Chapter 16

"Daaamn, girl!"

I smiled to myself, knowing I'd turn a few heads tonight, hoping one in particular would snap his neck and get a crick when he did. Dark red skinny jeans, a black V-neck top that hugged just right, and square-heeled black boots fitted to the thigh. The only jewelry I wore was my St. George medal, falling below my collarbone. My nerves were jittery, but at least I looked the part of demon bait.

The bite mark had faded entirely. I straightened my hair, making it fall in sleek lines to the middle of my back.

The dagger vest fit snugly on the outside of my top, the blades at angles along each side of my rib cage. I'd summoned the cast of illusion but was still anxious about whether it would work even though I felt the power humming along my skin. Since Mindy hadn't said anything about the weapons strapped under my breasts, apparently, I'd done it right.

"Not too much, huh?"

"Are you kidding me? I love it when you dress like that. Here, try this lipstick. It'll go perfectly."

Mindy was makeup lady extraordinaire, always equipped with the perfect blush, gloss, or eye shadow for any occasion and any outfit. She was right. The burnished mauve shade on my lips made my skin glow even brighter.

"See?"

"Did I say you were wrong?"

"Come on. Let's go!"

"You're lookin' pretty hot yourself, Min."

Sporting a silky silver minidress with black cowgirl boots, Mindy would draw them like flies. I'd have my hands full watching out for her.

In middle school, this bully Dennis used to taunt her, "Mindy stuffs her bra-aaaa, Mindy stuffs her bra-aaaa." That asshole even tried to see for himself if it was true, copping a feel in the hallway.

Fortunately, I was taller than even the eighth-grade boys at the time, so I stepped in, punched him square in the nose and threatened to beat every boy who messed with her again. My heroic feat had the desired effect.

On the downside, the rumor of me beating the snot out of the scariest middle-school bully also frightened away any boy who might've been interested in me for years. Hence, my lack of boyfriends throughout high school.

For some reason, her sweet-n-sexy demeanor coupled with her small stature lured all kinds of losers, thinking to take advantage. Good thing she had an Amazon for a best friend. And now, thanks to my demon-hunter duo, I had a few more moves and weapons with which to do some damage.

I locked the door of the apartment. Mindy started singing one of her own made-up songs she tended to create when she was super giddy, twirling her wristlet around in the air. "Min and Gen, hittin' the town, dancin' all night, and messin' around!"

I laughed as we strapped into my 380ZX, and I zipped out of the driveway into traffic. Damn, it felt good to be behind the wheel again. For some reason, it seemed like forever. I checked the perimeter for the Lord of Protection. No sign of him.

"So, what happened with you and Malcolm last night? You never told me. Was he a good kisser?"

"Mindy, please." I did not want my thoughts wandering to that whole incident.

"Oh, don't you please me. Give me the details."

"It was fine."

"Fine?"

Mindy twisted in her seat to stare me down. I hated when she did that, trying to read my face. She was good at it.

"Oooooo, what happened?"

I realized I was blushing. It had nothing to do with Malcolm and everything to do with the hunk of man, who came into my bedroom afterward, pressed me into my mattress, kissed me senseless, and made me want to do a lot more.

"Nothing. I mean, we had a good time, had a few beers."

"Aaaand?"

She waved her hand, palm up, trying to pull the information from me.

"And, yes, we kissed."

"Oooooo, where?"

"At the front door."

"That's not what I meant." She gave me a devious smile.

I punched her lightly. "Stop it. To be honest, Min, he was a terrible kisser."

"Oh, nooooo! But he's such perfect boyfriend material. A bad kiss can ruin everything!"

And a good kiss can melt your brain into mush. Not to mention what it can do to other parts of the female anatomy.

"Well, you can always teach him."

"Very funny. It's just, I don't know, I'm not feeling the chemistry."

"Uh-oh. Then break it off now and try to keep it friendly."

"Yeah. Well, I haven't talked to him since last night, and he's texted me like three times ‘hoping I had a good time', as he put it. I don't know what to say. I don't want to lead him on, you know?"

"Take it from me. Do it fast and quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid. Trust me, it's better if you're up-front."

"Yeah, you've had a lot of experience with breakups. You'd know."

A sweet giggle. She knew I was teasing, even though it was true. "I can't help it. I like boys."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that addiction of yours. Here we are."

I found a good spot under a streetlight, not in a dark alley where David had parked us last time. Moron. I could feel the music pumping from the entrance. The big-and-beefy bouncer stood on duty again.

"Hey, there, Sunshine," I said cheerily, passing him my ID. "You still here?"

He glanced at my license, then handed it back between his index and middle finger, raking dark eyes up and down.

"Still here." Nice deep Conan-like voice to match the physique. "I'll be glad to go wherever you go when I get off."

I was about to give him a flirty no thanks when Mindy pinched me and pushed me through the door, saying, "She'd love that!"

"Mindy," I warned, glaring over my shoulder as we made our way inside. "He's not my type."

"The problem is, you don't really know your type, Gen. You spend too much time turning boys into your friends instead of a boyfriend. You need a man, and you need to get laid."

I huffed. "Wow. I'm that desperate looking?"

"Not desperate. Just hungry."

Turning away from her impish smile, I tried to remember why I was really here and tried to ignore who I was so hungry for.

We must've come on goth night. This crowd preferred dark monotones. Florence and the Machine's "Heavy In Your Arms" pulsed slow and intense. Mindy made a beeline for the blue-lit bar.

I reached out with my VS, not sensing the presence of Flamma. Glancing up at one of the metal cages on the edge of the dance floor, I saw Kat swaying gently. She winked at me, then looked away. I realized then that I wouldn't detect Flamma or demons if they were casting illusion.

She wore skintight gray pants and a blousy whites top. Of course, daggers were strapped to her thighs, but I couldn't see them until I focused very hard on breaking through her glamour.

I marveled at how the casts worked; what you saw and were able to penetrate depended not only on the strength of the caster but also on the strength of the one trying to break it. Non-Flamma couldn't break through a cast even if they knew it existed.

"Appletini, please," Mindy called to the smiling bartender.

"Oh, no you don't," I whispered. "No way am I carrying you out of here like last time. Two Killians, please."

"Ugh. Okay, mother hen. Hey! There's Jeff from psych class."

She sauntered over to a guy standing with two others at the end of the bar. I'd actually seen one of them somewhere on campus before but couldn't think where.

I waited for our beers, then joined them. Mindy laughed heartily at something Jeff said when I walked up.

"I know! I think the professor's half-crazy herself. Jeff, this is my best friend, Genevieve."

"Nice to meet you," he replied with a smile. "These are my roommates, Matt and Isaac."

Matt gave us a friendly nod and went back to a conversation with the brunette on his left. They seemed like nice guys. Jeans and T-shirts. No frills. The kind of guys who made me feel comfortable. Why couldn't Mindy date a guy like Jeff instead of Dazzling Dave?

"Let's go dance!" screamed Mindy, pulling Jeff with her.

Isaac didn't move, keeping his back glued to the bar. I nodded to the floor. "You wanna go?"

"Uh no. Not much of a dancer."

I decided to stay put too. I could scope out the scene better from here.

"So, did you get all of the information you needed on Paradise Lost?" asked Isaac.

I scrunched my eyebrows together, then remembered. He worked at the library. I'd seen him a few times on study nights with Malcolm and Mary.

Isaac had bright blue eyes framed behind thin, silver-rimmed glasses. He was cute and nice.

"That's where I know you from. Yeah, we got everything we needed. That was for a test in Renaissance Lit."

"Ah," he nodded. "Professor Bennett?"

"Yeah." I smiled, though it didn't put the guy at ease. I tried to figure out why all the tension, glancing down as I took a swig of beer. Oh, my attire. I looked like I was going to kick ass and take names.

Well, I planned to do exactly that once I found myself a demon. I hadn't thought of how my aggressive, albeit sexy-as-hell, getup would affect anyone else, especially Mr. Librarian. "Bennett. He's such a douche."

Isaac laughed. Nice sound. Nice guy. I wished I wasn't scaring the crap out of him.

"He is definitely that. Smart as hell, but he's got the god complex of a lot of professors."

I tried my friendly smile. He seemed to relax a bit. "So, I know this sounds like a line, but do you come here often?" he asked.

"No." I laughed. "Mindy brought me here on my birthday not long ago for the first time. Not my normal hangout."

"Mine either," he said, relaxing further.

I almost laughed. I felt like I was trying to gentle a timid dog closer to my fingertips for a morsel of bread. We fell into a comfortable conversation for several minutes when I sensed him.

I scanned across the bar, spotting Jude in the same shadowed corner where I'd first seen him, gazing at me with heat and flames. How he didn't set me on fire with that raw, burning gaze, I'm not sure. And yes, like a moth to the light, I couldn't help myself.

"Be back in a minute, Isaac."

I set my beer down and walked into the throng on the dance floor as Tool's "Sober" began thrumming slow and steady, vibrating through my chest.

People sort of swayed and bobbed heads rather than danced as the hypnotizing cadence rocked the place. Sweat and perfume mingled as bodies pressed close. I wove slowly through the crowd, catching Jude's fuming gaze as white spotlights swiveled over us to the beat.

I wouldn't be intimidated. At least, that's what I told myself. I walked tall and strong, grazing by dancers, pushing through them. The whole while, Jude melted me with his black stare.

By the time I cleared the last obstructing person to the small space he occupied, my heart hammered at a painful speed. Still, I held my chin high, never breaking eye contact. That would be a sign of weakness. Not tonight.

His voice scraped on that gravelly level. "What exactly do you think you are doing, Genevieve?"

His eyes dropped to my breasts, exposed more than usual in this top. The effect was palpable. He might as well have grabbed my blouse and stripped them bare.

"What do you mean?" I tried to act casual, though it sounded like a frog was caught in my throat. "I'm meeting you here for demon-defense training. That was the plan, right?"

"You know precisely what I mean."

A rough hand wrapped around my nape, hauling me closer.

"I'm afraid I don't," I snapped with a little bite. "Why don't you explain it to me?"

"With pleasure."

His other hand gripped my hip, and he pressed me back into the shadowed corner behind him. His thigh pushed between my own. I tried desperately not to moan, barely succeeding. He kept his chest from touching mine, as if that barrier was too dangerous to cross. The whole while, the angry beat and words of "Sober" pounded into me.

I glared up at him, willing myself not to melt.

"Dangerous girl, aren't you, Genevieve?" He stroked his thumb under my top and along the skin at my waist. "Let me explain to you very clearly what I mean. Dressing in this fashion with a body like yours gives off a certain signal to men, which I could care less about. What I do care about is the signal you're sending to me, for it is quite clear this is for me."

His hand rose higher under my shirt, wrapping my waist, thumb grazing my ribs.

I pressed my hands to his rock-hard chest. "Stop it. You have no claims on me, Jude."

"Don't I?"

"No." Emotion made my voice quiver. "I won't be the other woman to your girlfriend, Kat. I'll never be second to anyone."

His expression shifted. A ghost of wicked humor crossed his face, then was gone.

"There is nothing, has never been, and never will be anything between Kat and me but a history of expelling demons to the underworld."

"But, well then…why did you regret last night…what we did in my bedroom?"

"I have no regrets in my life but one. Maybe two. Last night was far from a regret and far less than what I wanted to do."

I sucked in a breath.

"I don't understand," I struggled to say, wedged in by the heat and muscle of him hazing my senses, his thumb still coasting gently over bare skin. "I thought you didn't want me."

"Untainted hands, heart and body. Do you remember me telling you about that?"

I drunkenly nodded as his thigh brushed between my legs again.

"When I see you like this, touch you, I'm quite willing to go to hell for a taste and drag you down with me. Both our souls be damned. I'm restraining myself not for any gallant reason. Burning awhile in hell is a small price to pay to quench the burning I have for you. But"—he leaned closer, lips brushing my ear— "what I won't allow is any possible opportunity for that filthy fuck Danté to get his hands on you. You are mine, Genevieve. And I will have you. Do you understand my meaning now?"

I think I stopped breathing halfway through his speech. I couldn't move. I should've been more shaken by the callous way he tossed our souls aside, but then his hand wrapped my nape and fisted in my hair, forcing me to look up into his feral gaze.

"I left last night because I was on the verge of losing control and fucking you senseless."

I couldn't speak. But it seemed he still had plenty to say.

"I had to know what was possible, what I could do to you without putting you in danger."

"What?" I whispered, barely audible over the music. Had he like researched or asked someone how far we could go sexually or something?

"Do you understand?" he asked, voice husky, warm breath close to my lips.

I was caught in the storm of his eyes, walled in by flickering flame, unable to say a word. Not sure of anything anymore. Only that I never wanted him to stop touching me.

"And so there's no misunderstanding whatsoever, you can warn the boy, or not, that if he dares lay a finger or even thinks about putting his lips on this skin," he rumbled darkly, grazing his thumb along my throat, his ravenous gaze dropping to my neck, "then he won't even remember his own fucking name when I'm done with him. Am I being clear enough now?"

I nodded dumbly. A hard wall of chest pressed against the softness of mine, pushing me against the brick. A whimper escaped me. No way could I keep my senses in check when Jude had me in his arms.

"Say it, Genevieve."

Sultry whispered words as his thumb lifted my chin, my mouth closer for his taking. Yes. I wanted very much to be consumed by the flames of Jude. Yes. I wanted him and only him.

"Yes."

A fierce melding of lips and tongue. He branded me, making damn sure I knew where he stood.

God, the heat of him. My VS hummed through my veins as if inviting the man to set me on fire.

"Wider," he whispered against my lips, pulling my chin down and pushing my thighs farther apart. The sensation nearly drove me mad. My fingers dug into his broad shoulders, willing him to crush me right through the wall.

"Yes," I breathed. "Yes."

He made some sort of satisfied rumbling sound in response, angling my head for better access, tangling a hand in my hair as he swept his tongue in deeper.

"You'll be the death of me," he whispered, trailing scorching nips and sucking kisses along my jaw to the base of my ear and down my neck. That was quite an admission, considering how long he'd been alive.

I threaded a hand into the hair at his nape as his mouth tasted and melted me into a liquid, pliant creature. Something stirred not just between my legs, because my pussy had started throbbing the second he touched me, but farther up around my heart.

He knocked on a door, slammed shut and bolted tight long ago when the one I loved most in the world had left me. I felt my hand trembling on the knob, wanting to open it. For him.

Jude lifted the hand from my waist and cupped my breast, his thumb brushing soft circles around my nipple, teasing. I moaned into his mouth, pressing closer. The same hand continued moving lower until I felt the distinct downward slide of my zipper.

I muffled his name, breaking the kiss, wondering what the hell he was doing right here on the dance floor.

"Shhh. Easy." He continued to open my jeans. "No one can see us."

That's when I realized while my body was on fucking fire with lust, I also felt his shield of illusion.

"You can make us invisible?"

"They can't see us," he reassured simply again. "I need to touch you," he murmured. "Can't stand it another second. Open your legs for me, baby."

So when he shoved my jeans a few inches down my hips, I did as he commanded and spread my legs wider. Right there on the fucking dancefloor. But like he said, no one seemed to see us.

"That's my sweet girl," he murmured against my lips, then slid his hand inside the front of my panties.

His middle finger glided along my slit straight to my entrance, where I was drenching my panties.

"Fuck, yes," he rumbled deep, whispering against my lips, "My girl needs me."

He stroked that one long, thick finger inside me, then back out, circling my clitoris slow and gentle.

"Jude," I begged, digging my nails in deep and rocking my hips forward, knowing I was spiraling toward an embarrassingly fast orgasm.

"Need your eyes open, beautiful," he grated. "Need to see you come."

I stared into the glittering darkness of his eyes, hardly a speck of gold within. He held me captive with his gaze and his hands and his fierce will.

Music blared and lights flashed and people sweated and danced feet away, but I saw nothing but him. This man, who held far more than my life in his hands. My heart tripped faster as if knowing she was in trouble too.

"Jude," I cried on a whisper, still rocking against him, needing him to work me harder.

"Let go," he commanded, flicking my clit faster before he plunged two fingers inside me.

I bit down on my bottom lip, stifling the cry as I came on his fingers, collapsing against him, pressing my forehead to the center of his chest. I continued rocking my hips in small thrusts, fucking his fingers through the orgasm, moaning at the pleasure of his thumb pressing against my clit.

He wrapped an arm around my waist to hold me up and against him, his thick fingers still buried inside me, his big palm now cupping my mound. I gripped his shoulders tight, my pussy continuously pulsing around him.

"That's my girl," he murmured against my temple, massaging the heel of his palm against my sex.

When I'd caught my breath and stood straighter, leaning back against the wall, he finally removed his fingers from inside me. But I didn't expect him to hold my gaze and raise those glistening fingers to his mouth and then suck them clean.

He hummed masculine approval, while I stared in shock. Before I could say a word, he reached down between us, zipped and snapped up my jeans, then rested his hands on my waist.

The song ended, moving into another??a moody new release by Billie Eilish. Jude squeezed my waist, exhaling a heavy breath. He pressed his forehead to mine for a second before pulling away with a smug grin on his face. Completely satisfied with himself. Well, maybe not completely satisfied, I thought, feeling his hard dick against my hip.

"Now that we're clear on where we stand, how about you go hunt us up a demon?" He could pretend to be all casual about what had just happened, but his chest rose and fell fast enough.

"Okay," I said, pushing him a little farther away. He let me. "Are you okay?" I asked, glancing at the obvious bulge in his jeans.

"No. But I'm better now that I've tasted you."

My face flushed with heat. I'd never had a guy say stuff that bold to me.

He lifted his hand to cup my jaw, tracing my bottom lip with the thumb he'd used on me. Strangely, the smell of myself on him only spiked a new swirl of heat low in my abdomen.

"I can't wait to put this beautiful mouth to work," he mused, his voice rough and deep, "but that will have to wait."

I squeezed my eyes shut. "Please stop saying stuff like that to me."

I'd never had a man talk so blatantly about giving him a blow job before. Or about tasting me, for Christ's sake.

The throbbing heat that had started up again between my legs told me that some part of me sure as hell liked Jude's dirty talk.

"Open your eyes, Genevieve."

I did.

He smiled, amusement teasing his perfect mouth. "You're going to have to get used to it. I've been alive too long to play games or be coy about what I want. And I mean to have you, Genevieve. Then I'm going to fuck you in every possible way." He paused. "When it's safe."

He tilted his head, probably calculating whether my supersonic pulse was due to fear or desire. It was mostly the latter.

Gulping hard, some insane part of me was curious to know, so I asked, "If I didn't want you to pursue me, would you stop?"

"No." A sharp, definitive reply. "But I'd give you some space till you realized you were meant for me."

The adrenaline rush from the orgasm and Jude staking his claim seemed to give me the courage to say exactly how I felt.

"And what if there's no need to pursue me? What if I'm already yours?"

I thought I'd seen all of Jude's dark expressions by now. But I was wrong.

He stared at me with such heavy-lidded hunger, it transformed his godlike face into a primitive creature. One who was ravenous and needed to feed, sighting in on his prey.

He threaded his long fingers into my hair, sculpting them against my skull then tilted my head farther back, thumbs at the hollows of my cheeks. I wrapped my hands around his forearms.

Dropping his head, he licked my upper lip and swept his lips across mine, then whispered against my mouth. "Then it's done. I'll live for you, and I'll die for you." He bit my bottom lip till it stung, then licked a drop of blood away. "That's a promise."

"Jude," I whispered, overwhelmed by such a vow. "That's—"

He crushed his mouth to mine, stroking his tongue deep before sucking mine into his mouth. On a rumbly growl, he lifted away, pressing his forehead to mine as laser lights spun around us.

"Let's go get some demons."

Swallowing hard, the metallic taste of my blood in my mouth, I straightened, feeling strong and sure and powerful in the arms of Jude. "I'm ready."

"Good girl." A big, smoldering smile.

My pulse thrummed in my throat. After I took one step out of the shadowed corner, a tight grip on my waist pulled me back. He swept my hair to the side, trailing his fingers along the lower back of my neck. Gooseflesh rose all over. He did that on purpose.

"If you don't see me, don't worry," he whispered in my ear. "I'll need to move around and stay hidden. Casting illusion won't help. The demons around here will know me on sight."

"What about Kat?" I asked, glancing at her slim silhouette still in the cage. "She'll surely draw attention."

"She doesn't work this region normally. The local demons won't know her. I'll be watching. If you see a demon, lure him outside. I'll follow and back you up."

"Who says I'll need backup?"

A squeeze lower on the hip.

"I'll be watching," he promised. "Just to be sure."

"Stalker."

Warm lips on the slope between my shoulder and neck made me jump.

"Stop that," I hissed. "I've got to concentrate. I'm going now."

He smacked my butt as I walked away. Yes! Smacked it.

I stumbled a step forward and moved quickly into the crowd, glaring over my shoulder to see a grinning demon hunter, bloated with ego and the knowledge of just how much control he already had over my body. Among other parts of me.

"Oh, sorry," I said, bumping into a couple by accident and moving on.

When I glanced back, Jude was gone. But not really, which gave me a sense of relief. As I found my way back to the bar, Jeff, Isaac, and Mindy were downing shots of tequila.

"Yayyyy! Come on, Gen! Come do one with us!"

"Somebody's got to get you home in one piece," I assured her, hoping she wasn't going to get puking drunk. "Y'all have fun, though."

They licked the salt off their hands, clinked shot glasses, downed them, and shoved lime wedges into their mouths.

Mindy made an especially sour expression, scrunching up her cute face. Bright blue eyes widened as she clapped her hands. "Whoo-hoo! Another one, boys!"

Leave it to Mindy. A party girl if there ever was one. I'd lost my beer, or the bartender had thrown it away, so I sidled up to get another.

"Killian's?" he asked.

I nodded, fishing in my pocket for some money. Just as I did, a prickling of needles stung along my spine.

"Let me get that for you, sweetheart."

I turned to the eerily familiar voice on my left and looked up into the blood-red eyes of Fabio.