Enslaved (The Inbetween Novels) (9 page)

Deryck shook his head. “I swore when I began this life, I would not and I will not break that vow. They may use my body, but no one woman will own me.” Inwardly, he cringed. One female in existence could make him break his vow. It was an impossible dream, though.

“You’ve been taking more frequent calls, then.”

The lie Deryck had ready stuck in his throat. Wolfrik had been his companion and guide in the compound for nearly three thousand years. True, he’d outgrown the need for a mentor early in his service, but occasionally he needed someone to go to and lay down all of his frustrations. He needed someone to give him a shake and remind him why it was useless to rage and argue against their nature.

“No. I haven’t been taking more calls from females on the Inbetween. Many times when I leave the compound, I’ve been . . .” Deryck took a deep breath. “I’ve been transported to the human realm. The reason is unclear, but I—” He was unsure if he should reveal Shayla’s part in things.

Eyes wide, Wolfrik grabbed Deryck by the scruff of his neck and dragged him to a vacant room filled with all manner of sporting equipment.

“Have you been drawn to anyone, a female you constantly appear around who pulls you to her no matter how far away you are?” Wolfrik whispered.

Deryck’s stomach dropped. He needed to know more. “Yes. I swear I did not try to go to the human realm. Will I be punished?”

Wolfrik shook him. “Yes, you will, but only if you are caught before you complete the ritual.”

“I don’t understand.”

“There is only one reason an incubus is called to the human realm. You’ve found her. She can free you.”

The world around them swam. Deryck couldn’t believe what he said. There was an out? Why hadn’t anyone told him before? He had a billion questions to ask. They all tumbled out at once in an incoherent mess.

Wolfrik hissed and rubbed his wrist. “Tell no one of this. I will tell you more when I return. Do not go to her until I return, Deryck. Swear it.”

Before Deryck could answer, Wolfrik vanished.

Knees like pudding, he sank onto the floor and leaned against the wall. After all this time of being used and uncared for, he had the chance to be free. Shayla was the key, but there was so much he didn’t understand. Namely, why didn’t anyone speak of this miracle? Surely the others would long, as he had, for a way to be able to live and love at their will.

None of it made sense.

“Holding up the wall, Deryck?” Garik stood in the doorway of the small room he’d taken refuge in. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

Startled, Deryck stood. His head spun, but he played it off by stretching his arms over his head and leaning against the wall until everything righted itself again. “I was looking for a basketball.”

“Oh man, we haven’t played in a while.” Garik ducked around a shelf full of all shapes and sizes of sports balls. “Got one. A game of one-on-one sounds good.”

Glad for anything to distract himself with, Deryck snagged the basketball from Garik. “Don’t cry when you lose again.”

Little birds swooped down to the patio. They hopped between tables, pecking at crumbs dropped by messy eaters or people suckered in by their teeny, tiny cuteness. A group of birds fought over a sizeable chuck of bread beside Shayla’s table. She dropped another down to them. The birds left the first piece of bread and flocked to the new one. A smart one broke off and doubled back to the original piece. It flew off with its prize while the others cheeped and pecked at each other.

“Your croutons are getting soggy,” Faye said. She nudged Shayla with a foot under the table.

“Sorry. I’m not very hungry.” Shayla dropped the rest of her dinner roll to the birds. A busboy across the patio gave her a disapproving look.

Faye reached across and handed Shayla a fork. “You need to eat. We aren’t leaving until you do.”

“Are you going to mother me all afternoon?” Reluctantly, Shayla stuck the fork into her Caesar salad.

“Only if you need it. Judging by the half-ass makeup job and wrinkled clothes, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you need someone to remind you to take care of yourself.” Faye shook her head. “Are you still hung up on what happened at the office? It’s been days. He hasn’t been around again, has he?”

Shayla chewed the bite of salad. Going to lunch with Faye was a mistake. The woman could have been a chief interrogator during the inquisition.

“No, I haven’t seen him again.” Much to her dismay. That fact alone caused her to panic. Was there some sort of psychological disorder where victims of stalking wanted to be followed? Better yet, she should just simplify it and say she’d lost her goddamned mind in the last few days.

Shayla pushed her bra strap back onto her shoulder. She’d worn the lace and satin bra she swore she’d never wear. Why? God only knew.

“That’s it, I’m going to call NASA,” Faye blurted out of the blue.

Shayla jumped. Lettuce flew off her fork and landed on her lap. Creamy salad dressing and parmesan cheese smeared over the leg of her jeans. Cursing under her breath, Shayla picked the chunks of salad off her thigh and swiped at the mess with a napkin.

“What the hell? Does NASA even exist anymore?”

Faye handed over another napkin. “I sure as hell hope so, or our only chance to bring your mind back to earth is gone.”

Faye calling her out about being a space case made Shayla feel worse than before. She gave up on cleaning up the salad dressing and tossed the dirty napkins over her food.

“Can I be honest?”

Faye nodded. “Please do. Maybe then you’ll start acting like yourself again.”

“That guy has been on my mind since seeing him at the office. Every time I pass the flowers he brought, I want to track him down and thank him for them. Or at the very least, apologize for freaking out and calling the cops on him.” Shayla leaned back in her seat. “Can you fall for someone you think may be stalking you?”

Around the corner of the restaurant, Deryck leaned against the wall and forgot how to breathe. It hadn’t been his intention to spy on Shayla and her friend on their lunch date, but he couldn’t stay away from her. He’d been roused from his sleep by agonizing pain radiating from his incubi bands and thought he’d been called to service someone. When he saw Shayla through the windows of the building, he realized what was going on.

And after hearing her confession, he knew exactly why he’d been summoned. Whatever force was bringing them together wanted him to witness this moment.

His heart banged against his ribs. Could she really feel something for him after he’d scared her so badly?

Deryck stole a glance around the corner of the building. The women sat with their backs to him, a small blessing. He marveled for a moment at how attractive Shayla was, no matter what angle he saw her from. Even with her hair piled into a messy ponytail, it captivated him. Diluted sunlight filtered by clouds hid the red highlights he liked so much but he didn’t care. Simply being close to her pleased him.

A man approached Shayla and Faye from the far side of the patio. His face was partially hidden by a baseball cap. Oversized clothes disguised his true size. He was plain enough by human standards. Deryck wouldn’t have paid him any attention except once he passed the women, he circled back around.

Uneasy with the amount of attention he paid to Shayla in particular, Deryck eased around the corner. He’d blow his cover if need be to make sure the man didn’t harm her.

The human lurched toward Shayla. She yelled and pushed out of her seat. The man took off running with something clutched in his hands.

“That bastard took my purse!”

Pissed beyond reason at the personal violation to Shayla, Deryck leapt over the foot-high iron fence bordering the patio and pursued the thief. The man looked back. His eyes widened and he picked up speed, darting between tables. They jumped over the fence at the opposite end of the dining area.

The human ran through the parking lot as though the hounds of hell were drooling on his heels. He shouted threats back at Deryck, who paid them no heed. If the man were armed, he’d stop and face him for a fight. Instead he continued to run.

Deryck followed him around the corner of another building on the far side of the parking lot and out of sight of the upset diners, namely Shayla.

He drew on his preternatural strength and caught up to the man. Deryck grabbed the strap of Shayla’s purse. The thief didn’t slow at all and the purse ripped in half. The contents spilled onto the pavement.

“Motherfucker,” the human shouted. He dropped the ruined purse and took off down the street.

Deryck stopped. There was no use capturing the man when what he truly wanted lay at his feet. Kneeling, he began to gather everything back together. He picked up the purse and examined it.

“How the hell did she fit all of that in this tiny thing?” It defied the physics of her world.

He tried to stuff everything back into the bag, but it wouldn’t hold together. Deryck stripped out of his t-shirt and used it to make a pack to carry Shayla’s belongings in.

After making sure he’d picked up every last item that’d been in her purse, Deryck turned around to head back to the restaurant. He rounded the corner and stepped into the parking lot. Shayla stood not ten feet away, staring right at him.

“Oh my—“

“God,” Faye finished for her.

Shayla had never seen such an impressive set of muscles before. His chest was so firm; she wanted to bounce pebbles off it. His deep olive skin only served to accent his abs. And she couldn’t look at his arms without entertaining completely inappropriate thoughts.

He balanced a bundle of lumpy cloth in arms twice the size of hers. When he stepped closer, the knot at the top of the bundle loosened. The strap of her purse slithered out and hung down across the back of his hand. The end was frayed. Shayla silently mourned the loss of a good purse.

This was not the way she wanted to find her maybe-stalker and apologize.

“I—” The apology she’d been working on for days stuck on the end of her tongue. Seeing him there, holding her broken purse like some shining knight out of a fairy tale, stole the sane thoughts from her mind.

Faye nudged her with her shoulder and leaned in to whisper. “That’s him, isn’t it? Jesus . . . .”

Shayla looked at her friend. Faye’s eyes went back and forth, like she was watching an emotional tennis match. Finally her eyes settled on the man. Reluctantly, Shayla looked at him as well.

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“You didn’t say he was so hot.”

She wished Faye didn’t talk so damned loud. “His looks weren’t exactly on my mind when I thought he was stalking me, okay?”

The man took another step closer. Stupidly, Shayla retreated. He frowned and held out the bundle of her stuff. Looking closer, she realized he’d wrapped his shirt around everything to carry it. No wonder they were getting a good look at his upper body. Chivalry wasn’t dead. Oh no, it was drop-dead-gorgeous and potentially psychotic.