I quickly slip off my Scala-robes-plus-over-gown combo, and then wrap the blanket around me. I tap his arm. “Okay, you can look now.”
Lincoln opens his eyes, watching me with a coiled interest, like he’s sizing up an opponent before a fight. My lust and wrath demons agree; that’s a crazy-hot look on his face, right there.
“Excellent. Sit down.” The way he says those last two words—a little bossy and husky—starts my pulse pattering away at double-speed. After making sure my blanket isn’t tangled up, I sit down on the oriental carpet, carefully folding my legs beneath me, exactly as I did in the stables so long ago. Excitement pours through my veins.
Lincoln sits directly behind me, the body heat from his chest radiating along my back. He runs his finger along the line of fabric behind my shoulders. “As I recall, you weren’t wearing anything from the waist up. This blanket does limit my massage moves.”
My voice comes out breathy. “All right.” I loosen the blanket, holding it to my chest and leaving my back bare. “How’s that?”
“Perfect.” Lincoln goes to work on my shoulders, his nimble fingers alternating between rough pressure and feather-soft brushes. My body warms, my muscles loosen. Exhaling, I lean forward, bracing my arms on my knees. Lincoln slides his fingers up to massage my scalp. Every so often, his nails gently scratch my skin. I like that part, a lot.
Lincoln leans in. “I remember when I first sensed her.”
Without meaning to, I let out a long ‘mmm’ noise. “My lust demon?”
“Oh, yes. I was right here.” His hands press down to my lower back and knead along my hip-line, hard and rough. His warm breath cascades down my neck as he speaks. “And you shivered.”
I tremble once again. “That’s right.”
“At that moment, I thought we might have a real spark, other than wanting to kill each other.”
I laugh, the sound low, husky and real. Behind me, Lincoln takes off his shirt.
This is getting good.
Lincoln leans in again. His bare skin brushes against mine. “You tried to get away.” He sets his hands on either side of my waist. “And then, I held you down.” His grip turns hard and tight as he presses my hips against the floor. His voice sounds low in my ear. “Like this.”
My breath catches. Every cell in my body is on alert, waiting for his next touch or word.
“And I knew you liked that even more.” Lincoln’s fingertips glide around my upper arms until his touch traces the line of my collarbones. “You did, didn’t you?”
I look over my shoulder and meet his gaze. “Yes.” His face radiates raw passion under airtight control. Damn, that gets me. My eyes burn bright red with lust.
Lincoln’s mouth winds into a knowing grin. “Why, hello, there.”
“Hi, yourself.”
Lincoln slowly pulls my hair to one side and starts kissing a soft line along my neck. I close my eyes and revel in every sensation.
And just like that, it’s official. Having an inner lust demon might actually be pretty awesome, after all.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I don’t like going anywhere blindfolded, but then again, Walker insisted. And after everything that guy’s done for me, who am I to deny him anything? Right now, Lincoln holds my right hand and Walker holds my left while our little trio marches across a cobblestone yard. Our destination? An excellent view of the prototype building for our new Ghost Towers. After six months of fast construction, the structure is ready for a first look.
As we step along, my heart pounds at double-speed. I approved the plans for the new Tower, of course, but after that, Walker’s been super-secretive. He even built covered scaffolding around the construction site, all the better to keep away prying eyes and cameras.
I stop moving. “Can I peek now?”
“No.” Walker chuckles; he knows I have zero patience. “You’ll have to wait little longer. I want you to have the perfect view when you first see it.”
We march a little father along. My tail pokes Walker on the shoulder the entire way, a movement that asks ‘are we there yet?’ over and over. Finally, we come to a full stop.
“You ready?” asks Walker.
“So ready.”
I pull the blindfold down from my eyes and gasp. This is probably the most gorgeous building in the history of ever. I look at it again. No, it’s definitely the most gorgeous building, period.
The new Ghost Tower is made of clear and super-strong glass, so you can see the lovely clouds floating inside. On the exterior, etched words appear on its surface. Some stuff scrolls up and down. Other things start off small and grow huge, only to disappear. The text is all statistics about the Tower in question. How many souls there in are, how many we’ve moved, that kind of thing. ‘Information as decoration’ is what Walker calls it. Since sorting and processing souls is what Purgatory does, I call it beautiful.
“Wow, Walker. It’s gorgeous.”