A Demon Made Me Do It(84)

“They are transient demons with no home,” he continues. “They travel in particular patterns, ones I’ve been trained to spot. They don’t come from the Hlbafa side, nor were any of the Hlbafa responsible for what happened.”

“Okay, so maybe they didn’t kill Ivy and Cody, but they attacked Jax.”

“Well,” I interject, “to be fair, Jax did attack them first. Besides, the ones who attacked us are all dead now. Maybe Kieron’s right…maybe we should just let it go…” I don’t know where my magnanimous mood is coming from; normally I’d be down for any fight for any reason—good or bad.

Maybe it’s because I’m sitting here beside a healthy and strong Bones, and next to Kieron, who is still covering my hand with his beneath the waves of grass. Maybe it’s Kieron’s words—that it was demons who killed Cody and Ivy, not the Light-angels we’d first feared—that filled me with such a sense of relief, I no longer feel like tempting the fates.

Or maybe because, with Liora out of the picture, Kieron can focus his attention on me. Only me.

“Wait a minute,” Bones says, turning to Kieron. “If you knew last night that the Hlbafa weren’t responsible, why didn’t you say anything then? Why let us carry on?”

“Because I wasn’t sure if the demons responsible were still in the area. I thought we could speak to the Hlbafa leaders and maybe get some information from them…see if any of them knew anything. But, we all know how well that went.”

Bones is quiet for a while. “I suppose I see your point. No use in making something bigger than it needs to be. I have things I’d much rather be doing than fighting and killing,” he says, standing up. “But you should have told us.”

“Where are they now?” I ask.

Bones and Kieron look at me, both with blank looks their faces. I let out an exasperated sigh. “The demons, you idiots. The ones who killed Ivy and Cody.”

Kieron looks down. “They’re gone. Far away.”

I feel like he’s not telling me everything, but turn my attention back to Bones. “You off to mate?” I ask, recognizing the look in his eyes. Kieron and I rise to our feet as Bones nods.

“Yup, right after I hit up the Bar. Gonna treat myself to a few extra virgins tonight, too.” He grins salaciously. But this time my stomach doesn’t wrench up the way it usually does. I smile and give him a kiss on his cheek.

I watch his retreating back as he crosses the bridge and start to follow, but Kieron holds me back. “Lucky, wait a second.”

“What is it?” I turn to meet his gaze. My heart does the wobbly flip-flop as he looks into my eyes and puts his arms around my waist. Gently, authoritatively, he pulls me closer.

His lips find mine, and my head begins to spin. His kisses are soft at first, then stronger, more passionate. We stand there by the river of fire, arms around each other, kissing with an intensity I’ve never experienced before. My insides smolder, and I’m sure my head must be melting. I feel strong and weak at the same time.

I don’t want Kieron to ever stop, but eventually he moves his lips from my mouth to my cheek, to my forehead, finally kissing the top of my head. I rest my head on his chest, a contented smile on my face.

“I just needed to do that first,” he says, his voice husky.

“I’m glad you did…what took you so long?” I ask as I snuggle closer. I don’t want to know if he’s already kissed her; I don’t even want to think about it. I only want to be in this moment, here and now. With him. Just the two of us.

But we both need to drink, so after a few more kisses, we walk hand in hand across the river of flames.

******





“So, what’s on your agenda tonight?” Kieron asks, his face inches from mine as I lean back against a tree. As much as I love hearing the sound of his voice, every moment he’s talking is a moment he’s not kissing me.

“This,” I say, pulling him in for another. After we had our drinks at Demon Bar we’d returned to my special spot on the hillside. But now I think of it as our special spot. The Sirens seem to be singing especially for us tonight as Kieron and I embrace passionately along the edge of the cliff.

My hands wander down the sides of his body and under his shirt. My fingertips dance along the ridges of his rock-hard abdomen. Tiny baby hairs make a trail down to his jeans. He groans softly and pulls me closer.

“I wish I could do this all night, but I can’t,” he says.

“Why not?” I give him my best pout.

He sighs. “Well, I actually have to work. I picked up the trail of a quarry last night, and I need to see if it pans out. Not that I’m holding my breath,” he mutters, looking away.