Delilah Devlin - My Immortal Knight 03 (12 page)

Again, Madame drew three cards. As soon as the first
was turned, all three people leaning over the table laughed.

“The Queen of Wands! Appropriate,
non
? A woman
of passion and energy. You are fond of nature—
wild things
, yet you are
practical.”

The second card brought the tension back. A man
dangled by his foot from a rope that hung in the air.

“The Hanged Man. Dis indicates you’ll experience
suspense and change. There may be sacrifice for great gain, or a search for
inner truth. A change in point of view may be needed.”

“But what does that mean?” Lily asked.

Madame settled back in her chair and folded her hands
on her stomach. “Your choices have brought you to dis point. Now it is up to
you to gain wisdom from your search for truth.”

Lily shook her head, but Joe squeezed her shoulders.
He wanted to see the next card.

Madame’s hands remained on her belly and she smiled at
Lily. “Turn the next one, my dear.”

Lily reached a tentative hand to the card, and Joe had
to smile. For all her professions of belief in empirical proof, she was
enthralled. She flipped the card.

A beautiful woman blended two bowls of water into a
single stream.

“It is called ‘The Star’ and represents the blending
of the past and present. An awareness and acceptance of two worlds.” Madame
glanced pointedly between Lily and Joe.

Feeling a little mesmerized, Joe murmured, “Thanks,
Madame.”

She nodded her acceptance, and then swept her hand
toward the sofa. “Please, take a seat and we’ll talk. “

Joe held his hope in check and sat down. Dragging a
hand through his hair, he tried to figure out a place to begin.

“Joe wants to be human again.”

Joe smiled ruefully. Lily’s eagerness eclipsed his.

Madame’s dark gaze seemed to look straight through
him. “What about your new existence can’t you accept?”

“I’m a damn parasite!” Frustration made his reply
angrier than he’d intended. “I feed off humans.”

“Do you take more than they can give?”

His hands dug into his thighs. “Sometimes, I want to.
It’s hard to fight the hunger.”

“God gives us all tests.”

“I don’t think God has anything to do with my current
state.”
Darcy and her bloodsucking boyfriend do!

Madame nodded. “I think you will find your mortality.”

He stared, hope rising. He leaned forward. “How? What
do I have to do?”

“You must face your past. Go home.”

Not what he wanted to hear. He shook his head and
looked at Lily. Her bleak expression reflected his heart’s dismay. “I don’t
understand.”

“I can’t tell you anythin’ more.”

His head dipped. He’d come all this way only to hear
that he had to go home. Something he already knew.

“Madame,” Lily’s voice broke through his
disappointment, reminding him of the other danger lurking. “There’s one other
problem I need your advice concerning.”

The old woman reached across the table and took Lily’s
hand. She turned the palm upward. “You haven’t figure it out yet, have you
child?”

“What?”

“Tell me first. What disturbs you?”

“There are so many things. I have intense…cravings.
And then there’s this …thing following me.”

Madame tilted her head toward Joe. “Does this man
satisfy your…cravings?”

Lily nodded her head, blushing.

“Then isn’t your problem solved?”

“What I feel isn’t normal.” Lily gripped the edge of
the table. “I want too much. Besides, he’s leaving.” She shrugged her shoulders
and bit her lip. “And then there’s the other…thing.”

“The wolves? Do wolves follow you now?”

Lily exchanged a shocked glance with Joe before
dragging her gaze back to the woman. “Yes. Or at least one does.”

Madame turned to Joe. “The only way to keep them from
her is to take her with you.”

Joe nodded. “Why do they follow her?”

“For the same reason you do.” Her little smile told
him he wouldn’t like what she said next. “To mate.”

His body tightened. “Is it because of her increased
sex drive?” he asked. “Do they smell her constant need?”

Lily’s eyes darkened and Joe recognized the signs of
her growing arousal. Just the mention of sex and she was primed. And like
Pavlov’s dog, her arousal kicked his into high gear.

“It is dat. And something more,” the old woman said,
her expression growing amused. She hadn’t missed the exchange between Joe and
Lily.

Frustrated with her cryptic comments, Joe blurted, “Why
do they follow
her
?”

“Because she leaves her scent all over the city. She’s
in heat.”

Lily slid the strap of her handbag over her shoulder
and shivered despite the balmy night air. Still reeling from shock, she wrapped
her arms around her middle and stumbled toward
Bourbon Street
. “I’m one
of them?”

“You heard what she said.” His words were clipped, his
face hard as stone. “Not yet.” His hand pressed the small of her back, hurrying
her along. “Although, I’m wondering why you’d fight the change! The wolves don’t
mean you any harm. They just want to fuck you. Something you want.”

Anger burned away the chill. “So I should just give
into my nature? I should let any Duke or Fido take me because my body is ready
to breed? That’s so hypocritical coming from you! Why do you fight what you
are?”

“I wasn’t born to be a vampire. You were born to be a
werewolf.”

“Well, I don’t accept that.”

“Now you know how I feel. Neither do I.”

He sounded so angry she felt like crying. Didn’t he
care strange werewolves wanted to mate with her? “I don’t want them. Besides, I
won’t just get pregnant—I’ll whelp! I could have a whole litter of puppies.”
That thought led to another more horrifying. “Oh God, does that mean I’ll grow
a row of breasts?”

They reached the corner and turned right onto the busy
thoroughfare, blending with the strolling crowd.

“You think that’s a problem?” Joe asked, his voice
purring close to her ear.

Cream trickled down to soak another panty liner. That’s
all it took. One sexy rumble from this man and she was ready to shuck her pants
in the nearest alley and have a go. She was insatiable. No. She was in heat!

“Shouldn’t you be eager to get home and start taking
notes?” he asked. “You’ve obviously been studying the wrong breed.”

She dug in her heels. “Stop it!” She rounded on him,
her hands clenched. “There’s no need to be snide.”

The hard set of Joe’s jaw indicated he wasn’t ready to
let go of his anger.

Lily wondered if he even knew why he was angry. “You
can’t just give me over to them.”

Joe stepped close, crowding her against a wall. “Course
not,” he said. His head lowered until his face was inches from hers. His eyes
glittered dangerously. “I thought you’d bake them up a bunch of doggie treats
and invite them over.”

Ignoring the amused stares from passersby, she grabbed
a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer. “I don’t want them. I want you.”

He planted his hands against the wall on either side
of her shoulders, trapping her inside his embrace. “Well, that’s too bad. I
told you, I’m not staying.”

Lily licked her lips, enjoying a little thrill of
power when his smoldering gaze followed the motion. “You could take me with
you.”

A muscle in his jaw rippled. “Not possible.”

Her hands swept up to caress the hills of his chest. “You
didn’t seem so averse to that thought when Leveque first mentioned it.”

“That was before I knew my interest was chemically
induced. You’re not any more human than I am.”

Lily flinched as though he’d slapped her. “What? You
think this thing we have going is all about werewolf pheromones?”

“Isn’t it?” The muscle along his jaw rippled again and
his nostrils flared. He ground his crotch against her belly. “Baby, it makes me
as crazy as it does you. You wouldn’t care if I dry-humped you right here,
would you?” He slid his knee between her legs and raised it to grind against
her pussy. “Would I have followed you to your apartment if I hadn’t already
been snared by your scent?”

“Silly me,” Lily said around a gasp, her body already
climbing the peak. “I actually thought my irresistible personality might have
had something to do with it.” The tips of her breasts swelled and she rubbed
herself shamelessly against his chest while she rode his thigh.

His mouth slammed down on hers, his tongue stabbing
between her lips.

Lily kissed him back with all the love she had. He
thought this was just chemistry—an artificially induced arousal. She knew
better. She’d fought her urges for months until this man presented himself on
her balcony.

Joe groaned into her mouth and lifted his knee higher.

It was just enough to send her over the edge. Her
whole body stiffened. Wide-eyed with shock, her body convulsed—her thighs
clamping around his leg as waves of shuddering contractions gripped her empty
vagina.

Slowly, the tight coil of desire in her belly
unraveled. Spent, her body and mouth slackened. If not for Joe’s knee still
rammed between her legs, she would have melted to the ground.

Joe gave her a final sliding kiss and lowered his
knee. His gaze smoldered darkly. “See what I mean? You’d let me take you
anywhere.”

Suddenly tired and near tears, Lily let go of his
shirt and leaned back against the wall. “Why don’t you just go now? You’re
wasting nighttime.”

He stepped back a pace so their bodies no longer
touched. “I’ll see you home, first.”

“You don’t need to do that. I’m not in any danger,
remember? They just want to fuck me. Something I want, right?”

“I’ll see you home.”

Lily felt like screaming. Any moment now she was going
to break into a million pieces. “Joe, they won’t harm me, but they’ll kill you.”

“They’ll try.”

“Only because you stand between them and me. I don’t
want you hurt because of me. You should just go.”

“For all we know, there’s only the one wolf. Even
odds. What are the chances of a pack existing here in New Orleans?” His face
tilted and suspicion twisted his mouth. “Or would you like that? A half dozen
wolves nosing around your pussy?”

Lily stared, her heart breaking. He hadn’t a clue how
she felt—and he wouldn’t care if he did. She turned on her heels and walked
away from him.

“You’re going the wrong way,” he called after her.

She ignored him and walked faster.

“Dammit! Lily stop!”

She was running now, blinded by the tears streaming
down her face.

Heavy hands landed on her shoulders, bringing her to a
screeching halt. Lily didn’t bother to turn. Instead, she drew ragged breaths
and fought against more tears that burned the back of her throat.

“Baby, I’m sorry,” Joe said. “I was out of line.” His
body pressed against her back.

Lily blinked rapidly. This was too humiliating. She’d
thrown herself at him and been turned down cold. His pity was the last thing
she wanted now.

“You sure don’t run like a wolf,” he said, next to her
ear.

“I’m not,” she said, hating that her voice sounded
clogged with tears. “Not yet.”

“That’s right.” His hands slid down her arms and
encircled her middle.

Lily accepted his embrace, letting her head fall back
against his chest. “But I’m a breeder. That’s what she called it, right? I’m
just a bite away from being canine. Sooner or later they’ll find me—just like
you did. By scenting me.”

His hands closed around her shoulders and he shook her
once. “You can fight it. You aren’t turned yet.”

“What am I supposed to do? Lock myself in my apartment
every time I come into heat? Avoid anyone whose nose twitches when they draw
near me?”

“Yes.”

“What good will that do? I have to survive—I have to
work. I’ll meet some good-looking guy squeezing Charmin in the grocery store
and my desire will overpower me. I’ll let him take me home.” She sniffed and
rolled her head on his chest. “I won’t be able to help it. One bite and it’ll
be finished.”

Joe nuzzled her neck. “You’re sure you don’t want
that? It might be easier to just go with the flow.”

“You’re not the one who’s going four-legged.” She
scraped tears from her face. “I have no desire to run on all fours and smell
other dog’s butts. And think of the expense of all that waxing!”

Joe’s shoulders shook. He turned her around, but she
stubbornly kept her gaze on his oversized feet. He put a finger under her chin
and brought her face up. By his crooked grin, she could tell he was
exasperated.