She moved away from him to turn off the TV, which was blaring news about the neverending trouble in the Middle East. “I’ve never really cooked for anyone but myself, but I think I do okay.”
That was the understatement of the century, and the bread turned to lead in his gut. She was so perfect, so decent, and so wrong for him, and while it was nice to fantasize about having her, these little slices of a white-picket-fence life were temporary.
“Hey,” Idess’s voice was a soft prompt from the living room. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Yes.” He swore. “I mean, no. You didn’t do anything wrong.” You did everything right, damn you. “Cookie, we have a huge new problem.” Food forgotten, bodily urges temporarily overridden, he turned to her. She stood there, hands clasped in front of her, watching him with concern. He wished she’d stop doing that, because he didn’t want it, didn’t deserve it.
“What now?” She’d changed clothes at some point while he was gone, was now wearing a pair of khaki BDU pants, combat boots, and a black, button-down blouse tied just below her breasts, revealing that flat belly he wanted to kiss every time he saw it.
She looked sweet and sexy and once again, he threw wood like a teenager who’d just picked up his first nudie mag.
He casually adjusted his erection and got back on track. “Shade’s mate was attacked, and one of his sons kidnapped. Rade’s being held as ransom for Kynan.”
Every drop of color drained from her face. “Shade’s mate? Where?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
She hooked her thumbs in her pockets and looked down at the floor. “First… do you know who attacked her and took the child?”
“Sin saw Rade with some demon named Rariel.”
Frowning, Idess looked up again. “Rariel?”
Hope sparked. “Do you know him?”
“No… but that sounds like an angel name. He might be fallen.”
It was Lore’s turn to frown. “If he’s a fallen angel, why wouldn’t he go after Kynan himself?”
“I don’t know,” Idess said, “but the reason I asked about Shade is that I may have another piece of the puzzle. Your brother, Roag, haunts the hospital.”
Lore froze. “How do you know?”
“I’ve seen him. Angels are capable of seeing those who exist in dimensions your limited eyesight can’t pick up. I helped him out of the hospital,” she said thickly. “I didn’t know who he was, and apparently, I took him to Shade’s old apartment. I searched for him after Eidolon told me, but…” She shook her head. “What if he had something to do with the attack?”
Shock made Lore’s mind sluggish as it played back the last few days from the beginning. The Rariel guy had been hanging with Deth… and he had Rade, wanting to trade for Ky. But if he was a fallen angel, why would he set up Lore to take the fall? Wait…
“Angel.”
“Yes?”
“Not you.” Lore smiled a little at that, but sobered quickly. “Bear with me, here. I met Rariel when Roag hired me. They know each other. If Rariel is a fallen angel—”
“He could see Roag like I can,” she breathed.
“Exactly. What if they’re working together so Roag can get his revenge on our brothers? Rariel could have contracted me to kill Kynan as well as set me up as Rade’s kidnapper. Roag gets what he wants, and Rariel gets Kynan’s special necklace.” He frowned. “What’s with that, anyway?”
“Necklace? I don’t know.” She was lying, and she changed the subject before he could call her on it. “But why would Rariel also hire Sin to kill my other Primori?”
Yeah, that was still a missing piece of puzzle, but right now, his primary concern was getting Rade back.
“Sin’s trying to get a bead on Rariel. She’ll be here in an hour. But if he hurts that child…” It would be Lore’s fault. Idess squeezed his hand, and fire shot up his arm. He hissed and backed away so fast he bumped into the wall. “Don’t!”
She followed him, worry putting delicate lines in her forehead. “Lore? Hey, are you okay?”
“No,” he ground out. “I’m not okay.”
Something dark and primal vibrated through Lore, as though all of the lust that had built up over the last couple of days was tired of waiting. It wanted out. And it wanted Idess.
She reached for him. “I want to help you—”
He moved without thinking, his body heading down the backstretch before his brain even got out of the gate, and the next thing he knew, he was on her, sandwiching her between the wall and his body. He gripped her hip with his bare hand and the nape of her neck with his gloved one as he dipped his head so his lips brushed her ear.