Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  They had a mini tug of war while Nick said, “It’s not her. It’s not Jade.”

  The words were a slap.

  While Nick was distracted, Jade hissed at them, actually hissed like a rabid cat. Her legs coiled beneath her as if she meant to strike.

  Nick pressed the Bible against her cheek, forcing her to cower into the wall again.

  “Stop it.” Tears gathered in his eyes. Maybe Jade wasn’t in there right now, and he didn’t want to think about what that might mean, but maybe she was in there. Maybe some of the pain showing on her face was hers. He couldn’t stand to see her like this. “Please, stop.”

  “I need you to keep it together,” Nick said. “Can you do that for me? Can you open the Bible and read scripture and keep her down like this while I call Chiboza?”

  The tremor in Nick’s voice steadied him. His buddy was just as terrified as he was. He nodded, taking the Bible from Nick. It fell open to the Psalms, and he started reading.

  He was vaguely aware of Nick behind him, talking on his phone in hushed, urgent tones. He thought he heard him saying, “This is out of my league. Way out.”

  A few minutes later, his buddy said, “We need to tie her up. Do you have rope?”

  “In the garage. There’s twine with the lawn care stuff.” His voice sounded far away. He was in shock. Damn it. Jade needed him to shake it off and help her.

  “Do you have a cross?” Nick asked.

  He had to think about it. His mom had given him one a few years ago-she’d brought it home as a souvenir from a trip to Israel. “Try the downstairs closet, look on the shelf above the coat rack.” Why hadn’t he ever hung the cross up somewhere? If he had, would that have protected Jade?

  “Keep reading,” his buddy said with a pat on his shoulder. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Nick left, and Emmett read the Psalms as if his life depended on it. He wished it was his life that depended on it. He would have gladly traded places with Jade to protect her from this.

  “In you O Lord, do I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness deliver me. Incline your ear to me. Rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.”

  While he read, he prayed silently. God, please help her. Protect her soul.

  *****

  Joshua nudged the limp essence in his arms. She wouldn’t respond.

  Mercy had flung Jade out of her body, and the poor dear had been so depleted, her essence was the barest wisp, barely visible. He was still scolding himself for stepping away for a moment to unlock the rear door for Nick and kick up a wind to shove Draonius back so the man could get inside. If he’d returned to the bedroom a second later, he would have missed Jade. She’d been a hair’s breadth from dying.

  He’d retreated to the abyss with her, where she was in no danger of disbursing. But without a demon to feed her, she stood no chance of recovering.

  But wait. He was an angel. Surely he could do whatever a demon could. He was tasked with fighting them, after all.

  Pressing her to his bosom, he willed his strength into her. Several minutes passed, but her constitution remained the same. Maybe she wasn’t meant to recover.

  Maybe she simply couldn’t while her body was possessed.

  He ached for his charge. She’d put up a valiant fight. He desperately wanted her to have her reward. Yet she stood to lose everything.

  Hang on, my dear. We’ll sort you out.

  He prayed he wasn’t making false promises.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Emmett kept reading while Nick trudged up the stairs and turned on the bedside lamp.

  “These candles are set at the points of a pentagram,” Nick said as he blew them out.

  The Bible shook in his hands. He couldn’t focus on the words. All he could do was seethe at himself for being so oblivious.

  Your girlfriend got possessed right under your nose, and you didn’t even notice? You missed the blazing pentagram around your freaking bed?

  Talk about thinking with the wrong head. He’d let lust into the driver’s seat, and now Jade was paying the price.

  “Don’t zone on me, man,” Nick said. “I need you. Help me tie her up.”

  Nick recited more Latin while they worked together to tie Jade’s wrists, ankles, and knees. She seemed docile now, but Emmett insisted on using socks to cushion her skin from the bite of the twine in case she struggled. Once they had her on the bed, Nick told him to hammer the cross he’d found to the wall above her head. While he did that, Nick pulled a string of rosary beads from his ghost hunting kit and draped it over her head. The cross in the center rested on the thin, almost see-through cotton stretched across her breasts.

  They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking down at her. Her skin was too tight over the bones of her face. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, the luster gone from her hazel irises. They were fish eyes, dead eyes. Her lips were moving. No sound came out.

  He wanted to weep. Inside, he felt as dead as Jade’s eyes looked. He wished it were him.

  “Why do you have rosary beads?” he asked Nick. “You’re not Catholic.”

  “They’re a symbol of my faith in God’s power over this entity,” he answered without taking his eyes from Jade. “And they’ve been blessed by a priest. When you’re dealing with demons, objects like this serve as focal point for the exorcist. It’s not the symbol itself that fights the entity. It’s God, through the faith of His warriors. That’s you and me, Em. And Chiboza, when he gets here.”

  Jade’s warrior. He could be that. If God would let him after what he’d just done. “Can we cover her up?”

  Without a word, Nick went downstairs. He returned a minute later with the throw from the couch.

  “I’m so sorry,” Emmett told Jade as he took the blanket and spread it over her. To Nick, he said, “How long until your mentor gets here?”

  “By one for sure, maybe a little sooner.”

  Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary was about a three hour-drive away in Massachusetts. Nick had already explained that Chiboza had to pack a few things before heading out. Waiting sucked.

  He tore his gaze away from Jade to finally get a good look at Nick’s injuries. Blood caked his hair and one side of his face. Deep scratches crisscrossed his scalp. One particularly vicious-looking cut darted in front of his ear. That one might need stitches.

  The fact that he was just now feeling worried for his buddy was yet another sign he was in shock. “What happened to you?”

  “Damn crow attacked me.” Nick sketched a look at him then returned to watching Jade. “Like it wanted to keep me from coming in or something. And then this freak wind kicked up and, like, pushed it off me. Thank God you left the kitchen door unlocked. Thank God.”

  “I didn’t. I locked all the doors when you left.”

  A visible shiver rippled over Nick’s skin.

  Like a yawn, it spread to Emmett. He swallowed and said, “You’ll probably need stitches.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, as if he got mauled by crows all the time.

  “You should go to the hospital. Birds carry things. You might need antibiotics.”

  “I’ll go once this is taken care of.” He said it with the conviction of a man determined to see a task through.

  Emmett appreciated it, but he didn’t want Nick getting sick or ending up with horrible scars. Ali would never let him hear the end of it. “I’ve got some butterfly stitches in the garage. We keep a decent First Aid kit since Theo’s always bleeding on the job. Want me to go get it?”

  Nick nodded. “Maybe that’s a good idea.”

  Emmett stood rooted to the spot. He couldn’t bring himself to leave Jade.

  Nick sighed, and the sound seemed to jar them both from their strange calm.

  “She’ll be okay,” Nick said, patting his shoulder.

  He wished his buddy sounded more certain. Tears pricked his eyes, and he blinked to clear the useless sensation.

  How ma
ny times had they debated possession? It was a popular topic since Nick studied demonology as part of his seminary program. Christians were off limits to demons. They both agreed on that, though Nick claimed there might be an exception to the rule based on a couple studies he’d read. Emmett didn’t buy it. The Bible promised that God holds his children in the palm of his hand, and what God protects, no evil can harm. He couldn’t believe God would allow that promise to be broken.

  But Jade wasn’t a child of God. There were no guarantees for her. She’d been taken over by something evil, and only God knew where she was now, or if she could be saved.

  And he was powerless to help her. He had to rely on Nick and Chiboza. And God. Having faith had never been this hard before.

  He went to get the First Aid kit. He couldn’t help Jade, but he could at least do something for Nick. The numbness began wearing off in stages. By the time he stepped into his shop, guilt hit him like a blow to the kidney. He couldn’t believe he’d let this happen.

  Jade took his virginity vow seriously. She wouldn’t have lounged around in his bed in nothing but her underwear, not after their talk about rules. She wouldn’t have encouraged him when he got too physical. She would have told him to knock it off. Come to think of it, she wouldn’t have spent practically the entire evening in bed. She would have been with him, cuddling on the couch, helping in the kitchen, poking fun at his conspiracy theories, and challenging him and Nick with her wit and intelligence.

  He should have known something was wrong.

  He cursed himself as he dragged the First Aid kit from under the sink in the break area. When he headed back into the kitchen, the chime of his doorbell made him jump.

  Oh, no. Lisa.

  For all he knew the crow that had tried to scalp Nick was still outside. Dumping the kit on the counter, he sprinted to the front door.

  *****

  Draonius held his broken wing close to his body as he hid on the roof in the shadow of an eave. His blackbird body was damaged beyond repair, but at least he knew now why the blessing had held despite Emmett’s lust. There was an angel helping the believers.

  He’d known it the moment a holy wind buffeted him away from the fat one and slammed him into the trunk of a tree. The believers weren’t playing fair. Fine. Neither would he.

  He summoned his prince just as another coach stopped near the house. A woman with fair hair and tan skin stepped out. She was a beauty. But he would not be distracted. His goal lay inside the house, behind that bedamned blessing.

  A bit beyond your station, isn’t she? said a voice in his head.

  He cocked his head to find his prince beside him resplendent in the form of a blood-eyed hawk.

  I punished you once for overreaching. Apparently chaining you to that house has taught you nothing.

  His prince hadn’t imprisoned him for “overreaching.” He’d imprisoned him for failing to tithe from the rush of power he’d gotten upon possessing Joshua’s body. He was only testing him by bringing up the past, determining whether he was worthy of help.

  The only thing The Prince of Air respected more than ambition was pride, so he ruffled his feathers and drew himself up to his full height, despite his recently broken wing. Lord and Master, your punishment taught me patience. It taught me improvisation. I escaped, after all.

  There is that.

  He pounced on the moment of consideration. I do not desire the woman below. But there is one inside, behind the blessing—

  Forget that one. She is gone.

  Gone? Jade was gone? But her essence should be safe in the abyss. Did his prince know something he did not? Had something gone wrong?

  And forget the man too, the believer. You have overreached again, Draonius. I curse you toNo! Wait! Please my prince, let me have the full measure of this chance before you curse me again.

  This chance is finished, his prince said, and then he was silent. He did not scold him for interrupting. He was either toying with him or curious how he planned to salvage this situation.

  Whatever the reason, his prince was listening. He would not waste this audience. I would rather overreach and meet challenge than stagnate in complacency.

  The prince eyed him.

  Inwardly cringing, he said, I know when to cut my losses. Give me my favored essence and the blonde woman below, and I will restore my power then find a suitable male body to petition. True possession was by invitation only, and only demon lords could petition for a vessel and earn an invitation from their prince. What he’d done with Joshua had been a witch-assisted pseudo possession, a ballsy move for a tempter class, to use modern vernacular. That had to count for something.

  The prince laughed. A sound like scorpions on glass magnified itself in his head until he shuddered with the effort not to throw himself from the roof. You’re a failure as a tempter and you ask to be made a lord. How adorable.

  He ruffled his feathers and glared at the blood-red iris fixed on him.

  The amusement in that glassy eye died. Your favored essence is behind a blessing. Forget her. As for this one. He angled his sleek head to study the woman on the doorstep. I will make you a bargain. If you can tempt her into committing adultery before dawn, I will make you a lord.

  I accept your bargain, my fair prince. It was never wise to think too long on a bargain offered by The Prince of Air. It gave him opportunity to add caveats.

  So be it. Lucifer took flight and disappeared into the darkness.

  Draonius felt himself pulled from the carcass of the blackbird. The physical plane tore at him as he strived toward the blonde woman. Her essence sang with but a fraction of the passion Jade had possessed. Pity. Jade was special. But she was lost to him now. As was Mercy.

  The losses stung, but he resolved to lick his wounds later. Lucifer had granted him a chance to become a lord. He refused to squander it.

  He sank into the woman’s aura, nestling in from the storm of the physical plane, just as the door opened and Emmett yanked her inside.

  He braced himself, expecting the blessing to force him out of the woman’s body, but nothing happened. He was inside the blessing! He could help Mercy!

  But wait. What if this was a test?

  Yes, of course. It was exactly the kind of thing his prince would do. Present him with a distraction to test his commitment to the bargain. His prince was giving him a choice. Rescue Mercy or become a lord.

  The decision was easier than he would have expected. There was bound to be another essence as devoted and pliable as Mercy somewhere in the wide world. But Lucifer would never again grant him the opportunity to become a lord. He hugged close to the blond woman’s aura. Not for any woman would he waste the chance he’d been given.

  *****

  Emmett threw open the door, grabbed Lisa’s arm, and pulled her inside, scanning the night-lit driveway for danger before slamming the door.

  “What the hell?” she said, and wrenched her arm out of his grip. “You’re lucky I don’t have my piece on me.”

  “Sorry. Just a little tense, I guess.” He shoved his hands in his pockets while his brain spun like a hard drive trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this. Obviously, he didn’t need Lisa any more. In fact, he needed to get rid of her. Just having his sister under the same roof as something evil was making his skin tight with worry.

  She tossed her gym bag on the floor and put her hands on her hips. “Why is Nick’s car here? Did he decide to stay after all?”

  “Yes! Nick. He’s here. And he’s staying.” Picking up her bag, he arranged it on her shoulder and spun her around to face the door. “Sorry about that, sis. I should have called to let you know there was a change in plans.” All true. Every last word. If he could get her safely back in her car without scaring or lying to her, that would be awesome.

  She huffed and resisted his pushing. When he reached for the doorknob, she swatted his hand away. “Where’s this new girlfriend of yours. It would be rude to leave without meeting her. Is she hot?
”

  His chest contracted. A sharp pain of remorse kicked through him. Why wouldn’t Lisa just go?

  He shoved his hand through his hair and pulled out his wallet. “Here’s a twenty for a pizza. Sorry to drag you all the way out here, but turns out your chaperoning services aren’t needed.”

  She ignored the twenty. “What aren’t you telling me?” Her blue gaze narrowed into the expression he called her “cop eye.” “You only do that hair thing when you’re super uncomfortable. And you’re avoiding the question. What gives?”

  He almost ran his hand through his hair again, but stopped himself. He decided to tell part of the truth, because Lisa was like a dog with a bone. If she smelled anything fishy, she’d gnaw at it until she knew everything. “Well, Jade and I… No, I got a little out of control, and Nick kind of caught us. I was a dick and…she deserves better from me.”

  His shoulders hunched. She really did deserve better. While her soul was who knows where maybe fighting for her life, he’d been fooling around with the thing that was hurting her.

  He felt sick.

  Lisa’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “So, Nick’s been lecturing you, I guess.”

  He shrugged. “I deserve a good lecture.”

  “Are you still a virgin?”

  He nodded. “Thanks to Nick.”

  “Oh, wow, did he like barge in while you were slipping on the condom or something?”

  “Okay, Lis.” He wrenched the door open and ushered her out. “Thanks for stopping by. I’m really sorry I forgot to call you. And thanks for being willing to stay the night. But Rob can have you tonight after all.” He marched her to her car, one hand on her arm, the other ready to snatch any murderous-looking crows out of the air.

  “Sorry,” she said as he settled her into the bucket seat. “That was kind of rude, I guess. Forgive me?”

  He sighed with relief once the metal roof was over her head. He wanted her to shut the door and take off, but she was still talking. “Of course. You take care. Tell Rob I said hi. Drive safe.” He was leaning down, blocking the open door with his body.

  She surprised him with a peck on the cheek. “I always do. Keep it in your pants, big bro.”