“Stop,” he demanded.
Her hands instantly fell to her sides, her eyelids lifting to reveal her black irises. That beautiful amethyst color seemed to have disappeared completely beneath the shadow of his mind control.
It wouldn’t be much longer before her entire existence would be erased, hidden from those who were still beating feet to find her. Those angels were like bulldogs. They didn’t seem to know when to quit, which had caused only a few problems for him in recent days. Luckily, he had access to humans who were keeping the angels busy and looking the other way.
Sooner or later, they would realize the same thing he did: this creature belonged to him.
And he damn sure wasn’t about to let her go. Not without one hell of a fight.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Nope,” Oliver said with a chuckle. “Notthat one. The eight ball goes in last.”
“Why?” Bijou asked, her gaze cast over the pool table.
“Those are the rules.”
He watched as she considered her next move, her hand curled around the end of the stick as she studied the solids and stripes on the table. They’d been at this game for a good hour mainly for this very reason. Bijou spent more time planning than she did actually doing.
Not that Oliver minded. In fact, he found it fascinating. Then again, he found everything about Bijou fascinating.
There was no denying his mood had vastly improved since she’d moved into the mansion. Seeing her every day, even if it was just in passing, had given him a new lease on life. Almost as though he’d finally found where he belonged.
Of course, that was stupid. He was like a square peg being shoved into a round hole. Oliver had nothing in common with a single soul here, but that was no longer something he focused on. He wanted to say it was all thanks to Bijou, but he wasn’t sure that was the truth. Since Reidar had given him a job to do—a true-blue paying job—adding additional tasks on day by day, urging him to think outside the box and be a contribution to their mission, that odd-man-out feeling had started to abate somewhat.
“What about this one?” Bijou pointed at the three ball.
“Sure. Go for it.”
He admired her as she leaned over the table, her lean body shifting and moving until she was where she wanted to be. Bijou was, by far, the most beautiful woman …vampirehe’d ever set his eyes upon. Quite the opposite of any of the women he’d ever been attracted to. Oliver could admit he’d always had a thing for chicks with an edge. Probably the reason he’d taken to Seraphina. Because he’d mistakenly believed her to be a stripper, he hadn’t worried that he would offend her delicate sensibilities.
With Bijou, he found he wanted to be a better man. In the short time they’d been hanging out, Oliver had managed to cut back on the cursing, and though he was still polishing off every bottle of Belvedere he could get his hands on, they were lasting a little longer than normal. Cold turkey wasn’t his thing, but he figured he’d earned an A for effort.
He smiled when the cue ball sailed toward the three, sending it to the right corner pocket … just not quiteinthe pocket. Had she put a little power behind that shot, Bijou would’ve sunk it. Then again, they’d already had to replace two cue balls when she’d impaled them with the stick. Her strength had shocked him.
“I want to go for a swim,” she said as she passed him.
“What’s stopping you?” he asked, leaning over and taking aim at the ten ball. He reared back and took the shot, sending it to the corner pocket.
“Will you go with me?”
Oliver peered over at her. “I thought you liked to swim alone.”
That was what she’d told him the first time he’d offered to go with her.
“I lied.”
“All you have to do is ask, Bijou. I’ve got the night off, so I’d be happy to hang with you.”
Hell, he would’ve followed her anywhere. Which was the problem and the very reason Oliver had been keeping his distance. For his own sanity, really. He was well aware of his reputation when it came to women.Slam, bam, thank you, ma’amwas his mantra. Or it had been. Then he’d met Seraphina and he’d mistakenly believed there might be more than a quick roll. Then he’d learned he’d been banging a demon and…
“Are you okay?” Bijou’s soft hand landed on his arm.
Oliver gently eased his arm away from her touch. “Fine.”
“You look pale.”
Yeah, well, thinking about Seraphina tended to do that. Especially since he’d gotten a glimpse of what she looked like without the skin of a human covering her. He still saw that image in his nightmares, woke up in a cold sweat because … that was just nasty.
