Kat and Mouse (14 page)

Two minutes later, the woman re-emerged and continued along the way, completely ignoring Katrina’s presence.

Room 39. Soft tap. Wait. Enter. Exit.

Room 40. Soft tap. Wait. Enter. Exit.

Room 41. Nothing. She kept walking without slowing down. Katrina’s heart smashed against her chest in disappointed anger, until she spied the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hanging from the doorknob.

Sucking in a silent breath, she hurried after the woman, needing to be closer when she reached Room 42.

Please, God. Be nice to
…

The woman stopped, tapped, waited. Juggling the enormous stack of towels, she slid her access-card into Room 42’s locking slot and, a second later, entered the dark room.

Yes
.

With more grace and speed than she thought she had, Katrina slipped through the door immediately after the woman, tucking in her butt just in time to avoid having it thumped by the closing door.

The woman turned to her right, entering a darkened room Katrina guessed was the bathroom.

Heart hammering, pulse pounding, she sped deeper into the room and, acting on reflexes alone, dropped to the floor on the far side of the bed and rolled under it, her arse cheeks thankfully muffling the clink-clink of her cuffs as they connected with the floor.

Fair Dinkum, O’Lauchlan. How clichéd can you get
?

Lying motionless amongst the dust-bunnies, she crinkled her nose.

Didn’t matter. She was in.

And if it’s not Flynn’s room
?

Katrina ground her teeth.
Shuddup
.

What felt like a lifetime later soft footfalls sounded in the room, followed by an almost imperceptible change in the shadows as the woman opened the door and left the room.

Katrina whooshed out a sudden breath. Bloody hell, she’d done it.

Squirming from under the bed, she brushed herself off. Flicking on the bedside lamp closest to her, she cast a long, scrutinising look around the room.

Nothing told her it was Flynn’s.

What were you expecting? A can of Tooheys on the sideboard? A packet of Tim Tams on the bed?

She curled her fists. Her gut tingled. Telling her to look…

There. On the luggage rack. A folded copy of
The Sydney Morning Herald
. Either Abaddon knew she’d be coming to this room, or he’d been accommodating Flynn’s nationality as well.

A slow smile curled Katrina’s lips as she looked at the very Australian newspaper. “Gotcha.”

***

The second Flynn opened his door he knew he wasn’t alone. Her scent gave it away.

“Hello, Kat,” he said, letting the door close behind him and walking into his room without turning on the light.

He sensed, rather than saw her move in the darkness, and suddenly he was up against the wall, her forearm rammed under his chin, her feet booting his legs apart. “Flynn Marsters, by the power granted me by the Australian Federal Government, I’m arresting you for being a lying, deceiving, gutless bastard.”

Her heat wrapped around his body, as intoxicating and delicious as ever. “I see you’re finally awake,” he said, trying to control the surge of hot blood into his cock. An impossible task really, considering Kat still wore the latex corset and thigh-highs from the ball. “No thank yous for taking you back to your suite? Which I might add, is a much nicer than mine. Do the Australian tax-payers know how much a night this little arrest is costing them?”

Her hips and thighs pressed harder to him in the blackness, keeping him pinned to the wall—and making his cock twitch all the more. “When I bring you back, the taxpayers will want to dip me in gold,” she said flatly, and he could hear her awareness of his arousal in the slight huskiness of her voice.

“What if I’m not ready to go back? I’m quite enjoying my time in Los Magia, I must say.”

He felt her stiffen. “I bet you are, you—”

He didn’t let her finish. With a sudden move, he shoved her from him, propelling her backward. She let out a yelp of surprise, the sound cut short by a soft thud.

In a step, he was at the bed, flicking on the lamp and staring down at her before she could move. “Time to sheath those claws, Kat.”

She glared up at him. He knew what she was going to do before she did it. Her foot lashed out, aimed right for his balls. He leapt out of its trajectory and slapped at her ankle, sending her leg into a wide, arcing swing. He was on her before she could recover, grabbing at her fists and slamming her backward to the bed in one savage move. “Now stop playing nasty and listen to me, Kat.” He stared into her face, his mouth inches from hers. “Or we’re both fucked.”

“Ha.” She bucked underneath him. “You’re not getting that dick of yours anywhere near my—”

He crushed her mouth with his. Just to shut her up.

She fought him like a wild cat. For a long moment. And then her lips grew soft and parted and her tongue met his.

Oh, God, Flynn. Stop now. Before it’s too late
.

He broke the kiss, his body, his heart, crying out at the abrupt denial.

Pale green eyes glared up at him, confusion swimming in their clear depths. “I hate you, Flynn Marsters.”

Her whisper cut him, deep and slicing. He gave her a sad smile. “I know, but let me explain. At least give me that before you cuff me.”

Surprised contempt flared in her stare. “You’ve got five minutes.”

He wanted to point out
she
was the one under
him
on the bed, but something in the way her muscles coiled and flexed against him told him she wouldn’t be for long. He pulled in a steadying breath, aroused turmoil threatening to consume him. That, or undeniable longing. “Let’s ignore all my crimes back in Australia for a moment. You need to believe me when I tell you stealing the
Australis Night
was my final job. The Mouse was retiring—
I
was retiring—after that heist.”

“Yet here you are.” Katrina tilted her chin, her body tensing with each word. “Stealing a diamond for Abaddon—”

“If I hadn’t, you’d be Abaddon’s slave by now,” he cut her off, his voice more brutal than he’d planned. “His sexual possession. His to use anyway he wanted.”

Katrina stilled, her eyes locked on his. “Bullshit.”

Flynn shook his head. “You know what he is, Kat. Don’t you think there was a reason he knew your every thought? He marked you as his own and unless I stole the
Daemon Moon
he’d claim you. And there’d be no humanly way possible to stop him.”

Her lips parted and he felt her heart smashing in her chest against his. “Why…how?”

“He’s a demon, Kat. The chief demon of the underworld hierarchy. His powers in our world have been contained, but not completely controlled.”

A frown pulled at Katrina’s eyebrows and Flynn wanted nothing more than to kiss it away. “Contained?”

“In the
Daemon Moon
. He needs to destroy it to regain his true strength.”

“And if he does?”

Flynn swallowed. “Then its hell on earth.”

Katrina’s eyes widened and he felt her try to shrink from him. “And you got it? You stole it for him?” Contempt and disgust etched her face. “Why?”

“Because if I didn’t he’d take you. No matter what you think of me, no matter how non-existent the chances are of you still loving me, I couldn’t let that happen. Not loving you the way I do.”

“A shame, really,” Abaddon’s deep rumble echoed through the room. “All things considered.”

Ice flooding his veins, Flynn leapt to his feet, spinning about to find Abaddon leaning against the wall behind him, a wide—and very smug—grin on his face.

“But then again,” the demon said, pushing himself upright and stepping toward them, “after I tasted the delightful Katrina O’Lauchlan I knew I would break my part of the agreement.” His grin grew wider. “I am, after all, a demon. We’re not known for our scruples.”

Flynn fixed Abaddon with a level stare. “You really need to work on your social skills, Don. Haven’t you heard of knocking?”

The demon laughed, the sound hollow and cold. “Aah, that Australian sense of humour again. I will miss it.” His stare slid to Katrina, now standing beside Flynn. “Won’t you, Ms O’Lauchlan? Won’t you find yourself thinking of Flynn Marsters when I am fucking you to an inch of your human life?”

“Just try it, Abaddon,” she growled. “Touch me and I’ll rip your balls off.”

The demon laughed again, and a chill raced up Flynn’s spine, as if a corpse had drawn a line there with its dead finger. “Ms O’Lauchlan, you will do exactly what you did at the ball…want every brutal, punishing, sadistic touch I give you.”

“Fuck you.”

Abaddon smirked. “That is the idea.” He turned back to Flynn and held out his hand. “The
Daemon Moon
, if you will.”

Flynn ground his teeth. “We had a deal, Abaddon. I give you the diamond, you leave Kat alone.”

Abaddon’s perfect eyebrows shot up. “Demon, remember? Honesty’s not our strong point.” He wiggled his fingers. “Now, the stone. If you make me wait any longer I’ll chain you to the highest pillar in Hell and make you watch what I do to Ms O’Lauchlan. A million times over. Not the best way to spend eternity, I guess, but if that’s what you’d prefer…”

“Don’t even think about it, Flynn,” Katrina snarled, glaring at Abaddon, her fists bunched balls of white-knuckled hate at her sides.

Flynn studied her, letting his eyes trace her profile the way he wished his fingers could. He pulled in a deep breath and her delicate scent filled his being. Delicate and fierce at once.

Turning back to Abaddon, he reached into his back left pocket, withdrew the baseball-sized, brilliant-cut diamond shoved there and held it out, its icy-cold, perfect surface biting at his skin. He’d handled more than a thousand diamonds in his life, some so rare they were believed to be myth, but none as terrifyingly beautiful as the
Daemon Moon
. Its flawless facets reflected the entire spectrum of light and colour in the room, but it was its heart that mesmerised and stole one’s breath, a whirling maelstrom of pale yet iridescent blue light that seemed to pulse with a living force both incomprehensible and hypnotic.

That pulse grew quicker the higher Flynn raised his arm, the closer he brought the diamond to Abaddon.

“At last,” Abaddon murmured, gazing at the stone. His face shimmered, and for a split second the bestial creature Flynn had met in the gaming lounge stood in the room with them. It reached for the stone, long, clawed fingers curling over the flawless surface…

…and then Abaddon picked it up, Abaddon in his human guise. He removed it from Flynn’s palm, and for a moment it felt to Flynn like someone had torn his heart from his body.

“Oh, God, no.” he heard Katrina whisper beside him.

“So much for a contract,” Abaddon murmured. His blue eyes met Flynn’s over the stone—seconds before, with a smile both wild and triumphant, he closed his fingers around the diamond and crushed it to dust.

Silence filled the room. Deathly and complete.

Abaddon stood frozen, as if waiting, a puzzled expression flitting across his face.