Hell's Belle

by Marie Castle

  “Cate?” Jacq rubbed my arms.

  I looked into her concerned gray eyes. “I don’t know.” I suppressed the bitter urge to laugh. That answer was getting old with me. I was sure Jacq didn’t appreciate it any better. “Maybe a memory.” I looked at the darkmirror, seeing a hazy image of myself reflected back. I was pretty sure it had just saved my life. Twice. I let my fingers briefly caress its surface, wiping away dried blood as I said quietly, “Just a voice in the darkness.” I shook my head, remembering with a fresh flash of pain my wound. I tore my gaze from the mirrored woman’s face—for once, she didn’t seem to know any more than I—and took one last look at the headless body. It was against my nature, but this was one time when I would leave it to someone else to clean up. I was going to make sure my friends were okay and the last boy was purged of dark magic. Then we were going home.

  I grabbed Jacq’s hand and pulled her to the edge nearest our injured friends. There were no stairs, but I was gratified to see those garish thrones had been chucked off. I sat on the wooden planks and lowered myself down. I thought to land on my feet, but my auburn-haired phoenix was quicker. Jacq was there to catch my fall, and I was just weak enough to hope that it would always be so.

  * * *

  Day Nine

  The sun would be rising soon. It had been an exhausting night, and I longed to find a soft bed, climb between the cool covers, and snuggle with the warm woman currently sitting by my side. But Jacq and I would have to settle for an old throw and the den’s lumpy couch, as all the beds, other than the one in the Agency’s upstairs bedroom, were already taken. And while it was probably safe to sleep outside the wards tonight, I felt the need to be close to my family. My trip through the darkmirror had left me unsettled.

  After my examination of our friends, we’d transported Brittan and Rom, who were the most injured, home. I’d been surprised to be greeted upon entry by three crying newborns. But not as surprised as Grey, who’d rushed to see his mate and kits. The third baby, a little girl they’d named Alecé in honor of my Nana, had been a surprise to all.

  It had been too close to dawn for the vampires to travel far, so the lot of them, including Serena, tugging along a vampire hostage and extremely peeved JJ, had headed to Lady D’s. The patrons at the House of Delights wouldn’t blink an eye at a group of bloody, hungry vampires rushing in before daybreak. Serena had extended an invitation to the wolves, but Luke had declined, instead taking his pack-mates to his safe house. Luke was unlikely to forget his first and last visit to Lady D’s any time soon. Still, I’d made him promise to bring Becca by soon for an examination. I trusted Fera’s healers, but at some point Becca had become a friend and knowing she had been alone for hours with Nicodemus, Artus, and their raptors made me uneasy.

  We’d lodged Rom and Brit in my room for the night. Risa wouldn’t leave either, so we’d placed Brit in my bed and a man-sized Rom on a temporary cot against the wall. When I’d left, Risa had been pacing between the two. I’d kept my family from telling her what Brit had become. Considering the events immediately after Jacq and I had left the stage, it might be for the best.

  We bedded Grey and his newly expanded family down in the guest room, which I’d begun to think of as Jacq’s. Grey’s people had filled the other rooms. My Nana had confirmed that I indeed had a concussion. I was supposed to stay awake a bit longer to allow my heightened healing to somewhat repair the damage, but I wasn’t so sure I could remain awake.

  And Jacq wasn’t helping any by being so cuddly. The damn chivalrous woman had a body that was made to sprawl across.

  “Cate?”

  Jacq’s voice brought me back to myself. “Hmmm?” Eyes closed, I burrowed deeper into her side.

  “What does your great-grandmother have to do with you leaving your marriage?”

  “Shhh.” Remembering that I’d been explaining how my Grams saw the future in her dreams, I put my finger to my lips to forestall more questions. Or rather, that was my intention. I was already half-asleep against Jacq’s shoulder. When her warm breath tickled my skin, I realized with a start that I’d put my finger over her mouth. I popped one eye open, craned my head back to look at Jacq, and waggled my finger, making her eyes cross as it danced too close to her nose. “Patience. I’m getting there.”

  She snorted, making me smile. She’d been here long enough to know just how long it could take a Southerner to tell a story. I closed my eyes again, collecting my thoughts.

  “I’ve always had dreams, too. Not as clear as my Grams’, but I always knew they were possibilities for the future.” I lost my train of thought.

  “Cher?” Jacq’s hand over mine brought me back to the point. Well, almost back. The accent that came out on that single word was as sexy as hell and always pointed my mind in less practical directions. Jacq’s husky laugh in my ear reminded me of our strengthening mental connection.

  “Oh…yes…well, I’ve had these dreams.” I felt the belated flush in my cheeks. Sheesh, even my blush was tired. It was about a minute late. I cleared my throat. “Sometimes they’re of love. Sometimes other things. Something happened on the day of my wedding to Luke, and I ended up getting a longer, clearer look.”

  I felt her thumb softly trace my cheekbone, but my eyelids were too heavy to open. “The dreams were fuzzy, but they felt right in here. It was clear that Luke was meant for another.” I tried to move my hand over my heart to demonstrate, but my limbs were so heavy. I yawned, my jaw cracking. Or maybe that was the old couch protesting as our weight shifted.

  “I loved Luke…still love Luke…but it wasn’t…” My heart and breathing slowed. There was something important I needed to say. Or was that see? I remembered then. I needed her to understand…to not be hurt. I was too tired to search our mental bond…to share the feelings I had for a man who would always be part of my life but not my love. But I didn’t need the bond to know Jacq’s reaction. One look in her eyes would be enough.

  I could see everything in her eyes.

  If only I could open mine. My forehead stretched into a frown. Lips pressed gently to the creased skin. There was a brief tug then strong arms surrounded me. Already drifting, I rested my head on a soft pillow and heard Jacq say in her thickest accent yet, “Sleep, beauty, there will be other days to finish your stories…” much quieter, “and other dreams yet to live.”

  I’d never told her about how Luke had been there for me when my mother went missing. Or how, in my grief, I’d mistaken friendship and comfort for love and agreed to marriage. I’d wanted my mother at my wedding so badly that after the ceremony I’d tried a desperate spell. It didn’t matter that I’d tried to take the spell’s cost upon myself. I couldn’t tell her that. Or that I’d nearly died when it had backfired. At least I couldn’t tell her those things without some preparation.

  Jacq was already a bit protective. The woman would keep me in her sight twenty-four-seven if she thought I’d do that again, which I wouldn’t. I’d been fortunate to only end up in that coma, spending those six days dreaming. I’d seen countless futures and gained a great deal, including unlocking a level of magic that I now thought was tied to my demon-half. But I’d also lost a great deal. When I awoke, the dream of Luke and me had ended.

  Darryl had friends in high places. With his help, my marriage was annulled within a day. Luke had been by my side every sleeping moment. He hadn’t understood why I would undo what had just been done, and I’d felt like a shit for hurting him.

  As a child, I’d believed that there was someone for everyone, a soul amore. I wish I could say there’d also been a great love for me in my dreams. But I couldn’t remember my future, only a mixture of feelings from anticipation to dread. I’d walked away from Luke, knowing that there was a great love for him…but maybe not for me. Don’t make me something I’m not—I acted out of selfishness. That childhood belief, which I’d given up to be a practical adult, had been reaffirmed. There could also be a soul-deep love out there for me, and that was worth waiting foreve
r for.

  As I drifted to sleep in Jacq’s arms, I couldn’t help but wonder if the one thing that I had been too scared to look for, even in my own dreams, had actually found me instead. It was a simultaneously harrowing and thrilling thought.

  * * *

  “Mmmm…” The contented hum began in my chest and moved all the way to my heart. I was having that dream again, and it felt wonderful. I snuggled deeper into my pillow, hearing it grunt as I stretched my legs and arched my back. Pillows don’t grunt. This thought finally made it through to my sleep-fogged brain. Neither do they rise and fall.

  I slowly blinked open my eyes, squinting. The light was all wrong. My bedroom faced the setting sun, not this gloriously bright glare. That’s when I realized where I was lying. Or rather, on whom. We were on the den’s old couch. I dimly remembered sitting beside Jacq and talking after we’d returned from the battle. I winced in preemptive embarrassment. I’d been known to talk in my sleep. There was no telling what my conniving (yet wonderful) detective had wormed out of me. Then I remembered. We have a date tonight. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that we’d talked. But I would’ve liked to have been conscious for it.

  My pillow was still asleep. Somehow, Jacq had ended up lying across the couch with me spread over her. A throw covered our entwined legs. My head was resting on her unexpectedly comfortable breasts.

  Double wowza. I’d thought she was stunning before, but this sleep-tousled look was just…mmm…wow. Long, lush lashes resting against pale, rosy skin. Deep auburn hair mussed. Lips, full and slightly parted. I pushed up to get a better look. Jacq groaned again, and I fell back with a whimper. Her legs were spread, cradling my knee, which pressed high to her center. And our pants were missing. I had a moment to think, How had the sneaky woman managed that? Then our clothing was forgotten.

  My wandering eyes stopped on Jacq’s lips. Were they as soft as they looked? Would the breath from her mouth tingle as it flowed down my throat? Fire began to slide beneath my skin, and I locked it down tight. I needed to know if this would work…if we could work when it was only us. Just two women. No magic. No interfering, evil forces with bad fashion sense out to conquer the world.

  Again, I pressed upward, careful not to move my knee further into the heat between her thighs. Jacq’s eyes fluttered open, locking with mine before drifting to my lips as they drew inescapably closer. The moment before we touched seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. Then she leaned forward, closing the distance.

  A line from the Princess Bride passed through my head, “Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been two such…” Then I was no longer capable of thought. Her lips were softer than expected. They opened as she nipped my lower lip. I gasped in surprised pleasure, and she slid her tongue over and into. I drank her down, my body flaming, shifting closer.

  “Cate,” Jacq groaned into my mouth as we parted for breath.

  Breathing was overrated. I pressed her lips again. She tasted like an exotic spiced tea, and I was dying of thirst. I returned the favor, gently biting her lip, soothing the hurt with a sweep of my tongue.

  “Cate.” Jacq’s voice was sleep-roughened.

  Disoriented, I pulled away, gazing into silver, desire-filled eyes. A bolt of heat shot through my veins straight to my groin, and I shuddered.

  “Your grandmother,” Jacq said, “is in the next room, fixing breakfast. If you press that leg any higher, I won’t be held responsible when she finds us in here bare as the day we were born.” She rubbed a smooth leg against mine, accenting her words.

  I blinked. “But we’re not naked.” I admit, my mind wasn’t working quite yet.

  “But we will be.” Jacq again brought her mouth to mine.

  “Okay.” I was panting when we finally separated. From desire? From lack of breath? I was beyond caring. But the thought of my Nana finding us in our unmentionables sobered me. “I just have one, very important question. Then I’ll let you off this couch.”

  I put my finger to Jacq’s lips, stopping any comments. The gesture seemed familiar.

  She nipped my fingertip.

  “Cut that out.” I mock scowled. It felt so exquisitely comfortable to simply play. “Keep in mind that your answer determines where we go from here…” Her body tensed. I leaned down, whispering in her ear, “The one thing I want most to know in the whole world,” I let my breath blow in her ear, punctuating each following word by tugging on her delectable earlobe, “is…where…are…my…pants?”

  Laughing at Jacq’s bemused expression, I jumped from the couch, grabbed the cover, and ran. I had just enough time to admire the blue shorts with little green dragons plastered to her muscular body before I was out of the room and bounding up the stairs, two at a time. “Dibs on the shower!”

  We had plans to make, injured friends to check on, and a house full of people (including a set of baby tigers, whom I could hear making their presence known) to see on their way home. Later I would focus on what Wellsy and the others had been doing in that mine, how they had been possessed by Nicodemus and his brothers, and where the Kin’s embezzled funds were. But for now, my mind lingered on only one thought as I headed into my room, trying not to disturb Risa, or Brittan who was cradled in the other woman’s arms. It was the same thought that repeated in my head as the warm water from our guest shower cascaded over my skin. Boxers? Really?

  My elegant phoenix was full of surprises.

  Continue Reading for a Preview of the next in the Darkmirror Series:

  The Devil You Know…

  Preview of The Devil You Know

  All heads turned to watch the white limo slowly roll down Bourbon Street. All heads but mine. Considering the barricades had been raised hours ago, converting the street and surrounding avenues into touristy walkways, it was an unusual sight to see. But it was probably the small squadron of muscle-bound, gun-toting suits accompanying the vehicle that drew the eye. If they hadn’t been of the vampire variety, they could have been mistaken for Secret Service.

  But despite all the hoopla my eyes were elsewhere, watching Jacq return from changing into the new jeans I’d bought her. She gave me a smile, and my heart fluttered. Once it settled, I noted the way the light denim and white shirt fit her tall muscular frame. My mind wandered to another time and place, one where that body had been substantially less dressed. Suddenly, more than my heart was beating double-time. A gruff laugh brought me back to my senses. Embarrassed, I felt my cheeks flush.

  “Baby girl, that there’s your trouble,” Jupiter rumbled. I’d been telling him that the “trouble” he asked Luke to warn me about had been dealt with. He’d simply shaken his head. I’d started to ask why but was distracted by the return of the first person I’d ever wanted to play dress-up with. Fortunately, my brain cells focused long enough to realize that Jup had not been referring to Nicodemus and his group. Which begged the question: What was more “trouble” than a group of dark sorcerers running around killing, kidnapping, and trying to unleash a demon army to take over the world? Whatever it was, Jup was pointing right at it.

  I followed the line of Jupiter’s dark, knotted finger, and my heart dropped. I saw only Jacq.

  The trumpeter is never wrong. The phrase, known to everyone from witch to moon-howler, echoed in my head. No. I clenched my fists. It didn’t matter what Jup saw coming. We’d deal with it. Jacq moved into the street, stepping around a group of drunken sailors who’d stopped to watch the limo. But Jup’s finger didn’t follow. My lungs filled with sorely overdue air. Jup pointed to the limo and its entourage. Not that I didn’t think Detective Jacqueline Slone was trouble. While I’d yet to have the pleasure, I was of the personal opinion that she was of the more earth-shattering rather than earth-ending distinction.

  The limo crept closer, only yards behind my returning date. Jupiter propped his old silver trumpet on his knee and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a faded handkerchief. Though it was nearly midnight, the day’s heat was only now fading. My friend
turned his head toward the limo. “You best be getting on.” Jup picked up his dusty fedora and began to pocket the tips collected therein.

  There was no point in asking the trumpeter what he meant. He’d donned his I’m-just-an-old-man-ignore-me expression. “That act, Mr. Jones,” I shook my finger at him, “may fool the tourists, but one day, real soon, me and you are going to have a sit-down.”

  Jup just harrumphed at my half-playful, half-earnest scolding. He dusted his hat against his knee before setting it on his head. I looked from him to my auburn-haired love as she stepped near.

  The smile on my face slipped away.

  A stranger would’ve seen a calm, carefree woman-about-town. But Jacq’s normally gray eyes, so often dark with passion, were a much lighter gray-blue. And in them was a grieving woman preparing for some inevitable loss. Jacq was working hard to hide her emotions. But our mental bond had grown stronger over the past twenty-four hours, giving me a good idea of what she was feeling…if not precisely why.

  She stopped before me, looking at me with those cloudy eyes. With one hand taking hers and the other on her white belt buckle, I tugged her onto the sidewalk and out of the approaching limo’s path, not dropping her hand even as we stood together. I was still puzzling over her strange turn of emotions as the car pulled to the curb feet away. Disturbed by the magic rolling off the white stretch limo, my demon-half began to pace in its cage, pushing my fire to the surface.

  I let it rise.

  I couldn’t imagine what Jupiter considered worse than Nicodemus. But whatever it was, it had to be bad. Jacq moved subtly, angling her body so we could both watch the car, leaving a portion of her larger frame between myself and the vamp-suits now fanning out around us. I really hoped that this was not one of those moments where the stupid chivalrous woman got hurt on my account.