“What the hell are you looking at, Light Bringer?” Jonas snapped and deliberately turned to Ellie. “Keep an eye on him, from a distance. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He glared at Cadmus. “You treat her with the respect she deserves. Behave, Earth Lord.” He grinned with evil intent. “Or I’ll bring my brothers back to play with you again, and this time I won’t save your sorry ass.”
“She’d never allow it.” Cadmus shrugged, as if unconcerned. His disinterest made Jonas’ skin glow brighter under the outline of black flame.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about her. If you play your cards right, you won’t learn her rules the hard way.” Muttering under his breath, Jonas nodded to Ellie and then vanished.
After a few tense moments of silence, Ellie cleared her throat and met Cadmus’ gaze. “Who is ‘she’?”
“I’ve been sworn to silence. Ask your cousin, if that’s who he really is. Talk about a secretive bunch. You Djinn take the cake.” Cadmus looked quite amused with himself, and as much as she wanted to throw him out on his ass and never see him again, that hint of boyish humour began to melt the ice which froze her affections.
Sensing it wouldn’t be wise to allow Cadmus back into her wounded heart, she hardened it against him. “Yeah, we Djinn really take the cake.” She yanked his dirty work boots off her coffee table. “Let’s get something straight, Your Highness.” She leaned over him to poke him in the chest. Pleased when his smile disappeared, she continued, “You’ve got more Darkness inside you than I’ve ever had, so cut the crap. You need a place to crash, and apparently I’m the only game in town. Keep yourself out of my business and you can stay. I’ve got things to do with my life. Things that don’t involve Tanselm and Storm Lords and freakin’ Djinn.”
He stared at her, his brown eyes so deep she could drown in them. She could almost hear him thinking and purposefully strengthened her mental defences.
For years, she’d tried to live a normal life. No magic, no Dark versus Light, and no Dark Lords and their minion Netharat threatening death and dismemberment. But within a short span of time, she’d become involved in a life full of magic, excitement and bitter heartache.
She’d be damned if she’d let Cadmus—a royal Light Bringer—see how much he’d hurt her with his prejudices, his casual sex and his meaningless compliments. What an utter asshole. She didn’t prevent that thought from leaking to him.
He shook his head and sighed. “What did I do now, Ellie?”
“Nothing. Just keep it that way.” Storming from the room, she entered the only bedroom and slammed the door behind her. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter Two
The next few days passed slowly for Ellie. At ends now that she’d finished her job at Outpour, she created things to do that would keep her out of her apartment until late at night when she’d stumble into bed. She’d spent Sunday hiking up in Snoqualmie, Monday hanging around her mother and visiting with friends, catching up on what she’d missed the past six months at the university. Yesterday, she’d walked until her legs felt like they’d fall off, window-shopping downtown and through Pike’s Place market. She’d visited her mother again, seen a movie, bought and read a book…
Staying busy was hell. She wanted to relax, to use this downtime to recuperate from her nightmarish stint as a bartender. The money had been great, but the hours had started to suck her back into a place she didn’t want to go—Dark.
Due to her heritage as a Djinn, Ellie thrived at night. She could tolerate the sun well enough, but her body and soul flourished during the dark hours. Yet another black mark against Cadmus. Taking the job at Outpour had thrown her entire chemistry out of whack. She’d spent the last three nights staring at the ceiling, still not used to sleeping in the early a.m.
Those damn Storm Lords. They should have stayed in Tanselm, in a parallel world humans had no idea existed. Were it not for their unwelcome presence in this place, in her world, Ellie would even now be sleeping peacefully, resting up for her job teaching English 101 at the university. A job currently taken by Jane Rascoll, that miserable suck-up.
As if losing the teaching position to Jane weren’t bad enough, Ellie’s nights had been restless with erotic thoughts, memories and fantasies of the Earth Lord who’d broken her heart. She couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep—all because of him. Sighing at the expectation of another long, uneventful day, she stared at the ancient ceiling light, aware that one bulb needed replacing. Right on that thought trailed the question of what she’d do today to avoid Cadmus.
Her door crashed open, interrupting her troubled mind.
“That’s it.” Cadmus, wearing a pair of low-slung denims and nothing else, stalked into her room and stopped at the foot of her bed. His eyes were a dark brown, mirroring his irritation. On Cadmus, annoyance looked too damn tempting. He breathed in deeply and drew her gaze to his sculpted chest. She swallowed audibly, blinking up at him. Had any man ever looked so fine? He could have posed for any fitness magazine, or better yet, for designer underwear, showcasing those tight, smooth abs and rock-hard thighs.
A sucker for a muscular body, she was having a hard time hanging onto her mad as she stared at him.
“It’s been three days. I’m going out of my mind with boredom.” He held up a hand to stop her reply. “Not your problem, I know. But until I’m back at home, I’m making it your problem.” Breathing hard, Cadmus let his gaze trail down her face to linger on the hollow of her throat, where her pulse wouldn’t stop racing. “I’m open to suggestions,” he murmured, drawing nearer. “Maybe we could work off some of my energy together.”
She scrambled to a sitting position, not wanting to be prone with Cadmus anywhere near. “Hold it! I agreed to let you stay here, but that’s all I’m agreeing to. What the hell did you do that they kicked you out of Foreia, anyway?”
He flushed, and she waited, more than curious.
“I got a little rough with Jonas’ brothers.”
She frowned. “Jonas doesn’t have any brothers.”
“Well, that’s what he called those giants he pals around with in Foreia.”
“Oh, the other warriors.” Jonas had no siblings, but he did have several cousins. She was his favourite, and the feeling was mutual. But from what he’d told her about his fellow Djinn warriors, the bond between them was unbreakable. The rebel Djinn acted like family, and she could only imagine what Cadmus had done to interrupt that.
“Was it a woman?” she asked wryly, having no problem believing that.
He scowled. “No. I’m not into Dark—ah,” he stumbled, picking up right where they’d left off.
“Go on,” she said coolly. “You’re not into Dark, evil Djinn. Women like me, hmm?”
He ran a hand through his hair, the action showcasing the corded muscle of his biceps. “That’s not what I was going to say. The few women I met in Foreia were Djinn warriors. The only thing those women were selling was anger, and all directed my way.”
“Poor Cadmus.” Ellie chuckled, pleased when his eyes narrowed. “So much Earth Lord and no one to share him with. You should have just stayed in Seattle where you could have screwed as many human women as possible. I think Beth’s still pining for you at the club. Maybe you should look her up.”