Without Limits: A BWWM Collection of Passion and Desire, page 120
“This looks like a rough crowd. I had a hunch it was real in case of emergencies.”
He nodded. “Good hunch. Alright, lil bird, you’re in for a trial period. If you perform your first task to my satisfaction, we’ll induct you.”
He started to go back in the office, but paused. “Oh, and the holes in my bar are coming out of your first paycheck.”
He and the bodyguard shut themselves back in the office. Dustin swept me up in a victorious bear hug and spun me around.
“Gorgeous,” he said after he set me down. “You better start picking out the China. Every time I think I’ve got you figured out, you keep surprising me. Can I buy you another drink?”
“As long as it’s not whiskey, sure.”
He cackled and dragged me to the bar. I ordered a beer this time, since most beer was gross and would allow me to nurse it without him getting wise. Plus, it inspired him to get one as well, which actually helped my backup plan.
Impressing Maurice was good for the overall scheme, but bad for my seduction target, because now all Dustin could think about was getting in my pants. Luckily, I’d stopped by the drug store and had found a tasteless liquid laxative that I put into a small stopper tucked in the lining of my boot. He went to use the bathroom and I squirted it into his bottle. He came back and wrestled me onto his lap to make out. Thankfully, the stuff was fast-acting and so before we got past first base, it took effect. As soon as he made his second trip, I snuck out of the bar and took a taxi to my new hotel room. Dustin texted the burner cell phone I kept on me about twenty times during the fifteen minute ride. I told him I had a friend I was meeting for drinks and he sent me about thirty sad emojis before giving up.
The three grand Myra had promised me for helping her clear out the demons’ nest would be collected after it was done, so for now I had to slum it with the hotel I’d chosen. I tried to stick to three-star hotels for hygiene reasons, but I could stoop to a two-star in a pinch. Hell, I’d been in roach motels before traveling with Belial, the rogue angel Avriel, and Juliana not long ago, so this place was a step up from that, at least.
The alcohol I’d consumed began to show as I shuffled in a crooked line from the door to the bathroom to start scraping off the pounds of makeup for my hot girl disguise. I took a boiling hot shower, brushed my teeth for five straight minutes and gargled a large amount of Listerine, and then collapsed onto the lumpy bed in my underwear.
I had just cuddled up with a pillow when I remembered my current chronic problem: Belial, stalking me in my dreams. Shit.
Groaning, I rolled onto my back and dragged my hands down my face. “Stupid horny bastard. I swear, if I find you, I’m gonna stab you right in the—”
I was out before I finished the sentence.
I dreamt of a beach with white sand as fine as powder and rolling waves that were as blue-green as my estranged husband’s eyes. The sun was high overhead. Palm trees waved hello to me on either side of my little lawn chair. I stood just out of reach of the shore in a red string bikini. Not really my color or my style, but it was comfortable and there wasn’t anyone else here to see me anyway.
I inhaled the salty sea scent and waded into the warm water, giggling as it splashed against my knees and tickled my calves. I checked the horizon. No land in sight, no boats, no nothing. Just a private island for me and me alone. Marvelous.
I waded waist-deep into the water and shut my eyes, listening to the crashing waves, the birds squawking, and the wind whispering through my hair. I could do this for hours, days even. Nothing calmed me like the ocean.
After a while, I returned to my little chair, sipped the frozen margarita perched on the arm, and sun-bathed. I hadn’t felt this relaxed in ages.
The scent of something delicious drifted past my nose. Mm, smelled like roasted pork, maybe. I sat up and turned to see that there was a little hut behind me with a whole pig on an automatic spit and a little table with other kinds of food on it. Well, it explained where my drink had come from, at least.
I went to the buffet table and grabbed some fresh pineapple, mango, and strawberries, then a few slices of pork before heading back to my chair. The pork was so succulent that the juice ran down my fingers and chin. It was worthy of the Food Network, it was so damn good.
I finished my plate and settled down to take a light nap.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been there before I heard the sand behind me shift and the sunlight on my face cooled. I opened my eyes. An umbrella had appeared. Huh. Odd.
“See?” Belial said, poking his head over into my vision from behind me. “I told you I wasn’t always bad company.”
I shut my eyes again. “Shit.”
The archdemon clucked his tongue. “Such naughty language is quite unbecoming of you, dearest Jordan.”
I glared at him as he sidled up next to me with his own chair. Angry as I was, it was bizarre seeing him in something other than a ridiculously expensive suit. He wore dark green swimming trunks and had his silky hair pulled back into a knot at the top of his skull. His skin was pale as alabaster and bounced the sunlight off his carved pecs and cobblestone abs. His upper body was smooth and perfect enough to make my fingers itch with the urge to touch it.
“Do you remember the part where I killed you in our last dream together?” I demanded. “Do you want me to drown you this time?”
“Why ruin such a perfect view with a dead body?” he asked cheerfully, lowering himself into the chair after adjusting his own large umbrella over it. “Maybe later. I’m not in the mood to get frisky just yet.”
I facepalmed. The man referred to murder as “getting frisky.” He was going to drive me insane one night at a time. “So you set this dream up?”
“I figured you could use a change of pace. You’re terribly wound up most of the time. The beach can make even the tightest ass unclench.”
He sent me a flirty smile and waggled his eyebrows. “Not that I’d ever complain about yours.”
I rolled my eyes. “And what stupid nonsense do you have planned for me this time?”
“None at all. No ulterior motive. Just a beach.”
“Bullshit.”
“You don’t have to believe me, my pet. I’m not going to do anything to you that you don’t want me to.”
“That’ll be a first,” I growled, sipping my margarita. “Is this how you court other women? Incessantly follow them around until they kill you?”
“No. You’re the only one who has ever resisted me for this long. It’s never been necessary. The women I seek aren’t so blindly ignorant of their own desires.”
“What makes you such a damn expert on women’s desires?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Remember the part where I’m several million years old?”
“Yes, because clearly you can just generalize all women.”
“Not all women. Women I am attracted to.”
“So you don’t care that it’s not mutual?”
He lowered his eyelids a bit. His lashes were long. The look made me shiver a bit. “I seem to recall it being very mutual in that hotel room a few months ago. Or was it perhaps my imagination that you were moaning into my mouth while I kissed you?”
I stood then. “Do us both a favor and go fuck yourself.”
For once, he didn’t follow me. I stalked to the other side of the island and leaned against one of the palm trees, trying to quell my anger. His words had buried themselves under my skin like the creepy scarab beetles in the Mummy movies. What did he know? He was an arrogant pretty boy who thought with his glands. He didn’t know me. He didn’t know what I wanted. Who I wanted. To him, I was just something to be conquered. A trophy. What if he never stopped this game we were playing? Would I spend the rest of my life plagued with these idiotic scenarios where he manipulated me? When would they end?
I took a deep breath as the thought made me cold from head to toe. No. It wouldn’t be forever. It was only because I had suppressed my energy to remain undercover. As soon as I was back to full strength, I could fight this—fight him—and everything would go back to the way it was. Then again, I had chronic nightmares, so maybe not.
When I opened my eyes again, Belial was standing in front of me with a halved coconut in one hand. I didn’t jump out of my skin like I had done before. I knew he would find me eventually.
He drank from the coconut and then handed it to me. I thought about throwing it in his face, but there wasn’t much of a point. Plus, I actually was thirsty. I drank it and handed it back.
There was a little cherry stuck to the rim of the coconut with a toothpick. He plucked the cherry free and held it up to my lips, staring straight into my eyes. I opened my mouth and let him slide it over my tongue. He pulled his hand back and licked his thumb where it had brushed my lower lip.
“Do you know why I am doing this?” he asked quietly.
I shook my head as I chewed the sweet fruit.
“Why do you think I am doing this to you?”
“It’s all a game to you,” I answered. “My life, your life, everything is just a game. You’re immortal, as far as either of us can tell, so what do you care about the consequences?”
Belial made a harsh, guttural sound in his throat and tossed the empty coconut aside, muttering something in Latin that I couldn’t catch. “How long have we known each other and yet you are still this dense.”
“There’s nothing dense about it,” I snarled. “I’m not yours, Belial. Get that through your head. I don’t need to know anything about you except how to kill you.”
In a flash, his hand was fisted in my hair and I was pinned between the hard, hot wall of his chest and the rough bark from the palm tree behind me. He stared down at me with his serpent eyes and I could see the fury swirling around in those icy depths.
“I should kill you,” he whispered, his breath hot on my cheeks. “Why haven’t I killed you yet? It would be so unbelievably easy. Human bones are so brittle. All it would take is the slightest amount of pressure to snap this beautiful neck of yours.”
“Then do it,” I murmured. “Do it or leave me the hell alone.”
“No, that would be much too quick,” he continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “Maybe strangulation instead. I could watch those last few gasps of air before the light dimmed in your eyes. It’s troublesome, really. Living with the fact that I could snuff out your life any time I want and yet I can’t stand the thought of anyone else laying a finger on you.”
I frowned up at him. He stared back at me, and the anger in his features retreated to give way to something disturbingly human: concern. “That’s it. Put the pieces together, Jordan.”
I licked my lips, my voice cautious. “Are you…angry that I almost died?”
“At long last,” he said, sarcasm thick on every word. “She has seen the light.”
“How is that even possible? You’ve killed me yourself, you impossible asshole.”
“Precisely,” he said. “I killed you. No one else. Do you realize how reckless you’ve been with your own life, Jordan? How you’ve gambled, how you’ve been lost in this game? How lucky you were to survive?”
“What does it matter? I’m just a Seer—”
He reached up with his other hand and punched the tree in half.
I froze, scared shitless as I heard the enormous thud of its trunk collapsing in the sand behind us. His breathing came out in a hiss as he glared at me from mere inches away, practically vibrating with rage.
“You are not just a Seer. You are human. You are a person. Your actions have consequences that can just as easily tip the balances of this world’s scales as mine can. Now do you understand why I have done this to you?”
I swallowed to wet my dry throat before answering. “You’re trying to teach me to be more careful, more mindful of my surroundings.”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “I am. I may be a demon, but I am not without a creed. You may be alone now, but it is no excuse for being careless. If we are to ever settle our account, you will need to still be alive by the time I find you or you find me.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know that any of this is real. It could just as well be my imagination as it could really be you.”
“That is also true. After all, chances are that you won’t even remember most of this within a few weeks. The mind is a labyrinth. However, right here, right now, you will hear me out. Stop moping over what you’ve lost and consider what you still have.”
“Like what?” I sneered.
“Life. That is all you need. That is all that any of us needs, regardless of how we choose to live it.”
I wanted to shake off his words like I could shake off his sexual advances, but it wasn’t as easy this time. I’d thought he just wanted to screw with me, both literally and figuratively, but as much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. I hadn’t been as careful as I’d been in the past. Bridgett shouldn’t have caught me. Losing Michael and Gabriel and any semblance of my former life had affected me more than I thought. Can’t believe it took Belial of all people to remind me of how dangerous the world could be if I had nothing to live for.
“Fine,” I said after a while. “I get it. Don’t expect a thank you.”
He smirked. “It wouldn’t be your style.”
Without him scaring me half to death, I realized I was still pinned to the tree and he was still pressed down the length of my body. Naturally, he noticed me noticing him and settled his hands on what remained of the tree trunk, trapping me between his muscular arms. My heartbeat fluttered erratically. Too little clothing, too much skin, not enough common sense. I had to bail or I’d do something inadvisable.
“Why, Jordan,” the archdemon purred. “Your cheeks are red. Have you gotten a sunburn?”
I glared. “Refer to the earlier ‘go fuck yourself.’”
“Only if you promise to watch,” he teased, tugging at the neat little bow on one side of my bikini.
I slapped his hand away. “Pervert.”
“I prefer the term ‘lecherous,’ thank you very much. Besides, you’re being exceptionally stubborn right now. You just admitted that it’s possible your own psyche conjured me up. If that’s the case, having incredibly rough, but utterly satisfying sex with me right now wouldn’t be cheating so much as masturbation.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you—”
He kissed me. His lips tasted like coconut water and tequila and sweetness and it sent jolts of sensation straight down the front of my body. My legs unconsciously parted and he took full advantage of the movement, easing himself between them enough to roll his hips into mine. Blind pleasure simmered through me. I couldn’t think straight. The kiss had completely addled my brains.
He reached up and grabbed another handful of my hair, pulling my head back and slipping his tongue past my lips. His other hand glided up my waist, my side, sliding behind me. The bikini top slackened around my chest and he broke from my lips enough to sink down towards my—oh my.
The fevered touch of his lips and tongue made me grip any part of him I could touch, trying to rein in my neglected libido, but all it really did was give me the chance to feel just how much of that fantastic body I’d been missing out on. Dammit, Amador, he was pure evil. He was a lying, murdering sack of shit. He was…really, really good at what he was doing to my breasts right now.
“Watch out!”
Betty Hutton’s brassy voice rescued me from the dream.
I blinked up at the cracked ceiling of my hotel room as the big band sound of “It’s a Man” shook me out of the naughty beach scene that I prayed was just my own twisted fantasy and not actually the real archdemon Belial. If it was, I’d never live that down.
I slapped my burner cell phone silent and glared at it. That had been Dustin’s ringtone. Why the hell was he calling me?
It rang again and this time I rolled onto my belly and answered it, not hiding my disgruntlement. “What?”
“Got a job for you, gorgeous,” Dustin said. “Interested?”
I scraped the layers of hair out of my face and tried to think straight after my disorienting dream. “Depends. Is it what you described before? Just transporting something?”
“Yep.”
“Wow, that didn’t take long.”
“Yeah, we work fast. What do you say?”
If I could have frozen time, I would have. I wanted to think it over. Damn him for springing this on me. If I said no, he might get suspicious and think I was squirrely. If I said yes, I could get myself arrested by the cops and rot in jail while Myra would be forced to do Maurice’s bidding, or worse, end up dead. If I stalled, he might think I was yanking his chain the whole time and revoke my invitation to their organization.
I shut my eyes and bit the bullet. “I’m in. When and where?”
“One o’clock. Meet me at the Kiln…” He paused, and something purely masculine slid into his deep voice. “Or I could come over now and entertain you for a couple hours, then drive you over.”
I had to give it to him; he wasn’t half-bad at seduction. “Thanks, but I can manage. Plus, I need enough time to get all pretty for you. See you at one, okay?”
“Can’t wait, baby.” He hung up. I collapsed to the bed and let several foul, creative curse words fly out of my mouth. Talk about bad timing. This operation was getting worse by the minute.
I forced myself to sit up and called Myra. “What’s up?” she asked.
“We’ve got a minor setback in our plan. Dustin wants me to run some product across town. What are you doing around one o’clock?”
“Still working on the You-Know-What,” she said, which meant that her husband Charlie was within earshot. “But I can help if you need me to.”
“It’s risky, but all I need you to do is hang around the outskirts of the area in case this is some sort of trap. From what I understand, I’m basically just a drug mule. It should be quick, but if I’m not out within a certain amount of time, I may need you to create a distraction to get me out.”
“Roger that. Text me when you get there with the address they give you.”
“Actually, that won’t work. They’ll probably confiscate my phone to make sure I’m not an undercover cop. I’ll have someone else deliver the message to you.”
