“Today is special, I feel it,” he whispered to her. “It’s the beginning, not the end.”
She grunted a soft reply, but didn’t stir further. In her sleep she wasn’t consumed with worry or anxiety over their unusual situation. Eden slept very soundly for a woman who had to deal with an unwanted demonic possession and a million other problems since he’d come into her life.
Today could go very well. Darrak tried to hold on to that thought.
It was an important Friday. First he’d walk her through the curse breaking. One way or another, after that they would find Lucifer’s missing person to check that chore off the list and get him off their backs for a bit longer.
And tonight was also the full moon.
Andy was scheduled to turn into a werewolf at approximately the same time Darrak would next lose form. That was, if they were unable to break the curse this morning.
Let’s think positively, he told himself.
“Darrak…” Eden whispered, her eyes still closed.
She often talked in her sleep, saying all sorts of interesting things.
He drew closer, bringing his head to rest on her pillow. “Yes, Eden?”
“What am I going to do…”
“What are you going to do…?” he prompted when she trailed off.
“… without you?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He frowned at the strange statement and studied her face. “Do you love me, Eden?”
His breath caught and held as he waited for her answer as if he was a teenage human boy looking for the girl he liked to confirm she would go to the prom with him. She was very honest when she was asleep.
“I want you,” she murmured. “I need you… yes…”
“All good to know. But what about…” Oh hell, what was he doing? Trying to coax some sort of oath of love and devotion from an unconscious woman? “Forget it.”
“When you’re gone I’ll be all alone again…”
“Gone?” He frowned again. “Where am I going?”
“I love…” she whispered.
His attention grew fixed on her again. “Yes? What do you love?”
“When you… make love to me. Want it… please… again…”
Okay, so she wanted him for his body. It was nice to know. But oddly empty. Nice. But empty. Kind of like how he felt after eating one of Nancy’s chocolate donuts.
“You want me?” he said.
“Yes, so much…”
“There’s no more spell to stop us anymore.”
Her hands slid over his chest to his shoulders. “No more spell.”
“Wake up, Eden.” He stroked the long strands of dark red hair off her forehead. He studied her face, as if committing it to memory. Every part of her, right down to the very faint and adorable freckle just under her right eye, burned into him for the rest of his existence — a scorch mark where his soul would be if he actually had one.
Instead, she had become his soul.
Damn. He really should start writing those romance novels. He’d kick ass at it.
Her eyelashes fluttered, and her sleepy gaze took in the sight of him lying next to her. This didn’t happen anymore, not since he’d been trying to be well behaved. Too dangerous to be this close when there had been nasty spells to contend with.
“Darrak…” she whispered.
“That’s my name.”
For a moment he thought she’d pull back from him. It was what she’d done in the beginning, when she’d woken to find her unconscious self had been getting a bit too close for comfort with a naked demon.
But she didn’t pull back. Just the opposite, actually. She pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him hard and deep. He didn’t try to stop her.
Eden loved him for his body, for how he made her feel when they had sex.
That wasn’t all this was. It wasn’t.
Come on, Darrak, he admonished himself. Can’t you just enjoy the ride and stop second-guessing everything?
He could enjoy the ride. Sure he could.
Her cold amulet pressed against his chest as her lips moved down his throat. Lucifer had kissed her behind his back, sweeping her away to some alternate dimension so he wouldn’t be around to disrupt them. It bothered Darrak a lot, and it wasn’t because he was jealous.
Then again, jealousy wouldn’t be completely unheard of. Lucifer might be the ultimate hellish asshole, but he was a prince. Influential, powerful, and if he really did have a thing for Eden, the things he could give her…
Oh, this was not good at all. Thinking about his ex-boss was deflating more than just his ego.
“Is there a problem?” Eden asked.
“Problem? No, of course not.”
“I thought you wanted us to…” She cleared her throat, her expression now uncertain.
Thinking about Lucifer was pretty much the equivalent of taking an ice-cold shower. Not exactly firing up his libido. Quite the opposite, in fact.
How embarrassing. An ex-incubus who couldn’t get it up.
“It’s not you,” he assured her. “It’s Lucifer.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Oh?”
“Thinking about him isn’t exactly helping matters.”
“Then stop thinking about him.”
He flicked her amulet. “A bit difficult to do. I feel like there’s three of us in this bed right now.” At her amused expression, “Don’t get any ideas about having a ménage à trois from Hell. He’s really not my type.”
“As if I would.” She shook her head. “You’re funny.”
“So hilarious I forgot to laugh.”
She took his face between her hands. “Sometimes you just prove to me that you’re so much more than just a demon. Sometimes you’re practically human.”
“Let’s not get insulting.”
“Not an insult. You have doubts, worries, issues.”
Darrak groaned. “This is not an issue that’s going to be long-term. Seriously. Just give it a moment. This has never happened to me before.” He glared at her. “Okay, you look way too amused right now.”
She was grinning at him. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“Maybe once upon a time, but not anymore.”
She nodded. “Let’s do this.”
“I thought I already explained in flaccid detail that it’s not going to happen. Ten minutes. Give me ten minutes. I need some peanut butter or something. Protein.”
“I mean the curse.” Her expression had grown serious very quickly. She shifted so she pushed him onto his back and straddled him. Even though she was wearing full flannel pajamas, he found that his issues were disappearing as quickly as they’d arrived. The woman could make even flannel sexy. He ran his hands up her thighs.
“This is much better,” he said. “I can work with this.”
He pulled her down and captured her mouth again.
Eden pushed back from him. “I want to break the curse. Now. Let’s get it over with. Why would we want to wait another minute?”
He eyed her warily. “Now? You’re sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
“That’s pretty sure.”
She pressed her hands against his chest. “So should I approach this the same as the spell? Maksim said a curse is made of denser magic and I was supposed to be careful with it.”
“Yes, you definitely want to be careful. And he was right. A curse will feel different than a spell on that level. It’s stronger, tougher. Think about gum stuck to someone’s shoe. Only it’s not gum and no shoes are involved.”
Eden’s expression was filled with enthusiasm, hope, and sheer determination. He didn’t want to say anything to break this mood. He liked seeing the worry gone from her green eyes.