Entity Mine (6 page)

His eyelids closed over those gem-like eyes and he shuddered. She hesitated for a moment and his eyes flew open. He snagged her frozen hand and pasted her palm back to its former place on the smooth muscles over his ribs.

A tremulous smile stretched her lips at the explicit invitation.

He was amazing, every dip and rise of his body seemed an enticement to sin. The sight of him so pleasurable it made her eyes ache and something leap inside her chest. The sensations triggered by the simple passage of her fingers over his skin twisted her stomach, tightening it until she thought if might snap, or shatter.

She resumed stroking her palm down his abdomen to the flat plane of his belly. He sucked in a breath as her hand descended, then he laughed, the sound little more than a hoarse expulsion of air, his chest shaking, when she thumbed the divot under his hip instead.

He took her hand, saluting it with his mouth like a pirate in an old movie. She smiled into his gleaming eyes, slipping her hand from his. She had no intention of depriving herself of a thorough exploration of his body, but first, one more taste of those curving lips.

She leaned forward, but suddenly his body went rigid. She jerked back, flicking her gaze over his features and followed his stare into the shadowed recesses of the far corner.

A mass hovered there, black and malevolent, hate and evil rolling off it in pulsing waves. A wave of glacial ice broke over her.

The inhuman spirit had come after her.

A blinding flash jabbed her eyes and burned black spots in her vision.

She jerked upright on the bed.

Ethan was gone.

She shook her head and blinked her eyes, willing the gaps away. But when her vision had returned to normal she had to acknowledge two things. One, this time she was really awake, and two, the malignant being was still there.

Ethan rolled his eyes to heaven, then scanned the room for the demonic.
God damn that foul-smelling bastard
. Though he couldn’t see it, he’d smelled it the minute it’d materialized. The odor must have awakened him from the erotic dream he’d been having about Devon. It must have awakened her, too, because she sat up in the bed, her attention riveted on something in the corner near the door.

He leaped to his feet. The brutal awakening from the dream had iced his flesh. He abraded his arms to warm them, though he had the illusion as he always did that he was dressed. Then he shook his head, disoriented, his ears buzzing. A long sigh brushed the feeling away, but his mind insisted on reviewing the last passionate minutes of the dream. The thought of the ravenous expression in Devon’s eyes made him swallow. No one had ever looked at him that way, with both desire and tenderness. As a kid he he’d been just a throwaway; as an adult people viewed him as, at best, a sleazy treasure hunter, at worst, an unstable, government-sanctioned killer.

The smell of the apparition intensified, wiping away the last mind-numbing effects of the passionate dream. He fisted his hands.

Whatever the spirit was, it made him feel dirty and he knew it meant no good to Devon. He sensed the being would hurt her if it could. He ground his teeth.

He had to find a way to protect her.

The omnipresent anger Devon’s presence had all but banished roared back to life. He focused on one part of him as he had in Beth’s home and rushed at the source of the smell. He hit only empty air, but for some reason the foul odor faded.

He slumped, rubbing a hand over his head. Because it didn’t have enough energy to manifest any longer? Or had something he’d done scared it away?
Shit.
There was no way to know.

The light clicked on, blinding him for a moment.

“Is that you, Ethan?” Fingers still on the lamp, Devon stared at where he stood, but since he’d moved into the apparition’s position, he didn’t know if she thought he was the foul-smellng spirit.

She shook her head, eyes wide, her hair clinging to her cheeks like fiery ribbons. “I think I can sense you. I could see the demonic. Damn it, why can’t I see you?”

So she did know the other spirit had left.

Air puffed out her cheeks and she glanced at the ceiling for a minute, ruffling her tapered fingers through her hair. Then she walked over to his photograph. “Well, if it is you who drove the other spirit away, thank you.”

She padded back to the rumpled bed and pulled the covers up around her neck. “I’m such a fool,” he thought he heard her mutter. Then she said clearly, “Goodnight,” and switched off the light.

The darkness closed over them like seawater and it took a minute before he could see she’d closed her eyes. He stood there for a moment, then paced between the door and the bed. He didn’t dare allow himself to fall back asleep, but he had no idea how the other ghost had followed them and less how it operated. He didn’t dare leave her alone. There was a wooden chair in the corner, but he couldn’t make himself sit there. The idea was ridiculous anyway. He had no physical form. It didn’t matter where he slept.

He lay back on the bed, tucking his arms behind his head and inhaling her sweet feminine scent. God, she smelled good.

He turned on his side. She was on her side as well, and if he’d been solid he could have spooned her. The thought rushed through him like a jolt from a live wire. He gritted his teeth against an ache fiercer than the ever present hunger and twice as pleasurable, shoving the notion away. He was there to protect her, nothing more. Nothing else was possible anyway.

The closer he was, the faster he could defend her.

Chapter 9

Jake twisted his massive body in the humid night air. Only the occasional shimmer of an iridescent scale and intermittent gaps in the pattern of stars revealed his older brother’s position ahead of him.

Ky’s dragon form was black and it made for perfect camouflage. Jake spared a rueful glance at himself. His dark blue dragon form was just that tiny bit lighter, but he felt much more conspicuous against the night sky. God, he hoped no one looked up and saw him. He couldn’t imagine what someone might think if he witnessed a gigantic dragon winging over the rooftops. Probably that he was crazy and he really didn’t want to be responsible for some poor fool doubting his sanity. Hell, he’d been there and done that.

Another lazy twist shook off the bad memories. He resisted the urge to fly higher. They didn’t want to be spotted on radar, and pumped harder to catch up with Ky, the crisp, early October wind sliding like water over his scale-covered body. “At the risk of repeating myself for, I don’t know, the hundredth time, what it the point of a corporate jet, if you don’t use it?”

The sound of his wing-beats and the rush of the air snatched at his words, but his large body came with a large voice and he knew Ky had no problem hearing him.

His brother rolled a draconian eye in his direction. “You’d rather fly in a tin can than be out here, under the stars with—”

“Bugs in my teeth, waiting to be knocked out of the sky by a 747, or better yet, a missile?” Jake barrel-rolled beneath his brother. “I love flying as much as you do, but damn it, Ky, you’re spending way too much time in dragon form. A little human time wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

“I was human this morning.”

“For about ten minutes.”

Kyle let out a trumpeting snort. “I’ll spend a couple days human when we get back. Is that okay? Can we drop this now,
mein fuhrer
?”

Jake cruised higher to avoid a church steeple. His brother tracked higher as well. Jake let the night steal his tension away.

They flew in concert for several minutes and when Ky finally spoke, his voice was even. “Did I tell you? John said they finished the remodel on the warehouse this morning. I can move our guest tomorrow.”

“Still no progress with her?” Jake eased a bit closer, relieved that his brother had conquered his inhuman side, for the moment.

Ky shook his trashcan-sized head. “No. If I didn’t know she was a Chimera from her scent, I’d think she was one-hundred percent African lioness.”

“She’s not responding at all?”

“Not a whisker.”

“It’ll be fun to move her then.” Jake wheeled in place.

“Thank God, money buys good help.”

“And greases away questions.”

“You got that right.”

Several minutes later they spied their destination, a tiny rowhouse in a column of such houses. Most of the windows were dark.

They circled to land and Jake tossed a set of clothes from his back pack to his brother, who flashed human and into his clothes at almost the same time.

Jake copied him. “I’m so glad Anjali figured out how to flash in and out of clothes. I really hate being naked in the middle of the street.”

“Or in a bush,” Ky said, because an overgrown, very prickly shrub shielded them from the street and the surrounding houses.

Jake just threw his brother a sharp look from beneath lowered eyebrows, then checked his cell phone for any missed calls as they walked up to the concrete porch. He was telepathic with Anjali, but not at this great a distance.

He stopped in front of the door, confirming the house number. The porch light was off, but Jake could see perfectly in the moonlight, a perk from his lion side. “We got here later than I thought.” He felt his eyes glow for a second as he glanced at his brother. “Do you care?”

Kyle’s face was hard, his eyelids slightly lowered, hooding his expression. “No.”

Jake turned back to the red-painted door. “Me neither.” He raised his fist and pounded on the barrier.

A dog barked his head off a couple houses down. After a moment, they heard footsteps and then the porch light came on.

A lanky blond man, wearing a white T-shirt and pajama bottoms, opened the door. He moved like someone who could take care of himself and had the wary eyes of a soldier who’d seen action. A baby cried in the background.

“Ethan?” the man said, his expression opening with relief and welcome. “Oh my God, Ethan. You’re alive.” He launched forward, arms wide as if to embrace Kyle, who held out his hands, palms out, and stepped back out of reach. “I’m his brother, Kyle Mara. You’re Dan Gilwater, I take it.” Ky glanced at Jake then back at the blond.

Jake hid a sigh of relief at his brother’s normal sounding voice. The quick movement hadn’t triggered Ky’s dragon. Or perhaps his brother was getting better at pretending he was in control.

The other man slumped against the doorframe. “Yeah.” He swept a hand through his hair and stepped fully out onto the porch, closing the door behind him. “Damn, I—” His chest rose and fell as if he couldn’t get his breath. “I really thought you were him for a minute.”

Jake studied Dan, weighing up the man’s posture and demeanor. He didn’t sense or smell deception. What was more, Dan at least thought it was possible for Ethan to be alive, which meant he hadn’t killed him.

Ky gestured toward the door and raised his eyebrows. “Can we come in?”

Dan cleared his throat and peeked over his shoulder at the door, shifting his weight. He started to stuff his hands in his pockets, then seemed to realize the scrub-style pajama bottoms he wore didn’t have any pockets and rubbed his hands on them instead. “I’d rather not. My wife’ll be putting my son back to bed.”

Kyle nodded, but didn’t speak. The silence fell around them for a moment like a heavy snowfall and Jake noticed the chirp and peep of the few remaining insects and frogs that had cut off when they’d landed, had picked up where it had left off.

Dan skated his gaze from Ky to Jake and back. “I don’t know what to tell you. I told the police everything.”

Jake leaned on the rectangular pillar supporting the porch roof, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell them about the seal of Ochoa.”

A huff of air burst from Dan’s lips. “Look, I was drunk off my gourd that night. We came in and he was gone. I didn’t know Bill had taken the seal. He sold it under my name, but when I found out what he’d done, I wouldn’t take the money.”

Again, no scent of deception. Jake bit back a growl of frustration.

Dan bowed his head and closed his eyes. “No matter what went on between us earlier in the night, I really cared about Ethan.” He glanced behind him again. “When I found out he was missing, it made me re-evaluate some things.”

Kyle looked at Jake before returning his attention to Dan. “I believe you. But I need you to tell me everything you remember about the break-in.”

Dan hung his head. “We entered through a window and I thought sure Ethan would hear. He had fantastic hearing. I mean awesome.” He glanced up for a moment. “One time we were on this huge research vessel. I got my foot caught in a line and almost fell overboard. Ethan and everybody else was on the other side of the ship. I was hanging on to the edge by my fingernails, man. We were staring at twenty-five foot swells. I wouldn’t have stood a chance in those waters, but somehow Ethan heard me yelling over the roar of the waves.”

Dan shook his head. “Never saw anything more welcome than Ethan’s hand in front of me.” His gaze found the gray-painted concrete under his bare feet. “Anyway, I thought sure he’d hear us and, I don’t know. I guess I was spoiling to finish our fight.” A wry note threaded a gruff half-laugh. “Ethan could’ve wiped the floor with me. His nickname was Cyborg.” His shoulders twitched. “No offense. I guess I figured if we could just fight it out, it’d all be okay.” He looked at Jake. “But he wasn’t there.”

Dan shrugged. “At the time, I figured he’d gone for a walk. Yeah, it was raining, but we were SEALs, man. A little water never stopped us from doing anything we wanted to. There was a little lightning, so I thought he’d be on his way back. Bill must have taken the seal when I was lookin’ for Ethan. He was suddenly in a fucking tear to get out of there, so we left.”

Jake shook the other man’s hand, a seed of hope germinating in his chest. “Thank you for speaking with us.”

Dan raised a broad palm, half wave, half-appeasement. “If, when, you find him. Tell him Janice took me back. Okay?”

Jake nodded, turning to trot down the steps in unison with Kyle as soon as the door closed after the blond.

Seconds later, they were back in dragon form and in the air.

Kyle drew abreast with Jake. “What do you think?”

Hope and fear warred in Jake’s chest, making it hard to answer. “You know what I think.”

“Do I?”

Jake slapped the air with his wings. “You think it, too. The bright flash of light could have been Ethan changing.”

“Seems likely.”

“Though it would be hard not to see a lion or a dragon standing in front of you, and I didn’t sense any omissions in the story.”

“He said himself he was trashed and a bright flash would have blinded them both.”

Jake imagined for a second how it could have gone down. Ethan changing in anger and confused by the transformation, escaping the house the same way the men had entered. “So he may be alive.”

They flew without speaking for a long time, each lost in the ramifications of Dan’s revelation.

Jake drew buckets of bracing air into his massive lungs. As much as he wanted Ethan to be alive, as much as relief that they hadn’t lost his next oldest brother buzzed though him, death wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to chimeras.

Finally, Kyle spoke, his voice rough and harsh. “If he is alive, but he’s gone feral, you know what has to happen.”

Jake rocketed forward, not wanting to hear the rest of the thought, but unable to keep himself from finishing it under his breath. “We have to kill him.”