Addict (33 page)

Gray nodded, but his disappointment was an almost tangible thing. “Okay. Tell the king I’ll donate for the cause. I might only be a half blood, but I’m royalty. My blood is strong. The doctor is probably on the right track. Brimstone is supposed to weaken wolves and shifters. The duke would have made certain the vamps couldn’t use their own blood to save themselves. But he would want an out if things go bad. He’s walking a fine line. He can’t break the contracts with the vampires.”

“Master, I have the clothing you ordered for my mistress.” I turned to see Syl standing in the doorway. He carried a small bag that couldn’t possibly contain too much clothing. He was roughly a foot shorter than me, and he hadn’t bothered with a glamour. His red skin stood out against the pure white of his shirt. He was dressed in a shirt and tie and crisply pressed black slacks. He was every inch the proper butler, if one excused the red skin, small horns, and goat feet poking out of his slacks.

“Hello, Syl.” It came out as a low growl. I wasn’t trying to be friendly. Syl was the asshole demon who fed me fertility drugs. Syl might call Gray master, but he definitely answered to Gray’s dad.

The demon bowed from his waist. His dark eyes seemed ageless in his slightly wrinkled head. “My mistress. It is an honor to behold you once more. You grace the home with your presence.”

“I am not…”

Gray stopped me. “Don’t bother, Kelsey. He’s my familiar. He’s connected to me. He’s seen the vision. You won’t convince him you aren’t his mistress. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve tried to rid myself of him? He always comes back.”

The demon got on his knees. “I know I displeased my mistress. I am prepared if she wishes to beat me.”

“I’m not going to beat you.”

Gray shrugged. “It wouldn’t do any good anyway. He likes it.”

“Oh, but I promise to cry and wail if my mistress needs it.”

I walked over and pulled the bag out of Syl’s hands. He cast his eyes down as I stood over him.

“I am here to serve my true mistress.” He leaned over and before I knew it, his lips pressed to my feet. I jumped back and nearly fell on my ass. Gray was there to catch me.

“Syl.” Matthew’s voice was deeper than I had heard it before.

I saw Syl shake slightly. The small demon might be willing to take a beating from me, but I could see he was afraid of Gray’s brother.

“My Lord Nem…”

Syl was silenced when Matthew slapped him soundly across the face. “You forget yourself, servant. My brother’s mate has what she needs from you. Go and see to my slave’s needs. And Syl, if your tongue slips like that again, I shall cut it out.”

Syl’s body shook as he backed out on his hands and knees. His head was down, but he didn’t seem to dare turn his back on Matthew. He didn’t get up until he was well out of harm’s way. Then he hurried down the hall to do the master’s bidding. Matthew’s face was perfectly pleasant when he turned back to me. But I’d seen his true nature. Demons are tricky things. They can seem entirely normal, but they are always, always at their core brutal creatures. Gray’s brother seemed perfectly human, and he could be quite charming and pleasant when it suited him. It would be a mistake to think that he would act humanely.

“I’m not his mate.” I responded out of pure reflex. Why did I care what Gray’s brother thought? I found my footing and shook off Gray’s hands. They’d gone around my waist when he caught me, and I could feel the heat of his body.

Matt shook his head and clucked sympathetically. “Our mates are stubborn things. I think it’s our family curse. First, my mate runs from me after years of bliss, and now yours refuses to accept her fate.” He turned his eyes on me and they darkened as though he could press his will outward. “You can play around with the vampire all you like. It changes nothing. In the end, you will marry my brother. You will bear his son, and you will follow him home.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but the look in Matthew’s eyes stopped me. He wasn’t going to listen to me. He really believed. I could see from Gray’s face that he believed it, too.

Matthew snagged the bag in my hand. He dumped the contents on the bed. I saw a leather mini skirt, a brilliant red corset, and thigh-high fishnets.

“Am I his lover or his hooker?” I was getting sick of the various costumes this mission required. I longed for the day I would be required to wear sweatpants and a T-shirt.

Matthew shook his head, dismissing the accusation. “My brother would never engage the services of a prostitute. Now, take off your clothes so we can get you properly dressed. Brother, you know what to do.”

Gray walked to the bathroom and when he returned, he was running a fluffy towel across his body. It soaked up the sweat from his workout.

“This is your idea of cleaning up, Sloane? Seriously, you smell like a water buffalo.” He didn’t. He smelled like a hot, sweaty man and it did something for me, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. “Are you telling me we don’t have time for you to take a quick shower?”

Gray ran the towel over his head and then under his armpits. “I promise to smell as sweet as a rose, baby. I turned on the shower already. The water is heating up as we speak. This is for you.”

He tossed me the towel and gave me a wink.

“Now I’m the maid, too?”

Gray laughed as he walked into the bathroom. He didn’t bother to close the door. He kicked off his shoes and shoved his shorts off his hips. I was left with the perfect vision of his muscular backside as he stepped into the shower.

Matthew had a knowing smile on his face. “Do you want a clean towel to wipe off the drool, dear? That one you’re holding is for something else. Please get undressed and wipe that all over your body. Pay close attention to sexual erogenous zones. We need you to smell like you spend a lot of time with my brother on top of you. Unless, of course, you would like to do it the old-fashioned way. I assure you, my brother would be more than happy to mark you in any way you like.”

“Jerk.”

He shrugged. “Get dressed, love. It’s almost time to go.”

Matthew glided out of the bedroom. He called for Tristan, and I was left with my ex-fiancé’s sweat. When this case was over, I promised myself I would stick to cheating spouses and lost dogs. I would take on any case that didn’t involve smelling like someone else.

* * * *

Being a duke of Hell pays. I was certain that Winter’s place on the Hell plane was probably built on the souls of the damned or something, but here in Dallas, he lived in a gorgeous French country estate complete with a stunning fountain in the circular drive. I stared at it as the driver pulled up. It was completely frozen—as if the weather had flashed it, capturing the perfection of the water. It was a statue now, a tribute to the power of the cold.

Winter was powerful. His mere presence in the city had brought about this crazy freeze.

Gray’s hand found mine, his fingers tangling. “It’s going to be all right. I’ll take care of you.”

“What does she think is going to happen?” Matthew asked, his hand on the silent Tristan’s knee. “Does she think we’re going to allow Winter to kill her in front of us? We’re not without power, Kelsey. And all those ridiculous fears you have about the vampire mean nothing since you won’t be with him for long.”

“Brother.” The word was a warning coming out of Gray’s mouth.

Matthew put a hand on his forehead as though it pained him. “Well, she’s bombarding me with it. I don’t understand it. She fears she’s unlovable, but you love her. It isn’t logical for her to be apart from you. We could take over her training.”

“She’s afraid of me. I explained that to you. Let her be, and this isn’t the place to discuss family issues. There’s our host.” Gray’s jaw had tightened, a sure sign he was anxious.

The door was opened by the driver and Matthew drew Tristan out.

“I’m not afraid of you.” I needed to remember Matthew’s power. It was easy to think of Matthew as not that powerful. He was in a human body after all. Gray had explained to me that despite Matt’s status as a full-blooded demon, he was forced to possess a human body when he wanted to walk the Earth plane. He wasn’t physically strong enough to manifest in his demon form here, though he could be called to hand. The singular time Matt could show up in his own form was when a dumbass human managed to work up enough magic to call him. Then he was forced to do the human’s bidding. In this way, Gray was much stronger than his brother, but Matt wasn’t without power. He was an empath, so he picked up on strong emotions. I was pretty much a big stinking ball of those right now.

Gray glanced down to the place where our hands were joined. “You are and you have every right to be. I pushed you too far, pulled you into a world you weren’t ready for. I’m still doing it. I can only promise you that I’ll do anything to make sure you’re safe. Anything. I’ll earn your trust again.”

He moved out of the car before I could go over all the ways that would never happen. I had them all on the tip of my tongue, but he gently pulled me along with him, and then there wasn’t time to talk or argue. We were being shown through the massive doors of the mansion by a tuxedoed butler who offered to take our coats.

For all that the man loved winter and was likely quite comfortable with the chill, the duke had obviously made concessions for his guests. His home was nice and toasty.

“Welcome.” The man himself strode into the foyer. He was dressed in an immaculate suit, his white hair pulled back. Chilly blue eyes stared at us, stopping briefly on me before glancing over Tristan. “I’m glad you all could make it. Please come into the library. I’d like for you to meet my business partner.”

Gray walked up to shake his hand. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the man. We’ve all watched Mr. Bellamy’s rise through the business world.”

I held back because I’d felt Winter’s touch one too many times this week. I wasn’t sure I would be able to bring myself too close to the demon.

“Do you own his contract?” Matthew asked, affixing a leash to Tristan’s thick collar.

If Gray thought that was happening with me, he was about to get his hand taken off. I didn’t give a shit that it would blow my cover. This was my
Dirty Dancing
rule. No one got to put Baby in a corner. Well, no one put a fucking leash around my throat. I could handle the collar. The collar was pretty.

Gray simply reached for my hand and leaned over. “Never in a million years, baby. I like my balls where they are.”

He wasn’t a stupid man.

“You don’t think Mr. Bellamy got where he is through his own efforts?” Winter’s brows had risen, an amused grin quirking his mouth up.

“No,” Matthew shot back. “Humans aren’t that smart. He had help.”

Winter began to lead us down a hallway. My heels clacked against the marble, and I was lucky Gray had such a good hold on me since they nearly slipped out from under me more than once. Again, sneakers wouldn’t have done that.

“My partner is a wily one. Apparently, Brandon met someone from an alternate plane. The technology on her plane was quite a bit more sophisticated than this Earth’s. He stole the tech from her and reverse engineered it.”

“Stealing is such a specific word.” A lanky man with red hair stood in the middle of the library, a glass of what looked to be Scotch in his hand. “I like to think of it as liberating an important asset. Besides, I’m sure she found another one.”

“Other Earth?” I asked the question of Gray, quietly I thought.

Demons have supergreat hearing. The duke was more than happy to answer my question. “Oh, yes, my dear. The planes are infinite. The plane we occupy now is actually quite remote. It’s not easily accessible. The old Fae used to cross the veil. There are a few demon species who can move easily from one to another. Usually though, there has to be some form of magic involved. There are some mirrors in this very house that I wouldn’t recommend you stare into for long, lest you find yourself in another place, another time.”

The red-haired billionaire shook his head. “Which is a shame because I really do like looking at me. I’m pretty attractive. I guess I’ll just have to look at you, sweetheart.” He walked my way. “What do you say? You up for hanging out with
Time’s
Man of the Year?”

“Are you up for getting your balls shoved into your body cavity by my foot?” Gray asked.

I was totally going to ask Bellamy if he was up to me pulling his balls off his body and treating them like tennis balls. Sometimes Gray and I totally are soul mates.

Bellamy put his hands up. “Touchy. This one’s the full breed, right?”

“Not at all. He’s the halfling, but don’t think for a second he can’t take you apart. Brac, I’ll take a Scotch. Why don’t you see about getting our guests drinks as well.” The duke was good at playing the kindly host. “Dinner will be served shortly. I thought we could spend this time discussing some of the problems we’ve come up against. Were either of you aware the king has a new
Nex Apparatus
?”

My blood went pretty much cold, but I simply smiled and told the butler I would take a white wine spritzer. I was told I couldn’t order a beer under any circumstances, but I would need to look like I was indulging. Apparently beer isn’t feminine and it makes me burp. Burping isn’t feminine either. So Gray got to order a beer. It was totally cool for him to burp. Sometimes my job reminds me that life can be fucking unfair.

“I had heard rumors,” Gray said, seating himself on one of the wine-colored couches.

Matthew sat beside him and Tristan gracefully placed himself on the floor, his head going to Matthew’s lap so the demon could pet him.

I nearly crashed on my way down, but Gray caught me, guiding me to the carpet.

When the important men were seated, the duke continued. “I believe we can confirm the rumors are valid. While I haven’t been able to place a man close to the king, I do have a few in positions around the club his partner runs. They’ve heard talk of a
Nex Apparatus
, and I believe he might already be at work.”

“What makes you think that?” Gray asked, his hand moving on the nape of my neck. He toyed with the small gold and diamond necklace he’d placed around my throat. My “collar” was nothing like Tristan’s.