Troy gave an offended sniff. “I don’t like being given orders. Especially not by Morgana le Fay.” His eyes narrowed as he peered over Cezar’s shoulder at the silent Anna. “Are you the one responsible for bringing her to Chicago?”
Cezar growled low in his throat, not giving Anna time to respond. “You even glance in her direction again and you’ll be Troy, the dead Prince of Imps.”
“You’re not mated. What do you care?” The emerald eyes that held centuries of knowledge studied Cezar before his lips twisted in a wry smile. “I’ll be damned. Why is it that every time I finally find a decent screw they’re always taken?”
Cezar lifted a hand, not about to discuss his strange, unpredictable emotions toward Anna with a damned imp. Prince or not.
“Tell me what you want, imp.”
Troy studied him for another long moment before he unexpectedly lowered the bow and strolled forward.
“As I said, I can’t ignore the queen’s command to send my minions into battle, but she can’t force me to play the game entirely by her rules.” Troy buffed his nails on his skintight T-shirt, his expression smug. “I’m here to make sure that you and your little sweet pea get out of here alive.”
His little sweet pea gave a small snort of disbelief as she moved to stand at his side. She was beginning to learn that in the demon world, if something seemed too good to be true it really, really was too good.
“Why would you help?” Cezar demanded, not bothering to hide his suspicion. “You wouldn’t risk your life if there wasn’t something in it for you. Something beyond tweaking Morgana’s nose.”
Troy flashed his white teeth. “That’s true enough. I’m doing this as a favor to a friend.”
“What friend?”
“The Chalice.”
Cezar slowly allowed his coiled muscles to ease. He might not have to kill the imp after all.
A pity.
“Abby sent you?”
“I contacted her when Morgana called for the imps to attack the Viper Nest. I thought she might be interested considering that her mate is a clan brother to Viper, and I was right.”
“And what do you get out of this?”
“She’s promised me a favor if I manage to get you out of here.”
“A favor?” Cezar briefly wondered just how unhappy Dante was to know his mate had been bargaining with an imp. And if he intended to take that unhappiness out on Cezar. “What kind of favor?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” the imp purred. “I like knowing a goddess is in my debt.”
“I can imagine,” Cezar said dryly.
Stifling a yawn, Troy glanced toward the door. “So, are we done with the chitchat so we can get the hell out of here, or would you rather hang around until my clueless infantry manages to stumble across us?”
Chapter 13
Anna decided that being a demon must be a good gig.
Contrary to Hollywood’s ridiculous insistence on portraying them as creepy, brimstone breathing, eternally damned creatures who hid in damp graveyards, they lived a hell of a lot better than the majority of humans.
What wasn’t to like about eternal life, cool powers, and a lush lifestyle that included a seemingly endless supply of elegant cars and gargantuan houses?
Crawling out of Troy’s sleek Lamborghini Murcielago after a hair-raising ride through the busy Chicago streets, Anna gaped at the lavish mansion that seemed to consume an obscene amount of space.
Jeez.
She’d always thought fat-cat corporate executives lived the good life. Now she had to accept that not even the fattest corporate cat could keep up with these Joneses.
Which was a good thing, she decided.
The lush excess didn’t really bother her as much when it came to demons. She happened to like them a lot more than the CEOs she’d met. Well, except for the demons who kept trying to kill her.
She didn’t like them.
“Anna?”
The soft female voice had Anna abruptly turning to watch the dark-haired woman with stunning blue eyes, and a tall, wickedly handsome vampire with long raven hair and gold hoop earrings, cross the drive toward her.
In some ways the vampire reminded Anna of Cezar. There was the same hint of arrogant confidence etched on his perfect features and the same sensual promise smoldering in his eyes. The same elegant saunter that revealed he knew all too well that he was irresistible to women.
“Yes?”
“I’m Abby, and this is Dante.” The woman held out her hand in greeting. “Welcome to our home.”
Despite the lavish house, Abby was dressed in casual jeans and T-shirt, and her smile was warm.
Anna shook the slender hand, her own expression rueful. “Thank you, but you might not be so welcoming once you get to know me. I seem to bring disaster wherever I go lately.”
Abby and Dante shared a glance that was filled with the sort of intimate amusement that only truly happy couples ever shared.
“Dante and I wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we weren’t in the middle of some disaster or another. And I can at least promise you that only the most desperate demon will try to enter this estate.” She wrinkled her nose. “They usually try to avoid me like the plague.”
Anna gave a tiny jerk. “Oh, I forgot you’re a goddess. Am I supposed to kneel or something?”
“Only if you want to piss me off,” Abby said with a laugh, reaching out to take Anna’s hand. “Come on, I’m in the mood for a stiff drink, what about you?”
Strong arms encircled her waist from behind, the familiar scent of Cezar cloaking about her as he buried his head in the curve of her neck.
“I wouldn’t mind a sip or two, myself,” he murmured, his lips feathering over her skin and sending a rash of awareness through her.
“Cezar.” Anna stepped away, her face flaming as Dante tilted back his head to laugh at his friend’s antics. “Stop that.”
The dark-haired goddess rolled her eyes. “Vampires.”
Cezar’s smile faded as his gaze rested on Anna’s face. “Can I have a word alone with Anna?”
“Sure.” The goddess heaved a sigh, turning to glance toward the red-haired imp who leaned casually against his quarter-of-a-million-dollar car. “I suppose I should speak with Troy.”
Cezar grimaced, his gaze briefly flicking toward Dante before returning to Abby.
“We are in your debt, Abby.”
She reached out to lightly touch Cezar’s arm. “There is no debt among family.”
Abby turned to walk toward Troy, her steps slowing as Dante instantly moved to her side, his arm wrapping protectively about her shoulders.
Anna smiled, a small prick of envy entering her heart at the sight of their obvious devotion.
Over the long, lonely years she had almost managed to convince herself that love was an illusion. Watching from afar it seemed like most couples, no matter how devoted, ended up as indifferent acquaintances at best or outright enemies at worst.
Now, however, she was beginning to suspect that she had denied the truth of love because it was easier than bearing the knowledge she was missing out on the greatest gift in life.
With a slow shake of her head, she turned to discover Cezar watching her with an intent expression.
“You know, you’re very lucky to have such wonderful friends,” she said softly.
“Si.” He ran his fingers through his long hair, wincing as if his side was still tender. “Few vampires are so fortunate to have such devoted brothers, but Styx is working hard to overcome our feral natures, which have caused endless clan wars throughout the centuries.”
“A vampire Gandhi?” she demanded, finding it hard to picture the big, scary man as some sort of kindly pacifist.
Obviously Cezar found it a little difficult himself as he gave a small chuckle.
“Don’t ever say that to his face,” he warned. “For all his love for peace he does have a reputation to maintain. It’s fear of being hauled before our Anasso that keeps most vampires in line.”
“More of a speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick kind of guy?”
“A very big stick.”
Anna grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
There was a short silence. At last Cezar reached out to lightly touch her cheek.
“Anna, I hate to do this, but I must leave you…”
Without thought she reached up to capture his caressing finger in a tight grip.
“No.”
His brows lifted, a speculative gleam entering the dark eyes at her vehement tone. “No?”
Belatedly realizing she had revealed just how desperately she wanted him at her side, Anna dropped her hand and sucked in a deep breath.
“You’re still injured,” she lamely added. “You need to rest.”
A satisfied glint remained in the dark eyes, a knowledge that she had come to depend on his presence.
“I must find out how we can stop Morgana, querida,” he said gently. “So far it’s been nothing more than luck that has kept you alive. I won’t risk stumbling around in the dark anymore.”