I was tempted to run, except where would I go? No matter where I went, if Chavez didn’t find me, the demon would. Wouldn’t it be better to die easy at the hands of a friend, than horribly at the hands of evil?
“Chavez,” I shouted. “Bring the salt.”
I give him credit; he came running. But she was already gone.
“That was a woman,” he said.
“Sex is sex.”
“A comment only made by someone who’s never had any.” He went silent for a second. “A woman is a succubus.”
“Thanks for the tip.”
“Our demon is supposed to be part incubus.”
“I think this one is a lot of things.”
“True. What did she say?”
I hesitated. If Chavez had wanted me to know about his possession, about the abuse at the hands of his mother, about the exorcism, he’d have told me. I wasn’t going to bring it up. I also wasn’t going to bring up my imminent death. From the look on his face, he was upset enough already.
“The usual,” I lied. “Sex until I die. Never give up. Yada-yada. The powers of evil need a new tune.”
He stared at me for a few seconds, and I managed to stare right back. Amazing what a little Armageddon can do for one’s lying skills.
“You ready to go?” he said at last.
I glanced at the fence, the concrete, the hole. “Definitely.”
Chavez hailed a conveniently trolling cab, then gave the driver my address. Silence fell between us. What did we have to talk about? His method? My funeral? Damnation. Forgiveness. I preferred the quiet.
The doorman, already accustomed to Chavez’s presence, nodded as we got on the elevator. Oh-oh. I didn’t want Chavez arrested for my murder. He’d be needed in the coming days to keep the demon horde down to a manageable level, if not thwart the coming Apocalypse.
I let us into the apartment, moved into the living room as he locked up behind us. Not that locking up had done much good so far.
“There’s a service entrance,” I blurted. “Do you know how to short-circuit the security cameras?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ll need to get out of the building unseen.”
He crossed the room, stopping so close I could feel the heat of him calling out to the sudden chill in me. “You think I’d hurt you?”
“Hurt, no. Kill, yes.”
He threw up his hands, then stalked away. “That damn demon!”
“Redundant, I think.”
I surprised a laugh out of him.
“I’m not going to kill you, Kit.”
“You have to. I understand. Although…”
My voice faded as a thought took hold—an insidious thought, but a very tempting one. I’d changed over the last few days, probably because the whole world had. Or rather the world had always been far different than I realized.
I’d saved myself for marriage, true love, but I wasn’t going to find either one in the next five minutes. Did I really want to die a virgin?
“One request,” I blurted.
He sighed impatiently. “Kit, I am not going to—”
“Make love to me.”
Chavez stared at me for several seconds, then slowly shook his head. My hopes died.
He crossed the room and I tensed, knowing this was the end.
“Make it quick,” I said.
Gently he reached out and slid my glasses from my nose, folding them, before setting them aside.
“It will definitely not be quick, querida,” he murmured.
Then he kissed me.
9
T he single kiss we’d shared had come in the depths of the night as this did. Then I’d still believed in a world without pure evil. Then I’d believed I had a life ahead of me, that I still had a shot at true love.
Now I knew better. That knowledge made the kiss no less mind-bending. Maybe the knowledge made it more so. If tonight was my last night, I wanted to spend it like this. With him.
I opened my mouth, deepened the kiss. He tasted of mint—fresh, cool, new. I licked his teeth and he moaned.
My fingers managed to pop several buttons of his shirt before fumbling in their haste and becoming unable to finish the job. Instead, I latched on to the lapels and tugged.
He stumbled forward, almost knocking me down. “Lo siento. I—”
I kissed him again. “No talking.”
If we talked too much, I might lose my nerve. If we waited too long, he might lose his.
Grabbing his hand, I practically dragged him to the bedroom. There I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed it into a corner. My bra followed just as fast. His dark gaze wandered over my breasts. I might be short, and I might be dumpy, but my breasts were pretty darn good.
He kicked the door shut behind us.
His shirt hung open, framing his chest. The ripples and curves, all that bronzed skin…I wanted to run my hands everywhere; so I did.