Adam’s jaw clenched. “I’m not letting you more than arm’s length away from me for a good long time.”
I realized then just how hard it must have been for him to watch Cain disappear with me. I squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry.”
He lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“Bael’s balls, it suddenly smells like Cupid farted up in here.” Giguhl yawned and stretched. “I’m gonna turn in before you two scar me permanently with your sexings. Try to keep the grunting down.”
I raised a brow. “You too,” I shot back.
“Seriously, G,” Adam said. “One of these days you’re going to sprain your claw.”
“Don’t talk about Darlene that way.” He flexed the digits of his claw. “She’s a gentle lover.”
Adam looked at the demon like he’d just spoken in tongues. “You named your claw after a woman?”
Giguhl rolled his eyes. “Don’t judge.” With that, he turned and headed toward his room. On the way, he grabbed a bottle of olive oil from the countertop. When he shut the door behind him, I turned to Adam.
“Are you as disturbed as I am by what we just witnessed?”
“Are you referring to the fact that your demon is about to seduce himself less than twenty feet from where we’re sitting?”
I nodded.
The mancy took my hand and helped me rise. “I say we drink an entire bottle of wine and never speak of this again.”
Chapter 19
That night I had the most delicious dream. Adam and I were on a moonlit beach. The waves licked the sand languidly. The waters were calm, peaceful.
Adam held my hand and stared out at the moon. The bright white orb was heavy, fecund. It rose high above, blessing us with its light.
“Is this the future?” Adam asked in a hushed tone.
I turned to look at him. “Maybe it’s the present. The calm before the storm.”
In the distance, a bolt of lightning cracked through the sky. There was no sound, but it flashed ominously, like a warning.
“The storm’s far away,” he said. “We have right now. Just you and me and the moon.”
He kissed me then. A sweet, slow kiss. I closed my eyes. Flashes of light from the far-off lightning made the veins in my lids glow red. But I ignored them and surrendered to the moment. Adam’s sandalwood scent mixed with the air’s salty tang, leaving me thirsty for him.
He lowered me to the sugary sand. Ran his hands over my skin. I sighed happily and wound my fingers through his hair, pulling him to me for a kiss. This one hotter, deeper. I flipped him over and went to work on his zipper. Soon, but never soon enough, he sprung free, hard and ready.
I slicked my tongue over the salty skin of his neck. His pulse beat fast and hot. He swallowed and bucked his hips. “Take it.”
He thrust into me at the same moment my fangs pierced his throat. His blood filled my mouth, his sex my core.
“Yes,” he hissed.
I was so lost in the taste, the feel of him, I didn’t notice the pulling sensation at first. But then it grew in intensity, tugging at me.
I grabbed Adam’s shoulders tighter. Grasped his hips with my knees. But the irresistible force ripped me away.
“Sabina?” Adam shouted, sounding far away.
He lay far below me on the sand, his arms outstretched and his mouth wide as he screamed my name. My body launched through the air, away from the safety of his arms, like I’d been shot from a catapult.
My landing was not gentle or graceful. I hit something hard and tumbled ass over ankles. Pushing my hair from my eyes, I realized I’d fallen at someone’s feet. Feet encased in familiar sandals.
“Shit.” I scrambled back, my eyes rising up the white robes to meet the fierce scowl of Asclepius. “Did anyone ever tell you your timing really sucks?”
He crossed his arms and said nothing. Uh-oh.
I rose awkwardly, surveying my new surroundings. He’d brought me to the Crossroads in the Liminal. Eight roads created the spokes of the wagon-wheel pattern. In the center, where we were, a tall pole was topped by a red flag.
A chill crept down my spine. The last time I’d been in the Liminal was the night Cain murdered Maisie. I had a feeling Asclepius hadn’t chosen this spot to deliver happy news.
“Why is Nyx still alive?”
I held up my hands. In my head, I tried to read his expression for any clue he already knew I’d found her. If he was unaware Nyx was a member of Tristan’s team, I didn’t want to be the one to tell him. But instead of outright lying, I went with vagueness. “There are some… complications.”
He made a disgusted sound. “I grow impatient with your excuses, Mixed-Blood.”
I held up my hands. “I’m doing the best I can here.”
“I know you have found her.”
My stomach flip-flopped like a fish choking on air. “How?” No sense denying it. “I thought you couldn’t see her?”
“I can hear, Sabina. You have spoken her name numerous times tonight. That tells me you’ve made progress.”
“Look, what do you want from me? I’ve got Cain on my ass and my father just showed up out of the blue after fifty-odd years. And on top of that the chick you want dead is his friend.” I shook my head as stress threatened to overwhelm me. “Thanks for forgetting to mention that little detail, by the way.”
He smirked and offered a careless shrug. “If I told you Nyx was an ally of your father’s, it only would have complicated matters prematurely.”
“And by that you mean I would have refused to take the deal.”
“Precisely. But you took the deal and now you must see it through or suffer the consequences.”
“Can’t I just kill her after I take care of Cain? If I kill her now, Tristan won’t help me.”
“Not my problem.”
I scrambled to think of a solution. There had to be a way to appease Asclepius without ending any chance of getting Tristan’s help. “What if I can convince her to give me the vest? That’s what you really want, right?”
The god pursed his lips. “If I just wanted the vest, I would have said so. No, Nyx must be punished for her treachery.”
I threw up my hands. “I can’t do it now! If you can just hold on until I figure out this Cain situation, then I can take care of Nyx. Otherwise, it cannot and will not be my priority.”
“I could easily make it your first priority.” The threat in his tone made goose bumps spread over my skin. “Did you know Cain thinks you’re still somewhere in Rome?”