Corrupt Cravings (37 page)

Jason pulled her against his side, half covering her. “So help me God, if you ever fucking bring that piece out with her in the same room again, I’m going to rip out your fucking throat. Angel or not, I’ll gut you alive.” Jason’s voice was so deep he sounded as if sandpaper was stuck in his throat.

“Jason, shut up.” Turning to look at Nemmy, she noticed the two men holding eye contact. “Look at me, Nemmy. Nothing happened. Jason is one of my knights and also my other half. He’s meant to protect me. The gun just makes him uneasy.”

Caspius grabbed Nemmy’s arm. “Let’s go, man.”

“No!”

Marcella could feel Jason start to tremble. Looking up, her body froze. His eyes looked like cat eyes, but on fire. The orange blaze could actually be seen behind the red glowing.

“Jason, talk to me.” When he didn’t respond, Marcella closed her eyes. Fuck. If there was ever going to be a true test for the dragon, this was going to be it.

“What the fuck is up with your boy’s eyes?” Caspius’s voice brought hers back open.

“He’s changing, and he can’t stop it. If I were you two, I’d leave. His dragon can get a bit testy at times.”

“Dragon?” Caspius took a step back.

Nemmy’s anger seemed to vanish. One minute he was staring at her like an angry, jealous boyfriend, the next his eyes shot to Jason and his mouth parted.

“I said you both need to leave.” Marcella stayed calm while she addressed them. Any rise of temper was only going to cause them more panic.

“What about you?”

She looked at Nemmy, raising one of her eyebrows. “What about me? With the look of things, I’d say my options are pretty much limited.”

The angel started jerking at the door. “Where’s the key? We have to get you out of here.”

“My men have it with them. No one else has a key.”

“Well, summon them!”

Marcella sighed. Fuck, they were just wasting time. “I can’t, Nemmy. This cell has a block. My powers are useless.”

“Stand back.” He pulled the gun up to the lock, and the sound was deafening as two shots rang out. Marcella rubbed her ears against the pressure filling her head. “Fuck! It’s not working!” Nemmy went back to pulling at the bars. Looking up at Jason, his expression didn’t stop staring forward.

“Caspius, take Nemmy and go. There’s not much more time.”

Jason’s body started jerking. She watched as he fell to the ground and started going into convulsions. Looking up, she was glad he’d at least have the height to fit. As for the width, yeah, she wasn’t so sure about that. It was definitely going to be a tight fit. That or she was going to get stomped to death.

“I fucking said go!” She shot them a glance and watched as Caspius finally got Nemmy to move a few feet back.

“Look at how tall this room is. In his dragon’s form, he’s going to be taller. Get your asses moving, now!”

“Will he hurt you?” Nemmy voice was shaking as he asked.

“No. He’s wired not to.”
God, I hope Ambrose knew what he was doing.

“Okay, we’re going. This isn’t over. Not even fucking close. If you don’t want me to turn you in, you’ll not even think about leaving or avoiding me.”

And there it was. Somehow she knew it was going to come down to this. The angel ultimately wanted something, and at the first sign of something he didn’t like, he was ready to hand her over.

“I’ll be here.”

Nemmy and Caspius vanished. Marcella looked at Jason’s body and kneeled before him. “Jason, I know you’re fighting your change. You would have already turned if that wasn’t the case.” Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself to see if Ambrose’s talk worked as good as she hoped it did.

“Jason. I’m ordering you to turn back into your collector. You will not let your dragon have me all up close and personal with the stone floor. Now stop shaking and wake up.”

His red eyes flew open, and Jason let out a scream that made Marcella’s skin crawl. Those cat-like pupils came to look at her and blinked a few times. “Baby?”

Lowering further, she reached for his hands. “You’re doing great. Just take slow breaths, and we’ll go through this change together, okay?”

“My dragon, it wants to come. I can feel it.”

Trying her best to give Jason a smile, she tried comforting him. “I know, but you don’t have to worry. My orders override your creature. Your dragon has to obey.” She looked deep into his eyes to make sure what she was about to say sank in. “And it won’t appear unless I’m in danger or I will it so. That is my order.”

He shook his head, and she helped him to stand. “Marcy, it’s still here, though. My vision is red.”

“Yes, but this is as far as your dragon is allowed to show. You have nothing to worry about anymore. We’re going to be okay, Jason. You and I, we’re going to be great.”

A smile covered his lips, and he leaned in, pressing them against her. Breathing deeply, he pulled back. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You taste really good.” His tongue traced up the side of her face, and she laughed, quickly wiping the wetness away. Jason seemed to catch himself and pulled back, confused. “Hey, where did those two angels go?”

Marcella sighed. “They left. Trust me, they weren’t too happy. I knew they wanted something. Nemmy threatened to hand me over if I didn’t meet with him. Jason, this isn’t good.”

“I won’t let them take you. None of us will. You have nothing to worry about. We’ll figure something out.”

God, she really hoped they could, but what? Angels were actually blackmailing her. What were the odds? Damn it. Where in the hell were her other men? She needed them here. Now.

Well, if she was stuck, it was time to make a new plan to go on top of her gazillion others. These angels might have come from good, but somewhere along the path, they had lost their way. No angel would do something like this. Nemmy was in trouble, but what happened if he turned fallen? Would he go to hell? He’d almost killed Jason. The odds weren’t looking good. Well, she’d worry about the details later. She needed a start.

First things first, she needed a title and a timeline for her new plan. Marcella let her mind run until the thought popped into her head, causing her to smile. It was perfect. She couldn’t wait to see it plastered across the wall with all of her other two-word, same letter titles. The thought was laughable, really. For some reason, she couldn’t help the habit. Once she’d started with “Luis’s Land,” she couldn’t stop.

“What are you smiling about? I’ve been watching you for the last twenty minutes, and you’ve been in a trance. Talk to me, baby. You have a plan, don’t you?”

Marcella looked up at Jason, feeling the smile covering her face grow. Oh, she had a plan all right, and she couldn’t wait to start. The battle, whether physical or verbal, between her and Nemmy was coming, but not yet. With him being one of the strongest paranormals she knew, she’d have to keep him in the dark until her plans of gathering all the supernaturals were completed. Then, when she had everything taken care of, she’d reveal her true self to him. From there, she’d leave it to fate.

Chapter 15

Dominic stared across the couch at his brother. Samael’s words hadn’t stopped circling around his mind since they were walking around outside of Luis’s land. He wasn’t that bad, was he? Surely not. Yeah, he liked nice things, and maybe what he’d said about the house they were staying at was a bit over exaggerated, but he hadn’t thought his master would take it personally.

“Donavon, do you think I’m shallow?”

His blue eyes shot to him and widened. “What?”

Dominic looked to the floor. “Do you think I’m shallow?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Forget it.” Dom stood and headed back for the kitchen. There sure as hell wasn’t anywhere else to go. Every room had more than one vampire crowded inside.

“No, wait. I’m serious. Who said you were shallow?”

“No one.” Pulling out a chair at the small wooden table, Dominic sat down, resting his head in his hands.

“Okay. Well, let’s pretend you pulled the thought out of your ass. Shallow? Hmm.” Donavon walked over, joining him. “From what I’ve seen, you’re not shallow. Of course, I haven’t known you long enough, so I guess that remains to be seen.”

Dominic cut his eyes up. “Thanks. That makes me feel so much better.”

“It should because I wouldn’t lie to you. But I do have to ask one thing. What in the fuck are you wearing? The way you dress is a bit pansy.”

Looking down, Dominic took in his jeans and shirt. “How the fuck is this pansy? Jeans. Shirt. It’s pretty Goddamn basic if you ask me.”

Donavon stood and walked behind him. The shirt jerked up against his neck, choking him. Dominic jumped up and spun around, glaring at his brother’s smiling face. “T-Shirt or not, I bet if you were to go to the mall and buy it, the damn thing would cost a fortune. Do you always wear name brand?”

“What is your point?” Dominic snapped.

A laugh burst through the kitchen, and Donavon grabbed his stomach. “My point is this. You are around no one but us. When you’re around Marcella, I’ve noticed you match her. I bet those clothes aren’t Armani or Gucci. Why wear them now?”

Shrugging, Dominic sat back down. “I don’t know.”

“He does it because he’s superficial, shallow, like I’ve already said.”

Samael walked into the kitchen, smiling. Dominic glared and turned away from him. He so didn’t feel like getting into it with his master at the moment. Donavon let out another laugh and took his chair. “Bro, you let the mother of all fucking pansies upset you. Look at ol’ dude over here. He’s the fucking Goth Father. He wears more black than Wednesday from the Addams Family. Don’t sweat it.”

Samael stopped and tilted his head at Donavon. “This coming from someone who doesn’t even know how to match his clothes appropriately. Donavon, hasn’t anyone ever told you long-sleeved shirts don’t go with shorts?”

“Fuck you. I wear the long sleeves to cover my tattoos. Hasn’t anyone ever told you long hair went out in the eighties?”

“Hey, watch it. I have long hair, and his is the same length as mine.” Ambrose walked in, running his hand through his shoulder-length hair. His bangs fell forward, resting just below his eyes.

“You’re a vampire. You’re safe. Samael is not.”

“What in the hell makes me so different than Ambrose? I’m from hell. I can wear my hair however the fuck I want it. If you or anyone else doesn’t like it, I’ll burn you to fucking ash with my pinky finger.”

“Right.” Donavon widened his eyes sarcastically. “And I’ll sprout wings and blow fire out of my ass. Your threats are useless here.”

Samael growled. “I really do fucking hate you. Keep talking shit, and I’ll make your voice vanish just so I don’t have to hear you. That, I can do.”

Lifting his hand in the air, Dominic cut them off. “Enough. I didn’t want this to turn into a pissing match. How much longer before we leave? I want to get home.”

“Nightfall.” Samael made a glass appear. Dominic could smell the strong scotch clear across the table. The dark angel took a big drink and looked up at him right in the eyes. “Don’t get yourselves killed out there tonight. I’ve taken full responsibility for each of you, and I don’t feel like explaining things to Marcella.”

“I can’t die,” Dominic said, not breaking his gaze from his master.

“What makes you think that?” Samael asked, smiling.

“The most that can happen is I’ll go back to hell, and Marcella will send you to come and get me.”