by Mandi Casey
“I’ll tell you what she did. The Selected caught me off guard, that is all. She is unable to best me in a real fight. I do not believe she is capable of repeating the power shove.”
I danced in place, celebrating my newfound ability. “Kasdeya, you’re not going to take away my just having kicked your fire-demon butt all over my store away from me. Oh, no, Missy, that really did just happen.”
Blake eyed us both, then bared his teeth toward Kasdeya. “If you used your fire on the Selected, demon, I will kill you right now. Goddess of the Moon, so help me.”
Blake sounded like he meant what he said.
Kasdeya looked between us, as if evaluating our body language toward each other. I didn’t like it because the demon had a way with truths. She also didn’t know what it meant to keep her opinions to herself and I was pretty sure she’d never heard of the girl code.
She dismissed Blake’s open threat. “Don’t worry yourself, Wolfy. Our girl was just practicing her new power on me.” With an ounce of incredulity for good measure, she added, “Like I said, she caught me off guard.”
I scoffed at her denial. I had a chance of survival if we ever got into a real fight. Since using what she’d called a ‘power shove’ on her, we were both aware of that fun fact. She didn’t like it one bit, but I loved the idea of being able to protect myself. In truth, my wielding of the new Selected power wasn’t a perfect art. I needed practice, but I’d allowed the power to come out by channeling the fury built inside of me at the thought of Morning Sun burning to the ground.
I’d write it down in Grandma’s journal for the next Selected. The demon was wrong, my humanity and emotions were not weaknesses; they were what fueled my Selected powers. If I became skilled at using my feelings to let the power flow through me, I may just become a strong Selected like Aunt Judith had predicted.
Blake maneuvered himself between Kasdeya and me. The gesture melted my cold disposition toward him. The zipper to his jeans bulged outward. I couldn’t help but caress him with my heated stare.
“Sydney, is that true, or was the demon provoking you?” he asked.
I forced myself to the couch. Using power required energy consumption. I was beat. I grabbed a pillow to put it under my head while resting my feet on the other cushion. Blake blurred over to stand in front of me, still attempting to separate me from the fire demon.
Pushing at his thigh to move him from blocking my view, I stopped short at the heat he was giving off.
“Blake, we were just practicing. Kas”—she glowered at my having used the nickname Rage had referred to her earlier—“I’d like to do some more practicing, but not for a while. I may have kicked your demon butt all over my store, but now I’m tired.” Smiling, I closed my eyes.
“Step aside, wolf. There’s other business we need to tend to.” With a sneer, Kasdeya said, “It doesn’t involve you.” She shoved Blake out of her way so she could slump onto the remaining empty cushion of the couch next to me.
I peered at Blake. “Not that I mind, but was there a reason you came by?”
His amber-bronzed eyes calmed when he saw the demon had no intention of harming me. “Sydney, if you wanted to train, all you had to do was ask.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Blake, we didn’t have a session planned so stop being so pissed off.”
With his palm up in the air in a show of disbelief, Blake said, “Are you telling me you trust the demon? What, are you two like best buddies now?”
Kasdeya and I turned to look at one another. She wore no expression hinting at how she felt about our newfound relationship, whatever it was.
I shrugged. “Yep, I do trust her.” I looked squarely into his eyes. “Blake, I’m friends with a demon, a werewolf, and a vampire.”
Batting my eyelashes, I gave him the most innocent face I could muster. Kasdeya leaned her head toward mine while attempting to mimic my gesture. Blake’s face reflected his struggle to believe what he was seeing right before his eyes.
“I give up. Sydney, I’ll see you later when Michael’s ready with your sister.” He nodded to Kasdeya. “Demon, the less I see of you the better.”
Kasdeya gave Blake a playful wave as he provided us a backside view. His jeans did a wonderful job in accentuating his gluteus muscles.
I swatted at Kas’ arm as she made a gesture to fake squish his cheeks with her hands. I didn’t need Blake to have any more reason to scold us further. I still had the same seductive response to his presence as I did to Daire, not to mention Rage. Until I had the curse fixed, I’d rather spend time with those that could help keep my desire at bay. Blake was not one of those people.
Blake turned at the door. “Until tonight, Selected.”
After Blake left, Kasdeya jumped off the couch to perform a halfway decent reenactment of Blake strutting to the front door, making his declarative statement using my title, then being obnoxious by letting the door slam shut behind him.
“Oh my.” I grabbed my sore stomach muscles as I laughed into the pillow my head was resting on. “I’m so glad Blake didn’t see you do that. Great job, by the way. You captured his mini mantrum with great precision, but he so would have called you out for a fight if he saw you.”
Kasdeya’s face brightened from the praise. The room fell silent, becoming awkward with neither of us knowing what to say next.
“Sydney, I don’t get what’s going on between you and the wolf. He loves you. He declares the pitiful emotion so much he’s downright annoying about it. So what gives? I know he wants to make you his life-mate. From your reaction the second he walked through the door, I’d say you two would be a suited match. Why don’t you take him as yours?”
I went to the register to busy my hands. My body was heating up from Blake’s presence. It was the first time the results of the curse had lasted after the male triggering my reaction left the area.
Closing the register’s drawer, I tucked the money from the day’s sales into the bank bag, ready for deposit. “You don’t get it, Kas, because you aren’t me. Being the Selected has more to do with than taking what I want. If I only cared what I wanted, I’d be the cause of a lot of people’s problems. That’s not the purpose of the Selected.”
I carried my bags past her while gesturing her toward the door.
“Are you closing early?” The demon didn’t do well with change, it seemed. She wore quite a disappointed expression.
“Yep, I’m calling it a day. I need a cold shower. If you figure out how to get rid of this curse, call me immediately. Otherwise, I’m going home.” Opening the front door, I waited for the demon to exit through it.
“Sydney, I promise to help you with this. I know Rage has not left the city, I can feel him. He’s planning something. He said he wanted me to go to the Underworld with him, something about another deal with the Dark Lord, whatever that meant. My guess is something has gone wrong. Maybe Rage made another bunk deal with a higher demon he can’t deal with himself. He may even have the narcissistic perception that if he can get me back I’ll once again solve all of his problems. He believes he’s so irresistible I’d drop everything here and go with him. It seems he’ll not leave until he has what he wants.”
“You’re right, I expect him to come after you, Kas. I don’t think he’ll stop until either he’s dead, or he has you slung over his shoulder going back with him. What are you going to do?”
The silver patterns began to swim over her skin with the mention of her ex-lover. “I’m going to complete my contract to the king. I’m going to help you with the curse Rage had put on you that he obviously meant for me. I’m going to find a way to send Rage back to the Underworld, and then I’m going to block him from entering this realm ever again.”
Her red eyes blazed brighter with the thought of sending Rage back to where he’d come from. “Good, sounds productive
. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”
The demon laughed. “Selected, you’re still allowing human emotion to interfere in your decision making, but I appreciate the gesture. I, too, will help you in quelling the curse.” She shrugged. “It’s the least I can do, since it’s because of me you were cursed in the first place.”
I patted her on the back. “I don’t hold it against you. Yet. I can’t say how I’ll feel if I have to deal with the curse too much longer, though.”
We both got a laugh from that. She held out her hand, her expression turning serious. “Selected, I would like to make our alliance official.”
Making deals with a demon didn’t sound like the best of ideas to me. “What do you mean by alliance?”
Kasdeya’s silver gleamed brighter along her skin, telling me I’d upset her by not taking her hand the moment she offered it. “I guess you’re smart to ask, Selected. What I’m offering is a friendship, that is all. I want someone I can trust.”
Teasing her, I said, “Are you saying you want to be my friend?”
Appearing uncomfortable, the demon sighed in annoyance. “Yes, I don’t know why you insist on making such a big deal out of it. If it’s too much to ask, then forget it.”
I laughed as Kas continued to scowl. “We’ll make great friends. That is, if you can keep your ex-boyfriends from cursing me.”
The silver patterns slowed as her agitation lessoned. “I’ll do my best, Sydney.”
Back at home, Aunt Judith was nowhere to be found so I jumped into the shower. Cold water pelted my skin but didn’t lesson the heat burning through me.
Toweling off, I glanced in the mirror and my breath caught in my throat.
Daire stood behind me.
Whipping around, I glared at him while covering myself with the fluffy purple towel. “What are you doing here?”
Daire smiled while his eyes slid down my body. “I’m here to service you, my lady.” Lifting his finger, he tugged at the top of my towel.
I held the material firm against my body. “No, you’re not.” I went into my bedroom with him close on my heels. Grabbing jeans and a sweatshirt, I said, “Wait here.”
I headed for the bathroom to get dressed. I realized the heat burning inside of me was because Daire was near. How long had he been in the bathroom?
Back in my room, Daire crossed his legs as he stretched out on my bed. He had opened his long-sleeved shirt to expose well-defined chest muscles. Groaning, I threw the wet towel at him.
He caught it with one hand. In a flash of movement he stood in front of me with the towel wrapped around me, crushing the front of my body against him.
The heat of his breath sent tingles down my stomach.
“I’ve news about the curse set upon you.”
For the first time in a long time, I felt a spark of hope. “You know how to fix me?”
Daire leaned over to kiss my forehead with warm lips. “No, my sweet. I don’t have the cure just yet, but I’ve been able to track down a group of demons who should not be in this realm. I’ve got the Knights of Kieran’s coven hunting them. When they find them we’ll make them tell us why they’ve done this to you. They should also know how to undo it.”
He loosened his hold on the towel.
“I’ve seen a band of demons in a vision. They’ve come with Rage, the demon hunting Kasdeya.”
“Rage? I’ve only heard of the demon, but I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him. Sydney, if he’s the one behind the curse, then we’ll need a stronger demon or witch than I thought to undo it.”
Standing next to the window, I watched the sun as it made its way beyond the horizon. Daire’s hand felt warm against my neck. I didn’t bother moving away from his caress.
Daire brought his phone to his ear as the last rays from the sun left the sky.
“Hey, boss. Yes, I’m here with the Selected.” Daire waited while Kieran spoke to him on the other end of the line. It irritated me that I couldn’t hear what the coven leader said.
My new bodyguard, as he stood in my bedroom, set off all kinds of sexual images of us in my mind. He recounted our conversation to Kieran, and then hung up the phone.
I cocked an eyebrow, waiting to hear yet another demand from someone trying to tell me what to do with my life.
“Don’t look at me like that, Selected. I haven’t done anything wrong except to help you in your situation.” As my eyes narrowed, he put his hands in the air with feigned innocence. “Okay, fine. You’re right. Maybe I’ve been a little naughty.”
The half-vampire, half-demon’s lips went up on one side, exposing a brilliant white fang. The move accentuated his chiseled jaw. I wanted nothing more than to lick my tongue along its length.
Going over to my dresser, I busied my hands, realizing I’d been doing that a lot lately. I turned my back to Daire, hoping by putting him out of my direct line of sight my hormones would cool. No such luck. The smell of his aftershave lingered in the room, no matter where I stood.
“Did Kieran have any words of wisdom about my little problem?”
I heard the bedsprings of the mattress creak from his weight as my damnable bodyguard made himself comfortable.
“He doesn’t know how to reverse the spell, but he did order me not to leave your side until the matter is resolved.”
I whipped around. “I don’t think so. Having you around me so much is not good for my well being.”
Chapter 14
My body was infused with sexual energy. I didn’t know how to get rid of it, but I did know I didn’t want to use Daire for release, despite his being so handy. I opened my dresser and dug through the overstuffed drawers until I found my under-armor. Glaring at Daire, I stomped out of the room.
A light tap on the bathroom door sounded before Daire said, “Sydney, do you need my help in there?”
I heard the unspoken innuendo in the tone of his voice. Whipping the door open, I snapped, “No, I don’t need your help unless you can fix this curse.”
Taking the stairs two at a time, I grabbed my keys and stuffed them into the side pocket of my cargo running pants.
“Where do you think you’re going? It’s nighttime, if you haven’t noticed.” Daire stood with a hand on the front door. He had another thing coming if he believed he could stop me from leaving the house.
Tying the laces on my black and purple running shoes, I said, “I’m going for a run.” Motioning for him to get the heck out of my way with a flick of my wrist, I snarked, “Not that you’d know anything about exercising, I’m sure.”
Daire stepped away from the door while he unbuttoned his dress shirt. He then kicked his shoes off and folded his shirt, making a pile next to the front door.
With his well-toned muscles flexing, making my hands itch and sweat, he said, “My sweet, I know a lot about exercising. If you’d let me help you, we wouldn’t have to leave the house.”
The bastard wiggled his brows. Groaning, I left the house, not waiting to see if he’d follow. I knew he would.
His bare feet didn’t seem to mind the street covered with soupy wet snow so I didn’t mention it. If he wanted to show off his supernatural immunity to the cold, more power to him.
After running a few blocks in silence, my side began to cramp. I stopped and bent over, trying to catch my breath while white clouds puffed from my mouth.
Daire continued running in place, and I was sure he did it to annoy me. “What’s the matter, Selected, you done already?”
Taking a deep breath, I concentrated on leveling my air intake. “No, I just haven’t been running for a while with everything going on. I’ve got a lot on my mind, that’s all.”
Turning away from him to continue on, I was determined to run despite the cramping. Daire grabbed my arm to stop me. I
sighed, but was grateful for the reprieve. He positioned us to face one another.
“Sydney.” His breath felt hot on my face as he spoke. Before I could interrupt what he had to say next, his lips met mine. I didn’t struggle against his hold or fight when he enclosed me in his arms.
His tongue was warm and seductive as he slid the length of it along mine. Daire was a great kisser, but I still had a slight touch of guilt from my immense enjoyment of the feel of him against me to fully enjoy it. Feeling the length of his shaft grow along my thigh inspired me to deepen the kiss, making any feeling of guilt melt away into an array of pleasurable sensations.
When I began to lose my ability to think straight, I broke the kiss with an abruptness that confused us both.
Daire scowled as he put his hands on his hips. The gesture made the muscles in his chest flex.
I swore into the night air at Rage for putting the cursed spell on me.
When I started running again, Daire’s footfalls were heavier than before. It was clear I’d pissed him off.
“Daire,” I said while attempting to keep my words level, not letting on how much I was struggling to breathe while running. “We need to focus on the curse. I need you, as my bodyguard, to do whatever it takes to get rid of it.”
He remained silent for a few blocks but kept in step beside me.
Finally, with a curt nod, he said, “I understand. You think your attraction to me is only because of the spell.” He gave a rough laugh, not bothering to hide his anger. “Won’t you be surprised when the spell is broken and you melt into a pool of putty in my hands.”
I didn’t appreciate the confidence oozing from him. I also didn’t like the fact I’d felt the strong attraction between us the moment I’d fallen into his arms at the palace upon meeting him.
Daire could have a point, and I worried he may be right, but there was no way in heck I’d admit he had a serious effect on my senses, spell or no spell.
