by Trina M. Lee
Despite Nova’s assurance, I couldn’t resist taking a jab at him. “But can your ego?”
The glare he shot me was downright smoldering. If he’d been going for sinister, it was a massive fail. “Watch it, cherry bomb,” he snarled, flashing beastly fangs. “There are no witnesses this time.”
A shock of desire spread out from my core. Anyone in their right mind would find Nova terrifying. He was a strong demon warrior with power that made me weak in ways I hadn’t known possible. My yearning for him had made its way into my dreams as well as my waking moments. I just wanted to touch him and make this longing go away.
Instead, I used the small blade to poke a tiny hole in the tip of a finger. Just enough to bring one drop to the surface. Anything to break through the lust fog in my brain.
The tiny sting wasn’t nearly painful enough to dull the sparks between my legs, but it did get my adrenaline flowing. Fear crept in to steal over me. Could I do this? Before I could hesitate, Nova shoved the chalk into my other hand, holding it tight, guiding it quickly through the three slashing lines and the circle surrounding them.
“Make a rabbit,” he instructed. “Just like mine. See it in your mind.”
The rush of blood magic that bubbled up was small but strong. Having no choice but to obey, I frantically pictured a white rabbit just like the one Nova had conjured. As he’d said, the magic followed the path laid out by the symbol’s projection.
My rabbit burst into being. There was no other way to describe how it arrived, like it had been forcefully yanked into our dimension from another. It tumbled and rolled before hopping up and coming straight at me. Red eyes glowed from within black fur, as a mouthful of vicious little teeth latched onto my ankle.
“Ouch, motherfucker.” I shook the rabbit off, violently flinging it out of the circle. It promptly disappeared. When I found Nova laughing, my temper flared and I jumped to my feet. “Good thing you didn’t tell me to imagine a fucking rottweiler. What the hell was that, Nova?”
He rose as well, keeping his distance. Wings tucked in tight against his back, his laughter faded. “That was you panicking. I’m not going to pretend to understand your fear, but if you’ll let me, I might be able to help you overcome it.”
Arms crossed tight as if it would protect me from him, I scoffed. “Doubtful. Unless you can remove the panic trigger from my head.”
“Remove it, no. But I can steer you through. Keep you calm.” Nova spoke as if he wasn’t proposing a move that would take the sensual craving from uncomfortable to irresistible.
Not ready to allow him that close, I countered with a question I’d been sitting on since he’d first mentioned using symbols with my magic. “Is this really necessary? How is learning demon magic supposed to help a vampire?”
Nova’s gaze dropped to the pile of trinkets on the floor. Did he just avoid eye contact? He damn well did.
Just when I was about to demand to know what he was hiding, he said, “Only demons have red auras.”
All sound drained from the room, leaving me with a ringing in my ears. Nova’s words echoed inside that ringing, drilling deeper with each repetition.
Vampires were descended from demons, as the old stories went. There was more than one origin story, the most common being that vampires were created from the darkness by demonkind, as an affront to God, turning people into monsters who preyed on his precious humans. Other tales were more fantastical, more like fairytales. In one a king struck a deal with evil itself to preserve his daughters forever, the first vampires.
It didn’t matter which story was true; either way, I was no demon.
“What does that mean?” My tongue felt heavy as I tried to speak around the lump in my throat.
Hearing the crack in my voice, Nova jerked his head up. “I’m not sure yet. If you want me to help you find out, I will. But I’m going to go out on a limb and say there’s more to you than you think, Blaze.” He huffed in soft irritation. “Don’t look so scared. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
“It doesn’t sound like a good thing. And I’m not scared. I’m… frustrated.” It didn’t sound convincing, but I wasn’t going to admit fear to a demon. When several long moments passed and he hadn’t said anything, I raised a brow. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook off whatever had held him in its grip and took a careful step closer. “Let me help.”
I didn’t want Nova’s help, but I needed it. Knowing that I might regret it, I relented. “All right.”
He motioned for me to come back and sit down in the middle of the circle. I did so, with great reluctance, sitting cross-legged across from him. Coming back into his field of energy felt like walking out of a snowy night into a warm house: welcoming, inviting. Like I could just fall right in.
So I did. Only as I allowed the soothing sensation of calm to come over me, I realized it was all Nova. Even though he’d slipped me some of this calming effect before, it was impossible to detect until I’d already succumbed.
“This feels like cheating,” I muttered.
Nova reached over to take one of my hands, and I stared in detached wonder. Turning my hand over, he redrew the smudged illusion symbol in my palm. When he picked up the knife, I didn’t twitch or flinch. I felt no fear. Just calm. Like I didn’t have a damn care in the world.
“You can draw the symbols beforehand in something more permanent if you wish,” he spoke in low tones that had me analyzing every note and lilt of his voice. “You’ll figure out what works best for you. Now picture another rabbit. Sweet this time. White and cute as fuck.”
Pressing the tip of the blade to my finger, Nova didn’t pause or hesitate. He jabbed my finger, so the blood welled up thick and fast.
I gasped but did as instructed.
The rabbit that hopped through the circle this time was white and fuzzy, harmless. No fangs or murderous temperament. It hopped over to sniff my foot before disappearing without incident.
Nova didn’t let go of my hand, and I couldn’t bring myself to pull away. Not when all I could think about was climbing onto his lap and riding him until sunrise.
In a last-ditch attempt to distract myself, I asked, “What am I going to do with a bunch of fake rabbits, Nova? I doubt the FPA will run screaming from ankle-biter bunnies? Show me something I can really use.”
His sexy chuckle seemed to be everywhere, all around me. That damn incubus vibe. It was like taking a hit of illicit narcotics. My entire body broke out in goosebumps despite how incredibly warm the room felt.
“Hey, I chose rabbits to start you small. Once you can control it, it can be anything you want: a pack of wild dogs, a fire-breathing dragon, a mirage in the desert. The choice is yours.” Nova’s smile faded, and something almost sinister crept into his expression. “But if you want bigger, we’ll go bigger.”
A flutter in my chest threatened to steal my breath. “I want control of my magic. This madness has gone on too long.”
Every passing second the room swelled with the rising tension between us. When Nova stroked a thumb over the back of my hand, I expected the entire library to combust under the pressure. How did he manage to make such a small touch feel so deep and intimate?
“Try this one.” He picked up the grounding rune, turning it so I could see the symbol clearly. “If you master this one, it will at least keep you from losing control at the wrong place and time.”
“Shit, ow.” I jerked when he cut me, spilling enough blood this time to cause a rivulet to drip down my finger and splash a drop onto the floor.
The blood magic welled up along with it, but with Nova’s calming influence, I felt no panic, only a strange expectation of my magic’s arrival. My entire body buzzed with the power that filled me. When it didn’t immediately run amok, I rushed to scribble the symbol on the back of my hand.
Once I slashed the last line through the triangle, the magic obeyed the symbol’s unspoken command. A spiral of red energy shot toward the center of the circle to be consumed
by whatever magic kept all spells’ effects from leaving this chamber. The grounding freed me of the load called forth by my shed blood.
“Outside this room, the magic will ground out into the earth. Best place to shoot a load this side of the veil, so to speak.” Nova snickered at his own crude choice of words.
“That’s all well and good, but there won’t be time to mark myself or anything else with demonic symbols,” I insisted, shaking my head at the chalk I held. “Not if the FPA are pointing guns in my face.”
The weight of Nova’s watchful gaze had me glancing up to find him staring at my hands, at the blood that had dripped down one finger. “Blood magic using symbols isn’t ideal for every situation, you’re right. It’s for activating the spell within the rune at your leisure. However, you’d be wise to learn how to use it. I can promise the day will come when you’re glad you did. Still nothing will help you gain ground with your magic as much as mastering your panic response. You know that’s the real issue here.”
I wiped my bloody fingers on my pants, hating the way the truth sounded on his lips. “I don’t need you to tell me that. But I appreciate what you’re trying to do here.”
I truly did. In a situation like what Dalyn and I had been in, being able to use symbols to guide my blood magic in a specific direction might have been helpful. But nothing would help if I didn’t deal with my past. Nova couldn’t help me with that.
Waving a hand at the runes on the floor, I started to get up again.
“Don’t go.” He rose with me. “I can help, but you have to let me in.”
If I hadn’t had his soothing vibes lulling me, I’d have been angry. Just hearing him say that made me want to let down my walls and expose all my inner self to Nova. Now that was the real illusion here, savage bunnies be damned.
“I can’t do that.” Closing my eyes, I tried to shut down the nagging need for his incubus touch. The longer we were together, the stronger it grew. “You forced me to be here. You used me as bait on one of my first nights. You’re a demon who works for The Circle of the Veil. For that matter you’re asking me to give you something that I haven’t given to anyone for a very long time.”
“What about Rayne?” The question seemed especially loud in the quiet room. When my eyes snapped open, Nova was regarding me not with accusation but curiosity. “Looks like you’ve let him in.”
I didn’t detect any jealousy, not that there should be any. Nova and I had no connection other than lust. That simply wasn’t enough to build on.
“I have, somewhat,” I admitted, feeling like the few feet separating us had grown suffocatingly close despite neither of us having budged. “He’s been a good friend, helped me settle in. Do you have any idea what it’s like for us here? All we have is each other, and we could lose that at any time.”
Nova raised both hands in surrender and took one step forward. The heat level in the room rose several degrees. “Simmer down, firecracker. No judgment. I know how precious time is to you all right now. That’s why I’m trying to help you before it’s too late. I just wish you could trust me too. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d tell me to go fuck myself. But I understand the trials of being under The Circle’s thumb more than you know.”
The call to touch him, to feel him, surged. Since the second we’d walked into the library I’d been fighting it. I couldn’t fight anymore.
“Then tell me,” I said, breathy and weak, trying and failing to keep from throwing myself into Nova’s arms.
He saw it all over my face. Muscles in his jaw worked in frustration. “Don’t look at me like that; I can’t keep resisting you. If you think The Circle is a threat now, you don’t want to find out what will happen if they learn I’ve crossed any line with you. I’m here as a punishment, just like the rest of you. Even the elite have rules to follow.”
Was this crazy demon just fucking with me now? The ridiculousness of this entire scenario had my temper sparking. “Are you kidding me?” We were so close I shouted in his face. Still I held myself back. I refused to be the first to break. “One minute you want me to let you in, and the next you’re pushing me away. What the hell do you want from me, Nova?”
Nova’s piercing gaze darted about my face. Forehead furrowed in frustration, he surprised me by whispering, “I wish I knew.”
His lips were on mine before I could be sure which one of us had leaned into it first. Not that it mattered. The rush of touching him made it impossible to think of anything else. I threw my arms around Nova’s neck and jumped up to wrap my legs around his waist. His hands on my ass supported me as I swirled my tongue alongside his, happily burning in the incubus fire.
The desire for him roared into a blazing inferno from a spark that had ignited weeks ago, fueled by lust. I didn’t trust Nova—I wasn’t even sure I liked him—but I desperately wanted him.
He backed me up against the wall, pressing me to it as he hungrily kissed me. The threat of The Circle’s wrath didn’t scare me. Not with Nova’s mouth on my neck, his vicious fangs scratching my skin. Nothing mattered but finally having him inside me.
When he pulled back to peer into my eyes, I saw his resolve falter. Nova wanted it as bad as I did, maybe even more. He also had more strength to resist the temptation.
“You have no idea how bad I want this, but if there will ever be a right time, this isn’t it.” He kissed me again, small and chaste this time, before lowering me back to the floor and disentangling himself from me.
I gaped at him, bewildered. Was this damn demon trying to drive me mad? “Nova,” I began, stopping when he raised a hand to cut me off.
“Don’t ask me to stay,” he pleaded, backing away like I was the one to be feared. “Or I won’t be able to stop myself from taking you right here and now. You’ll hate me later if I do. I’m sorry, cherry bomb.” The sound of rustling feathers accompanied his departure.
Nova left me standing there in the ritual room, lips parted and thighs quivering. Who even does that? An evil incubus demon, that’s who.
Slowly I sank to the floor, sucking in deep breaths in a faltering effort to clear my head.
But try as I might, there was no stifling the fire Nova’s incubus touch had ignited.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The craving Nova had left me with refused to fade. It drove me from the library in search of a willing partner to help ease the pain. Because that’s what it became, a painful need so demanding and so starved that it would not be silenced. Not anymore.
I flung open the library door to find the hallway dark and quiet other than the gym lights at the opposite end. The squeak of shoes on the polished floor drew me in that direction. Hoping to find Rayne beating on the punching bag or lifting weights, I instead found Ghost.
No doubt he could do a lot of damage in a physical fight. Like a foreboding vampire god, he stood shirtless in sweatpants and runners, golden brown skin taut over the hard abs that drew my eye. Holy damn, Ghost was gorgeous. I just wanted to lick him.
Leaning in the doorway to the gym, I watched him pound the crap out of the punching bag. He knew I was there. Not for a second did I think it would be that easy to sneak up on Ghost.
He turned to nail me with a dark stare that smoldered with intrigue. He would’ve sensed my overexcited energy coming his way. “What’s up, doll? Come to work out some tension?”
“You could say that.” Pushing away from the threshold, I moved toward him, a prowl in my step. “I can’t take this fucking place anymore, Ghost. It’s making me crazy.”
“Is it the place though? Or is it Nova? You let him get too close.” His tone held no judgment, no emotion regarding Nova at all. He watched me come closer, his dark gaze drifting over me.
“I know.” The throb between my legs demanded to be satisfied, and I knew Ghost was more than capable.
“And you want me to scratch the itch he left behind, do you, baby girl? With a vicious grin slipping over his handsome features, Ghost’s smoky voice encouraged my need for
release.
Though I slipped him a coy smile, I felt like a seductive temptress. “Yes, please.”
It wasn’t like I hadn’t sought out lovers over the years. Of course I had. But my desire had never been so desperate. Dark need, created by an incubus demon who would only make my life hell if I let him get any closer, wracked my body.
Ghost’s eyes narrowed, and he came to meet me in the middle of the gym. Every move he made screamed with predatory intentions. “I’d love to. Want the wolf to join us?”
I stared at him stupidly while my brain replayed his question a few times. Did I hear what I thought I heard. “Rayne?”
Enjoying my sudden awkwardness, Ghost chuckled. “Why not? Seems only fitting.”
Hell yeah it did. While taking Rayne’s blood after my magic had drained me, the three of us had been on the brink of an encounter when Nova burst in, destroying a fantasy I hadn’t known I’d had until then. I decided it was only fitting to have both Rayne and Ghost satisfy this unyielding want Nova left gnawing at me.
“I’d love for him to join us, if he’s up for it.”
“He was ready and willing last time.” Ghost wrapped a strong arm around my waist and dragged me close, squeezing a little squeal from me. He didn’t kiss me though. Taking my hand with the cut fingertips, he sucked one into his mouth, tasting me.
Getting Rayne on board took little more than me poking my head into the kitchen where he stood drinking and chatting with Dalyn and Retta. Once I caught his eye, I hooked a finger in invitation, and he followed me upstairs.
“Did Nova leave?” he asked as we reached the second floor. “Did everything go ok?”
“Yes and not really.” I took Rayne’s hand, sliding my fingers between his. “He left me a little… uncomfortable, for lack of a better word.”
“Pretty sure there are several better words,” Rayne teased, amber eyes going solid wolf. “Frisky. Turned on. Horny.”
“What about randy? That’s kind of a weird one.” I smacked his stomach, laughing despite the way I eyed him with unashamed want. “Speaking of weird, this might be but there’s no harm in asking, right?”
