Something Wicked

No more lustful thoughts about Darrak.

She hated him. It didn’t matter if he’d spared Ben’s life, she shouldn’t be feeling this way. Not here. Not now. And not toward him.

Hang on to the anger, she told herself. It makes things much easier.

She felt flushed so she fanned herself with a piece of junk mail.

Something caught her attention on the counter. An envelope addressed to her. She sliced it open to find a handwritten note and a small key inside.

Eden, I’m sorry I’ve been such a bother. You made it clear last night that I’m not wanted here. If there’s one thing I can do it’s take a hint. I’ve been taking the hint all my life, and this is no different. I’ve gone to fix my problems instead of hiding from them. Enclosed is a key to a locker at the bus station at Dundas and Bay. Inside is that little item I told you about last night. Hold on to the key for me. If I’m not back in two weeks to get it, you’re welcome to the contents.

— Leena

P.S. Just because Darrak’s in love with you doesn’t mean he’s not going to get you killed. Take it from me: men, demonic or otherwise, are scum.

There was a lot to digest in that note.

Eden looked at Darrak, who was quickly polishing off the second donut.

“What did you say to Leena last night?” she asked, trying to remain calm. “When she thought you were me?”

He stopped chewing for a moment. “Nothing.”

“Enough lies, Darrak. Just tell me.”

“Why?” He looked at the note. “What does she say I said?”

“You gave her the impression she’s a bother.”

“She is.”

“You mean, she was. She’s gone.”

He raised dark eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“That’s fantastic.” He opened the fridge again. “Do you keep champagne around here anywhere so we can celebrate?”

Eden glared at him. “No, it’s not fantastic. You made her feel unwelcome.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Stop lying. Honestly, Darrak. You lie to me too much.”

“I lie to you, huh?” He threw the empty crumpled-up pastry bag on the counter. “I lie to you?”

“That’s what I said.”

“I don’t think I’m the only liar in the general vicinity.” Darrak closed the distance between them and looked down at her. “Were you planning on telling me any time soon about your father?”

She froze. “What?”

“Your pops. Your daddy.” He braced a hand on either side of her, effectively trapping her in place with her back against the edge of the counter. She couldn’t move without touching him, and the heat of his body sank into her. “You know. The angel?”

Panic rose in her chest. “Who told you that?”

“Ben did. Part of his strange method of begging for his life seemed to be shooting out lots of interesting factoids. That was one of them. You’re a nephilim.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

Darrak took her face between his hands and stared deeply into her eyes as if searching for something there. “I don’t sense anything like that. At least I. . I didn’t think I did. How long have you known? Since the beginning?”

She wrapped her hands around his wrists but didn’t try to pull him away. Even now, his touch was distracting and oddly tempting. “No. I only found out the other night. And like I said, I have no idea if it’s true.”

“What does your gut tell you?” he asked.

“My gut?”

“Yeah. You have good intuition.”

“Just what every girl likes to hear.”

“Really gorgeous, hard to resist intuition,” he clarified, with a twitch of his lips, but then the glimmer of a smile vanished and he frowned. “My head feels cloudy.”

“My gut tells me that. . that I don’t really know. I don’t feel any different.”

He stroked the back of his hand across her cheek. “You feel the same to me.” Then he shook his head as if trying to clear it. “Were you going to tell me?”

“I was. I. . I just hadn’t yet.” Her eyes narrowed. He was the one keeping things from her. The nephilim thing shouldn’t even count. “Were you going to tell me about the black diamond, the angelheart?”

“I didn’t know about the angelheart.”

“But you knew Theo was looking for a weapon. How long have you known that?”

“About four hundred years. Give or take.”

Holy crap. He’d wanted to kill Lucifer for four centuries? That was a very long time to preplan. It had to be a record for premeditated murder.

“What’s the weapon for?” she pressed. She wanted him to tell her.

“To help end somebody,” he said.

Getting closer. “Who?”

“It’s best you don’t know, Eden. It’s safer that way.” Then he rolled his eyes. “There I go again.”

“There you go again what?”

“All annoyingly concerned about your safety.”

“I’m okay with that, really. My safety is also very important to me.”

“Yeah, but. .” He blinked, before his blue-eyed gaze hardened. “Maybe I don’t want to be this way. This humanized version of a demon. Maybe it’s making me feel like a lesser being, nonpowerful and in danger of losing any sort of hold I have on my past.”

She tried to understand how he felt. Darrak didn’t act like she ever would have expected a demon to act. It was the reason why she felt safe with him. “Do you want to be the way you used to be?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said.

“Don’t you feel guilty for the things you did in the past?”

“No,” he said without missing a beat. “But I feel guilty for the things I do now. There’s a difference — it’s like I’m a totally different entity. Back then, I was in control, I was all powerful, and other beings feared me. I didn’t second-guess myself ever. And I got what I wanted when I wanted it.”

“Sounds horrible to me.”

“And I wouldn’t have cared if you thought I was horrible.”

“Darrak—”

He glared at her. “Back when I was really me, you wouldn’t have mattered to me at all.”

She inhaled shakily. “So you’re saying I do matter to you.”

He got closer to her again, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin.

“The old me wouldn’t have stopped you the other night when you wanted me.” His gaze traveled over her face to her mouth. He pressed closer to her, and her hands went to his sides, unsure whether to push him away or not. “The old me would tear off your clothes and take you up against the wall any time it suited me.”

An excited shiver went through her at that blunt statement. “You made Leena leave.”

“Don’t try to change the subject,” he said. “Leena has nothing to do with this.”

“About you wanting to be as demonic as you used to be thanks to good old Theo’s influence?”

“I’m a demon. I should damn well act like one.”

“You didn’t kill Ben,” she reminded him. “You let him go.”