by Cynthia Eden
“It’s Adam Cross.”
“Oh. Well, Adam, asshole, you just messed up my beauty sleep, so you’d better be calling to say that a certain job is done and a lovely muse is about to inspire the ever-living hell out of—”
“The job isn’t done,” Adam cut through Luke’s words. Lord of the Dark. When the guy had talked about Sabrina, something fierce and twisted had flared inside of Adam. Something angry. Something wild.
Oh, wait. Is this shit jealousy? It had been a very long time since he’d tangled with that particular emotion. He’d almost forgotten what it felt like. “We have a problem.”
Luke’s sigh drifted to him. “Didn’t I send you there to fix the little muse’s problem?”
“A human is being targeted—a human female. She’s been brought into the crossfire.” His hand tightened around the phone. “Sabrina’s ex-lover thought it would be fun to use his knife on her, and now the lady is fighting for her life in the ICU.”
Silence.
“Sabrina’s ex—a real dick named Eric Foster—is using the human against Sabrina. He’s blackmailing Sabrina with the woman. The jerk contacted Sabrina tonight and said if she didn’t come to him, then he’d finish what he started on Margaret Lacy.” He’d gotten the full story from Sabrina during their flight to the hospital. The bastard called on my damn phone line.
“Margaret Lacy,” Luke repeated. “I’m guessing that’s the human’s name?”
“Yes. And she needs help.”
Luke laughed. “Since when am I in the business of helping humans? Oh, right, since never. You must have me confused with my brother, Leo. I understand your confusion, given that we’re twins and all, but let me clarify things for you. Humans are his deal. The dark paranormals?” Luke’s voice hardened. “They are mine.” Possession was thick in his voice. “So what I want you to do is protect the muse.”
“The muse,” Adam stressed the title, “is going to sacrifice herself in order to protect the human. She jumped off the damn penthouse balcony today because she was so desperate to save the other woman.”
“Then it’s fortunate that a gargoyle was there to catch her, am I right?”
Smug asshole. What if I hadn’t been there?
Another sigh drifted from Luke. “Oh, very well. If this is such a big deal, then I’ll contact Leo and get him to show up at the hospital. He can handle the human.” A pause. “So…which hospital is it again?”
“Our Lady of Grace.” His voice was flat and brittle. “Just so you know, when I see your brother, I will be punching his face in.”
More laughter came from Luke, only this time, the laughter held real humor. “I’d almost forgotten. You did have a bit of an incident with my brother, didn’t you? I’m guessing you two still have a bit of bad blood between you?”
An incident? “He fucking tore off my wings and let me sink to the bottom of the ocean.” That counted as more than an “incident” in Adam’s mind.
“Then I guess it’s only fair that you take your turn punching his face. Enjoy yourself,” Luke murmured. “I know if I had the chance to hit him, I’d sure have myself one hell of a good time.” Another small pause. “He’ll be there in five minutes.”
Adam smashed the phone in his hand, turning it into dust. Not like he could leave it behind. The Lord of the Dark wouldn’t exactly like it if his telephone number wound up in the hands of a human.
“Adam?” Sabrina was steps away, frowning at him. “Is everything okay?”
He shook the dust from his hands. “I called Luke. Protection is coming for your human.”
Her shoulders seemed to relax. “That’s good. She’s got a lot of recovering to do, and as she is now, Margaret Lacy is a sitting duck for anyone who might want to hurt her.” She crept closer to Adam. “Who is Luke sending for her?”
“Leo.” He couldn’t keep the disgust from his voice.
Her eyes widened. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“I don’t kid.”
She raked a hand through her heavy mane of hair. “Yes, I noticed that.” Her hand fell back to her side. “Leo. Jeez, that guy and I don’t exactly have the best history.”
Neither do we.
“But he will take care of the human.” Sabrina nodded briskly. “Leo may have his faults—a whole freaking truckload of them—but he does try to protect humans.”
There was another problem with Leo’s involvement in this mess, a problem the Sabrina didn’t know about. When she’d been held and tortured by Simon Lorne, Leo knew that Adam had been one of the guards at Simon’s makeshift paranormal prison. He knew Adam had been part of the force that kept Sabrina captive.
I didn’t have a choice. There was nothing I could do. He’d been under a spell—hell, for too many centuries, he’d been spellbound. Would Sabrina understand that? Would she realize that he’d been a prisoner, too, just in a different way? He hadn’t wanted to follow Simon’s orders…there’d been no fucking choice.
When she learned about what he’d done, would she still look at him with desire and hope in her eyes? Or would he see disgust and fear in her gaze? Dammit. Adam had hoped to hide this particular truth from her. As far as he’d been concerned, she’d never needed to know about his past with Simon.
That knowledge will just hurt her and I don’t want her hurt.
But if Leo was incoming…fuck…Maybe Adam should tell her now, while there was still time. It will be better if that part of my past comes from me…and not from him. “Before Leo gets here, there’s something you should know…”
A whoosh of air filled the corridor and then Leo was just…there. Tall and dark, his face hard, his eyes gleaming. An exact duplicate of Luke, only Leo didn’t rule the dark paranormal. This twin was the Lord of the Light.
He was also the biggest asshole in the world.
“It’s too late,” Leo announced dramatically as he lifted his hands into the air. “Here I am.” His gaze swept over Adam. “I think I remember you.” His lips pursed as he studied Adam. “Shouldn’t you be at the bottom of an ocean somewhere?”
Adam locked his back teeth and a rumbling growl vibrated in his throat.
“And you…” Leo’s attention shifted to Sabrina. “Doing your usual routine? Driving humans mad? Causing chaos? Destroying lives?”
“Oh, Leo, always a nightmare to see you.” But there was something in her tone…And something in the way Leo was staring at her.
There was history there. A lot of it. Adam studied them carefully.
“You still pissed because of what my cousin predicted?” Sabrina crossed her arms over her chest. “Even you can’t change fate, Leo.”
His eyes narrowed. “I make my own fate.” The tension in that narrow corridor thickened as Leo’s expression tightened with what appeared to be disgust. “You’re the one with the fucked up choices, Sabrina. Just look at your new choice of companion.” One hand waved toward Adam. “After what he did, I can’t believe you even want him near—”
Sonofabitch. Leo needed to stop talking. He also still deserved to have his face punched in so…Adam attacked. He rushed forward and drove his fist right to the side of Leo’s face. Adam might not be currently covered in stone, but he still had plenty of paranormal strength. When Adam hit him, Leo’s head whipped to the side. Then Adam hit him again and again. He drew his hand back for another hit, and that was when he realized…
Leo wasn’t fighting back. He also wasn’t defending himself.
Why the hell not?
Sabrina grabbed Adam’s arm. “Enough.” Her voice was flat as she quickly scanned the corridor, obviously searching for humans. Then she exhaled. “Look, I get it, okay?” She positioned her body right in front of Adam. Right between him and Leo. “You think I don’t have the urge to pummel him, too? But this isn’t the place, and we need him to help the human.” Her hand was still around Adam’s arm. “No more punching. Not now, anyway.”
Adam nodded grimly. Not now. He wouldn’t make any promises about later.
/> Sabrina’s hand fell away from Adam as she turned to face Leo. “Can I count on you to help Margaret Lacy? Eric hurt her. Badly. She’s completely vulnerable. She’s a human, one of yours—”
Leo straightened. “No one will touch her. I guarantee you,” he said, his voice quiet and oddly subdued all of a sudden. Maybe the punches made him subdued. “She will be safe.”
“Thank you.” Sabrina’s body was still tight with tension. “What will I owe you for this favor?”
“You’re not the one who will owe me.” Leo’s gaze rose to meet Adam’s. “My brother isn’t the only one who knows how to make a deal.” He lifted one dark brown. “What do you say, gargoyle?”
Adam inclined his head, but he was already dreading repayment of this particular favor.
“You two should get out of here,” Leo muttered as he rubbed at his jaw. “Dawn is coming. Soon the streets will be full of humans.”
“Right.” Sabrina reached back and grabbed Adam’s hand. “Margaret Lacy is in the ICU, she’s—”
“I’ll find her,” Leo cut in, waving vaguely in the air. “Go.”
She turned away from him, and keeping her hold on Adam, Sabrina hurried down the narrow corridor.
Adam spared one last look for the Lord of the Light. Adam had stopped Leo before the guy spoke too much and revealed the truth about Adam’s past with Simon Lorne. This time, Leo had been stopped. What about next time?
Guess I’ll just have to keep punching the sonofabitch.
***
Raymond groaned as he opened his eyes. His whole face hurt. His face and his head. And he was damn cold. He stood up and realized why he was cold.
He was fucking naked. Someone had stolen his clothes. Well, damn. He was buck naked, on a hospital roof. The sun was starting to rise.
He had shit for luck.
Raymond surged toward the nearby door. He grabbed the knob and turned, but nothing happened. Nothing freaking happened because the door was locked.
Shit. For. Luck. Raymond didn’t see his weapon. It was long gone, along with his clothes. And he was stranded on the damn roof.
Sabrina had done this. Sabrina and the freak of a lover that she had. He would make them pay. He’d enjoy it while Eric took his time killing—
“You tell Eric to fuck himself.” Sabrina’s voice whispered through his head. “You start your business. Not follow his orders. You use your strength and you help people. You don’t hurt them. You don’t watch, hating it, while the blood flows.”
Raymond looked down at his hands. There was so much blood on them.
“Find your own path.”
His shoulders straightened. Maybe he’d do just fucking that.
Chapter Eight
“We’re going back to the penthouse?” Sabrina asked, the worry obvious in her voice. “Is that the best plan? What if Eric’s men are still lurking around there? What if they’ve managed to get inside? What if they are waiting for us? We already know he wants to kill you—”
“Let him try.” Adam’s hands tightened around the steering wheel. It was a car that he had “borrowed” from the hospital. One that belonged to the dumbass he’d left naked on the roof. In addition to taking the clothing that fellow had been wearing, Adam had also taken his gun, his wallet, and the man’s car keys.
Raymond Banner would have to find another way home from the hospital.
“You aren’t made of stone.” Sabrina gave a frustrated hmmm as if realizing what she just said. “I mean, you aren’t made of stone at this particular moment in time. You’re vulnerable now.”
“Am I?” He could see Luke’s building up ahead. “Somebody did a good clean-up job.” The wrecked SUVs were gone. Traffic drifted normally on the road. There was no sign of Eric’s team. “And don’t worry, no one is waiting inside the building.” He drove forward and turned into the parking garage.
“How can you be so sure of that?”
“Because Luke locked this place down. He’s got plenty of protection spells in place. No humans can get inside.”
She seemed to mull that over for a moment. “No humans, but that means paranormals can enter the building. What if Eric is using a paranormal, what if he—”
Adam had gotten past the parking garage’s security. “The place is set so that only certain paranormals may enter. I’m one of those paranormals. You’re another.” Others had access, too, like Luke and a few of the Lord of the Dark’s chosen inner circle. But that was it. “Luke set this place up to be a safe house for you. If you hadn’t left, you never would’ve been in danger.”
He turned off the car.
“If I hadn’t left,” Sabrina told him curtly, “Margaret Lacy would be dead. You saved her before. This time, it was my turn.” Then she exited the car, slammed the door with some extra force, and marched toward the waiting elevator.
Taking his time, he followed her inside. Adam didn’t have the key card on him, so he typed in the sequence code that would let him access the top floor.
A moment later, the elevator was rising.
“You locked me in.” Her voice was accusing.
Adam turned to face her.
“I couldn’t use the elevator. I couldn’t use the stairs…”
Adam took a step toward her. Then another. He saw her tense as he closed in. He lifted his arms and pressed his palms flat against the mirrored wall behind her head. “You weren’t supposed to leave.” That part still pissed him off. “You were supposed to stay inside where you were safe. You weren’t supposed to jump from the top floor, screaming my name.”
She licked her lips. Those utterly delectable lips. “I screamed your name…”
Sweetheart, you’ll be doing that again. But under an entirely different set of circumstances.
“I screamed your name…because I knew you’d catch me.”
He blinked. “Say that again.”
She gave him a slow smile. Sexy as fuck. Then she leaned up on her tip toes, bringing that red bow mouth of hers closer to his. “I knew that you’d catch me.”
“That’s a fucking lot of trust to put in a man.”
She rolled her shoulders in a little shrug. “You had wings. I was counting on you to use them.”
It struck him then—“You aren’t afraid of me. Not even a little bit.”
The elevator was rising fast.
“Not even a little bit,” she agreed. Her lashes lowered. She seemed to be staring at his mouth. “So when are you going to stop talking and actually kiss me? A girl can only wait so long…”
His mouth took hers. There wasn’t any kind of controlled skill in his kiss. No seduction. No finesse. He just pretty much attacked her like a starving man. Kissed her too hard. Too rough. Too wild.
But her hands curled around his shoulders and her nails sank into his skin, sliding past the fabric of those stolen scrubs. She pushed her body against his, and he could feel the warmth of her breasts, the tightness of her nipples.
Her mouth was just as wild on his. Her kiss just as hungry.
She’s not afraid of me. She wants me.
And he’d warned her what would happen if they kissed again.
We both want this. We need this. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open behind him. Adam considered not moving at all. He could rip off her clothes. Could shove his garments out of the way. He could take her right there, in that elevator, against the wall.
The pleasure would hit them in moments and—
There’s a security camera in the elevator.
Fuck. He pulled his mouth away from hers. His breath heaved out. He stared down at her. Her lips were swollen from his kiss. Her mouth wet. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes gleamed.
He couldn’t look away.
“Why did you stop?”
He could still taste her.
“Adam? Why did you stop?”
He picked her up and she gave a little gasp. He carried her carefully, holding her close, and she looped an arm around the back of his neck. He t
ook her to the bedroom. His bedroom. The bedroom they’d shared the night before. He lowered her onto the floor until her feet touched the lush carpeting, and then, with her standing in front of him, he stripped her.
And he tore some of the clothing in the process. Want her too badly. Can’t hold back.
But…would she be able to handle him, all of him? Since he’d stopped being a human and become a gargoyle, his sexual needs had changed. They’d turned darker, deeper. He liked sex rough, and he liked it wild. He liked—
“Like what you see?”
She was totally naked before him. And every inch of her…utter perfection. Curved hips. Full breasts. Legs that seemed endless.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Sabrina’s hand trailed down his body, no shyness in her at all, as she stroked right to his crotch. His dick jerked at her touch. He could feel her touch so well through the thin scrubs.
But I still want these damn things gone.
“Skin to skin is better,” Sabrina said, as if reading his mind. “Don’t you think?”
Hell, yes.
He ditched his clothes and then he tumbled her back onto the bed. She gave a little laugh, but then he was kissing her and there was no more laughter. Not from either of them. The kisses were rough and deep, and he was touching her, stroking every single inch of her body. She felt like silk beneath his hands. Hot silk. He kissed his way down her neck, down to her breasts. He licked her nipples. He sucked. He had her moaning and arching beneath him.
His hips were cradled between her spread legs. His full cock shoved toward her sex. She was wet, so warm, and he knew that when he sank into her, she’d feel like heaven.
But…
Get her ready. Get her there first.
His hand slid between their bodies. He stroked her, working on her clit, then he drove two fingers inside of her.
Sabrina’s nails raked over his back. A hard, long scratch.
The beast he’d chained inside let out a deep growl.
I like her.
“Screw the foreplay,” Sabrina gasped. “I want you inside of me…now.”
His head lifted.
