Sweet as Sin (12 page)

John sneered and brought the bottle back to his mouth. “Gimme fifteen more minutes and I can forget everything about tonight.”

“I’m not that lucky.”

“Want a drink?” He extended the bottle with a sarcastic snort.

“I don’t drink. And you need to stop drinking.”

Moonlight caught her pale face, turning her scrape to purple, and his lungs stuck in his ribs.

“You need to put some ice on your cheek.”

“I’m fine. You’re the one who was in a fight.

Your lip’s stopped bleeding though.”

“Lucky me. Go home.”

Sugar and spice scent slammed into him as she stepped closer. Not even another swallow of bourbon could mask it. He jerked his eyes from her face before he did something stupid, like kiss her.

“I’m not leaving, Murphy. Talk to me.”

Irritation surged through him and he pushed off the counter. This was his house, damn it, his castle.

He made the rules, not her. She needed to leave while he had enough common sense to push her away. Pain charged him with a battery cable jolt.

“Talk to you? No talking, Livvy. I don’t owe you a damn thing. You’re not my mother or my lover, and you sure as hell will never be my wife, so just back off.” He let the venom pour out but Inez Kelley

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she didn’t shy away. Damn her, she never even flinched.

The steel claw of her eyes looked deep and grabbed his soul. “You asked me if I was afraid of you. The answer is no, I’m not. I never have been.

Irritated, annoyed and incredibly turned on, yes, but not afraid. You can get mad and yell and scream all you want but I’m not leaving.”

A million thoughts rushed through his head—

physically pick her up and put her outside, pick her up and take her to bed, wrap his arms around her and take her here on the kitchen floor. He might not frighten her, but she scared the shit out of him with what she made him feel.

If anger wouldn’t make her leave him, maybe crudeness would.

“If you’re staying, you’re staying naked, in my bed, under me. You choose.”

She smiled. “Does this bad-boy persona really work for you? Seriously? You think by talking a tough game I’m going to run way? No deal. Not leaving.”

“I’m tired of hearing the word no.”

“I’m tired of saying it.” A sad little sigh bowed her head. “I wanted to go to bed with you tonight.”

“Then do it.” John pulled her close. “Let’s go to bed.”

“Not now.”

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“What’s wrong, Liv? Afraid I can’t get it up?”

He tugged her hand to his crotch, to the thick bulge that was hardening. “Trust me, that’s not an issue.”

“No, but the fact that you’re drunk is.”

John snorted and let go of her. He gulped another swallow. “I screw everything up.”

She took the bottle from his hand and poured it down the sink before wrapping her arms around his waist. “Get over yourself, Murphy. Nothing is that big and bad. It’s not like you killed anybody or anything.”

“Wanna bet?”

John’s words punched into Livvy’s chest. He twisted out of her embrace and slumped against the counter. The sharp scent of bourbon filled the room, flavoring the air with a sting. Shadows caressed him with a lover’s touch as he bowed his head. His chest heaved but his voice was soft.

“There, you know. I killed a man. Now go

home, Liv.”

Her feet cemented to the floor. Of all the danger she’d sensed in him, she’d never

considered that. Her stomach clenched and a squeak died in her suddenly dry throat. John had killed a man? Murder? Her gaze landed on the rock-hard bulges of his arms. Even at rest, they hinted at bone-crushing strength. His hands were Inez Kelley

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rough, large and marked from years of hard labor.

The already-bruising knuckles proved he could and would strike out when provoked. The steel in his eyes hid some deeply rooted anger that could slice out without warning. His body had been honed to a weapon. She had no doubt John could kill easily if he wanted.

He was drunk. He’d charged at Leo, not caring or respecting his badge or his gun. Even now, hostility and fury twanged around him. And she stood beside him in the dark, alone and in her pajamas. In one viper-fast strike, he could lash out and snap her neck before she could muster a scream. Fear should have been racing through her veins like poison…but it wasn’t.

The knowledge didn’t mesh with what she

knew, what she felt deep inside when she looked into his eyes. There had to be something, some part of him she didn’t know but could sense on an instinctual level. There had to be. He’d been so gentle with Ashley, using smiles and magic to draw her out of her pain. He’d been angry in her office, hurt and vibrating with jealousy. But he’d kissed her, touching her with determined but sensual hands that gave only pleasure, not pain.

Under all that power, muscle and hate, there was something else. Something that soothed her instinctual fear. She couldn’t name it but it was as 130

Sweet as Sin

potent as his liquor. She felt its lullaby in her marrow and let it guide her.

“No.” Falling from her lips before she could catch it, the denial gave her roots. She pulled her shoulders back and moved closer. “I’m not leaving. Tell me what happened. Leo said it was a juvenile thing.”

“Didn’t feel that way.” His sigh was softer than a whisper. “It was a long time ago and none of your business.”

Livvy kissed him. The bitter taste of alcohol flooded her mouth and she coaxed his tongue to dance with hers. The freshly broken skin grazed her mouth and she licked over the small wound.

He gasped. She had to work at it a bit before his mouth relaxed to hers and his arm slid around her waist. He deepened the kiss with a low sound of defeat.

When he’d walked away from her, her heart had dropped. His “Goodbye, Livvy” meant

goodbye, not see you later. Watching his back, she realized she couldn’t let him go. He didn’t frighten her. His leaving had.

Shock had clouded her mind and chilled her skin. No man who could fight monsters in his past yet reach out to a child could be bad. She couldn’t accept that. Lacing her fingers in his hair, she pulled her lips from his. His eyes stayed closed as she stroked his bruised jaw.

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“Whatever happened, I’m here and this,

whatever
this
is between us, makes it my business.”

“I’d never hurt you, Livvy. Believe that. Never.

Don’t be afraid of me, please.”

“I’m not. I trust you. Now trust me.”

Laying her head on his chest, she willed him to feel her acceptance. She just held him, waiting, not pushing but letting her openness seep into his body. When she thought he would deny her, his breath tickled her hair.

“I don’t know who my father is. Until I was seven, it was just my mother and me. Then she married Alan Warner, the Reverend Alan Warner, a mean, twisted son of a bitch. Then Gina was born and… My mom died but made me promise to take care of the baby. Alan…”

He tried to pull away, but Livvy hugged him tighter, squeezing her faith into him. “Alan what, Murphy? What did Alan do?”

“He beat the shit out of me daily until I was almost sixteen, among other things.”

Tears dripped down Livvy’s cheeks. She’d

known. Somewhere inside, she’d known. There was no other explanation.

“He never touched Gina. That made it okay. As long as she was safe, I could handle anything he wanted to dish out.”

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When he hadn’t spoken for a long time, Livvy raised her head. John stared deep into nothing.

Something tremored in his body and he tightened his hold on her waist. Ache filled her and she clutched his arms. “What happened?”

He shook his head and blew out an oath.

“That’s enough, Livvy. Let it go.”

“I can’t. I hurt for you.”

“Don’t.” The word sounded like a bark. The strength in his grip when he tried to push her away stunned her but she didn’t let go. For one brief second, he looked in her eyes, then shifted away.

“You don’t understand. I—it’s ugly, Liv.”

“Whatever it was, you survived it.”

“Did I?” John closed his eyes and pulled her close.

Cradled against his chest, she realized he was ashamed. He couldn’t look at her and speak. He could only give his words to the darkness.

Bringing her mouth to his throat, she kissed him.

Her lips felt his words.

“He hit her. I’d never struck back at the bastard until that night but he hurt Gina, his own child.

And then he…” His breath shuttered out in a haze of alcohol and pain before he crushed her to him.

Through hard muscles, she felt his bones quiver.

Livvy clung to him, a lifeline for his storm. He wasn’t ready to let her in all the way, but she would take the crumbs. “Let’s just leave it at that, Inez Kelley

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okay? I ended up bloody and he ended up dead.

Manslaughter, special circumstances, kept in juvie court. Case closed. End of story.”

It wasn’t the end at all. There was so much more pain under the surface but he’d given all he could. It was a step, just a tiny one, but the hardest, she hoped. And he’d taken it with her.

Livvy pulled her wet face from his neck.

Touching his cheek, she shook her head.

“No. Not the end of the story, just the end of that bitter, terrible chapter. You’ve rewritten the rest of your life. Words are your magic, Murphy.

Magic always wins over monsters.”

“You’re sick.”

Jondi stared at his best friend in concern.

Thorn’s wings drooped, his eyes were

rheumy and he couldn’t stop coughing. The bat leaned against a gnarled oak and hacked, the thin skin of his wings trembling with the force.

“It’s just the Dell. I’ll be fine once we get to Andros. Come on, let’s go.” He pushed

off the tree and trudged to the worn

walkway.

Windago Mountain stood visible in the

distance, its gleaming white castle atop the crags and jutting stone. Jondi hurried after his friend, his heart filled with worry.

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Thorn’s fever was getting worse. Like stone grating stone, his breathing rasped out and he could no longer fly. He would lose

consciousness, falling from the sky like a fluttering black cloud. Luckily, both times he’d fallen, he’d hit tree branches and not the hard ground.

“He’s getting worse.” Vory’s musical

whisper reached his ears and he turned with a sad smile. Thorn lashed out at Vory every chance he got, his sickness making him

grumpy and irritable far beyond normal. So far, she just treated Thorn like a bothersome bug, laughing at him and swatting him away.

But it troubled Jondi. He hated the venom in Thorn’s voice.

Offering his hand, he pulled her up a

steep incline before hurrying after the black bat.

“Slow down!” Jondi called as Thorn

stormed through the underbrush.

Stickerbush twigs and tangleweed vines

grabbed at his feet, making him and Vory

fall behind. Thorn halted, looked over his shoulder and sucked air between his fangs.

The sound was as eerie as the Dell itself.

“I’m going home. If you want to follow,

hurry up, but leave her here. She has no

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business in Windago. You should’ve left her in the Dell like I told you!”

“You stupid bat, you’re going to make

yourself worse bellowing like that. Quit

pushing so hard. We can be there in a few days. The castle top is visible just over those mountains,” Vory argued as she and Jondi

came within feet of the massive figure.

Suddenly Thorn swooped to the pink

monster, his wings spread wide and his

sharp teeth glimmering in the sunlight.

“Don’t tell me what to do, girlie. If you’re following, then follow, but shut up while you do it. I don’t like you, I don’t want you here and, as far as I care, you can—”

“Thorn!” Jondi stepped between his

friends, shielding Vory. “Stop it.”

The bat whipped his head around and

took off at a clip. The wind used his wings as a sail, propelling his feet faster along the forest trail.

“Why does he hate me?” Vory cried, the

quiver in her voice breaking Jondi’s heart.

He didn’t know. Somehow the not knowing

was as scary as the Dell.

And then Vory coughed.

They finally went on a real date. Crammed in after the bakery closed, before she had to go back and 136

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make more sugar-magic, John took Livvy to dinner. Looking decidedly enticing in a crisp white dress shirt and dark pants, he enthralled her with stories he’d yet to put to paper. The swelling was gone from his face and the small graze was barely noticeable. His split lip gave him a rough-and-tumble pout that made her heart quiver.

He stuck with water, avoiding any alcohol, and she smiled. Low music, soft lights and a

delectable menu lulled her senses into a dreamlike state. Just the way he held his fork seemed incredibly sexy to her. She leaned her head in her hand and let his tale enchant her. Seductively dark, his gaze wrapped around her, blanketing her in silence until the restaurant faded away. In the entire world, there was just the two of them.

“How can you do that? Just…create something out of nothing?”

“It’s a gift.” He grinned. “Or a curse. I can’t stop the ideas most times. It’s like living with a movie in my head I can’t turn off.”

“Well, if any of those creative flashes happen to involve flour and sugar, throw them my way.”

A frown wrinkled his brow. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.” She sighed. “I’ve just been

wracking my brain, trying to come up with a new product line, a hook, something to give business a little boost.”

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“Can’t help you there, honey. Business shit makes my head hurt.”

“How
is
your headache?”

John grimaced. “Don’t talk too loud, okay? I forgot Wild Turkey is a mean bird. She likes to make me think I can handle her until she whoops my ass the next day.”