Playing with Fire (26 page)

‘‘—too early to do anything. I haven’t had my breakfast yet!’’

‘‘You’re just going to have to wait, Jim. Finding May is more important than feeding you. Gabriel, are you sure she didn’t say anything before she disappeared?’’

The voices reached me even before I fell through the rip in reality that Magoth’s minion had created. I hit the floor, disoriented as I always was when shoved through a tear in the mortal plain.

‘‘Speak of the devil. Ouch. Looks like you’ve been to Abaddon and back,’’ Jim said close to my ear. I felt a faint moist sensation on my shoulder. ‘‘Oh, yeah—hellfire and brimstone. Well, back safe and sound, that’s all that matters. Now can I have my breffy?’’

I hadn’t shaken the dizziness from my head before I was yanked upward and slammed against a hard surface . . . a warm hard surface, one with arms that tightened around me, which smelled like heaven, and tasted even better. Gabriel didn’t wait to ask me what happened—his mouth took possession of mine with a need that demanded all. I let him plunder away, ignoring my guilt for a moment in order to give him everything I had.

His lips and tongue pulled away from me with violence, his eyes literally scorching me as he looked down, his face set in hard planes. ‘‘I need you,’’ he said in a low, intimate growl.

I blinked for a moment in surprise, glancing to the side where Drake stood next to Aisling. It would appear the demon had dropped me off in Drake’s kitchen. Behind the two of them, Drake’s men, and a woman I remembered being introduced as István’s girlfriend, stood watching with silent interest. Surprisingly, Cyrene wasn’t present. ‘‘Er . . . right now?’’

‘‘Yes.’’ Gabriel didn’t hesitate—he simply scooped me up in his arms, blanket and all, and headed in long strides toward what looked to be the back stairs.

Aisling glanced at her wyvern. ‘‘I know it’s none of our business, but does May look to you like she’s up to the sort of activities Gabriel is clearly planning?’’

Drake leaned down and kissed her. ‘‘She has been taken from him and returned. It is the way of dragons,
kincsem.
’’

The last thing I saw before Gabriel leaped up the last of the stairs was Aisling giving her husband an odd look. ‘‘Really? You never did that with me. I wonder if I could get someone to kidnap me for a bit . . .’’

‘‘Is that true?’’ I asked as Gabriel pounded up a second flight of stairs.

‘‘Yes. You are not harmed in any way?’’

‘‘No, I’m fine. Just a little . . . er . . . taken aback by your sudden passion.’’

He slid me a look that was part desire, part amusement. ‘‘I’m sorry, little bird, but you are my mate. I must possess you. It is a primal need, not one that can be controlled. A mortal man might do so, but I cannot.’’

‘‘Oh,’’ I said, not wanting to admit that I found it immensely flattering that the second I was returned, he felt the need to join again with me.

He kicked open the door to our room, setting me down on the bed before locking the door. I was trying to get up so I could untangle myself from the blanket, but before I could, he was on me, unrolling me deftly, his hands trailing little paths of fire as he caressed my thighs, my belly, my breasts.

I don’t know how he got his own clothes off so quickly, but I wasn’t about to ask. His eyes were molten, brilliant with desire. ‘‘Mayling—’’

‘‘I know,’’ I said, pushing him onto his back. ‘‘No foreplay.’’

‘‘I swear to you, we will do this slowly the next time,’’ he answered, pulling me over him. ‘‘But I must have you now.’’

‘‘It’s not like I’ve had a lot of foreplay before,’’ I pointed out as I leaned down to nibble the nipple I’d wanted to molest earlier. ‘‘So I’m not bound to miss—
agathos daimon
!’’

He took me at my word, not waiting to even find out if I was ready for him, just lunged upward as he pulled my hips down. The sudden shock of his intrusion caused a burst of pleasure that left me bucking against him. He was right, this was a possession, pure and simple, but it was a possession that went both ways. I leaned down to nibble on his neck, savoring the feel and scent and taste of him. I didn’t have to ask for his fire; he gave it to me as I rode him, our mouths finding each other despite the wild dance.

I closed my eyes as he pulled me down onto his chest, the warm, damp skin beneath me burning me outside even as the fires within flared to new heights. I tilted my head to nuzzle the sweet spot behind his ear, making him groan when I bit down gently, a groan that changed to a roar that bathed me in fire as he found his pleasure. The sensation as he slammed himself into me was enough to send me over the edge, too. I let go of my guilt, of the worry about what would become of us, let go of everything but the joy of joining myself to the man who had somehow become a part of me, giving myself up to the spiral of flame that spun up and around us.

There had to be some way to stop Magoth. There just had to be.

Chapter Eighteen

The urgency of Gabriel’s needs—and my immediate and overwhelming response to them—had driven from my mind the discussion I’d had with Magoth.

‘‘The phylactery!’’ I yelled suddenly, pushing myself off Gabriel’s warm, limp form.

‘‘What about it?’’ he asked sleepily, his face relaxed and bearing a sated expression that gave me no little amount of feminine pride.

‘‘I know where it is.’’

‘‘What?’’ He sat up so fast I slid off him and onto the floor. ‘‘Mayling!’’

‘‘It’s all right, I’m fine,’’ I said, laughing. ‘‘I should have known better than to startle a dragon.’’

He knelt beside me, his eyes grave. ‘‘Where is the phylactery?’’

‘‘Paris. In the L’au-delà vault.’’

His eyes widened at the same time his pupils narrowed. ‘‘The amulet you stole from Kostya?’’

‘‘Yes.’’

‘‘Why did you not tell me this when we were there?’’

‘‘I didn’t know that’s what it was,’’ I answered, getting to my feet. The memory of Magoth chilled my flesh, causing little goose bumps to rise along my arms. I pulled out some clothing from the bag István had brought, holding it to me as I faced Gabriel. He wouldn’t harm me—I knew that. But I still dreaded telling him what had happened between the demon lord and myself. ‘‘Gabriel, I . . . Magoth knows.’’

‘‘He knows what?’’

‘‘He knows about the phylactery.’’ I lifted my chin to look him dead in the eye. ‘‘I had no idea that the amulet was the phylactery. It was in the unlocked chest, after all. What sane person would keep something so valuable in a place like that? And I swear to you that Porter never gave a hint as to what it really was. I wonder now if he knew.’’

Gabriel looked confused for a moment. He gently pushed me into the chair and knelt at my feet, his hands on my knees. ‘‘Explain it again. Slowly. And do not leave anything out.’’

I went over again my phone call with Porter, the visit to Kostya’s lair, the conversation with Porter in Paris, and the pertinent parts of my conversation with Magoth. I was sick with the knowledge that my ignorance had set Magoth onto the trail of the phylactery, but Gabriel brushed aside my pathetic apology.

‘‘The blackmailer poses no problem. We can deal with him so that he will offer no threat to Cyrene or you.’’ He rose and began pacing the room. ‘‘As for the demon lord . . . I would have preferred to keep knowledge of the phylactery’s whereabouts confined only to us, but as we cannot undo what has been done, we will simply have to make the best of the situation. Our first and foremost priority must be to get the phylactery before Magoth can order you to retrieve it for him.’’ He paused to give me a long look. ‘‘Or has he already done that?’’

Bile rose, burning the back of my throat. I wanted to admit the truth to Gabriel, to cling to him and sob out my sorrows, avoiding all the unpleasantness that was woven into my life, but I couldn’t do that to him, not while there was the slightest shred of hope that I could avoid Magoth’s command.

I touched my throat where Magoth had almost succeeded in throttling me. ‘‘He attacked me when he realized what the phylactery was. I was on the verge of passing out—’’

Gabriel, distracted as I had hoped he would be, was instantly at my side, probing my neck with gentle fingers. ‘‘You were bruised here. Your flesh still remembers the trauma. I will ease its memory.’’

His lips caressed my neck, building the banked fire within me until I moaned at the sensation of his skin against mine.

I tossed aside the clothing I was still holding, falling into his arms, kissing a line along his jaw.

‘‘I cannot seem to get enough of you, little bird,’’ he murmured as his tongue swept broad strokes across my neck. I’d never been licked before by a man, but the sensation wasn’t even remotely repugnant. Gabriel positively hummed with pleasure as I slid my hands down his silky skin, tracing out the hills and valleys that made up the planes of his back. ‘‘You are so good, Mayling. You taste so good.’’

I let my forehead drop to his shoulder, guilt spiking through my desire until the latter all but evaporated. ‘‘I’m not good. I’m not good at all, Gabriel. Even assuming we have nothing to worry about with Porter and whomever he’s working for, Magoth will move mountains to get that phylactery.’’

‘‘Then we shall simply have to get to it before he does,’’ he answered, lifting my chin until my lips brushed his. ‘‘We must get you into the vault before Magoth can summon you and give you a direct order. We will have to share this news with Drake and Aisling—I do not wish to involve them, but without Maata and Tipene to help us, we are in a weak position.’’

I said nothing, just snuggled into him, savoring the scent and feel of him pressed so closely against me, thinking with irony of the many times I’d comforted Cyrene when one of her romantic relationships had failed. I’d always been somewhat skeptical about heartache, but now I knew the full extent of how a person could feel they were dying inside. Worse, I had no one but myself to blame for my present circumstance—I knew it was folly to become involved with Gabriel so long as I was bound to Magoth. I knew it, and yet I’d ignored the reality of the situation. And now the true price was uncovered as I acknowledged that over the span of just a few days, my emotions had deepened significantly.

I was falling in love. It was an odd sensation, a sort of prickly excitement that alternated with the absolute depths of despair. I’d never felt love before—other than affection for Cyrene—but even that was tinged with a sense of duty because I owed my very existence to her. But Gabriel was different . . . which would make it all that much more agonizing if I did not find a way out of obeying Magoth’s order.

‘‘It is almost morning,’’ Gabriel said, glancing at the clock. He scooped me up and stood, carrying me to the bed. ‘‘Magoth cannot assault the L’au-delà vaults himself, can he?’’

I shook my head. ‘‘He doesn’t have the means to leave Abaddon. Even if he did, the Otherworld officials sealed their offices and vaults from the demon lords long ago. Magoth can’t get to them himself— he’ll need an agent to do that.’’ I almost choked on the last few words, but managed to keep my voice steady.

‘‘As I thought. Then we shall rest. You need sleep, and I must think. We will consult with Drake and Aisling in a few hours.’’

He lay on his side, pulling me up tight against him, tucking my leg between his as he rested his chin on the top of my head.

I allowed myself to relax into him, seduced by the warmth of his body and the comfort he brought me just by holding me. He was becoming infinitely dear to me, more precious even than my own life. I must find a way out of the situation I was in—Aisling was a demon lord. Rumor said she was once a prince of Abaddon, but had been removed. She would know of a way to get around Magoth’s command. She would help me . . . she had to. The alternative was not to be thought of.

I awoke confused, the echoes of an alarm followed by a man’s voice piercing my uneasy slumber.

The door was just closing as I sat up and shook the hair from my face. ‘‘Gabriel?’’

Our room was empty, but judging by the shouts filtering up from the floor below, I gathered others were up and about.

A woman’s scream drifted up. I leaped out of bed, jerked on a pair of pants and a shirt, and went racing barefoot down the hall to the stairs.

Cyrene stood midway down the stairs, holding a blanket around her much as I had a few hours before. Behind her, with his back to me, Kostya stood, clutching her tightly to him. I suspected that from the way everyone else present stood as still as statues on the floor below, he held some sort of a weapon on Cy.

‘‘I’m in deadly earnest, Gabriel. Your mate may be immortal, but even she won’t be able to long survive a neck slit from ear to ear.’’

I shadowed, not waiting to find out why Kostya believed Cyrene was me, creeping down the stairs until I was within a hairsbreadth of him. It was morning, but a dull, overcast morning, and the chandelier that hung from the ceiling above the stairs hadn’t been turned on. No one saw me until I was just behind Kostya.

‘‘Mayling, no!’’ Gabriel yelled, leaping toward me.

Kostya realized his mistake too late, half spinning around toward me as Cyrene lunged forward, tripped over her blanket, and hurtled down the stairs to the floor below.

I threw myself on Kostya, my thumbs digging into the pulse points on his neck. Cyrene screamed as Gabriel caught her. I didn’t get to see more than him setting her abruptly aside before Kostya swore and swung around, slamming me into the wall and knocking the breath out of me.

Gabriel’s roar of fury rattled the windows. I’m just about completely certain that if he had made it to Kostya, he would have ripped the latter’s head off, but fortunately for us all, Drake’s two bodyguards grabbed Gabriel before he could enact his rage.

Drake himself jerked me from Kostya’s grip, pinning his brother to the wall, ably assisted by a snarling Jim.

‘‘This will cease now!’’ Drake bellowed, sharing his glare between his brother and Gabriel.