THIS TIME (The Grace Allen Series Book Three Paranormal Romance) (17 page)

I
shook my head. He was such a dick but I ignored it as usual. “Your eyes glow
red when you’re pissed, Lu. What’s up with that?” I stepped off the bed and
reached for my silk robe. He allowed me to slide it on. I watched his face. He
looked troubled. "What? What is it?" I asked.

He
shook his head his brows high. “I just realized.” He laughed and looked a
little lost. “I'm trying to make you happy.” He frowned and folded his arms.
"I’ve never bothered with the emotions of another creature before. Perhaps
I'm learning to love as I’d hoped?”

I
snorted indelicately. "Probably not. Now, the eyes. They’re monstrous. If
that’s not a natural state, then tell me why they sneak out. ”

He
smiled showing me a lot of teeth. “Do they frighten you?” he asked, tilting his
head.

“Yeah,
they really do.”

They
really did.

His
lip tuned up in a half smile. Leaning forward he whispered, “That's exactly why
they ‘sneak out’.” He straightened, his eyes fixed on my hands as I twisted the
ties on my robe. His jaw clenched, and then in one great stride he stood before
me, ripping my robe from my body. I gasped as he tossed me onto the bed. I
barely hit the mattress before he was inside me again. My head mind spun into
chaos as pleasure and guilt bombarded me.

Lu
was back and I was no longer alone.

I’m lost.

TWENTY FOUR

“If
I don’t see the sun and get some freaking fresh air soon, I swear I’m going to
explode!” I paced back and forth. I had to get to some nature. I hadn’t seen
another sign from Lucian and I was panicking. Lu had practically been glued to
my side. He left only a few times a day to ‘take care of wedding business.’ It
was all very mysterious and I knew he was up to no good.

“You
are no longer a creature of the sun,” he muttered casually. “You must settle
yourself to that fact.” Lu sat in a leather wing back chair in his parlor. His
ankle resting on his knee as he casually perused the New York Times. He was relaxed
and elegant, like some gentleman in a romance novel. It pissed me off.

I
wanted to scream. “Creature of the sun? What the hell, Lu? I’m not a freaking vampire,
and you get to leave all the time. Why is it that you get to walk about and I
don’t? It isn’t as if I can actually leave you.” I shouted to the black and
white print covering his face. He lowered his paper enough to show his eyes. He
was “
deviling out”
as I liked to call it. It was a look that said he was
done speaking and I had better leave it alone. I hated it, it made me feel like
a child. I blew out a slow breath and smiled.

“As
you wish, my dearest love,” I gritted through my teeth and stormed from the
room, wishing I had some holy water and a squirt gun.

I
was a total prisoner. So much for the title
Queen
.

“My
Queen.”

I
jumped and spun.

“
Cain
?”
I blew out a breath.

“I’m
sorry I startled you,” he smiled, looking handsome in his blue jeans and boots.
“Would you care to go for a walk?” He offered me his arm.

I
watched him, not sure what I should do. He was too good looking. I knew that
good looking was very bad, but it was hard to wrap my mind around that concept.

“Why?”
I folded my hands behind my back. “What are you up to?”

“Come
or don’t. I only thought you’d like to see some of the sights.” He shrugged and
started to turn away.

“Wait.”
I reached out. “What kind of sights? This
is
Hell. What do you think I
would
want
to see?” I had no idea what kind of creature he was. If he
thought I would get a kick out of torturing puppies or some other sick ass
shit, I would know to avoid any strolls in the future.

“Trees,
birds,” he held out his hand. “I need some air. Don’t you?”

I
felt the ground fall away. “Are you
kidding
?” I bit my lip, afraid he
was only being cruel. “How can you leave?”

He
shrugged. “I have a bit of a free pass.” His hand remained extended. “Are you
coming?”

I
looked behind me. “He won’t let me go. You’ll get tortured or skinned or some
other horrid thing.” I bit my lip. “No, I better not.” I hated to refuse such
an opportunity, but after seeing how fast Lu killed around here, I didn’t want
to be the reason for another death.

“He
won’t hurt me,” he said, watching my face. “At least not as things stand at the
moment.” He lowered his brows. “You really are afraid for me?” he asked, sounding
almost shocked, “remarkable.” He shook his head.

“Yeah,
I guess.” I looked at the closed door behind me and sighed. “Are you sure you
won’t be hurt. He just got through saying I was no longer a child of the sun
and I had to pretty much deal with it. I would be disobeying him.”

“So,
he didn’t actually say ‘no’?” He folded his arms, smiling.

“Wow,
you guys and your loopholes.” I smiled. “No, he never actually said that word.”

“Then
shall we?” He bent his elbow, offering his bicep.

I
cautiously grasped his arm. When nothing happened I sighed, “Alright, let’s
go.”

The
feeling of being pulled through Jell-O surrounded me. It was as if hell and the
mortal world were separated by nothing more than a thin membrane. We were
outside, it had rained and I pulled the scent in through my nose. It was dark
but the lights from the city illuminated the streets making it almost too
bright for my eyes.

“I
love this town,” Cain sighed.

“Where
are we?” I didn’t recognize a single thing. “Is this New York?” I goggled as I
spun in a slow circle. I had never seen such giant buildings in my entire life.

“Amazing,
isn’t it?” he took my hand and I jumped and pulled my hand free. “I’m not
flirting.” He laughed light heartily. “I just don’t want to lose you.” He
frowned and I suddenly felt stupid.

“Right.
Sorry.” I placed my hand back in his and he smiled.

“So,
what now? I don’t see any trees or birds,” I said, marveling as I studied the
skyscrapers in the distance. “Are you planning to stand around till the sun
comes up?”

“No.
Do you dance?” He pulled me to the end of the street and suddenly the city
burst to life. Cars zoomed by and people flooded the streets.

“Holy
shit!” I screamed. I hadn’t realized that the city had been frozen. As if it
was stuck in suspended animation. I was too awed at the beauty of the lights
and the smell of something other than Lu. I laughed. “Well I feel stupid.”

Cain
chuckled. “Don’t feel stupid. You’ve been in Hell for months. I’m surprised
you’re not completely mad to be honest.” He pulled me along and then he stopped
and studied my face. I looked at him while people bumped past, knocking me from
side to side. He leaned in close. Smelling along my shoulder and neck.

“Remarkable.
You still possess your soul.” He smiled and then turned, pushing through the
crowd again. “Perhaps there
is
hope?” He smiled at me over his shoulder.

“
Hope
?”
I staggered out as my feet slapped the wet concrete. “What do you mean?” I
struggled as he pulled me faster.

“Time
jumps when you travel from realm to realm. It takes a few minutes to catch up.”
He explained and I frowned at his deliberate dodge.

“Evade
much?” I panted as we came to a stop.

“Yes.”
He winked then looked away. I sighed, my shoulders slumping. The brick building
loomed before us like some kind of living thing. Dark and wet from the rain, it
felt
off
. Shadows swirled across the door as if the light were chased
away.

“Time
to party.” He rubbed his hands together and pulled me inside.

“What
in Hell?” I gawked as we passed through the door. When we should have been
inside, we were outside again. The moon rose above us, huge and perfectly round,
almost too large to be real.

“Welcome
to Eden,” he whispered in my ear,
“wanna sin?”

I
jerked away from him in surprise and turned, taking it all in. It was a den of
sin that was for sure.

Everywhere
I looked, naked people lounged together in groups, drinking and laughing. They
gathered everywhere, playing games with long poles and balls and eating food
from tiny plates with their fingers. Some people were making love in the grass,
while others laughed and chatted companionably.

It
was like a giant orgy, slash neighborhood block party, and I scowled at the
absurdity.

“Is
this even real?” I reached up and plucked a leaf from a low hanging branch. It
was wide and flat. I scratched it with my nail and brought it to my nose. It
smelled like the real thing.

“Of
course it’s real,” he frowned. “My mother used to come here all the time. It’s
a sacred place. The
first
place, so to speak. That is, it used to be
until everything turned to shit. Until she decided to fuck that…” He shrugged
and slapped his hands together. “Well, none of that matters anymore, does it?”

I
let my eyes wander. “This is so messed up.” I whispered as a muscular man
bumped into me. His skin was smooth and flawless, his penis erect. I skittered
away from him and smacked into Cain.

 “I
shouldn’t be here.” 

I
spun and grabbed his arm in a panic. Then I thought better of it. My God, Lu
would gut me like a trout if he saw where I was.

“Lu
is going to gut you, you know.”

“Oh,
he’ll do no such thing,” he placed his hand on my shoulder.

“How
can you be so smug?” He was smiling at me as if he were utterly bulletproof.
His cocky demeanor sent a ripple of unease through me.

“I
happen to know that he won’t be laying a finger on either of us.”

I
lifted a brow in question and he smirked.

“He
can’t, because once a creature of man enters Eden, he can never leave,” he smiled
as dread pooled at the base of my skull

“Wait,
you can leave,” I eyed him closely.

“Yep.
I’m the son of man only by half,” he stated vaguely, shrugging his shoulders.

“Why
did you bring me here, Cain?” I felt ill all of a sudden.

 “Simply
put, I do not support your joining.”

I
was not expecting that.

“Why
the hell would you care?” I asked, shocked.

“He’s
determined to get a son from you. This I cannot allow.” He met my eyes.

I
scowled. “Okay, I repeat, why the hell would you care?” I was completely
confused and shook my head. “How does Lu’s son have anything to do with you?”

His
face darkened. “You will remain here, Grace. That is all you need to know.”

I
watched him as he pulled his shirt up over his head. “I have a plan.” He smiled
and tossed it onto the grass.

“And
this plan involves what, exactly?” I eyed him.

“
I
will get you with child,” he smiled, working on the buttons of his jeans.

I
snorted out a laugh and covered my mouth.

“You
think I jest?” he frowned, “you’ve been neutered. Your magic doesn’t work,
remember? The only way to beat him is to take away his future heir.”

I
shook my head. “You act like I’m going to go along with this insanity.
Honestly, Cain, getting me pregnant isn’t going to help either of us, believe
me.”

His
shoulders slumped. “He’ll ruin you, you know?” he said, looking down. “He
poisons everything he touches. Kills it and makes it rot.”

“I
have no intention of letting that happen.” I lifted my chin.

“Good,
because once you’re bound to him, it can never be undone. If it happened in
Hell, it’s eternal. Nothing in hell can be undone. Well, almost nothing. But if
you make vows to him, they will be timeless and infinite.”

“
Vows
?”
I snorted, incredulous. “I won’t be making any vows, I can promise you that!”

 He
frowned and shook his head. “You really know nothing. Come on, let’s see how
bad it is.” He pointed to my arm. “Raise your sleeve.”

I
frowned. “Why?” I pulled my sleeve up to my elbow, but clearly the ink reached
way beyond that.

His
face fell. “I had no idea.” He pursed his lips, his brows lowered. “You’re
right about one thing,” he said as he fastened his pants, “you won’t be making
any vows.”

I
knew this was going to be bad.

“Why
do you say that?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

He
looked sick. “I really didn’t know. I’m sorry.” He picked up his shirt and
pulled it back over his head. “I can’t help you.”

“Hey?”
I held up my arm. The tattoos glittered in the moonlight. “Wait a minute. What
are you saying?” I felt like barfing.

“You
are bound to him so tightly that nothing I could ever do will release you.” He
looked angry. “Damn it!” he spun. “That son of a bitch always wins!” The wind
kicked up, tossing leaves into the air. “I’m sorry.”

I
was horror stricken. “Wait, what in hell are you saying?” I ran my hand
frantically over the ink on my arm, the swirls and flowers tingled under my
touch. “These are only contracts! I’m not bound to him. We haven’t been
married. No ceremony, no rituals!” I threw my arms into the air. “
I never
said I do
!” My heart hammered against my chest.

“You’re
like the child who ate the stranger’s candy,” he frowned. “I’m almost sad for
you.” He shook his head. His face filled with pity. “You need none of that
artifice.” He let out a low chuckle. “He’s humoring you. The dress, the
‘wedding.’ It’s all a show, no doubt to convince your small mind that the deed
has been done.”

“That’s
not like him. He wouldn’t even bother.” I shook my head, knowing I was right.
“He would have just told me we are already irrevocably tied.”

He
looked at his hands. “I think you may be right, that means there must be
something else. Maybe he’s run into a problem?”

“Okay?
What is that?” The wind picked up strength, whipping the dainty tables about.
The people that were once dancing and making love on the grass were nowhere to
be seen. We were alone.

“I
don’t know. But you can bet he’s already got a solution.”

I
felt all the blood drain from my face as the wind around us picked up strength.
Jamie said I was already bound to Lucian and Seth. Lu would need to sever
that
bond to make
his
stick. My head spun.