The Sorceress Screams (13 page)

The indulgent
curving of his lips caught my attention. I forced my gaze away, focusing on the
Bengal tiger carpet on his black floor. The faux fur had been cut to look as if
someone had skinned the animal. At least I
thought
it was
fake
. Next I took in the chocolate brown sofa
holding the position against the wall to my left. The orange throw pillows kept
my attention twice as long as they should have thanks to my love affair with
the color. Arguably the room’s focal point was a large painting of a woman
gazing at a marble statue in her peripheral vision.

Maximo
reclined behind a sable desk strewn with papers, dusty books, and brochures for
far off places. He was clad in one of his simple black suits. A thin black tie
bisected his white dress shirt. His generally wild hair was slicked back today
as if he were taking on the role of legitimate businessman. He pulled off the
professional look well despite his trademark Caesar wave of hair.

He leaned his
chair back and to the side. A jaunty smile formed on his face. My heart skipped
a beat, not because he smiled but rather because his gaze wasn’t on mine. It
had dropped to my lips. I fought to keep my hands at my sides rather than reach
for my tingling mouth.

The memory of
the Mexican restaurant flared to life. He’d danced like a pro, sung like a
ballad-crooning Latin star, and kissed as though he’d put his entire being into
making love to a woman. Recalling his cool touch sent my heart in a flutter. A
flush crept into my cheeks. No doubt Maximo would note these physiological
reactions as easily as if I’d announced them aloud.

Coming here
had been a mistake.

“I need your
phone number,” I said.

He bounced his
chair, gaze fixed on mine. “And then what reason would you have to visit me?”

My lips
pressed thin.

The
wave-patterned ring coiled snugly around his pinky was why I’d visit him. I
needed my mother’s ring back. But what would I have to do to get it?

My voice was
as stiff as my rigid spine. “I came by to warn you of a potential problem. If
I’d had your phone number, I could have warned you this morning when it
happened and removed the chance you’d be blindsided.”

Maximo settled
his chair on flat ground, adopting a professional veneer to match his suit and
hair. Fortunately, the indulgent smile had faded. That expression always made
me feel like a child.

“What
potential problem would that be?”

I took a quick
breath. “Early this morning I rescued six witches from Las Vegas. A vampire
kept them as some sort of supernatural harem. They’re enthralled. I expect he’ll
come here looking for them.”

Maximo leaned
his torso into the corner without shifting his attention. “And why is that a
potential problem for me?”

“Because the vampire is Nadir Khan.”

His chair
snapped forward, banging against both the floor and the desk. Maximo choked on
his next breath.

Charon, take it
!

I’d hoped
dropping that name wouldn’t go as badly as this. I’d wanted Maximo to merely
wave it off as he had everything else. Choking wasn’t a good sign.

He settled his
palms atop the desk, regarding me with a steady gaze. “Where are the witches
now?”

Had that been
a
calculating
gaze? “They’re safe
with their covens. You’re not getting your hands on them so you can barter a
deal to further your career.”

Maximo made a
disgusted noise. “I’m content with my lot in life. I questioned you because
you’ll be in grave danger when Khan arrives in search of them if they’re
crammed into your small apartment.”

“I handled him
once.”

“I suspect he
didn’t believe you were a threat. He won’t make that mistake twice, Miss
Walsh.” Maximo leaned into his chair and set his palms in his lap. “You are an
unenthralled
human with impressive power. That makes you a
sought after commodity in this world. Add to it a quest for vengeance and we
have a recipe for mayhem. Do you want to risk becoming another of his toys?”

Now it was
clear where he was going with this. “I’m not letting you enthrall me, de Sole.”

His mouth
spread into his indulgent smile. “Max.”

“What?”

“Call me Max.”
His smile deepened. “There may be a compromise between Khan taking you and my
enthralling you.”

I wasn’t going
to like his suggestion, was I?

But I
was
in a tight spot. Khan would be
gunning for me once he figured out the African American spa employee was
actually me. And unless I was willing to kill him to save myself, I’d end up
just another member of his supernatural harem.

Maximo tilted
his head to the right as he sank the chair in a slow bounce. “City ruler’s
significant others are generally considered untouchable.”

I drew a loud
breath through my nose. Though he probably wasn’t fooling me, I didn’t like the
suggestion. Not considering his recent history.

“You killed
your significant other.”

“I killed my
significant other to save you, Miss Walsh.” His precise pronunciation and stiff
frame hinted he was irritated he’d had to speak the words.

I couldn’t
refute the accusation. My face heated. I’d be dead or still enthralled if he
hadn’t stopped
Ascencion
. Enthrallment was a fate
worse than death. Was I wrong to be disgusted with him?

No, my disgust
was because he’d immediately sought me out so soon after his lover’s death. His
failure to observe a period of mourning was simply in poor taste.

A little truth
might be in order. “And then you came to me the next night. That doesn’t give
me warm
fuzzies
.”

“I will admit
that probably didn’t look good from the outside looking in. But you must
understand
Ascencion
and I had been over for
decades.”

He stood,
moving toward the window behind his desk. Maximo lifted the white Roman shades
and gazed into the moonlit garden. His back remained to me as he spoke.

“I asked that
woman to marry me
ten
times in our
century and a half together.” He emphasized the number with slow enunciation.
“Each elaborate gesture earned me a laugh in the face. She broke my heart more
times than I can count. I cared too much to make her stop. When I finally
hardened myself to her and her whims, I no longer cared enough to make her
leave.” He shrugged. “She kept the house organized. What I didn’t realize was
how deeply she’d dug her nails into my business. I’m not sorry she’s gone, Miss
Walsh. There was nothing left to mourn.”

His
long-winded speech reinforced the words they’d exchanged during
Ascencion’s
final minutes.

But there was
still the little matter of my ring. “How do I know you’re not just trying to
use me for the ring?”

He gave a soft
laugh. “Like you’re using me?”

“You’re
enabling this behavior.”

“I’m taking
advantage of something you want, yes. But if you’ll recall, I’ve been after you
since
Ascencion
dropped you in my living room last
month.
Long before the appearance of this.”
He wiggled
his pinky where I could see it.

“You were
after me?” I couldn’t stop my loud scoff.

“I claimed you
as part of my faction so you could stay.”

“That hardly
seems like—”

“I asked you
to the solstice ball so I could win your date.”

He
had
been in a bid war with
Eamonn
Cary for the date. There was one problem with that.
“But you let Marino win it.”

Maximo gazed
at me out of the corner of his eye rather like the woman in his painting.
“Because
Ascencion
wouldn’t have allowed
anything else without hurting you.”

His girlfriend
had joined the bid war shortly after him. I recalled that much. And I recalled
thinking she’d torture me if she won.

But he still
had my ring.

What leverage
would I have if I agreed to his terms for safety from Nadir Khan? And was I
honestly thinking of
dating
a
vampire? I didn’t know the first thing about dating! Trip had scared every
potential beau off for as long as I could remember.

But Trip was
avoiding me. Two weeks was an age for him. Had he finally given up his
obsession? Or had the gods finally done something to keep him away from the
Mortal Realm as part of his punishment?

Shaking
myself, I focused my attention back on Maximo. “I need my ring back. I can’t
agree to anything until that’s settled.”

He fully faced
me, rubbing his fingers over the thin strip of hair coating his jawline. “Yet
if I return it to you, you’ll have no incentive to remain with me.”

“I would as
long as Nadir Khan was a threat.”

His indulgent
smile returned. “The ring will be an anniversary gift.”

The only
anniversary I’d ever observed was my birth. But I could handle his demand if it
were for a short time.
“A month?”

“Like all
anniversaries it would be a year, Miss Walsh.”

My jaw dropped
open. “You’re not serious! I’ve never had a boyfriend in my entire
life
! There’s no
way
I’ll last a year! I don’t know the first thing about how! I
really need that ring! You can’t do this to me!”

Maximo was in
front of me before I’d noted the movement. I gasped through quaking lungs. His
hands slipped around my waist, drawing me against his fresh lavender and warm
sand scented chest before I knew what hit me. And then he kissed me with an
urging press of his cool lips against mine.

He dug a hand
into my hair, holding me still. My temperature lifted as he deepened the kiss
with a sweep of his tongue through my lips. The eerily cool temperature should
have been disturbing, and yet it wasn’t. I hardly noticed it as the soft muscle
swirled and teased along the inside of my mouth. It had been so long since a
man had held me that I was nearly helpless to fight my desire.

This was the
kind of embrace that preceded something far more intimate. Yet he eased away,
holding my gaze with his deep-set dark eyes. Together our chests rose and fell
far heavier than they ought to.

“I’ll teach
you how.” He stared at my lips. “Rebecca.”

My given name
spoken in his softest voice was an unexpected aphrodisiac. I pushed my nails
into my palms—the only way to avoid grabbing onto his cheeks for another go.
The man could
kiss
.

His mouth
curved into a slight smirk as if he knew what he’d done to me.
“¿
Sí
?”

I nearly
opened my mouth for an answer. But … what would I be agreeing to if I said yes?

There needed
to be space between us if I had any hope of thinking clearly. He was a little
too sexy for coherent thought. Even for a dead guy.

I applied some
pressure to his chest until he stepped away. A heavy dose of uncertainty slowed
my delivery. “You won’t enthrall me?”

Maximo gave a
single shake of his head. “Not unless you ask me to.”

“Are you going
to expect I let you feed on me?”

He laughed
softly. “I would like to taste you, but I won’t expect it.”

A zing of heat
shot through me.
Hera, help me
. What
was I getting myself into?

His head
tilted to the side. Amusement glittered in his eyes. “The sex is better when
blood is involved.”

Oh, Zeus, he
would expect sex!

Of course he
would. What was I thinking? If I agreed to date him for an entire
year,
there would be sex. How thick
could I possibly be?

Warily I
asked, “You understand I have a business and business comes first?”

“Of course.”

“And…” My
voice trailed off unsteadily.

How could I put this without damning myself
? I glanced to the ceiling for inspiration. “Occasionally I have to
do … things, like go to Vegas to help six witches.” It was common knowledge among
the coalition now that I’d been in Vegas. There was no point hiding it from
him. “You can’t be angry if I have to cancel something without warning.”

“I’ll be
tolerant of your emergencies provided you’re tolerant of mine.”

There was one
more thing I had to ask of him before I could agree. An uneasy lump formed in
my throat ahead of the request. I swallowed it down. The sooner we came to an
agreement, the sooner I could get back to my guest.

“Desmond
Marino claimed me as his responsibility earlier this afternoon.” A spark of
anger appeared in Maximo’s eyes as I spoke. “The coalition found out I had
access to Water magic, too. Your claim was no longer enough to keep me here. In
return for taking responsibility, Marino expects I’ll let him help me hone my abilities.”