by Jodi Redford
Cass stopped in front of Domino. “I know all of this has to be a bit of a shock. But Marabella is telling you the truth. This was our only chance to throw a wrench in Pricilla’s plans for world domination. Your daughter should be commended for her unselfish dedication to the security of our universe.”
Wow. Cass was way better at this improvisation stuff.
Domino peered over her tortoise-frame glasses at Cass. “Do I know you?”
Marabella rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mother. You guys had a ten-minute conversation in your office yesterday. How difficult is that to remember?”
Domino adopted a wounded expression. “Is this what having a demon familiar has brought you to? Unnecessary sarcasm and cruelty to your mother?”
A grunt fell from Nikki. “Huh. Human moms are exactly like demon moms. Who knew?”
Ignoring Nikki’s astute observation, Domino continued staring at Marabella like she was an alien masquerading as the daughter she once knew. “Why would you risk losing your status with this foolish stunt?”
Cass cleared her throat. “Not to be rude, but you did catch that part about world domination, right?”
Marabella squeezed Cass’s arm. “I appreciate you sticking up for me, but this is my responsibility. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” And with that admission, something shifted inside her. “This is my life, Mom. I love you. I really do. But it’s time to respect the decisions I make and trust that once in a while, I do know what I’m doing. Yes, I’m going to mess up sometimes and make mistakes. It’s called being human.” She cocked her head to the side. “Although, technically, I’m also part angel. So maybe that makes me a hugel. Or maybe it’s angman. Who knows? Regardless, it’s time to cut the apron strings and let me spread my wings.” Jeez, that was a serious infraction of mixed metaphors. Mentally shrugging, she decided to let it pass.
“Marabella, you are making no sense whatsoever.” Domino rubbed her forehead wearily. “And what is this nonsense about you being part angel?”
“She means that literally, by the way,” Nikki piped up.
Marabella waited for Nikki to launch into her spiel about pooping babies who smell funny. Fortunately she didn’t, because that would have only thrown Domino right over the edge.
“These insane theories are not funny, Marabella,” Domino whispered in a fierce voice as she slid a furtive glance in Cass’s direction. “Furthermore, it’s the kind of talk that leads to admittance into a psychiatric hospital if you speak it in public.”
“Your daughter isn’t crazy,” Cass assured in that soothing tone she was so proficient at. “Her father—your Sascha—was a full-blood angel.”
Domino glared at Cass. “Now I see. You’re the one responsible for filling Marabella’s head with this nonsense.”
“No, she isn’t,” Marabella insisted firmly. She glanced at Cass. “You’re wasting your breath. My mom will never believe anything we say. She’s too practical minded. If she can’t see something with her own eyes or read solid, documented proof of something’s vital principle, it simply doesn’t exist.”
Cass smiled. “Well, why didn’t you say that to begin with?” Without warning, she grabbed Domino’s arm. In the next second, they both blinked out of sight.
Marabella gaped at the spot where Cass and Domino had been standing. “Where did they—?”
A whoosh of air buffeted Marabella’s face, and suddenly her mom and Cass reappeared. Domino’s features were frozen in a comical and wholly uncharacteristic expression of shock. Cass’s grin was exactly the same as before she’d disappeared. “Voilà, we have a believer.”
Marabella continued to stare at her mom. “Err…where did you take her?”
“Valhalla, to see your father’s plaque of honor in the Great Hall.”
Marabella blinked. “But you were only gone for a second.”
“That dimension operates in a completely different system of time than what we know here. A second is pretty much the equivalent of an hour there.”
Domino finally broke from her trance and glanced at Marabella. Tears slowly misted in her eyes. “Sascha…an angel.”
Marabella rushed forward and wrapped Domino in a hug. “I know. Pretty heavy, huh?”
“It doesn’t even seem possible.”
“Imagine how I feel. I’ve got his blood running through me.”
Domino’s shaky fingers grazed Marabella’s cheekbone. “I used to blame him for leaving us. I know that sounds horrible. But I didn’t know the first thing about raising a child, much less how to do it on my own. I was convinced I’d be a failure as a mother. And I have been.”
Marabella shook her head furiously in denial, and Domino patted her cheek again. “Yes, I have. And the saddest part is that my refusal to accept failure is what made me a failure. I expected you to live the perfect life that I’d created for you. That wasn’t fair.” Domino leaned forward and kissed Marabella’s cheek tenderly. “I can be stingy with my praise but know that I am proud of you.”
This time it was Marabella’s eyes that filled with tears. “I love you, Mom.”
Domino hugged her tight. “I love you too.” She loosened her grip on Marabella and shifted her attention to Sam, who was keeled forward with his head between his knees and snoring loudly. Her mom frowned. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about this demon-familiar business, but I’ll do my best to trust that you know what you’re doing.”
Marabella’s smile wobbled. “Thank you. That’s all I can ask.” She just hoped that ultimately she did know what she was doing. Both with Sam, and her heart. Because if she screwed either up, the fallout would be devastating.
Roughly two hours after Domino left, they managed to rouse Sam and pour enough coffee down his gullet to get him lucid. It took a ham sandwich and two slices of cheesecake to make him coherent and functional. Well, mostly functional. He still had a tendency to nod off if no one engaged him in conversation for longer than five minutes.
Concerned, Marabella stroked the hair off his forehead. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. This is nothing. You should have seen him the first time you whammied him with your angel light.” Cass gave an awkward cough as Sam slid Marabella’s fingers down to his mouth and sucked on them. Lifting her wrist, Cass made an exaggerated show of checking her watch. “Wow, look at the time. Nik, we better hit the road. We’ve got an early morning ahead of us. Well, you do anyway. I’m technically still unemployed.” Before Nikki could protest, Cass grabbed her wrist and winked at Marabella. In the blink of an eye, both sisters vanished.
“About damn time. I thought they’d never leave.”
She stared down at Sam. “Have you been faking being out of it?”
“Only for the last thirty minutes.” He lifted from the chair and swept her into his arms. His stride purposeful, he carried her to the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed. He made short work divesting her of her skirt, blouse and undergarments before stripping off his jeans. With a growl, he plumped her breasts between his hands and ran his tongue over her nipples.
She gasped and arched against him.
His hungry gaze roved to her face. “Do you know how fucking addictive you are? I want to eat you alive. In fact, I think I will.” He slid down her body until his face was buried between her legs. His tongue plunged into her pussy, tasting her from the inside out. The raw intensity of his devouring was intoxicating and luscious. Submitting completely to his mastery, she spread her legs wide and offered herself up for the feast. He sucked her clit and lashed it with his tongue until her body bowed and shattered into a dazzling climax. He lifted his head and licked his lips. “Delicious.”
The mattress dipped as he grabbed a condom from the end table. He ripped the packet open with his teeth and sheathed his cock with a couple downstrokes of his fist. Anchoring her legs wide again, he entered her in one smooth, deep stroke. His dizzying penetration stole her breath. He positioned her calves over his shoulders and gripped her h
ips, guiding her into his fierce thrusts. She screamed his name when the second orgasm slammed into her. He answered her call with drugging kisses while he hammered her with his cock.
She wrapped her arms tight around him, holding him close. He was a song in her heart, a dark decadence in her body. She couldn’t contain the overflow of emotion. So she released it to words. “I love you, Sam.”
His strokes faltering, he looked into her eyes. She spied the flicker of vulnerability before the defensive shutters locked into place. “Don’t waste that emotion on me, Bella. I don’t have it in me to return it.”
“It’s okay. I’m not asking you to love me back.” Her heart cramping, she pulled his face close and brushed her lips over his, wishing with everything inside her that she could believe the illusion of her own words.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sam’s restless pacing burned a path in Marabella’s living-room carpet as he waited for her and Cass to finish debating the delicate nature of a newly established witch and familiar bond. Or more to the point—the reason why the fragile threads interconnecting him and Marabella seemed to have lost some of their strength overnight. Despite Marabella being able to command him to her side minutes ago while he’d waited for her summons downstairs in the shop, Cass wasn’t convinced the familiar chain held enough wattage for a longer trip.
“I don’t get it,” Cass muttered as she tossed up her arms. “It makes no sense why the link would just weaken like this.” She slid him a suspicious scowl. “Are you putting up a resistance block? Because that sure as hell can tamper with the results.”
“Why would I do that? I agreed to go along with this, didn’t I?”
Cass plunked her hands on her hips. “After a lot of cursing and foot stomping.”
“You make me sound like a petulant toddler.”
Cass cocked an eyebrow. “If the diaper fits…”
And here he’d thought Nikki was the aggravating Lassiter sister. “I worked through my issues with rebranding myself.” Mostly.
“Okay. Then could there be something else that’s causing resistant friction?”
Without warning, Marabella’s sweet declaration floated through his mind. I love you, Sam. “No.”
“Then I’m really stumped.” Heaving a frustrated exhale, Cass scratched her head.
Marabella perched on the corner of the couch and fidgeted with the buttons on her cardigan. “Worst-case scenario, what are we looking at here?”
“The Death Wards are obviously a lot farther than your shop. Assuming you’ll be able to get him to the Wards, your summoning chain needs to carry enough juice to haul his ass back. It’s a fifty-fifty prospect.”
Marabella’s focus shifted to him. She swallowed, the fear and uncertainty in her eyes all too apparent. “Those aren’t very good odds. I—I don’t know if we should risk it. What do you think?”
I think you’re batshit crazy to be in love with me. “What the fuck. I say we go for it.”
“But…what if something goes wrong? What if I can’t get you back?” Marabella’s voice broke on the last word.
He crossed to the couch and hunkered in front of her. Tears accumulated on her lashes, and he reached out to brush them away. The odd cramping sensation in his heart intensified. “You can do it, babe.”
“Y-you really think so?”
“Absolutely.” Hooking one hand behind her head, he pulled her close for a slow, comforting kiss. He breathed her in, the heaviness in his chest momentarily lifting. Pulling back, he met her gaze.
She bit her lip. “Okay. We’ll do it then.”
It was staggering, the level of faith she placed in him. It filled him with equal parts exhilaration and abject terror. He’d never worried about letting someone down before because it simply hadn’t been an issue for him. But almost from the moment he’d laid eyes on Marabella, it’d become a constant anchor weighing his conscience.
There was that damn conscience again. If his current state of mind didn’t prove that was the single worst condition cursed to human and demonkind, nothing would.
Shoving his disgruntled musings aside, he stood and nodded. “All right, ready when you are.” He squared his shoulders, preparing himself for transport. To his surprise, Marabella hopped to her feet and stood on tiptoes before pressing her mouth to his again. Unlike their prior kiss, this one held heat and determination.
Her arms falling to her sides, she took a small step away from him. “Hurry back to me, Sam.”
His breath ragged, he stared at her. “With more of that waiting for me, you better believe it.”
A tremulous smile played at her lips. Their combined energy snapped and rolled across his skin, charged for dispatch. The link stretched, becoming elastic and fluid as the environment surrounding him distorted. In the next second the room vanished, and he was hurtling through the endless void of teleport space. A fissure opened in front of him, and he rocketed through it. A blurred landscape formed, its mass of discordant shapes in a state of suspended motion. With a jolt, he locked in place. A massive metal wall stood before him, towering imposingly toward the obsidian skyline. Wicked-looking barbed wire topped its uppermost ledge, crackles of electricity shooting from its network of filaments.
He’d arrived at the outermost gate of the Death Wards.
A ridiculous sense of pride washed over him at the accomplishment. The emotion was directed at Marabella though, not him. Her powers were responsible for getting him there. Hell, he’d only been along for the ride. Tapping into his senses, he mentally scanned for the status of their link. The signal was fuzzy. More than likely, the farther he traveled into the Wards, the weaker the link would grow. He’d just have to hope it’d stay strong enough to get him back home, since he sure as shit didn’t relish the thought of being stuck in this devil-forsaken place.
His boots crunching on the jagged granite, he approached the gatehouse posted at the center section of the wall. The guard stationed inside tore his attention from the bank of monitors suspended from the ceiling and eyed him suspiciously. Sam reached into his rear pocket and grabbed the ID card that held his credentials, sending up a silent prayer that he was still listed in the registry—and that Pricilla hadn’t put an official warrant on his record. He flipped the card onto the small metal tray protruding from the bulletproof glass. The guard retracted the tray and swiped the card.
Tension stiffening his muscles, Sam waited for the results. The guard removed the ID from his scanner and squinted at Sam, visually sizing him up. Sam slid his hand beneath the hem of his shirt and released Lucy’s safety clip.
“Section you’re visiting?”
A fraction of the tension uncoiled from Sam, but he kept his hand hovering over Lucy. “Sector six.” Situations like this, a lie was easier than bringing added attention to himself by openly trekking into the restricted zone.
“Weapons?”
There was no point in lying. He’d never make it through the scanner. Leaving Lucy behind would be an obstacle, but not an insurmountable one. He’d have to manually sneak Aster’s soul back to the gate—in other words, convince the spirit to use its own two feet and walk. Providing he managed that much, Sam would then have to knock out the guard, grab Lucy and chamber Aster’s soul so he could transport him back to the earth realm. All without getting his own ass shot at by any of the hundreds of guards manning this fucking rock.
Piece of cake.
Grunting, he freed Lucy from her holster and tossed her onto the tray. The guard buzzed him through. Sam eyed the massive reinforced metal doors as they slowly yawned open. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. Here goes nothing.
Her stomach jittery with nerves, Marabella nibbled her thumbnail and rose from the couch. “I barely feel him.”
Cass gave her a soothing pat on the arm. “Try not to worry about it. Stress will only weaken the link.”
She really wished Cass had mentioned that sooner. “Is there something I should be doing?” She hated this waiting-around
stuff that made her feel as useful as a one-legged sloth.
“It’s all pretty much up to Sam now. Once he has Aster, he’ll lock into the link and ride it home.” Cass attempted a smile of reassurance. “Everything will be fine. In the meantime, just focus on keeping your energy strong.”
She easily read between the lines. Cass didn’t want her to freak out and break the link. Yeah, no problem. She sucked in a calming breath. A distraction would go a long way in getting her nerves under control.
“Is it okay if I work downstairs for a while?” She sort of felt like an idiot for asking, but she was basically still in training with this familiar-link stuff. She didn’t want to do anything to screw things up.
“Sure. Give me a sec and I’ll be right down.” Cass headed in the direction of the guest bath.
After checking to make sure she hadn’t left the coffeepot on in the kitchen, Marabella ventured downstairs and unlocked the door leading into Bella’s Boutique. Flipping lights on along the way, she ventured toward the front entrance. A scuffing noise sounded behind her. Cass. “That was fast.”
Marabella started to pivot just as a hand slammed over her mouth. Those same hands dug into her with brutal force and yanked her against a thick belly. Terror clawed its way up her esophagus. The staccato tap of approaching footsteps filled her ears, competing with the dull rush of her pounding heartbeat. She struggled against her captor, fear and panic jockeying for the foremost sensation within her.
Self-preservation broke through her fog of terror, and she called upon every ounce of her magic. It manifested in a dazzling burst of light. A sharp, painful prick jabbed into her arm, and she yelped, the sound smothered by the palm clamped over her mouth. A strange wooziness swept over her, and the brilliant light surrounding her receded.
“You’re an extremely difficult woman to get alone, my dear.” A dark-haired woman with cold eyes and an even chillier smile stepped into view. She capped the syringe in her hands before slipping it into the pocket of her black suit jacket.
