Chapter Six

Darkness flooded the neighborhood, interrupted by ornamental streets lamps made to look like antique gaslights. The street meandered along lazy curves like a blacktop river—the fact the Styx River ran along the back of the west-facing properties notwithstanding.

Lucilla drove towards her house, her mind a whirlwind of the day’s events. Coffee with Aramis was the most fun she’d had in a very long time. Fun was important. Fun was what she watched everyone else have while she worked her non-talented fingers to the bone to match other people so they could have fun.

The road wound around a hairpin turn, exposing the front view of her house. The porch light of the old Victorian burned brightly, illuminating the dark yard. Out front, an unfamiliar car sat idling at the curb.

At this point all she wanted was to take a long, hot bubble bath and fall into bed. It didn’t look like that was on the horizon. Who would sit in front of her house in the first place? She never gave out personal information to her clients, so it most likely wasn’t one of them.

She pulled slowly into her drive, looking in the rearview mirror at the car as the driver’s door opened. A tall, well-proportioned man stood. The light from the street lamp rendered his face half in shadow, but even from where Lucilla sat, she knew the identity of her mystery visitor.

Jager gazed over the top of his car and gave a hesitant wave.

Flutters like leaves stuck in a whirlwind flew around inside her stomach. She smoothed her hand over her abdomen in an attempt to calm the flying furies. What was it about Jager that made her body misbehave?

She motioned for him to come up to the house. It took him no time to get to her with his long strides.

He looked good. The dark suit jacket hung perfectly on his wide shoulders. He moved with elegant grace for such a big man. When he reached her, she looked up into his face, afraid he could hear her heart pound.

A rich, spicy scent filled her head. Oh, Goddess weeping, he even smells good! How was she supposed to resist him when he showed up at her door looking like the best fantasy she’d ever had? He gazed at her as if he didn’t know how he’d come to be standing on her doorstep. And for the life of her, Lucilla couldn’t think of a word to say.

Then he was there, kissing her mouth like a starving man. Lucilla put her hands on his shoulders, intending to push away from his unprovoked admiration, but only managed to sink her hands into his thick hair, holding onto him, afraid he’d let her go.

Her entire body melted against the wall of his heat. His tongue brushed against hers. A faint tang of cloves clung to his mouth. Why did he have to taste good, too? Now she’d never want to stop kissing him. But she had to. He was a client. His fees helped keep a roof over her head and food on her table. Kissing him was definitely unethical.

Lucilla managed to pull her mouth away from his. The maneuver didn’t have the desired effect of stopping the kiss. It only served to give him an opportunity to run his mouth into her hairline, to kiss her temple and breathe hot breath into her ear.

Her nipples were so hard they ached behind the confines of silk and lace. Without conscious thought, she arched her back, rubbing them against him for relief.

“Lucilla,” Jager moaned. “Please, don’t send me out on another bad date when I already know who I want.”

For a second she tensed, until she realized what he meant. She wanted to hear it. Needed to hear it. “Who do you want?”

He laid his forehead against hers. “I’m holding her right now.”

“If that’s true, why did you sign up for my services?”

“I didn’t know it was you.” He put his finger under her chin, tilting her face up to his. “I’m not used to begging. It’s not in my nature. But if you make me go out with the djinn, I’ll be reduced to it.”

A fallen god begging? It made for an intriguing picture, but Lucilla had never been that cruel. She slid her hand in his then turned to the door. “Why don’t you come inside and we can discuss what we’re going to do with you.”

She led him through the living room and into the den. The room was filled with earthy colors, rich and warm. It was her favorite room in the house. Large, overstuffed furniture was grouped in the middle of the space to make for an intimate setting.

Lucilla indicated the sectional with a turn of her hand. “Have a seat and I’ll bring us some drinks.”

He released the button on his jacket and sat on the sofa. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you. I like it.” She poured them both some brandy and carried it over to him.

She took a seat across from him, balancing her drink on her crossed legs. “Did something happen tonight to make you come over here and wait at the curb for me?” The words, and kiss me, echoed in her head, but she refrained from saying them.

He swirled the brandy around in the snifter. “I had a date with Maribon Seacrest.”

A hand clamped around Lucilla’s heart to squeeze. Wasn’t that what she was being paid for? She’d only done her job in setting them up.

“I see.” Her throat tried to close around the words. Even though it was obvious he hadn’t had a good time on the date, it was like a knife going through her gut.

“The night will not be repeated.”

“Oh, Jager.” She hid her smile behind her hand. “You really know how to charm the ladies, don’t you?”

He frowned. “What makes you think the failure of the date was my fault?”

“Your track record. You’ve found fault with them all.” Warming to the conversation, she shifted in her seat. “How do I know, if I go with you to the Legion Halloween Dance, you won’t say the same thing about me?”

“You are going with me to the dance. You’ve already agreed.”

“I agreed to it on the stipulation you went out with both of my clients. Now you’re here wanting to go back on your word.” Lucilla shook her head in mock pity. “I don’t know, sounds to me as if I may need to apologize to my other clients for sending them on dates with you.”

She watched his jaw tighten. He turned his head to avoid looking at her. “I’ve never gone back on my word.” When his gaze connected with hers again, his eyes were hot, intense. “I want you. I don’t want to wait.”

His words sucked all the air from the room. That was about as plain a declaration as she’d ever heard. It was also a challenge. Stalling for time, she took a sip of her brandy.

When she didn’t reply, he set his glass on the low coffee table and stood, moving around to where she sat. “Don’t tell me you felt nothing when I kissed you.”

She started at his feet, letting her gaze travel the long way up his body until she looked directly into his eyes. “I have no intention of denying anything. But I’m not going to let you go back on your promise either.”

He went down on one knee in front of her. “Why do you want to torture me?”

Lucilla laughed. “Is that what I’m doing? I don’t mean to. But you paid for my services and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you the entire benefit of my experience and knowledge.”

A low rumble came from deep in Jager’s chest. “I see.” He plucked the glass from her hand and set it on the table next to his. He let his large palms slide up along the outside of her thighs. “I don’t want to appear ungrateful, but maybe we could find another way for you to demonstrate your experience to me.”

“Such as?” Heaven help her, but she couldn’t think when he ran his thumbs over her hipbones like that.

“Letting me know what it’s like to date a woman who is as respectable as she is sexy.”

“Me? Sexy?” She let him see just how funny she thought the notion.

“Unbelievably so.” He leaned forward just enough to press his lips to her forehead.

Heat speared her to the chair. This was what a woman should feel like—the center of a man’s universe, doggedly pursued by him until she felt consumed.

He ran his lips over her face. “Are you going to make me go through another date? Or do I need to fire you as my matchmaker so I can have you all to myself?”

“No. I’m not letting you back out of our agreement. You never know, Jager, you might really enjoy a date with a djinn.”

“Not when I’ll be thinking of you.” He picked up her hand from her lap, bringing it to his mouth. He pressed a kiss on her fingers then opened them to place one on her palm.

She didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended. “How do you know I’m not already in a relationship?”

He gave her a cocky smile. “Because you don’t seem the type to accept an escort to the biggest social event of the season when you already have a man waiting in the wings.”

Damn, he had her there.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” She pulled her hand back from the steady caress of his fingers over hers. That simple gesture alone was beginning to turn her on. If he didn’t put a squelch on it, she’d end up in bed with him.

He’d already as good as admitted the fact.

I want you. I don’t want to wait.

A thought occurred to her then. He still hadn’t explained why he had such a miserable time with Maribon. Lucilla raised a brow, cocking her head to the side. “What happened tonight to make you swear off another date with Maribon?”

Jager blew out a long-suffering sigh and backed away from her. “Are you sure she’s a selkie and not an octopus?”

A comical vision of Jager trying to fend off the selkie’s eager hands filled Lucilla’s mind. “A little too forward?”

“And then some.” He ran a hand through his hair then leaned against the coffee table. “I’m not embarrassed to admit I’m a very sexual man, but I want to at least get through the first date before I’m stuck to a tentacle. I’d pretty much decided never to see her again before the salad course arrived, but when she attacked me at her door, groping me like I’m a ten-dollar gigolo, it proved she wasn’t the type of woman I’d waste my time to see again.”

Lucilla laughed. “Most men would feel privileged to say they’d taken a woman as beautiful as Maribon to bed.”

“I’m not most men. If all I wanted was a conquest, I wouldn’t be here now.”

Lucilla took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If he wanted something more from her than a few dates and a quick tumble, he’d picked the worst person in the world to pursue. She doubted she needed to remind him of the feud between their peoples, but there were aspects of it they did need to discuss.

“Have you thought at all about the ramifications of a relationship between us? I may not have talent, but my family won’t be pleased.” She looked at her hands. “I couldn’t even tell my aunt who my tentative date for the Legion Halloween Dance is when she asked.”

“I didn’t think it bothered you.” His voice had dropped to a near-whisper. “Does it?”

Her gaze met his. Emotions too potent to deny swirled between them. “Not for myself. Any woman would be proud to be with you. It’s my family’s reaction that worries me. I’ve been such a disappointment to them…”

“How?” Jager demanded. He rose again, pulling her from her chair and into his arms. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. No one who knows you could ever believe you’re a disappointment.”

She swallowed. Twice in the same night, handsome, incredible men sought to tell her of her worth. She offered a gentle smile. “I was to my family. They had such high hopes for me, and I’ve failed them on so many levels.”

“But it wasn’t your fault,” he protested.

The way he defended her against the injustice of her lot made her heart swell. History showed he knew all too well about being blamed for something that wasn’t his fault. To be branded and pigeonholed for something beyond his control.

She’d blown out of the box the witching circles put her in when she’d opened her agency. Jager had started anew when he moved from fallen god to businessman. They really did have so much in common.

Lucilla rose up on her tiptoes, pulling his head to hers. Their mouths met in a kiss as hot as it was comforting. After she pulled away, she looked up into his gorgeous eyes. “You still have one more date to get through. That’s the bargain. But I’ll make it easy on you. I have a date tomorrow evening. If you want, we can make it a double and you might feel a bit more at ease meeting Esmeralda.”

“And if she isn’t available tomorrow night? Are you still going on your date?”

“Of course,” she teased. “I don’t break my agreements.”

He gave a low growl in the back of his throat. “I’m not going to enjoy watching you with another man.”

Well, if he thought he’d have a hard time watching her with another man, she wasn’t going to have a good time knowing he was with a djinn. But she’d made the offer to get him through the date, so she’d follow through. And as a chaperone, she could ensure they didn’t have too good a time.

Her ethics had been taking a nosedive ever since Jager Cronus walked into her office, but damn if he didn’t fit her own profile match at close to one hundred percent.