by Nina Bangs
Brynn winced. “I don’t know if you’ve thought too far ahead, but Sparkle will be at the meeting, too.”
Ganymede’s eyes grew wide. “Shit. I didn’t think of that.” He glanced over at Asima to make sure she wasn’t listening, but she was still involved in telling Kim what was wrong with Sparkle’s outfit. “Look, make sure I’m between you and Kim at this meeting. I won’t look like I’m with either one of them. Man, can you believe that music? Asima better be one hot mama to make this all worthwhile.”
“You’re a lech.” Brynn watched Kim walking toward him.
“And your point is?” Ganymede’s gaze slipped past Brynn as Asima leaped onto the couch.
“Nothing.” Brynn pulled some clothes from his closet and then strode to the bathroom door. Kim hurried to catch up with him.
Asima watched Kim walk across the room before turning back to Ganymede. “Isn’t that outfit really crass?”
Ganymede stared deeply into Asima’s eyes. “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Asima seemed doubtful. “I suppose so. But don’t you think my elegant and sophisticated style will look better on Kim?”
Ganymede looked a little desperate. “This above all: to thine own self be true.”
Asima blinked. “You’re right. I have to stay true to my fashion convictions.” She rubbed her head against Ganymede’s shoulder. “You’re so in tune with the inner me, and I do appreciate a cat who knows Hamlet.”
“Hey, babe, I’m a regular font of cultural info. How about listening to more of whatever it is we’re listening to?”
Brynn shook his head before grinning at Kim. “If he had eyebrows to waggle, he’d be waggling them.”
Kim started to answer him but paused at Asima’s next words.
“It’s Aida, and this is one of my favorite arias. The music moves me. Doesn’t it move you?” Asima’s eyes were slitted in kitty ecstasy.
“Oh, yeah. Moves me.” Ganymede’s expression said, Like a bowl of prunes.
“I can’t help it. I have to sing along.” And she did.
It took every bit of self-control Kim had not to stick her fingers in her ears. Instant flashback. Jacob Risner in second grade. Whenever the teacher was out in the hall talking to someone, Jacob got his jollies by dragging his fingernails across the chalkboard. Asima’s voice had that exact quality. Kitty vocal cords weren’t created to sing arias from Aida.
“The breaking glass should start any second now. Let’s get somewhere safe.” Brynn reached into the pocket of Kim’s purse, pulled Fo out, and set her on the table next to the door.
Fo caught on fast. “You’d better not leave me out here, because if you do I’ll . . . Well, I’ll do something really bad.” Since she couldn’t think of a threat horrible enough to strike fear into his heart, Fo resorted to a full-blown tantrum, complete with angry shrieks that blended right in with Asima’s singing.
Brynn grabbed Kim’s hand, dragged her into the bathroom, and closed the door behind them. “Ganymede’s doomed. I bet his eardrums are bleeding by now.”
“Ha, he’s getting what he deserves. He’s cheating on Sparkle. The only thing worse than listening to Asima sing would be if Sparkle found out what’s going on.” She thought about that. “I won’t be the one to tell her, though. Sparkle would kill the messenger.”
“You’re right.” Brynn glanced at his watch before pulling off his shirt. “It’ll be close to one hour by the time I finish my shower. I want to stay in the bathroom until the compulsion hits. Ganymede and Asima don’t need to see the show. Besides, Asima might still be singing.”
“Uh-huh.” Kim stared unblinkingly at his chest. She should’ve thought of the implications before charging into the bathroom with him. “So, you’re just going to strip naked right here, huh?”
His smile was slow and sensual, more of a temptation than Eve’s apple ever was. “That’s what I usually do before I get in the shower.” To demonstrate his stripping-naked technique, he got rid of his shoes and then made a big deal of sliding his pants and briefs off.
“You do that well.” The trick was to stay calm, cool, and in control.
“I’ve had lots of practice.” He watched her, something in his eyes saying that her response was important.
A test? If so, she didn’t know what he expected her to say. “That’s yesterday’s news, Brynn. Maybe we should concentrate on figuring out why the time between compulsions is lengthening. And when we find the cause, we keep it going.”
He nodded. She thought about asking him if she’d passed, but decided against it.
“As much as I’d like to ask you to share the shower with me or at least wash my back, I’d better do this alone. Otherwise Lynsay will be waiting a long time.” He took off his watch and set it on the sink. Then turning his back to her, he stepped into the shower and slid the frosted door closed.
Kim gulped in a huge, fortifying breath. Not many men had a butt beautiful enough to suck all the air from a woman’s lungs. Brynn was one of the fantastic few.
She sat on the closed toilet seat and watched the indistinct shadow of his bare body through the door. And yes, she’d love to be in there with him, helping to wash all those hard-to-reach and just plain fun-to-reach spots on his body. But beyond her transparent lust for him, other things about him were intruding that had nothing to do with what part of his body he was sliding the washcloth across at that exact moment.
Was he really a demon? More and more she was thinking no. Okay, so she really wanted it to be no. Why? She didn’t have a personal stake in him. Did she? And what about his compulsion? Why did the ugliness of it feel so personal to her?
All questions she wasn’t yet ready to answer. Thank heavens he’d shut off the water. As he emerged from the shower, she could return to good old uncomplicated lust.
She had his towel ready when he stepped out. Silently, she handed it to him. The slight lift of those sensual lips said he’d love to feel her rubbing that big fluffy towel all over him.
Kim smiled. “Mmm. Who needs a towel? How about if I spend the next hour licking every drop of water from your body, slowly and with lots of attention to detail?” What could she compare the experience to? “It would be sort of like when you lick those Wicked Red Blow Pops. Each swipe of your tongue isn’t just about flavor. It’s about the tactile sensation and the anticipation of all those yummy licks to come.”
His eyes widened, and then he laughed. Really laughed. It was one of the few times the shadows completely disappeared from his eyes. “See, now I’ll be fantasizing about that for the rest of the night.” As his laughter died, his eyes darkened to a delicious promise. “After the demon stuff is finished, we’ll have to explore all the things tongues can do.”
Kim sighed. “Demons. You made me forget about them for a while.”
“A little ironic, considering what I am.”
His laughter was gone, and Kim mourned its loss. “Have we been together an hour yet?
Brynn glanced at the watch he’d set on the sink. “Right on the dot. Now we wait.” He dried himself slowly, purposefully, with evil intent evident in every slide of the towel across his body. He rubbed a wicked path up his inner thigh, and then cupped his balls. He patted them dry. Carefully. Then he slid the towel the length of his cock. He had to keep going back and drying it again because it kept getting longer.
All the condensation on the mirror wasn’t coming from the shower. Kim could almost feel steam rising from her body. Hot, hot, hot.
When he’d finished getting his kicks at her expense, he quickly dressed. Except for his shirt. “May as well wait until after the compulsion. I’d just have to put it back on again after ripping it off.”
Well, if she had to sit around for a while, at least she had something to look at. Brynn had pulled on a pair of black leather pants and soft leather boots. Leather, a nice contrast to that bare, hunky chest. Mesmerized, she watched him blow-dry his hair until it lay gleaming and tempting
across his broad shoulders.
Then they waited, staring at each other across the sterile whiteness of the bathroom, until Kim couldn’t stand it anymore. So she asked the question she’d been saving for just the right moment. “You know, I’ve never had a serious compulsion. What’s it feel like?” Maybe it wasn’t a compulsion, but she had a very strong need to slide her fingers across his spectacular chest and then explore the tactile sensation of leather-covered muscle and delish body parts.
He seemed to look inward, and what he saw didn’t make him happy. “It’s a dark beast clawing at your insides, ripping you apart as it fights to get free. And it leaves you in bloody shreds if you don’t give it what it wants. It makes you do things you don’t want to do, makes you hate what you are, and drives you to despair. You can’t run from it, and you can’t hide. Ever.”
Okay, she was officially depressed. How strong did a man have to be to stay sane after five centuries of that? Not daring to meet his gaze because he’d hate the pity and ignore the admiration he saw in her eyes, Kim called Lynsay to tell her they’d be there soon. Her sister seemed pretty mellow, considering how late Kim was. Strange. Lynsay wasn’t a patient person. Mellow wasn’t where she was.
Finally, at exactly forty-five minutes past the hour, Kim saw the telltale signs in Brynn’s eyes at the same moment he reached for his nonexistent shirt.
He leaned close to her, his scent of warm and clean male animal making her want to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him close.
“I offer my body—”
She put her finger across his lips. “Not now. I don’t want your body.” Maybe later. Later sounded good.
He nodded and then straightened away from her. “Forty-five minutes late. What the hell is going on?” He shrugged into his shirt. It was black silk and oh so touchable.
“You know, if you tried to look a little grungy, women might turn you down more.” She slid her fingers across the silk. Some temptations weren’t meant to be resisted.
He simply stared at her.
“Or not.” She shrugged. “Let’s get going.”
Brynn pulled open the bathroom door, and they both listened for sounds of kitty screeching. Nothing. In fact, Asima was gone. Ganymede sprawled on the couch looking blankly at the darkened TV screen.
Kim picked up a silent Fo. No purple eyes. She was sulking. Good. Kim didn’t need to listen to a whiny detector right now.
“So how’d it go?” Brynn paused next to the couch.
“Talk a little louder. I can’t hear you. I think Asima nuked my eardrums.” Ganymede roused himself enough to jump across to the coffee table and stick his face in a wineglass.
“Where’s Asima?” Kim tried to keep the smile off her face, but it was tough.
Ganymede turned to give her a long, deadly stare. “She went to bathe. I told her cats didn’t bathe, but if she felt a little dusty I wouldn’t mind giving her a once over with my tongue. She got pissed and said if I put my tongue anywhere near her she’d bite it off.” He whipped his tail back and forth. “This scene is getting old. Sparkle’s a lot more fun. She understands my complex needs. Besides, I don’t have to memorize Shakespeare or listen to opera for Sparkle.”
Complex needs? Uh, like sex and food? Kim had to ask. “Why were you so hot for Asima in the first place? I mean, you have no idea what she looks like in human form.”
Ganymede’s glance said if she had to ask, then she’d never get it. “It’s the challenge, the chase. You see a new babe, and you seduce her because you can. It’s a man thing.”
Brynn looked thoughtful. “You know, the demonic asshole who made me would’ve had better luck if he’d given you the compulsion. You have the right attitude for it.”
Ganymede glanced away. “Guess I’ll take a quiet nap before I show up for your big meeting.” Without another word, he curled up on the couch and closed his eyes.
Once out of the room, they walked to the elevator in silence. All the way to the lobby, Kim thought about what was bothering her. “Is it just me, or did Ganymede act strangely when you mentioned the compulsion? He just stopped talking, and he never stops talking.” She shook her head. “I’m letting all the weirdness get to me.”
Brynn thought Ganymede’s strangeness was pretty much who he was. “Give the guy a break. He’d just survived Asima’s singing. That would make anyone act a little off.”
“I guess you’re right.” Kim walked into the restaurant ahead of him. She made her way toward a table where a blond woman he recognized from Holgarth’s photo as Lynsay was waving madly.
Brynn stared. Someone was with Lynsay. Someone he knew. Uh-oh. A complication.
They reached the table, and Kim turned to introduce him to her sister. “Lynsay, this is Brynn. Brynn this is my sister, Lynsay.” She looked at the man seated with Lynsay. “I hope you and Lynsay had a good time today, Deimos.”
Deimos blushed, and Lynsay giggled. “Isn’t he the cutest thing?”
Brynn stared at Deimos. Cute? Deimos might be many things, but cute wasn’t one of them. Big, bald, and bashful didn’t translate into cute. But then what did he know about how a woman’s mind worked? “Hey, Deimos.”
Deimos nodded at him and then looked at Kim. His blush deepened. “Uh, we spent the day doing a bunch of superhero fantasies together. Lynsay’s a great Cat Woman.” He turned his attention back to Kim’s sister, his puppy dog adoration written all over his face.
Brynn was worried. Deimos wouldn’t out him to Lynsay on purpose, but Deimos in love might be a loose cannon.
Lynsay patted Deimos’s arm as Kim and Brynn sat down at the table. “After we got back to the castle this afternoon, Deimos took me to his room. We were just getting comfy on the couch when he asked me to do this really big favor for him.” She looked up at Deimos from under her lashes.
From Cat Woman to the queen of coy in one afternoon. Impressive. Brynn didn’t know if Deimos was at a Lynsay level in his sexual development. He hoped she’d be gentle with him. Something of his thoughts must’ve shown in his face because Kim frowned at him. She probably thought Deimos was “cute,” too.
“Here I am with this big hunky guy, and he goes all wild-eyed on me.” She smiled at Deimos. “He says I have to help him save his plants.” Lynsay shrugged. “I’m thinking this is some weird come-on line. But you just have to reward that kind of creativity. So I let him show me these two plants. Sure enough, they look all droopy, and some of their buds are falling off.”
Deimos’s gaze skittered from Kim to Brynn and then back again. His blush was gaining speed and power. It should wash over the top of his head within the next thirty seconds.
“Anyway, he gives me this story about the plants needing sexual energy to stay healthy, and they’re not getting any of that from him.” Lynsay squeezed Deimos’s hand, fast-forwarding his blush. “And then he asks if he can kiss me to help his plants. Like if they don’t get something soon, they’ll lose all their babies. Isn’t that cute? He called the buds babies.” She shrugged. “I thought a couple of shots of plant food would perk them right up, but Deimos said only a kiss would do the trick.”
The smile she turned on Deimos was brilliant, and Brynn realized for the first time that Lynsay was a beautiful woman—long blond hair, big blue eyes, and a smile that was turning Deimos to mush. Funny how he didn’t notice what other women looked like when Kim was near. Later on he’d think about what that meant.
Lynsay walked her fingers up Deimos’s arm. “So I kissed him. It was just so . . . sweet. He made me feel like I was the first woman he’d ever kissed.”
You were. Maybe Deimos being here wasn’t so bad. With Lynsay all wrapped up in him, she wouldn’t pay much attention to anyone else. Now, if Deimos would just keep his mouth shut about things Lynsay didn’t need to know, dinner could roll along without any life-or-death decisions.
Deimos wasn’t saying much, but his head was saying a whole lot. He could use his head to guide Santa’s sleigh and give Rudolph the night o
ff.
Lynsay finished up with a flourish. “Since Brynn was coming to dinner with you, Sis, I decided to bring Deimos.” For the first time she gave Brynn her undivided attention. “I saw your name in the ad for the fantasies. Who do you play?”
He relaxed a little. This was going to be okay. She wasn’t suspicious. “I’m the good prince who rescues all the fair maidens.” Brynn smiled at her.
She smiled back. “Good prince? I don’t think so. I’d guess you’re very bad in all the ways a woman wants a man to be bad. That makes you an interesting man.” Lynsay glanced at Kim. “Go for it, Sis. A bad man is hard to find.”
Conversation stopped while everyone ordered. As she waited for the waiter to leave, Kim pulled Fo from her pocket and set her on the table. Fo gazed at everyone but didn’t say anything. Not a Folike behavior so Brynn assumed Kim had told her to keep a low profile when Lynsay was around unless she picked up on a definite demonic presence.
Lynsay speared Fo with her disapproval. “Still using that piece of junk, Sis? You need to upgrade to a . . . cell phone that can do the job.”
Fo glowered, and Kim sighed. “Fo works just fine for me, Lynsay. And Brynn knows what we are. Deimos doesn’t. You and I have business to talk about. Tonight. We can talk now or later tonight. Your call.”
Lynsay glanced at a puzzled Deimos. She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll either believe us or not.”
Brynn decided to be proactive for a change. He slipped into Deimos’s mind. “No matter what Lynsay says, keep quiet. We don’t want her to know what we are, and definitely not what Eric, Conall, or Holgarth are. Oh, and Sparkle would be royally pissed if you gave her away.”
Deimos turned to glance at him but didn’t say anything. Good.
Lynsay met Deimos’s stare. “Here it is straight, Deimos. Kim and I are demon hunters.”
His eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything. Deimos was probably trying to figure out why Kim and Brynn weren’t trying to kill each other.
Lynsay forged on. “Hey, I’ll understand if you want to leave now. Not everyone can handle the news that demons exist and that we hunt them. No hard feelings.”
