The Entity Within

“You’d be surprised,” Pat said.

“Does this mean I’m stuck in a cat’s body forever?” Bella grumbled.

Zoe was having a hard time processing what she was being told. She’d already been abducted by a demon, held captive in a tunnel filled with spiders, and had a vampire Demon Hunter kiss her after telling her he loved her. Now she got the news that she was immortal and it wasn’t even noon yet.

She needed to be logical about this. She needed to fill in the blanks, although there were some she didn’t want reviewed. She didn’t want to know how Silas had gotten her into that red dress. She was going to pretend it had happened in the blink of an eye.

Which reminded her, she was standing in her bare feet and nightgown. “I need a shower,” she said.

But before she could reach the stairs, the front door burst open and Daniella ran in with Nick and Bruce close behind her.

“You poor thing,” Daniella said. “Nick just told us what happened. That the demons are gone and the book, too.”

“And Dr. Powers back in Boston has been compelled by a vampire friend of mine to forget and forgive everything regarding Irma. So, everybody okay now?” Nick said.

“Obviously not.” Bruce pointed to Zoe. “The poor girl is still in her nightgown.”

“I need a shower,” Zoe said.

“I brought a box of a dozen cupcakes.” Daniella waited for Pat to remove the illuminated manuscript and set it inside the Victorian armoire for temporary safekeeping before setting the goodies on the coffee table. “I brought a lemon ginger and a salted caramel as well as your fave red velvet. Oh, and a couple of maple bacon ones, too.”

“Bacon?” Bella’s ears perked up. “I love bacon almost as much as caviar!”

Daniella handed Bella a piece of bacon from the top of the cupcake and gave one to Morticia as well.

“Thank you,” Morticia said politely.

Daniella’s eyes widened in surprise. “Both your cats talk now?”

“And we’re immortal,” Bella added.

“I’m taking that shower now,” Zoe said and headed upstairs. She did not want to try to explain anything. It was beyond her. Gram and Pat would have to do that, accompanied by Bella no doubt. Too bad. Zoe was done for the moment.

Once locked in her bathroom, she tore off the nightgown and cursed it so it dissolved. She never wanted to see it again as long as she lived. But wait, that would be … forever.

She turned the water on full tilt and stepped in for her shower. She used the strongest soap she had but still kept washing, trying to scrape the memory of Silas touching her from her skin, not to mention those damn spiders. It was a very, very long shower. She only stepped out when the hot water ran out.

She’d washed her hair as well. Reaching out, she wiped the steam from the old-fashioned mirror above the sink. She didn’t look any different. One eye was still green, one still blue. But everything had changed. She’d had sex with a vampire and, well … that part had been awesome. The trauma came after that. She’d gone from having no magic to being immortal. Talk about a change in circumstances.

Zoe wrapped a big bath towel around herself and stepped from the bathroom into her bedroom.

Damon was sitting on her bed, waiting for her.

She hadn’t expected that.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“Waiting for you. We need to talk.”

“Right.” She tightened the towel around her body. “I have questions.”

A smile lifted the edges of his lips. “You always do.”

“How did you know to add those last two words in Latin to get rid of Silas?”

“Ad finum. To the end. They were on that weird chair with the words on it you have downstairs. They were on the seat where the cats usually sit, and the words were glowing.”

“What about the images on the tunnel wall of you being tortured? Were you really in hell?”

“Only the first level.”

“What happened?”

“You remember I told you about Eve?”

Zoe nodded. “The witch you killed because she betrayed you.”

“Her betrayal resulted in my being ambushed. I ended up in hell. Silas hated that I was the one who got away. No one gets away from hell.”

“He did.”

“And the two goons that were his Guys. But only because of the book.”

“He did that deliberately. They weren’t two Guys, they were really just a part of him. He just did that so that I might take pity on them. Their story about my mother sending them to hell was a lie.” She took a deep breath. “That dark magic my mother was working on when she died? She was directing it at Silas. Somehow she knew and was afraid of what would happen. So did our coven. They cast the spell that was the reason all those books in the library talked to me. They were trying to keep me away from books although they never told me that. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they were forbidden by the rules of magic. They didn’t tell me. They didn’t give me a choice. Just like you didn’t give me a choice. Didn’t the vampire Demon Hunter who turned you give you a choice? Weren’t you asked if you wanted to be turned?”

“You weren’t turned. You’re not a vampire. You’re still a witch.”

“Forever.”

“What, you were hoping to come back in your next life as a cat?”

“No. But I was hoping I’d be reunited with my mother on the other side someday,” Zoe admitted quietly. “She’s the one who charmed my bangle so we’d find the Latin chant to destroy Silas. I know she was.”

“You could be right. At least you’ve got your grandmother forever. I didn’t have any of my family. In fact, my brother died on the same battlefield I did.”

“You never told me that before.”

“I know, and I realize we’ve only known each other a few days.” He stood and came close to brush her damp bangs away from her eyes. “But we’ve got forever now.”

“Did you really kiss me and say you love me?” she whispered.

“I did.”

“Were you telling the truth?”

“I was.”

“Do you still love me now that I may be immortal?”

“I’ll have forever to prove it to you.”

“Or you could do a vampire pinkie swear,” Zoe said.

“How about an immortal pinkie swear?” Damon murmured against her mouth.

He linked his pinkie with hers.

“Are you swearing to be mine?” she asked.

“Are you swearing to be mine?” he asked in return.

“Yes.”

“Then there’s only one more thing left to be done.” He whipped the towel from her body.

Grinning, Zoe shoved Damon back so he landed on her bed. She lowered herself onto him. He’d removed his clothes in that millisecond.

“I showered. Downstairs,” he said.

She straddled his thighs and propped her hands on his chest before leaning in to lick droplets of water from his collarbone. “I’ve got you now, vampire.”

“Yes, you do.” He lifted her hips and brought her down on his erection. “And I’ve got you.”

His tumescence filled her. She rocked forward and then back before pausing. “Is this going to rob me of my magic again?”

“No, that was a onetime thing. This…” He reached down to thumb her clitoris. “This is not a onetime thing.”

His caress was direct and forceful yet tender and tantalizing as well. He was so erotically skillful, introducing