by May Dawson
"Rough." My voice came out in a whisper.
His fingers, tangled in my hair, pulled my head down to his. My forehead met his. His deep green eyes smoldered as he kissed me hard, holding me there. Then his hips began to move. With his hands on my hips, he pushed into me again and again, driving up. And I bounced on my knees, pushing him deep into me every time, feeling him fill me until my throbbing clit could take no more. My core tightened around him, and I leaned forward into his arms, gasping with the power of my orgasm.
He wrapped his arms around me, as tight as a hug, his lips against my hair, as he came, too. Our bodies relaxed together, and I felt myself give into his arms as all the fight, all the tension, went out of my body.
His voice near my ear was mischievous when he said, "Good night, Ellis."
"Good night?" I glanced at his bedside clock; it was the small hours of the morning. The smart thing to do would be to go back to bed.
But then, Ryker had pointed out recently that I didn't always think things through.
"I'm not that interested in sleep," I said. "I'm not a fan of my dreams."
I just meant that I wanted to have sex again, but Ryker's eyes sharpened on mine. I'd said something that was true by accident, when I'd meant to be glib.
I rested my head on his shoulder, his cock still buried deep inside me and his arm protective and comforting across my lower back.
"Let's give you something better to remember in your dreams," he said, his voice low and rough.
22
When I reached the bottom of the basement stairs, Jacob came out of the room with the cage.
"Morning," I said. I handed him one of the two mugs of steaming black coffee that I carried. "Thanks for making sure my mom was comfortable last night."
"And for locking you in with Ryker?"
"Let's not get carried away."
"It looked like you two were making up."
"Don't be a jerk or I'll take back the caffeine."
"Scary girl," Jacob said, before taking a long sip.
I raised my mug in the general direction of Nimshi. "How's he doing? Is he awake now?"
"Yeah. And he won't shut up. Just what we needed, another brother who's a talker."
I frowned up at him. "None of you talk enough. You're bossy. That's not the same as talkative."
"I've tried to be an open book with you lately," he said.
"An open book? Maybe if that book were written in Latin."
He spread his hands apart as if he were offended. The look of innocent surprise on his face made me smile.
I set my cup of coffee on the table and bobbed up on my toes, resting my hands on his shoulders. "You know I love you even though you're a difficult, tight-lipped, stubborn—"
"Handsome, charming rake with the face of a god?" He finished for me.
I cocked my head to one side, as if I were considering it, and then shook my head. "I had a different set of adjectives."
His hands closed around my waist, drawing me close to him; through his jeans, I could feel him respond to the nearness of my body. "I can offer you some adjectives as well, Princess."
"Freaking adorable?"
"Desperately in need of a spanking?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'll consider exploring your weird kinky side once we've got that kind of free time."
His lips were close to my ear, his voice low and husky when he said, "Oh, it won't take long for me to reduce you to a quivering ball of orgasm. We can find the time."
"Promises, prom—" I broke off as his teeth sank teasingly into my neck, sending an arch of desire through my body.
"Test me," he whispered, his voice rough with lust.
"You are maddening," I said. My hips pushed against his, my back arching slightly against his hard-muscled forearm that held me close to him. My body responded to him no matter how cool my words were.
"Idem."
"I looked that up, you know." It meant same. But because he was maddening, he couldn't just say that. He had to complain to me in Latin.
"Good. I've got to get you to do your homework somehow."
I rolled my eyes. "I do try to do my homework when we aren't desperately busy. Right now, it seems like we're all headed for our doom at the hands of an angel. So maybe the foreign language courses can wait a while."
Jacob's grip on me loosened. Apparently, that was what you say when you want to kill the mood. I felt disappointed, even though it wasn't exactly practical for the two of us to have rough sex on one of the tables right now.
No matter how much I wanted to.
"I have a crazy idea," Jacob said.
"That's the scariest thing I've heard in the last forty-eight hours, and they have been a ride."
He hugged me and released me, patting my ass almost absently. "Did you come down here to see Nimshi?"
"Are you going to go all Ryker-possessive on me?"
"Just stay on this side of the bars," he told me.
"I heard that." Ryker leaned in the doorway.
I pulled a face as I looked past Jacob, who grinned at my discomfort. Ryker had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning in his usual J. Crew pose. At least he didn't look annoyed; he just looked like he was enjoying my suffering.
"You can't deny it," I said.
"Nope," he said. "Protective asshole? I'll own it."
He straightened from the wall and strode past us, holding the door to the cell room open for me. "I meant what I said. I'll trust your judgment. But if he hurts you? I'll kill him."
"Noted," I said.
I walked past him, even though coming this close to him in the doorway meant that I breathed in his scent that I loved so much, all warm grass and sunshine on fresh peaches and woodsmoke. I still throbbed with desire for Jacob, and I couldn't be this close to Ryker without feeling a jolt of both raw lust and deep affection.
Nimshi was on his back on the mattress at the back of the cell. He had his arms tucked under his head, staring up at the ceiling. I had a second of deja vu thinking of how Ryker had stared at the ceiling when we were fighting the night before. Well. There was an observation I couldn't share without making them both feisty.
"Morning," I said.
He turned his head to look at me. His face was handsome, like Jacob's, as if he were a Greek god brought to life with his chiseled features; Ryker and Levi had rougher, testosterone-filled good looks, with their big jaws and powerful bodies, but the Nephilim and the half-demon were almost beautiful with their angelic features.
For once, Nimshi didn't have his trademark smirk.
"Morning, Ellis. How long am I in for?"
I wasn't about to get into that question. I hadn't had my coffee yet. "What happened to you?"
"Hell hounds. I knew they were coming. Hell doesn't tolerate disobedient children."
"Hell hounds are a thing?"
"They begin life as just dogs. Then they're possessed. Lassie and Benji, determined to tear me limb from limb."
I put my hands over my ears. "I love dogs. Please don't ruin my favorite movies from my childhood."
"Well, yesterday sure ruined my love of dogs. Was it yesterday?" He sat up on his elbows and then paused, closing his eyes as if his head was swimming.
"Just yesterday," I said. "I'm glad you made it here."
"That makes one of us."
"Sorry for the guys," I said. "They're protective."
"By protective, do you mean homicidal?"
"Yeah. Probably. But they won't hurt you. They're good guys."
"And they don't trust demons?" He sat the rest of the way up, pulling his knees in so that he sat cross-legged, resting his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. "I wouldn't, either."
"You're not just a demon." I ran my fingers over the cool metal of the elaborate lock on the door. It was both metal and magic that sealed him in there, and I didn't know how to open it. "Are you?"
"I'm not much more without my soul."
"If you cared about your soul, why d
id you keep working for them once they took it from you?" I thought of how Samael had said the vessel he'd occupied had given himself willingly. "Or did you give it to them yourself? To prove your loyalty?"
"No." Nimshi's lips twisted slightly. "It was a little late to prove my loyalty once I dared to meet my mother."
My heart dropped. Wendy again, twisting her way through all our lives even though she had long since left this earth, leaving behind mysteries and broken hearts. Both of which were mine to figure out.
"Tell me about her," I said, because I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.
"She was a Hunter. Still no idea how she ended up banging a demon, but I guess it's dark at night." He held his hand up just below his shoulder. "She stood about yay high. Blond hair. Tattoos. Definitely not welcome at the country club. Stupid-sounding name for someone so dangerous."
"Wendy?"
"Named after the worst fast-food place."
"I always think of Peter Pan. Wendy and her lost boys."
He groaned. "That's just embarrassing."
There was a knock on the door behind us. Ryker leaned in the doorway. "You two want to come up for breakfast?"
"You're letting me loose?" Nimshi asked skeptically.
"Don't look at me like you're getting any bright ideas, or no biscuits for you." Ryker flipped a baton over in his hands. "Non-lethal. Just because I like you, Ellis."
Downgraded. No love. No Firestarter. Despite everything that I thought had been healed between us last night, the consequences of our decisions still rippled.
"Thanks," I said, pretending not to notice.
"I want to stay here," Nimshi said. "Out there I've got Zuriel on my heels and those hell hounds."
"I don't think there's anywhere you can go that someone won't want to kill you." Ryker rested his hand on my shoulder as he slipped around me to work the lock. "You just have one of those personalities."
"Wendy said I reminded her of you." Nimshi said.
Ryker stopped dead, his jaw working once, and then continued opening the lock. "Funny. She never mentioned you. Guess she wasn't particularly proud."
"No, I bet she wasn't," Nimshi said.
Ryker stepped back as the door clicked open. He flicked the baton open, and it shimmered faintly with blue magic at its tip.
"I see you're still using your borrowed demon magic." Nimshi stood from the bench. "You're welcome."
"Your kind can be useful when it comes to pain and mayhem," Ryker said.
Nimshi raised his hands, palms out, in a gesture of peace as Ryker took another step back, letting him head for the door.
"I'm not going to try to escape," Nimshi said. "I don't really care for what's waiting out there for me. I'd rather take a chance on my long-lost brothers."
"Don't," Ryker said roughly.
Nimshi shook his head slightly, the faintest smile on his lips, as if he enjoyed antagonizing Ryker. It certainly seemed to be easy right now.
Ryker fell in behind Nimshi, watching him carefully as they crossed to the stairs. I headed up behind them both. I couldn't help thinking about the version of Nimshi I'd seen in the Far, the little boy losing the only family he'd had in a bloody battle. Did he know it was his own mother who had killed his father? I had to keep what I'd seen to myself. I wanted to know everything I could about Nimshi in hopes he could be redeemed, but I was afraid I'd slip up. I've never been any good at keeping secrets. And this one weighed on me; I longed to talk about what had happened with Levi.
Jacob and Levi waited in the dining room. On the table was a heaping pile of golden biscuits in a basket and a cast-iron pan of sausage gravy, along with a carafe of coffee and a glass bowl of fruit salad.
"I still don't think he deserves biscuits," Ryker said.
"You know my position," Jacob said. "I don't think any of you deserve biscuits. They're not warrior food."
This promised to be a relaxing meal.
Nimshi took a seat. He patted the table next to him, looking to me, but Ryker slid into the seat next to Nimshi.
"Just who I wanted to hang out with." Nimshi smiled.
I bit into a soft delicious biscuit. I welcomed the chance not be a part of this conversation. I was anxious for Nim to make a good impression on his brothers and at the same time, I didn't hold out high hopes.
My mom came in just then. Like me when I first arrived, she'd ended up digging in the old closets for something to wear. It was strange to see my mom in leather pants, a t-shirt, and a ponytail, as if she were a hunter. But she rocked the look. There were smile lines around her eyes as she said good morning, casting a meaningful look at Nimshi.
"Good morning, ma'am," Nimshi said. He said ma'am with enough devilish mischief to make it sound anything but preppie.
Ryker leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
"This is my mom," I told Nimshi. "Mom, this is my friend...Nim."
Nimshi was such a weird name.
"It's nice to meet you." Mom leaned over the table, offering her slender hand to shake.
Nimshi looked up, shaking the curls back out of his eyes, and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm a big fan of your daughter, and now I see where she gets her good looks from."
She shook her head. "You seem like a dangerous young man."
My mom had meant it lightly—she didn't trust anyone quite as charming as Nimshi—but for a second, the table froze. I’d heard her use the word dangerous in a joking way many times, and it still took me a second to manage a frozen smile.
"You have no idea," Jacob said. He looked to Nimshi. "But you can make it up to me."
Nimshi's eyebrows arched up skeptically. "I can't imagine how."
"I would like to learn a bit more demon magic," Jacob said. "Most of your kind aren't too helpful."
"Especially not when you make a habit of murdering them after they answer your questions?"
"I don't have any plans to hurt you," Jacob said. "I want you to know that. We're kin."
Nim looked as if he were lost for words. His lips parted but for once, he had nothing to say.
"Besides, I can always turn you out and let them hurt you." Jacob jerked a thumb in the general direction of the outside world, full of demented Lassies and angry angels. "But I won't, unless you give us good reason."
"He won't," Ryker grumbled.
"We won't," Jacob corrected. He shot Ryker a look. That big brother look.
Nimshi glanced between Ryker and Jacob. "Well, this is interesting."
It certainly was. Jacob had the most reason to hate Nimshi, and yet he seemed forgiving. At least by Jacob's standards.
Ryker's lips parted, the expression on his face slightly sullen, and Jacob raised his hand to silence him. "Oldest brother."
"That's not fair," Ryker said. "We make decisions as a team."
"When I got here," Jacob said to me confidentially, "They settled any serious disagreements with Rock-Paper-Scissors. Do we burn down this geist house or fight our way through it? I know, let's resort to the ultimate negotiation tactic: rock, paper, scissors."
"I guess they didn't have that in England," Ryker said. "Like they don't have anything fun."
Levi reached over and poured me a cup of coffee. The look on his face was of patient endurance, as if his brothers all exasperated him. It made me grin. When he set down the carafe, I grabbed his hand and squeezed. He squeezed back and winked at me, as if we were the only sane ones at the table.
"We should go for a visit to the U.K. sometime," Jacob said. "Once we've cleaned up the Zuriel situation and rescued Ash."
I glanced at Jacob. His eyes met mine as if he sensed my surprise, and he half-shrugged with one shoulder. I was desperate to know more about why he was interested in going back to England when he'd said before that his version was all tea and ghosts and child abuse.
"Oh, come on," Ryker said.
"Rescued Ash?" Nim said. "You're going into the Far?"
Ryker groaned. I'd been worried that I wou
ld give too much information to Nimshi, and I felt almost relieved that it was someone else who had spilled.
"There's no point keeping it a secret," Levi said. "We need him if we're going to try it."
"We don't," Ryker said. "I say we lock him up and see if we can go in our own. If Ellis is having visions of the Far..."
Ryker had left thee words dangling, and Levi quirked an eyebrow up. "Then what?"
"The maybe the veil is thin."
Jacob shook his head at the veil. "You're just throwing stuff out to see if it sticks."
"So, we're all Team Demon now?" Ryker said, glancing around. His eyes met mine. And then those bottle-green eyes softened slightly, as if he were remembering his promise. "Look, we can try going into the Far with him once he's got his soul back. But in the meantime, why not try on our own?"
"Why not?" Levi shrugged.
"So you're in?" Nimshi asked. He seemed like he couldn't quite believe it. "You're going to help me get my soul back?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Ryker grumbled. He split open a steaming biscuit and ladled gravy over it.
"He won't be so grouchy once he's full of carbs," Levi told Nimshi.
I took my plate and cup and headed for the kitchen. My mom rose from her seat and followed me.
As my plate clinked into the sink, my mom touched my elbow. "What the hell is going on around here?"
"It's a crazy world," I said. "And I think we might be the craziest part of it."
23
After breakfast, Ryker said, "Back to the cell."
My mother asked, from the doorway, "What cell?"
The guys all leaped from the table to their feet, as if they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't. Except for Nim, who ducked his head to hide his smirk.
She glanced between them, the look on her face pure mom even if these guys were all hulking and dangerous. Impatiently, she demanded, "What's this about a cell?"
"He's a half-demon." Ryker said shortly.
"Why would you even have a cell in your house? What is wrong with you people?" My mother demanded. To Ryker, she said, "He saved our lives."
"It's not always that simple," Ryker said. Because it had gone so well when he used that line with my mother before.
