Immortal Fire (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Kai leaned over her sink
examining her teeth. She felt a slight twinge of pain between her legs. Donovan
hadn’t been kidding when he told her he had a big appetite for sex. The man
hadn’t let her up for six hours straight. She grinned at her reflection.

“I know that look.” Mitzi
giggled. “You like him.”

Kai rolled her eyes. “I don’t
like him. I lust for him. He’s excellent, Mitzi. I can’t even begin to tell you
how excellent he is. His cock—”

“Don’t.” Her friend grimaced and
shifted into her favorite form, a grey cat. She hopped up on the sink and rubbed
against Kai’s stomach.

Laughing, Kai tucked Mitzi beneath
her arm and carried her into the bedroom. She settled in the upholstered
rocking chair her grandmother had given her mother and her mother had in turn
given to her. Tickling Mitzi behind the ears, she pondered what she should do
about her new lover. “I don’t get what’s happening to me. When I’m with him, at
times, I manifest.”

Mitzi looked up at her with
questioning eyes.

“The demon in me,” Kai answered.
“You know I’ve never developed anything other than being able to see into the
next dimension or regenerating if my body is injured, but this . . . I nearly
severed my tongue when my teeth turned sharp, and when I went out to dinner
with Donovan, my fingernails grew out. I’m nervous. I don’t want to lose
Donovan when I’ve just found him. But he’d freak if he knew.”

Mitzi mewed in the way cats do
when they’re irritable. Kai let her go, and her friend jumped to the floor and
changed to herself again. “Maybe it’s not him. Maybe it’s that it’s time.”

“After thirty years?” She
scoffed. “I don’t believe it.”

“Then what?”

Kai tapped her lips. “I don’t
know, but I’m going to find out. If it is Donovan causing me to change, I want
to find out more about him before—”

“Before what?”

“Nothing.” Kai wasn’t ready to
explore what she had been thinking. She put the thoughts aside and plotted with
Mitzi about how they would learn more about Donovan since neither her mother
nor her father had any information about the man.

* * * *

“Are you sure about this, Kai?
This neighborhood looks questionable.” Mitzi glanced out the passenger side
window with a doubtful expression on her face. She clutched the door handle
like someone was about to jump out of the dark alley next to the small shop where
Kai had pulled up.

Kai reached across and untangled
Mitzi’s fingers from the door. “Don’t be a
wuss
,
Mitzi. Come on. Besides, if anybody tries to mess with us, you can turn into a
lion and scratch their eyes out.”

Her friend glared. “That doesn’t
work well against magical creatures, or had you forgotten?”

Not bothering to answer, Kai took
her hand and dragged her behind. A bell over the door jingled when she opened
the door, and the scent of herbs and spices hit her hard. Mitzi sneezed.

Kai took two steps inside with
Mitzi close and then heard a thump like someone had smashed into a window. She
swung around to find Bevin staring at her horrified from the sidewalk. He put
out his hand and came up against an invisible barrier.

“Cool,” Mitzi muttered.

Kai frowned. She reached out and
grabbed hold of Bevin’s thin wrist. Instructing him to stay invisible while she
was out on her errand, and with the command to keep his lips closed about what
she was doing, she was surprised to see her bodyguard trapped outside.

Tugging on Bevin, she managed to
smack his face into the barrier again. He teetered and fell on his rear on the
sidewalk. Kai, having little experience with this magic, glanced around the
shop. Someone had cast a spell to keep demons out, or at least full blooded
ones. She had gotten in fine.

“Hello, welcome. Welcome.”

Kai turned to face an elderly
woman with white hair. Her smile was friendly, and with the soft curls and the
round figure encased in a house dress, she looked like the grandmotherly type.
But when her twinkling gaze swung to the doorway, her smile vanished.

“Go, hideous creature! Away!” The
soft voice dropped an octave or two, and Kai jumped at the authority and power
in it. Mitzi clutched her hand, pulling backward.

Kai resisted leaving just yet, being
curious. “What do you see?” she asked, knowing Bevin had gone invisible to
human eyes when the woman first spoke. The lady was an immortal.

Mitzi tugged again and whispered
in Kai’s ear. “She’s an immortal. We should leave now. I don’t feel comfortable
being here with her.”

The old woman turned back to Kai.
“Oh don’t worry, dear. Just a nasty demon.” She glanced about her shop with
affection in her expression. “I have some very valuable items here, and don’t
need any of it falling into the wrong hands. That’s why I put a protective
spell on the place. So, who referred you, sweetie? I know someone must have,
because humans can’t see the shop. Was it the shifter?”

Mitzi yelped. “Not me.”

She thinks I’m human. Good.

“Well, my friend and I . . . I’m
Kai, and this is my friend, Mitzi. We followed
my lo
—uh—my
boyfriend over this way yesterday. He didn’t come here though. He went to a
house down the street. But Mitzi saw the shop, and we decided to stop in to see
if you know the humans in the neighborhood.”

Odd how she didn’t trust
immortals, wanted nothing to do with them. Yet, when she wanted to get a feel
for the neighborhood where Donovan had come, she checked in with the witch, or
whatever she was. Then again, she wouldn’t let Bevin in, so she was against
evil.

“Your boyfriend?” the woman
answered. She rubbed her wrinkly chin. “Hmm. Oh, where are my manners? I’m Mrs.
Dew, and this is my little shop of
whatsitz
. You
might find a potion or two to deal with boyfriend trouble.” She winked. “Curb
wandering feet really quick, what with men not being faithful. In my day—”

“Mrs. Dew?” Kai prodded.

“Oh, yes. Yes. Humans. Well, to
my knowledge, there are no humans living in this particular neighborhood.” She
scratched her chin again.

Mitzi tugged Kai. “Come on. She’s
nuts. Let’s go. I’m not comfortable with you stuck in here and Bevin stuck
outside.”

Kai didn’t know why, but she felt
sure Mitzi was lying. Why, she couldn’t imagine. “Mrs. Dew, my boyfriend is
Donovan
Karey
. Do you know the name? Have you met the
people in house fourteen, four doors down from your shop?” She held her breath.
If Donovan was an immortal, then she would break it off with him. And she’d
have to have a talk with Mitzi. Although she had to hope that some were able to
mask themselves like she could.

The more Mrs.
Dew thought, the more Mitzi tugged.
Kai rounded on her with narrowed
eyes. “Do you have something you’d like to tell me, Mitzi?”

“I-I . . .” The misery on her
friend’s face didn’t escape her. She was guilty. Kai’s stomach turned. Surely,
her friend hadn’t been bribed to deceive her. That couldn’t be possible. They
were as close as sisters, had been for too long.

“Tell me!”

Mrs. Dew chuckled. “Poor dear.”
She leaned out and tapped Mitzi’s lips. Mitzi squawked as if she’d been poisoned,
and the next instant, she blurted out the truth, compelled by whatever Ms. Dew
had done to her.

“He is immortal!” She slapped a
hand over her mouth, and tears sprung to her eyes. Her hands came down again.
“I didn’t tell you, because I wanted you to choose him as your lover.”

Kai’s heart hammered in her
chest. She backed away from Mitzi, and wondered if she could make it through
the front door before whatever plot she’d hatched happened. This was why she
hated being a half demon. This was why she suppressed that side, the endless
plots and plans, the jockeying for domination from every last one of them.
Would it ever end?

Storming from the shop, she
yelled for Bevin. He appeared before her. She hopped into her car, and Bevin
dissolved and reappeared inside the vehicle. Kai peeled away from the curb with
Mitzi running out behind her. She didn’t stop or look back through the rearview
mirror. Let that conniving bitch find her own way home.

Kai yanked her cell phone from
her pocket and punched in Donovan’s number. No answer. She produced from her
pocket the business card he’d given to her that first night. There was nothing
revealing on it. Donovan’s name was listed and his phone number with the title,
Broker. She cursed. Yet again, she’d let her pussy lead her around.

Turning her attention to Bevin,
she spat, “Get me a tracker, an elf, I guess. I want Donovan found right now. I
will know what he has up his sleeve, and I’ll beat it out of him if I have to.”

She shifted into a higher gear
and shot out onto the highway, almost daring a cop to pull her over as she
zipped in between slower cars. Her angry gaze met Bevin’s in the back seat.

“What the hell are you waiting
for?”

“I can’t leave you out here
alone,” he grumbled. “I’m waiting for you to go back home where you’ll be
safe.”

“Find me a tracker now, damn it!”
Her angry shout sent flames shooting out of her mouth and set the dashboard on
fire. The car swerved out of control. Headed for an embankment, she screamed,
and Bevin wrapped his arms around her. In a flash, they were on the side of the
road watching her baby smash through the guardrail and into a construction sight
in the area separating the two sides of the highway. Her Porsche crumpled on
impact with a bulldozer. “No!”

“You’re fine,” Bevin told her,
being no help at all.

She shook his arms off her. “Are
you crazy? I could have gotten control of the car. You just destroyed an
expensive vehicle, my pride and joy. I can’t believe this. I just can’t believe
this night!”

Kai closed her eyes, tears
threatening. She never cried, never gave into depression. Those who knew her
called her normal disposition ‘devil may care’. She’d always found that funny.
Now, self-pity hit hard. Her best friend betrayed her, her car was totaled, and
her perfect lover was a fucking immortal.

She needed a drink big time.

Chapter Nine

Donovan watched her nursing her
third drink at the bar. Her eyes were half-closed, and she hummed an off-key
tune. He could read a woman like her a mile off—defiant, stubborn, determined
to live life by her own terms, even if she risked that life. He had known the
second the tracker was put on his tail, but he hadn’t lived through five
centuries and not learned how to keep a low profile. Still, elves were good.
Pretty soon the one hired to find him would catch up with him. But not yet.

He had hidden across the street,
in the shadows, watching her place. The form he had taken, although temporary,
had assured he would not be found there. Just like he expected, she slipped out
and hopped into her mother’s vehicle, a more sensible mode of transportation
than the one she’d lost. He felt the pain of that loss along with her. A
Porsche was a smooth ride, made a woman—
or a man—feel
sexy
just driving it.

So she’d learned he was immortal.
So what? He had a lot more tricks up his sleeve that the lovely Kai knew
nothing about. She’d made a mistake pushing away her heritage through her
father. It would cost her.

“Hello, anyone sitting here?” He
cast his voice low, practiced to set a horny woman on fire. Kai shifted on her
stool. She let her eyes take in his new form, from the top of his head, covered
in long black hair that reached his shoulders, down to his booted feet. He
didn’t change his form too much, but just enough so she’d believe he was just
another human male looking for a good time. When she didn’t answer, he raised
an eyebrow. “Well?”

She smiled. “Sit down, lover.”

Donovan ran his fingers down her
arm. “You’ve been waiting for me?”

“Maybe.” She
shrugged,
her eyes unfocused. He reached out and took her beer from her. She protested,
but he ignored it.

“You’ve had enough.”

She frowned. “You don’t get to
decide that.”

“I am tonight.” He stood up and
hooked her arm. “Come and walk with me. We can talk a little while, out in the
fresh air.”

Her eyes grew wide. “No.” She
stumbled down from the stool and shuffled away from him. “Get away. I don’t
know you. I don’t know anybody. I can’t trust . . .”

Donovan caught her when she would
have fallen. His hand brushed her soft breast, and he had to force his mind
away from grinding between her thighs. “Kai . . . trust me,” he whispered into
her ear. He was the last person she should trust, but he needed her. He needed
this beautiful half demon. She had more to offer than just her luscious body.

* * * *

Kai woke up in a strange room.
Her head was pounding. She shoved the covers aside and swung her feet over the
side of the bed. “Bevin!” she called. Her personal demon didn’t appear. “Bevin,
come here!”

“Sorry, baby. This place is
protected from admitting anyone I would not like inside, especially demons.”
Donovan looked sexy as hell in black leather.

Kai licked her dry lips and
remembered what he looked like naked. Right now focusing on the bulge in his
pants, she couldn’t for the life of her take seriously her reasons for dropping
him. Thoughts of Mitzi, however, snapped her out of it. “Where the
fuck are
my clothes, Donovan? And how have you involved
Mitzi in your scheme to kill me?”

His eyebrows went up, and his
eyes widened. “Mitzi? Your little friend? I don’t know her. Besides, she’s
small potatoes.”

“And I’m not?”

He shook his head, the grin he’d
worn strolling into the room still in place. It irritated her. “Yes, you are.
If only you knew how big.”

She waved her hand at him, shoved
off the bed to stand on shaky legs, and then went crashing down again. Blowing
out an annoyed breath, she sat still until the spinning in her head subsided.
“I know all about it. Do you think you’re the first immortal to try to kill me?
They crawl out from under rocks at every turn. Bevin usually sends them on
their way. You at least got farther than the rest. You got me in bed.” She
clapped her hands to congratulate him, but winced at the clamor it made.

Donovan strolled over to her and
brushed his fingertips down the side of her face. Had she the strength, she
would have punched him in the nuts. “Beautiful, Kai.” Laughter filled his voice
like he could guess what she was thinking. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have
done it already. No, I have something else in mind.”

“Enlighten me.”

“No.”

“What?” He was the bad guy, the
one with the big plans for moving up in the underworld. That kind always wanted
to brag about their plans, how intelligent they are, and how they’d
rise
above all the competition. “Come again?”

He leaned down in front of her,
and Kai rested an elbow behind her on the bed. Being so close to him was
dangerous. She might be ticked off that he basically lied about who and what he
was, but her body didn’t give a shit. Her breasts strained at the
nightie
he’d dressed her in, and her pussy was already wet.

Knowing how weak she was, and
from more than just her hangover, Donovan nudged a knee between her legs. Kai
panted. “Don’t.”

He grinned. “Why? You want it.”

“I’m sick,” she declared, but the
hangover was passing. Her body never stayed down long. Donovan didn’t need to
know that.

“Maybe I should make you feel
better.” Following his words, he dropped down between her legs and swiped at
her clit with his tongue. She gasped. For a moment, she grabbed hold of his
shoulder to tug him closer, but somehow she found the willpower to shove him
away with one foot. He landed on his ass, eyes flashing in anger.

She burst out laughing. “That’s
what you get. Now, stop wasting my time and let my demon in or let me out.
Bevin can give me a jump home.”

“Do it yourself.” He stood,
brushing himself off.

Kai’s attention snagged on his
erection. “What?”

He sat down beside her, but she
slid several inches in the opposite direction. He followed until she had
nowhere else to go. “Haven’t you been wondering why you manifest your demon
powers around me?”

“I have no demon powers.” The
lying bastard had pretended not to notice anything. But how could he not when
her eyes glowed red when she was around him too long. She imagined that night
they had made love, she had lit the entire room. Yet, she hadn’t realized, so
into him as she was. Her sex drive would be the death of her.

“Oh you have them all right. And
I’ll prove it to you.” He grabbed hold of her wrist, but she tried to shove him
away. He held on, flipped her backward and rolled on top of her. With ease, he
raised both her arms above her head.

“Get your hands off me!” she
screamed.

He lowered his head to her breasts
and to her shock, tore open her
nightie
with his
teeth. Her breath came in shallow bursts. Her heart hammered in her chest, and
the whole violent act turned her on big time. The last of her sickness faded,
and she was ready for another six hour round of sex with Donovan.

His tongue should be registered
as a lethal weapon. Thick, long and flexible, it curled around one of her
nipples and teased until she arched into his touch, whimpering for more.
Donovan obliged by closing his lips over the puckered bud. He sucked, and an
arrow of bliss shot down to her core.

“Yes! No! Oh, yes! Donovan . . .”
Her mind was a jumble, one minute wanting him, the next trying to think of a
way to escape. She fought to free her hands to no avail. “Don’t do this,” she
pleaded.

He lifted his head. “Do you
really want me to stop, Kai?”

“I . . .”

The bastard blew on her wet skin.
Her pussy clenched. “Donovan!”

“Well?”

“No, but . . .” She panted. “This
doesn’t prove anything.”

He released her, and she nearly
wept. He slid the drawer of the nightstand open and lifted a mirror from
inside. When he held it up in front of her face, she moaned. Her eyes were
glowing. And now that she noticed, she touched her arms and stomach. Her body
was warmer than usual.

“This is just because I’m
sexually excited. It has nothing to do with you.”

“No? Then it happens all the
time?”

She started to lie, to make him
feel he was nothing special to her, no different than any of the other men
she’d bedded, but she hesitated. If there was something special about Donovan,
she wanted to know what it was. Starting with what the hell he was. What kind
of immortal could shift into another person—because she realized now the new
man last night at the bar was Donovan—and was also powerful enough to render
the spell cast over her house useless? What else could he do?

“Okay, I’m all ears. Tell me
what’s going on.”