by SL Perrine
A hand snaked around her waist, and she could smell the sandalwood enter her senses. How he managed to sneak up on her was another matter entirely. Having finally become like she was, Massimo was enjoying toying with his newfound powers.
“Feel like going on a trip?”
“To where?” he asked her lazily.
“New Jersey.”
“The east coast? I seem to recall a time when you said you’d never go back there. The New York office having trouble?”
“No, nothing like that. An old friend needs our help. The kind of help not many know to ask for.”
“Ah. What’s the appetizer?” He grabbed a pair of jeans off a shelf in their shared closet.
“Well, if Delia’s research is any good, and we know it is…witch and demonic.”
“Seems it’s our specialty. Might as well. Think we’ll need backup?
Ravana knew he was thinking about their unwanted houseguest and knew he was probably looking for a great excuse to leave him behind. They could do with some alone time.
“Nope. Besides, there is a vamp in custody. Delia can handle prisoner Kelly, but the other one is more likely to eat her if he escaped.”
“So, he must stay, I can’t wait to give him the news.” Massimo walked from the room to the open living area of their top floor penthouse. Ravana gave him a tethered look. “Hey, it’s not my fault. He signed up to join. It was either that or death, right? So, he gets his first babysitting gig. The fact that it makes my day a little brighter is just a happy coincidence.”
“Sure, it is.”
Ravana laughed to herself and buttoned up her signature white blouse. Delia could fill in the houseguest when the sun went down. Keeping a nocturnes schedule meant the entire organization worked a five to five lifestyle. The moment she opened the photos Anthony sent her, she’d given them to Delia before freaking out over the meaning of it. It was a book made of human parts. In book form it was harmless. It was when the witch gathering such parts used the magic necessary and put those parts together, that made poor pale Delia look even more ashen.
The girl was a mere human, a Keeper for the Order. Trained to research better than any other entity in the world, but she’d never seen the likes of that book before. Only moments before Ravana roused from bed at nine a.m. did she realize why. The girl stayed up all night to uncover the fact that some powerful witch was gathering what he needed to summon a demon to put together and live in such a body.
The fact that her Anthony had gotten himself mixed up in something of that caliber had her on edge. She couldn’t just call him, she needed to be there. This was nothing she’d ever dealt with before, and all he had at his disposal was himself and a witch she knew nothing about other than the fact he was romanticizing over her. Even if that witch was at his level, they could still benefit from having a couple of un-killable vampires on their side. She just needed to make sure he stayed safe and kick the ass of the little witch who’d gotten him tangled into the shit storm of hers.
“Are we traveling like the rest?”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Private jet, it is then. Did you make the call?”
“Yes, Ralph was excited to have a reason to work today.”
“I’m sure he was, poor bastard. Wait, we’re leaving now? I won’t get to tell him he has to babysit…”
“Massimo, love, you’ll live. We’ll be there by midnight. I don’t think this one can wait. You can always call him from the plane.”
“Whatever you say, Red.”
Gia rolled over in her bed. It’d been an entire day, and Giovanni hadn’t tried to get into the Manor, nor had he tried anything with Mila. It was either that or the combined magic of Nico, Anthony, and herself was enough to hold him off. Even with that knowledge to hold tight to, she couldn’t find sleep. When she rolled again, she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye before someone pulled the covers from her body and flicked the lights on.
“Rise and shine star-shine, the earth says hello.” Gia looked dumbfounded at the sight of a tall redhead standing at the end of her bed. It wasn’t red in the sense that she was born with the color, no, it was too outlandishly red to be a natural color. She was roughly six feet tall and wore black leggings that crisscrossed down the sides of her legs from hip to ankle allowing the skin below to be visible. Her white blouse wasn’t thick enough to hide the fact that she wore a black lace bra beneath it. Had it not been for Anthony’s description of the woman, she may have screamed at the sight of her.
“First of all,” she got out of bed and rounded to the end to get in front of her, so she didn’t raise her voice and wake her daughter. “It’s the middle of the night. Second, what the hell are you doing waltzing into my house? I thought there were rules for that when it came to people like you?”
“Middle of the night is morning for me, sweetheart. For your second query, a very pissed off looking maid in a rather modest night garment let me in. I may have to borrow something from her.” She looked down at her clothing and back at Gia, who wore what looked like a pajama pants suit, and sat down in the chair in front of Gia’s vanity. “I wanted to speak with you before Anthony wakes. I’m Ravana Moon, and you are?”
“You come to my house unannounced in the middle of the night and don’t know my name? Classic. I’m Gianna Moretti, but you should know that.”
“Ah, the wife. So, are you aware your husband is summoning a demon, or don’t you share?”
“A what? Of course, I had no idea… how did –”
“Gia, what’s the…?” Anthony entered the room and stopped in his tracks at the sight of the woman sitting in Gianna’s armchair. “Ravana? What are you doing here?”
“Jax, she said Gio is summoning a demon.”
“What?” He looked groggy from sleep and before Gianna could respond a tall, good-looking man walked into her room behind Anthony and she flushed.
Ravana stood and moved close to Gianna without so much as taking a second to do so and whispered so only Gianna could hear her. “You’re married, and by the sound of Anthony’s tone, you have him already dangling by your littlest finger… that one is mine.” When the new arrival smiled, Gianna guessed maybe he heard Ravana as well, but Anthony gave no notice of the redhead's words.
“Maybe we should let them wake, and dress. Have this conversation elsewhere?” the newcomer spoke to Ravana, and she nodded her response and left the room.
“Jax, why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and down his face. Shaking his head, he answered her, “I didn’t know she was. Which means it can’t be good news. She would have told me, otherwise.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“I don’t know, and if you had stayed with me or let me stay here with you, I could have been there for you. Had it been anyone else you might be dead right now, damn it, Gia.”
“Jax, I told you. I need to speak to Mila first. It’s difficult, us and her. Her father…” she began but couldn’t form the words. She wanted so badly to be with him. The sting of hot tears clouded her vision, but Anthony wiped them away and pulled her close.
“I’m sorry. I just need to keep you safe, the both of you.” He held her and kissed the top of her head. “This is going to be difficult, for all of us.”
“Well, it’s not going to get easier with you yelling at me all the damn time, or with your old employer showing up in my bedroom unannounced. Sarah is so fired.”
“Stop. Vampires have glamour. She probably went back to bed and didn’t even realize she’d been up, to begin with, and I said sorry.”
“Fine, let’s just get dressed so we can deal with… that.” She pointed toward the bedroom door and the woman who was somewhere in her house.
“You do realize they can probably hear us?” He held her chin up and forced her to look at him.
Gianna slapped a hand against his chest and stomped her way to the bathroom. Anthony follo
wed behind her, but she doesn't stop taking off the pajama pants and her top. Wearing nothing underneath she can sense Anthony 's gaze on her body as she moves into the shower.
“What are you doing?” Gianna asked.
“Washing the slight hint of tacky off me.”
“Did you just call me tacky?”
“I thought you said she had great fashion sense. Looks to me like she's in desperate need of instruction." She yelled over the spray of the water; ignoring Anthony’s comment.
“Oh, I get it. You're jealous.”
Her eyes grew wide, and she laughed into the hot spray. “Hardly. So, you slept with her a couple dozen times. She seems to have moved on.”
She felt the strength of his hands move around her body and his breath next to her ear, “I know I have.” He spoke low under the water as it coated them.
“Anthony, this is hardly the time.”
“I think it's the perfect time to have a conversation. Do you think so highly of yourself, you'd think I couldn't keep off you for a while? The water will drown out our voices. They can't hear us.”
“Oh.” She was a little sad by the notion that he could control himself now that they were both naked once again. She thought of how he'd taken her. How he'd known she was playing hard to get, she couldn't have known. Either way, she doubted it would work now that they'd figured each other out. He really loved her. She would hold onto that and not think of him bedding the redhead downstairs.
Anthony nuzzled her and spoke again. “Trust me, I want nothing more than to take you again, but we do have guests. Very powerful guests who have taken it upon themselves to help us. I won't turn them away, even if it means putting up with your jealousy for a few days. You might be an ice queen, but you’re my ice queen. Got it?"
She turned in his arms, so they were face to face. “Yes. I got it.”
“Good. Now listen we need to leave Mila in the manor. Can we trust Sarah? We might need Nico for some added firepower.”
“I didn't even know he was a witch. This has gotten so out of hand.”
“Well, if you never hired me, it could be much worse right now.” She shuddered in his arms, and he must have thought she was cold because his arms pulled tighter around her as he moved her under the water.
“Okay, so now what? And who is that guy with her.”
“Well, now see, we're both on the same side with that one. I've never met him. He wasn't in her inner circle when I worked for her. It's been years, he could be anyone. Just promise me you'll play nice.” He gave her a teasing look, and she nipped his bottom lip. “Now, Ms. Moretti.” He pushed his growing erection against her ass cheeks.
“We have guests, Mr. Jackson. It would not do to make them wait.”
“Gia, they're vampires. Twenty minutes more will seem like seconds to them.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Twenty minutes? Oh, dear boy, we must make it last much longer than that.”
“Boy? I think you should feel again, gorgeous. Though you’re right, we do have guests,” he nipped her ear between his teeth. "I was trying to be generous for their benefit.”
Anthony moved his hand down her body, and she leaned into him. “We should go.”
He murmured against her neck as he kissed her there. “No.”
“Jax.” She tensed when his hand moved to the apex of her thighs. “Anthony!”
He pulled back and looked at her. “We’ve been over this, Gianna. They will wait.” His fingers rubbed the small bud between her folds, and before she knew it, she was against the shower wall. His mouth claimed hers, and she dug her nails into his skin. She didn’t know where she was touching, just that she was pulling him closer. She yearned to have him inside her once more.
Gianna pushed him. She wanted to take him in her mouth, but he apparently had the same idea. He pushed her back against the wall, and she smiled. “I could get used to this,” she thought to herself. It had been too long since any man had just taken her.
He grabbed her left breast and then his tongue and teeth assaulted her nipple as his hand squeezed. His other hand still tantalizing the small bud between her legs. Pain and pleasure overcame her senses. She felt the orgasm and knew she wouldn’t be able to hold herself upright. Anthony trailed a string of kisses down her stomach to her clit where he continued to swirl his tongue in magnificent splendor. Her body quaked, and her back arched away from the wall. Her hand fisted in his hair pulling him close, then pushing. She couldn’t make up her mind.
Then he stood and swung her around. Making use of the three-quarter wall, she held onto the edge; the tiles bit into her skin. She tried to look behind her at what he was doing, but before she could, Anthony slid the head of his cock inside her. His thrust pushed her forward toward the wall, and she screamed in surprise. His hand moved around to her throat, and he pulled her back against his body and whispered.
"Shhh.” He kissed the space behind her ear; pushing her hair away from her neck. Small nips and kisses trailed down the back of her neck as he thrust into her again. Her body exploded. Admittedly, he could feel her release; the contracting of her insides. He went slowly, and the movements were excruciating. She knew he was doing this to her on purpose, making her squirm. Then without warning, he moved his hands to her hips and pulled her back to him as he moved. His fingers dug into her hips as he raised and lowered her, gliding his cock in and out of her until his body shuddered behind her and they collapsed against the wall. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the side of her face before turning her around, so he could take her mouth; his cock getting hard again.
“We’re going to have so much fun when this other shit is taken care of,” Anthony told her as he moved her wet and tangled hair from her face.
“Mmmhmmm.”
At least the shower woke her, not that she'd been sleeping, but she was tired. Her body was tired, her mind energized with the information of the last few days events. How the hell were they going to get close enough to Giovanni to stop him? It was preposterous. He was slowly starting to make more sense to her. Gianna had always wondered why he'd started solitary practice. He could no longer bring himself to practice his craft in a circle of pure, white magic by the time Mila was three years old. He'd said he wanted to hone his abilities since Mila's were closer to her mothers. Then he'd started to give their daughter private instruction. They'd divided up time between them, so each parent was with her every evening after dinner. Abilities, since Mila's were closer to her mothers. Then he'd started to give their daughter private instruction. They'd divided up time between them, so each parent was with her every evening after dinner.
When nannies started quitting left and right, it was a wonder they ever found another. The agency would send no more. That was why Gianna had taken Mila to the park, to begin with. Sarah and Nico did what they could, but they already had duties.
Looking back on who she'd been before her marriage, and who she'd become afterward, she didn't like that woman she remembered being. It was odd how having the right man care for her made her be the woman she wanted her daughter to look up to. So, with her head held high, she stepped into the dining room where Ravana and the man who’d accompanied her were waiting.
“While I can appreciate you have to conduct business at a dark hour, I’d be remiss if I didn’t remind you I have a small child, whom I’d like to allow the pleasure of sleeping at night.” She started as she entered the dining room. The hutch on the far wall was her first stop. She lifted the crystal decanter and poured herself a large glass of red wine. “Would you care for a glass? Or do you not…?”
“I do and will; thank you. As for the other, you can rest assured we do not feed on humans, especially small children. That would be tactless. We are not conventional, as you mentioned. I definitely do not require an invitation into a home to enter it, nor does the sun pose an obstacle for our working… relationship.”
“I might need an explanation, but I’m sure Jax will provide that.”
“Jax?
”
“Sorry… Anthony. My daughter gave him the nickname. I suppose it stuck. Anyway, you have information for us?” Gianna set a glass of red wine in front of Ravana and looked to the man she arrived with.
“In due time. As soon as Anthony joins us. I would rather not repeat myself.”
“This woman is going to be a hindrance if she does not drop her façade,” Ravana thought to herself.
She’d seen it with her own eyes when Anthony entered the woman’s bedroom; he’d fallen for her. It was evident the way he reacted to her raised voice; the way she spoke when they learned of the demon. Ravana saw it in his eyes and heard it in their banter before the running water drowned out their voices. Still, Ravana could not measure the woman’s feelings. She was always hiding from herself. If she posed a threat to Anthony in any of this, she would die. It was as simple as that.
Ravana sipped her wine and waited for Anthony to join them. When he did, his chosen attire was jeans and a polo shirt; pale yellow.
“Did the Governor’s mansion throw up on you?” She laughed.
“Classy, Ravana. Who’s your friend?” He nodded at Massimo who stood leaning out the French doors searching for signs of trouble.
“Down to business, then.” She stood, drained the glass and offered it to Anthony to refill. She’d need it to do what she had to next. “This is Massimo, he’s an associate at the Order.”
“More importantly a replacement,” Massimo stated as he moved closer to Ravana’s side.
Anthony gave him a questioning glare after filling and handing the glass back to Ravana. “Replacement for what?”
“You.”