“Of course,” she told him. “You know best.”
“Bijou.”
“Forget I asked,” she said quickly. “I … uh … I’ve got something I need to do.”
Without waiting for him to say her name again in that fatherly tone that somehow made her feel like she was ten years old, Bijou spun around and hurried back to her room. She quickly closed the door and leaned against it.
Why had she thought that would be a good idea again?
Oh, right. Because she was getting tired of tiptoeing around the mansion in an effort to avoid Oliver. She knew he was doing the same, and truth was, she wanted to call him on it, but every time she started to, she chickened out.
Bijou still remembered the look on his face when he’d come to her room and found her feeding from Madok. It wasn’t like she had a choice. Her options were extremely limited when it came to a blood source. Aside from seeking out one of her father’s guards, she had only one other option. And Madok had kindly offered. The best part, she felt absolutely no connection to him. Not from a sexual standpoint, at least. As far as friends went … well, yeah, she considered him one, but not like they were spending any time together.
Truth was, she missed Oliver. She had enjoyed the time they’d shared whether it had been watching movies or playing pool, even swimming. But after what had happened between them that one night in the sauna…
Her body warmed at the memory. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the warmth of his tongue between her legs.
A chill shot down her spine and she had to push off the door to keep from melting into a puddle.
If only she could go back to that moment before she’d pleaded for him to take care of the heat that had been consuming them both, Bijou would gladly walk away from him and tend to her own needs. Had she known it would be the death of what she’d considered a great friendship, she never would’ve allowed it to happen.
Unfortunately, time travel wasn’t in her repertoire of skills.
Nor was altering the past.
Which meant she was going to have to figure out a way to move forward without Oliver in her life.
She only hoped he could one day forgive her for ruining everything.
Chapter Five
The instant the shutters began their ascent, signaling it was safe to venture out of the mansion, Reidar made a beeline for the front porch. He’d spent the entire day tossing and turning, attempting to sleep to no avail. It had taken forever, but finally, the night was upon them once again and he had something to do.
Without waiting for Malak, who was his partner for the evening, Reidar dematerialized, taking form in the empty streets of downtown Telluride.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to hide,” Malak said when he appeared at his side a few seconds later.
“Not hiding. Just needed to get some air.”
Speaking of… Reidar took a long inhale, let the cold, crisp air fill his lungs. He exhaled slowly, pivoted to get a good look at the area around them. No people strolling about, but that wasn’t surprising. He knew if they headed back to the main drag, they’d find a few wandering around, mostly tourists willing to brave the ridiculous cold, taking in the sights of the small nowhere town.
“I know the feeling,” Malak said as he began walking, forcing Reidar to fall into step with him. “Mansion seems a bit crowded these days.”
That it did, though they were understaffed with the warriors still out looking for theiramsouelots.
Reidar let his senses scan their surroundings, hoping against hope that tonight would be the night they encountered some demons.Impietans, shadow beasts, one of themesonneir, hell, Lucifer could make an appearance, he didn’t really give a shit. Right now, he was itching for a fight.
“You’re twitchy,” Malak noted.
Yes, he was. Very.
Partly because he was growing tired of this hide-and-seek game they were playing with the demons. Always seeking, never finding. Ever since Eevuhl was taken out at the hands of the Obsidian/Michael combo, the demons had been MIA. As much as he hoped they’d stricken them from Earth once and for all, Reidar knew that wasn’t the case. They weren’t that lucky.
Which meant the demons were likely building their strength, gearing up for another battle.
But where? Where the fuck were they hiding?
At least they wouldn’t be having the showdown at the mansion again. They’d made the place impenetrable having been caught with their proverbial pants down the night Eevuhl had arrived unannounced. They still had no clue how thetrielairdemon had found them, but it didn’t really matter, did it? Made no difference if he’d looked them up on Google or had a traitor whisper in his ear, he’d waltzed his happy, fucked-up ass right up damn near to the front door.
