“Shut up and kiss me, Poe.”
Christian’s lips melted against mine. Not hurried. Not salacious. Not even smoldering. I didn’t feel the velvety stroke of his tongue—just his satin lips against mine. He tenderly cupped my neck, and that kiss radiated love like a song from the angels.
Only, we were devils. Two wicked creatures who loved as much as we hated. Who lived as much as we killed. And who dreamed as much as we had nightmares.
I broke the kiss, and our eyes met. “Will you stay with me tonight? I know Viktor might need you for something, but—”
Christian lifted me into his arms and stood. “Your bed or mine?”
“Yours.”
“Whatever you desire, Precious.”
Christian set me on his bed and took off my shoes and socks. Then he undressed me down to my underwear. After pulling back the sheets, he waited for me to crawl in.
“Aren’t you coming too?” I asked. “I thought you were going to stay with me.”
He unfurled the blanket over the black sheets. “You need your rest. I’ll be standing by the door.”
“Standing? You can get the chair. Look, if this is putting you out, I’ll leave.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll stay right there and sleep while I guard you. Because that’s what you need right now. I’ve got no windows, so unless he’s Old Saint Nick, Fletcher’s not slipping down the chimney or into your dreams. I’ll keep him out. Let me guard you.” Christian bent over and kissed my forehead before backing up into the shadows by the door.
The image of him standing in the shadows like a fanged monster might have terrified some, but his protective presence made it easier for me to relax. Though my rational mind knew that Fletcher wouldn’t sneak into Keystone in the middle of the night, I wasn’t feeling all that rational at the moment. Viktor needed us for a job, and I refused to let Fletcher and Lenore sabotage my work because I couldn’t sleep or stay focused.
I rolled onto my side and stared at Christian. As the fire burned down and the light dimmed, my eyelids grew heavier. That shadow by the door only darkened, never moving.
* * *
Blue headeddown to the kitchen for a drink. Her long red dress kept her legs warm. It was cotton with no designs, just bell sleeves and a hood. The medieval look suited her surroundings. She often wondered about the previous owner given she found it in one of the rooms. Viktor had never said anything about it, so he likely had no idea where she’d gotten it from.
While she normally got water from the sink upstairs using a glass, Kira had collected all the dirty dishes around the house that morning. In any case, Blue had a taste for coconut water.
On her way back up, she noticed the light on in Shepherd’s medical room. “Have you seen Viktor?”
Shepherd finished scribbling on a piece of paper. “Upstairs, I think. Do me a favor and give this to Wyatt. Tell him I need these supplies ASAP.”
“Gotcha.”
While guzzling her coconut water, Blue thought about Viktor’s mood when they’d returned from Lenore’s. Even Raven was in an altered state, her skin pale and snow in her hair. After checking the usual places Viktor retreated to, Blue visited his private hall and saw his door open. There weren’t any lights on inside, suggesting he must be somewhere else in the mansion. Deciding to give him his space, she headed to Wyatt’s office and flicked the paper onto his desk.
He reached for it. “What the immortal hell is this?”
“Shepherd wants you to order that stuff pronto.” Blue finished her small carton of coconut water and then tossed it into the trash.
Two LED lights with rotating colors illuminated his desk, which ran along the entire right-hand wall. Dual monitors and a laptop were simultaneously running.
When Wyatt turned his leather chair around, she couldn’t help but laugh at his giant slippers. They looked like hamburgers on his feet. He opened the drawer and grabbed a box of Whoppers candy.
“Those are ridiculous,” she pointed out. “I’m beginning to see why you never married.”
“I’m not the marrying kind,” he retorted before pouring chocolate malt balls into his mouth.
Blue walked past him and sat down, swiveling the leather chair until it faced him and the doorway. “Don’t worry. I’m sure if true love is out there, she’s wearing a pair of taco slippers and drives a ridiculous car.”
He crunched on his candy, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.
Blue rocked her chair. “Did that Gravewalker really get rid of all the ghosts?”
