He nuzzled the top of my head with his chin, and his whiskers caught in my hair. After what I’d been through, I didn’t care how I looked. Doubt filled my brain, wondering what was happening between us, and why it felt as natural as breathing for me to be in his arms. I’d just been getting to know Niki the zombie.
Who was this breathtakingly handsome demon, holding me?
The scariest part? How content I felt sitting here in his arms.
Before I could ask the many questions circling in my brain, my parents entered the room, followed by Mr. Muscles and Grandma Gaia.
I frowned at my grandmother. “I didn’t think you were supposed to be here.”
With an indignant huff, Grandma Gaia placed her hands on her narrow hips. “Well, how do you like that? I protect the child her entire life, and now she doesn’t want to see me.”
I met her mirthful gaze and raised my eyebrows. A bubbling laugh burst through her shiny pink lips as she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a strong hug.
“I’ve waited so long to hold you in my arms, my beautiful granddaughter.”
“I love you too,” I whispered against her ear.
The sizzling warmth of Niki’s palms on my hips, as he held me up, was at once both comforting and disturbing. For the first time in ten years, everything was good.
As he resettled me in his lap, I tilted my head back and gazed into his beautiful, yellow eyes—eyes permanently burned into my mind. I was so amazed. It had only been one week since he’d killed me in the alley. One week since he’d saved me.
A melodious note pierced my skull, pulling my attention back to the purple book I still clutched in one hand. I held it up to my mother and smiled. “Missing something?”
“My diary—I thought it was gone.” She took the slim volume from me and stared at it a moment before tightly hugging it to her chest, raising her teary gaze to mine. “Thank you, Johnna.”
Grandma Gaia sighed. “Well, this opens up a whole new can of worms, Sabine. You know others will try for it with Max imprisoned.”
“I know.” Mom smiled shyly at me. “This time, I have help. The diary has chosen a second guardian.”
I sighed and gave her a thumbs-up. “Gotcha. Let me sleep a few hours before I have to do anything else. Better yet, give me a few days. I’ve died and almost died again in less than a week. I think I’ve earned some rest and relaxation.”
My ever-growing family filed out of my room, and my nerves did flip-flops in my stomach. Part of my brain wondered what Niki expected from me.
The other part didn’t care.
Smiling, I lightly ran the backs of my fingers down his cheek. “And you, my savior, will always be a Cheesehead, no matter how many times you change your appearance. Although, I have to be honest, I do prefer this gorgeous face instead of your zombified one.”
With his own slow, wicked smile, he pulled me closer. “I can live with that.” His soft lips touched mine, slow and sweet. My toes curled, and my fingers laced through his hair.
My last few coherent thoughts skittered through the spider web of desire. A newfound realization niggled deep inside my brain—
Quite possibly, with everything that happened during the past week, I’d also fallen in love with him. A demon pretending to be a zombie, who shared his immortal soul with me. Did I really know him?
I kissed him harder.
Did I care?
Chapter 6
I lay on my side with my head propped against my hand, staring at the gorgeous hunk lying on the bed beside me. The whole idea of his being a demon hadn’t sunk in yet, even after snuggling up next to his unnaturally warm body all night.
There was also the major issue of my age.
Mom had explained to me about the different pantheons like the Greeks, Romans, Celts, and Egyptians. She’d also explained demons, although it was all still a bit confusing. All Realms but the Mortal Realm were immortal and had magic. The inhabitants’ appearances stopped at about twenty-five to thirty years of age. I found out they could all be killed, albeit with a great amount of difficulty, but it could be done.
I let my finger trail down his cheek, following the pale white scar running from his left temple to the corner of his mouth. To me, Niki looked to be about thirty years old. Not terrible considering I’d just turned the ripe old age of twenty-three. Common sense dictated otherwise. He’d seen so much more, experienced so much more than I had.
Thirty years to my twenty-three wasn’t awful, but add a few more millennia? It was just wrong on so many levels.
I swallowed my sigh of disappointment, disgusted I was even contemplating feelings for him. He was so damned breathtaking, and when he looked at me, it felt like I was the only person he saw. What girl wouldn’t want that? Brushing the back of my hand along the squared line of his smooth jaw, I leaned forward to kiss his chin. In the time it took me to blink, Niki flipped me onto my back. I stared up into his golden eyes. Hungry eyes.
I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows. “Yummy.”
He frowned down at me. “What?”
“You have a hungry wolf expression in your eyes, so I’m answering. You look yummy too.” I shook my head in mock frustration. “If I have to explain everything I do or say, I’m going to have serious doubts about this relationship.”
Wait a minute. What happened to talking myself out of whatever this is going on between us? When had I made a decision about a relationship?
He growled and buried his head in my neck, my laughter turning into a low moan as his lips feathered over my sensitive skin. I met his gaze, unable to look away as his face lowered to mine, inch by slow inch until I wanted to scream. With a daring I didn’t know I had, I raised my lips to his—and a kaleidoscope of lights exploded behind my eyes.
As he deepened the kiss, teasing my lips with his scalding tongue, my heart fluttered. I couldn’t breathe. I was a fish out of water and in so much trouble. Inadequate was the perfect description for how I felt, like I was doing everything wrong. But boy, could he kiss.
As if sensing my rioting emotions and discomfort, his mouth left mine, the warm sensation of his lips moving down my jaw and back to my extremely sensitive neck. The hot, airy nibbles on my earlobe caused an internal world war as my insides churned. One minute everything clenched tight, the next I had a quivering bowl of gelatin in my gut. Every sensation became overwhelming. My doubts increased threefold.
I’m not ready for this.
Wanting to put some space between us, I pushed against his chest. I’d never given myself to anyone. I’d never even had a real friend, someone to whisper secrets to all night and laugh with about stupid things. No one had ever wanted me around, much less like this.
Part of me wanted to roll up inside his strong arms and escape—but I couldn’t. I put on a great show of strength. In reality, though, I was too stubborn and insecure for my own good.
His weight pressed against me, his face hot on my neck. “Niki,” I gasped, pushing against his chest again.
He didn’t budge.
He also wasn’t kissing me anymore. And his breathing had deepened. Embarrassment and horror blossomed as the realization sank in. I groaned.
Just my luck, Niki had actually fallen asleep on me.
I didn’t know whether to be relieved or angry. I couldn’t escape the acute embarrassment running rampant through me. I shoved against his dead weight with all the strength I had, which frankly wasn’t much. Finally, I managed to roll him onto his back. Sure enough, his eyes were closed, his face relaxed.
Now what was I going to do? My parents were going to kill me for falling asleep with him. And what if we’d had sex? I shuddered, not wanting to think about what they’d do to me. Although . . . I recalled how Niki had made me feel, the needy way my body felt pressed against his as he
kissed me senseless. If I were being honest, I wanted more.
I stared at his beautiful face, my thoughts on my parents and how they would react if they found Niki still in my room. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, considering his current state. If they walked in right now, he would only be sleeping. They’d still kill me. Somehow, my parents had missed the sixties and seventies, settling instead for the old-fashioned fifties.
They’d no doubt ground me for life, and since I was now immortal too, my future would be forever doomed.
Niki’s sleeping-beauty-like pose was torture. Until I realized I could peruse his incredibly sexy body without being caught. My gaze traveled lower to the wide vee where his cotton shirt had unbuttoned, showing more of his fantastic chest. Did I drool?
I’m quite positive I’m drooling.
My gaze narrowed as I continued staring at his chest, before I placed my palm on the spot I’d been ogling. His chest wasn’t moving. I placed a finger under his nose. Nothing. No soft puff of air hit my cooling skin. With my heart lodged in my throat, I panicked, effectively cutting off any oxygen going to my brain.
Oh gods, I’d finally killed him.
All I’d done was kiss him. How was I supposed to know I had a kiss-of-death talent too? I stared into his sightless eyes. I frowned and narrowed my gaze. “Wait a minute,” I mumbled and turned Niki's face toward mine. “A moment ago your eyes were closed. If this is a joke, buster, I’m not laughing.”
Deep in the golden depths, I saw a flicker. Not an eye movement, but something moved—as in morphing, cloudy-objects-type movement. The darker shades disappeared, and his irises turned black.
His eyes switched off like a television.
A thick knot formed in my throat. Even a novice like me knew this wasn’t a good thing.
I knew only one person who could tell me what was going on. “Dad!” I shrieked at the top of my lungs. If I hadn’t been so worried about the man lying prone across my bed, I would have been a little more amused at the frantic scrambling maneuver my father attempted when he flung open my door.
Pulling up his pants and drawing his sword at the same time didn’t work. I pressed my lips as tight as I could, trying to bite back nervous laughter when his pants crumpled back to the floor.
“Nice briefs.”
“Shut up.” Realizing no one was in the room except Niki and me, he pulled his pants back up and buttoned them, glowering as he leaned against the long, silver blade. “What do you want?”
My bottom lip quivered, the momentary amusement gone, as I pointed to Niki's silent figure lying beside me. “Something’s wrong with him. His eyes turned black.”
My father’s sword disappeared back from wherever he’d called it. He strode forward, the soles of his boots clomping against the stone floor. He grabbed Niki’s chin and turned his face toward him, peering into his sightless eyes. His pinched expression relaxed. “He’s only been summoned.”
“But you told me being summoned was bad for a demon.” I worried at my lip, waiting for his answer, which seemed to be taking forever.
“Normally, yes. Niki’s only been called by Lucien—like a conference call. In a normal summoning, when a demon’s true name is called, it’s a magical binding between him and the summoner. Whatever task the demon is summoned for, he must perform in order for his soul to be released. This is different.”
“How?”
“There are only two methods I know of to stop a summoning. A demon must find his true love or perform an unselfish act. However, the demon has to give up something huge, because something small won’t work. At least, I haven’t seen it work yet.”
“No, I meant how do we stop this?” I waved my hand in front of Niki’s face. “Whatever this is. I understand the difference.” Then my dad’s words registered. “Wait, why something huge? I would think a smaller act could work too. They are, after all, demons. Don’t they thrive on agony and pain?”
I stared down at Niki’s still form thoughtfully. “But what do I know? A week ago, I was getting ready to start a normal life in a normal job and knew next to nothing about magical pantheons or the existence of different realms.”
My dad smiled. “You know more than you think. Niki isn’t a regular demon. There is a demon hierarchy, beginning with the king and branching down to his enforcers and subjects. It’s no different than any other society. The Summoned demons are the ones who have had their names written down sometime in the past because of their disagreeable nature.”
I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. “Disagreeable nature? You sound like you’re talking about an unruly child.”
“Well, in a way I am. The lower forms of demons are very disagreeable. Seeing Niki like this, however, isn’t uncommon. Although the king usually waits until he’s asleep.”
“The king?” My worry meter rose about ten notches. If the demon king had called for his enforcer, something must be wrong. “What’s the chance the king only wanted an update?” I asked hopefully.
“None. We updated him after you fell asleep.” Dad cocked his head thoughtfully. “This might be about the diary, or it could be just as easily about something new.”
I met his gaze questioningly. “What about the diary? We stopped Max.”
“You were there when we discussed this earlier.” He pursed his lips in a grimace, regarding me like he did one of his specimens. “Do I need to spell your memory?”
My irritation increased. “Give me the highlights and what-ifs.”
“Should I separate the two of you or lie here and act like a pincushion?”
Our heads jerked simultaneously when Niki's deep voice rumbled through the small room. I jerked my hand away from where I’d unknowingly been groping his rock-hard thigh. A flicker of emotion passed across his face, but I couldn’t be sure whether it was pain or relief, and I was way too mortified to ask.
“Niki, Dad said you were summoned.”
He sat up and pulled me down on his lap. His hand cupped around my knee, his thumb gently rubbing over my jeans.
“The king needed me.” Anger sculpted his face even more, his cheeks and jaw becoming more prominent. “I hate it when he summons me when I’m awake—drains my energy.” Niki rubbed the back of his neck.
“What did Lucien want?” Dad asked.
“He needs us there. Someone broke into the palace treasure room. Malachi found a witness.” Niki met my gaze. “You’ve already met Malachi who’s an enforcer like me—and a good friend.”
“I did?”
“What happened?” Dad’s tone grew more insistent.
Niki turned back to my father. “Evidently, one of the baby imps accidently apparated into the treasure room instead of the training room. Once Lucien got the little bugger to calm down, he coaxed the story out of him. The imp had been positive there were two people. He hid in a sconce while the man and woman tore the room apart looking for something. Lucien assumed they were looking for the diary.”
I raised an eyebrow at the picture in my head. “A sconce? How could he hide in a sconce?”
“He turned himself into a candle.”
“Hmmm, smart imp,” Dad mused. “I’ll have to keep my eye on him.”
“Easy enough, since Lucien sent him here. We’re supposed to watch over him.”
I frowned at Niki. “Is that smart? If a big bad something is after the diary again, the last thing we need is another body to worry about. Besides, how do we know we can trust the little demon? He could be making it all up.”
Dad stopped rubbing a furrow in his chin with his finger and gave me a quick nod. “Glad to see you’re thinking again. I don’t think he’ll be a problem. If anything, the imp will be able to warn us if we should have unexpected company.”
“One step ahead of you. Alloutte is with Sabine.”
“Taste? Oh my gods, you don’t eat them, do you?” I blurted. A too-horrible thought, although I wouldn’t mind bashing their heads in for what they’d done to me a couple of days ago.
The two men glanced at me in surprise, and Niki’s face crumpled as a loud bark of laughter rumbled out. My dad was another matter. I don’t think I’d ever seen such a complete look of repugnance on his face—or on anyone else’s face, either. I expelled a sigh, waiting for what would happen next.
“Johnna Artemis Newton. That is the most revolting—”
Yep, right on time. My mind wandered as he raged on. I had every right to stop listening. As his daughter, it wasn’t like I hadn’t heard it before.
Dad took a breath, but I knew he was just getting started. Unfortunately, he had quite a few years to make up for. As he continued his diatribe, from behind him came a not-so-subtle throat clearing. When he turned, I saw my mother, her disgust emanating through the room. A movement at the end of her extended arm drew my eyes, and I choked on my laughter at the purple ball hanging from her pinched fingers.
I concentrated, drawing in several deep breaths, so I wouldn’t laugh, which proved a tad more difficult than I expected. I cleared my throat. “So, this must be Alloutte?” Upon hearing his name, the creature’s two beady eyes popped open, and he trained his ruby orbs on me. This was rich. He looked like a swollen, purple jelly belly with arms and legs.
With a jolt of surprise, his gaze widened, and my laughter turned into a shrill yelp. A slow grin morphed his features, leaving an uncomfortable sensation in the pit of my stomach. His smile continued to grow until his round body mimicked a purple Pac-man’s. His eyes seemed to twinkle like he was laughing at me.
Realization dawned, and I clenched my jaws together in annoyance.
In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1) Page 9
