Demons Like It Hot (39 page)

Matthias drew his lips tight. “I can’t leave Serah unattended.”

“It isn’t safe to travel the portals alone,” Rafe stated. “With such important cargo.”

“What about Kalli?” Serah blurted. Anything to keep him close. Yep, she had it bad.

“As much as it pains me to say this,” Kalli said with a smile. “Matthias is a stronger fighter.” She turned to Matthias. “You’ll only be gone for an hour or two at the most. Lucy and I can protect Serah.”

Matthias offered a reluctant nod. “I understand.”

Maybe they could eliminate the middleman all together. “Gerardo’s an angel. Can’t he just bless them?”

“Guardian angels are earthbound angels, so no.” Leave it to Matthias to rain on their parade.

Daniel shrugged. “You know, earlier I felt like I was being followed. The presence didn’t seem demonic though.” He chuckled. “I’m probably just being paranoid.”

“No, you’re not.” Rafe reached into the box and set several more bottles of colloidal silver on the table. “You were being ghosted.”

“Ghosted?”

“I had a couple phantoms keep tabs on you.” Rafe shrugged. “We couldn’t be too cautious.”

“Sally never said anything about ghosts or phantoms either. This is getting even wackier.” Daniel rubbed his fingertips together. “Then again, she left out a lot more serious things.” He shook his head, no hiding his disgust with himself there.

Poor guy, thought Serah. Something told her he’d get over it and move on with his life. She’d help him in any way she could. She owed it to him.

“Phantoms and demons don’t usually revolve in the same circles.” Rafe smirked. “But I helped Nigel and Rupert out of a jam, and they were repaying me the favor.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I can have them stand down, if you like.”

Daniel shook his head. “No, just make sure they keep their distance. If I could sense them, and if Salome is as powerful as you all say, then she may sense them too.”

“Will do.” Rafe nudged Matthias. “We need to see the Council now. The sooner we get these bottles blessed, the sooner Serah can get the tiramisu made.”

Matthias nodded. His gaze caught hers. “Will everything be okay for about an hour?”

An
hour? It takes that long to get a couple bottles of silver blessed? What can we do in the meantime. Swap cookie recipes?
“It’ll have to be. Kalli’s here to take over your bodyguard duties.”

Kalli squared her shoulders and raised her chin. “I’ve done my fair share of guarding every so often. I once guarded an Egyptian queen.”

“Cleopatra?”

Kalli snorted. “Heck no. Much too proud for my tastes.”

“Oh so you had nothing to do with the asp?”

Kalli nodded. “She was a proud woman. She would rather die than be humiliated by the Romans.”

“So it wasn’t about love?”

Kalli leaned in. “It hardly ever is.”

Matthias slanted his eyes at Kalli, his jaw taut. “Enough.”

“Love shouldn’t be tragic,” Kalli added, ignoring Matthias.

“But it is.” Matthias stiffened and turned to Rafe. “We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s get going.”

Serah wished she knew how to help him. He needed more than a quick romp like they’d had earlier. He needed someone to console him. Hug him. Show him love still existed. Because Rafe’s and Lucy’s PDA obviously wasn’t enough.

Speaking of Rafe and Lucy, they gave each other a quick kiss and Lucy straightened his leather jacket. “Think of me as that cold portal sucks you in.”

“I always do. It’s what keeps me warm.”

Serah pretended to gag, coughing and sputtering. “Spare us the display already.”

“You’ll know what it’s like soon enough,” Lucy said with a friendly swat to her arm.

Not if she continued down this dark path of obsession—obsession for Matthias. She wanted to be the one to hold him, the one who he confided in. The one she wanted to confide in.

They had a lot more in common than she thought. They had both lost their families. They both felt guilty about it. She couldn’t ignore that they had some kind of connection. Not that it was a healthy one, but it was still there.

“I think I’m fine right where I am.” But was she? She’d have to be for now.

“Okay,” Lucy said with a frown. “But you should be happy too.”

“I am happy. See?” Serah gave her best attempt at a toothy grin. “But we need to concentrate on other things now.”

Matthias nodded. “Serah’s right. We need to go—
now
.”

“Yes,” Rafe said, giving Lucy another quick peck on her cheek. “We can continue this later.”

Lucy smiled. “Okay, babe.”

Matthias took her hand in his, tingles zinging from just that touch. His dark gaze burned her, in a totally good way. “I’ll be back soon, Serah. I promise.”

“Okay.” She withdrew her hand from his, electricity zipping across their skin. What was it about his touch?

You
like
it, dumbass.

Without further words, he turned around and strode to the office. Rafe followed right on his heels. The door blew shut behind them.

Yes. She did like it. Way too much. Who was she kidding. She loved it. She loved his hands when they stroked and roamed all over her body. She loved his lips against hers. She loved all the naughty things they had done in bed. Yep, she was really fooling herself. She loved him.

Well, that made things complicated, didn’t it?

“Shit. I’m getting tired,” Serah said, with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes. She’d had a long day and just wanted to curl up and go to bed. Perhaps she could battle the brisk early-winter air by snuggling in some cozy fleece blankets in front of her warm fireplace. That would keep her toasty. Alas, they still needed to make their poison tiramisu.

“What you need is some extra strong coffee to jolt your senses.” Lucy smiled. “I can at least brew a strong pot. I’m not completely helpless.”

“Be my guest.” Serah extended her arm to the coffee pot in the far corner. “As long as it’s a machine doing things for you, it’s all good.”

Lucy shrugged, grabbed the carafe from the machine, and filled it up with water. “What kind of beans do you have?”

“Costa Rican Dark Roast.”

“I’ve never had that blend before.”

“It’s delicious. It has a faint hint of dark chocolate and figs.”

“Sounds like a fancy chocolate bar, not a coffee, but I’ll give it a try.” She pulled out the grinder and canister and scooped out way too many beans.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“The stronger, the better. Trust me.” Lucy covered the grinder and pushed a button, and the grinder roared to life. She poured the grounds into the top of the machine and turned it on.

The woodsy aroma of coffee filled the air, wafting to her nose. Yep, Lucy could at least brew a good pot of coffee.

“Smells good,” Daniel said.

“I’m good for one thing in the kitchen, huh?”

Serah nodded. “Indeed.”

Lucy opened a cupboard and pulled out Serah’s second-favorite cup, a tall mug that said “This cup’s for you.” Her favorite one had been melted, thanks to Matthias. She pulled the half-filled carafe out and poured some coffee into the cup. “I don’t do cream or sugar. You’re on your own there.”

She replaced the carafe and the machine resumed its brewing. Gotta love automatic drip.

“Probably a good idea,” Serah said with a chuckle. She ripped open a pack of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Sugar and sprinkled it into her cup. Coffee wasn’t something that she spent hours on, so she relied on the delicious mixes that Café Du Jour provided her. Sure it wasn’t real, but it tasted damn good. She pulled out the bottle of white chocolate caramel creamer and cracked open the lid and poured some into her coffee.

Without any warning, Lucy’s phone went off. The
smooth
crooning of Justin Bieber filled the room. Lucy blushed as she flipped open the phone. “Hello.”

Daniel grinned. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. I’ve met Justin before. A wonderful kid.”

Lucy smiled and nodded, followed by widening eyes. “What?” she asked, her voice booming with surprise. “Really? That’s amazing.”

Despite the surprise, she didn’t seem overly worried, which only piqued Serah’s interest more.

“What’s going on?”

Lucy pulled the phone from her ear and covered the receiver. “Hold on,” she whispered. She went back to her conversation. “So they came and took him, just like that?”

Took who? What was going on? Now Serah was starting to worry.

“Frankie, calm down. I know you wanted to give him a party.” Lucy shook her head. “He knew they were coming and he didn’t tell us?” There was a brief pause as Frankie said more. “I’m sure he just didn’t want us to make a big to-do about it. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Lucy blew out a deep breath. “Rafe and the other Paladin who is guarding Serah have gone to limbo. I’ll ask if they can find anything out when they get back. We’re trying to make poison tiramisu and are waiting for the main ingredient.” She paused again. “Okay, I’ll tell her. Bye, hon.” She hit the button to end the call.

“Oh, brother,” Lucy breathed. “Something weird just happened at the shop.”

“What?”

“A group of angels came and took Gerardo away.”

“Wasn’t he going to be reassigned to a human child?” Serah asked.

“It wasn’t earthbound angels that took him. It was heavenly hosts, I guess. I hope he’s okay.”

“Me too. We’ll have to have Matthias and Rafe investigate when they get back.” If anyone could get answers it was those two. They could either charm with their looks or threaten with their muscles. She prayed it was the former. She never cared much for violence.

“Angels too?” Daniel threw back his head and chuckled. “It just got weirder again.”

“Yep. After a while, it will all seem normal, though.”

“I hope.” Daniel shivered. “And to think I was freaked out when I auditioned for
Supernatural
.”

Supernatural?
He was cute, but she didn’t really see him as a Dean or Sam Winchester. “Sorry that didn’t work out for you.”

“Sally wasn’t too thrilled about the idea anyway.” Daniel shrugged. “She said it would be a conflict of interest with our work with the Brotherhood.”

“More like some of the episodes would make you suspicious of their organization. I mean they made angels villains. Who does that?”

“Hollywood.” Kalli said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Artistic license, you know. By the way, not all angels have angelic intentions. Matthias can tell you all about that.”

Serah nodded. He had mentioned it briefly when he related his story to her. But it really shouldn’t have surprised her. If demons could be good, what’s to say an angel couldn’t be bad?

Speaking of Matthias, where were they? It had been over an hour already. Then again, she was not known for her patience. “How much longer? I’m worried about Gerardo.”

“Frankie said Gerardo was happy to see these angels and willingly went with them.” Lucy took a sip of her coffee. “Ahh, just the way I like it.”

“So you think he’s okay?”

Lucy chuckled. “Even if he were in trouble, he can hold his own.”

No lie there. She’d seen the way he fought. Still, she worried. There was nothing they could do now. She’d have to wait for Matthias and Rafe.

God, she hated waiting.

It was brutal, but at least it was short-lived. Matthias brushed the frost and ice from his head and shoulders. He scanned the room they’d ended up in. A red jacquard divan sat in the far corner, with two matching pillows bedecked with gold tassels guarding each corner. Candles lined the alabaster walls, their flickering shadows dancing across the walls. The polished, black marble floor shined bright.

The High Council chamber. Where many demons had waited to speak to the oldest and powerful of the Paladins. Where he had waited, a mere five days earlier, to get his first mission.

Rafael took a deep breath. “I remember the last time I waited here.”

“When.”

“Right before I went to Earth and met Lucy. Amazing how views can change, based on our attitudes. It was dark and foreboding then. Now it’s light and peaceful.”

“It seems confining to me.”

“Nerves do that to people.”

“So how does this work?”

“Well, I’ve never actually witnessed a blessing. I’m not the best person to ask.”

“Thank you for trusting me, Rafael.”

“Rafe. All my friends call me Rafe. Despite our initial differences, I know you’re a good man, Matthias.”

“Matt.” He allowed Rafe his arm. With a smile, Rafe grasped his elbow. Matthias returned the favor. It was nice to finally belong, to have someone call him a friend and mean it.

Two giant, gilt doors swung open. Astra strode into the room, flicking her black, barbed wings. “The Council will see you now.” She spun on her heels and flapped her wings. Could she fly or was it all for show?