Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) (33 page)

“When you stop needing me,
ma cher.”
He smiled and came into the kitchen. He was wearing an
expensively tailored black suit and a crisp white Egyptian cotton shirt open at
the collar with no tie. Somehow the white of the shirt made his pale skin look
even paler, or maybe I was just contrasting him with Gwendolyn’s warm
café au lait
complexion.

“I
don’t
need you,” she said, frowning.

“On the contrary. Didn’t I just hear someone ask
for demon’s breath?” Suddenly there was a sprig of flowers in his hand, though
I would have sworn they were empty before.

“Oh!” For a moment Gwendolyn looked pleased. Then
she glanced up at the man she’d called Laish with a frown. “What do you do?
Hang around listening from the Shadow Lands to hear exactly what I need so you
can have an excuse to show up?”

“I
already
know exactly what you need,
mon ange,”
he
murmured, taking a step toward her. “And I will be more than pleased to give it
to you.”

Gwendolyn’s cheeks flushed. “You’re awfully proud
of yourself, aren’t you? You think if you show up here enough you can seduce
me? Well, let me tell you, you arrogant son-of-a-bitch—”

“Be at ease, Gwendolyn.” He raised a hand to stop
her. “I was simply talking about the demon’s breath.” He held out the flowers
to her and I had a chance to look at them more closely.

The blossoms were like nothing I had ever seen
before—each one was the size of a large coin. The petals were pointed like a
Poinsettia and their color was striking—a pure, deep, velvety black. There was
a round, blood red droplet in the center of each flower and they gave off a
heavy, cloying aroma like fruit that was too ripe and might go rotten soon.

“Oh…” Gwendolyn took a step back, looking as
though the wind had been taken out of her sails. “All right. Sorry.”

“No apologies are necessary,” he murmured. “Do
you want the demon’s breath or not?”

“I…yes.” She nodded decisively. “I do. I need
it.”

“Very good.” He gave her a devilish smile and
stepped closer, backing her up against the kitchen counter. “Then you must be
prepared to pay.”

Gwendolyn frowned. “I told you before, I’m
not
sleeping with you. Under
any
circumstances.”

He frowned convincingly. “And who said anything
about the pleasures of the flesh? I am talking about a kiss,
ma cher.
Just one little kiss and you
may have the herb.” He held up the sprig of flowers enticingly.

Gwendolyn looked like she was gathering her nerve,
which seemed strange—she didn’t strike me as the kind of person who was scared
of anyone. But for some reason this Laish person really unnerved her.

“Fine,” she said at last. Standing on her
tiptoes, she pressed a quick kiss to his high cheekbone. “Satisfied? Give me
the herb.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “I am by no means
satisfied as I am sure you know. When I spoke of a kiss, I meant a
real
kiss—one with your mouth pressed to
mine.”

Gwendolyn took a deep breath. “Whatever. I can do
that—it doesn’t mean anything.”

She went on tiptoe again and pressed her full
lips to his narrow but sensual mouth. When she pulled back after a fraction of
a second, she was breathing hard.

“
Now
give me the herb,” she demanded.

“I don’t think so.” He smiled. “You keep jumping
the gun, as they say,
mon ange.
Let
me spell out the terms—I mean that
I
want
to kiss
you.
That is the price of the
oh-so-valuable ingredient you need for your spell.”

Gwendolyn frowned, trying to look exasperated but
I could tell she was nervous.

“You just keep pushing and pushing, don’t you?”
she demanded.

“If I didn’t push, you would never yield,” he
murmured, his eyes hot as he looked at her. “Will you agree to my terms or
not?”

“And if I do, you’ll give me the demon’s breath
and leave me alone?”

He nodded. “For now.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her breasts
protectively. “Go ahead. Just make it quick.”

“I will do no such thing,” he said softly,
brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. “I fully intend to take my
time and enjoy the taste of your luscious mouth,
ma cher.”

Gwendolyn was definitely breathing harder now.

“Well just…don’t expect me to kiss you back,” she
said nervously.

Laish laughed softly. “I don’t. In fact, I forbid
it. I want you to hold completely still while I kiss you.”

“What?” she demanded. “That doesn’t make any
sense.”

“Nevertheless, those are my terms. Take them or
leave them.” He arched an eyebrow at her again. “Well?”

Reluctantly, she nodded. “All right, but only
because it’s such a pain in the ass to get to the Great Barrier and I need the
damn flowers tonight to get the blood for my spell.”

“The same spell that called for blood from
Corbin—the vampire you made the soul eater stake for?”

Reluctantly, she nodded. “Yes.”

Laish studied her closely.

“A spell involving such powerful blood can only
mean revenge. Some time you must tell me why you are in such dire need of
vengeance, Gwendolyn. Who hurt you enough that you would risk your immortal
soul to see them paid in full?”

“That’s none of your Goddamn business,” she said
tightly.

“No, but it will be. I intend to make everything
about you my business.” He cupped her cheek in one large hand and looked her up
and down, taking in her pink and white pajamas and slippers. “I like the way you
look tonight, Gwendolyn. So innocent and soft…almost
virginal
. Tell me, is it true what they say about a witch’s powers
being stronger if she is untouched?”

Gwendolyn’s cheeks went dull red. “Shut up and
kiss me if you’re going to. Otherwise go back to Hell and leave me alone.”

He laughed softly, a deep rumble that seemed to
fill the room. The way he was looking at Gwendolyn made it obvious he wanted to
do a lot more than kiss her.

I felt like an interloper—I wanted to get up and
leave the room but I was afraid to move and draw attention to myself. Better
just to sit quietly, I thought. After all, it was just a kiss. It would be over
in a minute—right? Or maybe not.

Just at the point where I was debating leaving
again, Laish took his payment. Though I wanted to look away and give them a
measure of privacy, I found I couldn’t. It was like no kiss I had ever
witnessed before.

Laish cupped both of Gwendolyn’s cheeks and
tilted her face up to his. Looking into her eyes the whole time, he leaned down
and very softly fitted his lips to hers.

He held her mouth with his for what seemed like
forever and then he pulled back a little and I saw the faintest flicker of his
tongue as he stroked the seam of her lips, asking wordlessly for entrance.

Gwendolyn’s long black eyelashes fluttered down
like fans on her high cheekbones and I heard her give a soft little moan of
protest at the back of her throat. Laish licked her again, delicately but insistently.

She tried to pull back but he wouldn’t let her.

“No, Gwendolyn. I’m not finished kissing you
yet.” His deep voice was soft but stern. “Open to me.”

She gave another frustrated sounding little moan
but didn’t try to pull away again. And then, slowly, she parted her lips for
him.

“You taste innocent too,” Laish murmured. He
deepened the kiss, pulling her closer and tasting her mouth slowly and
thoroughly.

Gwendolyn made a helpless sound as he took her
mouth. Her arms were still crossed over her chest but I saw her hands tighten
into fists as though it was everything she could do to hold still. Did she want
to push him away…or pull him closer? There was no way of telling—in fact, I had
an idea she didn’t know herself.

I bit my own lip as I watched the kiss. It
reminded me of the way Victor had kissed me when he swore to be gentle. The way
he had tasted me when I agreed to trust him. Tears welled up in my eyes and a
great wave of longing flowed over me.
Victor,
I thought.
I miss you so much. I just
want to see you again. I just want to go home…

I stood up from the table abruptly and stumbled
from the kitchen back to the living room. I sat down on the couch and wrapped
my arms around myself, trying not to cry. I didn’t want to get blood all over
Gwendolyn’s sofa.

After a moment she came into the living room
looking sheepish.

“Hey, are you okay? I’m really sorry about that.”

“I’m fine.” I sniffed and blotted my eyes with
the back of my hand. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to, uh, interrupt.”

“No, please.” She made a face. “I’m
glad
you did. Laish is so
pushy.
I’m, uh, sorry you had to see all
that.”

“Who is he, anyway?” I asked, trying to get my
mind off my own troubles. “And why did you tell him to go
back
to Hell?”

She looked uncomfortable. “He’s nobody. A minor
demon I had to ask for help when I made that stake for Corbin. Now he thinks I
owe him or something.”

“I thought you said you
don’t
call demons,” I said. “Didn’t you say that was a big no-no if
a witch wanted to keep practicing white magic?”

“It’s complicated. What I’m doing is sort of…gray
magic.” She blew out a breath in frustration. “Look, do you want your bond
broken or not?”

I took a deep breath. “No, but it needs to
happen. As soon as possible.”

“I can do it tonight,” she said. “Let me get my
things.”

She went to the kitchen and I heard Laish
speaking to her again.

“So you’re really going to do this? Break a
blood-bond sanctioned by the Goddess?”

“I’m doing what the client wants,” Gwendolyn said
and I heard some banging, as though she was looking for something in the
cabinets.

“In order to get the blood for your vengeance
spell. This is dark magic, Gwendolyn. It will cast a long shadow on your soul.”
Laish sounded serious. “Why don’t you simply tell me the name of the person who
has hurt you? I’ll kill them at once and you won’t have to further compromise
yourself.”

Gwendolyn snorted. “And put myself further into
your debt? I don’t think so, demon.”

“You wound me,
ma cher.
I have only your best interests at heart.”

“I wouldn’t believe that even if you
had
a heart—which you don’t,” Gwendolyn
snapped. “Now leave me alone and let me work.”

I thought I heard him murmur, “As you wish,” and
then I had the distinct feeling that Gwendolyn and I were alone in the house
again. Where had he gone—back to Hell? And was he really only a minor demon…or
something else? Something more?

The questions were driven out of my mind when
Gwendolyn came back into the living room with some instruments wrapped in a
black towel. When she unrolled it onto the coffee table, I saw matches, a
silver bowl, the demon’s breath flowers, a long silver knife, and a lump of
something that looked like black modeling clay or wax.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Now
let’s get started. This is going to be a little tricky since it’s not the usual
breaking up spell.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “So this is like an
everyday thing you do?”

She shrugged. “Usually, no. Not unless the client
is in a really destructive relationship. Like her husband beats her and won’t
let her leave—something like that.”

“So what do you do in that case?” I asked,
fascinated despite myself.

Gwendolyn shrugged. “Something a lot more subtle
than this is going to be, I can tell you that. Usually I write the names of the
people who need to break up on two slips of paper and burn them in the bowl
with some personal effects—hair or fingernail clippings, that kind of thing.
Then I cut a lemon lengthwise and sprinkle the ashes inside, seal up the lemon
and tie it with a black cord. Then just leave it on the windowsill to dry up.”

“And that works…how?” I asked doubtfully.

“Like I said, it’s subtle. The relationship sours
and dries up as the lemon dries up. The abusive man finds he wants to leave his
wife and has no desire to see her or torment her again.”

She was working as she talked, using the long,
pointed silver dagger to chop the demon’s breath into tiny pieces, which she scraped
into the silver bowl. The flowers had a very unpleasant scent now that they
were chopped and I couldn’t help noticing that their sap was as red as blood.

“I, uh, hope you don’t want me to eat that
stuff,” I said, eyeing the silver bowl with distaste.

“Good Lord,
no.”
Gwendolyn made a face. “Demon’s breath is poison no matter what kind of
supe you are. Well, except for demons—apparently they make a kind of tea out of
it. Ugh.”

“Well, what are you going to do with it then?” I
asked. “And how will it be different from your usual ‘break up’ spell?”