Eternal Pleasure

by Nina Bangs

  They stood staring at each other. Ty curled his lips away from his teeth at the exact moment the other man did the same thing.

  A moment rife with the threat of violence passed before the other guy suddenly relaxed and grinned. “You’re protecting your place, so you get a pass this time. And yeah, you had bigger teeth than me back then, but now it’s a level killing field.”

  Had was the operative word. This confrontation only proved he had a long way to go before beast and brain worked together. Good thing Kelly wasn’t here to see him acting like a primitive jerk. He turned and walked over to the window, making sure he stood to the side of it. In his nightmares, Fin had assured him that Nine didn’t think he and the others were too much of a threat right now, so he wouldn’t be putting a lot of effort into hunting them down. But Ty remembered the black cloud from last night. Jumping out of a third-story window might not kill him, but he’d be doing some major hurting afterward.

  The other man dropped onto the nearest armchair. “Don’t worry. If you jump, I’ll save you from going splat. You’re lucky Fin teamed you up with me, because I’m the only one who could.”

  Ty threw him a sharp glance.

  He laughed. “No, I can’t read your mind, but your expression said you were thinking about Nine’s little visit.”

  Ty rolled his shoulders to ease some of the tension. “Good guess…Quetz, isn’t it?”

  The other man’s smile disappeared. “Call me that again and I’ll tear your face off.” His voice was a low, rumbled warning. “It’s Q. I don’t know why Fin thought his dumb-ass names would stick. He should’ve let us pick our own.”

  Finally Ty smiled. Well, well. A weapon. When an enemy lost his temper, he stopped thinking. And once he stopped thinking, his next step was dead.

  He’s not your enemy. Ty exhaled deeply. He really needed an attitude adjustment. But this whole working-as-a-team thing would take getting used to.

  “Q it is.” Ty wandered over to the couch and sat. “I guess Fin played games in your head last night too.”

  “Yeah.” Q yawned. “Not too restful.”

  “Lots of complicated stuff.” Ty’s head had been whirling with Fin’s tale of godlike immortals, the end of time, and mass extinctions. It would take a while to get it straight in his mind. “Fin seems to know a lot about these guys. Wonder how he got his info?”

  Q shrugged. “I don’t think we can worry too much about the big picture right now without our heads exploding. We have to take it one night at a time.”

  “Right.” Ty nodded. “So these immortals are on a tight schedule to wipe out all humans by December twenty-first, 2012. They’re hitting major cities first, gathering an army of nonhumans who’ll exterminate the human race.” Just like that vampire had killed the man they’d found last night. Fin had taken a look at the body before calling the police. He’d stuck that tidbit into Ty’s dreams along with everything else. Too bad Ty couldn’t tell Kelly her mythical monster lived. Or not.

  Q frowned. “Why bother with an army? If they’re so freaking powerful, why not just whack everyone themselves?”

  “Who knows. Fin said they can’t kill humans directly. It would probably violate some weird cosmic code.” And why only kill humans? If you were going to go to all that trouble, why not get rid of everyone? Another question for Fin.

  “So our job is to find out how this Nine is recruiting and stop him.” Q looked worried. “I see a few problems here. One, we can’t kill him. Two, we have to trap him and then send his ass back out into the cosmos. Once there, he can’t return until the end of the next time period. Did Fin tell you how we wrap him up and ship him out? I don’t think FedEx delivers in that neighborhood.”

  “With Fin, information is given on a need-to-know basis.” Ty saw his own frustration mirrored in Q’s eyes. “Give me a minute to change.” Once in his bedroom, he quickly stripped.

  There was only one positive to this whole picture. These guys were so arrogant they thought one of them could take care of a whole city. Nine was in charge of raising an army and visiting random acts of violence on humans in Houston. So take out Nine quickly, and that would leave eight remaining immortals, plus their boss Zero. Ty didn’t have to worry about Zero. He belonged to Fin.

  When Ty returned to the living room, Q was pacing. “We start at this Mexican restaurant. Fin said the owneris otherkin. She’ll help us if she can. Then we hit some clubs to see if we can pick up anything.” He raked his fingers through his short black hair. “It’d be great if we had a clue what we were searching for.”

  Ty grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “Nine will need to offer an incentive or else no army. That could be drugs or something else. From what Fin said, most nonhumans aren’t naturally joiners.”

  “I don’t know. The thought of world domination might interest a few demons.” Q pulled the door open and walked out into the hallway. He waited while Ty locked his door.

  “We only need one driver tonight.” Ty stuffed the keys in his pocket.

  “Yeah. I figured that. I gave Neva the night off. Told her not to leave the apartment.” He frowned. “She was dressed for her own kind of hunt, so I don’t know if she’ll stay in.”

  Ty refused to acknowledge the surge of pleasure he felt at the thought of being around Kelly for the night. He’d have to make sure he didn’t let himself get out of control or…

  Wait. Q hadn’t been with a female for a long time either. Just the thought of Q sniffing around Kelly triggered a killing rage. He took deep breaths, tried to hold himself together. Tearing his partner apart on the first night would sort of sour the team spirit.

  “You. Will. Not. Touch. Kelly.” Ty forced the words through clenched teeth.

  Q smiled, not a nice smile. “Feeling possessive, huh?” But he didn’t make any promises.

  Ty beat back the need to rend and tear. Q wasn’t stupid. Fin would lay a mega hurting on them if they didn’t play nice together. Ty was so full of aggression, he hoped they’d run into Nine himself tonight. He’d get rid of lots of negative energy by launching Nine’s immortal ass into space himself.

  With anger driving him, Ty didn’t even think about using Kelly’s doorbell. He pounded on her door so hard it shook.

  Q grinned. It was the kind of grin Ty knew he’d had when Q went ballistic over his name.

  Growling low in his throat, he raised his fist to rain down more punishment on Kelly’s door.

  Kelly decided she would listen to her mom from now on, because there was a home invasion attempt going on right outside her door. She squinted through the peephole. Ty?

  She opened the door and blinked. Ty had his hand raised to knock again. Kelly backed up a step as a wave of testosterone-driven rage smacked her in the face. “I heard you the first time. People ten blocks away heard you.”

  Kelly held her breath as he lowered his arm. Good grief, he was actually shaking as he worked on his control. What had brought that on? “We’re ready to leave. This is Q.” Ty didn’t even look at the other man.

  Kelly did. Tall, only about an inch shorter than Ty. Hair so black it had a blue sheen. Lots of lean muscle. The same hard, savage kind of face as Ty, but with deep blue eyes. Both men had faces and bodies that sent out a primal call to all women. A call that promised to put adrenaline-pumping excitement into their lives and bring heart-stopping sex into their beds.

  She chose Ty. Not that she was in the market for all that was scary and wicked, but a little fantasizing wasn’t a bad thing. And his pheromones or whatever sang to her.

  “Hi, Q. I’m Kelly.”

  Ty glowered. She’d never seen an expression that qualified for that word, but his did.

  “Glad to meet you.” Q grinned as he shook her hand, holding on to it a few seconds longer than necessary.

  She sensed Q was enjoying Ty’s temper a lot.

  “Time to move it.” Ty turned away and strode down the hallway to the stairs.

  Q waited while she got her purse and l
ocked the door. “Don’t mind Ty,” he said. “He’s a throwback to when males pounced from behind trees and then had wild sex in the grass with the female of their choice.”

  “Caveman?”

  “A little further back.”

  She smiled. “And you?”

  He returned her smile. “The same, but I hide it better.”

  By the time she reached the car, Ty was standing beside the front passenger-side door. Kelly didn’t say anything as she unlocked the doors and the men climbed in. Ty gave her the address of the restaurant, and then both men lapsed into silence. But the tension between them twanged like an out-of-tune guitar string.

  Sometime during dinner, the guys relaxed a little. Kelly paused halfway through her chiles rellenos. She was enjoying her meal, but not half as much as the two men were. “If you like Mexican food, you’ve hit the mother lode in Houston.” Maybe it was just her imagination, but they ate as if they’d never tasted Mexican food before. Was that possible? Kelly mourned for their deprived taste buds.

  Ty started to answer, but he never got the chance.

  “Welcome to my restaurant. Fin told me to expect you.”

  Kelly glanced up.

  The woman standing behind Ty appeared to be in her seventies, with fluffy gray hair forming a halo around her face. Her body had a comfortable, grandmotherly roundness. Kelly’s gaze returned to her face. Definitely not grandmotherly. No laugh lines around her eyes or mouth. The rest of her might say senior citizen, but her eyes said something else. Something that reminded Kelly of the terror she’d felt when she first saw Ty. And if she wasn’t having a paranoid event, Kelly didn’t know what the hell it was.

  The woman’s mouth formed a tight smile when Ty looked at her, but her eyes remained cold and assessing.

  “Right. You must be Celia Gustavo.” Ty’s smile held no more warmth than hers.

  Kelly frowned, unable to make sense of their body language.

  Celia nodded. Her gaze shifted to Kelly. “Introductions.” It was an order.

  No matter how great her food was, Kelly hoped Celia stayed out of the dining room. She shivered. The woman sucked every bit of warmth from the room.

  Q spoke up. “This is Kelly, our driver. I’m Q, and that’s Ty.” He nodded across the table.

  All Q’s playfulness from a short time ago had disappeared. There was an edge to his voice that Kelly didn’t understand. She put down her fork carefully. Appetite gone.

  Celia continued to study her for a moment before shifting her attention to the men. “I see.” She seemed to be trying to decide something. Finally, she nodded and turned back to Kelly. “Do you mind if I borrow your men for a few minutes?” Her expression said she didn’t give a damn whether Kelly minded or not.

  Kelly jumped up before the guys could push their chairs back. “No, everyone stay here. I have to visit the restroom. I’ll be a while.” Translation: I’ll be gone as long as you need to talk to Celia the Creepy.

  For the first time, Celia’s smile seemed genuine. “Thank you. I’m so glad you understand.” And for just a moment, her eyes glowed red.

  Kelly almost ran to the restroom. Nope, she hadn’t seen any glowing red eyes. She pushed into an empty stall, locked the door, and stood shaking. Enough. She had to get her imagination under control.

  So she’d had an over-the-top reaction when she first met Ty. PMS. Explained.

  So she’d seen her first dead body last night. Traumatic, but not unusual. Homicides happened in big cities.

  So she’d seen a woman’s eyes glow red. Hadn’t happened. A trick of the lighting and her willingness to believe in the weird and unexplained when Ty was around.

  So she’d seen…the woods, the terrified men, the car, Ty, the huge…Once again, her mind stalled at that point. She’d seen nothing in the woods. Nothing.

  Pressing her forehead against the metal door, she absorbed its coolness and tried to chill out her emotions. Kelly Feet-on-the-Ground Maloy had better make an emergency landing or else say good-bye to Fin’s cushy job.

  Chapter Four

  Ty frowned as he watched Kelly head for the restroom. She was upset. It was evident in her quick, determined steps and the stiffness of her body. Why now? He’d understand if it had happened last night in the woods or when they’d found the body. At least she hadn’t seen the one thing guaranteed to blow her mind.

  Maybe it was just a delayed reaction to everything going on around her. Made sense, but he’d still worry until he found out for sure. The big question? Why did he care that his driver was upset?

  “How sweet. She’s giving us time to talk.” Celia’s chuckle was all warm and grandmotherly as she took Kelly’s seat. “Quickly. Tell me how I can help you.”

  “You’re otherkin.” Q pushed his plate away.

  “That won’t get in the way of our little adventure, will it?” She made a moue of disappointment, but her hard gaze skewered Q and came out the other side.

  “We like to know who we’re working with.” Ty hoped he sounded relaxed and patient. Tough when all he wanted to do was shake any info she had out of her, find out what was wrong with Kelly, and then be on his way to bigger and more violent things.

  Celia hesitated before admitting, “My soul is demon.”

  Ty narrowed his gaze. “I’m not sure that qualifies as otherkin. Demons don’t get trapped in human bodies. They sort of wander in, kick out the owner, and set up shop. I think it’s called possession.”

  She made an impatient sound, and her eyes glowed red.

  Ty nodded. “Okay, explain.”

  “I angered an arch demon. He cast me into this body at the moment of conception. I’ve lived for seventy-three years as Celia Gustavo.” Her eyes were red slits of frustration.

  Q leaned forward. “From the info Fin stuffed into our brains about demons, I’d figure you could just find another body.”

  Her laugh was light, fluttery, humorless. “I’m a lesser demon. My enemy is too powerful. I have to stay in this body until it dies. And if I try to hurry along the dying process, he punishes me again.”

  “You don’t sound or act like a demon. Where’s the cursing and evil deeds?” Ty was working up a little sympathy for Celia. He understood how it felt when you couldn’t express your true nature. He thought of Kelly lying naked beneath him, of him sliding his hands over her breasts, her stomach, and the lightning-bolt thrill when she closed her fingers around his cock…Yeah, suppressing your true nature was a bitch.

  “Humans give words too much value.” She sighed. “My parents didn’t allow cursing, and it was easier for me to adapt than fight it. So I never formed the habit. Yes, I suppose I could’ve done away with them, along with their rules, but they loved me, and even a demon is susceptible to that kind of human frailty.”

  Ty frowned. Love? What was that? Not something he’d ever experienced. He’d never be like Celia and let human love weaken what he was. Sex was sex. You enjoyed it, then walked away. He thought about Kelly again. Not right away, though. Sometimes you stayed for a while.

  Celia leaned forward. “Look around you. By acting the way everyone expects, I’ve built up a nice business that lets me live in comfort. This body is getting old. When it dies, I’ll find one that’s closer to the real me.”

  She shot him a sly glance. “And I’ve gotten in a few evil deeds in my day. Ask some of the people who’ve crossed me, sweetie. Oops, you can’t.” Another grandmotherly chuckle. “They’re dead.” She glanced at Ty’s plate. “I torture people in my own way. La Casita de Fuego has the hottest Mexican food in Houston. Jalapeño peppers are a demon’s tool. But the humans keep coming back.” Celia shook her head at the wonder of it all. “Who pays to have their stomach lining burned away?”

  “What is the real you?” Ty figured he already knew.

  “Male. Big, mean, smart, and powerful.” Anticipation gleamed in the demon’s eyes. “I’ll make up for all these years.”

  “Where do we come in?” Q’s expression said
he wasn’t sure he trusted her.

  “Fin told me what’s happening in Houston. As long as I have to stay in this body, I need to protect my restaurant. If nonhumans take over and bring chaos with them, my business is finished. Vampires don’t appreciate good salsa, and werewolves prefer steak houses.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “Besides, if there’s a battle, someone might kill me. Then I’d be free.”

  “Always self-serving.” Q looked satisfied. He understood Celia’s reasoning.

  “Always, dearie.” Her kind old lady cover slipped a little. “Here’s what I know. Nonhumans are killing more humans lately and not bothering to hide it. Word is there’s a new gambling ring in the city that caters just to nonhumans. No one knows who’s in charge, but it’s getting lots of action. I hear the surge in killings and the ring are connected.” She took a breath and slid back into character. “Oh, my, it’s all so upsetting.” Celia reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a card. “Try these clubs, sweetie. Maybe you’ll pick up something.”

  Ty took the card and put it in his pocket along with his money and keys. No wallet, no ID, no way to trace him back to Fin. “Thanks. Let Fin know if you hear anything else.”

  Without answering, Celia rose and left the table just as Kelly returned.

  “Hey, great timing.” Kelly was taking forced cheerfulness to a whole new level. “Did Celia clue you in to lots of places where people need saving?”

  Ty figured someone should tell her that wide eyes didn’t translate into I don’t suspect a thing.

  “Yeah, she did.” While Q called for the check, Ty studied Kelly. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She glanced away. “No. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Her words sounded final.

  Ty wouldn’t get any more out of her. He didn’t waste his time pushing. When the waitress came with the bill, he paid it, and they headed for the first club.

  Hours later, Ty was ready to write the night off. He’d watched humans drink themselves into stupidity and breathed in the powerful scents of arousal and sex. All he could think about was getting Kelly into one of the many darkened corners where anything could happen and probably did. The only good part was that he and Q had stayed apart most of the night. The need to kill his partner had faded.