by Rose Wulf
Releasing a breath, Izzy wiped her palms on the sides of her jeans and turned to look for her friends just as Letty spoke up.
“Is … everything okay?”
“Izzy?” Britt asked, concern echoing in her voice. Despite her dislike of Darr, she still understood his purpose in Izzy’s life. And Izzy appreciated it.
But she didn’t want to dampen the night with Darr’s suspicions when he would certainly foil this latest attempt on her father’s life. So she smiled and moved more properly into the room. “Sorry. Everything’s … fine. There’s just a situation he has to deal with, so you guys are officially responsible for my well-being.” The last was said teasingly. Aside from Darr, Izzy herself was the only one responsible for her well-being and she knew it.
Chapter Three
Not particularly wanting to engage in any sort of conversation with Gerald Duchane, Darr opted to keep to the shadows and keep himself hidden.
The man in question was watching accident videos on YouTube and alternating between Facebook messages—one for business and one with a woman who wouldn’t likely ever agree to meet him. Darr didn’t feel like prying deeper into it. Duchane’s standard security team was all in place, the system armed and running. As usual Duchane’s warding was wrong, leaving his home exposed to preternatural forces like Darr himself. Unfortunately, just fixing the warding wouldn’t assure no demons slipped in. All it would take was an outdoor possession and a burst of dark energy.
Duchane’s phone rang and the man paused his video to put the smaller device to his ear. “Yes?”
Darr expanded his senses to hear the other side of the conversation, despite knowing he’d then have to smell the man who drank too much. As he’d expected, alcohol and cigar smoke assaulted his nose immediately. But it couldn’t be helped.
“Sir,” a controlled male voice Darr didn’t recognize said. “There’s a woman here for you.”
“Ah, excellent,” Duchane declared, promptly shutting the lid of his laptop. Not a word to either message recipient. “Let her in, please. And offer to park her car around back for her. She’ll be here a while.”
Darr shuddered at the implications. This explained why the stench in the room was several hours old. Duchane was expecting company. Company he wanted to impress. It was times like this he missed the Gerald Duchane who was heartbroken and withdrawn.
Minutes later, after Duchane had found a mirror and adjusted his shirt properly, a mid-forties woman waltzed in with too much makeup and a sloppily seductive smile. Darr almost wondered if Duchane had found her on some online prostitution site, the way she was dressed. And he decided that must be the answer as soon as the pair started groping each other.
Casting a glare to the floor at his feet, Darr grumbled, “I hate you.” He turned and muted his hearing as much as he dared, realizing they weren’t taking their affair upstairs just yet.
Fucking hell.
****
“So he’s checking on your dad, huh?” Letty summarized later that night, after Ainsley and Britt’s cousin had departed. The trio sat on the limited living area furniture, Letty and Izzy on the futon and Britt curled up in the comfy-looking armchair. Guest of honor got first pick of seating, after all.
“Yeah,” Izzy said with a nod. She tucked her legs beneath her butt and added lightly, “Or it’s Darr’s present to Britt.”
“Ha ha,” Britt returned with a roll of her eyes. “Seriously, Izzy, if you need to go, I’d totally understand.”
Izzy shook her head with an easy smile. “No, I’m not worried. Darr’s good at what he does.” And that was absolutely true. She doubted she’d even seen the extent of his strength. All she knew for sure was that no one lasted long against him.
“Is that a well-rounded truism?” Letty asked suggestively, eyebrows wiggling. “Exactly how good is he?”
Britt’s eyes went wide. “Izzy, have you slept with him? You have, I’m sure. My God, Izzy!” But her tone wasn’t entirely accusatory.
Izzy felt her face redden. “Girls! No!” Unfortunately. “No, we haven’t slept together. Not ever. Not even a kiss.” If she kept going she was sure the disappointment and frustration of that reality would be blatantly apparent.
“Seriously?” Letty asked. “How have you kept that up? I want to jump him after five minutes. Demon or not, that body is—”
“I get it!” Izzy said quickly, holding her hand up to cut off Letty’s words. She paused, then, and looked between her friends. She was alone—truly alone—for the first time in a long time. It wouldn’t last, but … why not take the opportunity? “Honestly,” she began on a sigh, “it’s not that I haven’t wanted to.”
Both Letty’s and Britt’s expressions became curious and they leaned forward. “Go on,” Letty urged.
Fighting her embarrassment, Izzy embraced her brief freedom. “There’s not much to ‘go on’ about,” she admitted. “And that’s the problem. I think I’ve been hot for him since high school, but of course I couldn’t do anything about it.” She took a breath and slumped into the back of the futon. “He’ll never touch me like that, though.”
“You definitely wanted him in high school,” Britt offered with a knowing grin.
“How could she not? All those hormones and his sexy body constantly around?” Letty snickered briefly before turning her gaze back to Izzy. “But what’s the hold up now? You’re an adult, he’s still smokin’. I don’t see the problem.”
Izzy frowned, tears stinging her eyes for the second time that night. The real reason was also the reason she never made a move herself. “It wouldn’t be right of me. With the Life Bond, he has to stay close and protect me. If he doesn’t want me like that, he’d probably fake it just to make life easier for a while.” She returned her gaze to her friends and quietly added, “I can’t force him into my bed like that.” It’d be wrong on every level.
Both women frowned.
“But how do you know he isn’t interested?” Letty pushed.
“Couldn’t your father release him from the bond?” Britt asked.
Izzy smiled a bit and shook her head. “Why would he be? I’m the face of his servitude, essentially. I’m amazed he doesn’t hate me—or he hides it insanely well. And no, a Life Bond is a permanent thing. Breakable only by someone’s death.”
“Like yours?”
All three jumped at the unfamiliar male voice coming from the back of the cabin. A male figure stepped into the yellow globe light, the sneer on his lips assuring Izzy he wasn’t there to make friends.
“How did you get in here?” Britt demanded, pushing to her feet.
“Britt,” Izzy called as she and Letty stood as well. Clearly Britt wasn’t attuned to identifying demons like Izzy was.
“The usual way,” the demon returned. He switched his sneering gaze to Izzy and added, “I don’t suppose you’re interested in releasing Darr from the ties that bind?”
Izzy swallowed. “If you kill me he’ll die, too.”
“Supposedly.” The demon rushed her without warning, knocking her off her feet and sending her friends diving out of the way.
Izzy crashed over the futon and into a wall, her body aching from the impact. And he’d only hit her with his hand. If he summoned a dark energy wave for her she’d be a goner.
“Darr.”
Sometime in the first couple of years, Darr had taught her a short, wordless spell she could use to call for him when he wasn’t already beside her. He said it sent a jolt through him, alerting his senses to her situation and pulling him to her practically without his consent. She hated using it, but she couldn’t let this demon kill her. And he’d surely go for her friends next if he succeeded in killing her. She couldn’t let that happen, either.
“Get up,” the demon commanded. An invisible hand wrapped around her throat and hauled her mercilessly off the floor. She could barely dig her bare toes into the wood floor. The demon smirked and cocked his head. “Little Izzy Duchane,” he taunted, rolling his extended wrist sl
ightly. The force holding her throat rolled to match, straining the side of her neck. “Goodby—”
A strong arm locked around the demon’s own throat and threw him bodily backward. The demon rolled several times before his spine met with a wrought iron bedpost.
Darr stalked up to him, his shoulders visibly tight beneath his shirt, fists clenched at his sides. “You dare,” he growled, his deep voice full of venom and promises of pain.
“W-wait!” the demon begged, pushing to his knees and struggling to stand.
Darr yanked him to his feet and locked a hand around his neck. Izzy couldn’t hear what he said next, but she didn’t need to. A cold chill swept through the room, the overhead lights flickered, and the demon let out a gurgled scream Izzy could barely hear. Darr released the corpse a moment before it was consumed in black hellfire.
The chill faded. The lighting stabilized.
Izzy pushed herself to her knees, realizing her ankle had twisted when her attacker’s concentration had snapped and she’d fallen. But that was the least of her pains. She’d crashed into a metal bar and tumbled into a solid wooden wall, cracking her head and at least one of her shoulders. He made it…
“Izzy,” Darr called gently, dropping to a knee in front of her as his hands landed on her shoulders. His touch was feather light as he discerned her injuries. “I’m sorry.”
The guilt that choked his voice squeezed her heart.
“I’m okay,” she insisted. “Just some new bruises. No bikini for me tomorrow.”
Darr frowned deeply. He clearly wasn’t appreciative of her attempted humor. “I’m going to pick you up,” he warned. A heartbeat after she nodded her understanding, he’d swept her into his arms. The movement sent some new jolts of pain through her, but being settled and cradled against his strong, broad chest countered that pain with encompassing warmth.
Izzy groaned faintly and let her head land on his shoulder as he stood.
“Is she okay?” Britt asked quietly from somewhere behind Darr.
“She will be.”
“What about … other demons?” Letty asked hesitantly. “Will there be more?”
“Unlikely,” Darr replied as he moved toward Izzy’s claimed bed. He stepped right over the new scorch mark on the floor where the other demon had died. He laid her down carefully before lifting his gaze to the two watching women. “Could you give us privacy?” He worded it like a request, but Izzy knew better. The last time she’d been injured—again in his brief absence, no less—he’d nearly blown a hole in her roof. And her then-boyfriend had wasted no time ending things, although she’d been kind of relieved about that part.
“Of course,” Britt said, catching Letty’s elbow. “Come on, we’ll crash with Ainsley tonight.”
Letty nodded and after grabbing a change of clothes added, “Take care of her.”
As if that needed to be said. If there was one thing Izzy had learned over the years, it was that Darr would always be there for her.
After the door closed behind her friends Darr moved and sat on the edge of the mattress at her side. He brushed some straggling orange-red wisps from her face and said, “Your shoulder is dislocated. I can pop it back into place, but it’ll hurt.”
Izzy cringed and her head rallied against her for it. Releasing a heavy breath, she said, “Okay, let’s get it over with. Then can you get the Aleve from my bag? I hit my head, too.”
Darr ran his hand over her head with a frown. Silence ticked between them until he finally said, “Your head should be fine, it’s just sore.”
He helped Izzy to a sitting position, hovered his hands over her shoulder, and told her to be sure not to bite her tongue. She locked her jaw shut, closed her eyes, and did her best not to scream as searing pain shot through her from her shoulder. It tore at her, lighting her senses on fire for a minute before fading rapidly. “Ah.” She gasped when she was sure she wouldn’t scream. “Wow, that hurt.”
“Does it feel better?” Darr asked, already kneeling before her travel bag.
Izzy hesitated and cautiously rolled her shoulder. It was sore, but it responded immediately, and it didn’t hurt nearly as bad. “Yes, thank you,” she assured him.
Darr handed her the pills she’d requested and quickly fetched her some water to take them with before sitting again beside her on the bed. “I’m sorry, Izzy. I should have been here.”
She opened her mouth to tell him to shove the guilt somewhere he’d never find it again when her brain re-engaged. “My dad! Is he all right?”
It was hard to miss Darr’s shudder of horror. And it took a lot for her beloved macho demon to shudder for any reason. “That depends. He may be working toward a heart attack, but I refuse to intervene in that.”
Izzy knitted her brows. “What?”
Darr shook his head and reached out, resting his hand gingerly over the sore on head. “It’s nothing. Nothing suspicious was happening, unless you count his latest companion’s attraction to him. You should lie back down.”
Izzy did her best not to swoon at the touch and knew he was right. She usually had better control than that. “Ew. Yeah, never mind.”
His lips twitched and hers did the same. She let him help her ease down to the pillow and did her best to help him unfold the covers for her. But as he pulled them over her, something stumbled in her chest. She caught his wrist when it was near enough and he stilled immediately.
“Darr,” she whispered, locking her gaze with his. “Please stay with me tonight.”
He shifted her hold on him until he had cupped her hand between his. “I’ll be right beside you.”
Izzy smiled and scooted as best she could to one side. “Then get comfy.” Oh yeah, your head’s not that bad, dummy. He’ll see right through this. But that didn’t necessarily mean he’d decline.
Darr’s eyes flicked to the spot she’d made before returning to hers. He said nothing for a long second, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he replied, “If that’s what you want.” Izzy watched as he toed off his boots and pulled back the comforter again in order to slide beneath. And she had the silliest realization that his feet probably hung off the bed with how tall he was.
He slipped his arm beneath her neck and gently assured her it was okay to roll into him, which she wasted no time in doing. With her head tucked beneath his jaw and her ear over his heart, Izzy sighed. His scent invaded her nostrils and his steady heartbeat soothed her rattled nerves. Maybe he’d never love her, or even want her, but at least he was good to her. At least she had a few scattered moments like this she could treasure.
“‘Night, Darr,” she murmured as her consciousness drifted.
He gave her injured shoulder a gentle squeeze and his voice trailed right down her spine, warming her in ways she’d never admit to. “Goodnight, Izzy.”
****
Morning had broken, sunlight once again chasing the darkness away, reminiscent of a larger conflict Darr was glad to stay out of. He was sure it was still cold outside, given their elevation, but he couldn’t actually feel the chill. His entire body was burning thanks to the sleeping woman in his arms. What the hell had he been thinking, staying in bed with her all night?
He’d been thinking he’d nearly failed her, that’s what.
He’d been halfway around the country, practically watching Gerald Duchane getting more action than he himself had had in decades. It was horrifying and humiliating all at the same time. And then Izzy’s voice had exploded in his head, the summoning trick he’d taught her so long ago coming into play. He hadn’t wasted an extra moment to double-check Gerald’s safety before transporting himself to her, and in those precious moments she’d been injured.
If he could kill himself without leaving her unprotected, he’d be sorely tempted to do it.
But his angry thoughts vanished when Izzy’s leg slid between his, her thigh and stomach cradling his erection. Shit. And she was waking up, too.
Izzy moaned, the sound full of sleep and far too sexy f
or his own good. A moment later she’d rolled properly into his chest and was blinking her beautiful brown eyes up at him drowsily. It was only then that Darr realized he’d wound both of his arms around her at some point in the night. Dammit.
“Morning,” Izzy said with a small, tempting smile. “Thank you … for staying with me.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” he said, hoping she was too asleep to notice the difference in his voice. Damn did he want her. Having her voluptuous body pressed against him was delicious torture.
Izzy frowned and adjusted her arms until she could frame his face in her palms. “I do,” she insisted.
Darr pulled in a breath and did his best to will her to back off. But his heart wasn’t in it this morning and when her fingers stretched to touch his hair, he snapped. His arms tightened around her and he crushed his lips to hers hungrily.
Izzy moaned against his lips and buried her hands in his hair as she gave into his kiss, even opening her lips for him before he could demand entrance. He took full advantage of the offering and swept his tongue inside, finding she tasted every bit as sweet and enticing as he’d imagined. He tangled one hand in her hair as the other slid down to cup her ass. With one little tug she was rocking against him and sliding her tongue along his simultaneously. The reciprocated desire in her kiss surprised him and made it impossible to pull away.
Darr growled into her kiss, grabbing her top thigh and pulling it over his hip as he rolled her beneath him.
Izzy gasped when he released her lips in order to dip his head and trail kisses down her throat. She responded by curling her arms around his back, holding on and continuing to arch her hips into his rhythmically. Damned woman was going to have him coming in his pants if she kept that up.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, whichever the case was—that was when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of Izzy’s temporary roommates approaching the cabin.
With a growl of frustration Darr tore his lips from Izzy’s neck and rolled off her, leaving his body instantly cold and his dick aching.
Still catching her breath, Izzy rolled onto her side to look at him. “Darr?”
