-four

  As Cait looked up at Duke, she was astounded at how still he had become, as if her answer was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. And right now, that vulnerability was the most attractive thing about him.

  It was also what made her mind up once and for all. G.B. was a wonderful man, a truly sensitive and kind soul—and she enjoyed his company. But it was not anything close to what she felt with Duke, and she has to fully commit to whatever relationship they had together or there was no chance of things going anywhere.

  Live now. Take a chance.

  Safety was only a step away from suffocation.

  “No, I’m not seeing anybody,” she answered him. “You’re the only one I’m interested in—”

  At that moment, her cell phone began to ring by her purse, the vibration rattling it across the counter.

  “That’s good,” Duke said roughly. “That’s what I want. Oh, God, that’s what I need—”

  His lips found hers, crushing her mouth as strong arms tightened around her. His body was exactly as she remembered it, rock-hard and dominating, and as she fit her curves to his power, her breasts felt heavy and a burn lit up in her core.

  This was what they both needed.

  When he finally lifted his head, he said in a voice full of gravel, “I want you on a bed. Now.”

  Cait nodded and took his hand, leading him through the living room and up the shallow stairs.
As they ascended, he filled the stairwell just as he had her office—and the same was true when they got into her bedroom. Everything seemed to shrink in, the walls and the ceiling pulling closer together.

  But she didn’t have a lot of time to think about that.

  They came together without words, bodies meeting by her bed, her dress and hose disappearing fast to the floor. Before she knew it, Duke had stretched her out in her bra and panties and was covering her with his weight just as she wanted him to. As he kissed her some more, her hands dug into his hair and she writhed under him … especially as he slowly worked his way down to her breasts, his mouth lingering on her skin as if he liked the taste of her. With quick finesse, the front release of her bra was triggered, the cups slipping free of her sensitive breasts, his broad palms replacing them for a moment.

  And then he found her nipples with his lips.

  As he licked and sucked at her, one of his hands kept going, drifting over her hip to her upper thigh, moving in between her legs—

  Arching up against his mouth, she felt the first stabbing precursor of an orgasm blow through her sex, and he must have known it, because he groaned in response.

  “I gotta get you naked,” he growled, rising up as he hooked his thumbs on the fragile side strings of her panties.

  Watching him pull them off her made her feel voluptuous even though she really wasn’t—

  “Oh, yeah,” he groaned, his eyes glowing with heat as the last bit of her body was exposed to him.

  Focusing on her core, he licked his mouth in anticipation.

  “Let me see you,” he said as he parted her legs.

  Before he went down on her, though, she stopped him. Sitting up, she put a hand on his chest. “Wait, wait—fair is fair. I get you unclothed, too.”

  With hands that shook from impatience, she yanked the bottom of his muscle shirt out of his waistband and dragged the thing up his—

  Holy … crap. First time she had seen this real estate up close and naked—and boy was it worth the eye-time. His torso might as well have been carved, the muscles bulging at his pecs and flexing across his abdomen. There was no fat on him, and no hair to obscure the incredible expanse.