Seduced by Darkness (8 page)

She collapsed on top of Luke, her muscles quivering with
exhaustion. Varin grunted and pulled out of her, then dropped onto his side and
yanked them both close to his chest.

Heidi couldn’t say how long they lay there like that,
listening to the sounds of heavy panting breaths and thumping heartbeats. When
she heard footsteps ruffling the grass beside her and looked up at Lillian, she
only knew it hadn’t been nearly long enough.

Damn, she wasn’t ready for this. She opened her mouth to say
so when a thought struck at the speed of lightning. “What are you doing here?”

Lillian grinned.
Grinned!
Goddess, Heidi couldn’t
remember the last time she’d seen the woman smile like that. On second thought,
she didn’t think she ever had.

Lillian placed her hands on her hips, stretching the gauzy
material of the white shift she wore over her flat stomach to her full
advantage. A knot of jealousy landed like hot lead in Heidi’s gut, but she
forced herself to push it aside when Varin kneaded the tense muscles of her
shoulder, the gesture both distracting and reassuring.

“I’ve been sent to tell you you’re free to go.”

Heidi sat up, bolting off Luke so quickly his cock slipped
from her folds with a loud pop. “Go? Go where?”

Lillian gestured to her left, where a dusty path snaked its
way through the wildflowers. “Home, Heidi. Go home.”

The men rose to stand beside her, their hands slipping into
hers. She squeezed down on their broad fingers, feeling infinitely comforted by
their presence. “I’m not going anywhere without them.”

Lillian’s grin grew broader. She lifted both hands in the
air and shook her mane of blonde hair. It spilled like heavy, honey-colored
waves down her back and shoulders, the tips of her locks hiding her pointed
nipples.

When she lowered them, Heidi could only gape at the spread
of white wings that had unfurled from her back. She knew her stunned look must
have been mirrored on Luke and Varin’s faces as well, because Lillian shrugged
and drew them back to nestle behind her shoulder blades. Thick white feathers
draped down around her arms, caressing her bare skin.

“I was sent to give you a message. You’ve done well. All
three of you. For that, you’ve been rewarded.”

Blowing out a loud
whoosh
of air, Heidi asked, “Is
this Heaven? Are we in it?”

Lillian laughed, the silvery sound filling the meadow. “No.
You’re in the In-Between. This is where souls go when it’s not clear which
direction they should take to carry out their hereafters.”

Varin’s hand cupped Heidi’s hip and he pulled her close to
him. “I can’t be here. I’m a --”

“Demon?” Lillian put in, her smile dimming just a little.
“Not anymore.” She stepped forward and pushed a wild, unruly curl behind
Heidi’s ear. “None of you are.”

Luke let out a loud, ear-splitting whoop, startling Heidi so
badly her hand went up to her throat on instinct alone.

“You’re human,” he said, sending an apologetic smile her
way. Understanding dawned swiftly upon Heidi.

That explained why she didn’t feel the seductive pull of
darkness at her heart every time she drew in a breath. Why her soul felt
lighter, her head no longer pounded and the irritability she’d been feeling had
dissipated faster than she could figure out what had happened.

“You sealed the breach in the veil, ensuring no more
innocent souls can be dragged through to the Underworld before their time. In
doing so, you’ve truly redeemed yourselves. Oh, and don’t worry. Baal won’t
give chase,” Lillian assured them. “We’ve made sure of that.”

“We?” Varin asked.

Tension ran beneath the surface of the word, causing Heidi
to press her body to his side even tighter. A trickle of cum ran down the
inside of her thigh, but she ignored it. This wasn’t the time to suddenly turn
bashful.

Lillian’s smile disappeared entirely. Her blue eyes turned
contemplative, focusing on memories only she could see. “You saved me too, you
know. When you kissed me.”

Heidi sucked in a breath of air between clenched teeth, the
sound echoing like a hiss. Lillian tossed her a slightly amused look, and shook
her head. “It’s not like that. The secret ingredient in Varin’s spell wasn’t so
much the ability to filter demon magic through a human. It was --”

“Love,” Varin finished for her.

She nodded, sadness filling her gaze for an instant before
the cheery demeanor took over once again. “As I said, I was as trapped as the
rest of you. Bound by hatred, shackled to darkness.” She lifted a slender
shoulder in a half shrug. “Someone up here thought I’ve been through enough, I
guess. Now I get to move on to another phase of my life.”

Heidi licked her suddenly dry lips. On impulse, she reached
out and hugged the other woman, letting her palms trail over the silky softness
of her feathered wings. “You seem… happy.”

Lillian pulled back a fraction and regarded her with a
carefully guarded expression. “I’m a long way from true happiness, but I
finally feel… content. That will have to do. For now.”

Epilogue

Lillian hugged her arms around herself as she watched Heidi,
Luke and Varin stroll down the path that would take them back to the mortal
realm. They held hands but walked pressed together thigh to thigh, as though
afraid one of them might disappear if they didn’t stay within close touching
distance.

Heidi’s curls bobbed and her shoulders trembled with mirth.
She looked up at Luke and laughed at something he’d said, joy clearly written
on her features. Varin slipped his hand out of hers for a moment and swatted
her playfully on the rear end, then stretched and did the same to Luke. For
good measure, no doubt.

Something tightened in Lillian’s chest, a familiar knot that
made tears sting the back of her eyes. Had she missed out on that kind of
closeness because she hadn’t understood that a demon could actually love?

Wiping at a stray tear that had managed to slide down her
cheek, she sniffed back the rest of that self-pitying thought. It was
irrelevant now. She’d never know.

Her shoulders tensed when she heard the scuffing of
closed-toe boots against the grass. She didn’t have to turn around to know
who’d joined her. He’d watched her like a hawk since she’d arrived in the
In-Between and learned of her wings, and her future.

She briefly considered ignoring him, wondering if he’d go
away, then dismissed that as a real possibility. He’d stand there for the rest
of eternity waiting for her to turn around, if that’s what it took. The man was
truly maddening.

“Gabriel,” she said tersely.

“Lillian,” he acknowledged, his wing brushing against hers as
he strode up and stopped beside her.

“Didn’t trust me to do this alone?” She hated the bitterness
that tinged her tone, but couldn’t help it. He’d hovered so near during the
past two days that she feared she could no longer breathe without him close enough
to feel it tickle his skin.

“I wasn’t sure you could let them go.”

She swallowed hard and shifted her weight from foot to foot,
surprised by his admission. “I could. And I did.”

His grunt might have been agreement, or skepticism. Right
then, she didn’t care which.

She pushed past him, following the same path Heidi, Luke and
Varin had taken only moments earlier. “If you’ll excuse me. I have work to do.”

He fell into step beside her. She quickened her pace.
Annoyingly, so did he. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she whirled on him
and threw her hands in the air. “What now?”

A slow, easy grin spread over his features, revealing a deep
dimple in his right cheek. She nearly groaned. Damn it, she didn’t want to
notice his dimples, or anything else about him. She just wanted to be rid of
him. Period.

Liar, liar, pants on fire
.

She clenched her teeth so hard pain resonated through her
jaw, but at least the ache distracted her from the inane chant echoing through
her mind.

Gabriel reached up and brushed his knuckles along the
underside of her chin. And damn if the intimate feel of his skin against hers
didn’t send her thoughts spinning in every direction they shouldn’t have.

“Cheer up, sunshine. Didn’t anyone tell you? I’m your
partner.”

The End… For Now?

Lacey Savage

Award-winning author Lacey Savage loves to write about her
dreams -- or more specifically, she loves to breathe life into her steamy
fantasies (and she’s got plenty!). She pens erotic tales of true love and
mythical destiny, peopled with strong alpha heroes and feisty heroines. A
hopeless romantic, Lacey loves writing about the intimate, sensual side of
relationships. She currently resides in Ottawa, Canada, with her loving husband
and their mischievous cat. You can learn more about Lacey by visiting her
website at http://www.laceysavage.com, and can reach her at
[email protected].