Holly's Pledge

by Anh Leod

  It might be best to have backup though. The whole gang could go—Dylan, Brandi and Cherokee, Claudia too. The girlfriend of the guitar player always had free passes. She didn’t want to pay at Torc’s club now that she knew he was a son of the Underworld. Had he known he was stealing immortality when he slept with Acalle?

  She imagined it was impossible for someone who’d only lived twenty-four years to understand the complexities of relationships among people who’d lived for centuries, but still.

  For a second, she wondered if Glaukos could have done any damage to her life. Brandi and Dylan seemed fine loving Cherokee. In fact, from what Dylan had said, Cherokee was the one who’d nearly lost his freedom because of them. But it wouldn’t hurt to find out more.

  Either way, the situation was temporary. Glaukos was a thirty-day-or-less fling. But now that she had a few fresh orgasms under her belt, she knew she’d go in search of more. She wouldn’t live a cloistered existence after last night. It had been too much fun.

  Her thoughts drifted to Greg but he was taken and she wasn’t about to get in the middle of a relationship. No, she wouldn’t be a heartbreaker, but a lover. When Glaukos was gone she’d go in search of a mortal man.

  She drifted, lightheaded, as she floated into her tiny bathroom. The water felt wonderful on body parts that had been stretched and used in unfamiliar ways. Her clit perked up unexpectedly when she used the handheld spray wand to wash vanilla-scented shower gel from her cunt. Glaukos had really done a number on her if he could have awakened her sensuality to the point that she needed a masturbation session after a night of excellent sex.

  She leaned against her yellow-tiled shower walls and tilted the spray exactly right. The warm flow had her hips moving in languorous thrusts. Her hair, straightened by the water, hung to her shoulders, tickling her there.

  All had been perfectly acceptable to her but her channel felt empty despite her pleasure. She thrust fingers into her cunt, mimicking Glaukos’ thrusts. Whispering his name, she came hard against her hand. She let the shower wand hang loosely at her side and closed her eyes while water sprayed her toes. This would never be enough satisfaction again. She needed a man, nightly if possible.

  * * * * *

  Glaukos had left for Cherokee’s house along with Dylan by the time Holly got out of the shower and dressed herself in a yellow mini-dress and blue cashmere sweater. Brandi had stayed behind to tell her the guys would be back that evening and they spent the day side by side in the den, working on the Moving Pictures website. Holly didn’t mind working on the weekend since it meant she could afford another pair of shoes but Glaukos was never far from her thoughts.

  It took most of the day to reach Claudia to make sure she’d meet them at Torc’s club that night. Eventually they sent enough texts back and forth to make sure they would meet up and all be on the club list to get in free. Which was kind of funny, considering why they were going there. If Torc knew their plans, he’d be barring their entrance, not comping them.

  “Has Cherokee ever mentioned there might be dangerous consequences to sleeping with him?” Holly asked Brandi after she set her cell phone down about four p.m.

  Brandi blinked at her. She had fabulous dark silky lashes that didn’t need mascara. “No, why?”

  Holly stretched her legs until her toes reached the leg of the coffee table. “Sex with the son of a god killed Acalle.”

  “She had already died once,” Brandi said. “One life is good enough for me and Cherokee only enhances mine.”

  “So they can’t hurt true mortals?” A beep told Holly her website update had completed.

  Brandi turned back to her laptop and tapped a few keys. “Not in the way you mean but you never want to fall for someone who isn’t willing to stay.”

  “Yeah.” Holly agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment. She wondered if Brandi was issuing a warning. But she hadn’t fallen for Glaukos, at least not for more than his cock. “I wonder what Torc did to Acalle though.”

  “He didn’t cherish her,” Brandi explained. “Sex without generous feeling would drain life into the son of a god.”

  “Glaukos isn’t the son of a god anyway,” Holly said.

  “How was the sex by the way?” Brandi asked, turning back.

  Holly felt her face split into a grin. “Very repeatable.”

  She heard the door to the kitchen open and close then heavy male footsteps came down the hall toward the den. The first person she saw was her one-night stand.

  She could hardly believe this Glaukos was the same man she’d met in the bookstore yesterday. Gone were the oiled black curls and archaic clothing. He was in Armani from head to toe, from velvet and cloth smoking jacket to riding boots. His hair was short and modern, though the curl was still present. He’d still stand out in a crowd, but in a good way.

  Dylan walked in behind Cherokee, holding an architect’s newsletter in his hand. He gave Cherokee a lingering kiss and patted Brandi’s shoulder then gave Glaukos a thumbs-up. Brandi looked up absently from her laptop then her mouth dropped open when she saw Glaukos.

  “Don’t you clean up nice,” Brandi purred as Dylan left and went down the hall to his room to get dressed.

  Cherokee put his hands on his hips and frowned.

  Holly gave her the stink eye. Brandi had no business butting in on her conquest. Brandi grinned at her and winked when she saw Holly’s expression but Glaukos was preening.

  “It is a little dull though, is it not?” he asked.

  Cherokee plucked Brandi’s laptop from her lap and placed it on the coffee table then pulled her into his arms.

  “Not at all,” Holly assured Glaukos. “That outfit is pretty flashy in this time period, even if it’s black.”

  “Good,” he said. “I want to be noticed.”

  Spoken like a prince, Holly thought.

  “I have something for you.” He picked up a grocery bag from the floor that she hadn’t noticed before.

  “Thanks.” She took it from him then opened the bag. Inside was a pomegranate.

  “Rodi,” Glaukos said. “For remembrance.”

  To hide the tears that were suddenly clogging her eyes, she glanced at Cherokee, whose clothing had a much lower-key look—a form-fitting suit and tailored black shirt. He looked ready to blend into the shadows, and maybe that’s exactly what he wanted after the attack outside Torc’s club on Halloween. It was hard to believe it had been only a month before. Their lives had all changed so much.

  “Let’s get some dinner,” Cherokee said, his expression unusually grim as he released Brandi, “then we’ll head to the club.”

  Chapter Three

  When they reached the back door of the club at eleven p.m. that night, Holly saw her friend Claudia waiting outside, her arms clasped around herself for warmth in the late autumn chill. Her sister Ellery—strawberry blonde to her older sister’s dark auburn—was with her, wrapped in a gypsy shawl.

  “Too many innocents,” Glaukos muttered with a frown.

  Innocent wasn’t exactly a word Holly would use to describe either of the Burden sisters, at least not in the sexual sense. She knew for a fact that Claudia had indulged in a foursome. Ellery had a history of escapades Holly couldn’t begin to match. But she had a bad feeling Glaukos meant innocent in the sense of being unused to the ways of the gods. She was so living out an erotic paranormal novel right now.

  She was glad they’d decided not to enter through the front in case Torc caught sight of Glaukos and the drama started immediately. None of them deserved to get hurt but Ellery was only twenty-two and had just entered graduate school in August. Though she had a part-time job as a personal assistant to a vacationing director, her life was just beginning. Plus, she didn’t think Claudia’s sister had any idea of what was going on in her sister’s friends’ lives. Still, what happened to Acalle was so long ago. Would Torc even remember her brother Glaukos and know his enemy was out to kill him?

  “Do you have a plan?” Holly whispered to Gl
aukos. They’d only discussed world events of the past thousand years during dinner at a nearby Greek restaurant.

  “Grab and snatch,” Glaukos said. “If it works.” He touched his chest where the medallion was hidden beneath his clothes.

  Cherokee raised his eyebrows at Glaukos’ words. “I thought you would want a fight.”

  “It doesn’t sound like this is the right society for public battle. You could all end up in police detention with no way to explain what happened. I don’t want to impact your lives, only Torc’s.”

  Cherokee nodded and clasped his arm. “Thanks brother but I have your back if necessary.”

  Holly wondered if they had weapons hidden on them. All she had was a small can of pepper spray on her key chain.

  “Hey,” Claudia said when they reached her. She hugged each of them in turn until she came to Glaukos.

  Claudia wasn’t just Holly’s best friend, she had briefly been Cherokee and Dylan’s lover, along with her boyfriend Sam. She and Brandi had a cordial, if slightly standoffish relationship, but Claudia had made her choice to stay monogamous with Sam and Holly knew that wouldn’t change. They were two people truly in love and committed to the long term.

  “This is Glaukos,” she told Claudia, then introduced him to Ellery, whose admiring gaze was ignored.

  Claudia nodded and shook his hand. “Good luck tonight. Rotten Tomatoes plays here all the time. From what I’ve seen, Torc spends most of his time in his office or behind the bar.”

  “I’m sorry to ruin your boyfriend’s job,” Glaukos said.

  Claudia shrugged. “After we heard what Torc did to your sister we couldn’t care less. Sam will find another venue.”

  “Rotten Tomatoes is a great band,” Ellery said. “They have a following. The club is packed tonight.”

  Holly took that as a warning.

  Glaukos nodded, not looking especially happy at that news but it didn’t surprise her. Lots of people were in town visiting family over Thanksgiving and this was the last free night of the four-day holiday. People were looking to let off some steam before they returned to their regular lives and the start of the frantic month between now and Christmas.

  Claudia led them through a door between two dumpsters then they were in the back of the club.

  “Is there a back way to the office from here?” Glaukos asked.

  His intensity reminded Holly of the way he had focused on her body the night before. She shivered.

  “I don’t know. It’s an old building but I’ve never had a reason to explore off to the right where the office is. It’s behind the bar somewhere, that’s all I can say.”

  “I’ll hunt with you,” Cherokee told Glaukos. “Then back off unless you need me.”

  Glaukos’ handsome face looked puzzled, as if he knew he was forgetting something and didn’t know what.

  Holly looked down and realized she was twisting her fingers together. She moved toward him then kissed him on the cheek. “For luck.”

  “That’s it?” Glaukos grinned and tilted her back into a dip then plundered her lips.

  Holly tasted the strawberry from her lip balm on his lips then his tongue swept into her mouth, stealing her breath and her thoughts.

  She wasn’t sure if the others stayed silent or if her ears had fuzzed out. Certainly all her nerves were firing erratically. Her pussy filled with cream, as if signifying “go!” But she knew Glaukos didn’t have anything further in mind. She had been one night to him.

  Or was she wrong about that? As he pressed her closer, she felt his cock rise behind his tight trousers. His heat radiated through his thigh-length jacket.

  Hastily, she released him and stumbled back. He needed his blood in his brain, not in his groin. She didn’t want him hurt or unsuccessful in his quest to avenge his sister.

  When she looked up, she saw Greg staring at her. The band must have left their dressing room and come into this open backstage area while she was being kissed.

  Greg’s mouth hung slightly open at the sight of her. She put her fingers to her mouth and felt her swollen lips. They weren’t sticky since her lip gloss was long gone. Well, it wasn’t a bad thing to show Greg that someone else wanted her. His lips now formed a thin line. Was he disgusted by her public display or jealous?

  When she turned back to Glaukos, he was several feet apart from them, along with Cherokee. It was as if they had melted away.

  Brandi caught her eye and shook her head slightly. Dylan put his arm around her and pulled her close.

  “What’s going to go down?” Joe asked. He was the lead singer of Rotten Tomatoes and was wearing a pilgrim hat over his glossy brown curls in honor of the holiday. His tight, compact body had never appealed to Holly the way Greg’s lankier form did, though he had a ton of groupies.

  “Hi,” Ellery said with a giggle. “Love the hat.”

  Hmmm. Was there some interest? Holly watched Ellery toss her shiny mane flirtatiously.

  “Hopefully nothing we’ll be aware of,” Claudia said, “if everything goes well for the boys. Joe, can you show Ellery where the bathroom is back here?”

  “Sure.”

  Ellery winked at her sister as Joe led her away. Yes, there was interest and the Burden sisters were waging their own little campaign tonight.

  “Speaking of the supernatural,” Brandi said when Ellery was out of earshot. “How can we be sure the walls don’t have ears?”

  Dylan squeezed her shoulder. “Torc, Cherokee and Glaukos are all outcasts. I don’t think they have powers other than heightened physical attributes.”

  Holly watched as both Brandi and Claudia’s lips curved. She wondered if her time with Glaukos had ruined her for mortal men. It had been so long since she’d had sex that she couldn’t remember if it could be as good with mortals as it had been last night. She glanced at Greg again and saw he was watching her.

  “Hey,” he said. “I wanted to get your digits. So we could compare books.”

  “Sure,” she said, feeling triumphant. She glanced at Glaukos to see if he’d noticed but he was conferring in an undertone with Cherokee. The two men looked like warriors readying a battle strategy and she supposed that was what they were. My, but they were hot.

  Cherokee slinked away into the shadows to the right of backstage.

  Greg pulled out his cell phone and Holly moved closer, telling him her number. She couldn’t help noticing he smelled wonderful. It was as if she’d walked into a candy shop full of luscious treats. She couldn’t decide where to focus her attention.

  “What cologne are you wearing?” she asked.

  Greg closed his phone. “Soap, I guess?”

  Glaukos certainly won in the sexy innuendo category.

  Sam’s watch beeped. “Five minutes until we go on.”

  “I need to grab my sticks,” Niall, the drummer, said.

  They all moved back to the dressing room. Holly was last in line through the narrow door. Before she could step in, a strong arm grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around.

  Before she could scream or grab her pepper spray, she saw it was Glaukos with his finger to his lips. How had he gotten behind her? He pulled her down the hall into a darkened storeroom. Joe and Ellery passed the door, chattering animatedly, as Glaukos pushed it almost shut.

  “Cherokee is keeping watch,” he said. “Torc is at the bar and I can’t move until he’s in his office alone.”

  How did he know that? “Is Cherokee going to call you?” Holly asked.

  Glaukos looked confused. “I’ll know.”

  Maybe these so-called outcasts had more powers than Dylan realized.

  “Do you want me to keep watch from the floor? Rotten Tomatoes is about to go on.”

  “No, I suddenly realized if I am successful in my capture I will never see you again.”

  “Oh.” She hadn’t realized he cared about her. Her glossless lips suddenly felt dry. She licked them. Glaukos refocused his gaze there and she felt her feminine power lowering her voice i
nto a purr. “What kind of a send-off did a hero get in your day?”

  He caressed her left ear, sending tiny shards of heat down the side of her body. Her earring, a long crystal dangle, chimed.

  “That depended on whether the hero had a sweetheart to see him off or not.”

  “Did you?”

  “So long ago, who can remember? But I do have one now, don’t I?”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “A one-night sweetheart.”

  “Sometimes that is all it takes. I can’t tell you how exquisite your body felt to me last night.”

  “Exquisite?” No one had ever said that to her before, not by a long shot. When she looked in the mirror she saw a few more curves than were trendy in Los Angeles—at least a dozen pounds worth. Dylan was the lean one in her family.

  Glaukos’ fingers moved to her cheek. “Yes. Your skin is flawless and the blood moving underneath gives you such a glow. I could feel your pulse leap when I pleasured you, and the sounds you make, well, I could not leave without taking the opportunity to sample them again.”

  Holly’s throat went dry as all the moisture in her body again moved south. “Oh?”

  “Yes.” He reached into his pocket and extracted a small packet. “I came prepared.”

  “Where did that come from?” Holly asked, touched that he’d thought to bring a condom despite finding them so distasteful.

  “Your bed chamber.”

  He hadn’t planned to leave without a goodbye then, she realized. The thought cheered her immensely.

  “When I die, will I see you again?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “If you believe in the old ways, the pagan religions. I do not claim to be a theologian. But mortal souls go to their own places of rest and torment. I am caught in limbo, serving my father and uncle.”

  “Is it so bad?”

  “I would have said no, until I shared last night with you. I’d forgotten so much…so much that should be valued.”