Incubus of Bourbon Street (19 page)

“We’ve lost an angel.” Her tone was cold and full of judgment.

The reality of what she’d said hit me hard, gutted me even. None of us were so self-centered that we’d just leave an innocent with the Goddess— Holy shit. We had. Zoe. I had no idea who she was really, or even where she could be. But I’d taken Pyper and Kane home from the shadows without even giving her a second thought.

“We’ll find her,” I promised. Kane shifted beside me, but I didn’t dare look at him. I didn’t want to know if he disapproved.

The anger fell from Chessandra’s expression and she seemed to lean into Drake. He wrapped an arm around her in support. I couldn’t keep from staring at them. I’d never seen Chessandra show weakness before. Not even when her sister, Mati, had been stuck in the void not too long ago. The stress of not knowing how to keep her people safe must’ve been wearing on her.

“We have a request,” I said.

Chessandra looked from me to Kane and back again. “Yes?”

I placed my hands on Pyper’s shoulders and glanced at Lailah. She nodded her encouragement, and I forced the words out. “The Goddess infected Pyper with another soul. One she controls. We’re under the impression that should the Goddess call the other soul to her, Pyper will be at her mercy. We’re respectfully requesting that Pyper be given sanctuary in the angel realm until we’re able to resolve this situation with the lesser Goddess.”

Chessandra stared at me, her expression blank. Drake studied Pyper, his green eyes seeming to pierce her with his gaze.

“Is it true?” Chessandra asked Drake.

He nodded. “Yes, she’s a vessel for two souls.”

I vaguely wondered why Chessandra hadn’t been able to sense the souls for herself, but I didn’t have time to ask.

“Your request is granted.” Chessandra raised her hand, and the bright white light shone once again in our living room.

Drake held his hand out to Pyper.

She glanced back at us, fear crawling all over her.

“It’ll be fine,” Kane soothed. “You’ll be safe there. And we’ll come for you before you know it.” He stepped forward and kissed the top of her head. “See you soon.”

Pyper stared up at him and then the light vanished, taking her, Drake, and Chessandra with it.

A pang of loss hit me hard. I hated to see her go. At the same time, a weight lifted from my bruised heart. She would be safe for now.

“Jade.” Kane slipped his hand over the back of my neck.

“Yeah?” I glanced up to see his eyes just as weary as mine felt.

“Maybe we should get some rest.”

I nodded. “That sounds good.”

We found Lailah and Bea in the kitchen with Kat and Lucien. “Where’s Charlie?” I asked.

“The guest room. She’s trying to get some sleep,” Kat said.

I yawned and my eyes watered.

Bea stood abruptly. “We should go.”

“You don’t have to,” Kane said. “We’re going to try to get some sleep, but if you four are brainstorming or trying to work anything out, there’s no need to go.”

“No. It’s the middle of the night. It’s time.”

I glanced at the clock, noting the sun would rise in a couple of hours. “Actually, it’s the morning.”

“All the more reason.” Bea caught Lailah’s eye. “I’ll give you a lift.”

The angel rose, her mascara smudged under her eyes. “Thank you.”

The pair of them took off, making us promise to call with any new developments. Kat and Lucien followed.

“Take care of her,” I said, giving Lucien a hug.

“Count on it.” He shook Kane’s hand, and a moment later Kane and I were finally alone again.

He didn’t say anything as he took my hand and led me back to our room. But instead of stopping at the bed, he steered me into the bathroom and turned the shower on. I was entirely too exhausted to do anything other than let him undress me and place me under the warm stream of water.

The shower door clicked closed, and then Kane stepped up behind me, slipping his hands around my waist as we stood there, letting the water wash away the horror of the last twenty-four hours.

“Let’s not do that again, okay?” I said.

“Which part? The dreamwalking? Battling an evil Goddess? Or…”

“The part where we were dreamwalking and then we weren’t. That’s not right.”

He chuckled and nuzzled my neck. “Agreed.”

Kane took his time gently washing me. I reveled in his soft touch, blocking out all the events of the last few days. When he was done, he dried me off and carried me back to bed. And this time when we fell asleep in each other’s arms, there was only sweet oblivion.

***

We slept most of the day away and woke up early afternoon. Charlie was already in the living room, watching reruns of
The Walking Dead
.

“Seriously?” I gave her my you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look. “Zombies? After all that’s been going on?”

She took a sip from an oversized coffee mug. “Don’t judge me. It helps take my mind off things.”

“If you say so.” I headed to the kitchen and busied myself by baking a batch of chocolate cream cheese cupcakes. The over-the-top treats were my number one go-to comfort food. Unless cheesecake was available, but cupcakes were easier to make.

Kane appeared fresh from another shower. His hair was damp and he smelled faintly of his fresh rain soap. “Cupcakes?”

I smiled when I caught his amused look. “Yes. I know I should be researching or brainstorming or something, but none of that is going to happen until I go to my happy place. And these cupcakes are the only thing that will help.”

One of his dark brows rose in question. “The only thing?” The heat in his eyes nearly had me abandoning the rich chocolate batter.

“Maybe not the only thing.” I grabbed the front of his white button down shirt and pulled him close. Smiling up at him, I lowered my lashes and said, “Show me what you’ve got.”

He bent his head and brushed his lips over mine, his tongue lapping at mine as he let out a satisfied moan. When he pulled away, he stared at my mouth hungrily. “You taste really, really good. I think in light of my sampling, you should keep baking the cupcakes.”

“What?” I asked, breathless, not caring a damn about the baking.

He laughed and touched a finger to the corner of my lips, then pressed it against my mouth.

Rich, sweet chocolate melted on my tongue.

“You’ve been sampling as you go, and damn if tasting you just now didn’t make my mouth water.”

“Oooh.” Heat claimed my cheeks as I thought of all the alternate ways we could use the cupcake batter. Smacking my lips, I let my gaze travel the length of his body.

Kane dipped his finger into the batter and then brought his hand up to my neck. Pressing the tip of his finger against my pulse, he smeared the chocolate over my skin.

Eyes smoldering, he bent his head and his lips closed over the area, gently sucking.

I let out a little gasp and melted into him.

“Oh, jeez,” Charlie said and then cleared her throat.

I jumped backward, but Kane just straightened and smiled down at me.

“Pardon me,” she said, moving past us to the fridge. “Looks like you two didn’t quite spend enough time in bed today.” She smirked and grabbed a glass for her soda.

“Uh—”

“Jade needed cupcakes,” Kane said, laughing.

Charlie’s lips twitched. “I can see that.”

“For Pete’s sake.” I swatted Kane’s shoulder. “Y’all just give me a break or I won’t share when they’re done.”

“In that case…” Charlie quickly poured her drink and then scooted toward the dining room. “We can’t have that.” With a wink, she disappeared.

Kane just stared at me, his eyes dancing.

“What are you thinking about?”

He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and gave me the most tender look. I thought I might cry right there.

“What?” I asked softly.

“I was just thinking about how full my life has been since you came into it.”

I frowned. “But we’re always off fighting demons or ghosts, or black magic. You can’t tell me you don’t long for a little peace.”

He chuckled, but then shook his head. “Peace wasn’t part of the deal, and I knew that when I signed on with you.” Trailing his fingers lightly down the side of my face, he added, “I think you know what I long for.”

I stared at his lips, my mouth suddenly desperate for his. “Chocolate?”

“Yeah, chocolate. The melted kind. All over your naked—”

The stove timer buzzed, cutting him off.

“Oops!” I pushed him back and grinned. “Cupcakes are calling.”

“Damn.” Kane gave me a mournful look, grabbed another cup of coffee, and took off to talk with Charlie.

I replaced the tray in the oven with a fresh one and then, too impatient to wait, I pulled one of the cupcakes out of the tray and cut into it. Hot cream cheese and melted chocolate chips oozed from the center of the little cakes.

Perfection.

I closed my eyes, bit into the cupcake, and pretended for just a moment that the decadent little cake was enough to make everything better.

Chapter 20

Two hours later, with Kane off supplying Maximus with an update, I stood in front of Mati’s house teetering on four-inch silver heels. They were higher than what I normally wore. Much higher, but she’d said dressy casual for girls’ night, and the shoes were doing the bulk of the work. Smoothing my black gauzy blouse, I braved her uneven sidewalk and then climbed the stairs. By the time I got to the top, my baby toe on my right foot was screaming in protest.

“Crap,” I muttered and slipped my foot out of the death contraption. I wasn’t going to make it through the next few hours if that kept up.

“Why don’t you just numb it?” Mati asked from her doorway. Her sleek, dark hair was piled effortlessly on her head and she wore a simple, short sheath dress that showed a lot of leg. A long silver necklace adorned with a tree of life pendant completed her outfit.

“With what?” I asked, wiggling my toes.

“Uh, magic?” She stepped back into her house, holding the door open. “Come in for a second before we go.”

I hobbled inside and said, “I’m not a healer. I’m better at giving boosts of energy. You know, something to wake someone up, or refresh them. Not numb anything.”

“I see.” She pursed her lips. “I’m not a healer either, but I can manipulate body parts.” Her lips formed a seductive smile.

Of course she could. She was a sex witch.

“Take a seat. Let me see what I can do.” Mati gestured to her pristine white couch.

I did as she said and placed my foot on her coffee table.

Crouching down, she brushed her fingers down the side of my foot and my little toe. Magic tingled over my skin, grew warm and then cool until I could no longer feel half of my foot.

“Hey.” I grinned. “It worked.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into her bedroom and after a few minutes she reappeared, wearing heels with laces that crisscrossed halfway up her calves. Her sexiness was off the charts. Even if she hadn’t been a sex witch, she’d have no problem finding suitors. “Ready?”

“Sure.” I stuffed my foot back into my silver shoe and stood, wobbling as my numb foot tried to balance me. I grabbed the back of her couch before I toppled over. “Yikes.”

“What is it? Did the spell go wrong or something?”

I shook my head. “No. Just me being uncoordinated. I’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.” She sent me a dubious look as she grabbed her small clutch bag.

“Honestly. It’s all good.” I followed her outside and teetered all the way down the stairs, clutching the railing.
Holy cow bells.
When had I become utterly ridiculous?

Mati laughed. “You’re not going to make it.”

“Sure I am. The car’s right there.” I pointed to Kane’s Lexus I’d parked in front of her house.

“We were going to walk.”

I groaned. I wasn’t the most coordinated person on the planet on a good day, but with my foot half numb and the sidewalks of the neighborhood just as uneven as the streets, I was likely to kill myself. “Is there parking near this place?”

“Yes. But do you think driving is going to be any better?” She glanced down at my foot. My right foot.

I let out a long sigh. “No. Let’s go. I’ll just limp.”

She wrinkled her nose in sympathy. “Sorry about that. I was just trying to help.”

“No worries. Lead on. I’m ready for girls’ night.”

Mati led the way down six blocks and over two, and when she stopped she pointed. “See, you made it.”

I glanced up, noting the rustic open-air bar with the music patio. “It’s cool.”

“Just wait.”

“Huh?” I took another step and promptly tripped, falling forward into a planter that was partially blocking the sidewalk.

“Holy shit, Jade. Are you okay?” Mati took my hand, steadying me as I got my feet underneath myself.

I glanced down at my white pants and grimaced. “Damn!” My right pant leg was streaked with dirt. “Classy.”

“Oh, Jade.” Mati put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. “I’m sorry. This sucks.”

I sucked in a breath. “So much for dressy casual. It’s not like the place is real fancy anyway.” It was just an open-air bar. Once I was seated, no one would even notice.

She grimaced. “It doesn’t look like much from here, but when we get inside…well, you’ll see.”

Frustrated beyond belief, I sulked behind Mati into the Coven Pointe bar. My eyes widened once we got inside. It wasn’t a bar at all. We were in a private entrance that was closed off from the rest of the establishment. The walls were lined with high-end Wiccan art, and there was a hostess at a podium waiting to take us to our table.

She smiled at Mati. “Hello, Matisse. You’re looking especially lovely tonight.”

“Thanks, Dara. This is my friend, Jade. She’s joining us tonight.”

Dara studied me, and her smile vanished as she took in my disheveled appearance. Heat crawled up my face and my body temperature seemed to raise at least ten degrees. Gritting my teeth, I averted my gaze.

“We had a bit of an accident just before we got here,” Mati said, slipping her arm through mine.

“I see. Well.” Dara tucked a couple of menus under her arm and turned around. “Follow me. Your party is waiting.”