by Trina M. Lee
Under normal circumstances such a remark would have made me snap. Because I now knew Falon so much better than he wanted, I saw this comment as a pathetic attempt to feel like he had the upper hand after our previous argument. He could have it. I wasn’t in the mood for battle.
“Whatever, Falon. Yes, I’m so lucky that you hung around my club after I told you to leave. Thank you for ignoring my request.” My sarcasm-drenched tone spoke volumes. An eye roll would be a waste of precious energy, so I didn’t bother.
“Do you want to do this or not?” If looks could kill… Falon could throw a scathing glare like nobody’s business.
“Yes,” Arys cut in. “We want to do it. No need to waste time bickering.”
The bickering was kind of our thing, Falon and me, but no need to flaunt our fights in front of the flame I was destined to battle for the rest of our long lives.
Falon sat on the opposite end of the couch, leaving the middle free for me. I felt strange at the thought of an energy chain with both of them. Arys and I had done it with Shaz, but that was different, comfortable. Yet I didn’t have much choice. Otherwise I’d sate my growing hunger with the many partygoers occupying my club. As much as Arys would enjoy that, this way would be faster and far more effective. I dropped between them, turning to face Falon, putting my back to Arys.
“Blood and energy only,” I said, more for Arys’s benefit than anyone else’s. “No sex.”
Falon leaned around me to fix Arys with a scowl. “You hear that, vampire? No sex. Nada. Off the table.”
“Remember you said that when you’re begging for it,” came Arys’s confident reply.
In that moment, the stripped down, raw sensation bothered me more than the awkwardness of the three of us. I needed to be restored, to be whole. What Willow had done scared me. Though not as drastic, the similarity to my visit with Shya chilled me. One of my greatest allies kept slipping farther from me.
I turned to Falon, brows raised. At his nod, I reached for his hand. Sliding my fingers between his, I pulled on his deep well of energy. He sucked in a breath but otherwise sat stiff, staring at me. With my other hand I touched his face. Painfully aware of Arys’s watchful presence behind me, I peered into Falon’s eyes, seeking to deepen the connection.
He flinched when I draped him in my thrall. Dammit, resistance wouldn’t make this go any smoother. I willed him to relax, to open to my touch. I suspected his resistance had more to do with our hotel encounter than Arys’s presence. He’d certainly had no problem engaging with me in front of Arys previously.
Falon couldn’t seem to hold my gaze. He’d meet my eyes but glance away. The flow between us suffered. So badly, I wanted to snap at him to stop fucking around. Instead I leaned in and brushed my lips across his. Immediately the energy flowed faster. I savored that celestial force, as it patched my weak spots and replenished my power.
As my strength grew I pushed my own desire-flavored energy back to Falon, creating a circle. The force flowing between us grew with every rotation, along with his lust. I fed on it, exhilarated by the rush of all that was Falon. His tongue slipped between my lips. A roar filled my ears as the power spread out from us to fill the room.
Once I was ablaze with renewed strength and power, Arys issued a soft groan behind me. He slid a hand into my hair. Moving it aside, he bared my neck. Gently he pulled on my energy. I shivered and leaned into his touch.
The sharp sting of fangs fed my growing high. Arys’s mouth on my neck and Falon’s lips on mine drove me to dizzying heights. My power melded with Arys’s, feeding the rising swell.
In mere minutes we’d gone from weakened and pained to overflowing with vitality. Thanks to my favorite addiction. If Falon ever chose to exploit my weakness for him, I’d be good and truly fucked.
Instead, for now, he sank deeper under my spell. The hand that gripped mine tightened almost painfully. His kiss became forceful, demanding. Arys’s power added another element to the mix, and whether or not Falon wanted to, he liked it.
I sensed the move before Falon made it. Unaware of how deeply under he’d dived, he reached out. Not for me but past me. For Arys.
Catching his wrist I held tight. I broke off not only the kiss but the entire chain. The steady force fell away at my command, leaving the other two blinking and disoriented.
I’d like to think I did it because I knew Falon wasn’t willing to go with Arys where he so readily went with me. Respecting his boundaries or something like that. But the truth was that Falon had become my favorite toy. Mine. And like a petulant child, I didn’t want to share. Not with Arys. Not with anyone.
Of course, in my defense, Arys didn’t need to develop a taste for fallen angels. He already had a wolf problem.
“Why did you do that?” Arys slurred with pent-up arousal.
Pupils huge, Falon regarded me with confusion which quickly turned to suspicion.
To better remove myself from the chain, I got up and crossed the room to my desk. “We got what we needed. There’s no need to take this any farther.” I started to sit at my chair, but the angelic power that crackled and coursed through me kept my feet moving. Pacing like a trapped animal.
Recovering quickly, Falon smoothed down his hair and chuckled. “Also, Alexa doesn’t like to share her toys.”
My head snapped around. He’d pulled that right out of my thoughts. I hit him with a glare hot enough to melt ice. “You don’t want to be shared. Remember?”
“True.” Falon nodded. “But say I should change my mind? Would you be ok with that?”
Holy shit, did I ever hate him. Arys and I had enough conflict as twin flames without the asshole angel starting shit. “Seeing as you haven’t changed your mind, I think the subject is moot. Drop it.” The writhing mass of energy filling the room seemed to heat up in response to my anger.
Falon’s satisfied expression only infuriated me further. “It’s tempting now that I see how much of a rise it’s getting out of you.”
“That’s because you’re an asshole,” I snapped.
“That I am.” Falon rose, glancing toward the door. From beyond, the faint chant of the clubgoers’ midnight countdown could be heard. “Just minutes from the midnight kiss. Close enough I suppose. Happy New Year, twin flames. Should be an interesting year ahead.”
With a wink and a snicker Falon was gone.
“Jackass,” I muttered.
Arys repositioned himself on the couch to better face me. His pupils were also like drowning pools of black. Immortal power. The ultimate drug.
“Is this something we should talk about?” He eyed me like he wasn’t sure the answer to that question was worth the attitude he anticipated for asking.
A cheer went up from the heart of the club. The party was in full swing now.
“I don’t know. Is it?” I wasn’t trying to be difficult or confrontational. I genuinely had no idea.
“Forming attachments happens. Too easily sometimes. It’s part of what we are. I have a deep attachment to Shaz, one that I’m happy he accepts and maybe even returns in his own way.” Arys leaned forward, picking his words carefully. “But with Falon, there’s no way that can end well. You know that, don’t you?”
Frustration with myself made my response hotter than necessary. “Of course I do. I don’t need a lecture from someone who can’t resist any wolf that crosses his path.”
Arys paused and watched me stalk around the room. “I know it’s not really me you’re pissed at. But you need to be honest with me and honest with yourself about one thing: is Falon merely a toy? A victim? Or is he yours?”
Is he yours?
That horrible question hung between us. It flashed me back to the FPA building. The entity there had spoken of this very thing. It had wanted me to magically mark Falon somehow, to proclaim him as mine to all. I’d refused, insisting that I didn’t want him to be mine.
And it had said, He already is.
In our world claiming someone was as territorial as it sound
ed. However, there was often more to it than mere possession. It came with promises of protection, loyalty, and emotional attachment. Such was the case with Kale and me. But these strings weren’t always drenched in honey. Take Jenner for example. When I’d claimed him as mine, I’d meant only to manipulate him.
Because I didn’t know how to answer, an admission neither of us wanted to hear fell from my lips.
“I don’t know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
The first night of the new year could have been more relaxing. Rather than leisurely enjoying a blood hangover in the comforts of my living room like I’d prefer, I was headed to the Black Market.
The demon marketplace was a cesspool of crap and evil, not really my kind of place. However, Nova occupied a space there, and because I didn’t know who else to ask, I planned to seek his assistance in dealing with Willow. After the events of the previous night, I had to take action. Sooner rather than later.
Last night hadn’t ended well. Arys hadn’t said another word about Falon, but he’d spent the remainder of the party bleeding a couple in a corner booth without inviting me to join.
Just as well. He needed time to cool down. Then I would explain that whatever attachment I’d formed to Falon, it was without emotion. Although I suspected Arys didn’t care so much about that as he did my selfish refusal to share the asshole angel. For some reason he took it personally. So personally in fact that he’d gone home before sunrise rather than spend the day with me.
Arys’s quiet outrage left me conflicted. On one hand his sullen reaction angered me. He’d made me a succubus after all. Did he not expect me to act like one? On the other, his departure saddened me. I missed him when we weren’t together, feeling his absence like a void in my soul. Especially when conflict drove us apart. Such was the existence of a twin flame. The emotional rollercoaster was hell.
Ice formed patches along the dark country roads leading from the city to the Black Market. I turned into the old churchyard to find it deceptively quiet at first glance. An old Chevy Nova sat outside, the only vehicle there other than mine.
My hand went to the Dragon Claw at my hip out of habit. I found it comforting. It was the only useful thing I ever got from Shya.
After ascending the crumbling church stairs, I let myself inside. A cacophony of voices created a din of noise. Demons engaged in bartering, haggling over charms and fetishes of all kinds. Deadly things, I presumed.
A demon with the head of a fox situated near the door tried to beckon me over. His beady eyes kept straying to the dagger on my hip. Ignoring him I continued toward the table at the back, where Nova should be. For the most part the demons ignored me. Several called out in an attempt to sell me their wares. A few, however, openly sneered in my direction.
Nova’s table near the back door was unmanned. Shit.
“Is Nova here tonight?” I asked the demon at the next table, trying not to gape at the tentacle-like appendages protruding from its torso.
Without a word it waved one of those appendages at the back door. Ok then. The back churchyard sucked. Like so bad. Rituals, orgies, and sacrifices. Oh my!
Also Nova, apparently. I stepped out onto the back step and surveyed the debauchery. And found him right in the middle of it.
He wasn’t alone.
Pressed between Nova and a weathered old headstone was Crimson Sin’s nephilim guitarist. Her lineage might explain why she’d come to a place like this, but it didn’t explain Nova rubbing all over her. That smacked of manipulative demon tactics.
I picked my way across the snow-packed grass toward them. Spike was heavily under his thrall. Eyes closed, head back, she welcomed his advances as he kissed her pale neck.
Crossing my arms, I regarded him with haughty derision. Perhaps I shouldn’t be one to throw stones, but this was clearly him taking advantage of a nephilim who, as far as I knew, belonged to the light.
“Nova, you vile piece of crap,” I said, announcing myself. “Have you no shame?”
With a gasp Spike broke free of his hold.
The incubus demon turned to me with hunger burning in his red eyes. He ogled me like the next item on his buffet. “Well, no, I’m a demon. Pretty much as shameless as they come.” Running his tongue over his bottom lip, he added, “I don’t suppose you’re here to join us.”
“Not in your wildest dreams,” I scoffed, trying not to laugh in his face. “Just need to talk. So whatever you’re doing to my favorite guitarist, you’re finished doing it.”
Spike pushed away from him, a hand on her head as she tried to clear the incubus fog from her mind. I understood how difficult it could be to climb out of that haze. I suspected I arrived just in time.
“While I do love your candor and that enticing vibe you have, Alexa, you cross many lines by coming here and interrupting an exchange that is clearly none of your business.” Visibly unhappy, Nova ensured I knew it.
Yet his sour expression held little weight. He just didn’t scare me. Not even with the long, smooth horns decorating each side of his head or the snake-like tail that whipped about behind him. Having to work with him as part of The Circle of the Veil meant getting to know him well enough to discover that he was his own biggest admirer and expected everyone else to be as well. Not gonna happen.
I shrugged him off, knowing it would irritate him further. To Spike I said, “How far were you willing to go with him?”
Her cheeks reddened, more likely from embarrassment than the chilly night. “As far as it got when you showed up. So thanks for that.”
I nodded to Nova. “There ya go. You’re done here.” Ignoring the hot wave of anger that radiated from him, I addressed the embarrassed nephilim. “Is it safe to assume you’re here for the same reason I am? I can’t imagine anyone coming here unless they need something from one of these dirtbags.”
The guitarist and I didn’t speak much outside of The Wicked Kiss. Ours was a business relationship. I paid her band and they played my club. I couldn’t help but wonder what the city’s underworld was like for her kind. Surely she faced her share of demonic activity. Likely more than I did. Thankfully vampires, shifters, and government pricks dominated my focus.
“Yeah.” She nodded, stuffing her hands into her hoodie. “Unfortunately, that’s why I’m here.”
“Demon trouble?” I did my best not to shoot a pointed look at Nova who stood there annoyed.
She sighed. “Yeah. Demon trouble.”
That sigh was loaded with pent up emotion. I could feel it rolling from her to prick my skin. Perhaps we had more in common than business exchanges at The Wicked Kiss.
“Yep, me too,” I said. “Countdown to extinction. Or something like that.”
We shared a brief moment of unspoken understanding. Maybe I should get to know this woman better.
“Is that why you’re here?” Nova cut in. “Because of Willow? Oh, please. If you want help with Willow, your price will be a lot higher than what I charged the nephilim here.”
Right from the first time we met, Nova had been clear about his interest in me. It wasn’t difficult to see where he thought he was going with this. Demons were relentless. An incubus with an appetite for what he couldn’t have, he would surely fray my nerves in no time.
“Never gonna happen.” I shot him down again, certain I’d just screwed any chance of getting his assistance. “Can we talk? Or would it be as fruitful as pounding my head on a brick wall?”
Nova did his best to look bored. “Yeah, fine, whatever. Start talking.”
Clearing her throat, the nephilim held up a hand and edged away. “I’ll just be leaving then. Nova? The key?”
He waved her away, like he couldn’t bother with her now that his lust had a new target. “Right, just grab it off my table. Don’t touch anything else. I’ll know if you do.”
Watching her go, long black hair cascading over her shoulders, hands clenched into fists that she probably wanted to use on Nova, I found myself wanting to make a connection. “He
y, Spike,” I called. “It’s Spike, right? Although I kind of doubt we can help each other, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come by The Wicked Kiss. Any time.”
Her crackling energy flickered and popped about her. The sword on her back gleamed in the firelight. I studied it. Studied her really. Something special was emerging there. Something powerful.
“I will. Thank you. If the city doesn’t somehow spontaneously combust, that is.” Spike forced a small smile that lacked humor. Whatever this planetary alignment was bringing down the wire, I wasn’t the only one dealing with it.
I laughed, though I too couldn’t muster any mirth. Fucking demons.
Nova watched her go with a wolfish glint in his eyes. Predatory. I didn’t like it.
“So,” he turned back to me with a raised brow, head cocked to the side. “What is it that brings you here?” He regarded me with suspicion, as if I’d hit a little too hard with the attitude upon first arriving. Oops. “I hope you don’t think I have something that will help you with Willow.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” I countered. “You seem to have many things. I need something that will stop him from doing the stupid thing he’s planning. You’re part of The Circle, so if anyone can help me, it’s you.” Yeah, I slipped a little buttering up in there. Had to try.
He headed deeper into the churchyard with me almost running to keep up. “Ah so now comes the sweet talk. You may want to try leading with that next time.” Nova wandered closer to the fire, forcing me to follow. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you Willow is capable of untold horrors.”
The demons engaged in carnal activity around the fire remained oblivious to our presence. Nova watched them intently. He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, tasting the sexual pleasure on the air.
I had no interest in partaking. Which came as a comfort of sorts. I might be hard up for Falon, but nothing about that power-drenched, demon-and-human orgy sparked my appetite. What a relief. I wasn’t too far gone. Yet.
“No, I know he’s this big bad among you. And I know most of you would prefer to stay out of his way. But since I have very little time to do something before the greater powers that be step in, I could use a little guidance.” Asking a guy like Nova for help ranked near the top on my list of things I’d prefer to never have to do. Along with going head to head against Willow in a battle I couldn’t win.