Raphael sank down lower in his chair. His head hung low, and he stared at his hands. “But we’d only tell people that as the absolute last resort, right? If Dougal doesn’t take us seriously and come to the Mortal Plain?”
“Right,” I agreed, trying not to think about what it would be like if we revealed to the general public that Dougal and Raphael had captured, bred, and destroyed human beings like experimental rats. I suspected outlawing them would be the least of their troubles. Those demons already on the Mortal Plain would be targeted by every hate group in the country, even though the vast majority of them had nothing to do with Dougal and Raphael’s project. There would be murders, and riots, and general mayhem. I didn’t want to see it happen any more than Raphael did.
But it looked like Dougal was vulnerable now, so now was the time to strike, before he found some way to solidify his power base. And before he funneled too many more of his supporters—disgruntled or otherwise—onto the Mortal Plain.
“Does Lugh support this plan?” Adam asked.
I heard Lugh’s sigh in my head and sensed, rather than heard, his agreement. I nodded.
Adam squared his shoulders. “I would be the obvious spokesperson for us,” he said. “Aside from the fact that Dougal already knows I’m in Lugh’s camp, I also have access to the press through my job. I’ll set up a press conference.”
“But not right away,” Raphael said. There was still a haunted look in his eyes, but even in the depths of turmoil, Raphael was still Raphael, full of cunning. “Wait until Monday. Then we can send William back to the Demon Realm with a message for Dougal that if he doesn’t make an appearance before Monday, we’ll have a press conference. I suggest we not say that Adam will be giving it, or Adam might not live until Monday.”
“Dougal’s going to call our bluff,” Saul said, and for once, he wasn’t sneering at his father, just stating a fact.
“The press conference will have to happen before he’ll believe we really mean to do it.”
Raphael examined his hands as he spoke. “I know. But we have to at least try.”
And so, our path was set.
twenty-one
THERE WASN’T A WHOLE LOT OF CHATTER BETWEEN us as Brian, Andy, and I returned to my apartment. What was there to say, after all? William was once again back in the Demon Realm, delivering our ultimatum to Dougal, and we wouldn’t know how that ultimatum was received until Monday morning, when once again we would summon him back to the Mortal Plain. I didn’t envy Adam, Dom, and Raphael having to play nursemaid to Jonathan and his withdrawal again, but better them than me.
We were all exhausted by the time we got back to the apartment at about three in the morning. Andy made a beeline for the guest bedroom. I’m not sure he even bothered to get undressed or brush his teeth before he collapsed into the bed and started snoring loud enough that Brian and I could hear him in the next room.
We did bother to get undressed, and when I cuddled up in Brian’s arms, my back to his chest, I felt the evidence that he wasn’t quite as tired as I’d thought. His hand trailed idly between my breasts and down my belly, making me shiver, though it wasn’t cold. He touched his lips to that deliciously sensitive place where my neck meets my shoulder, and I decided that I wasn’t as tired as I’d thought, either.
He kissed his way up toward my earlobe, which he sucked lightly, making my back arch in pleasure.
“I could get used to having you in my bed every night,” Brian whispered in my ear as his hand moved up to cup my breast.
I thought about objecting to his not-so-subtle hint that he wanted to live together, but the truth was, I was beginning to think I could get used to it, too. Still, I was far from ready to admit it.
“Need I remind you that you’re in my bed?” I teased.
He laughed against my skin, his breath warm and mint-scented from his toothpaste. I was guessing I didn’t need to admit anything; Brian knew what my lack of protest meant. He pressed his erection into the crease between my buttocks, and I suppressed a moan at how hard and hot he felt against my skin. Andy’s snores reassured me that he couldn’t hear us, but Brian and I have been known to be rather loud, and I thought I might perish of embarrassment if we managed to wake Andy up.
Brian drew himself slowly downward, and I parted my legs to make room for him between them. I expected this to be more foreplay—Brian does love to tease unmercifully—but apparently tonight he was impatient for the main event to begin.
Usually, I don’t like being taken from behind. There’s something that feels too submissive about it. But I was beginning to think Brian could make me like just about anything—with the possible exception of Brussels sprouts. Instead of trying to turn over as I might have in the past, I simply relaxed into Brian’s embrace and tried not to moan too loudly as he slowly slipped inside me.
Next door, Andy’s snores stopped. That didn’t necessarily mean he was awake, but still …
Brian’s lips brushed my ear. “Be vewy, vewy quiet,” he whispered, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. Then he thrust all the way in, and laughing was the last thing on my mind.
It was oddly exciting, trying to keep quiet during some fantastic sex. It was also surprisingly hard to manage. Even Brian, usually a master of control, struggled with it, little whimpers escaping his throat despite his best efforts. But by the time we both reached our climaxes, Andy was snoring again in the next room. Yay, us!
The exhaustion I’d been feeling when we first went to bed hit me like a brick wall when the adrenaline rush faded, and, with Brian’s arms still cuddling me to his chest, I drifted off to sleep.
Sunday was hell. I’m a woman of action, and I hate waiting around. Unfortunately, there was a lot of it to be done. We couldn’t make a move until we’d heard back from William, so as much as I wanted to leap into action, that just wasn’t possible.
Because we were still on high alert in case William betrayed us, we were all still on the buddy system. Which meant that not only was Brian constantly at my side, but Andy was, too. We’d been pretty close as children—at least until the Spirit Society got its hooks into him—but things were almost unbearably awkward between us now. I kept thinking I should apologize for my harsh words of the other night, but I had the suspicion my attempted apology would lead to more harsh words, so I kept my mouth shut.
We were all up at the crack of dawn on Monday. Both Brian and Adam were due at their jobs today. Brian had missed enough time lately to make his boss grumpy, and since he did still care about his career, even in the midst of this crisis, he refused to stay home. Adam, as a public servant, had even less flexibility. So to accommodate their schedules, we’d decided to hold the summoning early in the morning.
Early in the morning is never my best time, even with Dom’s extra-strong Italian roast coffee doing its best to jump-start my brain. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one yawning when we all sat in the basement of Adam and Dom’s house with only the dim light of the candles illuminating the dark.
Jonathan was a total mess, his cheeks hollow, his eyes bloodshot and shadowed with dark circles. His hands shook, and sometimes we had to repeat ourselves to get him to even hear us. And even though he’d just learned the incantation to summon William a couple of days ago, it was as if he’d never heard it before. If it had taken him twenty tries to get it right at the first summoning, it must have taken him at least thirty this time. I hoped he’d have a few brain cells left to rub together if we ended up having to use William as our messenger to the Demon Realm again.