It wasn’t meant as anything more than a brief kiss. His lips brushed against hers, but quickly found them wanting more. Contact grew and spread, and then deepened as their tongues met. They had done this before, and enjoyed it, and now found it even more compelling than ever.
He didn’t move away when the kiss broke. She didn’t move far, either. “There’s probably only one bed in that guest room,” he said.
“We are not going all the way tonight,” she replied, but grinned.
“Okay, but I note that you specify tonight…?”
“Don’t you have to go to the bathroom or something?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Yeah,” he mumbled before he walked down the hallway.
Amber watched him go. It wasn’t until he stepped into the guest bedroom that she shook from her reverie and reproached herself for encouraging this. She reminded herself of all she had seen and heard, and thought back to her reaction to Alex jumping those two cops-which, she strongly suspected, was exactly what they were, rather than false uniforms over hired thugs.
Think. You’re on an investigation. You need to keep your head clear, she told herself. Prioritize. Get back into contact with the team or find a way to take notes or something.
Her phone remained in the leg pocket of her fatigues. She could check it, send out a text with more info,or maybe try to provide at least some sort of update… but that would be risky. Any one of the people in this apartment might reasonably ask whom she communicated with at this hour, when her cover story emphasized loneliness and a lack of connections. She couldn’t risk that yet.
She could duck into the bathroom once Jason was finished, though-or maybe now. The apartment was large enough that it might hold a bathroom unattached to a bedroom. She rose and stepped away from the couch, taking a look around her to decide where to go.
The apartment felt uncomfortably dark. The fire still burned, and a few lamps had been turned on here and there, but she still found more shadow than light. She couldn’t hear Molly and Onyx at work anymore, either. Amber put her indecision aside and moved into the hallway.
Lorelei stood waiting. Startled, Amber stepped back. The other woman remained in her spot, watching her guest calmly. Her skin had returned to a human color; the wings had vanished, as had the horns and tail. The revealing ensemble had been discarded in favor of a full-length black silk nightgown. The garment flattered Lorelei’s body to great effect. Even partly in shadow, her beauty stood out. Amber wondered if the demon had a single article of clothing that another woman might consider casual or plain.
Demon, she remembered, and her heart pounded. She’s a demon.
“If I frighten you, I apologize,” Lorelei said.
“Seems like a loaded statement at this point,” replied Amber.
“I should ask how much Jason has told you, then. Or the ladies?”
“I wish I could say ‘everything,’ but I don’t think we’ve had time for that,” Amber shrugged, hoping she sounded friendly. She remembered what Jason had said: thus far, Lorelei had only ever hurt “bad people,” and had done no wrong. Other than alter her memory at the pool hall, anyway, but she had to pretend she still didn’t know about that.
Lorelei tilted her head slightly. “I would prefer not to make false assumptions tonight,” she said. Her voice remained polite, but lacked warmth. “You seem guarded again. Perhaps more guarded now.”
“Jason told me what you… sorry. That sounds bad. He, uh, explained that you weren’t wearing a costume tonight.”
“Tactful,” conceded Lorelei. “I thank you for that effort.”
“I’m not sure what else I would say?”
“It is less a matter of what you might say, and more one of what you might think or feel. Few mortals ever learn of my nature. Fewer still learn and remain with me, unless out of overriding lust or ambition.”
Amber swallowed. Was that an accusation? A warning shot? “Jason doesn’t seem bothered.”
“No. Jason is dear to me. They all are. I have never had anyone to honestly call friends before I met the men you know now.” She paused. “I owe them everything.”
“You obviously think highly of them.”
“I do. And you?”
Don’t play this game with her, Amber told herself. “I like them.”
“Jason’s feelings for you continue to grow.”
“Kinda not sure how I feel talking about that. No offense.”
It seemed to Amber that Lorelei’s eyes narrowed, but with the room so dark it was hard to tell. “You are still unsure of your feelings,” Lorelei said, then tilted her head again. “No. You are not unsure of how you feel about Jason. Your conflicts have nothing to do with settling your desire, but rather with how you balance them with other concerns.”
“Are you reading my mind?” Amber asked. She took a half-step back.
“I have not that ability,” Lorelei said. “However, I understand desire… and I have walked this Earth for a very long time.”
Silence fell between them. Amber held her tongue. Journalists do this, she thought. You were trained to do this. Stay silent and watch the subject, like you expect them to say something, and sooner or later they say too much just to alleviate the awkwardness…
“Is there anything I could do for you?” asked Lorelei. “Anything you wish to know, or anything I might provide?”
“Oh, I feel like I’ve got a lot of questions,” Amber chuckled despite her nerves, “but I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Anywhere.”
“Okay… you’ve killed people?”
“Countless people, yes,” Lorelei nodded. “I am not proud of it.”
“Were you? Before all this?”
“To say that I did not take pleasure in what I did would be a lie. Pleasure has always driven me, but I have never been a thoughtless drone. I knew I existed only to serve another. There is no pride in being a slave. My victims all died for deeds that you would consider great crimes and sins. I do not mourn for them. But was I proud? No. Pride is only a recent gift.”
“Because of Alex? And Rachel?”
“They gave me the opportunity, yes,” Lorelei nodded. “I did not change for them. I am what I choose to be. But I would not have had that choice without them. I would not have either of them, nor would they have me, without Jason and the others.”
“So you said.”
“Understand, Amber, that I have every reason to be careful with my friends. I hope you can appreciate that.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“I think you are intelligent, discerning and wiser than your years would suggest,” Lorelei said. “You have entered a world you know you cannot yet understand, but you are quick to learn. And I know that in this chaos that erupted tonight, you stood in defense of those dear to me. I am in your debt, Amber. I truly hope we can be friends.”
“I kind of thought we were on our way there already…?”
“That was before all you learned tonight. I would be hopelessly naïve to think that these events and the revelations they bring would not color your opinions.
“On that note, again, you are welcome here tonight. This home is guarded. No harm will come to you.”
Chapter Nine: The Bedroom of Misfit Toys
Blood stained the shirt, pajama pants and robe piled on the floor. Most of it came from his own veins. He sat in the warm bathtub, looking at his naked body, and found no scars. He had a few scrapes and abrasions, some matching the wounds he’d suffered and others from simple bumps and falls. Yet even the worst of it, like the gashes clawed into his chest, left nothing more than a few light scabs.
Rachel’s kiss had fixed the worst of it all. Like the mottled coloring of the skin on his hands, which had been burnt to the bone before she fixed them, the visual remnants of his wounds gave no clue as to how serious they’d originally been. His body ached-he still felt like he’d been through a wringer-but he didn’t look that badly off at all.