Darkness Taunts (19 page)

“Vulgar much?” I asked.

“Only when it’s necessary.”

I stiffened and looked at the door.

Micah gave me a knowing grin. “Is the subject of your fantasies heading this way?”

Damn, the knowing look in his eyes said he knew exactly what I’d been imagining earlier. “If you mean the subject of my murderous fantasies, then yes, he is. Aeson’s with him too.”

“Oh, good.” He got up. “Time to make myself a drink. Things are about to get interesting around here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

I considered fleeing, but knew it would do no good. Lucas would only follow me to the bedroom so he could grill me about the meeting with the sensors. I had no idea how much he could pick up through whatever ability he used to spy on me, but I didn’t want to be left alone in any room with him if I could help it. Standing my ground in a common area with other people nearby was the best option.

He and the cambion walked through the door a couple of minutes later. I had to admit the two of them standing together would be enough to put a weaker woman at her knees. The force of their presence alone, adding Micah into the mix, was enough to suck the air out of the room. I was so out of my depth.

The two men kicked snow off their boots and hung their coats on a nearby rack hanging from the wall. I doubted either of them got cold, but they had to keep up appearances for the humans who might see them. Both men’s faces looked grave and their moods were dark. Something must have happened.

Lucas set a garment bag on the table and headed straight for me. “Get out of my chair, sensor.”

What the hell was wrong with him? I gripped the arms of the piece of furniture in question. If he wanted to be upset about something, he sure as heck wasn’t going to take it out on me. “What do you mean your chair? I never heard you make any claims to it.”

He hovered above me, looking rather menacing. “If you remained in the living room more often when I’m here, you would have noticed this is where I always sit.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was picking a fight on purpose. Fine, I could use the chance to let off a little steam myself. “If you tried to be more pleasant, then maybe I would stick around.”

“Get out of the chair, sensor.”

It was a matter of pride that I refused to move. Micah had poured Aeson a drink and now they stood watching us with amused expressions on their faces.

I bated my eyelashes at Lucas. “Ask me nicely.”

“Get the hell out of my chair before I move you out.” He had a way of speaking so that his voice didn’t raise one octave, but you felt like he’d just roared at you. Some part of me must have come to believe he wouldn’t do anything drastic because I ignored the threat.

“Is that your solution to everything?” I asked. “Violence? The big, bad nephilim can’t handle one mortal woman without using his superior strength. Why am I not surprised?”

 “Nothing about you is weak.” He gave me a feral grin. “You wouldn’t be here if I thought you were.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I tried a different tactic. “Where did this chair—which really doesn’t suit you, by the way—and the cabin come from? Did you kill some elderly couple to get this place?”

“I didn’t kill anyone to get it,” he gritted out. “The woman who lived here before lost her husband and wanted to relocate. She was happy to sell it, and the furniture, to me for a reasonable price. I haven’t had the time to remodel anything except the bathrooms, but if you’re offering your design expertise I’d be happy to hand the project over to you once the demon problem is taken care of.”

I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. “I’m sure you can pick out furniture and curtains without my help,” I said.

“You’re the one who wants out of Fairbanks to the point you’d put yourself in danger to escape. I could move you and Emily here if you’d prefer. You can remodel the cabin however you wish. Contrary to your flawed beliefs, Melena, I can be a reasonable man.”

He wouldn’t know what reasonable meant even if it came right up and kissed him on his nose.

“I’m not that desperate,” I said.

“Then get out of my chair.”

“You know damn well this isn’t about the chair.” I glared at him. “This is about you trying to prove your superiority over me.”

“Very well,” he said, “if you’re not going to cooperate.”

In the blink of an eye he had me scooped up and settled in his lap with both of us in the chair. I struggled in his arms, but he had them wrapped around me like steel bands.

“Let me go.” Already the tingles were starting.

No way could I take prolonged exposure to him, especially with my ass settled over a suspiciously hard protrusion in his pants. I could only resist him if he didn’t touch me. He’d figured that out the other day at the club and now he was using it as a weapon.

“You’ll stay right here,” he said, locking my kicking legs between his, “and tell me about the meeting with the sensors.”

“I’m not telling you shit with you holding me hostage like this,” I said.

I grabbed hold of his fingers where they gripped the side of my torso and pulled back. He yanked them away before they reached the breaking point. I thought about poking his eyes out, but I liked them too much to hurt him there. My awkward position didn’t give me a whole lot of other ways to fight. Not to mention he was pulling me in closer to his warmth. I could feel my resistance to him draining with every second that passed.

“The night is just getting started, Melena,” he whispered. I shivered at the feel of his lips grazing against my ear. “We can stay together like this as long as it takes for you to cooperate.”

“You promised this wouldn’t happen again.” My cheek rubbed against his shirt.

“Is she melting for him?” I heard Micah say from far away.

“I do believe she is,” Aeson replied.

“I didn’t think he could calm her down that fast.”

“You should hear the story about what happened with them at The Asylum. This is tame in comparison.”

Their conversation penetrated the haze I’d started to sink into and helped me to renew my struggle to get free. The arms around me wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t see Lucas’ face, but when the other men suddenly found their drinks very interesting it told me he must have given them a warning look.

“I promised you it wouldn’t happen again before you started baiting me every chance you got,” he said, pulling me over to the crook in his arm so that he could gaze down at my face. “Even I’m only so strong.”

“I hate you, Lucas.” I sounded like a broken record telling him that, but it was the first thing that always came to mind.

“I know you think you do.” He kissed my forehead. “Now tell me what happened.”

Feeling his lips graze my skin was a lot like a tiger coming up and nuzzling my face.

“You said you’d be watching. Do I really have to repeat it?” I asked.

“Let’s just say getting around two other sensors’ abilities was more difficult than expected. I could see you talking to them, but could not listen.”

I turned my attention to his power level and realized it had dropped a few degrees from where it had been earlier in the day. He must have minimized his usage to keep from losing too much. Keeping to the gist of what happened, I told him how the sensors refused to let me examine the circle but said they’d be happy to meet with me another time.

His arms tightened around my waist. “You’re not meeting with them again. We’ll work around them if we have to.”

I shifted as much as I could in his lap. “I don’t see what the problem is. They didn’t seem that bad to me.”

Aeson stepped forward. “That’s because you don’t know the history behind this group. They are ruthless and don’t care who they have to hurt to take down the supernatural population. You’d do well to steer clear of them.”

“How about you give some specific examples so I can decide for myself?” I suggested.

Maybe then I could get to the bottom of what had them so freaked out. All of the men’s faces appeared guarded as soon as I’d started talking about the sensors.

Aeson and Lucas exchanged looks loaded with meaning I couldn’t interpret. “Suffice it to say,” the cambion said, not meeting my eyes, “there are some things you’re better off not knowing.”

“In other words, you all think I can’t handle the truth?” Good grief, this was starting to sound reminiscent of the movie
A Few Good Men
. I sat up a little straighter and ignored the still present bulge that now pressed into my thigh. “This isn’t the old days when women were made of glass and had to be protected. I don’t need coddling.”

“Good,” Lucas said. “Then you won’t mind the plans we have for you tomorrow night.”

“What plans?” I asked.

He pulled us up to a standing position and guided me over to the dining room table. “This is the dress you’ll be wearing for an event tomorrow evening. We need you to try it on so we can check the fit.”

My hand hovered over the zipper. Part of me was curious to see what the dress looked like and part of me was angry he’d picked something out without my permission. “What event would this be?”

“The local witch coven is opening a new restaurant,” he said, brushing my hand aside to draw the zipper down. “They’ve been planning it for months and have poured a great deal of time and effort into having it ready in time.”

Lucas pulled out a strapless, gun-metal gray dress from the bag and held it out to me. I took it from him and rubbed my fingers against the luminous taffeta fabric. It was something I’d expect to see on a movie star at an awards ceremony. “What does a restaurant opening have to do with anything?” I asked.

“Security. Less than two hours ago half of a dozen demon hosts attacked Aeson’s home. They didn’t get past the gates, but we didn’t capture any alive either. At the same time, they went after Bryan again with the larger part of their forces. They caught him on his way home. He and his entire family are dead.”

My chest tightened. A dead werewolf couple didn’t bother me much, but I’d gotten a chance to meet their kids after the attack on their home. They were human and innocent—the reason I was willing to get involved with this problem in the first place.

I gave Aeson a sympathetic look. They were his people to protect and he must have felt bad about it. I could feel the sadness and regret emanating from him. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

The cambion nodded at me. “Unfortunately, we think this is only the beginning.”

I put the dress back in the garment bag. “They were testing your defenses in advance of something bigger.”

Lucas’ hand squeezed my shoulder. “The announcements they sent out for this event were kept low key, but all the most powerful leaders in the area will be there. The demons could have their own spies watching. We have to assume they may launch a full-scale attack while we are gathered.”

I turned around to face the men and in the process removed the uncomfortable hand from my shoulder. “What kind of security are you planning?”

Lucas curled his fingers over the back of the chair next to me. “The restaurant is near the wharf and in the midst of numerous other businesses. Some of them are open late. Despite the event not starting until midnight, there will still be some humans roaming the area. Several guards will be posted around the perimeter, but they’ll have a difficult time distinguishing demon hosts from non-hosts until it is too late.”

“So you need me to be there to give you the early warning? Wearing that?” I pointed at the beautiful dress like I didn’t ache to wear it.

Lucas’ jaw tightened. “Yes, wearing that.”

“I told you I wouldn’t wear anything you bought.” There were some things I really had to take a stand on.

“Melena.” Aeson drew my attention. “Lucas didn’t pay for it. One of the men from my ménage is a fashion designer. As a favor to me, he began putting the dress together after our first meeting. I’d hoped you would attend the opening with Lucas even before the events of this evening. There is no reason for you not to wear it.”

My eyes rounded as I glanced between Aeson and the dress. I’d never had anything made just for me. “How could he have even started without getting my measurements?”

The cambion cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve gained a good eye for sizing up bodies over the centuries and Lucas helped fill in the details. It was quite the discussion…”

I put my hand up. “Never mind. There are some things I’m better off not knowing.”

“Will you wear it then?” he asked, worry lacing his voice. I had a feeling his designer would be upset if I didn’t.

I stared at it for a long minute. “I don’t really have the chest for a dress like that.”

“Oh, not to worry,” Lucas said, crowding close to me to reach inside the garment bag. “I had a feeling you might try that excuse.”

From a side pocket he pulled out a black, lacey piece I hadn’t noticed before. “What is it?” I asked.

“A torsolette.” He ran his hand across the bodice in a way that made me think it wasn’t the fabric he was interested in, but what went inside. “It will give you the extra boost you want—not that you need it. I can assist you with putting it on if you wish.”

“Um, no. This is something I can handle all by myself.” I grabbed the bag with the dress, yanked the undergarment from his hands, and rushed from the room. Better to get this over with before he made a case for helping me.

I locked the bedroom door behind me and laid all the pieces out on the bed. The torsolette confounded me at first, but after some trial and error I figured it out. The trick was to tighten the laces just right and get all the hooks lined up. An extra set of hands would have made things easier, but I’d have rather died than ask for help.

The dress fit over my body like a glove. It had a zipper that slid easily and required minimal twisting and turning to reach. The skirt only came to the top of my thighs and had narrow slits on either side that would reveal the skin of my hips when I walked. It was sexy and it was naughty. If I wasn’t careful, I’d reveal a lot more than I wanted to.

Lucas knocked on the door, distracting me from my examination of the dress in front of the mirror. I opened it to find him with a pair of tall black boots in his hands. He looked me up and down. His face revealed nothing, but a spark lit his eyes by the time he finished checking me over. I took the boots from him and shut the door.