Raise a Little Hell

by Cathryn Fox

  “But we just got here,” he answered, and Nicole wondered why he was stalling. Surely he felt the pull between them every bit as much as she did. Trent glanced around the café, his gaze landing on Kaylea as she rapidly approached. Trent’s eyes widened with delight, as though he was waiting for her, and a foreign burst of jealousy whipped through Nicole’s blood in response.

  When Kaylea caught Trent’s glance, she stopped midstride and clutched her stomach, her eyes widening in disbelief. As Nicole watched on, barely able to think straight through the onslaught of bizarre emotions, Kaylea anxiously called out for her husband, Brand.

  Brand came out from behind the counter and rushed to her side, only to stop dead in his tracks when he spotted Trent.

  Nicole blinked and tried to shake off the fog as she watched the exchange. Did they all know one another?

  Nicole’s mind swirled, and coherent thought was damn near impossible to grasp through the haze of lust, greed, envy and what seemed like every other deadly sin skewing her emotions.

  What the hell was going on?

  Kaylea reached for her, then jerked her hand back as though stung by an invisible insect or burned by a nonexistent fire.

  “Nicole,” Kaylea yelled out. “Back away.”

  Nicole shook her head to clear it, and waved Kaylea and Brand closer. “Come meet Trent,” she said, her tongue suddenly too think to swallow. Nicole glanced at Trent. His white teeth flashed as he seductively smiled down at her, pulling her in deeper and deeper with his charm.

  Brand stiffened, and positioned Kaylea behind him. With his body language tense, he fisted his hands. “Nicole, back away,” he said in a deceptively calm voice that seemed to belie his actions.

  Why weren’t they coming closer?

  Nicole heard Kaylea blurt out something about a spell, and a force field that prohibited them from coming closer, but Nicole couldn’t really rationalize any of that right now, not when all she could think about was climbing into bed with Trent and spending the night with him buried between her legs. Goodness, no man had ever aroused her to the point of distraction before.

  Trent stood and tossed her friends a menacing smile. No. She had to have been mistaken, because there was nothing menacing about his man. When he held his hand out to her, Nicole blindly followed. She stood and moved toward him, willing and eager to follow him to the end of earth and back should he desire.

  Out of her peripheral vision she could see Kaylea and Brand waving wildly, yelling and trying to coax her to their side, but she didn’t dare spare them a glance and pull her gaze away from Trent’s gripping eyes. Surely what they were trying to tell her could wait until tomorrow, when her brain was back to functioning properly. Spellbound, Nicole nearly withered to the floor in a mass of lust as Trent turned his full, passion-imbued eyes on her.

  “Come with me, darling,” he murmured, his voice so smooth and enticing it was all she could do to put one foot in front of the other. As she glided toward him, it felt like she was having an out-of-body experience, like someone else was controlling her every movement.

  With her arm locked in his, Trent maneuvered her around the tables, but before they could reach the door, some muscle-bound gorilla came bursting through the archway and catapulted himself forward. Before Nicole knew what was happening, this man—this intruder—threw her over one broad shoulder and whisked her away.

  What the heck was going on?

  The cold winter air spilled over her flesh like a bucket of ice water, and her body, inadequately dressed for the outdoor elements, shivered and snapped out of its lusty trance in response. She struggled and pounded her fists on her captor’s back, which proved to be nothing more than a thick wall of muscle.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she cried out, unable to discern his features, as the hood of his parka masked his identity.

  “Saving you from hell.”

  Saving her from hell? Was this guy for real?

  She glanced up, expecting to see Kaylea, Brand and even Trent chasing after her, but met with only blank uninterested faces. Cripes, here she was being kidnapped in the middle of the day by some muscle-bound hooded gorilla and not one person on the street paid her hysterics any attention.

  “Put me down or else—”

  The gorilla opened the passenger door to a sporty Mustang and placed her inside. “Or else what?” he asked, his hands braced on the frame as he leaned his head into the car, his deep green eyes challenging hers.

  Nicole swallowed and changed tactics, knowing she was no match for this guy. “What do you want with me?” she squeaked out. Jesus, everything was happening so fast her brain could barely keep up.

  The worry in her voice seemed to soften his hard features, and the lines bracketing his mouth relaxed. “It’s okay, Nicole. Don’t worry. You’re with me now.”

  With that he slammed the door and hastily circled the car. Nicole didn’t dare try to escape. Outrunning him in her heels was useless and she knew it. That, and there was something in his eyes when he looked at her. Something honest, trustworthy and oddly familiar. Something that told her he was a man of character, a man with integrity. She studied his aura, and instinctively knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man—this stranger—yet not quite a stranger at all, would never harm her. But why would he whisk her away from Trent, and what did he want with her?

  You’re with me now.

  She played those four words over in her head, deciphering their significance, and inherently understanding their importance—now that she was with him, she’d never ever be with another.

  He pulled the hood of his parka down, allowing her to study his strong profile and take in his mussed shoulder-length brown hair, deep green eyes the same color as hers and firm square jaw. As she examined him, a strange feeling rooted in her gut, and before she even realized what she was doing, she inched closer, seeking something, but what she couldn’t be sure. His heat reached out to her and began to warm her chilled body and a strange burning rushed through her veins.

  “Who are you?” she asked quietly, bewildered by the weird, unbelievable connection, and the inherent trust she felt with him.

  “Connor,” was all he offered.

  “Connor.” The second his name spilled from her lips, her world went a little fuzzy around the edges and full-blown need reverberated through her blood, completely catching her off guard. Body braced against the seat, she drew a breath and inflated her lungs in an attempt to push back the feeling of light-headedness. Truthfully, what she’d suddenly felt for him was as frightening as it was exciting.

  She swallowed. “Do I know you?”

  Without answering, he shot a glance over his shoulder. Nicole followed the action and spotted Trent rushing from the café. The second her eyes locked on Trent’s, a foreboding shiver worked its way through her body and in that instant she realized not all was as it seemed.

  She couldn’t explain it—heck, it wasn’t even logical—but as the cool air cleared her foggy thoughts, she intuitively knew that what she felt with Trent was nothing more than a superficial want. But with Connor, there was this deep-seated, genuine need that touched her soul, and it was so damn powerful it had the ability to take her breath away. It was unexplainable, crazy even, but it was there nonetheless, even if her logical brain couldn’t make sense of it.

  “My friends. They’ll worry and come searching for me.”

  He shook his head. “They know you’re in good hands.”

  She narrowed her eyes and tried to sort through the turn of events. “What’s going on?”

  “There will be time for questions later, Nicole. Right now we need to get the fuck out of here,” Connor said and floored the accelerator.

  As he sped out of town, Connor turned up the heat to help keep Nicole warm, ignoring the way the warm blast angered his singed hands. Good thing he had his coat on and hood pulled up when he broke through Lucifer’s force field, otherwise his entire body would have sizzled like bacon. Sur
e, guardians could summon enough power to break the field, but it didn’t come without consequences.

  He watched the way Nicole fidgeted, wringing her hands together as she kept glancing over her shoulder. A few times she cast him a sidelong glance, opened her mouth and then shut it again, anxiety and impatience written all over her face. As he studied her and read her emotions, it occurred to him that Nicole James had no idea what or who she was, or just how deep her abilities ran.

  Yes, he planned to answer her questions and enlighten her to her destiny, just as soon as he got her as far away from Lucifer as he could, because if she wanted to live, the next few hours were going to be crucial.

  But how she would react to what he told her was anyone’s guess. Would she try to flee or would she accept the hand fate had dealt her. And why was she just being discovered now?

  Darkness had fallen over them as Connor turned off the road and followed an old beaten-down path into the woods, stopping the car only when he reached his safe house.

  He killed the ignition and turned to Nicole, her beautiful eyes staring up at him in concern as she worried her bottom lip.

  He studied her for a moment, his gaze moving over her face, her deep green eyes, plump red lips that were made for kissing and silky black hair that would feel most sensuous brushing over his body.

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  She shook her head, and oddly enough, her implicit trust in him seeped under his skin and warmed his darkest corners. Energy leaped between them as his glance fell over her body, his eyes taking pleasure in her soft, voluptuous curves, slim waist and long sexy legs. Despite the situation they’d found themselves in, he could feel his cock thicken, their sexual attraction palpable.

  “Connor?”

  The distress in her voice pulled him back and he cursed himself for allowing his thoughts to wander. Even though she was a guardian and there was a deep connection between them, now was not the time to be indulging in his wayward thoughts. He needed to get her to safety, see to all her needs and answer her questions to the best of his ability.

  “Connor.” She clutched her stomach, her voice full of distress. “Your hands.”

  He pulled his hands from the steering wheel and examined the burns. Nothing a little balm wouldn’t heal. “I’m fine,” he said, addressing her worries. He reached for the door handle, but Nicole’s palm on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to her, and the sincerity in her eyes tugged at his very soul.

  She stared at him for a long, lingering moment, then in the softest voice, she whispered, “Let me take care of that for you.”

  Connor swallowed down the raw ache of longing and worked to sound casual. “Come on. Let’s get you inside,” was all he managed to force out.

  Having whisked her away without her winter coat, and dressed in nothing more than a pair of jeans and silk shirt, she looked chilled to the bone. Once inside, she followed him into his bedroom where he went to work on getting her warm clothes while he built a fire. Tucked inside his dresser drawer, he found her a pair of sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt.

  “Put these on while I make a fire,” he said. He pointed to the room next to them. “The washroom is there if you need it.” When she nodded, Connor walked away, leaving her in private.

  A few minutes later she came from the room, made a quick trip to the washroom and then plopped down onto the sofa. He stole a quick glance, but wished he hadn’t. Christ, she looked so sexy and cozy as she tucked her legs beneath her, it was all he could do to leash his erection. Soft rays of firelight danced over her big inquisitive eyes, and created warmth and shadows in the log cabin. The scent of fresh burning lumber wafted before his nose, and he watched Nicole pull the scent into her lungs.

  When she glanced up at him with troubled eyes, he fought the urge to take her right there on the sofa, and spend the rest of the night fucking the worry right out of her.

  Satisfied with the fire he’d built, he crossed the room and sat on the coffee table in front of Nicole. It was then that he noticed the salve and strips of towels. Nicole’s concern for his well-being did the strangest things to him. A wave of possessiveness came out of nowhere and swamped him, and need gathered in his gut. Fuck, he wasn’t sure how to respond to her, never having dealt with these kinds of emotions before.

  “Nicole—”

  She cut him off with a no-nonsense glare. “Shh. I’ll bandage you while you tell me everything.”

  Resolve melting, he nodded and held his hands out and hoped like hell they weren’t shaking. As she tenderly went to work on doctoring his hands, he figured the best way to gather control over his rattled emotions was by getting right to the point. “I’m Connor. Connor McClain.” His voice came out a little harder than he meant.

  She gently rubbed salve onto his burns and cast him a questioning glance. “And it seems you already know me.”

  He nodded and continued. “I’m a Paranormal Task Force officer.”

  Her head jerked back with a start, her eyes clouding in confusion. “And?” she asked. “What does that have to do with me?”

  As her green eyes searched his for answers, he reached out and felt her emotions. Turmoil. Anxiety. Stress. Impatience.

  Need.

  Connor cleared his throat. “And can you read auras?”

  She nodded, and gently wrapped a swathe around his hand, leaving his uninjured fingers free. Her warm hands glided over his with the utmost care. His body hummed in response, tension building inside him.

  Dark lashes flashed up at him. “Yes. But how—”

  “And you can pick up on peoples’ energy, their vibrations, right?” he rushed on, barely able to control the sudden burst of lust worming its way through his veins.

  “Yes, but—”

  “Have you always felt a little different, a little alone in the world? Unable to forge deep, meaningful, lasting relationships with the opposite sex?”

  She nodded, and starched her spine, evidently unnerved that he knew so much about her. The tension in her body brought out his protective instincts full force. He squeezed her fingers, offering his comfort.

  “Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” she challenged.

  Without allowing her to turn the conversation around to him, he pitched his voice low to soften the impact of his words. “You’re a guardian, Nicole.”

  “A guardian?”

  “Yes, you control the portal between earth and hell. And that was Lucifer himself that you were about to sleep with.”

  Her mouth opened wide, but no words formed as she sank back into the cushions. Connor gave her a moment of reprieve, letting her work through his shocking announcement, giving her time and space to come to terms with it. “He had you under a spell and created a vision to fit your idea of the perfect man,” he added quietly.

  “So he really was too good to be true,” she murmured.

  Minutes ticked by as he watched her expression and the play of emotions crossing her face—everything from disbelief, confusion, agitation, to acceptance and finally relief. Connor blew a sigh of relief himself, and ran his fingers through his hair, rather amazed that acceptance had come so easy to her.

  Understanding dawned in small increments as she furrowed her brow. “So that’s why I’ve always felt alone?”

  Leaning forward, Connor braced his elbows on his knees and met her eyes. “Yes.”

  “And different?”

  He nodded, and when she let out a burst of air, he could feel another rush of relief ooze off her in waves. An emotion stemming from a lifetime of unanswered questions, he supposed.

  She slanted her head and he met her probing gaze. “How do you know all this?”

  “Because I’m a guardian, too.”

  “I see.”

  “We’re rare, Nicole…” His voice hitched when he spoke. “I never thought I’d come across another guardian in my lifetime.”

  As a new calmness settled over her, she hugged herself. “So you’ve been just as lonely a
s me?” When he didn’t respond, she touched his cheek. “Connor—” Then suddenly something in her expression changed, darkened.

  Connor closed his hand over hers. “What?”

  “What would have happened if I had slept with him?”

  He blew a long, slow breath and gave it to her straight. “If Lucifer controls the guardian, he controls the portal, able to pull whoever he wants back to hell with him. Controlling the guardian means his powers wouldn’t be limited on earth, and he or his henchmen wouldn’t weaken after forty-eight hours. It would allow him to come and go at whim, wreaking havoc and taking anyone he wants back with him. He can unlock the door from his side, but cannot open it from earth, to pull through unsuspecting humans, not unless he is in control of a guardian.”

  Nicole gave a slow side-to-side shake of her head. “Jesus, we can never allow that to happen.”

  “Never,” he echoed. “When your powers grow, you’ll learn to block your mind to his power of suggestion.”

  “How do I keep the door closed if he tries to control me?”

  “Simply by visualizing a closed door. When someone pushes from the other side, you just brace your hands on it to keep it closed. But it takes years to learn the skill, which is why the PTF begins training at such a young age.”

  At that exact moment they both stood. Their bodies collided, their groins bumped and just feeling her softness next to his hardness had Connor’s cock thickening to the point of pain.

  Connor wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her at the same time her fingers scarfed around his neck. She swallowed, her gaze moving to his mouth. Oh, God, he needed her, his body craved her with an intensity that he had no control over. Sure, it was because they were both guardians, drawn to each other on a deeper level, but it was more than that. It was the way she trusted him, and showed such concern for his well-being; it was her strength of character and the way she so readily accepted her fate, and all the responsibility that went with it.

  A shiver moved through her body and he pulled her in tighter. He ran his hands up and down her arms, and asked, “What is it?”