Lucca (14 page)

Back at the restaurant, she claimed they
weren’t on a date. Her voice was a mixture of panic that he
understood perfectly. But now… If she kept looking at him the way
she was, he might have the courage to do both of them a favor and
end their torment. He would sooth her fears, letting her know
everything would be all right. They would be all right together,
but he didn’t move. He swallowed the lump in his throat and
remained still. To give her comfort the way she deserved, he would
have to believe the lie first.

She stepped closer to him, her hand brushing
his hair away from his shoulder before her palm settled there.
“You’re a difficult one to read, Lucca Marlowe.”

This time his brows furrowed, but he didn’t
have time to ponder her words. She leaned forward, her lips
brushing over his in a tantalizing caress. Rosemary and mint wafted
through his system like a drug of desire, always healing him,
making him feel worthy to be in her arms. His hands landed on her
waist, pulling her against him. Her arms went around his neck as he
indulged with a kiss of his own, awakening an aching hunger deep
within him that he didn’t know existed. His wings strained for
release. God, he wanted her. His blood pooled to his groin, with an
obvious announcement of how much he wanted her. He pulled away,
hoping she didn’t notice, but the small curve of her lips told him
she had. Her gaze met his with a powerful slam of something hot and
steamy. Dear Heaven above, she wanted him, too. Not a good idea.
Not going to happen. He took another step away. They stared at each
other, not speaking, not moving.

Droplets of water began to rain down from
the heavens, just a light drizzle with a promise of more.

“It’s starting to rain,” he broke the
silence. “You should go inside.” He shoved his hands into his jeans
with hopes of keeping them off of her.

The fire in her eyes dimmed, making him feel
like a complete fool for bringing her to the brink, knowing he had
no intention of following through with his actions. It was that
damn scent of hers, and it only increased when she became
aroused.

Meowrrr…

His gaze turned toward the feline sauntering
over to him at a leisurely pace. The creature had the audacity to
rub its body against his pant leg. “Shoo.” He waved at it.

“It’s okay,” Juliet said as she came over to
him. She crouched down to pet the tabby, the color of bronze,
white, and black stripes. The cat’s eyes were green orbs of light
as it stared up at Juliet with affection and purred like a
motorcar. “This is Tiger Lilly.”

“You’ve named the stray?” His obvious
surprise didn’t go unmissed.

Her warm chuckle slid over him like a
caress. She scooped up the cat and stood to face him. “Tiger
Lilly’s adopted us. Owen named her.” She nuzzled the cat and talked
to the creature as if it were a precious entity. “Isn’t that right,
Tiger Lilly.”

The cat meowed again in response. The cat
sure knew how to worm its way into Juliet’s heart.

“Hmm.”

“Don’t you like cats?” She gave him a direct
look.

“I like them fine as long as they stay away
from me.” His grumble only proved to amuse her. He couldn’t stop
his lips from curving, too.

“If you get to know Tiger Lilly I’m sure
you’ll come to love her as we do.”

He highly doubted it, but it seemed his
convictions went out the door when it came to Juliet. His gaze
wavered over her delicate features, her lips presenting a
temptation he couldn’t ignore.

He took the steps that separated them. Tiger
Lilly leapt out of Juliet’s arms as if the creature feared he’d
crush her between them. “One more taste then I’ll let you go,” he
promised. She didn’t complain or stop him as he leaned down
claiming her lips, possessing her mouth with teeth and tongue.
Taste? Hell, he devoured. Now he knew how Adam felt when Eve
tempted him with the apple. All sense of right and wrong slipped
away with one thought:
I can’t resist
. His hand slid to the
small of her back, bringing her closer, beyond caring she would
know how much he wanted her.
Take her. Make her yours
. The
words echoed in his mind.

No, he couldn’t. Doing so would be wrong on
so many levels. Growling soft and low, he dragged his lips away
from her. His gaze swept over her, feature by feature. His thumb
slid over her swollen kissed lips with tenderness.

The rain came down harder now, the droplets
looking like crystal decorations in her hair. He reached for her
hood on her jacket and covered her head, his fingers gripping the
lip of her hat and hugging it close to her face. She looked at him,
her eyes wide as she waited for him to make a move. He knew with
one word from him, he’d have her in his bed. His heart hammered in
his chest and thundered in his ears until he couldn’t hear, but he
forced the words out to release her. “Good night, Juliet.” He let
his hand fall away from her and he pushed the wrought iron gate
open.

Chapter Nineteen

Lucca didn’t know what possessed him to kiss
Juliet with such abandonment, but he couldn’t let it happen again.
Something was wrong with him, as if his wiring had been tampered.
His convictions to keep humans at a distance were compromised, and
he needed to step back and take a long hard look at what he was
doing. Becoming emotionally involved only proved he was slipping
into pansy-ville. His back ached like the mother of all pain
combined into one long burn of agony. His bound wings reminded him
how far he’d
fallen
. He gingerly ran a finger over his
teeth. The pointed fangs still hadn’t retracted.
Mark her. Take
her.
Yeah, the words still echoed in his mind like a perverse
echo. What the hell was going on? He was taking no one, regardless
of how his body betrayed him. He may not know what was happening,
but Eli would. He put him here, bound his arse to the human realm.
Somehow the bounding ritual had messed him up big time.

Lucca drove to the Huntington Harbor,
another irritation to his confinement. What would take seconds by
flight, took him twenty-five minutes with traffic. He parked down
the street, even though he didn’t think Eli knew he drove a truck.
He stayed in the shadows, shrugging into his jacket and keeping his
long hair tucked beneath the collar. The two-story house overlooked
the marina with a lovely balcony set with table and chairs to enjoy
the rising sun.

“Gag me,” he grumbled. Eli had sure embraced
his human existence with this purchase. Eli’s newest mystery novel
hit the bestseller list and was already in second print. Ryden was
a nurse practitioner over at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. They
must be doing all right. He’d have to rethink his detective career.
A truck in need of a tune-up and a renovated apartment stretched
his pocketbook.

He walked over the bridge and around to the
front where the houses faced the street. He stared at Eli’s home,
the color of sea green and trimmed in cream. Flowers lined the
brick walk. “Quaint,” Lucca murmured under his breath. “All that’s
missing is a white picket fence. So friggin’ human.”

Eli turned his back on his kind to be with
Ryden. Eli could have faced death if the elders didn’t sanction the
union. Lucky for the couple, things worked out.

Why would Eli risk it? What happened to turn
him? He liked to say he didn’t care, but the truth was he feared
whatever infected Eli had worked its way into his bloodstream. He
needed answers to stop it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t very well
march up to the front door and ring the doorbell. Eli would drive a
sword through his heart before he stepped foot on his porch.

He’d have to shadow Eli and see what he
could decipher from afar, figure out what attracted Eli to Ryden
and find out what hold the female had over him. “Soul mates,” he
murmured under his breath like a curse.

He leaned against the tree trunk to only to
regret it. His back rebelled with another long roll of burn. His
wings fluttered like a beating moth trapped in a window, begging to
be released. He’d glanced at his back in the mirror this morning.
The flesh didn’t look so raw. His wings looking more like a
burnished tattoo, the pattern etched into his skin from his
shoulder blades to the small of his back, but the pain still
lingered.

He searched his pockets for his cigarettes
and came up empty. Wasn’t it his sordid luck? He left the pack in
his other coat pocket.

The large bay window in front of the house
revealed Eli and Ryden’s living room decorated with a sofa,
loveseat, and pictures framing the walls. The happy couple came
into view, their expression of twin smiles, laughing about
something that was said. Eli’s hand snaked out, grabbing Ryden’s
arm bringing her against his chest in an amorous embrace. She
wanted him too. The evidence betrayed in her actions. The way she
leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, drawing him
closer. He wondered if Eli used his glamour, but the sod looked
just as enamored as she did. Then they moved toward the back rooms,
probably the bedroom. “Thank God.” With the way they were hanging
on each other, there was no doubt sex was on their mind and he had
no wish to witness the sordid deed.

So many questions rattled through his mind.
How did Eli keep his strength intact and not kill Ryden in a fit of
passion? How did Eli reach satisfaction without letting loose his
energy or did he hold back? Really, if he could not be himself, why
would he want to commit to a human?

He shook his head. When the urge presented
itself, it was far better to couple with a preternatural being than
to take a human who was as fragile as a porcelain doll.

The fluttering of wings overhead startled
him. He whirled around, his dagger sliding down his shirtsleeve to
be gripped in the palm of his hand. His eyes widened in surprise
and a curse flew from his lips over his stupidity. Eli slammed into
him, knocking him off his feet and onto his back. The impact took
his breath away, pain choking the outcry as his back hit the
cement. He rolled away, coming to his feet before Eli could dive at
him again. He waved the dagger at Eli. “If you’re going to fight
me,” he spat, “meet me on equal terms.”

“Why are you here?” Eli landed in front of
him, snapping his dove colored wings against his back with
irritation, his eyes glowing with an unearthly tinge of amber.

Good questions, but he didn’t really have a
snappy come back he wanted to share with Eli. “It’s a public
street. I was taking a walk.”

Eli nodded toward his hand. “Were you
expecting a fight on your walk?”

“Never know when an enemy might appear. I
need to be prepared. My glamour’s limited, you know.”

Eli eyed him closely, probably wishing at
this moment he killed him when the Elder Chaz gave him the choice.
He opened his mouth to say something but the air clogged with
supernatural energy. The streetlights blinked then popped before
going out completely. Four Hashasheen demons shimmered into view,
dressed in their garb of black leather, their eyes red pinpricks in
the night, glowing with intent.

Eli joined Lucca. For the moment, they were
comrades. If they survived, they could always resume their personal
conflict later.

The demons withdrew their swords advancing
on them. Lucca glanced at his dagger and wished he had his
broadsword. He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. He’d worked with
less before.

“There’s only two each. I believe we can
take them,” Lucca said, turning to meet Eli’s gaze. His lips spread
into a grin and Eli nodded. He glamoured a sword into his hand and
went for the first of the two.

Lucca waved a hand to the remaining demons
with a come hither invitation, pissing off the spike-haired demons
into charging him. His mistake. Lucca took one step, his arm
swinging in an upward thrust, hitting his mark before the demon
could finish his downward swing. His hand gripped the demon’s
shoulder as he yanked his weapon back. He shoved the demon aside
and faced the next opponent, shaking his long hair back from his
face. Before he could take this one on, something whizzed by his
ear and slammed into the demon’s chest. The demon grunted and
looked down at the spike protruding from his chest. Black tarlike
goo pooled over his hand as he tried to dislodge the weapon. Lucca
didn’t chance a look at who helped him out. He moved forward and
finished the job. Two of them down, he whirled around to see how
Eli faired. There was only one demon left. The clanging of metal
against metal filled the night air as Eli and the demon danced the
dangerous two-step of lunges and parries. His gaze landed to the
right of Eli where Ryden stood with her spear gun, ready to use it
if the chance presented itself. So it had been her who brought down
the demon. Admiration for a human was new to him and he didn’t
quite know what to do with it. Action was more his style. He went
after the demon from the other side.

The demon saw him coming and pivoted to
deflect the blow. Eli took the advantage and thrust his sword into
the red-eyed demon’s chest, tearing flesh and making its mark. The
strangled cry broke off as his eyes glazed to black.

With the thrill of the fight over, the
stillness of the night and the reminder of what took place before
the demons interrupted came back to the forefront. Eli stared at
him. “Friends of yours?” he swore under his breath.

“I was going to ask you the same question.”
Lucca hadn’t recognized these demons. His gaze wavered to where the
last one sizzled into a black tar, seeping into the crevices in the
cement and back to Hell. Good riddance.

The disturbance in the air put him on guard
again. His gaze riveted to where Ryden stood. The demon appeared
just to the left of her. He was closer than Eli and lunged forward,
taking Ryden down as the demon shot off the spike gun, but he was
too late. He’d been too slow.