He traced his tongue along her bottom lip, forcing it open. The initial surprise faded as she tasted him, felt his lips crushing hers, the five o’clock stubble rubbing her sensitive chin. She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him closer. Azrael pushed the kiss deeper, rolling her tongue against his, drinking him in. Lance groaned, and she felt the tremor slide down her throat. She clung to him, digging in with her nails, raw need consuming her.
Lance pulled away, and she moaned.
“Landing. Stay still,” he said, his voice full of gravel.
A sense of weightlessness, of falling, washed over her. With a whoosh of air, the room stopped spinning, and Azrael found herself lying on a hard floor. Her vision blurred, white fog hanging around the edges. She blinked several times to clear it and tried to lift her head, but it was too heavy.
“Stay still. Give yourself time to adjust.”
Lance’s face came into view. He stood and walked out of sight, leaving her there while her body adjusted to the dimension. When she felt stable enough, Azrael sat up slowly. The room spun. “Ugh.”
Lance came back into the room carrying Bumpkins, Smellicious at his side.
“How are you even standing right now?” she asked.
“Like I said, I fly a lot. You get used to it.”
Azrael squinted, trying to see him better. There was an edge to his voice, and he was avoiding eye contact.
He just kissed me. Now he’s acting all broody again. What the hell?
“So, um, where are we?” Azrael looked around. They appeared to be in a large library. Bookshelves covered the walls, and expensive-looking furniture surrounded them. She and Caleb were laying on a throw rug in the center of the room, the Inter-Dimensional cushion already gone.
“A safe house.” He laid her shoes and phone beside her.
“Yeah, I figured that but whose safe house?”
“Mine,” Lance said, seeming to become suddenly interested in the throw pillows on the couch.
“Yours? You mean this is your house?”
“Yes.”
No fricking way, Azrael thought, barely stopping the words before they came out of her mouth. She stood, using the couch for support. With wide eyes, she walked the library, running her hands over stone carvings and marble tabletops. Glancing out the open doorway, she saw a large living room with a fireplace and winding staircase.
This is not a house. This is a mansion.
“If you own this, why do you stay at the apartment?”
“Because it wouldn’t make any sense for me to fall every day of the week,” he said, his arms crossed over his chest. “Anyway, I’m going to take Caleb to his room. Yours will be across the hall. I’ve got a few things to do, so go ahead and settle in.”
“That’s it?” Azrael spun around. “You’re just going to throw us in our rooms and, and…?” She had no idea how to finish that sentence. Azrael gritted her teeth.
“What were you expecting?” Lance asked.
“I don’t know. An explanation, maybe? I thought we would sit down and discuss everything when we got here.”
Lance shook his head. “There is nothing to discuss. I brought you two here to keep you safe. That’s it.”
“Really? Really?” She thrust out her arms. “What about this place? How the hell do you own a mansion? What about Blais? What’s the plan there? What’s the story behind you two? Why do you think you can kill him? How do you think you can protect us? And…and…you fricking kissed me.”
Azrael crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
He matched her stance. “I already told you. I used to be in business with Blais. We were very successful. That’s why I own this home. As for how to kill him, I’m still working that out. This house has multiple protection spells. He won’t find you here.” He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “The kiss was just a distraction from the landing, Azrael. Nothing more.”
“A distraction?” Azrael could feel her nails biting into her palm.
“Yes,” he said, holding her gaze.
“And you’re going to stick with that story, huh?”
He didn’t answer.
If the bastard didn’t want to admit he enjoyed it, even though he kept a nude picture of her on his bedside, so be it. Two can play that game. “Fine then.” She waved her hand at Caleb. “By all means, take him to his room.”
“Azrael—”
She stomped off to explore the rest of the house, not giving him a chance to finish.
~*~
Azrael spent the next few hours walking around in awe. As far as she could tell, the house had nine bedrooms, five bathrooms, and three dens. There was a balcony on the second floor overlooking a courtyard. They appeared to be nested in a hill, surrounded by trees. Other than the long driveway leading out, she couldn’t see a road. She had seen Lance get in his car over an hour ago and drive off, though.
A BMW. Of course, he drives a BMW.
Even though the house was fully furnished, she found it hard to put together anything telling her about his personality. So far, all the rooms looked like they were decorated based on a picture from a home improvement magazine. Azrael tried to open the last door at the end of the second-floor hallway, but it was locked.
“Is this where you hide your personality, Lance?” she mumbled.
For a brief second, she considered trying to break in but shrugged it off. With her luck, she’d get caught or killed by something in that room. She walked by the balcony and saw his car pulling in. Azrael decided to check on Caleb. When she got to the room, he was just starting to stir.
“Baby girl, you mind telling me where we are and what the hell is going on?”
She’d considered warming him up slowly, but the events of the day came spilling out of her mouth. When she was done, Caleb stared at her in silence.
“Well?” she asked.
“I don’t know where to start,” he said. “This is a lot to take in.”
“I know.” She covered her face with her hands. “I meant to tell you slowly, let you adjust, but I don’t know, I couldn’t stop once I started.”
“Az, I’m not blaming you. I don’t know how you’ve been so strong today. Come here.”
She lifted her head to see Caleb holding out his arms. Azrael crawled over to him, and he pulled her into her lap, stroking her hair.
“Listen, this is a lot to take in, but first of all, I’m glad you’re safe. I’m glad Lance is promising to protect you. That being said, I don’t trust him.”
“Caleb, we have no choice, he’s—”
“Oh, I know we have nowhere else to go right now, but that doesn’t mean we have to trust him. I think we should proceed with caution.”
“Of course, we should. I never said we shouldn’t.”
Caleb put a hand under her chin and lifted her eyes to his. “Baby, I’m going to have to be honest with you. I don’t think you are thinking about things clearly. Honestly, I’ve never seen you so blinded. Don’t take me wrong, you’re not the best judge of character, but this is different.”
“You’re acting like I’m some lovesick puppy who’s just going along for the ride. I’m not an idiot. I don’t trust him either. I know he’s hiding things, being secretive.”
Caleb frowned. “I don’t want you to think I’m judging you. I just think this ‘chemistry’ between the two of you is clouding your thinking.”
“Chemistry? There’s no chemistry. He’s an asshole who doesn’t feel anything for me at all.”
“Obviously. That’s why he kept a nude picture of you on his bedside and kissed you,” Caleb said, frowning. “Even if you ignore all of that, look at this place. He’s obviously rich, but he manages run-down apartments? Az, those have to be a front. This is his real life. Whatever business he ran with his demon friend had to be illegal. He could have lived here happily ever after if not. It’s a cover up.”
Azrael’s heart sunk in her chest. “Oh, I didn’t think about it like that.”
“With what you’ve been through, both physically and emotionally, I wouldn’t expect you to. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she whispered, snuggling in.
“You don’t have to.” Caleb leaned down to give her a peck on the lips.
“Dinner is ready if—”
Lance stopped mid-sentence. Caleb lifted his head. The two men met gazes, and she felt the air in the room grow thicker.
“Oh, you’re awake. Good,” Lance said, his face darkening several shades.
“Yes, I am, and thanks for the help,” Caleb answered, smirking. He leaned over and kissed Azrael on the forehead. “We’ll be down in just a minute.”
Lance gave a slight nod, spun on his heels, and exited the room.
“What was that?” she asked.
“That, baby girl, was a jealous man.”