Sex & The Immortal Bad Boy

by Stephanie Rowe

Recognition flared inside her, and she knew who he was too. She knew his name, his age, what kind of Otherworld being he was, and what he’d done to get himself locked under the ground.

  Without thinking, she smiled and laid her hand on the ground.

  He lifted his and placed his hand against hers, on the other side of the invisible plane, and he smiled back. We have been waiting for you.

  She started in surprise when his words rang clearly in her mind. He hadn’t said them aloud, but she’d known what he said.

  Then another face joined the other two, and she instantly knew who that old lady was, with her gray hair and beady eyes. Welcome, wraith.

  Paige frowned as the crackly voice sounded in her mind. “How do you know me?”

  All three faces smiled at her, but none of them replied.

  “How do I know you?” Because she did. She’d never heard about Satan’s wife being murdered, but she knew this woman’s story. She knew every detail about all of them. As if she were them . . . “Oh, shit.” She jerked to her feet, suddenly realizing that her whole body was tingling, with pain, with a swirling dark energy.

  As she stood there, more faces appeared at her feet, their hands pressed to the ground, gazing up at her. All of them were waiting. She could feel their expectation, their anticipation of . . . getting out.

  She thought suddenly of how Mona had been created by harvesting life force from the three worlds, and then she knew what Rita had done. She’d taken parts of the worst evil in hell, and put them in Paige, and when Paige went wraith, all of them would be free, inside her. She stared down at her feet, at the growing crowd. “That’s so not a good thing, I’m thinking.”

  No wonder she was going to destroy the world. There was no way she could control them. No way her love for Jed would withstand that kind of evil. Junior was wrong, so wrong. No one would control them. No one could control her.

  “Oh, God.” She sat down hard on a rock, pulling her feet up off the ground as far away from the people as she could get. “Jerome was right.”

  “About what?”

  She looked up to see Jed vault down off a nearby rock. His eyes were violet again, and he seemed to have regained control of his shadow warrior. His hair was messed up, his body was lithe and muscular as he wove his way down the rocks. He was beautiful, and she could see the pain in his eyes, the anguish of his choices. “What did you find?”

  He smiled at her as he reached her side. “Heaven. I opened the gate for you.” He hopped up next to her and sat down. “The moat runs around the perimeter of heaven. You can’t get into heaven without going through it, but there are heavily armed Men in White lining the shores.” He took her hand and played with her fingers absently. “I’m going to go up there first, and try to convince my shadow warrior that the Men in White are trying to get through the gate. Then my shadow form will destroy all of them.” He looked at her. “Then all you need to do is go through the gate and hop in before my shadow form notices. The river is huge and powerful. I think it’ll work.”

  She knew it wouldn’t. Not with the kind of evil that was inside her.

  Jed stared across the barren landscape, gently tapping her hand against his chin. “Don’t come near me, though, once you’re through, or I’ll kill you for going through the gate. I won’t be able to stop myself.”

  “What about Rafi?”

  Jed closed his eyes for a long moment, and she realized he’d made his choice.

  He’d chosen her.

  Her heart suddenly swelled and her eyes filled with tears. “But—”

  He spun toward her and grabbed her shoulders. “No.” His voice was sharp, and then his face softened as he looked at her. “Don’t you understand? I never had a choice. It’s always been you, since the first moment. I’ve been holding out, hoping I could find a way to save Rafi as well, but in the end, it was always going to be you.” His hands slid to the sides of her neck, his thumbs rubbing her throat. “It’s always been you,” he whispered.

  She searched his face, the earnestness in it, and felt her whole body warm under his scrutiny. “You Love me,” she whispered.

  “Hell, yes. I can’t live without you.” He dropped his head and kissed her, ever so softly, almost reverently, then he lifted his head. “Junior will take my soul when he realizes I failed to hold up my end of the contract, but you’ll be free, and that’s all I need.”

  Her throat tightened as she realized the implications of his words. They would be separated forever. She would be free, and alone, and he’d be tortured, along with his brother.

  “No, don’t look at me like that,” Jed said. “It’s okay. I’m fine with it.” He stroked her hair. “Knowing you’ll be safe, it’ll be enough for me.”

  But it won’t be for me. “Will you promise me something?”

  “Anything. Anything you want.” He kissed her again, his mouth so warm and soft against hers, that she wanted to melt into him and live these last minutes with him.

  But she pulled back and met his gaze. “If I turn wraith, promise me you’ll kill me.”

  His face grew hard. “It’ll work.”

  “Promise me you’ll kill me.” She grabbed his hands, desperate to make him agree. “I realized that Jerome was right. I’ll destroy the world if I’m allowed to turn wraith. We both know I will, and that can’t be allowed to happen. Please, if you can’t promise me that you’ll kill me if I turn wraith, then I’ll kill myself first. It’s that important.” She couldn’t believe she was saying it, but it was true. The beings trapped beneath the acid pool could never be released.

  Jed stared at her for a long moment, and then he finally nodded. “I promise I’ll kill you if you turn wraith.”

  “You swear?”

  He cupped her face. “I swear.”

  She felt his conviction and knew he would. “Thank you.”

  “Just don’t turn wraith, okay?”

  Instead of answering, she linked her arms behind his neck. “Before all hell breaks loose, before Junior recalls you and I try to destroy the moat with my evil . . .” She tugged him down toward her and kissed him. “Before our lives fall apart . . .” She kissed him again, and smiled to herself when he groaned and kissed her back, sliding his hands under her shirt. “Make love to me, Jed.”

  And when his response was to pull her onto his lap and crush her against him, she almost cried.

  Because she Loved him.

  And that changed everything.

  Thirty-two

  Drink from the Goblet, Rafi. The words vibrated in Rafi’s head, cycling again and again, until it was all he could think of, until it had penetrated the darkness that remained of his mind.

  Rafi slid under the door to the living room where he’d seen the woman take the Goblet.

  Drink from the Goblet, Rafi.

  He didn’t even know what the phrase meant anymore, didn’t know whose words he was hearing, but they comforted him, made him feel safe. Made him want that white plastic cup, and the liquid inside.

  The woman was sitting on the couch, holding the white plastic jug that Rafi vaguely recalled tearing apart. Or had he? Didn’t know. Everything was fuzzy. There was a man next to her, and Rafi registered the threat. He needed to kill them. . . .

  Drink from the Goblet, Rafi.

  He knew those words were for him. They would help him. Someone wanted to help him, and he had to drink from the Goblet. He fixed his gaze on the white object and misted toward them, until he was so small he was invisible. Rafi. The word sounded familiar. Felt right in his head.

  He drifted through the woman’s hair, over her skin, circled over her heart.

  She coughed and brushed her hand through his mist, and he felt the tingle of her heat, and felt himself refocusing, to find her heart. To stop it.

  Drink from the Goblet, Rafi.

  His head reverberated with pain, but he whirled around and speared toward the bottle, unable to resist the orders, bursting through the plastic into the grayish liquid inside.


  The relief was almost instant, and he slowed down, let his mist mix with the molecules, felt the murmur of life, of recognition of his presence in the liquid. She was female. She wrapped herself around him, and he drank her into his being, mixing with her, feeling her loneliness, her call, her need for his touch.

  God, he needed her too. Needed her healing.

  And she gave it to him, imbuing him with warmth, with light, with life, and suddenly his mind was clear again. His mind was his own, no longer twisted by thoughts he hated. Elation swept through him and he shared it with her, let her feel his joy. He felt her delight, her pleasure at helping him.

  They swirled together, until he could no longer tell what thoughts were his, what emotions were hers. They were one, and she clung to him, whispering her secrets to him, the secrets she’d never been able to share with anyone.

  And he listened, and he wept for her, and he promised her she would be alone no longer. He would find a way to release her from the prison that contained her.

  Then, suddenly, she kicked him out.

  Rafi fell hard on the wooden floor, his shoulder slamming into the marble fireplace as he rolled across the floor.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  He blinked, and found himself staring down the barrel of a machine gun.

  No, make it two.

  Rafi grinned, seeing in color for the first time since he’d been yanked out of his prison by the Council, and he knew his eyes were no longer black. “God, it’s good to be back.”

  The woman pressed the gun against his forehead. “Identify yourself, or I’ll have to kill you.”

  “I’m Jed’s brother.” Rafi sat up, rubbing his shoulder as he suddenly recalled the incident in the kitchen with total clarity. Recalled the midnight deadline. “What time is it?”

  The man glanced at his watch. “Ten thirty.”

  Shit. Less than an hour and a half. His gut lurched at the thought of being sucked back into Junior’s hell, and he shoved it aside. Screw that. He wasn’t going back. He had to find Jed. Now. “Where’s my brother? Do you know where he went?”

  Derek lowered his gun. “He and Paige went to the west towers of hell.”

  The third gate. He knew without even thinking that the gate was there. He blinked, and he realized he knew where all the gates were. And he knew how to get there. “Thanks.”

  Justine didn’t lower her gun. “You’re leaving?”

  “Yeah.” He glanced at the couch, saw the white sports bottle propped up against the cushions. Mona. “Sorry about ripping her apart.”

  “You’re not forgiven.”

  Oh, but he knew he was, by the one who mattered. I’ll be back for you. The bottle flashed white once, and Justine shot a quick glance at it. “Mona? You’re back? Derek! She’s back.” Justine tossed the gun at her husband and dove back onto the couch, cradling the Goblet to her chest. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I swear I won’t let Rafi near you again, or anyone else.”

  Rafi frowned at the implication that he wouldn’t be allowed access to her. That could make things more difficult.

  “You were leaving?” Derek reminded him.

  “Yeah.” Rafi tore his gaze away from Mona. He had to save himself before he could rescue her. “Can I have one of the guns?”

  Derek shrugged and tossed him one. “Try not to shoot yourself.”

  “We can’t. Not here. I can’t make love to you in the bowels of hell—” Jed’s protest died as Paige yanked her shirt over her head and sank her mouth onto his. Her lips were warm, hot, her tongue desperate, reaching inside him as if she could never get enough. Her breasts were crushed against his body so hard he could feel her heart racing in his chest.

  “Now. Here.” Her hands were desperate, tugging at his shirt, touching his chest, his stomach, his shoulders, everywhere, as if she couldn’t get enough, as if she was afraid he’d disappear before she had her fill. “Wherever you are, it’s the right place to be.”

  Her desperation, her need, her desire leapt into him, and suddenly he couldn’t think. Couldn’t stop. He needed her skin against his. The softness of her body, wrapped around his.

  His shirt landed in an acid pool, his jeans hit the deck next to hers, and then there was nothing between them. Just slippery skin and heat. She bit his nipple and his body jerked in response, wanting more. Needing more. “It’ll never be enough,” he whispered. “If I had you for eternity, it still wouldn’t be enough.”

  And he knew it was true. Every kiss, every touch, every place where he felt her body against his, he felt lightness, sunshine, peace. He felt forgiven. “You saved me, Paige.” His eyes suddenly began to sting and he rolled her over, his mouth closing over her breast.

  She arched off the rock, her fingers digging into his shoulders. “No,” she gasped. “You saved me. You showed me who I was.”

  “Sunshine?” He grazed his teeth over her nipple, laved the firm peak, awed that she could be responding to him so completely. Him.

  Her fingernails raked his back, and he basked in the pain, in the knowledge that she was losing control. That she was at his mercy. “You made me want to be a better person.”

  “Oh, hell, Paige.” He pulled back long enough to look at her face. “You’ve got it backwards. It’s you who makes the world a better place.” He kissed her hard. “Don’t you get it? That’s why it’s always been you. Because the world can’t survive without you. Not just me, the world. It needs you. It needs your light, your optimism, your spirit.”

  She smiled, and her eyes filled with tears. “See? That’s what I’m talking about. You think I’m so amazing, and you make me want to be that person, not some evil murderer who slaughters innocents.”

  “But that’s who you are.” He trailed his fingers over her cheeks, and began moving slowly between her legs, rubbing his arousal over her most intimate place, teasing, caressing. “You are sunshine. Don’t you understand that by now?”

  She shifted under him to part her legs farther, allowing him to sink more deeply between her thighs as she lifted her head to press a kiss against the hollow of his throat. “I do.” She lifted her lashes to look at him, and he found himself sinking into the depths of her passion, of the love buried within her gaze. Her love was so intense, it burned through him.

  “God, Paige. I didn’t realize—” He was humbled, cowed by the extent of her feelings for him. Something broke inside him, and he felt a light blossoming through him, awakening him, and suddenly he forgot his past. He forgot his life. He forgot all the shit he’d done. Paige was his world. His existence. His everything. He dropped his head and tore into her mouth with a ferocity he couldn’t control, didn’t want to control.

  She met him with equal force, driving him with her need, her love, her soul. He felt her reach for him, and he groaned as she shifted under him again, and he moved with her, and then she found him and he drove inside her, never lifting his mouth from hers, unable to lift his mouth from hers. He had to taste her, swallow her gasp of pleasure with each move, deeper, harder. Need to get closer.

  Pressure began to build deep inside him, and he felt her soul searching for him, coaxing him out of the prison he’d kept himself locked away in for so long.

  No. Don’t merge, Jed, he told himself.

  He tried to pull back, and she followed him, her mouth devouring his, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, keeping him with her. “Don’t leave. Kiss me harder,” she whispered. “I need more. Give it all to me, Jed.”

  “But—” His hips continued to drive of their own accord, deeper, harder, and he had to clench his jaw to keep from shouting.

  “No! Dammit! You will not make me spend eternity wondering what it would be like if you gave all of yourself to me! I love you, Jed Buchanan. Please, give me this one night of all of you.” Her voice was thick with emotion that made his throat suddenly clog up.

  He couldn’t hold back anymore. Her kisses were too demanding, her body calling for him, her soul reaching for him, deman
ding he join her. He felt his spirit swell up and meet hers, and they met and meshed, and suddenly he knew he would never be complete without her. She was his other half, his destiny, his being. “I love you, Paige.” He shouted the words as the orgasm overtook him, and she screamed his name, her body convulsing under his, and his final shields fell and he plunged into her with his body and his spirit and his entity, and she was there to meet him, and sunshine exploded around him, blinding him and searing his body as the final tremors faded from their bodies.

  “Oh, God, Jed. I love you. I did this on purpose. Never blame yourself, okay?”

  He snapped his head up at the tension in her voice. “Did what?” Then he saw the blackness of her eyes, and felt the cold blast of true evil everywhere they were touching. “Jesus, Paige. Your wraith.” He started to scramble off her, then froze when she clutched him.

  “This is how I wanted to go,” she whispered, her voice raspy and harsh.

  Her body convulsed and he grabbed her. “Fight it! Don’t let this happen.”

  Her fingers dug into his arms as her back arched and smoke rose off her body. “I want this. You. Rafi. Need to live.” She screamed with pain, and he grabbed her arms, his hands shaking.

  “Dammit, Paige! I was sacrificing for you! Not you for me! I’m not worth it. Stop it! Just make it stop!” He glanced around desperately, searching for something living to give her to bleed off the evil, but there was nothing. Nothing but him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. “Take me. Take me instead.”

  Her body twisted and convulsed again, and he tightened his grip as she screamed. “Paige. God, Paige. Stop. Why aren’t you taking me?” Her skin was turning gray and her body was shuddering in his arms, and he could feel the vibrations of dark energy bursting from her, rippling the ground beneath them, but nothing was hurting him. It was burning past him, as if he didn’t exist. No numbness, no blackness, nothing. “I’m alive. Take me!”

  “Love transcended the change. Can’t hurt you,” she gritted out. “You. Rafi. Saved.”

  There was an inhuman shriek and he jerked his gaze to the right in time to see the ground begin to bulge up, hands beating from underneath, trying to break the surface.