Where There's Smoke (22 page)

“That’s okay,” she told him. When he started to move farther away, she quickly spoke up. “You know cowboys. Here one day and gone the next.”

He stopped. “How’s that?”

She shrugged, took another slow drink of her beer then set the bottle back on the bar. “You never know when they’ll walk out of your life.”

“Is that what he did?” The bartender ambled down to her end. “Did he leave you high and dry?”

“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. Hell, she didn’t know a whole lot about Chance when she thought about it. Only that he knew how to make love to her, and that was the problem. With Chance, it wasn’t just sex. They’d made love. There was a connection between them, or so she thought.

The bartender shook his head. “Nope, I don’t think he’s that stupid. No man would intentionally walk away from you.”

Hell, Destiny could tell him people had walked away from her all her life. None of that mattered, though. The guy was nice. Why bring up her sordid past?

“I’m Destiny,” she said instead.

“I go by Duncan.”

“Have you always bartended?”

He glanced around. “Until I earned enough money to put a hefty down payment on this place. It’s not much. Me and the bank own it. Mostly the bank.” He frowned. “I’d hoped the area might clean up a little. Maybe get some of the overflow from Billy Bob’s. It hasn’t happened yet.”

She leaned an elbow on the counter and studied him. There was something about Duncan. A feeling she had. He came across as a good man. A fair man. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t be able to talk him into going back to Hell with her, but she liked him all the same. Besides, he was making her feel a little calmer.

“Someday this place will take off, though,” he continued. “I can feel it in my bones.” It was his turn to study her. “Have you ever felt like that? Where you just know what you’re doing is right?”

She didn’t meet his eyes. “No, I’ve never felt like that. I’ve learned not to trust my judgment so much anymore,” she wryly told him before taking another drink. She always thought dreams were for losers. She’d stopped dreaming a long time ago.

He suddenly grinned. “Then you’re still wandering around trying to find who you are. Someday you’ll know exactly what you’re meant to do and you won’t let anyone stand in your way.”

“Like you did with your bar?”

“Yeah.”

“And what if I told you it was already too late for me?”

He snorted. “You’re just a kid.”

She raised her eyebrows.

His cheeks took on a rosy glow. “Okay, maybe more than a kid. And yeah, I’ve noticed you’re sexy as hell, but sometimes you can be old and still not know what you want out of life. There’s a time and a place for everything.”

“And you think I’ll find it someday?”

“If you don’t give up and stop looking.”

Destiny wouldn’t tell him there was only one thing she wanted and that was to finish out her quota and go back to Hell. Duncan could continue to live his dream. She had no dreams in her future.

A sliver of light spilled into the bar. She looked up. Duncan grinned and nodded toward the door. “Looks like your cowboy is still hanging around.”

Her heart pounded inside her chest. She slowly turned on the barstool. Damn, how could one man look so hot? He swaggered toward her, jeans riding low on his hips. The red T-shirt he wore hugged his muscular chest.

As he moved nearer, his gaze traveled over her, slowly stripping her out of her clothes. Her body responded to his heated gaze. Just as quickly, she realized she was on a mission.

She stood, meeting him halfway across the floor. “You left me.”

“I had some place to go.”

“I’ve heard that line before.”

He reached out his hand.

She cocked an eyebrow.

“Come with me.”

“Give me one good reason.”

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Because I think you’re fucking hot and I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.”

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the images running across her mind, knowing her time was growing short. He was chipping away at her days left on earth, robbing her seconds, stealing every breath she took.

“Come with me.” He took her hand and squeezed.

“I can’t,” she whispered, but as he led her out of the bar, she didn’t pull away.

The bright sunshine hit her in the face, causing her to blink. When her eyes adjusted, she noticed the bum on the corner. He was sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against a building, reading a book. He’d traded his bottle of booze for words on paper.

Had the world turned upside down? She shook her head and looked at Chance.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked as he led her to his motorcycle that was parked next to the curb.

“Does it matter?”

There was no more fight left inside her. She shook her head. “Not really.” And she realized it didn’t matter. Nothing did when she was with him. But as she slipped on the back of the cycle, she knew she had to try to convince Chance to return to Hell with her. Time was running out.

But taking him to Hell left a sour taste in her mouth. It was as if she would be condemning him to a life he wasn’t meant to lead.

But no, she couldn’t think like that. She would make it better.

Chance took the corners with ease on his motorcycle. Destiny’s hands were snug around his waist, but not tight. She was starting to trust him more and more.

But something occurred between the time he left and the time he joined her at the bar. Whatever happened must have scared her pretty badly. When he took her hand in his, hers trembled and, for a moment, he saw the look of desperation in her eyes. It was as though all her confidence and energy were drained.

Only one thing could have caused it.

A demon.

Probably the one who’d convinced Destiny that life would be better if she gave up her soul. He clamped his lips together. Why the hell didn’t she call out for help?

Just as quickly as the thought came, so did the answer. She didn’t know the truth about him, and why pray when she had no faith? With everything that had happened in her life, why should she?

He didn’t have the answers. None of the nephilim did. They tried to help, but sometimes people slipped through the cracks. There were more people in need of help than the angels and nephilim could handle. His chest tightened painfully. Why hadn’t he known she needed his help?

He gripped the handlebars tighter. His lips formed a thin line when he pressed them together. Someone had blocked her need. Had it been angels? Or demons? Could he save her now?

Chance felt Destiny’s sigh as she rested her cheek against his back, then her hands tightened around his waist, as though she was afraid he would disappear from her life. He only wished they could ride his motorcycle for all eternity. Outrun any demon who tried to steal her away from him or any angel who’d claim Chance had crossed the line.

But running away would never work. Destiny had to make the choice. Chance could only pray that it would be the right one. Wondering about the outcome was tearing him apart.

He turned down a road that led to a favorite spot of his. Only a few more miles, and then he pulled over near an old oak with gnarly branches. He’d planted the tree two hundred years before because he liked the stream that wound through the countryside. It was peaceful there.

“This is nice,” Destiny said as she climbed off the bike. “How did you find it?”

He couldn’t tell her that he was watching over a wagon train of pioneers on their way to build a new life, so instead he said, “How does anyone ever find something special?” He swung his leg over the bike.

She was so near, so breathtakingly beautiful. He had to touch her so he brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear.

“You look up one day,” he continued, “and there it is, right in front of you.”

She leaned toward him for a moment then quickly moved back, as though she needed to put distance between them. He wondered what was going through her mind. And maybe he already knew.

If the demon who took her soul came around, he would have reminded her that she was back on earth for a reason. He would have put the fear of Satan in her once more, but in a way that made her feel like Hell was her only choice. The demon wouldn’t let her slip through his fingers.

“What would you say if I told you that beauty could be yours forever?” She waved her arm to encompass the area. “All of this, all of the time.”

He was right. Destiny was making her move. “And you? Would you be there, too?”

She visibly let out a deep breath as though she’d been holding it in, waiting to see if he might be willing to listen to what she had to say.

“Yes! I would be there, and you would be there, and we could have all eternity together.”

He laughed.

She frowned. “You don’t believe me.”

There was only one way to take her mind off what she was there to do. He moved closer.

“I would like nothing more than to be with you forever.” He lowered his mouth to hers, tasting the sweetness she offered. His tongue caressed, then lightly sucked. He caught her moan, but before he could go farther she pushed out of his arms. Her breathing was shaky and she trembled.

“You have a way of making me forget what I need to do,” she mumbled.

“Do I?” he asked as he reached for the hem of his red T-shirt and pulled it over his head.

Her gaze locked on his chest. “Oh yeah, you make me forget a lot of things.”

Okay, he hadn’t exactly planned to do a striptease, but it was the only way he could get her mind off Hell. Not that he was too inconvenienced. Damn, he wanted to love her like there was no tomorrow. Make her forget everything but each other.

“I want to make love to you,” he said. “Out here in the open.”

“We need to talk.” Her words were strained. She cleared her throat and tried again. “We need to talk about the future. Our future.”

“Are you proposing?” He flexed his muscles.

“What?” Her gaze moved to his face, then she frowned. “No, I mean, not exactly. We just need to talk.”

“You think so?” He tugged at the waistband of his jeans and the metal button slipped through the hole. Still watching her, he slid the zipper down. When his pants were undone, he toed off his boots, then pushed his jeans over his hips, over his thighs, down his legs.

“You’re not making this easy,” she said, but her gaze was locked below Chance’s waist.

“You’re making it hard,” he said, not even attempting to keep the humorous note out of his voice.

“Not funny.”

“You’re right. It’s uncomfortable as hell. Only you can end my suffering.” He hooked his fingers in the waistband of his briefs.

Her respirations became more rapid. She bit her bottom lip when he pushed the cotton material down a couple of inches.

“Don’t stop,” she whimpered when he didn’t move the briefs any farther. “Please.”

He let the material snap back into place, the waistband snug against his hips once more.

“What?” Her eyes widened as her gaze jerked to his face.

Chance shook his head. “You have way too many clothes on.”

“Too many—” She arched an eyebrow.

Damn, he loved when she looked put out, and right now her expression told him she was very put out. He’d figured out that she liked to call the shots. She wanted to be the one in charge and it bothered her that he always beat her at her own game.

Well, except one time, but how the hell was he to know she would be in the bathroom and not asleep in bed? He would give her the point for last night, but he planned to be the final victor in this game they played.

Chance would convince her that she could do her life over again. Start fresh, and he would make sure he personally watched over her. Either that or he would make her forget and keep her with him longer than she was supposed to stay.

He frowned. Keeping a demon wannabe longer than they were supposed to stay was difficult. Next to impossible, in fact. Demons didn’t take too kindly to losing a soul.

There were so many obstacles stacking up against him. Even if he freed her, he would lose her. A sick feeling swirled inside him. Could he let her go? Watch her from afar? All memory of a past life would be buried deep inside her.

She could never know he was there. He would have to see her grow up, start dating, fall in love with someone else.

“Chance?”

He forced his thoughts to return to the present. Destiny was looking at him with concern in her eyes. Damn it! He had to be more careful about hiding his thoughts.

Instead of thinking about what the future might hold, he decided to make every moment he had with Destiny more precious. Enough that it would last him for all eternity.

“Like I said,” he told her. “You have way too many clothes on. I thought we had the same thing in mind.” He reached for his pants. “Sorry, I guess you don’t want to feel my touch, to have me taste you, to feel me buried deep inside you.”