Wicked Pleasure (30 page)

She reached up to touch his head where the demon's bullet had skimmed him. “Almost healed. Amazing.” She smiled. “Eric promised me one of his designer fantasies. After the day we've had, we deserve a good fantasy.”

Sparkle paced behind her counter, the sharp click-click of her heels punctuating her rising fury. “You slime-sucking, cheating worm. I gave you sex like you've never had it before, and what do you do? You slither around behind my back with that tight-ass bitch.”

Mede watched warily from his perch on top of her chocolate covered cherry display. “Hey, the cheating street runs both ways. I've taken you on some of the best adventures of your life, and you run off with a demon
fisherman
. What's that all about? Big deal, he drops a hook in the water and then waits all day to catch a fish he could've bought in the nearest supermarket. Woohoo, Mr. Excitement. Besides, you hate boats.”

Sparkle narrowed her eyes to vengeance-filled slits. It was a good thing she'd put a Closed sign on her door. She didn't want any customers walking in on the carnage. And there would be carnage. “Don't you dare try to justify what you did. I only toured his stupid boat, while you . . .” Her lips wouldn't form the words to express what she thought he'd done, so she let her hands do the talking.

Reaching into her glass display case, she grabbed two fistfuls of jelly beans and flung them at him.

With a startled hiss, Mede crouched as jelly beans rained down on him and bounced off the walls and floor. “Whoa, getting a little emotional, sugar tart.”

“I'll sugar tart you.” Sparkle shrieked her rage as she scooped up handfuls of liquid-center chocolates. She heaved them at him. One made a direct hit on his forehead, while the rest went splat against the wall and sort of oozed down to the floor. “I gave you the best centuries of my existence, you toad.”

“Okay, okay, maybe I made a mistake going off with Asima.” He pawed at his face and only managed to spread the sticky goo to his feet.

“You had sex with the one woman in the universe who drives me ab—”

Incoming fudge bombs. Mede covered his head with his paws.

“so—”

Hailing peanut clusters. “Ouch, that hurt.”

“lute—”

Chocolate buttercream missile attack. “Losing my patience here, babe.”

“ly—”

Lethal truffle twister at twelve o'clock. Mede jumped aside just in time.

“crazy!”

Mede had evidently had enough. He leaped to the floor and hid under the display. “Don't make me use my power, Sparkle. Put the nougats down.”

Sparkle had exhausted her anger. The only thing left was sadness. She dropped the nougats onto the counter.

“Now step away from the nougats.” Mede peeked out from under the display.

She walked around to the front of the counter and sat on the floor amid the destruction. “We had lots of good times, Mede. Why wasn't that enough?” Stupid question. They were cosmic troublemakers, and cosmic troublemakers didn't form emotional ties. He had a right to be with any woman he chose. But why the hell did he choose Asima?

Mede emerged cautiously and then padded over to sit beside her. “I didn't have sex with Asima.”

“Ha. I bet you busted your butt trying, though.” But she brightened marginally. “Why bother with her at all when we were planning a good time of our own?”

Mede made another attempt to clean some of the sweet goop from his paws, face, and whiskers. “I don't know. Maybe I wanted to see what kind of woman could piss you off like that. And maybe I got tired of you only calling me when you needed something. It would be kinda nice if you just wanted
me
for a change, with no strings attached. It's like I always have to earn my good times. That does a job on a guy's pride.”

Sparkle frowned. Okay, now she was starting to feel a little guilty. Not much, just a little. She glanced at her nails. She'd broken one of them while she was flinging candy. And for probably the first time in her existence, she didn't care.

“Wade's a lot of fun, but he's not you.” That was as close to an apology as he was going to get.

Mede gave up on his face. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Asima was driving me crazy with her operas and plays. Funny thing, when she was telling you to get a guy who ripped the caps off beer bottles with his teeth, I was saying, ‘Hey, that's me.' ”

Sparkle smiled. “Really?”

He chuckled. “It's true. I kept missing your fire, your passion, your temper.” Mede frowned. “Maybe not the temper so much.”

She looked around her. “When I lose it, I lose it big-time. Jeez, Deimos and I will have to clean this mess up before I open tomorrow.”

Mede moved a little closer. “Forget about the mess. How about if I change to human form and spend the night creating some serious heat?”

She thought about that. Was she ready to forgive him completely? Probably not. She'd make him pay in little ways for a long time, but tonight she wanted the great sex only he could deliver. A full-blown screaming rage always made her horny.

Sparkle nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Oh, have you decided what you want to do with Brynn?”

Mede glanced away. “You were right. He hates what he is. But I've got a problem. I tried to reverse everything, and it didn't work. I always get this tingle when I make something happen. No tingle this time.” He frowned. “For thousands of years I've been a do-it kind of guy. I don't know how to undo it.”

“What about the demons? Should we care?” The only truly important word in her vocabulary was
me
. And demons couldn't harm a cosmic troublemaker.

“I sort of like Brynn.” Mede looked a little uncertain.

Interesting. Mede was never uncertain. “Yeah, Kim has possibilities. She looked great in my outfit. And I wouldn't like to see demon scum wipe out Eric, Donna, Conall, or Holgarth.” Asima? She'd stand on the sidelines and cheer for the demons.

“Don't get me wrong, I don't give a damn about anyone but us, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to help.” His narrowed eyes suggested that helping others wasn't at the top of his to-do list. “If we weren't doing anything else, I mean.”

“Sure. Like if I was trying on a new pair of Jimmy Choos, the demons would have to wait.” She didn't want Mede to think she was getting soft.

“Right. I'm glad we got that straight.” He still didn't look comfortable with the concept of joining the goodness-and-light team. “Have to be careful, though, and not be too helpful. Wouldn't want to tarnish my reputation for being a badass.”

Sparkle sighed. She'd used up all her emotion for tonight. She'd have to worry about Brynn tomorrow. “Maybe we'll think of a way to get rid of Brynn's compulsion after a good night's sleep.”

Mede stretched and padded toward the door. “Wouldn't count on that good night's sleep. I have some creative moves to lay on you.” He mumbled under his breath as his feet stuck to the floor. “First thing I'm gonna do as soon as I change forms is to jump in the shower.” He leered at her from those amber eyes that were so Mede, no matter what form he took. “Wanta wash my back?”

She turned off the lights and joined him at the door. “Mmm. Sounds like an invite to steamy fun.” She glanced at her broken nail. Fine, so a girl couldn't ignore her nails forever.

 

Eric followed Kim and Brynn into her room. “So what kind of fantasy do you want?”

She looked at Brynn. “You choose. I don't feel too creative right now.”
Just make it hot and totally sexy.

Brynn nodded before turning to Eric. The two men stared at each other for about a minute, and then Eric grinned. “You're weird, man.”

She'd missed something. “What?”

Eric laughed. “Brynn chose a two-part fantasy. He gave me the details mentally. Wants it to be a surprise.”

Kim sat on the side of her bed and kicked her shoes off. Oooh, yes. She'd never known how good absence from pain could feel. “How do your fantasies work? Do we have to do anything special?”

Eric shook his head. “Just get comfortable, and I'll do my part. I set up the parameters of the fantasy in your minds, and then you guys do the rest. While you're in the fantasy, it'll seem completely real and make perfect sense no matter how outrageous it is. Once the fantasy is done, you'll remember it but realize it wasn't real.”

She was curious about this vampire with the freaky power. “Do you have other options when you create fantasies?”

“Definitely.” His smile caught at her, and Kim understood why Donna had chosen to become vampire. Forever with this man wouldn't be a hardship. “I could make you believe in the realness of the fantasy long after it ended. For the rest of your life, if that's what I wanted. Clarice, for example, will never remember what happened during the time she was possessed.” He shrugged. “But I'm a good guy, so I wouldn't do that to you.” His smile widened. “Especially with this fantasy. You've got an evil mind, Brynn old buddy.”

“Sounds awesome.” Kim was still skeptical. She had a firm grasp on reality—or at least she had before visiting the Castle of Dark Dreams—and if the fantasy got too wild she'd recognize it for the make-believe it was.

She watched Eric go completely still, that total absence of movement no human could attain. And then he became vampire—his eyes changing from blue to black as they grew larger and more elongated, his mouth becoming fuller to accommodate his fangs, and his aura of power and danger filling the room.

He focused on them for a few minutes while he planted the fantasy in their minds, and then he returned to human form. “You could travel the universe and never leave this room.” Eric winked at Kim. “See, hanging with a creature of the night has an upside.” He walked to the door. “I don't have to be here during the fantasy. Just relax, and it'll come.” He closed the door softly as he left.

It made her uneasy to know Eric had messed with her mind, and she hadn't felt a thing. Silence wrapped around them. “I guess I'll relax right here.” She propped herself against the headboard.

Brynn nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He took off his shoes and joined her.

“So . . . Here we are.”
Just relax.
Easy for Eric to say. Her body wasn't listening to her brain, though, because tension still made her insides quiver.

His soft laughter caused the quiver to expand exponentially. “This will be fun. Nothing to worry about.” Brynn reached across to clasp her hand.

“That's what my dad said the first time he took me on a roller coaster. When we got off, I threw up on his shoes.” The warmth of his big hand seeped into her, and she felt the tightness inside her ease.

“Then I guess it's lucky I took off my shoes.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Close your eyes and concentrate on something that makes you feel good.”

She glanced at him and smiled. “I'd have to keep my eyes open for that.” Was that too obvious? Uh, yeah. But if she really grinned a lot, he might think she was only being playful. The sad truth? She was totally serious. No matter what kinds of weird things happened around them, he made her happy when he was near. If he made her any happier, they'd have to treat her for an overdose of bliss before she left the Castle of Dark Dreams.

He didn't return her smile, but an emotion she couldn't identify touched his gaze.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see him struggling to say something meaningless and noncommittal.

It felt good to rest her eyes and allow the sleepy lethargy to flow over her. After being up most of the night with the baby, even a few minutes of oblivion was great. Too soon she had to open them.

Her son, Billy, raced past her and out the door. “Hi Mom, hi Dad. I'm gonna ride my bike around our ordinary neighborhood for a while.” And then he was gone.

Her husband, Vic, sat across the kitchen table from her. He sipped his coffee as he checked his stocks in the
Wall Street Journal.

He glanced up and smiled as he sensed her watching him. His smile was still really nice, even though his hairline was receding at the same time his waist was expanding. Lose some gain some.

He glanced at his watch. “Looks like it's almost time for Ordinary Guy to hit the streets.”

She sighed. “It would be nice if you could stay home for just one day. We could do things together—change diapers, take out the trash, bake a tuna casserole.”

He reached across the table to pat her hand. “I'm sorry, dear. I'm a superhero, and people depend on me. Ordinary Guy already has lots of people to save today.” He opened the day planner that always rested beside his orange juice glass. “Let's see, I have to stop Carl Lisle from making a disastrous low-yield investment. And Sonia Gerlich is about to choose Henson's Electric to rewire her old house. Bad choice. But Ordinary Guy will be there to save the day. Hmm, Lily Madison bought a size twelve dress yesterday. She's a size sixteen. I'll have to be there for her when she comes out of denial.”

Kim felt her eyes crossing.

“There are dozens more like them walking the streets of New York City, all crying out for Ordinary Guy to make their pitiful lives better.” He brushed toast crumbs from his suit jacket and tie. Closing his day planner, he stood.

Kim knew she was begging, but she couldn't help herself. “Tonight is New Year's Eve. Can you get home early?”

He frowned. “I suppose I can reschedule a few of the poor suckers who need my help.” He smiled at her. “Sure, why not? We can sit on the couch and at midnight watch the ball drop in Times Square. Maybe make a little popcorn. If you're lucky, the baby won't need her diaper changed while the ball is dropping.”