by Sylvia Day
“I’m a headhunter.”
“For what company?”
Alec smiled. “For Meggido Industries. We specialize in disaster avoidance.”
“How interesting.” Her mom’s eyes lit up.
As her mother reassessed Alec, Eve could practically see the wheels turning in her head. It wouldn’t go well if Miyoko researched Alec’s company and found it to be a fraud.
“How did you meet Evangeline?”
“It was years ago, when she was in—”
“—college,” Eve interjected, before gulping down her soda.
Miyoko paused in the act of scooping up vegetables. She frowned. Alec rested his hip against the counter and smiled.
“I need a shower.” Eve set her empty glass on the counter.
“Don’t leave that there,” her mother scolded.
“It’s my house, Mom.” But she picked up the cup and carried it to the sink.
“Can I help with anything?” Alec asked as Eve left the room.
“Would you mind cutting the onions?” Miyoko asked. “They make me cry.”
As she traversed the length of the hallway, Eve forced herself to shake off the feeling of being invaded. Her mother had obviously been in her house for a while. The washing machine was running and the air smelled like floor cleaner, which made her wonder how long Alec had been out looking for her.
You’re lucky you’re not dead, he’d said when she finished telling him about the Nix.
She couldn’t imagine living a life where a walk on the beach was a death wish waiting to be fulfilled. Even church wasn’t sacred. Nothing was safe. A shiver moved through her.
After a very hot, very long shower, Eve felt slightly better. She pulled on a merlot velour jogging suit and left her hair down to dry naturally. When she exited to the hallway, she ran into Alec as he was stepping out of the guest bedroom. He had changed into a button-down shirt and loose slacks. He looked respectable and edible. She stared.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I have many sides that you haven’t yet seen, angel.”
“Not my fault.”
“No.” He stepped closer. “It isn’t.”
The scent of his skin intoxicated her. “I’m becoming a nymphomanic.”
“I’m available.”
“For how long?” she challenged. “I keep wondering when I’m going to look around and find you gone.”
“I’ll be with you until we find a way to free you.”
“So you’re temporary.”
“Do you want permanent?” His gaze was hot.
Eve debated that question for a long moment, then offered a weak shrug. She didn’t know what the hell she wanted. A week ago she would have said a successful career, a loving husband, two kids, and a dog. Normal. Comfortable.
“My mom is planning on staying the night,” she said instead.
He nodded, but his intensity didn’t diminish. “I noticed. I offered to find a hotel, but she absolutely refused the guest room. She says the futon in your office is fine.”
Eve sighed. “She doesn’t like sleeping in a big bed without my dad. She doesn’t even pull out the futon, she sleeps on it like a couch.”
“A wife after my own heart.”
“I can’t see you ever getting married.”
“Just because it didn’t work the first time, doesn’t mean it won’t ever work.”
She stilled.
“I told you,” he murmured, watching her with heavylidded eyes. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“I never got the chance to learn.”
“You have one now.”
Eve leaned back against the wall. Alec moved in, stepping closer and caging her with one hand beside her head. Memories of their recent night together flooded her mind. The desperate consuming lust. The gnawing hunger. The skill and passion with which he slaked both.
With only centimeters between them, she could feel the heat of his skin and if she listened with her new hearing, she could make out the steadily increasing beat of his heart.
“Your heart is starting to race,” she whispered.
“Because I’m with you. Sex is one of the rare times when we’re capable of experiencing the full force of our physical responses.”
“We’re not having sex.”
“In my head we are.”
Eve’s lower lip quivered. It would be so easy to turn to him for comfort and support, but that was what had landed her in trouble in the first place. And when she managed to shed the mark, he would leave along with it.
That didn’t stop her from wanting him. Badly.
Her stomach growled, breaking the moment.
“I cannot believe I’m hungry already,” she whispered, grateful for the intrusion, however embarrassing. “Those taco plates usually fill me up all day.”
“Your body is going through some pretty drastic changes. It requires fuel to manage it all.”
“Will my system revert when I’m . . . free?”
Alec sighed, his breath flowing across her lips like a feather light kiss. “I don’t know, angel. I’ve never met a former Mark.”
“Really?” She bit her lower lip.
“Really.” He pressed his temple to hers. She could sense his sexual hunger in the underlying tension of his powerful frame.
“I’ll find a way,” she promised, as much to herself as to him.
“I’ll help you.”
The doorbell rang, and they broke apart. She looked away first.
“What about the gargoyle?” she asked, as they moved into the living room.
“We’ll catch up with him tomorrow.” Alec noted her questioning glance and explained, “He can’t go far. Tengu draw their energy from the inhabitants of the building they decorate. They stir feelings of anxiety and unhappiness, and feed off of them. Straying too far is like starving.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“All Infernals have their preferences and vulnerabilities. The Nix have to stay near water, as do kappas. Trolls live near woods. When you start your classes, you’ll learn the vagaries of each branch. Knowledge is power. Exploiting a weakness can save your life.”
Eve reached for the doorknob. “How many branches are there?”
“A few hundred. But each has subdivisions that can number into the thousands.”
“Oh my G—” She caught herself.
“Watch it.”
She growled. “I’m trying.”
Pulling open the door, Eve felt her mood improving when she found Mrs. Basso on her doorstep. Tonight her neighbor wore olive slacks with a matching sweater vest and emerald necklace. A loose white blouse kept the ensemble feminine and casual.
Eve hugged her.
“You look gorgeous,” Mrs. Basso said.
“So do you,” she returned. Then she introduced her to Alec.
Mrs. Basso held a brown paper bag and a bottle of Chianti in her hands. Eve offered to take both from her, but she declined with a curious blush staining her cheeks.
“Evie-san!” her mother called out. “Can you set the table?”
“Yes, Mom.” She looked at Alec. “The remote is on the coffee table, if you two would like to watch TV.”
As she moved to the kitchen, Eve heard the low drone of subdued voices behind her. She strained to hear, curious about Alec and the way he interacted with others. He was right. She didn’t know anything about him beyond the combustible attraction her body felt for his. Maybe she should learn, if only in the hopes of discovering something that would turn her off enough to get over him.
As she opened the cupboard that held her plates and withdrew four, the voices in the living room grew in volume. Not because Alec and Mrs. Basso were moving closer or talking louder, but because Eve’s hearing was sharpening. Every noise seemed suddenly amplified, as if her ears had an adjustable volume knob and someone had cranked it higher.
“I brought this for you, Mr. Cain,” Mrs. Basso said.
Eve heard the paper bag exch
ange hands.
“Thank you.” The surprise in Alec’s voice made her smile.
“It was one of my late husband’s favorite recipes. I included some of the spices that are sometimes harder to find.”
Leaning around the support post, Eve craned her neck to get a look. They stood in the living room, the recessed lights bathing both of them in a white glow. Alec stood a foot taller than Mrs. Basso, giving the impression of a man speaking to a child. He was looking into the bag, and the perplexed frown on his face intrigued her.
“Add a cup of the Chianti to the sauce just before serving,” Mrs. Basso said, “then enjoy the rest by the glass. You’ll find the meal creates a mellow, luxurious mood.”
“Mellow mood?”
Eve set the plates down quickly, fighting a building surge of humor.
Mrs. Basso cleared her throat. “Evangeline is so like me in some ways.” Her face flamed with color. “We can appear tougher than we are. I think a quiet, romantic evening with good food will please her greatly.”
Alec’s head turned to find Eve and she faced forward swiftly, moving toward the silverware drawer in feigned ignorance of his conversation. She felt Alec’s gaze on her back and bit her lip. Listening to Mrs. Basso give seduction pointers to Alec was priceless.
“Don’t forget the forks,” her mother chastised, pouring the curry from the pot into a serving dish. “Even when you plan on using only spoons, you should still set out forks.”
“Hush, Mom,” Eve said, waving her hand in an impatient gesture.
“Why are you whispering?”
“Uh . . .” Alec coughed.
“I worry about Evangeline.” Mrs. Basso’s voice strengthened. “A young, beautiful woman living alone. It’s never been completely safe, but these days . . . These are rough times.”
“You’re right about that,” Alec agreed grimly.
“She’s such a lovely girl, inside and out. I would like to see her find someone special and this afternoon when you left . . . Well, she looked a bit lost. I think there’s something there.”
“Mrs. Basso—”
“I hope things work out between you, that’s all. I won’t embarrass you anymore. I feel like a meddling old woman as it is.”
Eve caught the edge of the drawer and blinked back tears, deeply touched. It was then that she saw the large, clear glass bowl on the counter filled with water and a single, beautiful white water lily.
Her mother was an amateur horticulturist with an impressive green thumb. She often brought over plants and flowers from her garden. But she’d never brought over anything like this.
“The water lily is beautiful, Mom.” Eve sniffled, arrested by its perfection.
“Isn’t it? I am still reserving judgment on your Alec, but such thoughtfulness is a good sign—if he keeps it up. Men always try hard in the beginning, then they slack off. Anyway, you should put it on the table as a centerpiece.”
“Alec brought that?” Eve glanced over her shoulder at the living room. He was seated on the couch with Mrs. Basso now.
“I guess so,” her mother said, “unless you have another boyfriend somewhere.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Would Reed have given her such a thing? She didn’t know what to think about that.
Miyoko hummed doubtfully. “It was delivered when you were in the shower and Alec was changing his clothes. Nice delivery man. Refused a tip. Handsome, too. He reminded me of that blond actor from A Beautiful Mind.”
Eve froze with forks in one hand and knives in the other. She felt like her heart should be racing, but it couldn’t. Not anymore. “Paul Bettany?”
“Yes. That’s the one. Very Scandinavian looking. Had a bit of an accent, too.”
The water lily took on new meaning, changing from a lovely gift to a sinister warning. A whiff of something noxious wrinkled her nose and she realized what that meant. Eve’s hands shook violently.
The Nix knew where she lived.
As soon as Alec heard the bathroom door lock behind Miyoko, he left the living room and went in search of Eve. He found her in her office seated before her computer.
Her work space was a large room, capable of comfortably holding two large desks—one for her computer and one drafting table for her renderings. It also held a contemporary futon in a soft camel color, a coffee table, and three bookcases.
“Your neighbor is . . . interesting,” he said.
She laughed. “She thought you needed some dating pointers.”
“I knew you were laughing at me.” His hands settled on her shoulders. As he kneaded, his gaze came to rest on the monitor. She was Googling Nixes.
“What do you want to know?” he asked softly. “I can tell you more than Google can.”
“Can I kill it with a bullet?”
A grim smile curved his mouth. Eve didn’t think she was cut out to be a Mark, but he had no doubts. That didn’t alter the fact that he was going to find a way to return her life to her.
“You can, if you blow his head off when he’s in full mortal form,” he said. “It won’t work when he is in liquid form. Decapitation will kill everything except a hydra. You can also dehydrate Nixes by separating them from water. Unlike humans, a Nix will shrivel up within a couple of hours. But it’s not as easy as it sounds. Any source of water can recharge them—tap water, puddles, tears, humid air. Unless you drop them off in the middle of a desert, the kill isn’t guaranteed.”
“That’s it?”
“Fire is good. Flame-covered swords work, I’ve been told.”
“And where exactly do I get one of those?” Eve blew out her breath and turned her chair around, forcing him to release her and back up.
“You’ll be trained in how to request one.”
“Eventually. Someday. If he doesn’t kill me first.”
His fingertips brushed along her jaw line. “You know I’d show you, if I knew how. I’ve never figured it out myself and since I’ve managed to survive this long without one, learning hasn’t been a priority.”
Her dark eyes were troubled. “What do you think of his gift?”
Alec crossed his arms. “I think he means to kill you.”
The knowledge gutted him. He remembered eating at a sushi restaurant once where they’d served the fish still breathing. Slit down the belly, mouth gasping. He felt like that fish.
“Can he?” she asked quietly. “Is he allowed?”
“One of two things is happening here: either he’s a rogue who hopes he can justify the kill after the fact, or he’s sanctioned.”
“Which is worse?”
“They’re both fucking bad.”
“I get that.”
“Why did you have to leave the house, Eve?”
“This is my fault?” She stood. “You really want to blame me for this?”
Alec scrubbed a hand over his face. “No. Damn it, I don’t blame you.”
Her chin lifted. Despite her slender five-foot-four frame dressed in Betty Boop flannel pajama pants and matching tank, she looked formidable. She was formidable. Eve could knock him on his ass with a scowl.
“I left the house,” she said, “because I needed a Bible for research. That’s how I met the tengu. I hit the beach because I needed air after the tengu incident. That’s how I met the Nix.”
He blew out his breath. “Shit.”
“Nothing is coincidence, you said.”
“Right.”
“So what is going on?”
“I wish I knew.” The possibilities were many; none of them were good. “Did you find a Bible?”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared?”
“Terrified.”
“Good. You’ll keep your guard up, then.” He held his arms out to her. Eve hesitated, then stepped into his embrace.
The safest thing to do would be to get far away from her, to allow his scent to fade from her skin so that she couldn’t be used against him. But there wasn’t a soul he trusted to keep her as safe as he would. If
she had to be out in the field, he had to be there with her. It was the only way he’d keep his sanity.
“What do we do?” she asked.
“If the Nix is rogue, killing him will end this. If he’s sanctioned, we’ll get one of two possible results—either the hunt was labeled personal, which would end with his death, or it was considered an affront to his whole unit and someone else will step in to finish what he couldn’t.”
“Yikes.” She looked up at him. “How can I help?”
“You never leave my side. We’ll watch your back. I’ll make inquiries and see what turns up.”
“We hunt him.”
“I hunt him.”
“I can’t go into this blind.”
“Angel—”
Her mouth took on a mulish cast. “I need to know what I’m up against, Alec, and I need to be more than a pain in your ass.”
“You are not asking me to let you handle this as my partner.”
“Of course not.” She smiled and his breathing faltered. In that moment she was very much like the girl she’d been when they’d first met. “I’m just telling you that I need information, as well as your willingness to use me if you need me. Just promise me that you won’t be stubborn enough to keep me in the dark.”
Alec’s instinctive response was to shelter Eve as much as possible. But he knew that would only alienate her and make her more stubborn, although it wouldn’t make her foolish. Her quest for a Bible told him she still researched everything to a fault, a proclivity he’d noted the first time he made love to her. She had recited the pros and cons of several over-the-counter birth control methods before he managed to stop laughing and occupied her thoughts with something else instead.
“It’s my job to lead, angel. I need to know that you’ll follow, even if following means staying out of the way. And, for now, I don’t want you leaving the condo without me.”
She pondered that a moment. “What are we to each other?”
His brow arched, even as his hands slid down her back and cupped her buttocks.
“Behave,” she admonished.
“You like me when I’m naughty,” he purred, nuzzling his lips against her ear. He felt her shiver, even as she pushed against him. It was a bad idea to get more deeply involved with her when their parting was certain, but he couldn’t resist.