A sigh ruffled her hair. “Don’t cry, mon ange,” he whispered, coming up on his elbow to slide her hair behind her ear.
Chessa squeezed shut her eyes and sobbed, turning her face into the pillow. “Go away,” she choked out. She felt fragile as glass, ready to break at the slightest touch.
“Not a chance, love.” He forced her to her back, tugged off her pajama bottoms, and slid over her body. His large hands cupped her cheeks, his thumbs sliding over her tears.
She sniffed again, knowing she was getting sloppy and embarrassed about it. “Nic, I can’t do this again. Can’t have a baby.”
His throat worked, his jaw tensed. Then he bent and kissed her cheeks, her chin. “Shhh…”
His tenderness was too much. She felt her face crumble. Tears blurred his features. “I can’t lose this one, too.”
An arm slid beneath her shoulders to raise her head. Another kiss landed on her forehead. “You won’t. Nothing will happen.” He nudged apart her thighs, his cock unerringly sliding between her folds.
She opened eagerly, relishing the gentle thrust as he entered her, joining them. “He wants to take my child from me.”
“We’ll stop him.” His lips sipped at hers as he started to stroke inside.
Her arms reached around his back, her fingers digging into hard, firm flesh and muscle. As he eased away her tears with his body, she felt her chest lighten. She kissed him back and lifted her legs to grip his hips, urging him deeper, surrendering to his mastery, trusting he would make everything right.
Slowly, they surged together and apart, their breaths intermingling, their bodies sealing their unspoken bond. When his thrusts grew harder, shorter, she tensed and squeezed her inner muscles around his gliding cock.
Nicolas groaned into her mouth, then drew his head back sharply, his face screwed tight in an anguished grimace.
Chessa dug her fingernails into his flanks. “Fuck me, Nic! Fuck me, harder!”
“Dieu! Fuck!”
His cock powered into her, ramming toward her core, tapping her womb with his deep, sharp thrusts until she felt her orgasm unravel, releasing moist, rhythmic pulses that shivered along her vagina.
Chessa cried out, digging the back of her head into the pillow as she strained higher, cresting the peak while jagged lights exploded behind her closed lids.
Nicolas’s tightening groan accompanied a spurt of cum that washed against her womb. He languished in the wet heat, rocking between her thighs until the storm had passed, and they both collapsed to the bed.
“We’ll flee to Mexico,” he said between ragged breaths.
She sank her fingers into his thick hair. “I thought Vegas.”
A sharp shake of his head. “Were-country. It’s not safe. Fleas.”
A short, gasped laugh caught her by surprise. “So, I’ll wear a collar. No one will look for me there.”
“I like the collar idea. But two of us can’t exactly blend in.”
“Really? You’d do that? Come with me?”
His features softened. “You’re mine, Chessa.”
Old, ugly doubts intruded between them. “But what about Inanna?”
His eyes closed. “I’ll have to leave her.”
“You’re bound to her in some way, aren’t you? Did she turn you, Nic?”
He nodded, his forehead falling to her shoulder.
Chessa rubbed her hands slowly up and down his back and pressed her cheek against this hair. “How can you leave her?”
“I must,” he whispered. “I won’t let you leave alone.”
“Do you love her?” she asked then wished she hadn’t.
“Yes.”
Damn, damn, damn. “Can you resist her?”
“I can, if there’s distance between us.”
“She’ll haunt you.”
He lifted his head and gazed down at her in the darkness. “Since she and Anaïs, my wife, turned me together, the bond is diluted somewhat. I won’t pine for her, if that’s what you think.”
He believed what he said. If only it could be true. “I wondered about you and her. You seem so aloof from her at times. Almost angry. Yet, she commands you.”
“I don’t approve of everything she does.”
Alex’s warning still fresh in her mind, she hesitated to reveal everything. “She will want this child dead. The sabat will demand it. They’ll want me dead as well.”
His eyebrows drew together. “Every Born child is a reason for rejoicing. Why do you think they’ll turn on you? Inanna cares for you.”
Chessa bit her lip, afraid, but hoping she could place her trust in him. He’d always been there for her. “I know they won’t be happy about this child,” she began, wrestling one last time before blurting the truth. “I know, because we’ve conceived something more than just another Born child. Alex and I. He’s Born. That’s the first curse. The second is that I’m…special.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. “I already knew that.” A gentle swirl of his hips emphasized his point.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m a hybrid. Mage and Born vampire.”
His eyebrows rose. “Alex knew this?” he asked, his tone so even, she knew he was disturbed.
She nodded slowly.
His shoulders tensed, his chest rippling with the flash of anger that hardened his frame. “Another nail in his bloody coffin. I’m going to kill him.”
“You can’t.”
His lips firmed into a narrow, hard line. “Because he’s the father of your child?”
“Because he’s needed.”
“Explain,” he said in that low, deadly drawl that never failed to arouse her.
“I can’t. I don’t know very much.”
“Then don’t tell me,” he said, with a bitter twist of his lips. “He’s the dark prince, come to fight a horde of demons on earth.”
She shrugged, feeling a little foolish to hear it said aloud. “Maybe.”
“I’ve heard that story before.”
“From whom?”
“Inanna. A long time ago. It’s a load of shit. Order. Treaties. That’s what keeps back the hordes.”
“This sounded more…dire…what he hinted at.”
“Well, all the more reason for us to get a long, long way from here. He’s going to start something.”
“I agree. We need to get the hell away from here, whatever’s going to happen.” She dropped her gaze to his wide shoulders and ran her palms across the top, trying to avoid his knowing gaze. “Are you angry with me?” she said in a small voice.
“Angry? Because you’re pregnant?” At her nod, he sighed. “How can I be? I invited him into your body, didn’t I? Although I’m starting to suspect, he probably dropped the hint somewhere in the back of my mind.”
“He might have. I don’t know what all he’s capable of doing.”
“So, we have two adversaries we must flee. Alex and the sabat.”
His anger. His acceptance. Both warmed her. She felt a thawing of the panicked ice that had enclosed her heart and mind. “Can we start tomorrow?”
“Tired, love?”
“Exhausted.”
“You’re definitely pregnant.” He gave her a short kiss and started to pull away.
Her legs tightened around his hips. “Not too tired,” she said, walking her fingers down his chest.
His lips curved in a wicked, smoldering smile. “How do you want it?”
As it turned out, trust wasn’t all that hard to give up. Not to someone who’d demanded it every step of the way and had never failed to show his care—however high-handed he was.
“Surprise me.”
CHAPTER
16
Nicolas stuck more tacks in the map on the wall and stood back. With the latest reports, there was no doubt about where their demon was headed. Disregarding the first bodies beside the bayou, he tapped the pin for Madame Fortun’s. The victims along the highway. The mortuary. All heading inexorably in one direction.
> “He’s going straight to Ardeal. Doesn’t he care he’s dropping bread crumbs all along the way?”
Nicolas smiled at the grumpiness in Chessa’s voice. After searching her closet for the one pair of dark slacks she owned with a stretchy waist, she’d fallen silent while he’d pulled together a meal of sorts from whatever dry goods he could find in her pantry. Roughage to fill her growling belly until they could find a live meal.
Alex hadn’t shown up after dusk. Probably knew he was persona non grata with him now. Still, Nicolas would have felt better keeping him in his sight. “Maybe you should stay at home, tonight,” he said quietly.
Her laser-hot glare had him holding back a smile. “You think I’m fragile or something? I’m just pregnant. No different than I was yesterday. Besides, this is my investigation—you’re just the consultant.”
“You’d be safer,” he said, biting back a flare of anger for her obstinacy. That it was mixed with an equal amount of pride for her courage didn’t escape him.
“I’ll be just fine. I’m a big girl. Getting bigger by the minute,” she said, tugging at her waistline.
She didn’t even show a bump, but he bit back another caution. Nothing would make her dig in her heels faster than being told she shouldn’t do something.
“You would go to Ardeal, then?” he drawled.
Her gaze snapped to his. “I’ll follow The Devourer there. But I’ll have to be careful not to be in Inanna’s company.”
“I’ll shield you. Distract her, perhaps?”
“How?” Her eyebrows lowered. “Oh, never mind. Tell me, do you play your rough games with her?”
His lips tightened.
Chessa snorted. “Of course, you do. You like it that way. Does she?”
He turned, unwilling to share the part of him that could never be totally hers. “We understand each other.”
“Will you tell her good-bye?”
Irritated, he growled, “Leave off, Chessa.”
“Guess we better get going. It’s a long drive. We’re wasting the night away here.”
They left her apartment, stepping to the pavement. He lifted a hand to summon the SUV he’d arranged the night before. When he’d dismissed the driver and they were both seated inside, he said, “What more can you tell me about Alex?”
Her gaze slid away to the dark streets. Every corner and alley hid shadows and secrets. Just like Chessa.
His hand gripped the steering wheel. “How is he one of the Born? And who is his mother?”
“Natalie.”
Shock struck him like a blow to his midsection. Simon was at the bottom of this. He’d known all along. So much for friendship. The man who had lived many pasts had learned treachery during one of his evolutions.
“Then she and Rene are back?”
“I saw them last night. Inanna can never know they left in the first place.”
“She’ll know something’s happened when she sees Natalie is no longer carrying. Do they plan to hide from her?”
“I don’t know what they plan. A lot happened yesterday. Too much.” She clasped her hands together in her lap. “I’m hungry.”
An unsubtle change of subject, but he had a lot on his mind as well. For now, he’d let the subject drop. “I’ll stop once we’re out of the city.”
Chessa shifted restlessly in her seat for several minutes. She wasn’t much for small talk, but he could hear the gears creaking. “You know everything about me,” she began. “I know almost nothing about you. Why’s that, Nic?”
“What do you want to know?” he asked, pretending nonchalance he didn’t feel. He knew exactly what she was curious about.
“Tell me about your wife, Anaïs. How did she die?”
“The Devourer,” he said, biting out the words, hoping she’d get the hint and drop her line of questioning. He seldom let himself think of it.
“Of course. Explains a lot about your devotion to your duty.”
He swung hard to avoid a fallen tree whose limbs reached into his lane then back onto his own side of the road.
“I’m glad you’re driving,” she whispered. “I’d never find my way.”
The landscape had changed that much. A few signs remained to point the direction. “That’s right, you’ve been in The Quarter since the storm hit,” he said, relieved at the new tangent their conversation took while disturbed they seemed to be dancing around each other. Despite the accord they’d reached when lying locked together in bed, a deep chasm still yawned wide between them. He glanced in his rearview mirror. One misstep…
“I knew it was bad, but…” She fell silent for a long while. Long enough to leave the city behind. As he neared the outskirts of a small community, she stirred in her seat.
“I know,” he murmured. “We’ll find something here.”
He pulled into a diner, the windows still covered in battered plywood. As she pulled open the door to enter the restaurant, he hung back. “I’ll be along in a minute.”
“Sure,” she said, not looking over her shoulder. “I already see something tasty.”
Nicolas walked back to the edge of the parking lot and up to the truck that had been trailing them out of the city.
As he came abreast of the driver, the truck’s window rolled down. The man behind the wheel gave him a hard, glinting stare.
“Malcolm,” Nicolas said, standing so that he could keep an eye on the restaurant door in case Chessa returned too soon.
“Are you still in?”
“Yes, but we will have to move tonight.”
“I’ll radio the others. Why the rush?”
“The Devourer’s closing in on Ardeal. We can use this.”
“Why not just let him have the bitch?”
Nicolas reached into the cab and gripped his throat, squeezing him until Malcolm’s face turned purple. “Nothing happens to Inanna, you understand? Or you’d better be prepared to battle me as well.” He let go, and stood back while Malcolm dragged in deep breaths.
“I understand,” he rasped. “I just don’t think you’re taking this far enough. She’ll never agree. No matter what we do.”
“She’s not stupid. Once she knows we’re serious, and that we have the numbers to back us, she’ll bend. Find a way to use us to her benefit while addressing our demands.”
“What about her?” Malcolm said, lifting his chin toward the restaurant. “Is she with us?”
Nicolas shook his head. “I’m working on it,” he lied. “Just make sure your men hold back until I give the word. If The Devourer shows himself, be ready to take him down.”
Malcolm nodded. “We’ll score some big points if we capture him. We’ll keep our eyes peeled.”
“Make sure Chessa doesn’t spot you. I have to go.”
Nicolas took a slow turn around the parking lot, spotted more of the men he’d recruited, and decided he’d taken enough time. When he entered the restaurant, Chessa wasn’t anywhere in sight. “Merde!”
By the time he made it back into the parking lot, the tail lights of the SUV were glowing red as she hit the brakes at the exit of the parking lot then peeled out, churning up gravel. She’d made him.
“Looks like you need a ride, Nic,” Malcolm drawled as he pulled up beside him.
Nicolas cursed again and slid into the passenger seat. He’d known he walked a fine line, but had arrogantly thought he could balance the needs of the coven with his own ambitions and desires. Now, he faced the possibility of loosing Chessa forever.
But how much had she overheard? Would she betray him?
Knowing he could be facing a death sentence if his plot were revealed, he gripped the dashboard, silently urging the truck faster as Chessa’s lights grew dim in the distance.
“What the fuck?” Chessa shouted, slamming her palm against the dashboard. Nicolas was in league with rogue Revenants? Possibly, the same crew that had threatened Natalie’s life and trashed Rene’s apartment? Maybe the same ones responsible for her family’s deaths?
; As unbelievable as it seemed, she couldn’t have been mistaken about the man she saw him casually talking to at the rear of the parking lot. She’d spied on Nicolas through the restaurant window, wondering what he was up to and whether he needed backup. She’d run through the restaurant, through the kitchen and out the back door, skirting the edge of the lot to get close enough to see whether he needed help.
What she heard had her stomach churning. “What the fuck?” She hit the dash again, mad at herself for believing in him when he’d only been using her. But for what purpose?
If he wanted to take Ardeal, why get cozy with her? He all but said they’d make a move on Inanna, and as much as she resented and sometimes hated the matriarch of the coven, she’d never conspire against her.
Nicolas was bound to Inanna by first blood! This level of betrayal was unheard of, impossible to contemplate. Didn’t he know his complicity in any plot against a Born, but especially Inanna, would mean instant death?
A chill gripped the base of her spine and shivered upward. She had to stop him. Save him from himself. But how?
For certain, her relationship, or whatever it had been, was over. Any affection dried up as vampire ash.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Nic?” she whispered, and realized she was crying when she couldn’t see the road for the shimmering moisture filling her eyes. She dashed away her tears with the back of her hand and stomped on the accelerator. “I trusted you. I was ready to love you. You fucking bastard!”
No one was going to kill him before she got to him. He was hers. She’d kick his ass all over Ardeal and leave him frying in the sunshine. She’d strip his skin inch by inch from his body, while he writhed and moaned.
Only the thought of Nicolas writhing and moaning reminded her how much she was going to miss the writhing and moaning he caused in her. “You sonofabitch!”
She almost missed her turn, turning hard to the left, lifting the SUV’s tires from the pavement for one heart-stopping moment, before it crashed down, righting itself.
Her rear tires fishtailed as she fought for control. It was all his damn fault. He’d made her care. Made her think she mattered to him. Forty freaking years, he’d been there for her. Had he been nurturing their relationship all the while?
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