CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ella was folding clean laundry in her bedroom when her phone rang. Dropping a hoodie back into the basket, she retrieved her cell from the nightstand. Mia. Feeling her lips curl, she answered, "Hello?"

A sheepish sigh drifted down the line. "Hi. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need to cancel our pool-hall plans for tonight."

"How come?" Ella asked, surprised. It wasn't like her sister to bail. "Is everything okay?"

Mia made a noncommittal sound. "Joe telepathed me. He asked if I'd meet him at his place tonight. Apparently, he wants to have a—and I quote—real talk."

"Oh, well, that's good. It's about time he decided to be honest with you."

Mia hummed in agreement. "Not sure why he didn't sooner, but I'm sure he'll explain. I'm sorry that—"

"Hey, there's no need to be sorry. He's your anchor. Things are strained between the two of you; of course you want to give him the chance to fix it."

"I thought about putting it off until later, but delaying the conversation will bug me. I'll spend the time wondering what he has to say, so I won't make good company for you."

"Mia, really, it's fine ," Ella stressed. "Go see him; get the matter settled. And call me later to let me know how it went."

"Will do. Love ya."

"Love ya, too." Ella rang off and placed her cell on the nightstand.

While she was glad that Mia and Joe might just finally get things back on track, she was a little disappointed that the pool-hall plans had been canceled. If she was honest with herself, Ella could admit that she'd been looking forward to going there tonight. All day—stupidly, annoyingly, unreasonably—she'd felt a little frisson of excitement at the thought of seeing Viper.

They wouldn't have talked or anything, but it didn't matter. The idea of being around him had made her feel kind of energized.

Shoving that irritating tidbit out of her mind, Ella silently wished her sister good luck with Joe and then went back to her laundry. After folding and putting away her clothes, she ate dinner while watching TV. And the longer she went without hearing from Mia, the more antsy she got.

Either her sister and Joe were having one hell of a long talk … or they were sexing each other up.

Hoping it wasn't the latter, Ella headed into the kitchen and made herself a mug of tea. She didn't dislike Joe per se , she just didn't like how greedy he was with Mia's time and attention. Not that that was atypical for psi-mates. But Joe could be pretty selfish about it.

Take this situation, for example.

He was well aware that Mia and Ella routinely met up at the pool hall on Fridays. He could have asked her to meet him later tonight, or some time tomorrow. Instead, he'd asked Mia to push aside her plans for him—which wasn't a first. There'd been many occasions when he'd pressured her to cancel on Ella, insensitively not caring he'd be cutting into the sisters' girl time. He seemed to feel threatened by how close they were.

Usually, his efforts to make Mia cancel didn't work. She rarely begged off unless it was necessary. That she'd done it tonight was understandable. Getting things straight with Joe definitely counted as necessary.

Leaning back against the counter, Ella took a cautious sip of her drink. Which was right when her phone beeped. Finally. Though why Mia would text rather than call she didn't know.

Ella swiped the cell from the counter. Her brow furrowed, because whoever had sent her a message wasn't her sister. It had come from an unfamiliar number.

You wouldn't be avoiding me, would you? it read.

Feeling her brows draw together, Ella set her mug on the counter. Who's this? she asked, typing fast.

Three dots danced on the screen. Viper.

Her pulse jumped just as her insides seized. She blinked at the screen, shaking her head. What the hell? Her demon's brows arched in both surprise and curiosity.

There was no way he should have her contact details. How did that come about? And would the little bubble of excitement skipping around her belly fuck right off, please?

She texted: How did you get this number?

I have my sources.

Oh, how very mysterious. She was about to request some elaboration, but then more words appeared on the screen.

You usually come to my pool hall on Fridays. Tonight, you were a no-show.

And he apparently thought that she was going out of her way to avoid seeing him. Not the case, but she didn't need to explain that to him. Didn't need to say anything to him. In fact, she should end this conversation, block his number, and go on about her evening.

It would be smart. It would also drive home the point that she had no interest in conversing with him. To continue the conversation would be … well, not quite flirting . But it would encourage him, wouldn't it?

Yeah, she should definitely block his number.

What Ella instead did was settle at the dining table, her phone in hand, and type a response: I'm not avoiding you. My sister has a situation that needs her immediate attention .

Setting her phone down on the table, she sighed at herself for having such poor self-control. Ella couldn't say what it was about this guy that made her go against her own good sense, but there seemed to be no changing it.

At least her demon wasn't passing judgement. As it happened, the entity quite liked that he'd gone through the trouble of getting her number. It liked the idea of being pursued by someone as dark and powerful as him.

If Ella was honest, she could admit to herself that she did, too.

When she'd seen nothing of him following that night at the Red Rooms, she'd concluded that the whole "I'll come for you if you don't come to me" claim wasn't something that she'd needed to take seriously.

She'd spent days telling herself that she didn't care; that it was for the best. But in truth, she'd found it slightly disappointing. Not shocking, though. After all, why would he need to pursue Ella when women no doubt regularly flung themselves at him?

Her gut went tight at the thought of that.

Another message popped up on the screen: Anything I can help with?

Ella double-blinked, surprised by the offer. The Black Saints were an exclusive bunch. They made alliances, but they generally didn't get involved in other people's business. Or so she'd been told.

She picked up her cell and texted: Thanks, but Mia has it covered. Pausing, Ella nibbled on her lower lip. I'm not sure if I should be annoyed that you went ahead and got my number without my permission.

More dots bopped on her screen. I couldn't ask your permission without talking to you, and you haven't come to me yet.

Ella swallowed, her stomach dropping. Why would I?

You want to.

"Arrogant bastard," she muttered. "A correct arrogant bastard."

Why fight it?

Sighing, she typed: I told you, I'm not into meaningless sex. I get that my behavior the other night might have given a different impression, but that was an aberration for me.

Sex doesn't have to be meaningless, Ella.

Well, that was true. She'd had flings that, though they hadn't been serious or stepping stones to relationships, hadn't been meaningless. They'd been fun, light, and even made her smile when she thought back on them.

But he wasn't asking for a fling. Or, at least, it didn't seem that way. He just wanted them to roll in the sack again.

Right then, another message appeared: Come to me.

"Why do I have to be the one who goes anywhere?" she grumbled even as she texted: Do you do this a lot? Text women demanding they go tend to your needs?

The phone in her hand began to ring, his number showing on the screen.

She stilled. "Oh, shit." Her demon chuckled, amused that he had Ella all befuddled.

Clearing her throat, she thumbed the screen and answered, "Hello?"

"Baby." The word was low. Soft. An amused reprimand. "I'm not demanding anything of you. I want you to come to me of your own free will."

It was wrong that she was developing a crush on his voice.

"Sure, I could instead kiss your consent right out of you. But then you'd tell yourself you got swept along for the ride again; that you had another moment of weakness."

Ella felt her lips flatten. Yes, fine, that was pretty much exactly what she'd do. "Does it really matter when all you want is a fuck anyway?"

"Who says that's all I want from you?"

A frown pulled at her brow.

"There are many things I'd like to do to you, Ella—it'll take more than one night to get through them." A pause. "There's no other man in your life right now, is there?"

"No," she replied, even though she had the feeling that he already knew the answer.

"Then what's the problem, other than my being one of the Fallen, which doesn't need to have any real bearing on anything unless you want it to?"

Well … she supposed that was true. She was letting it be a factor, but she didn't have to. Not really. Particularly in her demon's opinion.

"Give in to me, Ella," he murmured.

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop talking. Really, just … stop."

"Why? Because you're tempted to do what I ask?"

"No."

A rumbly, deliciously sexy chuckle drifted down the line. "Liar." A soft, teasing statement.

Yup. She was a total liar.

A double-beep sounded, signaling that another call was trying to come through. Ella peeked at the phone screen and then told him, "My sister's trying to call me. I need to answer."

"All right, I'll get off the phone. I'll give you a few more days to come to me. If that doesn't happen, I will come to you. There's only so long I'm prepared to wait." He hung up.

Deciding she'd process that little tidbit later, she answered Mia's call. "Hey, how did it go?" The long sigh that came down the line raised Ella's hackles.

"Not great," Mia mumbled. "I don't know what I expected the subject of the ‘real talk' to be, but I definitely wasn't expecting to hear that he's met someone."

Ella felt her mouth fall open. " What? "

"It's his boss' new assistant, apparently. He ended our fling so he could start something with her."

Ella did a slow blink, utterly shocked. "I'm … I have no words."

"I was a little speechless myself," Mia muttered, her tone flat.

"Why didn't he tell you this before now?"

"He claims he thought it'd hurt me, so he kept it to himself. But now he feels bad about lying to me, so he decided to cough up the truth."

As a thought occurred to Ella, she narrowed her eyes. "Did he touch her while he was with you?"

"He swears he didn't. At one time, I would have taken him at his word. But now? Now I feel let down by him, and that's new for me."

"What did you say to him?"

"Not a lot. I was too stunned. Just before I left, I said I hoped it all worked out for him."

"And, is that true?" Ella carefully asked.

"Yes. I totally get why he'd stop wasting time on a fling and instead go after the woman he wanted. I'm not upset about that. But I don't like the way he handled this whole thing. He could have been honest with me right from the start, or at least not acted all distant. I'm his anchor, for Christ's sake. You'd think he'd be too protective of me to mess me around like that."

"Yeah, you'd think so."

"I've said this before, I know, but you lucked out with Luka. I know he's no one's idea of a teddy bear, but you can rely on him. That's worth its weight in gold."

"It is, and I don't take it for granted." Ella leaned back in her chair. "How come you waited so long to call me? Was it a long conversation, or did you need time to calm down?"

"I was a little pissed with Joe for being a dingus, so I hit a club on the way home and hooked up with a guy who swore he'd fuck my anger out of me."

Well. "That's quite a job you set him," said Ella, feeling her mouth kick up. Mia's nerves weren't easy to settle, even with great sex. "Tell me more about this dude."

"I will when you tell me who you hooked up with at the Red Rooms a few nights ago."

Not happening. "A lady never tells."

"Lady. Ha. That's funny."

Ella frowned. "Hey, I'm all grace and manners and serenity."

"Sure you are," Mia mocked.

"Now, seriously, are you sure you're okay about this Joe thing?"

"I wouldn't say I'm okay . Especially because he seemed to think I'd be heartbroken. Yet, had he turned up at my apartment—my safe space, where I'm most comfortable—to reveal something that he thought would hit me right in the heart? No. He'd requested that I go to him . Like he couldn't be bothered making the journey even to make it easier on me. And it's just an extra kick to the gut."

Ella shook her head hard, as furious as she was stunned. "I don't get why he's being such a jackass." In the past, he'd been intensely protective toward Mia. Loyal and reliable. A good friend and confidant. "Apparently, he's forgotten that you're anchors or something."

"I could honestly think I've done something to upset him. But we haven't argued or anything. We didn't end the fling on a bad note. He'd been the one to cut it short, not me. And with good reason, since he had his sights set on someone else. Where's my crime, please?"

Nowhere to be seen.

"I had to leave fast or my demon would have surfaced and … well, it wouldn't have been pretty. It's a little calmer now."

"Thanks to the guy you're not going to tell me about?"

"Yes. Thanks to him."

"You're seriously not going to tell me who it was?"

"Not until you give me more deets on who fucked you in the Red Rooms."

Yeah, that wouldn't be happening. "Fine. I didn't really want to know anyway."

A cackle. "Liar."

The one word echoed Viper's earlier accusation, bringing the memory of his voice—oh, she was pretty sure she could come just listening to him talk—to the forefront of her mind.

I'll give you a few more days to come to me. If that doesn't happen, I will come to you.

Going by the way that simple promise riled up her hormones, Ella couldn't honestly say she'd resist him if he did.