“HUMAN?”
They all laughed, but no one clarified the comment.
“Well?” I insisted.
Killian sighed. “I guess it’s time for an official family meeting. You asked for the truth. I’ll give it to you, but you should sit down. This might be a shock.”
Another shock? Really? What else? With this question in the back of my mind, I sank to the couch. Sean sat next to me while Dec draped himself over a recliner. The furniture was comfortable but very simple like the rest of the decor. In fact, there were no decorations at all. No pictures or knickknacks sitting around and no fussy curtains or anything. It was obvious that three young men lived here. Where did they get the money to pay for all of this?
Killian dragged in a kitchen chair and settled into storytelling mode. He began at the beginning, I suppose. By the time we got to the middle of the story, where I came along, my head was ready to implode. I had to keep stopping him every few minutes to process what he was telling me.
“So let me get this straight. I understand you protect people. I get that. But who are you fighting all the time? What is the grey stuff from?”
“Demons,” Sean answered.
My mouth dropped open. “No way. They exist?”
Dec snorted. “Of course they do. Who do you think is behind all the evil things that happen around us? People sure, but they get motivation from demons.”
“You’ll need to run that by me again.”
“Haven’t you ever read the Bible? Surely you know about good and evil beings? People can be good or evil without any help, but sometimes demons get involved and encourage people into evil acts. They have agendas too. They want to cause as much chaos as they can by encouraging susceptible humans to do evil things. They love to plant the seeds and watch as people spiral out of control and kill each other. But even more importantly, the goal of all demons is to get mankind ready for the return of the antichrist. Our job is to discover where the demons are and destroy them. We try to limit the chaos to give humans a fighting chance.” I must’ve looked alarmed, because he added, “Hey, we don’t think the antichrist is coming soon—we haven’t seen enough signs to worry about that yet. We’re just taking care of ordinary demons for now.”
“Oh, that makes me feel tons better! Okay, I need a minute.” I closed my eyes and tried to absorb everything they’d told me so far. The words streamed through my head. Primani . . . protectors . . . demons . . . Primani . . . protectors . . . demons. They were warriors, weren’t they? That explained the soldier-like attitudes, the commando clothes, and the guns. If they had other abilities, why did they use the guns? I asked Sean that question.
“People use guns, Mica. Do I really need to go into what we do with our guns?”
“You shoot people, obviously! What do you do about the demons? How do you stop them?”
“We have other ways to destroy them. You haven’t seen that, and I hope you don’t have to.” He pushed my hair behind my ear and looked away. His eyes were troubled.
Dec began telling me more about their missions, but I wasn’t listening. Something else had my attention. We have other ways to destroy them. Demons came from Hell, right? What would their destruction be like? Did they bleed? I puzzled this concept through while Dec talked. I came to only one possible conclusion . . .
“Holy shit!” I squeaked before bolting to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet in time.
Sean came up behind me. “You okay? What’s the matter?”
Okay? Definitely not! I was covered in cremated demon particles! That was so gross! I shot him the evil eye and threw up again, and one more time for good measure. I felt so unclean! Swaying a bit, I wiped my mouth, and glared daggers at Sean. Unusually interested, Killian was lounging against the door frame, a half-formed smirk on his mouth.
I poked a finger into Sean’s chest, and accused, “You were blowing up demons last night, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, what about it?” He watched me like I might explode. His mouth twitched, but he bit down to keep from smiling.
“You hugged me! You covered me in demon guts! Oh, my God! That’s disgusting!” My voice climbed at least four octaves.
Killian burst out laughing. The sound was so strange it made me freeze. He was cracking up. Dec came running in and asked what was so funny.
“Demon guts!” Killian managed to wheeze.
I glared at the three of them. Sean’s mouth started to twitch, and then Dec chuckled. It was too much to take.
“Get out! All of you get out now! I need a shower. And Sean, we’re not done with this conversation.” I slammed the door behind them and locked it. I scrubbed my body until my skin was bright red and hurting. I ran out of hot water and stood in the cold for five minutes longer. By the time I got out, I was squeaky clean and ready to find humor in it.
When I finally reappeared in the living room, the guys wore serious faces. Not one of them laughed. I caught the twinkle in their eyes though.
“You never asked me what I called you about, Sean. Probably I should tell you about the visit I had.”
I told them every detail I could remember about the big guy’s message at the party. Sean had me repeat it one more time. He swore when I passed on the part about me getting killed. He draped an arm around me protectively and mumbled something in that language I didn’t understand. Killian rolled his eyes, but Dec smiled in understanding.
“What did you say?”
He actually blushed but answered me. “I said I would protect you with my life.”
“Oh.” For once, I was speechless.
Killian wasn’t as speechless. He was muttering angrily and got up to pace by the window again.
“Mica, think hard about something for me. You said he grabbed your arm, right? Did you notice anything unusual about his touch? Did you sense anything odd?”
“Odd? I don’t know what you mean. Could you be more specific?”
“Seriously, this could be very important. Did you get anything from him at all?” He tapped his temple to make the point.
I racked my brain for any impressions but didn’t find anything.
“Sorry, but nothing stands out to me. He was a stranger; that much I noticed. He and his creepy friend weren’t from around here.”
“Okay. That’s good. I’m almost sure he was human then. Your intuition is pretty strong so I think you would have sensed a demon if one touched you.”
I hadn’t thought about that possibility. Ewww, gross! I rubbed my arms where the stranger held me. Maybe I should take another shower? I looked towards the hallway, but Dec interrupted me.
“No way! I need a shower. You’ve used up all the hot water twice already. You’re clean enough.” I narrowed my eyes, so he added, “No, I’m not reading your mind. You’re just really obvious.”
“Oh, awesome. Guess I need to work on that then?”
Killian interrupted our bickering. “All right, let’s focus. We need to walk through this and get a plan together. Mica, you can stay if you want. Try to keep your mouth shut though.”
“Bully,” I huffed under my breath. No need to piss him off just yet. I was finally beginning to understand what the heck was going on with these guys. I’ve made it to the inner circle. Don’t want to get booted out so soon. I had a feeling that my life was about to get interesting.
For the next hour or so, they talked about the message, the messenger, solutions, and protection details. They were really worried about me and my family. I must have been naïve because I just assumed they would fix everything and nothing bad would happen. I said as much and all three of them bombarded me with comments.
Sean said, “Nothing will happen to you or your family. We’ll protect you. This is what we do.”
Dec blew me a kiss. “Seriously? You think so much of us? I’m flattered. Thanks, darlin’.”
Killian was, as usual, brutally honest, and a big downer. “Well, you’re partially right. We’ll run this down and neutralize the threat; howe
ver, it might take a while and in the meantime, you’re not safe.”
“What does that mean?”
Sean reached over to squeeze my hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. We do have some advantages over the bad guys, you know.” He brushed his lips against my temple and got back to planning.
Watching them work was fascinating. It was like being dropped into the middle of an episode of Supernatural without the piles of ancient tomes littering the tables and salt all over the place. Dec made magic with a laptop while Killian spread maps across the dining room table. Sean talked about known enemies and tactics. Well, not quite like Supernatural—Primani were definitely a military-style ops unit. I couldn’t help grinning over the terms that popped up in the conversation—comms, gear, objective, upper-level demons, and go-time. Shaking my head in amazement, I bit my lip. Well, I’d wanted the truth. This wasn’t even close to my imagination though. I guess truth really is stranger than fiction.
At the end of the afternoon, they had a plan. Killian and Dec would report to their boss to get approval for it. They’d be gone a day or two. Sean would stay here to watch over me in case the mysterious demons decided to kill me off. When they got their new orders, they would go take care of the problem. They were stronger when they were together. Depending on how things went, they would try to rotate protection. In the meantime, they would teach me how to recognize and avoid demons.
“Okay, so what about ordinary bad guys? Maybe they’ll send a person to grab me. I don’t even have a real gun!”
Sean considered my question, and said, “I can take care of that. Are you afraid of guns?”
“Are you kidding me? No way. I’m dying to take out some bad guys.” I pointed my finger like a gun and shot the wall.
He looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Okaaay. I’ll get you a gun, but you have to keep it hidden. You’re not old enough to have a gun, and I don’t want you going to jail. So no waving it around at random assholes. Got it?”
“I think I’m insulted. You don’t really think I’m that stupid, do you?”
He actually rolled his eyes. “Not stupid. Just impulsive. Will you behave if I get you a gun?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be a model soldier.” I stopped grinning, and added, “Don’t worry. Seriously. I’ll keep it hidden and do exactly what you tell me. Believe me. Going to jail isn’t on my to-do list.”
Standing to stretch with a huge yawn, Sean pulled me upright and gathered me into his arms. “We’re done for now. Let’s go to my room. I want to feel you against me.”
He didn’t need to ask me twice.
As the bedroom door clicked behind me, he tugged me to the bed, falling backwards and holding me against his chest. Instead of kissing me, he searched my eyes, his expression intense. All playfulness was gone. Serious Sean was back. I felt suddenly shy and lowered my lashes.
He brushed a fingertip across my mouth, tipped up my chin, and said, “Don’t look away. Your eyes are beautiful, and so are you.”
He feathered kisses across my eyelids, the tip of my nose, then each corner of my mouth. I melted into a puddle . . . The anticipation was killing me. I parted my lips, breath coming quickly, but he barely brushed them with his tongue on his way to my throat.
After nuzzling my neck, he curled the tip of his clever tongue around the shell of my ear all while he bared his heart. “I’m amazed by you. Love isn’t something we expect. We’re sworn to protect people, and love makes that hard. We stay above it. But you . . . you are something else entirely. You showed up and turned my world upside down. I don’t know what to do with you, but I know I can’t be apart from you for long. I can’t breathe right. The rhythm is off somehow. You’re a part of me now, and I don’t want to live without you. If I lost you, it would be like losing my heart. I wouldn’t survive it.”
“You’ll never lose me. I promise.” Taking his hand, I kissed the palm and lay it against my cheek. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the woodsy scent that clung to him always. My heart nearly exploded with joy as his confession lingered in my ears. I understood how he felt. It was the same for me. I had no more words to say. He’d said everything I felt, everything I believed. It had taken us time to get to the point, and there wasn’t anything left to talk about. Stroking his palm over my jaw, I pressed tiny kisses along the strong tendons on the inside of his wrist before guiding it to my heart. His fingers automatically curled over my breast; he devoured me with sleepy, sexy eyes and smiled slow and easy.
It was time. I leaned forward just enough to push my breast into his hand and eased closer until our bodies were touching from head to toe. “Make love to me, Sean. There’s no reason to wait. I know your secrets. I’m not running away.”
His hand stilled and he searched my face before asking, “Are you sure?”
I reached between us and stroked the bulge straining against his zipper. “As sure as you are.” His breath caught and I purred, “I want you.” I gave him a squeeze. “I want this.”
The change was subtle but his expression lightened ever so slightly and he angled away with a cocky wave at his crotch. “It’s all yours, love.” With that, he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, drawing me closer, fitting his mouth over mine.
I sank into him as he played with my lips and tongue. His fingers moved over my face, feathering touches over my skin as though he were memorizing every inch. His mouth trailed to my throat, his fingers guiding my head back for better access. Fireworks sparkled in my head as he sucked the tender flesh beneath my ear. His arm banded around my waist, holding me still while he explored my throat and trailed wet kisses between my breasts. Stopping only to pull my shirt over my head, he dipped his tongue beneath the silk of my bra, teasing my nipples until they pebbled like cherries. Lowering me to my back, he slowly tugged my bra straps over my shoulder, eyes gleaming with passion, before trailing his mouth over the path of the straps. When my breasts were bare, he caught one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking until I cried out and arched my back completely off of the bed.
“You’re so beautiful. I could look at you forever.” He gazed at me until I squirmed with frustration. Then he licked his lower lip and murmured, “You’re so wet for me. I can’t wait to taste you.” His hand spanned my belly, curving over the taut skin, slipping into my pants and tugging them off in one smooth motion.
The sudden coolness was welcome against my overheated skin. As he flung his jeans into the corner, I lay back with arms beneath my head. Good God. He was incredible. Every muscle gleamed in the dim light. His eyes burned with passion; his pulse throbbed in his throat. His cock stood straight and rock hard. I swallowed a sudden pool of saliva at the sight. Apparently it all went south because I felt my core go completely liquid.
Kneeling beside me, he guided my fingers between my legs, sliding them over the slick folds, dipping them inside. “Do you feel that? Hot and wet for me.” He licked the tips of my fingers and smiled. “Mmm. Sweet.”
Grinning playfully, I tugged him over me and pulled his mouth to mine. He straddled my hips and lay across me as we kissed. My hands drifted over his back to cup his butt, just before he used his knee to spread my thighs. I tensed as the head of his cock teased my entrance. How is that going to fit?
Sensing my nervousness, he pressed his mouth to my ear and whispered, “Relax, love. I’ll be as gentle as I can. It’ll only hurt for a second.” As he spoke the words, his clever fingers worked over my clit sending waves of pleasure coiling in my belly. My hips arched into his hand in a rhythm that set my blood on fire. In the next second, he shifted slightly and plunged into me with one thrust.
Catching my cry with his mouth, he stilled inside, kissing me gently until the twinge of pain disappeared. As my body adjusted, he cuddled me to his chest, murmuring, “Okay?”
I shifted my pelvis experimentally, expecting it to hurt, but there wasn’t any real pain. Instead there was only the feeling of fullness that women would sell their souls for.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over with. Can we get to the mind-blowing orgasm part of sex now?”
He burst out laughing and kissed me quick and hard. “I’ll see what I can do.”
I smiled into his eyes as he gathered me close and his hips began to move. As he pulled out and thrust deeper, I dug my nails into his shoulders. Oh, so good. “No pressure.”
“Piece of cake.”
Chapter 16: A Merry Christmas