Sex & The Immortal Bad Boy

by Stephanie Rowe

  Jed opened the door to the freezer, and stepped back into the room, his gaze on Rita. “I found the second room.”

  Rita sucked in her breath and sat up. “How? It’s sealed off. It’s impossible—”

  “Help Paige, and I’ll keep your secret. Don’t help her and . . .” He shrugged. “You know what I’ll do.”

  Rita looked sick, and Paige almost reached out to hug her. “Jed. You’re upsetting her.”

  He didn’t look away from Rita. “I don’t care.”

  Rita drew in a shaky breath. “But if you—”

  “I have nothing to lose,” Jed interrupted. “I don’t give a shit. Help Paige. That’s your only option.”

  Rita pressed her lips together, and Paige could see her hands shaking. Paige shot Jed a frown, but he gave her a warning look that kept her from protesting.

  Finally Rita said, “I truly can’t tell you—” She held up her hand as Jed started to speak. “But if you go to the third gateway, you will know.”

  “The third gateway?” Paige repeated. “You mean, between heaven and hell?”

  Jed immediately stiffened as Rita nodded. “That’s all I can say. Find the gate.” She looked at Jed. “You can find it.”

  “No, I can’t. I’ve never been able to—”

  “You can.” Rita stood up. “You must leave now.”

  Jed didn’t move. “Do you know where the gate is?”

  “No.”

  “Who does?”

  “You do.” Rita spread her hands. “Don’t ask me for more, or you both lose. You must do the rest on your own.”

  Jed studied her for a long moment. “I don’t know where the gate is.”

  Rita shot Paige a look of exasperation. “Open your mind. The world is not always as you think it is.” She waved at them. “You both must leave now. You must. Satan’s coming.”

  Paige stood up quickly, not wanting to deal with the Lord of About-to-Snap. “Let’s go, Jed.”

  He stood still, as if he had no intention of moving.

  “Loophole meeting, Jed. If I’m going to be saved from being a wraith, we have to find out how to break your contract with Junior so he can’t recall Rafi.”

  Jed cursed, grabbed her arm, and strode toward the exit.

  Paige jogged next to him, and shot a glance over her shoulder at Rita, then stumbled when she saw Rita’s eyes were glowing silver as she watched them leave. Then Paige was jerked against Jed’s body and slammed into a corner. “Rafi’s here. He’s hunting you. Be silent.”

  Twenty-four

  Jed’s mind was still reeling as he backed Paige into the dark corner, putting himself in front of her. Find a gate? How the hell was he supposed to do that?

  “Is he in shadow form?” Paige whispered.

  He pressed his body against hers, pinning her to the wall. “Yes.”

  She let out a low breath, then dropped her head to his back.

  “Raise your shields,” he whispered.

  “Already on it,” she muttered. She grabbed his waist, her fingers digging into his skin as she concentrated.

  Jed felt the hum of his brother’s shadow in the dealership above their heads, then felt him focus on Paige’s essence and start bolting toward them. Shit. He was going to have to kill Rafi to save Paige. One or the other would die.

  He couldn’t make that choice. “Paige. Take us to hell. Now.”

  She didn’t even ask. She simply did it.

  They landed in Satan’s bedroom, where Satan was sitting on his bed, wearing gold silk pajamas and thick glasses. He was reading a book titled Too Many Women, Not Enough Beds: Why You Should Forget about “The One” and Move On. He had Dirty Dancing playing on his plasma television and a stack of romance novels on the floor by his fireplace, several of which were already burning in the flames. And he was wearing a LOVE SUCKS button on his left lapel and a SEX ROCKS one on his right.

  He jerked his gaze out of the book, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared at them.

  Paige sucked in her breath and instantly transported them back out of hell.

  This time, they landed in the middle of Fifth Avenue, with traffic screaming around them.

  Jed cursed and yanked Paige across the street, slamming his foot into the bumper of a yellow cab that was gunning for them. The bumper collapsed under his force, and the car slammed to a stop, its entire front end dented.

  And then they were on the sidewalk.

  Paige sighed and leaned on a lamppost. “That was close.”

  “No one can drive a car through me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, when we landed in Satan’s bedroom. He would have killed us for sure if we’d stayed. He can’t afford to be seen like that.” She rubbed her palm over her forehead. “He’s reading self-help books on how to forget about love. That can’t be good. Love’s all that kept him sane. Next time he sees us, we’re both dead.”

  He grimaced and looked up to check where they were. “So, why’d you put us here?”

  “I have no control. Satan gave me this bracelet, and it’s probably set to land in random locations in the Underworld and the mortal world. You think I would have dumped us in Yankee Stadium on purpose?”

  “I did wonder about that. I thought maybe you were a groupie.” He realized they were only a few blocks from where they were meeting with Justine and Derek, and he grabbed Paige’s hand and started walking.

  “A groupie is so undignified. I’d never be a groupie.” She sighed. “Who am I kidding? To be a groupie, you have to really love the group, and we’ve both determined that I can’t love.”

  He glanced over at her as he strode down the sidewalk. She was biting her lower lip, and her eyes were sad. Not out of self-pity, but loneliness. “Of course you can love. You love Becca.”

  “Not enough to sacrifice myself for her.” Paige sighed. “Maybe my self-preservation instinct is too strong. She was willing to give up her eternal soul for Nick. That’s love right there. I wouldn’t do that.”

  He shot her a glance as they jogged across the street. “I think you would.”

  “Nope. Nope, I wouldn’t.”

  He reached the doorway of their building and pulled the door open. “You never know how far you’d go in a situation until you’re actually faced with it. I never in my life would have thought I’d give up my soul for Rafi. I couldn’t stand him as a kid.” He nodded at a large black man in a gilded doorman’s suit, then looked back at him. That man is not an ordinary doorman.

  “Penthouse,” the man said. “They’re expecting you.”

  Paige glanced at Jed as they walked across the plush carpet. “You said that earlier, but how could you have really hated him? Especially since you love him now.”

  He punched the elevator button. “Oh, trust me, I hated him.” He recalled how much anger he’d had when he’d walked out when he was fifteen. Stupid anger. If only . . . No. It was what it was. There were no “if onlys.” “But yeah, I tried to save him. Who knew?” He was suddenly aware that Paige was staring at him with a soft look on her face. He slanted a glance at her as the elevator door slid open. “What?”

  She smiled, hopped up on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his mouth, then skipped into the elevator and propped herself up against the back rail. “You make me want to be a better person.”

  He scowled as he stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the thirty-seventh floor. “You’re already fine as you are.”

  She held up her arms. “Kiss me.”

  He wasn’t in the mood to kiss. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to find the gateway for Paige. He was also worried he would find it and Rafi would die because Paige would be saved. He groaned and pressed his palm to his forehead. What if there wasn’t a way for them both to win? Then what? “Can’t.”

  “You can’t?” She levered herself off the railing, walked up to him, and slipped her arms around his waist. “Playing the martyr again? Too consumed by your darkness to allow yourself a minute of pleasure?” Sh
e lifted her face to his. “We have about thirty seconds until the doors open and real life returns. I want to taste your mouth, feel your body against mine, bask in the hardness that’s you. Don’t you—”

  He cut her off with a kiss that he couldn’t stop himself from doing. He closed his eyes, tasted the softness of her lips, the feel of her tongue brushing against his. He wrapped his arms around her, tugging her as tightly as he could against him, drinking in the warmth of her essence, basking in the feel of her hands gripping his waist, in her mouth seeking his, burning for him. Utter and complete trust from her. Her body was his, her soul was his, and she was offering all that she was, for that one kiss.

  He growled and slid his hands up her back, cupping her shoulder blades and crushing her breasts against his chest. She was soft, she was firm, she was light, and she was his.

  She leaned into him, opening herself to him, taking all that he would give, offering all that she had, in a kiss that left him breathless and overwhelmed. He dropped his hands to the lush curves of her bottom, kneading the flesh as she made a small noise and wiggled her belly against the front of his jeans, drawing his heat south so fast he nearly staggered from the impact.

  He tugged the silk skirt upward, until there was nothing between his hands and her skin. He shuddered at the feel of her warm skin against his hands, so soft compared to the roughness of his palms. He bit the lobe of her ear, and grinned when she trembled against him.

  “Make love to me, Jed. Please.”

  He lifted his head to look at her, at the need in her eyes. It wasn’t just lust, it was wanting for him. Only him. It was too overwhelming, and he cursed. “I can’t make love to you. What if I have to choose between you and Rafi?” He took a deep breath, and said the truth as he knew it had to be. “I’ll have to turn you. That’s a lot worse than not calling you the next day. You’ve waited this long. Wait for the right situation. For the right guy.”

  She waved her hand in dismissal. “I’ll choose myself over your brother, if it comes to that. What difference does that make now? I won’t take offense, and you won’t take offense. We both have priorities. But now . . .” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again, and his knees nearly gave out at the taste of her mouth. She pulled back, her gaze fixed on him. “Now is our time. It might be our only time. Please, Jed? Make love to me? You’re the right guy. And now’s the right time.”

  He felt her earnestness, knew she believed every word she spoke, and suddenly, he couldn’t hold out any longer. He wanted to know what it would be like to be held by her, to be embraced on all levels by someone who knew what he was, and still thought he had value. He needed it more than she did, and he wasn’t going to deny it anymore. He couldn’t.

  But he gave one last effort to be honorable. “What about your virginity keeping the wraith at bay?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You were right. This wraith is far beyond anything that superficial. It won’t matter, as long as we don’t merge.” She met his gaze. “What do you say?”

  He knew he was lost even before he spoke. “Okay.”

  She blinked, and then a smile burst over her face. “Really?”

  He couldn’t help but smile back. “Really.”

  Then the elevator dinged, and he tugged her skirt back down over her body just as the elevator door slid open.

  She didn’t even glance toward the door. “When? Name a time, Jed. I’ll be there with my clothes off ready for—”

  “I don’t think I want to hear this.”

  They both turned their head toward the doorway. A woman was leaning against the doorjamb of the apartment that the elevator opened directly into. She was wearing jeans and a soft cotton sweater and she was holding a dagger in her right hand.

  Paige grinned as her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. “You must be Justine! It’s so fantastic to meet you!” She raised her arms and fluttered her hands. “Long distance hug!”

  Justine held up her hand. “And you are?”

  “Paige Darlington and Jed Buchanan,” Jed said.

  “Theresa sent us,” Paige added.

  “Great.” The woman smiled and tossed the dagger out of sight with a clatter. “Yes, I’m Justine. Derek and his brother Quincy are in the kitchen, working on the contract. Come on in. We have hot pretzels and coffee. It’s such fun to have guests. We don’t get many visitors.” She eyed Jed as she stepped back to allow room for them to pass by. “Has Theresa met you?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “You look dangerous.” She picked up her dagger off the table she’d tossed it on and shoved it in a sheath under her arm. “I’ll just keep this handy.”

  Paige immediately stepped in front of Jed. “You touch him, and I’ll kill you. He’s mine.”

  Justine raised her brows at Jed, and he shrugged. “She’s my bodyguard.”

  “Your bodyguard?” Justine snorted. “Hah.”

  But she seemed to relax and headed off toward the back of what was apparently a loft apartment that took up the entire top floor of the building. It was huge, airy, and smelled of fresh paint and new wood.

  “Did some redecorating lately?” Jed asked.

  “Yeah.” Justine shot a look at Paige. “Your former mentor shot up the place with machine guns. Hope you’re not feeling so inclined. We just moved back in last week.”

  Paige held out her hands. “You’re perfectly safe as long as you don’t mess with Jed.”

  Jed realized that her dark side was starting to flare up. Justine’s warning to him had fired Paige up that much? He grinned, even as he reached out and took her hands in his. “Keep those down, killer. We’re guests.”

  Paige bit her lip and looked at him, then she nodded, and took a deep breath.

  He put his arm around her shoulder and she snuggled right up next to him. He felt a faint tingling on that side of his body, and he realized he could feel the darkness she was pushing into him. He frowned and looked down at her. “You all right?”

  “Other than being a boiling cauldron of death and evil? I’m fantastic.”

  “Derek and Quincy, meet Paige Darlington and Jed Buchanan,” Justine said as they stepped into the kitchen. “Paige and Jed, meet Derek and Quincy LaValle.” She raised her eyebrows at Paige. “You guys want some clothes?”

  Jed realized that Paige was wearing his shirt and the torn dress, and he had no shirt on at all. “Yeah, thanks.”

  Justine nodded and walked out of the room.

  Derek inclined his head. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Jed tightened his arm around Paige as he inspected the brothers. Derek was taller, a little wider, and he carried a strong confidence and sense of purpose. Quincy was still a big guy, but not as large as Derek. He hadn’t even bothered to look up; instead, he was bent over the computer, frowning at the screen.

  Paige looked around the room. “So, this is where the Goblet lives, huh?” Her gaze came to rest on the espresso machine. “Last time I saw her, she was a crystal around Theresa’s neck. That’s a pretty impressive switch.”

  The espresso machine promptly turned into a punch bowl, filled with a pale pink punch and a crystal ladle.

  Jed blinked. “Damn.”

  The punch bowl flashed brightly, then turned into a container labeled CREATINE.

  Jed grinned. “Thanks, but I’m clean.”

  “But he does have a nice bod, doesn’t he?” Paige patted his chest. “You should feel his muscles. Rock hard.”

  “Oh stop, already.” Justine walked into the kitchen, thrust a pair of jeans and a shirt at Paige and a T-shirt at Jed, then she dropped a dish towel over the CREATINE container, as if Mona were a chatty parrot she wanted to shush. “Ever since Theresa took her and she got to visit hell and run around the city, she hasn’t been the same. No longer satisfied to live in my kitchen.”

  The dish towel burst into the air and floated gently down to the floor, revealing that Mona had transformed yet again, this time into a bottle of vanilla scented massage oil, according to the lab
el.

  “Nice one, but we’re all set,” Paige said, as she tugged the jeans over her legs and ditched the torn dress. “Thanks for the pants.”

  Jed noticed that she left his shirt on instead of putting on the one Justine had brought her. He grinned as he tugged the T-shirt over his head. A little small, but it would do.

  Quincy spun the computer screen so Jed and Paige could see it. “See here? This faint lettering at the end of the contract you sent us?”

  Jed and Paige both leaned forward and Jed noticed some shadows after the last paragraph. “What’s that?”

  “Words. He used a template he must have stolen from somewhere,” Justine said, as she sat on Derek’s lap, not appearing to mind that all four chairs were already taken. “He didn’t do a good job deleting it.”

  Jed frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, I know this.” Paige banged her fist on the table. “Satan uses a boilerplate to start all his contracts, but it’s pretty tight since he’s got awesome lawyers on his staff. I bet Junior got his off the Internet or something, huh?”

  “Probably.” Quincy pointed to the shadowed letters. “But with an Otherworld contract, even though it’s in a Word document, it’s really three dimensional. So, Junior just got in there and fixed the Word document, but he didn’t take it 3D to fully address the issue.”

  Jed’s heart starting beating a little faster. “So, what did he leave in there?”

  Quincy nodded. “Most boilerplate Otherworld contracts have a clause that says if either side breaches the contract, then the contract is void. Junior thought he took out any repercussions for him violating the contract. . . .” Quincy got a very smug look on his face. “But he didn’t go deep enough. It’s still in there.”

  Jed sat back in his seat. “So, if I can get him to breach the contract, then it automatically voids?”

  Quincy nodded. “It voids.”

  “Well, that rocks! Let’s get him to breach, then.” Paige grabbed the computer and tried to yank it closer so she could read it, but Quincy swept it out of her hands.

  Jed set his hand on her shoulder. “How do we get him to breach? Isn’t his only obligation to leave Rafi alone?”