Cassandra's Dilemma (9 page)

Her thighs quivered, and her stomach fluttered.

It had so been worth it, too.

Running her fingers through the tangle of hair left, Cassie raced for the bathroom. She needed a shower. At that word, her mind called up an image of Helcyon, long and lean, standing under the rainfall spray.
Water sluicing down his chest…

Make that a cold shower.

Her nipples tensed, puckering against the thin cotton of her tank top. He’d never kissed them earlier. His hands had touched her, drifting down her sides, stroking her hips and thighs. But never her breasts.

They were almost pouty with envy.

Make that a very cold shower.

A ringing split the silence, splashing cold reality on her ardor. Cassie leaned out of the bathroom and stared at her cell phone sitting on the nightstand. It was even plugged into the charger. Padding over to the bedside, she looked at the number and name on the display.

Michael.

She thumbed off the ringer, denying the call.

She wasn’t up to dealing with her partner right now.

Returning to the bathroom, she locked the door and leaned back against it. Her body’s rebellious obsession with the Elf was unsettling. She’d always kept the relationship perfectly professional. Cassie rolled her head to the side and met her own gaze in the mirror. Her hair looked a wreck, but there was much more of it than she’d felt the night before. Maybe the healing was repairing her hair.

She smiled at the thought.

So what changed, Cassie? Maybe getting blown up and finding tall, dark, and sexy laid out in your bed like a calorie-free ice cream sundae?
The little voice taunted her, the one that kept her honest. She’d liked to call it her personal Jiminy Cricket.

She’d never wanted to step on a cricket so much.

Cassie reached into the shower and turned on all three jets to full. The water would heat up quickly, and she stepped into the cooler spray and let it shock her system.

Hair plastering to her head, she turned under the pounding spray. The water heated up to a gentle boil, reddening her skin and loosening her muscles. Her skin felt tight over her face, arms, and shoulders. She pulled down the red loofah and squirted the bodywash onto it. It soaped up into a generous lather. Even her breasts were tight. Tight. Swollen. Aching.

Tight and aching for Helcyon?

Cassie groaned at the thought. The voice wasn’t her conscience.

It was the devil.

Cassie ducked her head under the spray and rinsed the soap off. She found her shampoo and squirted a dollop into her hand before beginning to work it into her tangled mess of hair. She smelled the faint odor of burned hair. The sweet scent of citrus did little to cover that up.

Scrubbing her hair, she rinsed out the first wash and reached for another handful of shampoo. Her stylist would probably kill her for the abuse her hair was taking, but Cassie blocked that thought. Clean hair was the first goal, followed by clean skin, clean teeth, and a cup of coffee. Cassie focused on the mundane needs of her body.

The overtight skin, a byproduct of her Fae healing, was soothed by the water and soap. The second scrubbing of her hair removed the last traces of burned-hair odor, and the generous amount of fresh strawberry conditioner smelled heavenly. Sighing, Cassie worked the conditioner through every inch of her hair. She turned her face up into the spray and let the water glide over her face and into her scalp. The dry, matted mess of her hair turned satiny soft, eliciting a genuine sigh of pleasure.

Cassie allowed herself a few more minutes luxuriating under the spray before getting down to business and running the razor over her legs and under her arms. Another good rinse and she shut off the jets with a sigh.

She turned her attention to the closet, choosing black. Black jeans, black tank top, black sweater tied around her waist. Even her jewelry favored the onyx, choker and bracelet. Her damp hair was pulled back with a black scrunchie.

By the time Cassie was dressed, she could smell the coffee drifting from the vicinity of the kitchen. She followed the scent like a bloodhound, padding on bare feet across the vanity-white carpet into the stellar-blue kitchen. The startling palette of colors annoyed her decorator to no end, but Cassie enjoyed the endless variety of shocking change when she went from room to room.

Standing in front of her coffeepot, studying the microwave with intensity, was her tall, lean, and brooding guest. She studied his profile from her vantage point at the door, enjoying the sensuous curve of his mouth, the patrician nose, and the gently upswept look of his ears. Thick black hair that fell past his broad, warrior shoulders didn’t hurt. She ignored his lack of shirt and loose black britches that hugged his sinfully artful hips.

“Good afternoon, m’lady.”

“Good afternoon. You should get dressed. I’d offer to make something to eat, but I know you prefer fresh fruit.”

“I found the generous offering in your breakfast room. The variety is plentiful. Will you eat?”

“Coffee is good.”

Helcyon betrayed no sign of being disturbed by her curt manner. “You should eat.”

“I hate eating this early in the day.”

“We don’t know when we will be able to eat again. It’s been more than twenty-four hours since your last meal.”

“Thanks for the newsflash, Mother. Anything else you’d like to share?”

Helcyon gave her a patient smile before sliding the cup of coffee toward her. “Drink your morning elixir and we’ll talk when you’re done.”

Cassie resisted a snort, all the while grasping the coffee cup gratefully. It smelled like nirvana. She took a deep whiff of the ground Colombian beans. It was from her private stock. She didn’t know how he knew about the coffee grinder, the beans, or how to put just the right amount on to brew with a dash of cinnamon and cayenne, but it was pure heaven.

She ignored the long, brooding look he favored her with and walked over to the picture window overlooking the rocky cliff wall and beach below. She loved her house, standing on its struts above the Pacific Ocean as though it had every right to be here. The ocean called to her, provided comfort and solace. She’d never thought about the why of it. It just did.

The water foamed white below where it slapped at the rocks. She took a long sip of the coffee and swallowed it with pleasure.

Three-quarters of the way through her cup of coffee, Helcyon appeared at her elbow with a second full, steaming cup and a bagel. He gestured to the table. She drained her first cup of coffee, suitably mollified to acquiesce to his unspoken request.

Sitting down, she took a bite of the bagel, thick with fresh blackberries and cream cheese. The tart and the sweet met in fierce battle on her tongue. A look of pleasure crossed Helcyon’s face as he watched her eat. He sat across from her at the white-oak table with its blue-cushioned chairs, saying nothing while she polished off the bagel and second cup of coffee.

“Better?”

“Much, thank you.”

“More?”

“No, two is good.” Energized, she was ready to kick the day into gear. “Let’s begin with the parts you didn’t tell me yesterday. For example, what’s the deal with the Wizards, and why did the Danae have a bodyguard at my bedside from the moment I was loaded in the ambulance?”

“You remember?” Surprise mingled with pride in his question.

Cassie met his gaze evenly. “Some of it. Most of it is still vague. The explosion, the paramedics, and even the ambulance. But, Helcyon, I’m not deluding myself. You’re some kind of Duke in her court. You’re a nobleman and a warrior. You’ve got a lot of magic, and you oversaw most of the plans before they were passed to the Danae. She assigned you to me either to protect me or to kill me.”

“You forget there is a third option.”

“A third?”

“I could seduce you.”

“That would be for you and not for her.” Cassie waved her hand dismissively. And it wasn’t like he had to try that hard. At just the mention, her gaze slid down the length of his body to the cock hidden by his slacks. It was so damn tempting to say the hell with the rest and sample more of that fabulous cock.

She cleared her throat. “She instructed me to find the bomber, to identify him and turn him over to my authorities or…”

“…or to me,” Helcyon finished. “Yes, I do recall. You forget, Cassandra, I was present when she spoke to you. I know exactly what my Danae requires. If the beast that attacked the conference was from Underhill, then it will be
my
justice they meet.”

Although his tone and expression didn’t change, the cool delivery carried the promise of danger. Her womb clenched, and she forced her gaze away. The promise of personal mayhem should never be such a turn-on.

“But you will let me turn over any humans to our authorities.”

“If they do not try to harm you again, although you must accept that the Wizard will be looking into that side very closely. He will be ready to scoop up any human offenders.”

Cassie sighed. “Is there a reason she gave such a strict deadline?”

“You worry that we will not be able to complete the task in the time she has given us?”

“I worry that I’m a media consultant—I do public relations, handle negotiations, and make people look good or at least not as stupid as they might. I am hardly some kind of police officer or detective. Agent Book might be our best chance of catching these guys.”

“You have no way of knowing this for certain, nor do I. For all we know, the Wizard was involved.” He reached across the table, covering her hand with his.

She jumped at the thought, despite how alien it seemed. Her skin chilled under his far-warmer hand. “That’s wrong, Helcyon.”

“Is it?” he challenged, turning her cool hand over in his. His thumb brushed along the tender skin on the palm of her hand. “You don’t know the Wizard.”

“Neither do you!” she fired back. Her pussy wept at the casual tenderness in his caress. Touching him impaired her ability to think. His touching her destroyed it completely.

“No, but I know Wizards. Many resent their Fae ancestry. Few, if any, have good relations with their Fae parents.”

“And why is that, do you suppose?”

“Some were the products of ill-informed trysts, but even those where the father lingered—relations were not always positive.” Electricity sparked along her arm as his fingers trailed sensuously up her flesh. Her nipples tightened into hard buds.

“Cassandra, you must accept that you do not know everything about us. What you have learned of Underhill
—
of the Danae and her court
—
it is what we have allowed you to see.”

“I’m not stupid. I’m perfectly well aware of the PR campaign you have waged on me since day one. You don’t spend nearly a year meeting with the Danae and her entourage Underhill and aboveground without getting a taste for the manure in the manna.”

Helcyon threw his head back and laughed. The rich, warm sound of it poured over her like honeyed molasses. Cassie stared at him, startled. It was a real laugh, a genuine, from-the-belly laugh. It carried no note of his cultured chuckle or barely patronizing amusement. Instead, it sounded like mirth.

“You prove to me time and again that we were right to choose you, Cassandra.”

His amusement tickled her. Staring at the way the amusement softened his features, she nearly missed the shadow behind him. It crept up toward the picture window, an oily black mass of motion. Helcyon whirled, kicking the chair out from beneath him to crash into the creature as it shattered her beautiful picture window.