“Hey,” I say, fully knowing the look of terror on my face is giving everything away. Ella stares at me, jaw still hanging open. Fuck. “So, I, ummm.” I look back at the cat—at my brother—and then back at Ella. I let out a nervous laugh. Should I try and grab Ella’s wrist, hoping to feel her heart beating before she can scream? I’m so shaken I don’t know if I’ll be able to get into her mind anyway.“And for my next act,” I start, and rush forward, grabbing Scott-Cat by the scruff. He yowls and tries to get out of my arms, scratching me in the process.“Keep that up and I’ll head straight to the vet for a neuter,” I say through gritted teeth. He goes limp in my arms but continues to growl. “Nice seeing you again,” I say to Ella and dash past her, down the hall and into the elevator. The doors close right as she screams.“See?” I say, looking down at Scott. “This is what happens when you cross me.” I’m trying to sound tough, but I know the shock in my eyes is anything but menacing. I have
I wave my hand over the door to magically unlock it. I’m balancing the box against my hip, regretting turning Scott into anything weighing over ten pounds. Before I even reach for the door knob, the front door opens.“Callie,” Lucas says, throwing the door back. Sunlight burns his skin, but he doesn’t so much as flinch. Binx darts in first, and I hurry along behind him, shutting the door with my foot. Part of Lucas’s face is charred, but that’s not the most jarring thing about him. His eyes are wide and full of worry. It’s the closest I’ve seen him to looking scared, but it’s not for himself. He’s terrified of losing me. “You should have called me right away.”I set Scott-cat down, and Lucas pulls me into an embrace.“I didn’t want to wake you,” I confess, looking up at him. His skin is healing already. “I knew you hadn’t gotten much sleep lately.”“That doesn’t matter.” He cups my face in his large hands, tipping my chin up to him. “You matter.”He called Eliza right as I was leaving
Lucas turns his head to mine, eyes wide. “The man who sold you like livestock and left you to be tortured? Let him come in.”“The ‘no murder’ plan needs to stand.”“Death will be welcome after I’m done with him.” Lucas’s fangs come down, and he reaches for the door.“Wait,” I say and grab Lucas’s wrist. He stops, moving away from the door and turning toward me. “He won’t be able to get through the warding. It protects the house against the unwanted, and he’s definitely unwanted.”“Will it burn him like it burned the vampires?” Lucas asks hopefully.“No, I set it up so it won’t harm humans, you know, in case little miss annoying Girl Scout and her mother comes skipping down the sidewalk.”“That’s probably for the best.”“Right?” My heart hammers faster and faster, and my stomach churns. Kristy puts her hand on my shoulder.“You okay?”I suck in a breath and nod. “Getting there.”“I’ll make him leave,” Lucas says and goes out the door before I have a chance to stop him.“And I’ll lock y
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas pulls his shirt over his head, muscles flexing.“It’s been a long day.”“That’s an understatement.” Lucas tosses his shirt on a chair by my closet. He starts undoing his belt next, and I watch, transfixed, as he strips himself bare. No one should be that pretty, though I’m sure his body used to be bruised and scarred in his human life.“I still can’t get over the fact you were a gladiator,” I blurt.“With everything that happened today, that’s what you’re thinking of?” Chuckling, he gets into bed next to me. I’ve stripped down to a t-shirt and panties, yet suddenly I’m feeling very overdressed now that I’m next to Lucas’s glorious naked body.“It’s just…a gladiator.” I shake my head. “Is it weird to say that turns me on?”“When it comes to what turns you on, there are very few things I’m going to say are weird.”“And you said vampires aren’t all about sex.” I raise my eyebrows and laugh.“We’re not all about sex. We both know I’m good in bed and rar
My breath leaves me, and suddenly I realize the forest is quiet. No leaves are gently swaying in the breeze. No crickets are chirping. There is nothing.“Who are you?” I ask, holding up my hand. Blue energy swirls around my fingers, but it’s so bright it blinds me. I bring my hand down, blinking as if someone just took a flash photo right in front of my face.The blue-eyed man is gone, but an orange-and-red glow comes from deep within the forest. Suddenly, the breeze is back, and it brings with it the scent of a bonfire. Only, no one is out in the woods sitting around a fire for fun.The faint smell of brimstone doesn't hit me right away, but I can feel it deep in my bones. What I’m smelling is hellfire, and for some reason, I know I’m the one about to get burned. I close my eyes again.“Wake up, Callie,” I say to myself.I’m still in the forest.“Wake up!”Dammit, I’m still here.“Now. Get up before you burn!”The wind picks up and embers blow into the air. “Not again,” I whisper to
“We are going to have a boring, uneventful afternoon followed by a riveting time signing papers with the bank, and then finally a hot date back in Chicago.” I look up at Lucas, smiling. “Or I’ll be damned.”“You might be damned.”“Don’t jinx us.”He laughs. “Wouldn’t agreeing with you be jinxing it?”“I guess if you’re following the same logic to why people say ‘break a leg’ instead of ‘good luck’ to performers, right?”“I suppose. Though I don’t believe in jinxes. Curses, obviously. But hoping for something good to happen to you isn’t going to make the universe bend its will.”“If only I was as optimistic as you.”We’re lying on the couch together and for the last half hour or so, Lucas has been fascinated by the way my hair glistens in the sunlight.“You’re much more optimistic than I am. I’m the realist in this relationship.” Smiling, he kisses me. “You need me.”“In more ways than one.” I wiggle my eyebrows and scoot closer to him. “I should get started on my boring afternoon, tho
Chapter EighteenI’m back in the woods.All light is gone, save for the glowing blue flames in front of me. The hellfire retreats, surrounding the demon. I stand in the flames, watching myself command the fire. The blue-eyed man is next to me, watching everything play out along with me.“Why are you showing me this again?” I ask, but my voice is lost to the flames. Suddenly, the flames go out, and I hear Lucas calling my name.My eyes flutter open, and I blink away the last remnants of the dream. I fell asleep after having sex, and Lucas’s body is spooned around mine. It’s getting later in the afternoon, and he’s used to being asleep right now. I’d love to go back to sleep too, but I’m all jittery from that dream.Maybe Lucas was right and it’s a nightmare. It was pretty traumatic, after all. I wouldn’t be surprised to keep dreaming about it. But I know it’s not just a dream.The blue-eyed man is trying to tell me something…but I have no idea what. I’ve lived through that moment three
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Lucas flicks more scrapper goo off me.“I’ll feel better after I’ve showered. I’ve had more exploded body parts on me this month than I had all last year.”Lucas raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t realize exploding body parts were that common.”“When you throw energy balls, it happens.” I let out a breath and look around. Everything happened so fast. “So much for our boring night.”“You know I’m always up for a little killing in the woods.”“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”Lucas tips his head to the side and shrugs, looking both lethal and adorable at the same time. “I thought it would.”“It kind of does. I was really set on coming out here and finding nothing. I told you, you jinxed us.”“Yes, because supercharged demons is exactly the thing that results from a jinx.”“Stop being logical.” I bend down and wipe my hands on fallen leaves. “Pandora,” I call, closing my eyes. “Freya.” They’re close enough to feel me summon them, and they’ll be here in