Delilah Devlin - My Immortal Knight 03 (11 page)

All his anger and worry disappeared in an instant as
he held her trembling body. He glanced up and down the hallway. Seeing no
menace lurking in the shadows, he pulled her into the apartment and shut the
door, turning the bolt to lock them inside. He leaned back against it, pulling
her body flush with his and waited for Lily’s explanation.

“Oh my God!” she repeated. “He followed me. In the
store.” Her breaths were as choppy as her words.

Joe’s body tightened with outrage. A man stalked her?
That Lily, normally so guileless and oblivious to her appeal, had noticed the
man’s actions gave immediate credence to her claim. He fought his resurfacing
anger to rub soothing circles on her back. “Take a deep breath,” he said from
between clenched teeth, “and tell me.”

Lily leaned away and looked into his face. The fear in
her gaze and her trembling mouth had him wishing the man were here now so he
could take his head off. “His hand—” she gasped, “he was standing by the
diapers—but I knew!”

He pressed her face against his chest. By her jittery,
incoherent explanation, he knew it might be a while before he pieced together
the story. His rage boiled like an ulcer in his belly—but she didn’t need his
anger. She needed his comfort now. “Shhh. Take it easy, baby. I’ve got you now.”

A shudder shook her frame and her arms tightened
around him. “There was a car down the street. I was nervous.” She sniffed
against his chest.

Joe smiled, wondering if she realized she’d just wiped
her nose on his T-shirt.

“Then the butcher thought I was pregnant.”

He shook his head at that last thought. She was so
rattled she wasn’t making any sense. He smoothed the hair from her forehead and
she raised her face. Grabbing her chin, he lowered his mouth to kiss her—something
he’d wanted to do the moment he’d seen her again.

She drew back again. “But—”

His hand grabbed a fist of her hair and tilted her
head. He sealed his lips over hers.

She murmured a protest, her hands pushing at his
shoulders.

He kept kissing her, sucking on her lower lip,
enticing her to open her mouth and let him in.

Finally she relaxed, her arms creeping up to encircle
his neck.

By the time he pulled away, his heart galloped and his
body had grown hard as a rock. He was a bastard, but all he could think of
doing was taking her—right here.
Now!

He pulled her blouse from her slacks and reached
beneath to palm her breasts through her lacy bra.

Lily’s lips, blurred and reddened by his kisses,
formed a passionate moue. Then she blinked. “No! You have to listen.”

Joe let his head fall back to the door with a bang and
dragged air into his lungs. She was driving him nuts.

“I th—think your werewolf followed me,” Lily said
breathlessly. “I went to the grocery store down the block. Had to get something
for dinner—for you.”

He rubbed her back again, the motion soothing his own
racing heartbeat. “How do you know it was him?”

The little frown that wrinkled her brow indicated she’d
switched to analytic mode. “There was blood on the sidewalk. Bloody paw prints
from a very large dog—
your wolf
.”

The way her mind leapt from one disjointed thought to
the next left him dizzy. “Why did the paw prints make you think the man was the
wolf?”

“He followed me. I heard a car start as I was getting
into mine.” At his dubious frown, she scowled. “I know it was him, and he was
watching me in the store. He had a bandage on his hand. I left my change at the
register and he followed me out.”

“He couldn’t have just been a good Samaritan?”

“No! It was his eyes. His stare was so intent.” She
looked at him, apology in her expression. “Just like yours. He was
smelling
me!”

Joe quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t think any man would
love the way you smell?”

“He looked like he wanted to eat me!”

A rueful smile lifted the corner of his lips. “So do
I.”

Lily shoved at his chest. “You don’t believe me.”

All humor fled. “I didn’t say that. I think we should
be very cautious. What I want to know is why you went out alone, after I
specifically told you not to.”

She huffed. “You are not the boss of me.” Her arms
came up between them and she struggled against his hard embrace. “Besides,
there’s no vampire food in the fridge.”

“Vampire food?” His head was starting to hurt. Her
leaps from subject to subject were hard to follow when his brain had fled so
far south.

“Well, I wasn’t sure what your diet consists of
besides human blood, but somehow I didn’t think chicken breasts and Rocky Road
ice cream would appease you.”

He sighed. “So what did you get?”

“Well, I asked for pig’s blood, but the butcher said I’d
have to special order it. So I bought steaks.”

“Steak will do. I woke up hungry as hell.” He gave her
a heavy-lidded once-over. “You worked up my appetite.”

“Oh.” She blushed and smoothed a strand of hair behind
her ear. “Oh!” Her eyes widened. “I left the steaks in the car—and my purse. I
have to go get them.”

“No you don’t! It’s dusk, give it a few minutes and I’ll
get them.”

Lily took a deep breath and bit her lower lip.

Her telltale clue said she wanted to ask him another
question. He caressed her buttocks and pulled her against his arousal. “Out
with it.”

Her glasses had slid toward the end of her nose and she
glanced up at him from beneath her golden lashes. “What’s so special about the
way I smell?”

Joe felt the throb in his cock begin a slow drum roll.
“You smell horny—all woman-spice and musk, and a little wild.”

“I smell gamey?” She looked appalled.

“No. Primitive. Feminine. Your scent grabs a man by
the balls.”

“Yuck! I should have bought strawberry douche!”

The look on her face made Joe’s shoulders shake with
laughter. “Baby, you can’t improve on nature. It’s the first thing I noticed—even
before I met you. I just followed your scent.”

Color leeched from her face. “So did the werewolf,”
she whispered.

He leaned down and kissed her lips. “Yeah, he did.” He
took a deep breath. As much as he’d prefer to take her straight to bed, Lily’s
safety was at risk. “When do we see your voodoo queen?”

“She’s not a voodoo queen—she’s a spiritualist.” Lily
snuggled her hips against his. “She’ll see us just after dark.” She looked over
her shoulder at the shrouded window. “Now.”

Joe pulled her into his arms and gave her one last
hard kiss. “Let’s go. I’ll eat in the car.”

* * * * *

Leveque’s shop was just off
Bourbon Street
. An
orange neon sign advertising “Tarot/Voodoo” gleamed brightly above the small
doorway of a narrow, white stucco building that adjoined a row of shops. A bell
tinkled above the door as Joe hustled Lily through the entrance with a hand to
the small of her back. He gave a final look up and down the street before
following her inside.

The narrow shop was small and dark; the shelves filled
with cheesy Voodoo amulets and dolls, T-shirts with skeletal jazz bands, New
Orleans key chains, and stuffed toy alligators.

Lily headed straight to the back of the shop, past the
counter where the girl with the corkscrew curls nodded to a curtained doorway.
Her eyes widened at the sight of him and Joe grinned evilly. As he passed, her
eyes narrowed in a warning he couldn’t miss.

Lily pulled back the drapery and he followed her into
a cozy little sitting area with a sofa along the wall and a small wooden table
in the center flanked by two chairs. The air smelled like cooking spices and
Joe spotted incense burning from a small brass bowl.

A door opened from beyond the table and a short,
wizened black woman stepped through. “Lily.”

“Madam Leveque,” Lily said, shaking the old woman’s
hand. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve brought a friend.”

Large, dark eyes gazed up at him for a long moment,
and then a slow smile brightened her face. “Vampire,” she said softly, and
raised her hand.

Shaken by her immediate recognition and acceptance,
Joe reached for her hand and turned it, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss
to the crepe-paper skin. “Madame, I’m Joe Garcia.”

She smiled with delight and motioned toward the table.
“One of you may sit on the sofa. As you can see, I am accustomed to seein’ only
one person at a time,” she said, her voice low and melodic. “Lily, you must
have a very interestin’ tale to explain how you come to be in the company of this
handsome man.”

Joe pulled out one of the chairs for the old woman and
she slowly sat down, smiling her thanks.

“Madame,” Joe interrupted. “We have questions.”

She held up her hand, “Don’ tell me now.” She softened
the command with a smile and pointed toward a cupboard in the corner. “Bring me
the candle and my cards, please.”

Fighting his impatience, Joe found a stubby candle in
a wax-encrusted dish, matches, and a worn deck of cards bound with a rubber
band.

Madame reached for the matches and lit the candle. “Lily,
would you turn off the light? The switch is beside the door.” She smiled at Joe
conspiratorially. “I work best in the dark. As I imagine you do, too.”

When the overhead lamp flickered off, the glow from
the candle cast the old woman’s face into relief, lending her a look of ageless
wisdom. “I would like you to shuffle the deck for me, please.”

Joe glanced at Lily, feeling a frown settle between
his eyes, but she only nodded her encouragement and motioned him toward the
chair.

As the old woman lit the candle and set it to her
left, Joe removed the rubber band and carefully shuffled the age-softened
cards. The design on the backs of the cards was of some celestial body. The
faces were unlike any deck of cards he’d ever played poker with. He knew he was
about to have his fortune read.

He sighed, resigning himself to the fact he would have
to humor the woman in hopes she’d let him ask his questions in good time. When
he’d finished, he handed her the deck.

“This won’ take long,” she said, humor crinkling the
corners of her eyes.

Joe felt heat creep across his cheeks and gave her his
attention while she laid three cards facedown on the table.

“Let’s see what the cards can tell me about you, boy.
Dis is called the ‘Holy Trinity’—only three cards,” she assured him with a
wink. Her gnarled fingers turned over the first card. A grin creased her face
and she looked from Joe to Lily, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Joe looked down at the card and saw the figure of a
man, wearing a robe of fiery colors and holding a beautiful golden wand.

“The King of Wands,” she said, tapping the card. “This
card tells me you’re a man of passion. Handsome, conscientious, noble, and
strong…” she looked up at him with a coquettish tilt of her head, “…and a good
lover.” She laughed at Lily’s telltale blush.

Her hand hovered over the next card. She flipped it
over and gave a small gasp. When she looked up, all humor was wiped from her
face. Joe squirmed beneath her look of pity. “The Ten of Swords,” she
whispered.

This card depicted a body covered in blood. Ten swords
pierced the torso. Despite his cynicism of the whole ritual, a chill crept up
Joe’s spine.

The old woman closed her eyes for a long moment. “Misfortune,
ruin, loss, failure, desolation beyond tears. You have suffered.” She was still
so long, Joe thought she might have nodded off, then she sighed. “Ah…” When her
eyes opened her gaze held warmth. “But all is not lost. The evil is nearly
over.”

Joe heard the distant sound of a bell tinkling and the
curtain stirred. The candlelight wavered, nearly extinguishing, then fluttered
and burned brighter. Madame turned the last card. “The Blessed Virgin sends a
message.” She raised her gaze to him.

The third card drew a gasp from Lily and sent a chill
through Joe. It depicted the classic symbol of death—a tall, gaunt figure, his
face hidden within the folds of a cowl. He held a scythe. A white rose in full
blossom graced the corner. The macabre card was surprisingly beautiful.

The old woman patted Joe’s hand. “Death is not the
horrible card you think,” she said. “Isn’t death merely the stepping through
from one life to the next? Dis could be a foretellin’ of the end of pain and a
reminder of your mortality. I think a great and good change is comin’ to you.
With courage, evil may be overcome.”

Joe blew out a breath and glanced back at Lily. She
smiled thinly.

“Now, Miss Lily. I would read your cards.” Madame
Leveque slid the deck across the table toward her.

Joe slid from the chair and held it out for Lily. Lily
sat and carefully shuffled the deck, before handing it back to the old woman.
Joe placed his hands on Lily’s shoulders and he felt some of her tension ease.