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Route 4 was quiet at this time of the night and I stared at the houses as we passed by. Damian was trying to figure out how the hell he and Naomi were going to deal with triplets. Just the ordeal at the hospital was harrowing for him, but the thought of succumbing to a family car brought forth a “humph.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. An ancient vampire reduced to a mini-van. It was laughable, and he sent a glare in my direction.
“What happened,” Damian asked, turning the tables on me.
“I walked in on her fucking someone else.”
Damian had the decency to sigh. “That’s rough.”
“Yeah, fifteen years out the window like that.” I snapped my fingers.
“First love,” he whispered and nodded. “That’s always the one that kicks your ass.” He sent a smile at me. “Be thankful she wasn’t your cousin.”
I burst out laughing and Damian, met my gaze before I realized he was serious. I choked off my laughter and raise an eyebrow. “Your cousin?”
“You’ve got the memories, take a look.”
Yeah, I had his memories; twenty-five hundred-years’ worth of memories. It wasn’t as easy as sifting through one lifetime, but I found the references, and got another viewing of her death at the hands of Lucifer. A shudder ran through me. At least I didn’t have to witness Sandy’s death. I’m not sure I could have handled that on the heels of my father.
Perhaps Steve was right; hanging with Damian may just be the thing to put my life in perspective.
It was Damian’s turn to laugh. “My life won’t give you perspective. Nightmares, maybe, but not perspective.” He glanced in my direction before taking the exit for Brooksfield. After a few more turns, he pulled into the mall parking lot and came to a stop in one of the farthest parking spots.
“Time to start walking,” he said and tucked the keys under the corner of the carpeting on the driver’s side floor before opening his door. The wind whipped through the car and I stepped out into the brutal New Hampshire chill. It was colder than it had been the other night. Either that or my adrenaline had kept me warm during the run from the devil.
“The hospital is this way,” Damian said, nodding toward the road we just drove in on.
I followed him with my hands stuffed in my pockets and my chin tucked into my coat. I wished I’d had the forethought of grabbing a hat, and by the time we got a football length away from the car I thought my ears were going to fall off from the frigid bite.
Damian sent a sideways glare in my direction.
“It’s fucking cold,” I said, my voice rising with defensiveness.
“You live in Northern New England, what the hell do you expect this time of year?”
“York is not this cold,” I muttered and scrunched my shoulders in an attempt to cover whatever exposed skin I could.
“The Rockies in the dead of winter is cold. This is balmy in comparison.” He continued walking, ignoring my grumbling.
I followed in silence, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I normally didn’t mind the cold. I normally didn’t whine. Hell, I normally didn’t have the emotional spectrum of a teenage girl.
Damian snorted laughter and looked over his shoulder.
“Fuck you,” I muttered under my breath, but he had every cause to laugh. I was a fucking mess. Aggravation snuck in like a cat burglar, at first undetected but then the silent stalk got sloppy, jumbling my nerves. My eyes stung from more than just the wind and finally Damian stopped and faced me.
“Think of it this way. There’s gotta be something better out there for you.”
I stopped and stared at him. “Did you ever have anyone you loved walk away from you?” I asked, trying to decipher his memories. I didn’t think that was the case and from the slow shake of his head, he confirmed it.
“It’s a little different when they decide you aren’t what they want.” Bitterness snaked in alongside the aggravation and I clenched my jaw, blinking away the remnants of mist from my eyes.
“Loss is loss. Mine was just a little more... permanent,” he said, and I glared at him even though his tone wasn’t snarky or sarcastic. “Look, everything happens for a reason.” He turned and started walking again. “It took me a long time to accept that,” he added when I caught up.
We walked in silence and while I agreed that everything happens for a reason, losing Sandy wasn’t something I had been prepared for. In some ways, death would have been easier to accept. At least that didn’t bruise the ego.
I glanced at Damian and realized I couldn’t hear his thoughts.
He smiled at my revelation. “Frustrating, isn’t it?” he said and focused on the building rising from just beyond the trees. “I can’t always hear you, either,” he added and his brow creased.
The silence hung between us but it was now layered with thought-creep of the hospital inhabitants. “We’re almost there,” he said and resumed a faster pace.
A sudden urgency gripped me and I caught up with him, my feet matching his near sprinting pace. I glanced in his direction and he had the same trepidation carved into his features as I had in the pit of my stomach. I focused on the thoughts and the word tiger surfaced.
I didn’t wait for Damian. I turned my sprint into a full-fledged speed contest. The limited experience I had with Naomi and her stellar ability to change into a ferocious tiger had a direct correlation to demons. And if there were demons in the hospital, it meant Grace was in danger.
The air shifted and a shadow blocked the bright moon overhead. I dodged around an oak trunk and broke out of the tree line before a talon wrapped around my waist. Air sucked out of my lungs as I was lifted off the ground by a giant hawk. We soared above the parking lot, landing on the roof of the hospital. The talon released and before I had a moment to process what just happened, Damian stood beside me, scanning the rooftop for an access door.
“Dude,” I said and he turned toward me.
His gaze traveled beyond me. “Door,” he said pointing and then heading in the same direction he pointed. I followed, still unsteady from the experience. I’m not sure Damian knew he transitioned either, until he pulled the door open and sent a glare at me.
“We can discuss my ability after we get rid of the demons. Talking our way in would have only wasted time and they’re beyond trying tranquilizers. Now, they’re talking about killing the tiger.”
“Shit,” I said and we took the stairs as fast as possible. Halfway down, Damian reached for the door, bursting into the maternity ward where a collection of officers were plotting how to take down the rabid tiger in the nursery.
Damian scanned the area, his gaze landing on the glass separating the nursery from the rest of the maternity ward. A nurse had her back pressed to the glass and a tiger stalked back and forth, between the nurse and the bassinets. If anyone had been paying attention, they would have understood the tiger was in protection mode, not attack mode.
The nurse took a step forward and the giant cat snarled, swiping a clawed paw in her direction, sending the nurse back into the glass. I exchanged a glance with Damian.
Distaste colored his features and my nose itched with the stench of sulfur filling the ward. The nurse wasn’t the only demon on site and I turned, facing the crowd behind us. At least a half a dozen police officer’s stared back and their eyes glimmered, revealing the red eyes of demon possession. The other’s still focused on the hospital schema laid out on the table and beyond the cops were frightened parents and hospital staff.
I glanced over my shoulder, giving Damian a nod. I got this, you go take care of that bitch.
Be careful. His thought echoed in my mind and he started toward the nursery. I turned, just as one of the normal officer’s called out to Damian to stop.
“He’ll be okay,” I said and the demons behind the officer grinned.
Demonic voices filled my head.
Lucifer has plans for you.
I stared at them and a chill settled over me. What the fuck does the devil want from me?
A smile was the only response, that and the shift of gazes from me to Damian and the nursery beyond. I’m a smart man and my hands curled into fists. If the devil thought he could use me to get to Naomi and Grace, he had another think coming.
Laughter echoed in my head and I ground my teeth, tempering the need to demolish everything in my path.
“Sir,” another officer called, pulling my attention away from hell’s collection in the hallway and over my shoulder toward Damian. He had already crossed the distance and stood on the hallway side of the glass case, behind the back of the demonic nurse. He didn’t turn, but his reflection in the glass told me enough. He was gearing up and when his gaze met mine, I started counting.
When I hit three, the roll of power expanded from the two of us like a tidal wave, popping overhead lights, and turning demons and their human suits to dust, including the bitch in the nursery. The maternity ward dropped into the black and frightened murmurs echoed on the tile hallway.
It only took a moment before the generator engaged and the red hue of emergency lights bathed the area. I turned toward the nursery. The door next to the window stood open and Damian’s back faced us. Arms wrapped around his waist and the stunned quiet broke with the wail of infants. Other than the two of them and a room full of crying babies, nothing else stirred.
The police converged on the open door.
“Where’s the tiger,” someone asked and Damian glanced toward the voice behind him.
“I don’t know,” he said and pulled the sleeve of his jacket up, showing the hospital bracelet that gave him access to his children. “My wife’s been in here the whole time. She texted me while you guys did shit,” he added, turning so they could see Naomi.
The glare he sent at the trooper was enough to pull a smile to my lips, but I pressed them together, staunching the grin. Radios squawked and they began the search for the missing terror.
“You let that beast out of the room?” the sergeant approached the nursery door, his aggravation making his lips non-existent. “Do you know how much damage a tiger can cause?”
Damian planted a kiss on Naomi’s forehead and released his hold on her, turning on the cop. “Would you have preferred letting it snack on the infants?” he asked and waved his hand towards the collection of cribs. This time a high-pitched laugh escaped from my lips.
Frantic parents filtered into the room and Damian lifted two fingers, beckoning me into the room.
“I’m taking my wife and children out of here, right now,” he said, showing the matching hospital bracelets that allowed he and Naomi access to their kids, and without further conversation, he grabbed Grace and handed her to me. Michael went into Naomi’s arms and he gathered up Gabriel last. He stepped toward the door and rethought his plan, turning and grabbing the three diaper bags sitting under each bassinet.
I followed the two of them with the baby snug in my arms. “Guys, we can’t take the babies outside in the cold,” I said and Damian slowed to a stop before we got to the elevator.
“Fuck,” he whispered.
I guess I had been designated the voice of reason because the two of them turned to me like I could magically conjure up a car and three infant seats at this time of night. The head nurse intervened, blocking the path out and tried to herd us back into Naomi’s maternity room.
“Can you go get us wheels?” Damian asked in exasperation.
I laughed. I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. His request was ludicrous.
“Do I look like Harry fucking Potter?” I asked and for the first time since we stepped onto this ward, his lips twitched into what I assumed was a smirk.
“Fine,” Damian muttered and allowed the nurse to escort us to the room. As soon as the three of us were alone and the bassinets were lined along the wall with the triplets inside, I turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” Damian asked.
“I’m going to the lake. Why?” I said, pausing at the door. Damian’s doubt and unease stretched across the room and I crossed my arms. “Dude, I’m not staying here,” I said. I had no interest in babysitting all night.
“Just keep watch for a little while. We both need some sleep before the babies wake up again, okay?” he asked.
I glanced at Naomi. She was already curled up on the bed, her eyes at half-mast, and her breathing slowing. In a matter of seconds, she was asleep.
“Give me a few minutes,” I said and slipped out of the room. I wanted to be sure demons didn’t get close again and headed to the cafeteria. I gathered a half-dozen salt shakers and brought them back to the room.
Damian’s eyebrows rose as I trailed salt from one wall to the other, creating a line that kept them reasonably safe. I tossed the last shaker to Damian and he lined the window sill and the entry to the bathroom.
“I’ll guard the room,” I said and grabbed one of the chairs that sat at the small kitchenette table, bringing it outside before closing the door, and camping out in front of the entrance.
The floor was relatively quiet and maintenance workers went from light fixture to light fixture, replacing blown bulbs. I watched until my eyelids got heavy. I closed my eyes just for a moment.
When my eyelids fluttered open, I stared at a pair of deep amber eyes. Her mouth was moving but nothing computed and I blinked, glancing around at the dim hallway.
“Wouldn’t you be more comfortable lying down?”
Her question broke through the haze and I looked at her again. “What time is it?”
“A little after four,” she said and stood when I rubbed my eyes.
A yawn caught me off guard and I stretched, meeting her gaze. I had dozed off for a couple of hours, not minutes.
“I’m good,” I finally said after I settled back in the chair. The din of thought lowered and she scanned me from head to toe, her leer filled with carnal thoughts that made me blush. She sent a sweet smile my way and turned back toward the desk.
“Maybe a place to lie down isn’t a bad idea,” I said and she glanced over her shoulder, a smile played on her lips.
“There’s a couch in the nurse’s lounge,” she said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
I stood and followed her on feet that felt like I was sinking in quicksand. I shook my head, trying to wipe out the cob webs. She opened the door just wide enough for me to squeeze through, and pointed toward the couch, but she was so close and made the mistake of licking her lips in such a way that jump started my libido.
My gaze moved from her wet lips to her eyes and I offered the slightest of smiles and closed the door behind me.
“You’re not really concerned with me getting rest, are you?” I said and the blush that filled her cheeks was my answer. Damn, it felt good to be wanted, and I reached out, lacing my fingers into the soft hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her to me.
Doubt passed over her features and then our lips met. The kiss was different, awkward at first and then we both relaxed, toying with each other. I pulled away, hornier than I had been in a very long time and I didn’t bother asking her name, not with the flurry swirling inside me.
I pulled the clip holding her hair in place and the long honey locks fell over her shoulders and I couldn’t help but grin. Her hands had drifted from around my neck to the buttons of my shirt, unclasping them before searching my eyes. Her warm palms traveled up my bare chest and over my shoulders, peeling my shirt off with the motion.
As I stared at the hunger in her gaze, I remembered Tom telling me it was intoxicating as hell. I never paid much attention to it before, but with the way this nurse was looking at me, I understood the power of being the subject of such raw lust. Intoxicating was an understatement and I pinned her against the wall, covering her pouty lips with mine.
For the first time in my life, I threw caution out the window and gave in to the carnal desire turning my blood to liquid fire.
The flurry of clothing lined the path from the door to the couch. I don’t remember much beyond the overwhelming sensation of pleasure and heat. I opened my eyes to the ceiling and the cold floor beneath me. Her hair fanned out over my chest as her breath heaved in her chest from exertion, in time with mine.
She raised her head and met my gaze.
“Holy shit,” she mumbled and smiled.
I laughed and looked at the ceiling, trying to understand how screwing a stranger could be so bogglingly hot. Now I understood why Tom had gone the slut route, it was liberating, but now I had to try to gracefully exit and I had no idea how to do that.
Her chuckle pulled my attention back and my post-sex euphoria disappeared. Her eyes shimmered red and all the heat in the room evaporated. I tried to push her off and scramble away, but the demon bitch was stronger than I anticipated and her thighs clamped down on my hips.
“I could give you this type of bliss for eternity,” she whispered and slipped her finger in her mouth, seductively drawing it out of those crimson lips while grinding her hips into me.
“Jesus,” I gasped and let a mental shove loose. She tumbled off me in a reverse summersault before jumping to her feet. I grabbed the throw pillow and held it in front of my privates and laughter peeled from her throat.
“Modesty? Now?” she asked, her hands falling on her waist while her perky breasts still glistened with sweat.
The fact I fucked a demon, no matter how hot her host was, turned my stomach into a boiling pit of acid.
“I suggest you leave that girl alone,” I said. My voice was a hell of a lot steadier than the quaking in my soul.
“Or what?” she said, raising an eyebrow. She stepped closer and I moved back, my gaze dropping to my clothing behind her. I put my hand out and my underwear levitated in my direction. She grabbed it out of the air, keeping it from me.
“Goddamnit,” I whispered.
“I’ll leave her alone if you allow me in,” she said, still gripping my shorts.
Her comment left me dumbstruck, but my basic instincts were demanding I run as far and as fast as possible. I knew what I was capable of and apparently so did Lucifer. Possessing me would give him everything he ever wanted, and this little seduction was meant to take advantage of my emotional weakness, to disarm me into saying yes.
What she was suggesting was inviting Armageddon to the world’s door.
A new sensation crawled across my skin and I welcomed the burn of anger. It fanned the power inside, coiling it in a tight ball. I dropped the pillow, balling my hands into fists as I stood tall, leveling a glare in her direction meant to sear.
She smiled, misreading my intention.
I let the power loose and the stench of burnt hair filled the room along with ash drifting on a swirl of air. My trunks dropped to the floor and I crossed, swiping them from the ashes and slid them on before collecting the rest of my clothing.
I stalked back down the hall and slumped into the chair outside the door. Fury coursed through my blood and I shifted, leaning my head against the wall in back of me. Seducing me was a low blow, and the bitch of it all was I could still feel the demanding stroke of her hands and the heat of her mouth on me.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, fucking her had felt damned good.