Underworld Queen (10 page)

“Will she follow us here?”

Molly held up a card. “I have hers. I’m doing some maintenance here today.”

“So we won’t be disturbed?”

“Prof…”

“Please, call me Carl.”

“Carl.” She blushed at the use of his name. Carl’s groin jolted so hard he almost fell over. She leaned into him, kissed him slowly, warmly breathing all over his face before pulling away, taking several long seconds. “I didn’t say we wouldn’t be disturbed, but we have a few minutes. Do you think…?”

Carl boosted her onto a wooden worktable and climbed on top of her. He unbuckled and unzipped his pants quickly and let himself be found by her searching fingers. He urgently needed to get inside her before someone else stopped him. He moved her head, lying back in the nest of long red tangled hair. He wanted to see her eyes, sparkling green pools smiling back at him, underscored by her pouty pink lips. His hands searched for panties as she giggled.

No panties!

He adjusted her skirts and plunged in.

This is better than before.

Her back arched as he pumped inside her to the hilt. She exposed the long stretch of her creamy white neck. He saw the light blue vein under her ear pump and pulse, covered with the reddish purple bruise he had put there last night.

You are so delicious.

She brought her hands to his rear and pulled him deeper, moaning, eyes closed. He delicately moved her chin to the left and licked the unblemished skin on the other side, sucking a kiss from her flesh until he felt the welt developing. She went wild; her internal muscles squeezed him over and over until he could not control himself.

He was lost in the flow of his seed and her need of every drop when they heard the main door open several shelves away.

Molly was up and on her feet so fast, he had no time to get his pants hiked back over his hips. As they stepped into the library from the side door, they escaped discovery by whoever had entered the stacks.

Carl quickly tucked his shirt back in, turning away from students as Molly led him around the corner to the safety of unconcerned library patrons.

He hugged her, but tried not to show passion. “I am so sorry, Molly. I fear perhaps I have cost you your job.”

She nodded her head and smoothed her pink fingers over his chest, toying with his pocket, his buttons, waving her long auburn lashes up and down as if cooling him. It only served to further fan the flames of his desire.

I just can’t get enough of her.

“I think I have a different job, now.”

Job? What job?

She must have seen his confusion. She pressed her mound against his thigh and whispered, “My job is to pleasure you for as long as you’ll have me.”

Somewhere Carl found
the strength to look the head librarian in the eyes shortly before he left. “It’s a new relationship. We are both consenting adults, and she isn’t one of my students,” he managed to say.

“It’s a library, Professor!” She spat out with disdain.

“Yes, and you have my word it won’t happen again. But I have to say, I’ve been at this college for almost eight years now, and I’ve seen worse. Much worse.”

She glared back at him, speechless.

“And so have you,” he added before he left the building.

Carl had a
big glass of wine ready for Molly when her green Volkswagen rattled up the driveway and sputtered twice after the ignition was turned off. He had prepared a special dinner, complete with some chocolate dessert, anticipating she had lost her job.

She accepted the wine happily and walked past him into the house, carrying a bag over her shoulder. Carl looked down at his canvas slip-ons and smiled. “So, how bad was it?” he asked as he followed her to the living room and took a sip of wine.

“Bad,” she said without turning around. She dropped her bag and her right shoulder, with a sigh.

Carl was quickly behind her, “Well, then can I make it better?”

“Yes. I would like that.” She leaned into him as he folded his body around hers, removed her clip, letting her red curls cascade down to her waist. He pulled her hair aside gently, kissing the bruise he had made on her neck this afternoon.

“I am so sorry that I caused you…pain…”

“No pain. It was wonderful and worth it.”

“Worth it?” he said as he allowed a forefinger to trace down her low cut sweater and breech the top of her bra and then inside. His hand squeezed the wonder of her left breast. It felt like it was her heart he held.

“It was worth every agonizing minute of the two-and-a-half hours I had to stay there, waiting to be with you again.” She turned around and smiled.

“And your job?”

“Well, I’ve lost my stacks privileges, for now. But my advisor called me on the way home, and he said he’d had a pleasant conversation about it with the head librarian, and they shared a good laugh.”

Carl kissed her, almost spilling their wine.

“Not sure what you told her, but my advisor said to let you know you were right.”

J
onas didn’t touch
the angel in front of him who claimed to be a distant relative. He stiffened his spine, stuck his chin out straight and lowered his gaze over the next several seconds until their eyes met. He wanted Rupert to get the full import of Jonas’ size, notwithstanding the fact that he stood a good foot taller than him.

Rupert retracted his arm and grinned, his eyes sparkling in their blackness, his breathing clipped short. Jonas felt inspected like a rare piece of meat served to a diner who hadn’t eaten in a week. Blade’s fingers twitched at his sides, finally making their way into fists. The two companions rose to standing position again and put down their drinks.

Jonas was studying the room, the angles he would have to achieve to slay all three of them. He wasn’t going to look behind him to give away his thoughts, but it concerned him he didn’t know who might have walked into the room. But he would be no use to Audray dead, and he sensed Rupert didn’t care one way or the other.

He who cares least wins.

Jonas worked on his emotions and took a couple of deep breaths. The agitation in his stomach dissipated. Rupert wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being a hothead or a sacrificial lamb for any cause. He was a little smarter than Peter, although clearly they were both cut from the same cloth. Or from the same womb.

Jonas bent a knee and slanted his stance, putting his hands on his hips like he’d just righted himself after falling off a horse. He used the opportunity to casually look behind him while he spoke. Two strangers blocked the doorway. “For a second there, I thought you said we were related.” Jonas knew it sounded dumber than he thought it would. But Rupert seemed to buy it.

“Yes. And yes, we are.” The dark-haired angel said it as if he wanted to shout it off the tallest building in Undertown.

“And what makes you say something as ridiculous as that?”

“It’s a fact.” Rupert’s eyes smiled even if his lips stayed straight, the color of fresh liver. Jonas could see he was going to keep the conversation short, not volunteer anything, and maybe get him to beg for the answers to the huge question between them.

I’ve never begged. I never will.

Jonas looked around him again and laughed out loud. He was clearly outmatched in strength, and the element of surprise was lost. Now that he had something to go home to, he wasn’t looking for a fight.

But I’m no coward.

No one else had joined him in the laugh. “God, you boys are so serious. You came all this way to entertain me with this. This all you got?”

All five of the men came to attention. Jonas saw they were well trained, and moved as one unit. The only thing Jonas liked about the situation was the fact that Rupert obviously didn’t want to talk to him without some serious backup. It meant he was respected, and that was a comfortable feeling.

“Well, you don’t act like the Red-X fiends running all over Undertown, yet you come here with your little pod, like bullies in the playground. Are we the entertainment here tonight, or did you have some other agenda?” Jonas wasn’t going to come right out and ask. “I mean I’m scared, really fucking scared,” he said as he grinned from ear to ear.

Rupert made a very slight twitch toward him, but at the last minute appeared to reel himself in. Jonas noted he did have a bit of the hotheadedness Peter had. He liked that he could get under this guy’s skin and twist something.

“You gonna kill me, like you said you came here to do? Well then, go right ahead. I might be able to take three of you with me, but I doubt I could take the whole pod. Much as I like dancing and all.”

Rupert looked down and his shoulders softened. “Jonas, I dream of killing you just about every day since I learned of Peter’s death. I hold you responsible. You were bound to protect him, Jonas. As part of the guard, it was your duty.” He bent down and picked up a glass of Apricot and tossed it back. He walked past Jonas, motioning to the two at the doorway to disperse and called back. “I can wait for now. Besides, there’s someone I think you better meet. Come.”

Outside the Pink Pussycat, the two dark angels walked down the wet cobblestoned streets of Undertown. Rupert’s henchmen stayed a safe distance behind them. The smell of Red-X and blood running down the gutters at the sides was stronger tonight. This was the seedier district of the village, and none of it was safe, especially after dark. But for whoever wandered this ancient part, safety was the least of their concerns. This was where dark angels came to get lost and stay lost, sometimes forever.

The red mist lifted as they mounted the stairs out of the village, into the bustling city above. Only scooters and bicycles—things that could be transported from the human world in a limo—zipped by and tooted at the pedestrians wandering the heavily jammed streets. Jonas was greeted by every female they passed, looking secondarily at Rupert, who seemed to enjoy the added attention.

“You like it here?” he asked Jonas.

“Yeah.”

“But you prefer the human world.”

“I liked this one better until you showed up.” Jonas looked around Rupert. “Where’s your army?”

“My army? Why would I need an army?”

“Okay, then. Your pod of likeminded souls.” Jonas chuckled to himself, thinking it was pretty damn funny.

“Look cuz, asshole extraordinaire, you’re baiting me, trying to make me mad, am I right?”

“Could be.” Jonas was alert to every little drip, scurrying animal or leaf that moved. His nerves were on edge, but he was ready, knew he’d be ready for whatever they were going to throw at him.

They walked along in silence until they got to a heavy locked gate. To the right was a black metal box with a lighted yellow button on it. Jonas knew the big shuttered mansion behind the gate housed the most gorgeous ladies in either world. Only powerful dark angels got to spend any time there. This was Josh’s doing, his way of rewarding his new recruits and dealing favors.

Jonas missed Josh, who had been granted a pardon by the big man in the sky. This was something no one else had ever heard of: a chance to become human once again. If Joshua was good enough, he could become a Guardian himself after his human life was over. This act of grace, pardon and forgiveness, made a profound change in the Underworld. For although everyone who lived there expected their lives to be evil and self-indulgent, with Josh’s pardon, the seed of redemption was planted. It was never talked about, but Jonas knew everyone thought about it whenever Josh’s name came up.

Josh had turned and handpicked most of the ladies of the house himself. Before his pardon, Josh had even invited Jonas to accompany him here on occasion. He watched Rupert’s finger depress the yellow buzzer. Jonas recognized the melodious voice of Helena coming through the little box.

“I’m here with Jonas. We’re here to see…”

Before he could finish, the gate began to open with a loud clanging. Inside the large rose garden, frosted in moonlight, the delicate scent of the flowers usually relaxed him, but tonight Jonas was tense. He knew he wasn’t going to like whomever he’d been brought here to meet.

“I’ve been told you’ve spent some serious time here,” Rupert whispered.

“Want me to tell you who I preferred?”

“Would it surprise you to know I am a married man?” Rupert’s chest extended with the bravado of his words. “Just wait. You’ll see what I mean.”

“I’m not a man easily surprised,” Jonas lied. He was getting more itchy to be back outside with his men, ready to do battle, rather than trapped in a glorified cathouse.

Rupert laughed and Jonas saw he was trying not to. They mounted the wooden porch steps. Several couples were seated or lying outside in the night air on wicker furniture that squeaked as their bodies moved. Whispers enveloped the two men as Jonas asked the question he’d wanted to since they started their walk.

“So who are we seeing?”

“She’s my wife, recently turned and staying here for a few days while I make suitable arrangements.” Rupert smiled. “What?”

Jonas could see he was having way too much fun toying with him.