by Nina Bangs
Brynn didn’t have any more time to make plans because they’d reached the lobby. Now he’d have to watch Kim put herself in danger all over again. Freakin’ great. A whole castle full of useless demon hunters with their useless demon detectors.
At least Dirk had a physical body. Brynn couldn’t do anything but bat at those blasted bubbles, but he could get his hands on Dirk and do some serious damage. Hopefully, the combined supernatural powers of Eric and Holgarth would be too much for the archdemon. Sparkle and Asima had powers, too, but he wouldn’t depend on them.
Holgarth glanced at the small army ready to enter the lobby. Donna was the only one missing because she had to get ready for her show. Couldn’t cancel that. But no one doubted that Eric counted for two vampires when it came to pure power and danger.
“I think it would be best if you didn’t go in with us, Lynsay. You’re human and weaponless, an unfortunate combination if the archdemon is searching for a weak link. And I’m certain he will be.” Holgarth tried to look kind, but he couldn’t screw his face into a benevolent expression that anyone would believe.
Frantic, Lynsay looked at Kim. “Sis, you know demon hunting is my whole life. You guys have to take me with you.”
Kim sighed and turned to Holgarth. “I’ll keep her safe.”
He didn’t look happy, but he nodded at Kim. “I’m sure if I say no you’ll design some grotesque new addition to the castle.”
Kim grinned. “You bet.”
Then Holgarth spoke to the whole group. “We’ll go in together and then spread out to divide his attention. If he doesn’t attack, we’ll slowly close in on him. Kim, when you’re within range, use Fo at the same time Eric and I throw our combined powers at him.”
Conall frowned. “Don’t you think we’d have a better chance if we all just rushed him? Won’t your plan give him time to escape?”
Holgarth puffed himself up like an outraged rooster. “I advised Napoleon on his battle strategies. Exactly how many generals have you advised?”
“And if it doesn’t work?” Lynsay didn’t sound too confident now that she knew all the detectors were inoperable.
“Then we run like hell.” Wade, always the bottom-line guy.
Asima’s tail seemed to have developed a nervous twitch. “You’re exceptionally strong, Conall, but this will be a battle of supernatural forces. So stay behind me.”
Conall didn’t say anything, but he looked like he wanted to pick Asima up and shake her until her little pointed teeth rattled.
Lynsay looked uncertain. “Did anyone else hear someone talking in their head?”
Sparkle frowned as she peered down at her stilettos. “I won’t get that disgusting ash all over my new Pradas, will I?”
No one answered Lynsay or Sparkle.
Brynn kept one hand on Kim’s shoulder as they moved into the lobby. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “No, I’m not going to walk away from you. I thought I’d get that straight before you asked. So save your breath for the important stuff.”
“Yeah, like what?” Her voice was breathless as she spotted Dirk lounging in one of the lobby’s chairs. Gabriel was on the table in front of him.
“Like making love after this is over.” He tightened his grip as they drew closer to the archdemon.
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Dirk stood, stretched, and then yawned. “Well, damn. I assume you put the pieces together and came up with good old Uncle Dirk’s name.” His smile was toothy and insincere. “How clever of you.”
The archdemon made a moue of disappointment. “I won’t be getting any of my delightful little demonic bubbles, will I? One of my more brilliant ideas.”
Turning his attention to Kim, his eyes suddenly blazed red. “Your uncle invited me in, you know. It was a trade-off. I’d make sure he won every fishing tournament he entered, and in return I got a cozy home for as long as I needed it.”
“Son of a bitch.” Wade’s input.
The archdemon turned an amused gaze on Wade. “Eudemons are so clueless, such pathetic losers. It was absolutely worth spending the day with smelly fish and a stupid eudemon just to see your face when I brought in my catch. Which of course was no catch at all. But it doesn’t really matter where the fish came from, because it’ll go down in the record books under Dirk Vaughn’s name. I hope he gets lots of pleasure from knowing he beat you, because there’s always an ultimate price to pay.”
Wade narrowed his eyes to red slits and growled low in his throat.
The archdemon laughed before turning his attention back to the others. “I suppose now you’re going to try your puny powers on me. A waste of time, but who am I to deny you your useless little pleasures. If it gives you a chuckle knowing I’ll have to come up with another plan to get rid of you all, please feel free to celebrate. But promise me you won’t leave Galveston until I think of something else. It would be such a hassle getting you all back together again.” He slid his gaze to Kim. “Oh, and I will have your detector, even if I have to pry it from your cold, dead hand.”
“Asshole! Go chase your tail for a few thousand years.” Fo was steamed.
The archdemon grinned. “Delightful.”
Brynn felt Kim tense a second before she pressed Fo’s Destroy button. At the same moment, the lobby filled with Eric’s and Holgarth’s immense powers. Maybe Asima and Sparkle were doing their part, too. He couldn’t tell.
Fo’s beam blinded Brynn, and everyone’s combined powers swirled around him, taking his breath away and pressing on him from every side. He put his arm around Kim’s waist and pulled her against him even as he resisted the urge to crouch on the floor in a fetal position. He’d have to remember to never make Holgarth or Eric really mad.
And then it ended. Everyone stared at everyone else before staring at Dirk who was curled into a fetal position on the floor.
“I can’t see! I’m blind. What happened? Someone help me.” His pleas degenerated into terrified whimpers.
Everyone raced to Dirk, but Brynn knew Kim wasn’t looking at her uncle. Her gaze swept the floor around the cowering man. Then she stared up at Brynn. “We didn’t get him.”
Silence, tense and thick, fell as understanding spread. Brynn said what everyone was thinking. “No ash. He escaped to someone else.”
Each person slid their gaze to the person beside him or her.
Sparkle studied her nails. It must help her think. “The only ones here he could possess are Kim and Lynsay.”
Everyone’s attention focused on the two humans. Lynsay blinked. “What? Hey, I’m still me.” She glanced at Kim. “Sis, hold Fo up to me. Okay, Fo, am I still me?”
Fo’s purple eyes were bright with excitement. “You’re still you, although if you were someone else it might be an improvement.”
Eyes narrowed, Lynsay took Fo from Kim and pointed the detector at her sister. “How about Kim? Is she in there by herself?”
Kim sighed. “The archdemon didn’t possess me. But even if he had, you wouldn’t know it. Remember that he can cloak his presence from everyone. Even Fo didn’t pick up on Dirk. So technically, Lynsay and I are still suspect.”
“I’d know about you, Kimmie. We’re friends, and I’d know if that scumbag was inside you.” Fo’s eyes angled toward where Gabriel still sat on the table. “We’ll have to adopt Gabriel now. Can we, can we?” She looked at Kim with wide, pleading eyes.
Kim dropped onto the nearest chair. “We’ll see.”
Brynn walked over and picked up Gabriel. “We’ll have to make sure you don’t fall into the wrong hands again, buddy.”
Gabriel watched him with those red demon eyes but didn’t say anything. Brynn flipped him closed and slipped him into his jacket pocket.
Lynsay was standing next to Wade. “So where’d the demon go? And where’d Fo learn to talk smack?”
Kim shrugged. “He’s an archdemon. He can go wherever he damned well pleases. He probably materialized outside the lobby or took a new host and is long gone.” She looked frust
rated. “Or not. He could still be in the castle because the gargoyles can’t identify him.” She ignored her sister’s question about Fo.
“Do we head for the chapel now?” Eric was still showing fang.
“No.” Something in Wade’s voice got everyone’s attention. “Give me an hour before you try to close the portal.”
“Why?” Sparkle seemed fixated on her feet. “Although that’ll give me time to change into cheaper shoes.”
Wade’s eyes still blazed red. “That bastard disrespected all eudemons. He thinks just because we’re laid back we’re weak.” He stared at Kim. “Without their detectors, the Vaughns won’t be able to take out the archdemon’s army. Within an hour I can have hundreds of eudemons here. We can drive all the cacodemons from their human hosts and destroy them.” He paused to think about details. “Eudemons don’t take human hosts. We create forms that are acceptable to humans. But to do this job, we’ll have to take our true forms.” He glanced around. “Uh, our true forms are pretty creepy to the ordinary Joe on the street.”
“The humans won’t remember seeing you.” Eric oozed the kind of confidence that came from immense power. “I’ll take care of it.”
Wade finally grinned. “The cacodemons can kiss their asses good-bye.”
“Woohoo, way to go, Wade!” Lynsay high-fived Wade and then froze. “Wait. Did you say you’re a demon?” She stared at Kim. “That’s what he said, wasn’t it?”
Brynn was officially out of patience. “Yeah, Lynsay, he’s a demon. So am I.” He frowned. “Maybe. Eric’s a vampire, Holgarth’s a wizard, Conall’s an immortal warrior, Sparkle’s a cosmic troublemaker, and the someone you heard talking in your head is the cat. She’s a messenger of Bast. Deal with it. And if you ever tell anyone, we’ll make your life a living hell. Got it?”
Lynsay stared at him for what seemed forever, and then she nodded. “Got it. Uh, what about Deimos? Is he . . . something else?”
Brynn hesitated. “Maybe you’d better talk to Deimos about that.”
“We’ll meet back here in exactly one hour.” Holgarth was at his bossy best. “Wade can lead his eudemons into battle against the cacodemons while the rest of us attack the wedding chapel. And someone has to let the Vaughns know what’s happening.”
Lynsay raised her hand. “I’ll take care of that.” She cast Holgarth a narrow-eyed stare. “Have to prove to some people I can be useful.”
Holgarth raised one brow to show how little he cared about her opinion. “I assume it wouldn’t do any good to tell you to stay in the castle for the rest of the night.”
Lynsay’s eyes were now slits of defiance. “Damn straight.”
He cast the still-whimpering Dirk a contemptuous glance. “And someone please take care of him.”
Eric lifted Dirk to his feet. “I’ll leave this one with his memory. He deserves to live with his betrayal.” He glanced at Kim and Lynsay. “The archdemon murdered Sergei, but Dirk gave him the control. I assume the Vaughns have their own punishment system in place.”
“The family will take care of him.” Lynsay sounded grim. It didn’t bode well for Dirk.
Brynn put his arm across Kim’s shoulders. “Let’s go to your room. We have a whole hour to ourselves.”
“Maybe I’ll take a short nap.” She let him guide her toward the elevator.
I don’t think so. The elevator doors slid shut behind them.
Brynn watched Kim strip off her jacket, put Fo on her night table, kick off her boots, and flop onto her bed.
She grinned at him. “How should I spend the hour before I go into battle against an archdemon—meditate, write farewell letters to my family, bargain with God?” Kim sounded like she was only half kidding.
Brynn took Gabriel from his pocket, flipped him open, and set him beside Fo. “We’re not going to lose, so we don’t need any farewell letters. And I don’t think God is into bargaining.” He slipped out of his jacket and dropped it on the couch. “So I’d say we should spend the hour making love.”
“Hmm.” She studied him as she absently unwrapped one of his Wicked Red Blow Pops. “Let’s see what kinds of interesting options we have here.”
She slid her tongue over the blow pop, and he shuddered as he personalized the erotic suggestion in her innocent action. Then he saw her eyes. They shone with wicked intent. Okay, not so innocent. She knew he was imagining her warm, wet tongue gliding over the most sensitive part of his bare body.
“We could make love in the shower. Sexy but done to death. We’re looking for innovative and unique.” She licked the blow pop again, slowly and provocatively. “How about under the bed?” Kim leaned over the edge of the bed to peer beneath it. “It’s doable as long as you don’t get carried away and smack your head on the bottom.”
Brynn got rid of his shoes and peeled off his shirt.
Kim was in mid-lick but froze for a moment to size up his chest. “Have I told you lately what a spectacular chest you have? No? Well, consider yourself told.” She completed her lick.
He gritted his teeth. Every lick was a slide of pleasure-pain across his imagination, his very vivid imagination. He dragged his gaze from her mouth and that damned pop only to meet the avid stares of two pairs of eyes. Without hesitating, he swept up Fo and Gabriel and took them to the closet, where he deposited them on the top shelf.
Sentient machines had big mouths. “Kimmie, I want to watch. I’m a mature woman, and I have a right to see.” The “mature woman” turned her purple gaze on Brynn and stuck her virtual tongue out at him. “Meanie, meanie, meanie!”
Gabriel wasn’t any better. “Yo, dude, like this is so fifties. Let the babe and me watch the action. An audience makes everything hotter.” He winked one red eye at Brynn.
Brynn stared at Gabriel. Mr. Cool had experienced a personality spurt and not necessarily in the right direction. No way were those red eyes watching anything he did with Kim. “Talk to each other.” And he slammed the door shut before either one could mount another argument.
Kim still looked deep in thought. “Hey, we could move them out of the closet and we could move in. Have you ever made love in a closet?” She held up her hand. “No, don’t answer that. You’ve probably made love everywhere.”
Brynn reached for the button on his jeans. “I’ve had sex everywhere. Not the same thing.”
She stopped her licking altogether as she watched him slide his jeans off. “Mmm. Black briefs. My favorites.”
He stretched, purposely calling attention to muscle definition and advanced state of arousal. Maybe he didn’t have a blow pop to lick, but he had his own seduction strategies.
Drawing out the anticipation, he walked over to the bed and looked down at her.
“So where’re we going to make love?” Kim suddenly developed an intense interest in the blow pop. She rolled the stick between her fingers and watched the pop spin. “I love you, you know.” The pop spun faster. “I want to be with you. Forever.”
“I know.” His voice was hoarse with all the emotions clogging his throat—love, gratitude for this woman, and fear that somehow she’d be taken from him. And he, who’d always known exactly the right words to make a woman wet and wanting, couldn’t say a thing. It was definitely a show-don’t-tell moment.
He lay down on the bed beside her and watched her eyes widen with understanding. “We’re going to make love here, in your bed.”
She nodded. It seemed they were both lost for words. He lifted his hips so he could pull down the bedspread and blanket. She did the same while still holding on to her pop. He wanted their lovemaking to take place on cool, white sheets.
“I bet you’re wondering why I left my briefs on.” He pulled her T-shirt loose from her jeans and slid it over her head. “No? Well, I’ll tell you anyway.” She lifted her shoulders from the bed so he could reach behind her and unfasten her bra. Then he dropped the bra on the floor beside the bed. “Whenever the compulsion hit, I’d have to start stripping. And I’d keep getting naked until the
woman told me to stop. If she didn’t say anything . . .” He shrugged.
Kim traced his erection with the tip of her index finger, and the sensation through the clingy material of his briefs almost brought him off the bed.
“The briefs are an affirmation that I’m in control this time.” Supporting himself on one elbow, he leaned over to touch each puckered nipple with his tongue. She drew in a harsh breath. “And when I take them off, it’s a promise that this is the woman I choose to make love with.”
Her smile was a bit shaky. “You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to that moment.” She ran her finger along the edge of the briefs, teasing as every once in a while her finger dipped beneath the cloth.
That moment was fast approaching, because no matter how stretchy the material was, things were getting tight in there. But first, he had to finish something.
Sitting up, he slid her jeans and panties off. Then he just stared. “You are more beautiful than any woman I’ve known in five centuries.”
“Uh-huh, and I know that’s a big fat lie.” But her smile was brilliant.
“Let me finish. There’s more.” He kissed the end of her nose. “You’re beautiful to me because you saw past the label of demon, because you chose me over duty, and because you’re one fine-looking babe.”
She slapped at him, and he fell back laughing. Now it was her turn to sit up.
“Touching you through your briefs was a great appetizer, but I’m ready for the main course now.” Making sure he was watching, she parted her lush, tempting lips and slid the pop between them. Then she sucked, slowly slipping the candy in and out of her mouth.
Jeez, pressure was building, and there wasn’t a shut-off valve in sight. He slipped his briefs off and couldn’t hold back a low groan of relief.
Kim’s sound of appreciation was a completely different animal. “As Asima would say, ‘Mmmrrrooww!’ ” She held the pop above him. “Behold my magic wand of impossible pleasures.” She waved it around for emphasis.
