Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness (7 page)

I blink back tears and smile past my surprise. Did I really just hear his thoughts? When I don’t hear anything else, I shake my head. Must be my overactive imagination. “No, I didn’t hate it at all. You just surprised me.”

A sinful smile tilts his lips. “Did you like that surprise?”

I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. “If it’s with you, like this…I’ll never get tired of surprises.” Pressing a kiss to his neck, I inhale and enjoy his outdoorsy smell mixed with his masculine deodorant.

Ethan chuckles and wraps his arms around my waist. “Good, ‘cause I’m always going to want to make you my own personal lollypop.”

His comment makes my insides quiver. Smiling, I run my tongue along his collarbone, saying, “Mmm, you taste really good right here. I wonder if you taste different in other places…”

Ethan groans and lifts me upright, his eyes blazing with heat. “Are you trying to drive me crazy?”

I frown. “Why would you say that? I thought you’d love the idea of—”

He shakes his head, a frustrated look on his face. “I have to go get Samson soon. Remember?”

I smile and flip my hand. “Well, never mind then.”

Strong hands flex on my waist. “Oh no. I’m holding you to that promise.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What promise? I don’t remember making any.”

Ethan’s face reflects determination. “The next time I get you alone, I’m going to tease you non-stop. I’ll lick and nibble and kiss you from head to toe…”

I feel my face drain of color. I know firsthand just how good he is at teasing. I shake my head quickly. “No, Ethan.”

Pulling me forward, he whispers next to my ear, his voice full of merciless intent. “Be ready to want me
desperately
. That scar on your palm is going to be working overtime soon, Sunshine.”

I involuntarily clamp my hand tight, thinking how easily his touch on my scar sends my hormones into overdrive. Leaning forward, I whisper back, trailing my fingers over his shoulder and down across the top of the sword tattoo gracing his shoulder blade. “You know…ever since you told me this tattoo is sensitive to my touch, it only makes me want to explore it even more.”

Ethan hisses in my ear and grips my hand. Lifting it off his shoulder, he laces our fingers together and grunts. “Truce?”

I give him a saucy smile. “For now.”

Ethan chuckles the entire time we’re getting dressed in the backseat. While I tug on my shirt, he catches my elbow a split second before I ping him in the eye. Then he quickly diverts my foot from hitting a sensitive area as I shrug into my skinny jeans. Settling back into the seat, I offer an apologetic smile. “Sorry. Seemed like a lot more room a few minutes ago.”

Shaking his head, he smiles. “It feels good to laugh. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world, Nara.” He drops a kiss on my nose. “Moments like this with you are priceless.”

I’ve never seen him so laidback and happy, and I’m glad I had a little something to do with that. Once we’re settled in the front seat, he threads his fingers with mine and rests our clasped hands on his thigh, and then we drive out of the woods, heading back to Blue Ridge.

He’s so relaxed, I realize now might be a good time to tell him what Michael said. That maybe he might be open to hearing the truth if his guard isn’t quite so high.

Rubbing my thumb over his, I say, “Michael told me something else while we talked downstairs.”

He glances my way. “He did? What did he say?”

I take a breath and plunge on. “He said that Fate was being meddlesome, but that he wasn’t lying. You are the Master Corvus.”

His fingers flex against mine and the car lurches forward, suddenly accelerating. “The Corvus inside me would know if he was the Master Corvus.”

I watch the speedometer climb to eighty, then eighty-five. “Ethan, please slow down.”

His hand cinches tight around my fingers. “It’s
not
true,” he says, raising his voice.

I yank my hand from his and yell, “Slow down, right now!”

Ethan shakes his head and blinks as if he’s shocked to hear me scream at him. Finally his foot eases on the pedal. We both breathe heavily and stare at the windshield.

After several minutes of silence, he says, “I’m sorry I scared you, but what you’re saying can’t possibly be true. I would’ve known that Danielle lied to me and that she’d gone dark. I would’ve known that I created all the other Corvus out there. I would’ve known where they’re located. I would’ve known what happened in the past with the Order—”

“That’s just it, Ethan. Something happened thirty years ago. Something that contributed to the Master Corvus forgetting who he is.”

“But if I’m the Master Corvus, that means I’m solely responsible for all the Furiae that have been created.”

And with that last, regretful comment, I realize why he’s so freaked out. Only Ethan would completely ignore the implication that being the Master Corvus means he’ll have to face and fight Lucifer—a realization that terrifies me. No, instead he’s reacting with supreme guilt.

I reach for his hand and fold my fingers around his. “Ethan,
you
aren’t the Master Corvus.
You
didn’t forget who you are. The spirit did.
You
didn’t create the Furiae. My guess is they’ve risen in numbers over the past thirty years because he’s forgotten and is running purely on instinct.”

“It doesn’t change the fact I might’ve created some over the past couple of months, Nara,” he says, his hand going slack against mine. “So yeah, I’ve contributed. And right now the Corvus is inside me screaming ‘hell no’. I can’t hear him, but I feel his furious denial, his rage and his utter resentment over the suggestion. He doesn’t believe it. He trusts no one.”

“Not even me?” I say, sadness making my heart ache.

Ethan doesn’t answer at first, but then he squeezes my fingers, his tone softening. “He doesn’t trust your source.”

My eyes widen. “He doesn’t trust Michael?”

Ethan’s jaw muscle jumps. “Not anyone. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do.” Staring straight ahead, he murmurs, “I wish I could talk to Michael myself—to see what angle he’s playing, but I can’t even see the archangel.”

A few seconds pass, as if he’s working through something while he drives, then his focus snaps to me. “What is this job Michael expects you to do?”

I take a breath and gesture toward him. “He wants me to help the Master Corvus remember.”

An utter stillness sweeps across his expression right before he pulls away and sets both hands on the steering wheel, tension stiffening his shoulders. “So, I’m an assignment?”

“Of course not. I was just answering your question as to what Michael had to say about the Master Corvus. If you ask, I will always tell you the truth, Ethan. That’s a promise we made to each other. Remember?”

“Why didn’t you tell me what he said this morning?”

I gesture to him. “Look at your reaction. You were worked up this morning. I waited until I thought you were in a better frame of mind.”

He shrugs as if my response doesn’t matter, like he’d already made up his own mind about my motivations.

Great. This is turning into one of those “I can’t win” moments.

“I hope you don’t mind if I just drop you by your car, then go. I don’t want to be late picking Samson up.”

I check the clock on my phone. He has plenty of time to pick up his brother. I open my mouth to call him on it, but instead I just nod. Maybe he needs some time alone. “Whatever works best for you.” I can tell I’ve shocked him. He reacted exactly like I thought he would, which makes me glad I’d waited to tell him. This morning would’ve been a disaster.

I glance over his profile, his face now a mask of impassiveness, and wonder how much of his reaction is the Corvus inside him, protesting with every spiritual fiber of his being. Then again, if the spirit suddenly believed he
was
capable of the Master Corvus’ powers right after he got this news, I’m not so sure I’d want to be within blast radius. Maybe I should count myself lucky the raven spirit inside him is even more stubborn than Ethan.

Staring out the window at the burgeoning clouds threatening more snow, I wonder all over again what Michael saw in me all those years ago. Why does he think I’m the perfect person to lead the Master Corvus back to himself? So far I really suck at this job.

Chapter Four

Nara

After Ethan dropped me off, I ran some Christmas errands, then decided to do something constructive instead of going home and stewing in frustration.

I drove straight to the cemetery.

The blanket of snow over Freddie’s grave made it harder to find right away, but I finally managed to dig up the book on ravens I’d buried there for safekeeping.

I plan to scour the book tonight once more on my own, then I’ll call Ethan over to look at it with me tomorrow. I know he needs some time to sort the Master Corvus stuff out in his head. Hopefully by then, he’ll be in a better frame of mind to help me try to figure out how the book ties into my role.

My gut tells me there’s more to it than Michael has let on. One thing’s for sure; at least one demon is still out there looking for this book with the belief it holds the key to killing the Master Corvus—something Lucifer would definitely want to possess if it’s true.

So far I haven’t noticed any more disturbed snow around the tree outside my window. The snow had already filled in where the demon who’d kidnapped me—well, Drystan, who’d been possessed by the demon at the time—had tried and failed to find Freddie’s book there, which is where I told him I’d hidden it. Thoughts of Drystan with his spiked mess of blond-streaked, light-brown hair and teasing smile flash through my mind. After everything that happened, I’m thankful we said goodbye on good terms.

Nara?

I jerk my head around, my fingers clutching the steering wheel tight. The voice echoing in my head had an accent that sounded just like…“Drystan?” I whisper. Nothing. Shaking my head, I sigh, knowing I conjured up his Welsh lilt calling my name.

Did Drystan make it to London okay? Is he settling into his new life? Is he going to join his uncle’s group, the Order, and play a Paladin support role to a Corvus? Now that he’s probably already seen the Order’s headquarters in London, I have so many questions I want to ask him. Hopefully I’ll hear from him soon.

The sudden trilling on my phone, its ring tone telling me it’s someone I don’t know, grabs my attention. I quickly answer, snickering at the idea that my thoughts could’ve prompted Drystan to call with his new contact information like he’d promised before he left.

“Hello?”

“Nara? It’s David.”

“Oh, hey…” I’m a bit thrown that he’s calling me. It still feels awkward not calling him Mr. Dixon like I do in Spanish class, but for Mom’s sake, I make the effort. “David. Are you and Mom all done with the decorations?”

“Yep, we finished up a couple hours ago. Actually, that’s why I’m calling. Are you home?”

“No, but I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Why?”

“While your Mom’s out grocery shopping for Christmas Eve’s dinner tomorrow night, would you mind if I stopped by to drop her present off? It’s a bulky box and I’d rather hide it at your house than bring it in with me tomorrow night. I can be there not long after you get home.”

“Sure. No problem. See you in a bit.”

Houdini nudges his big head against my thigh as I walk into the kitchen from the garage. I’m kind of relieved Mom’s not home right now. I know we need to talk about Dad, but right now my nerves are wound pretty tight over Ethan/Corvus stuff.

I set my phone on the island, then lay the bundle of mistletoe on top of Freddie’s book. After Mr. Dixon leaves, I’ll put the book away and hang the mistletoe. The last thing I want is for my teacher to assume the mistletoe is for him and my mom. Ugh.

I shake my head and take in the over-the-top decorated tree, and the holly and red ribbon adorning every bit of shelf space in the living room. The tree might be fake, but now I smell pine. Yep, Mom’s even put in a wall plug-in that’s spritzing the scent each time I move into its motion detector range. I step back out of its path to stand between the kitchen and the living room. Houdini sneezes then leans against my thigh. Rubbing my thumb on the soft spot between his eyes and down along his nose, I murmur, “Don’t worry. That plug-in’s magically disappearing tonight.”