“I think I know what you mean,” he says. “The unknown is what we fear. What if something bad happens. The more likely we are to get hurt in an unknown situation, the more likely we are to feel fear.”
“Right. And the more comfortable we are, the more we assume we’re fine, the less fear we feel.” I grab a loose string on the hem of my sleeper shorts and pull on it. “Though, in my line of work, I know that’s all bullshit. Being comfortable doesn’t stop the bad things. Terrible shit can happen in the best settings, you know? So, I guess, no, I’m not scared of the vampires. I’m scared of what could happen, but if I’m prepared, I’ll be okay. And, really, I could die in a freak accident any day. Living in fear robs you of life.”
He looks at me with admiration. “I understand. I didn’t when I was…when I was human.”
I study his handsome face, trying hard not to fan the fire that’s burning inside me. “It’s not too late. And it’s not like I’m some inspirational chick living life to the fullest with amazing Instagram pictures to prove it. I do nothing but work and justify it to myself that I’m making the world a better place. Yeah, my life might be empty and unfulfilling, but the dead guy in the alley had a great life and I owe it to him and his family to find the low-life who killed him.” The words rush out of me, and the raw honesty almost feels as good as sex.
Almost.
“You fear fear.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” I bring my arms close to my body, fighting off a chill. I’m convinced this house is never going to heat up. “And clowns. I am absolutely terrified of clowns.”
“What’s a clown?”
“A horrible, terrifying, and most likely soul-sucking creature meant to entertain children.” I take my phone from the coffee table and do a quick Google search for clowns.
“They are terrifying,” Jacques agrees, eyes wide. “They’re for children?”
“Theoretically.”
“What is their purpose?”
“They’re supposed to be funny, but most people disagree.”
“I’m one of them,” Jacques says so seriously it makes me laugh.
“A really creepy clown movie came out a few years ago and I wanted to watch it, you know, to face my fears. But I couldn’t do it.” I smile and roll my eyes at myself. “Maybe someday, right?”
“Right.” He angles his torso in toward mine and brings his hand up, gently cupping my cheek. “You look so much like her,” he whispers, and I think he’s talking to himself and not me.
“Who?”
His hand falls and his dark eyes cloud over with emotion. “No one.”
“Braeya?”
Jacques turns away. “You should go if you want to make it back around midnight. There’s not much time left.”
“Right.” I shake myself and stand, going upstairs to change out of my PJs and back into the clothes I had on earlier. It’s a bit too chilly to go out in shorts just yet. Jacques isn’t in the living room anymore when I come back down. I take a lingering look through the house, finding everything to be quiet. I’m almost to the front door when the floor creaks behind me.
“He’s not going to talk about her.”
I whirl around to find Gilbert casually leaning against the wall. He was so not there a second ago.
“Braeya?” I ask.
“Yes. I don’t even know the details.”
“Who was she? Did they have a thing going between them or something?”
Gilbert pushes off the wall, large wings blocking out the light behind him. He’s just a shadow in the dark right now, a large black shape looming near me.
“It started as a spell.”
“A spell?”
“I just said that, didn’t I? Keep up, Detective.”
I make a face. “She cast a spell on him?”
Gilbert nods. “Jacques held a high position within the Templars. There were many who opposed us, hell, even I opposed us, and they’d do whatever they could to break us down. All I know is Braeya—and her father—came from a long line of pagan magicians. She cast a love spell on Jacques to get information on the Templars. When she discovered that not all of the Templars were assholes, she lifted the spell. But whatever he felt during the spell didn’t just go away. They saw each other after.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“I know. I think she felt bad for doing it to him. He and Hasan were some of the few who truly believed in the mission, in making the world a better place or some bullshit like that.”
“Then what happened?” I ask, hanging onto his every word like he’s reading a paranormal Nicholas Sparks novel. Only, I know this story doesn’t have a happy ending.
“I don’t know. We got blamed for her death and turned into monsters.”
“He said I look like her.”
Gilbert shrugs. “Maybe. I never saw her. I only heard about her bewitching beauty. Going on that alone, yeah, I could see how you look like her. You’re quite beautiful, Ace.”
Just like his brother, he’s blunt with his comments. “You’re only saying that because you haven’t seen any other women in the last thousand years.”
He laughs, eyes glimmering. “True, but I know what makes my cock hard, and that’s you.”
On their own accord, my eyes drop to his crotch. The bulge in his pants is obvious even in the dark.
“Though what I’m more concerned with, Ace,” He moves across the hall, stepping in front of me. One hand lands on my waist and he pushes in, pinning me against the wall. “is if you want me as much as I want you.”
My heart speeds up and I lose the battle not to reach out and touch him. I flatten my palms on his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath my fingers. He moves my hair aside and puts his mouth to my neck. His touch is different than what I felt earlier.
Patient.
Gentle.
He’s going to take his time.
And he said it himself: he’s more concerned with me being turned on.
“But I just…” I start, feeling that flush come back to my face. I was naked and under Thomas not that long ago. I’m more than ready to have a go at round two, but will Thomas care? We didn’t establish anything, because the sex happened naturally between us. Nothing needed to be established.
“I know,” he says softly.
“You don’t care?”
“Not if you don’t. Thom and I…we’re used to sharing everything. We like it. As long as it’s okay with you.” His lips brush against me as he talks. “Are you okay with it, Ace?”
“Yes,” I breathe, and feel a rush of excitement go through me. I’ve never done anything like this before. Slowly, I slide my hands down to his waist, then slip them behind his back. I’m a little nervous and hope I’m able to please him as much as I’d pleased Thomas. I urge him closer, wanting to feel every inch of him against me.
I plunge my hand inside his pants. My fingers brush over his cock, hard and thick, just like his twin. I run my hand along his inner thigh, slowly dragging my fingers back up. I cup his balls and he trails kisses along my collarbone.
Suddenly, he grabs my wrists in his hands and brings them over my head. His gentle kisses turn rough, and the boyish charm has vanished from his face. I stand there, ass pressed into the wall, body on fire. I need him to touch me.
But the moment his skilled fingers go into my pants, a long and harrowing scream comes from the porch.
14
“Stay here.” Gilbert’s fangs show as he snarls, going into protective mode. He jerks away, leaving me against the wall. I blink and push off, going after him.
“No, you stay here. I’m a cop, remember. You can’t be—”
Another scream, high-pitched and feminine, reverberates off the house, followed by someone yelling “There’s something on the roof!” and a clamoring of footsteps on the porch.