“You can set any rules you like.”
“Good. Because the truth doesn’t always set you free. It can give you nightmares, too.”
“You have no idea.”
She smiled, but it looked kind of sad which for an unaccountable reason made him want to pull her into his arms. “Don’t tell me you have a fucked-up family as well?”
He didn’t have a family. He’d never had a family, even though his bitch of an Alpha Goddess had tried to create such a thing, millennia ago. “So fucked-up, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“You’d be surprised what I’d believe.”
“Tell me something you don’t believe in.”
“Ooh, tricky.” She contemplated the ceiling for a few moments. “Fairy tales.”
“You don’t believe in the big bad wolf?” He flashed her what he imagined was a wolfish smile and she laughed.
“Maybe. But I don’t believe in happily-ever-afters.”
“So cynical, for one so young.”
“Watch it. I’m not as young as I look.”
“That makes two of us.”
She appeared about to answer him, when she suddenly straightened and thinned her lips. He frowned. What had just happened? She hitched in a sharp breath and flung him a bright smile.
“Phone.” She pulled her phone from her jeans pocket and studied the screen. Maybe she had it on vibrate because he hadn’t heard it go off.
She shoved the handset back in her pocket, and he had the weirdest conviction she’d just lied to him about the call. But why would she do that?
“I’m so sorry.” She sounded quietly furious. “I’ve an unexpected meeting in an hour. I need to get ready.”
He didn’t move a muscle. “Is everything all right?”
She dragged in a long breath. “Yes. Just bloody awful timing. I’m really sorry to cut our evening short.”
So was he. And not just because he wanted to have more sex with her. Huh. Fact was, he’d enjoyed talking with her. She was fun.
Even if she was a human.
Besides, he still needed to get information from her.
“We can pick this up another night.”
“Yes, we could.” She sounded surprised, as though that possibility hadn’t occurred to her. “Might as well make the most of things while you’re in town.”
He wasn’t exactly in town, but he could hardly tell her the truth. That it didn’t matter where his base was, since it only took him moments to get anywhere in the universe.
She wouldn’t believe that.
“Tomorrow?” He tried to tell himself the only reason he needed to see her again was to extract information from her, but it wasn’t very convincing.
“Sounds great. Do you want to do dinner?”
Did he? He’d been thinking more of another rendezvous here, in her office. But he could do dinner. Hell, why not?
“Sure. Give me your number, and I’ll let you know where I make reservations.”
“That’s a sneaky way to get my number.”
“Did it work?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, it did.”
They exchanged numbers. He always kept a couple of human phones on him for emergencies. What now? He’d never been in this position before. His hook-ups in the past rarely led onto anything other than a parting of the ways.
She picked up her T-shirt and sweater and pulled them on. “I’ll take you back to the club.”
“I’m sure I can find my way back to the bar.”
“Yes, but if I don’t show a face, Yvette—my brilliant manager—will assume you murdered me.”
He laughed. “Thanks.”
“Don’t take it personally. She has a suspicious nature.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.” He stood and ignored the thread of reluctance that wound through his chest at leaving her. Get a fucking grip. They were seeing each other tomorrow night.
She pulled on her boots and they went back downstairs, but this time she held his hand. Once they were back in the club, she turned to him.
“Are you staying?”
He couldn’t tear his gaze from her face. “No. Going to catch up on some work.”
“See you tomorrow then.” She went onto her toes and kissed him.
“Good luck with your meeting.” It was harder than it should have been to release her hand and walk away. Even harder not to glance back at her.
He swallowed a groan. Why was he resisting it? He halted by the exit and turned around. She was standing where he’d left her, and her smile didn’t just light up her face.
It lit up the whole damn club.
He raised his hand in farewell. Until tomorrow.
When he intended to have his shit together and not forget the main reason why he was seeing her again.
Dagan had infiltrated Isabella’s club, and he needed to discover why.
Chapter 4
Bella
Bella watched Nate stroll from the club, and the breath tangled in her throat. He really was spectacular.
Careful…
The warning floated through the back of her mind, dampening her mood. She knew she had to be careful. It wasn’t as though she was going to do something stupid and fall for him. She couldn’t afford to get that close to anyone.
Because in the end, everyone died.
Everyone but me.
Ice squeezed her heart and an old, familiar panic bloomed in her chest. Not now. She wasn’t going to have one of her attacks right now. She hadn’t succumbed for years. I’m stronger than this.
“Like I said,” Yvette’s voice speared through her and she sucked in a sharp breath, compressing all her nightmares back into their soulless boxes. “You tell me. Hot or not?”
It took her another couple of seconds to compose herself before she turned to Yvette with an expected smile. “You were right. Hot as sin. What’s up with everyone here?”
“I was a tad concerned when I saw you go upstairs with him.” Although Yvette wasn’t yet forty, she labored under the delusion that she was so much older than Bella and therefore had the tendency to sometimes mother her.
Not that she usually minded. Yvette was lovely. She would’ve made a great mother. Far better than her own, that was for sure. She slammed the door on that memory. Not going there, not now, not ever again.
“Heat of the moment,” she said drily, as they made their way back to the bar.
“That’s not like you, though.”
For most of the year that was true. But even she was allowed a night off.
Not that it was that big a deal. Unlike Yvette, she had the advantage of superhuman strength. There wasn’t a man on Earth who could overpower her, never mind try and murder her.
“Well don’t worry. I doubt it’ll happen again.” Sure, she was meeting him tomorrow. Maybe she’d hook up with him a few more times. But that was all. It would never—could never— be anything serious.
“I didn’t mean it like that. It would be great if you met someone.”
“Hey, I meet people all the time.” She squeezed Yvette’s hand. “Which reminds me. I have a meeting later tonight. Can you make sure no one disturbs me?”
“Of course.”
Once she was back in her office, she locked the door. Not that she expected anyone would interrupt her, but she was nothing if not careful. Then she teleported home to have a quick shower.
As she dried her hair, she scrutinized her reflection. Did her lips really look swollen from Nate’s kisses, or was it her imagination?
Illicit thrills collided between her thighs and she tried to drag her mind from Nate and focus on her upcoming meeting. Except she was still irrationally annoyed that her mentor had contacted her tonight of all nights. Sometimes she could go years without hearing from him, but it had only been six months.
His telepathic message had caught her completely off guard. She hoped Nate hadn’t sensed anything suspicious, but why would he? Telepathy wasn’t exactly a common human ability.
&n
bsp; She puffed out an exasperated breath and scraped her hair back into its usual ponytail. Maybe she’d leave it down tomorrow night, for a change.
Hmm. Maybe she’d better stock up on some condoms, too. Not that she needed to protect herself the way a human woman would, since she’d never been sick in her life, but she didn’t want Nate asking questions. Come to think of it, why hadn’t he broached the subject?
Heat of the moment. Her comment to Yvette echoed in her head, giving her the answer. She tilted her head and smirked at her reflection. It was a good thing she wasn’t fully human, otherwise she’d be freaking the shit out about possible repercussions right now.
Enough. She straightened. Although she’d told Nate her meeting was in an hour, her mentor always, without fail, arrived fifteen minutes earlier than he stated. It was time to return to Inanna and discover what the huge emergency was that had interrupted the best night she’d had in living memory.
She arrived back in her office with a minute to spare, and the first thing she saw were her ruined knickers. Hastily she scooped them up and shoved them in her desk drawer, just as her mentor materialized by the chaise.
“Bella,” he said. His dark golden eyes glittered, and she had the uncomfortable conviction that he knew what she had been doing in here barely an hour ago. None of his business.
“Eblis.” She only just prevented herself from bowing her head. He always made her feel somehow less than. Probably because he always confronted her with his incredible pearlescent wings slightly unfurled.
Or maybe it was because he was one of the oldest pureblood demons in existence, whose powers eclipsed any Earth-born demon blood descendant she’d ever encountered.
Plus, she owed him her life. When Eblis called, she always answered.
“There’s been an unexpected development,” he said. He rarely indulged in small talk. “A vampire was found in possession of an immortal forged sword. We need to find the rogue archangel responsible for its creation.”
Although she’d never met a vampire, her friend Octavia worked with them every day. And by any reckoning, they were immortal when compared to humans.
But she’d long ago discovered that as far as Eblis was concerned, true immortals were confined to the fabled Alpha Pantheon of antiquity, who were the ancestors of the myriad gods and goddesses humans had worshipped over millennia, and pureblood demons.
And archangels.
Even those with mere traces of demon blood such as herself commanded a higher status than the so-called Undead in the immortal hierarchy.
“You think the rogue is known to the Watchers?” It was thanks to Eblis that she’d been accepted into the arcane network. And although he wasn’t a member, and they shared an unspoken understanding that she never mentioned his name to anyone, they were all on the same side.
To unite descendants of demon kind. And bring the cursed archangels to justice.
“That’s what we need to discover. Why would an archangel be in league with a bloodsucker?”
She knew his subtext. What could a bloodsucker offer an archangel?
“I’m going to the sacred mountains next week for the Equinox. I’ll see what I can find out.”
The Watchers met once a year, in their temple hidden deep within the mountains of what used to be ancient Mesopotamia. It was a chance for all the members to be among their own kind. To learn their history and draw pride from their suppressed heritage. But more than that, it was a chance to make lasting friendships. Something she’d never managed to do before. She doubted Eblis had any idea how much that meant to her.
“Good. The sword itself has disappeared, so I haven’t been able to analyze it.” Frustration threaded through his voice. “If it’s in the possession of the Watchers, I need to know.”
“Of course.” Unease stirred. If the Watchers did, indeed, have the sword, she hoped he didn’t expect her to steal it. Because that was a line she wasn’t sure she was prepared to cross.
Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket, intending to silence it. Except it was Nate. Anticipation sizzled through her, which was ridiculous but whatever.
“I need to take this,” she said, and although Eblis didn’t say a word or move a muscle, she knew she’d just seriously displeased him.
She angled away from him and took the call. “Hey, Nate.”
“Isabella.” His disembodied voice was sexier than ever and sent warm tingles running over her skin. She didn’t know why she hadn’t corrected him when he’d called her Isabella. She hadn’t been called that for years. Not since she had lived with her mother, so long ago, when the sound of her name being called would cause dread to knot in her chest.
But Nate made each drawn out syllable sound infinitely seductive.
“Hope I caught you before your meeting started.”
She didn’t even glance at Eblis. “It’s just about to. What’s up?”
“Change of plan for tomorrow. I’m going to cook us dinner at my place.”
She couldn’t help smiling, even though she knew Eblis was watching and she preferred to keep her private life private when it came to him. Not that she had much of a private life when it came to relationships but that was beside the point.
“Sounds perfect. Unless you have an ulterior motive for not going to a restaurant?” Not that she cared if he did. The idea of him cooking for her was beyond charming, and if they were already at his place, there would be no delay between their pudding and sexual gratification.
Don’t think about sex with Nate, while Eblis is standing next to me. It just felt wrong, somehow. But she couldn’t help herself. There was something utterly irresistible about Nate, even when he wasn’t present in all his gorgeous glory.
“Nothing ulterior about it.” There was a laugh in his voice, as if he knew exactly what she meant and agreed with it. “Bring your toothbrush.”
She laughed. “Subtle.” Wind up the conversation. It was insane that she was keeping Eblis waiting but talking with Nate was just too much fun. From the corner of her eye she saw Eblis’ wings flutter in silent censure and she sucked in a sharp breath. Fun over. “I have to go. Give me your address.”
He told her and she barely managed to hide her surprise. He lived literally a couple of minutes down the road. “See you tomorrow,” she promised, before hanging up.
She took longer than necessary pushing her phone back into her pocket. What was the matter with her? Yet she had the uncomfortable certainty that Eblis was judging her and finding her severely wanting. A prickle of resentment flared. There was nothing in their decades old agreement that said she couldn’t have a sex life. In fact, one of the first things he’d shared with her was a demon made implant that prevented conception.
It was just awkward that he’d appeared as she was embarking on a rare, fleeting affair, even though it shouldn’t be.
She gave up trying to analyze it and finally met his gaze.
He didn’t say anything.
The pause grew and the silence became suffocating. She fought the urge to fold her arms. It was a sign of insecurity, of weakness, and if there was one thing Eblis could not tolerate, it was weakness.
Finally, he uttered one, condemning word. “Nate.”
Irritation bubbled through her veins. Yes, she owed Eblis everything. He’d discovered her at her lowest point and had literally brought her into the light. But that didn’t mean he had the right to poke his nose into something entirely unconnected to their professional arrangement.
“I don’t wish to discuss him.”
It was the closest she’d ever come to defying him. Because there was no mistake. That one word had been a demand for more information.
His eyes glittered. She had the bizarre conviction that instead of condemning her insolence, he approved of her assertive retort.
“Have you ever wondered,” he said, “why I took the time to nurture you?”
Taken aback at his sudden turn in the conversation, she stared at him. “Because I ha
ve demon blood.”
His smile was almost pitying. What was happening? “I’ve met countless descendants of demons over millennia. On Earth, the bloodlines are diluted by untold generations. But you, Bella, are a rarity. You are a true half-blood demon.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. She’d never met anyone who could trace their immortal lineage with any accuracy, never mind pinpoint it to a parent. Since discovering her heritage, she’d imagined her unknown father was simply another nameless descendant of a demon who’d visited Earth countless years ago. Was Eblis trying to tell her…
“You’re my father?” she whispered.
He cocked his head. “What? No. Why would you think that?” He sounded genuinely staggered by her question. Actually, he sounded faintly disgusted, but she’d let that go. Because if he had been her father and hadn’t told her for all the years they’d known each other, she would’ve been furious.
After she’d recovered from the shock.
“Why wouldn’t I think that?” she countered. “What are you getting at? Do you know who my father is?”
When she was a child, her mother had often told her she was the spawn of Satan himself.
A frown flickered over his face. “I’ve no idea. It’s not important. The point is, you’re far more powerful than you realize.”
She wasn’t sure how she felt about the revelation. Did it really change anything? She knew many others with demon blood, but no one really knew for sure just how much they possessed.
The baseline for acceptance into the network was an extended lifespan and the ability to heal from at least moderate injury.
To ascend into the ranks of the Elite, far more was demanded.
Most of the Elite were telepathic, and many could teleport. The ability to understand a multitude of spoken languages without first having to learn them was less common, and telekinesis was rare.
Yet Eblis had warned her not to let them know of the extent of her powers. They had no idea what she could do. When she’d queried it with him, his response had been enigmatic.
Never show your hand until you know you can win.
“And why are you telling me this now?”
Salvation: A Realm of Flame and Shadow Novel Page 4