Betting on Julia (A Melville Sisters Novel) (Entangled Covet)

by Nina Croft

  He cast a quick glance at Julia. She was avidly following the conversation. “You have?” he said warily. He was pretty sure that Colin wouldn’t say anything totally out of place in front of a “normal” but there was still a lot of scope for disaster.

  “I wanted to say thanks for that job you did—the client was very pleased. And also there’s a fight organized for Sunday night. Someone I think might interest you, well two someones actually—they asked specifically for you—saw you fight last weekend.”

  That was an idea, with Dante due back in hours. Maybe he needed to start thinking of ways to pacify the demon. “I’ll call you in the morning,” he said.

  Colin nodded. At that point, the waiter arrived with their main courses. “Come on, Mel, let’s leave these two to their meal.”

  He thought Melanie might argue, but she blew him a kiss and the two turned away.

  He sat down and cast Julia a wary glance. She was quiet as the waiter placed her salmon in front of her. She took one mouthful of food, chewed it slowly, and put her knife and fork down.

  “Bastian-baby?” she said, glancing across to where the couple were sitting at a table across the room.

  He shrugged. “She likes pet names.”

  “Your ex-girlfriend runs a kinky nightclub in Soho?”

  “I told you that was one of the reasons we split up—she wanted different things from me.”

  “So you’re not into all that weird stuff, like leather outfits and bondage and spanking and…” Her imagination obviously ran out at that point.

  “No.”

  “But you’d go there, and you’d go with other women.”

  “Sometimes. It was something else Melanie liked.”

  “Shit, you’d go with other women and she’d watch?”

  Or join in. But maybe he wouldn’t tell Julia that. “Can we drop the subject? It’s not something I’m particularly proud of, but I thought I loved her and I wanted to make her happy.” Why did he feel guilty about the lie? Julia was a means to an end: his freedom from Dante. He had to say whatever would further his cause. But he hated it. Was almost overwhelmed with the need to spill out the truth.

  But she probably wouldn’t believe him. Hey, I’m possessed by a demon and he’s a kinky bastard and the only way to keep him quiet is satisfy a few of his tamer requirements. No, it probably wouldn’t further his cause. “Look, I’m sorry you had to meet her; she’s a part of my life I wanted to put behind me. Eat your dinner.”

  Maybe the best way to play this was to go back to the recovering-from-a-breakup scenario. “I know I did the right thing, and I feel nothing for her now, but seeing her was awkward.”

  She reached across and patted his arm, then picked up her knife and fork and started eating. But he wasn’t out of the danger zone yet. He almost heard her reporter’s brain working.

  “There’s a fight on Sunday. What sort of fight?”

  “Colin owns a gym. I joined when I first moved here and he sets up bouts—amateur boxing.”

  “And you were in one of these fights last weekend?”

  “Yes, but they’re nothing serious. A friendly get-together with a few guys. Nobody gets hurt.” Much. “It’s not a hobby or anything, just to keep fit.”

  “Well, it obviously works.” She took another mouthful of food, a sip of wine. “Could I come and watch?”

  “No.” The word came out way too emphatic. He took a deep breath. “You really wouldn’t enjoy it. A horrible, sweaty gym and a load of sweaty men.”

  The little frown was back.

  “I’m sorry they spoiled our evening. It was going so well. Do you think we could drop the subject for now?”

  She smiled. “Of course. But if you ever want to talk…”

  “I’ll come to you. But tonight I don’t want to think about the past or anyone else. I wanted it to be just you and me…special.”

  “Me, too.”

  But the evening was spoiled. Or not spoiled, but different. He was aware of Melanie and Colin across the room, watching them. He caught Melanie’s gaze at one point, and she waggled her fingers at him. When he glanced back at Julia, it was to find her watching him, the little frown furrowing the skin between her eyes.

  But good to her word, she dropped the subjects of his ex and fighting. Instead, they talked mainly about her job. He avoided talking about his because he claimed accounting was boring, but really because he’d have to lie and he wanted to keep the lies to a minimum. They made him feel bad.

  She talked about an interview she’d done that week with a female politician. Her job was actually much less frivolous than he’d presumed. She interviewed some interesting people for her monthly column.

  “What are you doing over the weekend?” she asked.

  What he would like to be doing was spending it in bed with Julia. But he was going to have to deal with Dante first. “I have a…friend, well, acquaintance really, but he’s been out of town for a few days and I need to see him tomorrow, catch up on some stuff.”

  “I thought you didn’t know anyone in London.”

  “He moved at the same time as me.”

  “So he doesn’t know anyone either. Nice that you’ve got each other.”

  “Yeah.” Another goddamn lie.

  But he still had a few hours before the demon showed his ugly face. He wanted to make the most of them.

  “Have you had enough to eat?” he asked. He lowered his gaze to her mouth. “Are you ready to go home?”

  She licked her lips. “More than ready.”

  They didn’t talk in the taxi back, but she rested her head against his shoulder. He had the idea that the questions weren’t over with, but she had put them aside for the evening. Because it was his night, his celebration, and she didn’t want to spoil it. She was just so…nice.

  All the same, she was a woman and an inquisitive one at that, and the questions would come. He pushed the worry aside, took her hand, and rested it against his thigh.

  She stroked her finger up the inside of his leg, and he rested his head back against the seat. She cupped his balls through his pants and his dick throbbed, coming to immediate attention.

  He glanced at the back of the driver’s head and held himself still. “Tease,” he whispered.

  “Hmm.” Her hand moved higher, her fingers tracing the shape of him, and he shuddered under the touch.

  By the time the taxi pulled up outside her house, he was in an agony of need. She opened the front door, and he ushered her inside, turned her around, and went to kiss her. Instead, she backed away. Holding his gaze, she grabbed the hem of her black dress and pulled it over her head, tossing it over the bannister.

  He almost came just from the sight of her in pale pink underwear, black stockings, and four-inch heels. She didn’t look like a good girl now and his cock liked it, straining at his zipper. She stalked toward him, grabbed his hand, and tugged him toward the kitchen.

  “Don’t move,” she murmured, and he leaned his butt against the kitchen table. He had an idea where this was going, and he had no intention of moving anywhere. The dimple at the base of her spine flashed as she sashayed across the small room. She bent from the hips as she delved inside the freezer, drawing the pink silk tight across her ass. God, she was gorgeous and so fucking hot, he was going to explode.

  Slowly, she straightened and turned, then sauntered toward him with a tub of ice cream held in her hand, a gleam in her eyes.

  “I’ve been thinking of doing this all night,” she said. Hooking her finger in his shirt, she pulled him upright before sinking down to her knees in front of him.

  “You have?” His voice came out as a croak.

  “Oh yeah.” She licked her lips. “I love dessert.” Sitting back on her heels, she studied him. “Take off your jacket.”

  He did, dropping it to the floor behind him.

  “And the shirt.”

  Tugging it out of his pants, he tore it down the front, spraying buttons across the kitchen, and it followed
the jacket to the floor.

  “Nice.” She rested her palm against his stomach. “Hmm, you feel a little warm, Bastian-baby.”

  He winced at her use of the name and then forgot everything as her fingers strayed lower. They trailed over the length of his erection, so the last of his blood supply drained to his cock. She flicked open the fastener on his pants, lowered the zip, and finally his shaft sprang free, ready to burst.

  Sitting back again, her brows drew together as she glanced from his dick to the tub of ice cream, and he groaned.

  Her gaze shot to his face. “I’ve never done this before. Just considering the logistics.” Reaching behind him, she pulled open a drawer in the table and grabbed a spoon, picked up the ice cream, and flicked off the lid. She held his gaze as she took a spoonful and placed it slowly in her mouth, her eyes closing. “Yum.”

  He was going to go insane here. Finally, she tugged his pants down over his hips, dug the spoon into the ice cream, and placed a large dollop right on the head of his cock.

  “Jesus.” The word was hissed through his teeth. Cold met heat and he was sure his dick sizzled. As his muscles locked, his spine arched and his hips jerked forward. Breathing became impossible as she lowered her head, licking the ice cream as it melted down his shaft. Then she took him into the warm, wet cavern of her mouth, the heat of her burning through the cold. Hands gripping the table behind him, he closed his eyes and leaned back. The strength drained from his body and he lost the will to focus on anything but the tug of that mouth around his cock. Already, he could feel his orgasm building at the base of his spine. He was so close.

  He groaned as she left him to peer up through her lashes. “More?” she teased.

  “Oh yeah.”

  This time she let the cream slide all the way down to the base of his shaft. He groaned again as her tongue lapped the dessert from his balls, up the length of his cock, licking and sucking the head. His hands shifted to grip in her hair, holding against him as the hot wetness engulfed him, and he gave himself up to the pleasure.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sebastian let himself into his house two hours later. His body was sated with sex, but he still wanted more.

  He reckoned he would never get enough of Julia’s loving. He’d never met a woman so giving, so attuned to what he needed. But he’d had to leave.

  His week free from the demon was almost up, and he couldn’t risk being with Julia when Dante made his first appearance. Tossing his keys on the side, he headed into the sitting room, poured a large measure of scotch, and flung himself on the sofa.

  This week had been a revelation. He’d felt almost what he pretended to be…normal. Though it was an illusion. Even if he got rid of Dante, he would hardly be normal. And Julia deserved better than him.

  He was four hundred years old, and for half of those he’d been possessed by a demon. But even before Dante’s appearance in his life, he hadn’t been a good man. He’d avoided the darker aspects of his art, but he’d still gone way beyond what most people would consider moral.

  His mother had been a gypsy. She’d done fortune-telling, among other things, at fairs across the country. Though it wasn’t from his mother that he got his peculiar talents, but from his father. A father he had never known, but his mother had told him he was one of the fae.

  A fucking fairy.

  A fairy who had courted her briefly, left her with child, and never been seen again. It hadn’t taken Sebastian long to recognize that he was different, that he wasn’t aging as normal people, and he’d had no choice but to keep drifting.

  Until he’d fallen in love. Sophie had been twenty-one when they’d married, and he’d spent the next thirty years with her, using glamor to blend in. But something must have given him away and he came to the attention of the local werewolf pack.

  They’d approached him to join. When he’d refused, they had kidnapped his wife and their daughter, who was pregnant at the time. They’d killed Sophie as proof that they were sincere and threatened to do the same with Anne.

  He’d allowed them to tie him between two stakes, strip him to the waist. The burning pain of the claws as they’d scored down his back was seared into his memory. Bastian had prayed to God, but when he received no answer, he’d drawn on black magic and called for help from elsewhere.

  Dante had answered him, offering him the chance to save his daughter and get his revenge.

  Grief, pain, and rage had mingled inside him.

  The rage had won over. He’d always suffered from the sin of pride, had thought himself higher than others, untouchable by those around him. Now the wolves had shown him different. The demon had been drawn to Bastian’s rage, identified his powers, and decided he would be a good fit. Dante had lent him the strength to free himself of the bonds, fight the wolves.

  And so began their strange partnership.

  That first full moon had been a huge relief, he’d dreaded the idea he would turn into one of the monsters he loathed so much. But he had never turned, never become a true werewolf. Dante claimed it was because of his fae blood and his magic, which was stronger than that of the werewolves.

  Dante was a huge source of information, had explained things about the supernatural races that Bastian would never have discovered on his own.

  They’d reached all sorts of accords during their time together. Bastian had done some bad things to appease the demon’s cravings, but there were lines he wouldn’t cross. He would not target the innocent. Though wasn’t that what he was doing with Julia? But she wouldn’t be hurt too badly. She would recover, he would be free, and Dante would be back where he belonged.

  And that had to happen soon, because slowly and surely the demon was taking over his soul.

  He jolted upright as he felt Dante return to his consciousness.

  Melanie was hot tonight.

  “Welcome back,” he muttered.

  Hey, I’m just saying. The blowjob was good but a bit vanilla for my taste. Or should I say strawberry.

  As most things were a little vanilla for Dante’s taste, he didn’t bother to comment.

  I want out.

  Sighing, Sebastian stood up and pulled out the piece of chalk he always carried in his pocket. He drew a circle around the sofa, whispering the words of a spell that would allow the demon out of Bastian’s head, but not out of the circle.

  Dante appeared in front of him, tall, thin, his white-blond hair short against his skull. His dark eyes narrowed as he stared at the chalk circle, his upper lip curling in a sneer.

  “You know this could all be over if you’d let me go.”

  He wished he could, really he did, but how could he in all conscience let Dante free on the unsuspecting Earth.

  Dante took a step toward the line and came to an abrupt halt. The spell was holding and Bastian gave another sigh—this time of relief.

  “So she hasn’t said I love you yet?”

  “Obviously not.”

  “And she won’t, you know. Not a woman like that to a man like you.”

  He wanted to defend himself, but how could he? “Oh, I think she likes me, she just requires a little nudge. If we hadn’t met Melanie tonight, I think you would now be back in Hell where you belong.”

  “Maybe. But you did meet Melanie. Sadly. What a coincidence.”

  “Shit.” He turned away and paced the confines of the circle. “You?”

  “I’m not entirely without friends. Someone may have suggested it would be a good idea to eat at a particular restaurant tonight.”

  How the hell was he going to be able to get Julia to say I love you with Dante interfering every step of the way? He had to get the Demon out of the picture for a while longer.

  “What do you want?”

  “Hmm, maybe a session with Melanie.”

  “No way.” The words were out before he could think better of it and a cunning smile curled the demon’s lips. But the idea of screwing around with Melanie made him want a hot shower and a scrubbing brush. He didn
’t want Melanie and her whips and ropes and sex toys. She was everything Julia was not.

  “You’re falling for her aren’t you? Julia might not love you, but you love her.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” he snapped.

  Dante ignored the interruption. “You still believe that under there, you’re a decent guy. That maybe you even deserve love.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “That you can get rid of me, and everything will be all sweet and roses and happily ever after.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “Really, Sebastian, you’re delusional.” Dante sat down on the sofa and stretched his arms along the back. He had an entirely too complacent smirk on his face; he was very confident and Bastian wished he understood why.

  “A fight in exchange for another week,” he said. “Colin says he has someone lined up for tomorrow night.” Maybe a fight would do him good as well. Get rid of some of his restlessness in a controlled environment.

  “Hmmm, tempting but I don’t think so,” Dante murmured. “I think I’ll stick around. This is going to be way more fun.”

  Fuck.

  With the demon poking his nose in, he’d have almost no chance of getting Julia to say the words. Dante had a way of interfering, bringing out his darker side. How was he supposed to come across as a nice, normal guy with a fucking demon riding his shoulder the whole time? Each year it got harder to say no, to ignore his presence, and Bastian knew that meant he was growing stronger. One day, if he didn’t get rid of him, their positions would be reversed and it would be Bastian in the background while Dante made the decisions. God save the world if he allowed that to happen.

  “Oh dear, I fear Ms. Melville is going to see a different side of you over the next few days.”

  Bastian took a step forward and shoved his face up close, so a faint tang of sulfur filled his nostrils, sharp and acrid. He jabbed Dante in the chest with a finger. “You do anything to hurt her and I swear we will die together.” It was the one way he knew to safely dispose of the demon. Dante wouldn’t die permanently but he would remanifest back in the Abyss where hopefully, whoever it was he’d been hiding from all these years would find him and finish him off. Of course, Bastian would rather not go that route, because unlike the demon, he was pretty sure he would die dead.