Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest Book 3) (20 page)

“
What is that?” she
panted.

“
Fuck it. It’s nothing.
Just my communicator.” He shifted to nuzzle her breast, freeing one
taut peak from the silky fabric and taking it in his
mouth.

She groaned with relish and arched her back,
but the beeping continued to niggle. “Communicator? You mean from
your ship?” He grunted in answer and then moved to take her lips
again, as if to shut her up. She mumbled around his kisses, “You
should answer it.”

“
They’ll initiate contact
again,” he growled, and then, in an almost desperate attempt, swept
his tongue to the spot on her neck that shot a bolt of heat
straight to her sex.

In was one hell of a masterful distraction,
and he nearly succeeded. She really, really didn’t want him to
stop…but, sucking in air, she struggled for coherent thought.
“Cale!”

With another growl, he pulled back and
reached in his pocket. A thin black box, smaller than a standard
phone, filled his palm. He clicked a button and then began speaking
in a common space language that Kyra had learned as a child. She
hadn’t spoken it in years, and was surprised she still understood
it. “A little busy here.”

“
Cale?” a male’s voice
answered, “Is everything alright?”

“
It was about a second
ago!”

Pause.

“
We’re on our way to Earth
now. Are you safe? Have you located Kyra?”

“
Aye, to both. Can we do
this later?”

Another pause before the owner of the voice
replied, chagrined, “Her sisters would like to know if she’s
okay.”

A cheery female voice rang out. “Hi,
Cale!”

Cale lowered his head in defeat. “Hello,
Anya.”

Kyra covered a gasped with her hands.
Analia? Truly? A massive wave of relief washed through her, and she
had to move her hands to her heart as if it would burst if she
didn’t.

Cale registered the change and added
begrudgingly, “Kyra is here. Would you like to talk to her?”

The communicator went quiet. Then Anya’s
voice suddenly turned shy. “Yes, I would.”

Kyra grabbed the communicator like it was a
lifeline and put it to her face, even though Cale had been holding
it away as he’d spoken. “Analia? This is Kyralyn. How…” She pushed
through her tightening throat. “How are you?”

“
I’m good.” Anya sounded a
little shaky too. “And you?”

“
Good.” Kyra swallowed
hard. Her eyes began to burn. “I’ve missed you, so
much.”

“
I missed you too. I can’t
wait to see you. Aidan estimates we should be there in a day or
two.”

“
Is Nadua with you?” Kyra
asked.

“
She is. She’s not in the
control room right now, but I know she’s excited to see you
too.”

Her vision blurred, and a hot tear escaped
down her cheek. “I love you, sweetie.”

The communicator went silent again, and Kyra
wondered if the transmission had cut off. A near sobbing reply
followed by sniffles crackled through the speakers. “I love you
too.”

“
Cale,” the male’s voice
came back in a softer tone. “When we’re closer, we’ll contact you
for coordinates.”

“
Sure,” Cale
replied.

The transmission ended.

Kyra threw her arms around Cale and buried
her face in his neck. “Thank you, Cale. Thank you so much.” Mostly
to herself, she muttered, “I’m really going to see my family
again.” The idea had been surreal until now, a transparent thought
in a kaleidoscope.

Aside from placing an arm around her and
lacing a hand through her hair, he made no reply.

The heat that had sparked so fiercely
between them only moments ago was now a pile of cooling embers. The
sound of the cabin door opening snapped them to attention.

Zoey’s voice traveled through the thin wall
of trees. “Ky! You out there?”

“
What’s up, Zo?” Kyra
hollered back, thankful to have regained control of her
voice.

“
We’re on the
news!”

Cale helped her up, then snatched her shirt
and held it out to her. His visage was both perturbed and
comical.

She leaned in to kiss him lightly on the
lips and whispered a teasing, “Later.” Then slipped into her shirt
and turned toward the house.

Before she realized it, she was pinned
between a tree at her back and Cale’s hard body at her front. His
lips crushed to hers and his tongue slipped inside, twirling with
hers and causing her body to blaze with need once more. He pressed
a hand to her ass and brought her against his erection.

He echoed in a deep growl, “Later.”

A shiver ran through her as the warmth from
Cale was replaced by cool air. He gave an arrogant smirk and she
pursed her lips, trying to keep them from mimicking his smile.

His message was clear.

Whereas her kiss had been a flimsy promise,
his had been an outright guarantee.

Inside, Zoey had paused the television. When
Kyra and Cale were in position, she hit play and the frozen
newscaster jumped into motion.

“
A new development in the
Kevin Vanderburg murder. According to an eye witness, Zoey Powel,
Mister Vanderburg’s alleged girlfriend, along with two unidentified
people, were spotted exiting Vanderburg’s apartment moments after
gunshots were heard.”

An old picture of Zoey flashed on the
screen. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a half ponytail and
she was smiling at something off camera.

“
We looked further into
Miss Powel’s background and found that she may also be connected
with the back alley fire that devastated at least one local
business.

“
Miss Powel, along with
Kyra Okora,”—a grainy image of Kyra, taken from Litter Jitters’
surveillance displayed—“were reported missing after police
discovered they had both been working at a nearby café the night of
the fire.

“
According to coworkers,
the two women are close friends. At this time, police will neither
confirm nor deny whether either women is considered a suspect in
the gruesome murder.

“
In other news…”

Zoey decreased the volume and slouched.

Kyra’s mind raced. What could she do? How
could she fix this? They couldn’t move. Not now that Cale’s ship
was so close, and not with the confirmation that the authorities
were looking for them.

“
Okay. That wasn’t so bad,”
Kyra encouraged, trying to add conviction in her tone.

“
The Kevin Vanderburg
murder,” Zoey repeated robotically, shaking her head.

Kyra shot Cale an accusatory look. She
didn’t mean to; it was an involuntary action.

His response was guarded. “I’m not going to
apologize for what I had to do.”

Kyra exhaled a sigh and checked her
expression. “It was self-defense. We both realize that. It’s just a
tough situation for Zoey.” She reached to place a hand on his arm
and continued her train of thought. Perhaps if Zoey were caught,
she could claim to have been kidnapped, except there were those
scratches on Kevin’s face to explain. DNA would prove Zoey had made
them.

Zoey glanced at her then, giving an odd
expression. “What have you been doing? Rolling around on the
ground?” Zoey plucked a piece of leaf from Kyra’s hair.

Kyra looked down at herself. She was covered
in gravel, twigs, and dried leaves.

Oops.

She smiled, feeling the tension ease a
touch. “It was windy out.”

Zoey studied her dubiously. “Uh-huh.”

In an attempt to change the subject, she
informed Zoey about the transmission they’d received. After hearing
it, Zoey went quiet, unable to hide a bout of renewed stress.

It sunk in then.

Kyra wasn’t just regaining a long lost
life—she was preparing to abandon her current one.

Dinner was a quiet endeavor, aside from a
bit of background noise provided by the television. Everyone ate as
if deep in thought, not quite seeing their food before it entered
their mouths. Kyra wondered if Zo or Cale even tasted the soft
buttery potatoes and chicken stir-fry. She hardly did.

After the meal, they cleaned their plates
with the same muted contemplation. She didn’t ask what was going
through their minds. Zoey’s frown was defined, and Cale’s brows
were so furrowed that, if she didn’t know better, she’d be inclined
to think he was in pain.

For her, she imagined what it would be like
seeing her sisters after so much time had passed. Would she even
recognize them? Would they recognize her? What kind of individuals
would she find them to be, and how might they have changed?
Four-hundred years of waiting and it was down to a handful of hours
till she found out.

Later, they all settled on the couch, cozy
in their night clothes, with Kyra flipping through channels. Cale
made her stop on some old kung-fu flick and demanded they watch it.
Zoey and Kyra rolled their eyes at each other, but neither of them
complained. After setting down the remote, she didn’t realize when
her eyes began to drift closed.

The sense of movement jostled them open
again. She was in Cale’s arms as he climbed the stairs. Zoey walked
ahead of them and offered a soft goodnight before heading to her
room.

Cale looked down when Kyra replied groggily,
“Night, Zo.”

“
I was hoping not to wake
you. You looked so exhausted.” He proceeded through her door and
placed her on the bed.

“
I am,” she replied,
digging her way under the covers.

The day’s events had tumbled down on her
like a thousand pound anvil, crushing her body into submission. She
knew working with magic would take a lot out of her, but it was
irritating all the same.

Cale gazed down at her with an expression
she couldn’t decipher, his jaw tight. Too tight. And his gaze
became intense. No, not intense. Confused maybe. Yes, that was it.
He looked utterly confused. Why?

When she tilted her head at him, he schooled
his features and stood to leave. Her mouth spoke before she could
stop it. “Do you want to sleep here tonight?”

He paused to look at her and she flushed,
suddenly unsure of his answer. Technically it was later, wasn’t it?
He turned his head to the door and then back at her. Did he want to
leave? Embarrassment burned in her cheeks. She was about to rescind
the invitation when he started for the door again. She frowned at
the affront, preparing to brush it off, but he eased the door shut
and then flipped out the light.

Kyra swallowed.

Past the darkness, she detected his
approach. Something light hit the floor…Fabric? Her pulse jumped a
little. It was strange how silent he was. After another moment, her
eyes began to adjust, bringing the room into monotone view just as
he slipped in beside her. His chest was bare but he still had on a
pair of loose pants. The brief glimpse of his smooth muscles had
her licking her lips.

Catching the movement, Cale shifted to his
side and faced her with the grin of a man who knew damn well how
hot he was. “I’d love nothing more than to get this thing that’s
between us over with, but my ego couldn’t take it if you fell
asleep right in the middle.”

She gave him an impish look, but was
startled by the phrase “over with”. Then she remembered for him
this was a fling. And it was for her as well, wasn’t it? Of course
it was.

“
Thing?” she feigned
confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s no
thing.”

“
Isn’t there?” His smile
widened.

“
What? Are
you
feeling a
thing?”

His eyes narrowed, but remained amused.
“Perhaps I’m mistaken.” He leaned forward, placing one arm on her
other side so that his torso hovered over her, caging her without
actually touching her. Then his head dipped so their lips were but
inches apart and his gaze captured hers. She worked to keep her
breath even, expectantly waiting for his kiss. But it never came.
Instead, he trailed his nose along her jaw, with maddening slow
movements, breathing her in as he went. He stopped when he reached
his favorite spot. Or was it her favorite spot? A betraying shiver
rolled over her after only the slightest brushing of his lips.

A sinister chuckle lumbered out of him. He
pulled back, triumphant, and rested the side of his head on his
fist, seemingly unaffected while her body roiled with need.

“
Still no
thing
?”

She let out a breath. “You really are a
wicked demon.”