The Company of Darkness (37 page)

Ngoc (said like
knock
on the door) gave them a serene smile, but offered no words of greeting.  Small and compact, she appeared to be in her early forties, her dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail. 

“Keep up the good work,” Jules beamed, undeterred by the silence as she led them into the yard.  “Never you mind about Graciela, she’ll warm up to you soon enough,” she confided once they were out of hearing distance.  “She’s fearful of strangers still.  Should be too, with the life she’s led, poor kid.  Her brother Enrique is out here somewhere, you’ll meet him later.  Ngoc I met in this funky little bar down in Ilwaco before it went tits up.  Man, do I miss that place,” she sighed. 

Taking Ethan’s arm again, she chatted on about some of the others they used to hang out with at the bar, which meant nothing to Cady or Ethan, of course, not knowing who any of them were.  Ethan had gone very quiet himself, barely answering with single syllable responses when Jules paused long enough to ask a question, shooting Cady a distressed glance when he had the chance.  

Cady merely shrugged.  She’d warned him that her mother was hard to get along with.  She hadn’t been exaggerating. 

They found Enrique out working on a fence near the goat pen with a rawboned old man in his sixties, skinny as a rail but very friendly.  Perry was his name and he was from Louisiana originally, which he was happy to tell any one who asked and even those who didn’t.  Enrique was polite enough, greeting them with a friendly smile.  Nearer to Cady’s age, he didn’t look afraid of anything, but was far less outspoken than the old man. 

They all chatted for a few minutes, and Jules waved over a plump, matronly woman with ruddy cheeks who’d been hanging up the wash on a clothesline tree.  Kathy, who hailed from South Australia, talked almost as much as Perry.  They engaged in a flirtatious exchange that had Cady blushing over the single entendres used – especially when Zeke wandered over and her mother joined in with the ribald comments, the young drifter tossing them right back at her. 

She had to wonder if it wasn’t all harmless flirting.  Cady got the distinct impression that it was more of a
free love
type living arrangement than any set couples. 
Ick
.  Only Enrique seemed more interested in working on the fence than eye-screwing his housemates. 

Ethan had to be on overload.  They were a spirited bunch for Cady to take in as well, and she picked up his hand to give him a silent squeeze of support.  He didn’t say much for the duration of the tour.  The view of the lake from the back yard was stunning, the half dozen wind chimes strung along the covered porch adding to the tranquil nature.  An old fashioned, wooden hot tub was tucked into the corner of the deck, one of the few things running on electricity besides the refrigerator, Jules explained. 

Dinner was a noisy affair.  On the plus side, Ethan didn’t have to contribute much to the conversation.  There were plenty of other talkers in the room to pick up the slack and Cady tried to field all the personal questions aimed their way.  Whenever things got too close to the more dangerous topics, she deflected with an anecdote on how Ian was doing or her job at the insurance company – never mind that she must be fired due to her sudden disappearance.  She kept their reason for the visit purposefully vague, trusting on their isolation to keep her crumbling relationship with her brother a secret. 

Cady and Ethan were left to their own devices after dinner, as each went about their usual routines.  While no one offered to show them to a bedroom, neither were they asked to help with the chores, and they settled on the back porch to watch the ducks on the lake. 

Suddenly the attention turned back on them again as her mom remembered to play hostess, emerging from the kitchen with a damp dishtowel flung over her shoulder.  “So, what do you kids want to do next?  There’s still a couple of hours left before the sun goes down.  There’s not much to see in the gardens this time of year since we’ve finished with most of the harvest.  You must be tired from the trip up here, so don’t worry about pitching in until you’ve had time to chill out.  You can go fishing in the lake or feed the ducks if you want to take it easy.  Just keep an eye out for bears.”

“Bears?” 

“They’re more of an early morning type visitor, but you never know,” Jules grinned, and Cady wasn’t sure if she was teasing or serious.

Cady took one look at Ethan and figured some quiet time was in order.  “Actually, we are pretty tired from the drive.  Is there some place we can rest up for a while?”  If not, they’d have to hope there was still room at one of the local inns.

“Oh, sure, sure.  Jeez, where is my head at?” Jules smacked her forehead with an open palm.  “You can have the meditation room, it’ll help balance your chi.”  She took two steps toward the door when an old dusty pick-up truck came into view.  Ethan immediately bristled, but Jules took it in stride.  “Oh, shoot.  Hold on a sec, let me tend to my customers first, I’ll be back in a shake.”

“I can get them settled in,” Kathy volunteered, snatching up the dish towel and adding it to another basket of dirty clothes balance on her generous hip.  “It’s time for me to get another batch of washing in anyway.”

“Great!  You two take a load off and if you want, you can join us later around the campfire for a jamboree, like the old days.” 

Because Ethan would just love that.
  “Yep, can’t wait,” Cady nodded with a tight smile.

Already walking backwards, Jules turned and jogged up to the gravel drive with a friendly wave.  A couple of guys got out and she hugged them, before leading them to the oversized shed.  Kathy gave them a ruddy cheeked smile before waving them inside, leading to the newer wing of the house. 

The meditation room smelled faintly of incense and candles, which rested on nearly every available surface.  The entire floor was covered with portable yoga mats, and a pile of fluffy pillows spilled out of one corner.  The décor was pretty much what she’d expected from the name – cheap prints of tranquil settings covered the wall space, along with glossy posters for balancing your chakras and beneficial tai chi positions. 

Kathy plucked a clean sheet from the hallway closet, spreading it wide over the mound of pillows.  “This should do you nicely and there are blankets in here if you get cold.  It’s nice this time of year though and you have each other to keep warm,” she added with a knowing grin.  “If you’d rather have a room with a proper bed, I can switch you up with Perry’s room, he won’t mind.”

“Oh, no, this is fine, thanks.  Isn’t it, Ethan?”  At that point, Cady wouldn’t have minded if they had to sleep out in the shed as long as they were left alone. 

“Yes, it’s great,” he nodded, his eyes going to the large mirror propped on top of a low apothecary table.  From a seated position on the mats, it would give a full body view. 

“Sing out if you need anything.  There are towels in here if you feel the need to shower.  We do have hot water,” she added proudly and Cady gave her a somewhat forced smile. 

“Awesomesauce.  What will they think of next?”

“I’ll be out in the laundry room next door.  Once the washer’s going I won’t be able to hear much from this part of the house,” she added, giving them a broad wink before she left them alone.

“Gee, I wonder what she meant by that?” Cady smirked, leaning against the door once Kathy was gone. 

Ethan stalked closer, his eyes on her lips.  “I think it means she knows what goes on between two people behind closed doors.”

“Why, Mr. Shaw, I don’t know what you mean.”  She fluttered her lashes at him, but made no move to escape as he pinned her against the wall with a shift of hips.  “What is it you think we’ll be doing behind these closed doors?”

“Celebrating,” he said simply, covering her mouth with his in a hungry kiss she was only too happy to reciprocate. 

He was right, they did have an awful lot to celebrate, the biggest being the lack of Ash behind his kiss and the sure knowledge there was nothing keeping them apart any longer. 

“Does the door lock?” he asked on a current of urgency, his breath coming heavier as she slipped her hands under his shirt.  His fingers curled around the belt loops of her jeans, the fabric creaking as he pulled with his hands and pushed with his hips, trying desperately to get closer to her. 

Reaching back, her fingers scrabbled around the knob, coming up empty.  “Um, no…  Maybe we could prop a chair up under it or something?”

Ethan made a sound against her lips when she let go of the door to cup the firm globe of his ass, grinding him against her.  “Fuck it, I don’t care.  Like the woman said, they know what we’re doing in here.  It’d be a shame to disappoint them.”

“Uh huh, a real crime.”  She urged his t-shirt up and over his head, eager to feel his skin pressed against hers.  Having the identical thought, Ethan brought her shirt up at the same time, and the clothes ended up in a tangle on the floor together, his rough hands homing in on her lace encased breasts even as she fought the stiff closure of his jeans.

“Wait…” he breathed, his voice hoarse as he pulled back, but Cady wasn’t about to let him go.

A low cry of frustration went through her at the single word and she continued to work at his jeans, the zipper giving way to her questing hands with a rush of satisfaction at his deep moan.  “Unh uh, no way.  There’s nothing you can say to keep this from happening after all we’ve been through.”

“I don’t want to keep it from happening, but before we get too far, I should do something to keep us safe from prying eyes.”

“Nobody’s watching us,” she protested, hands sliding over his flesh.

“Jesus, Cady… just stop for a second.”  He pinned her wrists up and away from mischief even as he thrust against her hip.  “I need to do this.”      

“And I need to do this.”  Cady sank to her knees, taking him full in the mouth before he had a chance to escape.  He still held her wrists up over her head, but she had enough slack to gain a measure of control, her head bobbing as she took him deep. 

“Ah, fuck…”  His breath whistled through his teeth in a sharp hiss of pleasure.  

“Later, first I want to do this,” Cady pulled back to say, her lips moving over his swollen tip.  A shudder rippled through him as his head tilted back in a throaty groan.  His fingers sank into her hair, holding her, guiding her.  With every moan and buck of his hips she grew bolder, alternating between a savory, slow suction where she felt every ridged inch of him filling her mouth, and a faster, slick thrust that was all lips and tongue, building the friction to keep him off balance.

When his body tensed as tight as a drum, fingers scrabbling against her hair, she knew he was close, and she bobbed faster, tongue busy.  A harsh whisper that might’ve been part swear and part prayer escaped him as he came, cock throbbing and twitching against her lips as he pumped again and again before his hips went still.  His knees buckled and he braced himself against the wall, careful not to squash her, which Cady appreciated. 

Her knees weren’t at all sore, thanks to the yoga mats, and she thought she might have to pick up a couple whenever they found a place to settle down.  She planned to say as much when he pulled her up to her feet for a languorous kiss.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said, his voice still a touch hoarse as he caught his breath.

“Of course I didn’t
have
to, I wanted to.  Besides, you’re going to make it up to me, aren’t you?” she asked with her most winsome smile.  All wet and tingly, her legs pressed together to squirm against the deep throbbing desire that surged, waiting her turn not so very patiently.  “I’d be more than happy to get you ready again, if you need me to.”  She reached down to stroke him lightly, delighted to feel him twitch back to life under her touch. 

Ethan sucked in a breath, his forehead pressing against hers.  “You’re killing me, you know that?”

“It’s nothing you don’t want me to do.  Admit it.”

“No, you’re not wrong.  Give me five minutes to put up some protective sigils and then I’m all yours.” 

“I’ll give you three, and then I’m starting without you.  And you know I’ll do it.”  Cady backed off, laying amongst the mound of pillows, peeling off her jeans so there would be even less between them when he was done. 

Ethan kicked off his pants, but not before retrieving a stick of charcoal, which he used to inscribe the first sigil on the wall. 

“Where’d you get that?” Cady asked, watching him intently.

“I palmed it when we were out by the fire pit earlier.  I thought it might come in handy.”  His hand paused about an inch away from the wall on the second sigil.  “Oh… I’m not so sure your mom will appreciate me marking up the walls like this.  Maybe I should try and find a pencil or something?” 

“Naw, don’t worry about it.”  Cady waved him on.  “I’ll tell her it’s a special Sanskrit prayer you wrote for her and she’ll eat it up.”  Studying the sigils with interest, she noted they were a lot more complex than the spell he’d taught her, more like the one he’d erected on the safe house.  “Do you want me to help you with the spell?” she offered, always eager to learn something new.

“No, you’re tired.  I can manage it on my own.” 

Cady satisfied herself by paying close attention to the sigils and words he used, the stir of energy in the air letting her know when it was complete.  Maybe she could pull it off in a pinch, but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.  She didn’t want to think about a situation where she might need to try magic on the fly without Ethan’s help. 

“Oh, if we’re looking to keep safe, I’ve got this too.”  Cady remembered the amulet in her jeans pocket and dug it out, hissing when the spelled hematite pendant burned her fingers at the touch.  “Rikard said it would keep us safe from Alma’s search.”

Ethan picked it up by the leather thong, studying the tiny symbols etched onto the back of the shiny disc.  “Rikard gave you this?  When was that?”

Cady thought back to the night before to figure out the correct chain of events.  “Let’s see, that would be after we got through the magic shield, before I knocked him out cold.” 

“Sure seems like he was being awfully helpful all of a sudden,” he frowned, setting aside the pendant as he started to neatly fold his discarded clothing.

Not exactly happy with his neatness streak when it kept him from joining her at the pillows, she decided to pitch in and help, the sooner he’d finish and get back to sexy time.  “Which I am all kinds of grateful for, or we wouldn’t be here together.”

“How grateful?”

“Huh?”

Ethan looked up to catch her gaze, his blue eyes bright in the fading afternoon sunlight.  “How grateful were you?  Why
did
Rikard help us?”   

“I guess he didn’t want to see either one of us end up as Alma’s lab rats.”  Cady didn’t bother to mention the fact that Rikard had sort of hit on her in that shared dream, mostly because she wasn’t too proud of how she’d reacted to it.  While it was cute that Ethan seemed a tad jealous, she wasn’t about to play it up. 

“I didn’t stop to interview him about it, I was more worried about getting out of there with my memories intact and you by my side.”  Putting down her neatly folded shirt, she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.  “Whatever gives us the edge to stay one step ahead of the Company, sign me up.  So if that means Rikard’s magic doodad, I’m keeping it with me.  That doesn’t mean we’re going steady or anything.”

“I know.  I just wish you still had the one I gave you.”

“You could always make me a new one and you can wear Rikard’s.”

“No, his magic is stronger than mine, it’s better if you wear his.”  He didn’t look too pleased about it.   

“Maybe I can make my own.  You said I have a talent for this stuff, right?”  Cady kissed him on the cheek and let go of him to straighten up.  “What about you?  How am I supposed to keep you safe?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Oh sure, you’d say that if you were bleeding out your eyeballs.”  A roll of the eyes was given.  “That’s not good enough.  I think I should do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”  Picking up the stub of charcoal, she inscribed one of the sigils on the bulge of his bicep.

The lighthearted move did the trick and Ethan’s lips curved in amusement.  “It doesn’t work that way.”

“Shh, you don’t know until you try, right?”  Kneeling in front of him, she marked one on his chest, and another on his abdomen, sitting back to inspect her handiwork and making one of the curves thicker.  “What do you think would happen if we tried to meld the sigils on both of us?” she wondered aloud, drawing a symbol on her own hip – more slowly, since it was done upside down.  “Would it link us in a spell together?”

“First of all, you can’t permanently spell people without a glyph and I’m not in the mood to get another tattoo tonight,” he pointed out, taking the charcoal from her hand.   “And second, trying to cast together probably wouldn’t succeed.  Balancing energy between two people to work a spell together takes a lot of practice.  That’s part of why I didn’t want to attempt it to escape the campus without preparing first.”  He drew a spiral that began at her bellybutton and curved around and around until it skimmed the top of her panties. 

Cady remembered the energy swirling between her and Rikard when they’d cast the spell together.  It hadn’t seemed all that difficult, but then again, she’d also gotten the feeling that he was in complete control of the spell at all times.  And then she could only focus on the magic brewing between them at the light touch as he marked her body. 

“Third, you don’t want to play with these symbols lightly, even without casting.”  There was an instructive tone to his voice as he smudged the mark she’d made on her hip, adding an identical smudge and then defining them until they resembled a pair of wings. 

“Sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinking,” she replied, reaching out to smudge the mark on his chest and the one on his abdomen.  Lacking his artistic skills, she licked a clean finger and used it to draw a smiley face over the smudge on his abs.  “That’s the best I can do. Should we go get cleaned up now?” 

“I need to get you good and dirty first.”

They came together in a crash of limbs, the charcoal lines smearing between them as skin slid against skin.  Ethan was very eager to reciprocate what Cady had already started, resisting her efforts to skip the foreplay and get right to it.  His strong hands kept her pressed back against the fluffy bower as his mouth stoked her hotter and hotter, until she turned her head to bury her release in a downy pillow with a joyful shout. 

Barely giving her time to recover, he started in again, kissing his way back up her body, leaving no inch of skin lonely, the rasp of his tongue making her shudder every time he hit a particularly sensitive spot – which made him linger all the more. 

It seemed to Cady that Ethan almost acted like he had something to prove now that Ash was gone, and maybe he did.  She tried to think back to the first time they’d had sex, whether that’d been all him or if he’d been influenced by Ash even then.  She didn’t think so, at least she didn’t want to believe so.  It was too nice to think the first time had been all about them and less about the demon’s obsession.  She wasn’t complaining, not when it made him so eager to please.  And oh, how he pleased her! 

Twice more he coaxed her body into a living flame that writhed at his command, responsive to every flick of his tongue and every crook of his talented fingers.  She was ready, more than ready to accept him in every way.  The ache to feel him buried inside her became a tangible thing that consumed her even in the final spasms of the last shuddering peak he’d brought her to. 

“God, I can’t stand it, I need you inside me now,” she breathed, hands desperate to catch hold of him, finally wrapping around his rock hard length, slippery with the signs of his own arousal.   

When he finally covered her body with his, poised to give her what she craved, she leaned up to kiss him deeply, fingers sliding over his velvet tip.  He thrust once against her hand, twice… and then pulled free to sink into her slick folds, groaning into her neck.  Cady’s ankles hooked around his back, binding him to her as she let out a sigh of deep satisfaction. 

What had Ian said about the sex after having a demon bound to him?  Not that she wanted to think about her brother at a time like that, but he was right, everything felt sharper, stronger, deeper.  Every touch tingled, every kiss sizzled, every thrust throbbed, driving her higher and higher until she burst into something new and uncharted, almost scary. 

Cady gripped the hard ridges of his arms, hardly daring to breathe for fear of losing this pleasure so keen it bordered on pain.  Ethan’s muscles strained, hips plunging deeper and harder as he drove himself to the same precipice and then leapt over it with her.  She could feel the love pouring out of him as a tangible thing, the energy flowing every bit as much as when casting a spell.  It surrounded her, caressing Cady inside and out as his thrusts slowed and then came to a stop, his weight settling over her, heart pounding madly.

“Christ, that was…”  He drew in a shaky breath, propping himself up on his elbows before rolling onto his back.  The pristine sheet laid over the pillows was liberally smudged now with soot and sweat and other stickiness.