Natural Consequences (38 page)

Her head swam with pleasure. She gave herself up to her lovers, and they reciprocated in kind. Alex became relentless, and she with him, spiraling further and further into shameless, intimate rutting until they found mutual release.

Rachel cried out. So did Lorelei, in much the same tones and much the same reaction. The angel’s hold on the flesh within her tightened and rode out his climax, mingling it with hers. As their voices fell to heavy breathing, Rachel’s mouth came down on Lorelei’s, drawing her into a long, deep kiss. She felt Alex relax on her back, still within her but momentarily spent, leaning in to catch his breath.

“I’m such a slut for you two,” Rachel murmured against Lorelei’s neck. She smiled, glad Alex had not left her yet and already looking forward to having them—and being had—again soon.

“Mutual,” said her man, kissing the nape of her neck. He read her mood. “You have to go?”

“I should,” Rachel nodded. “
Monsters on the loose. You’ll both keep the party going for me?”

Lorelei glanced up at Alex and smiled. “
I will defile him in your name, love.”

She let out a grunt of approval before she extricated herself from their embrace, slipping in a kiss for her man. “
Don’t be in such a hurry to find a new job,” she smiled. “I’d rather you have more time for this.”

He sank down onto the bed, with Lorelei rolling over to drape herself along his body possessively. They watched the angel rise, shake herself and
pull a fresh white dress from out of an armoire before sauntering through the balcony door. Then their home was quiet again.

“Thank you,” Lorelei murmured. “I may be the mo
st needful of us, but sharing her with you is always beautiful. You’ve become a wonderful lover. You get better all the time.”

“I should hope so,” he smirked.

“I do not say this idly,” Lorelei pressed, caressing him with one lazy, affectionate hand. “You’ve learned to read your partners. Help them lower their defenses. You have confidence without arrogance. You know you are desirable, and you know why.”

His head turned in toward hers. He kissed her forehead, holding her closer. “And the fact that you do not try to downplay this with a self-deprecating remark tells me you k
now I’m right,” Lorelei smiled.

“Older and wiser, huh?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Lorelei nodded. “Show me.”

Alex awoke to the stroke of an affectionate hand across his chest. He shifted and stretched, slowly opening his eyes to find Lorelei sitting beside him in a blue top and a short black skirt. Muted daylight pushed through the drapes. It had to be past eight at least. As usual, Rachel was already gone.

“What’s the plan?” he asked.

“I would look into certain matters regarding last night,” Lorelei answered. “It will be easier for me if I do so alone.”

“You’ve been thinking about this all night, huh?”

“Only since you drifted off to sleep. You and Rachel occupied my full attention before then.”

“You two are good now?”

“We’re fine. I am irritated by the situation, not her.” She paused. “Our original plan was to spend the entire day ravishing you. As she said, your birthday is over when we say it is. I hope you will allow for a rain check.”

“I haven’t been spoiled enough already?” he asked.

“Not remotely… master,” she added with a sultry wink.

He chuckled. “Well, you’ve been thinking all this through and I just woke up, so
I guess I should trust your judgment. Is there something I could do to help?”

“Remember that you are hunted,” she told him. “I know better than to ask
you to remain here, but a little paranoia is surely in order. Be wary. Think twice before speaking to strangers or putting yourself in a vulnerable spot. I would strongly suggest that you be home again before nightfall. This home is hidden and protected against those who attacked you.”

“Fair enough,” Alex nodded. “
Getting kidnapped blows. Think it’ll be safe to go to my classes tomorrow?”

“I hope so.
Our enemies have every reason to believe you are protected now. Last night couldn’t have helped their resources. And as always, the more public the setting, the less power any supernatural creature can employ. We creatures of the night prefer to act in the shadows for good reason.”

She stood and took
her leather coat off the plush chair nearby. “Also, it would be good of you to play the host for our guests. None are up quite yet.”

Alex sat up and rubbed his eyes
as she left. Getting out of their large bed, Alex rolled his shoulders, stretched to touch his toes and found everything in working order. He wandered to the bathroom, got the water running in the shower and looked groggily in the mirror. The young man staring back at him looked much the same as the one he’d seen there the morning before, though with a few new scrapes and bruises.

Mindful of his houseguests, Alex kept his shower short. Cleaned up and
dressed in jeans and an old t-shirt, he roamed out into the living room and then the kitchen. With only one mortal in residence, the apartment’s larder was not exactly well-stocked. He rummaged through the refrigerator and cabinets for anything he might have to share.

“So I have to ask,” came a voice from behind him, “who keeps this place
so tidy? Rachel doesn’t seem like the housecleaning type, but then neither does your other girlfriend.” Alex looked up over his shoulder to find Amber standing behind the counter in Lorelei’s black bathrobe. She looked perfectly awake.

“We only moved in here a couple weeks ago,” he shrugged, dropping a few apples into a bowl that he placed on the counter. “Haven’t settled into any sort of patterns yet, but yeah… Rachel’s kinda bad about cleaning up after herself,” he smiled.
“It’s mostly me.”

“See, I figured anyone living in a place like this would hire a maid.”

“Yeah, we tried that already,” Alex confessed with a wince. It was too early in the morning to dodge or hide anything, particularly in his own home.

“
Did that go poorly?”

“Nothing like last night. Just a bunch of awkwardness. You want anything to drink? I should warn you there’s no coffee. We’re bad Seattleites. But there’s a building concierge and they’ll bring up something from the coffee shop on the corner of the building if you want. Normally I feel like that’s way too one-percenter to even consider, but after last night I’ll totally make the exception for you.”

“Just water, thanks,” she said. “Are you not comfortable living the high life?”

“I’m still getting used to it,” he said as he grabbed a glass and poured. “Getting us
ed to a lot of things, I guess. You’d think all the crazy supernatural bullshit would make all the little stuff like income gaps seem irrelevant, but it turns out life goes on. Even when people around you have wings.”

“I imagine,” A
mber nodded.

“I
s Jason up yet?”

“Yeah, but he went straight into the shower.”

Alex just nodded. “I owe you an apology. Jason didn’t tell you before last night because… well, he couldn’t, y’know?”

“Yeah. I’m good. I get it. No worries, at least as far as that goes.
Jason gave me the low-down last night. Lorelei talked to me a little, too.”

“I don’t think
you’ll wind up being a target in this, by the way,” he said, “but I can’t guarantee that. I’ll do whatever I can to make it go away. They want me, and none of them seem to do the whole ‘hurt your friends to get to you’ thing, but I wouldn’t pretend to know how any of them think.”

“What if I keep seeing Jason?” she asked. “You guys aren’t gonna stop being friends, right? So there’s always going to be something like this… isn’t there?”

His shoulders sagged. He leaned on the countertop. “Yeah. Probably.”

“Didn’t mean to be gloomy on you.”

“No, it’s something I’ve thought about before. I’m just not sure what I can do about it besides trust Lorelei and Rachel. And my friends.” His eyes came up to hers. “You should know I’d be dead without Jason. Several times over. And I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened to Lorelei. He’s… he’s a great guy.”

“I’ve kinda caught on to that.”

“He’s way smarter than me. I mean I know he’s kinda goofy—hell, I’m goofy, too, just different—but like I said, he’s not the type to leave anyone hanging, or—“

“Alex, is there some reason you feel like you have to play wingman for him?”

That made him blink. “Is that what I’m doing?”

“Yes.”

“Um.”

“I like him a lot. I did just hint that I’m gonna keep seeing him.”

“Okay.”

“So is there some reason you’re worried about it?”

“No, I just…”

“I mean, I’m not out here to hit on you or anything,” Amber deadpanned.

“Oh, thank God,” Alex blurted, and immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I assumed you were. I just… um… it’s been weird.”

“What, with the crazy sex demon and the witches and all the girls that you’ve hooked up with in the last month? Yeah, Jason told me. Relax. I’m not interested.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. No offense,” he added hastily, “it’s not like you’re—“

“Stop,” Amber said, holding up a hand to halt him. “I’m not offended. What, you think because you’re hooked up with a succubus every woman just magically wants to get into your pants?”

He glanced around the apartment, suddenly feeling sheepish. It sure sounded stupid now that he heard another woman say it. Best to deny it as firmly as he could: “…no?”

“I mean, I grant that you’re an attractive guy,” she said as gently as she could, “but maybe you shouldn’t let all this go to your head, y’know?”

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry, that came out really bitchy, didn’t it?”

“No, I just…” Alex almost laughed at himself. “I feel so validated right now.”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind. So I’m thinking I could maybe do pancakes?” he offered.

“None for us. I’m in the shower as soon as Jason gets out, and then I think we’re gonna go get my car. After that, I don’t know what he wants to do.
Or tomorrow. How the hell do you just go back to school after this, y’know?”

“Want my advice?
Just go to class. Seriously, you may be kind of distracted while you’re there, but when all this shit started happening with me it turned out that going to school or work helped adjust. Like I said, life goes on.”

Amber considered it. “That’s what you’re doing? Trying to lea
d a mostly normal life?”

“Kinda. What else am I gonna do?”

“I figured fighting vampires and werewolves and stuff would be a full-time job.”

“I’m not looking for fights,” Alex said. “I’ve had enough of fighting. Way more than enough of it. I don’t really know what I want to do with my life. I’ve got a list of things I
can’t
do, but I haven’t put together a list of what I can. Regardless, I’m not interested in any crusades. I’ve done enough of that. Literally.”

“Fair enough,” Amber replied, smothering a bit of a frown. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of questions.”

“I don’t mind talking, but I’m not sure how many answers I can give. I just don’t have ‘em. Knowing an angel doesn’t mean she’ll explain the universe to you. There’s stuff ordinary mortals aren’t meant to see, I guess. It might drive us nuts.”

“You mean like going to Hell? Wouldn’t that drive a person insane?”

“Well, to be fair, I only saw like one room,” he shrugged, “and it was only for like five minutes. It’s not like I got the full tour.”

They heard a door open down the hall. Both looked over to see Molly wander out wearing loose black pajamas. She rubbed her eyes as she shuffled to the kitchen. “Gimme coffee,” she mumbled.

“You got pajamas?” Amber asked, and then turned back to Alex. “There were spare pajamas?”

“I brought
my own. Extra clothes, too,” Molly answered. She glanced at Amber and shrugged. “I got invited to an all-night birthday party with a hot guy and his demon seductress girlfriend and their other bugnuts angel girlfriend. I’d be crazy
not
to pack an overnight bag.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Well, if I’d known…” she joked.

“Anyway,” Molly said, “I need coffee.”

Alex just smiled and moved toward the phone. “Lemme guess, black? Would Onyx want anything?”

“Oh, if you’re calling for coffee delivery, I want something complicated and girly. Onyx likes it black, though. Wait, you’ve got a landline? Seriously?” she asked, struggling to believe her bleary eyes. “Who has a landline anymore?”

“Call me old fashioned,” Alex shrugged.

“You’re twenty,” noted Amber.

“
Yeah, so about that,” said Molly, “what’re you doing today? Anything?”

“I didn’t have any plans yet.”

“We’ve been talking about your little problem,” Molly said, twirling one finger at her ear without the slightest concern for tact. “Maybe Onyx and I can help you get your head straight.”

*   *   *

In Doug Bridger’s defense, he had been up for over twenty-four hours. He’d gone from staking out the suspects’ apartment to watching the Halloween party, and from that fiasco to securing a wounded suspect’s hospital treatment and then straight to running a ritual to cloak the presence of Wade, Drew and the others arrested that night, and then back to the morning stakeout shift outside the residence.

Academia, the pursuit of the occult and the Bureau had all taught him discipline. They taught him mental stamina. He could do this. He could sit in a car for hour
s as Downtown Seattle woke up and began a lazy Sunday. He could watch the traffic peak and recede, take note of a mostly clear sky and listen to the news while never losing focus of the building and his subjects.

The text message from Amber provided a helpful nudge. “Leaving, old red Civic,” was all she said, but it was enough.
Bridger pulled away from the front of the building to its side garage, nabbed a parking spot and waited.

He spotted the car as it emerged from the exit. His eyes darted this way and that, ensuring he had a clear path out of his street parking spot to follow the Civic. He saw the driver of the car signal, threw
on his turn signal and checked the crosswalk to make sure he was clear.

Then he saw those legs. Mystic wards against mind tricks and the evil eye aside,
Doug was only a man. He couldn’t help but notice those long, slender, perfect legs that reached all the way up under that tight miniskirt and the shapely, attention-grabbing ass underneath it.

Nor was he the only one to notice her as she walked by. Why she threw off her coat at that particular moment, striding across the street in those heels, most would never know.
Doug figured it out, though, as soon as traffic around him went all wrong. Brakes squealed and fenders slammed together. His car was struck at the front as he pulled out, bashed at the left corner by an SUV whose driver swerved right to get a better look at the raven-haired woman.

Doug
cursed. The Civic evaded the whole mess with its occupants probably none the wiser. He looked at the two men in the SUV, who craned their necks around to see the woman rather than looking first at the damage they had done.