Demon Bones: The Soul Series Book 2

by D. S. O'Neill

  “I just told you—it helps with flexibility and mobility.” Cade said as he chuckled and opened the door of the quaint little dance studio. The inside was a mix of deep golds and blues, intertwined with some lighter shades of green. The entire ambiance was very welcoming, which of course made Ria feel even more out of place in her yoga pants and baggy white t-shirt with the words ‘I DO WHAT I WANT’ displayed across the front in red cursive. Oh yeah. This was totally her kinda joint.

  “Erm…okay. Well…okay. Yeah.” She reached up behind her and began twirling the ends of her long, dark red ponytail.

  It was at that point that a realization hit her. “Hey…where is everyone?”

  “I rented the entire studio for the afternoon. I thought it would be more comfortable for you.”

  “Wow, Cadey. That was…really insightful.”

  “Did you just call me Cadey?”

  “Sure did. I think it suits you.”

  His lips thinned slightly as a look of mild consternation crossed over his face.

  “What?”

  “Well…it sounds like the name of a girl.”

  “Not a problem.”

  His eyebrows rose slightly. “How is that?”

  “Because you definitely ain’t no girl.” Ria winked at him saucily.

  He blinked at her, seemingly at loss for words.

  “Okay, mister dance instructor. Teach away!”

  ***************************

  An hour and a half later and Ria was pretty she hadn’t learned much of anything, but at least she could follow Cade’s lead and fake it beautifully…or, well…decently. Ish.

  Cade twirled her around the floor as she attempted to follow the tango steps he’d instructed her on earlier. Most of the time she could just manage it enough to keep from stepping on him, and although there had been a few incidents of minor, accidental toe steppage, Cade had taken it all in gentlemanly stride, acting is if nothing more than a bunny rabbit had just trampled all over his clearly very expensive black shoes.

  Gasping air into her aching lungs as lady-like as she could, Ria struggled to keep from desperately clutching Cade’s hand in a death grip as he twirled her around and then dipped her to the side. On a whim, she hooked her left leg around his, and then lifted her right knee up and slowly extended her leg into the air, impressed by the fact that should basically extend her leg completely straight before slowly lowering it back down. Yeah, sure, she was shaking like a baby bird, but fuck if she didn’t do the damn thing.

  Cade’s eyes, which had never left hers, slowly widened in surprise. “Where did that come from?”

  “World of Dance.” She whispered on the end of a deep exhale, still struggling to catch her breath.

  Damn, girl, get some cardio.

  “You like that show?”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes.”

  Ria smiled. “Well, then, we clearly need to put watching the show together on our weekly to-do list.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “I think you’re right.”

  Ria’s smile turned into a cheeky grin. “I’m marrying Derek Hough, FYI. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Cade’s head fell back in a full-throated laugh, the sound rolling through Ria’s body like a wave of warmth, and she watched as the muscles in his neck contracted.

  I wonder what it’d be like to kiss that neck…

  Whoa, now. That was totally not where Ria needed to go right now. Vulnerability, vulnerability, bad, bad, bad. I hear the warning alarms. Unhooking her left leg from behind Cade’s, she quickly found her footing and stood. “So, uh…is that all for today? Cuz I’m gonna need what little energy I have left for training tomorrow morning. Pretty sure even 12 hours of sleep won’t replenish my energy stores.”

  “We have been at this for a while. Perhaps we should have a late lunch.”

  “Are you treating?”

  A slow, small smile. “Yes.”

  “Then let’s do this thang, biznitch!”

  ***************************

  Ria’s eyes rolled back into her head as the cheeseburger with fried egg hit her tongue, exploding on her taste buds like a firecracker of flavor. She was pleasantly surprised when Cade had suggested they eat at a small dive that, though it didn’t look too impressive, had some of the best cheeseburgers for many miles. Granted, considering there weren’t many cheeseburgers for miles to begin with, the bar wasn’t exactly set high, it still didn’t negate the fact that Ria could probably live orf those burgers for as long as they kept frying their eggs in bacon grease. They even had a jukebox with both modern and classic songs as well as a little dance floor. Not that she would ever go out there…okay, she went out there a couple times. Ballroom might not be her thing, but she still loved to move to the music.

  “That good, hmm?”

  She opened her eyes, not the slightest bit embarrassed to be caught in the midst of her food-gasm. “You better believe it, mister.”

  “Food seems to be a weakness for you.”

  “Well, I guess if you’ve gotta have one, food is a good one. Some people’s weakness is meth. I think I’m pretty ahead of the game on that front.”

  “Yes, I would definitely say your weakness is one of the good ones, as far as weaknesses go.”

  “Mm-hmm,” Ria mumbled around the bite she’d just taken. Swallowing hard (okay, that bite might have been too big), she eyed Cade curiously. “And what’s your weakness?”

  Reaching for his glass of iced tea, Cade watched her silently over the rim as he took a long sip. He seemed to be considering her question far more seriously than she’d intended. It had been mostly a joke, and if pressed, she probably would have guessed that his answer was hair products, or perhaps a nice manicure every so often since he had the most beautiful hands with long, elegant fingers, the kind that could play a cello with finesse, or maybe form a magnificent clay sculpture, or possibly even—holy shit, Ria, what the actual fuck. Stop obsessing over his damn hands. You’re so weird.

  She was about to change the subject when Cade firmly set his glass back on the table before looking her directly in the eyes.

  “Women.”

  Ria’s eyebrows shot through the roof. “W-women? Wow. That…was not what I expected. I was thinking you would say hair products or something. That’s…ah, wow…this is kind of awkward now.”

  Before she could even finish her awkward rambling, Cade was shaking his head. “No, I mean…mistreatment of women. I cannot stand the sight of a woman in trouble. I cannot abide by it. I will not. I…I just won’t.”

  Tilting her head, Ria considered him. “Is that why you ended up following me back at that bar when we first met? You thought I was in trouble? Not a lot of people would have bothered.”

  Cade rubbed the back of his neck, seeming somewhat distressed by Ria’s reminiscence of the night they met. “Yes. I am only sorry I arrived so late. You are surprisingly quick and agile for someone so…ahem…ill-suited to ballroom dance.”

  “I suck at ballroom. You can say it. I will totally own my absolute ballroom suckage. I own my shit.”

  There was a small moment of silence as Cade’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side, considering her with an intensity that made Ria squirm in her seat, though not too much, seeing as how it squeaked loudly every time she moved even an inch.

  “If that’s so…what about your powers being gone?”

  Sitting up ram-rod straight, Ria fixed Cade with a glare. “Nope. Nuh-uh. No.”

  “That is not ‘owning your shit’, as you say.”

  “Did you just swear?”

  “We need to talk about this, Ria. This is serious.”

  “You totally just swore. I mean, it was technically quoting, but you used a swear word. I heard it.”

  “Firecracker…”

  “Oh, my gods, I love this song! Come dance with me, Cade! Let’s see you do my kinda dancing. Loosen up a little!” Ria grabbed Cade’s hand, pulling him with her to the danc
e floor.

  It wasn’t a lie. She was a huge fan of Eminem’s Berzerk, no matter what people say. It was one of her favorite songs to dance to whenever she came into the little restaurant. The first time she’d realized it was one of the songs on the jukebox, she’d almost died of shock. What kind of jukebox has frickin’ Eminem? The awesome kind, that’s what. Of course, Rob Zombie’s Living Dead Girl was a close second, and also an option on the jukebox.

  Cade, bless his heart, allowed her to pull him onto the semi-crowded dance floor (gotta love small towns with nowhere to go and nothing to do at 3 in the afternoon on a Saturday), directly into the middle. Throwing her arms up, she began to sway to the beat, moving her hips in figure eights like she always did. She smiled up at Cade, who looked like he was about to burst a capillary or something. He moved awkwardly from side to side, keeping his hands firmly to himself.

  “Come on, Cade! Loosen up, live a little!” Ria half hollered up at him. It never ceased to surprise her how fantastic the acoustics became once she hit the dance floor, the beat vibrating all around her, much louder than the portion of the restaurant with the tables and food.

  She wound her arms up around his neck (damn, why were all the guys so damn tall?), standing on her tip-toes to be able to reach all the way around, continuing to move her hips in figure eights as she barely brushed up against him.

  His discomfort visibly jumped a notch before his eyes drifted over her shoulder to something beyond her. He eyed whatever it was for a moment before his eyes hardened, and his arms gradually wrapped around her waist, surprising her has he pulled her closer to him until their bodies were almost perfectly aligned.

  Oh, okay. This is…nice. Really nice. I think.

  Glancing over her shoulder to assess what had led to Cade’s sudden change of demeanor, she just barely caught a glimpse of three college-aged guys eyeing them from across the room before Cade whirled them both around to stand between her and whatever had so offended him.

  “I’m pretty used to it, ya know.” Ria attempted to diffuse the situation.

  “You shouldn’t be.” Was Cade’s only response, muttered through gritted teeth. “No woman should be used to getting leered at.”

  “It’s all gravy, Cadey. Ignore them and let’s dance our asses off!”

  His eyes smiled before his mouth did as his grip on her gradually loosened, his muscles relaxing under her hands. She smiled back in response, glad to see the up-tight Cade finally letting go a little bit. Sidling up a bit closer to him, she grinned evilly. “So…you ever hear of the bump and grind?”

  In an instant, Cade’s arms tensed around her, and his cheeks grew pink as he suddenly shifted his gaze away from, anywhere but her. “I…ahem…have. After all, I am a, as you call it, a ‘sexy-time demon’. But if I’m to be honest, I’d rather not speak on it.”

  Aaaaand he’s back.

  “Okay, Cadey. Whatever’s clever.”

  ******************************

  “We’re baaaaack! Mission one—accomplished. Where’s my maple bacon crack?!”

  Ria threw her coat on the coat rack by the door (or, okay, maybe more like threw it at the coat rack. Whether it actually made didn’t really matter to her) as she headed across the spacious living room towards the large, Mediterranean-inspired kitchen. It was empty, with no tell-tale sign of any maple or bacon goodness. So rude.

  “Where the hell’s everyone at?”

  Glancing around as he picked up Ria’s discarded coat and placed it on the coat rack, Cade shrugged, possibly the most relaxed movement he’d made all day, if Ria was counting. Which she totally was. This would be most relaxed movement number 2, number 1 being his smile while they were dancing at the restaurant. For a sexy-time demon, he was really uptight with her, especially if she mentioned anything sex-related. Her mind briefly wandered back to Jerrick’s comment when they were at the hotel in New Mexico, and she wondered just how ‘weak’ he was. He had mentioned on that trip that he did, in fact, enjoy sexual acts…but when she brought it up, he blushed like an innocent schoolgirl.

  There would most certainly be some future investigation into this phenomenon.

  “They do have lives, my dear. I would imagine Dax is on a hike, Jace is most likely meeting a contact, and Tallen…”

  “Is doing Tallen-centric things?” Ria supplied helpfully.

  “Precisely.”

  “Well, I’m gonna go take a shower and wash off this sweat. Why is it I’m always getting sweaty with you guys?” Ria queried, knowing full well her double innuendo would make Cade cringe.

  She was not disappointed.

  Giggling as she turned from the grimacing expression on Cade’s face, she bounded up the stairs to the second floor, pulling her hair from of its ponytail and shaking it out in the process. The day had turned out fairly decent. She’d managed to not only loosen Cade up a bit, but also to fluster him to no end. It was like a game—how uncomfortable could she make Cade? It was horrible and awful and she felt not an ounce of guilt. Seeing his adorable squirming was just too good to pass up. Why did he make it so easy?

  Grinning at her own mischievousness, Ria threw open the bathroom door…and froze.

  There, standing before her, was 6’2” of toned, tanned, and entirely nude male. Dax’s back was to her as he pulled the shower curtain closed, and her jaw involuntarily dropped at the sight of his rounded ass on full display for her eyes to greedily feast upon. It was like staring at two globes made of pure, male muscle. She just wanted to grab both cheeks with her hands and squeeze. How was his ass as tan as the rest of him? If she tried to tan, she’d have the whitest ass on planet Earth (possibly the other inner planets too), all thanks to her bathing suit. Maybe…did Dax tan nude? The thought of his long, lean body and perfect backside spread out on a blanket out front was all too appealing, and her mouth instantly went as dry as if she’d been stuck in the Sahara without a drop of water for weeks.

  “Either join me or close the damn door. It’s freaking cold.”

  Dax’s sarcastic words snapped Ria from her stupor. “Hmm. I think I pick option C where I stand here in the doorway and stare pointedly in the hopes that one of the guys will walk past and make the possibility of a three-way a real thing.”

  Reaching over, Dax grabbed the towel resting on the bathroom counter and wrapped it around his waist before turning to face Ria. He gave her a body-heating, devilish grin before reaching out and tugging her into the bathroom, pulling her up close enough to feel the heat coming off his still damp skin but not close enough to actually feel the defined muscles she was so curious to explore.

  “Was that an offer, Red Hot?”

  Now, at this point in a situation such as this, any normal person would have probably backed off and waved a white flag. But Ria, being Ria, took Dax’s question as a challenge. And she was never one to back down from a challenge.

  The gauntlet had been thrown.

  “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Either way, sugar, you couldn’t handle me. Not even if there were two of you. There’s a reason you call me Red Hot, after all.”

  Would she actually be down for a full on threesome? Probably not. Again, her experience with intimacy was limited, at best. But dammit if she won’t fake it till she makes it, especially when issued a challenge. One of her many childhood psychologists had termed it ‘oppositional defiance disorder’, the insane drive to go and oppose any authority figure or any order. She couldn’t help but go against the flow. She’d be damn good in a revolution to overthrow a corrupt government. Viva la revolucion!

  Dax’s eyes heated, his gaze drifting down to her lips and sticking there.

  A rough voice spoke from behind her. “And what’s going on here, kitty cat?”

  A honey blonde eyebrow rose as Dax responded lowly. “Red Hot here seems to think that we couldn’t handle her. Seems to be under the impression that she’s too much for all of us to…work with. There was the mention of a three-way, and then she basically challenged our manhoo
d.”

  “Oh did she now?”

  Body heat flooded against Ria’s back, and she slowly became aware that Tallen had just stepped up close behind, mirroring Dax’s position in that he was close enough to sense, but not close enough to actually touch. She felt her hair being pulled back from over her shoulder and twisted into a not around Tallen’s hand. He gave her head a gentle tug before speaking.

  “I’m not sure I believe you, kitty cat. Unless you can prove it.”

  Holy shit. A gorgeous angel in the front, a sexy demon in the back, and I’m in the middle. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

  A tiny alarm began sounding in Ria’s head, warning her that she was so impossibly unprepared for this situation, but her eyes were still glued to Dax’s as Tallen continued to twist her hair around and around, pausing every so often to give another gentle tug as if to remind her of how much control he had of her situation. She was paralyzed between them.

  Dax’s eyes drifted down Ria’s face and her neck but snagged on the ugly scar that marred her chest. Granted, it was only one of many much smaller ones, but this particular scar was glaringly obvious, the violence in her past unable to be hidden. His eyes followed the trail of the scar, from just below her left clavicle and then slowly across the top of her breasts. He lifted his hand and slowly placed a single finger over the scar, barely even touching it, the slightest of grazes. The sensation stole her breath from her lungs.

  Another tug from Tallen as his knuckles brushed across the back of neck, lighting her skin on fire with each pass. What the hell were they doing to her?

  She didn’t like this. Except that she did. It wasn’t the sensations she didn’t like, it was that sinking feeling of vulnerability growing in her breathless chest.

  I don’t want this. No. No. No. Not ready.

  Tallen’s hand stopped in her hair. Dax’s finger froze over her chest. They both slowly withdrew, leaving her feeling cold and oddly empty. Her emotions were a tumultuous riot inside her, chief among them confusion, a healthy dose of wariness, and an irritating desire for them to put their hands back on her. Why did they both stop so suddenly?