Demon of Desire (10 page)

It was locked. Where was the key? Did she even have a key?
She reached up and felt along the doorframe to see if it was stashed there. No
luck.

Tears welled in her eyes as heat radiated through the door.
“Aunt Absinthe, where are you when I need you? Help me, please.”

Thunk.

Something fell in the living room behind her. Turning to
look, Sin saw Cleo facing the bookshelves, her tail twitching in a calm manner.

“Aunt Absinthe, is that you?”

Cleo looked at her and meowed.

With another dash and squeal, Sin passed through the mist.
On the floor in front of the bookshelf lay a book that hadn’t been there
before. She picked it up.

The cover was ancient leather, worn and on the verge of
crumbling to dust. Gold lettering spelled out words in a language she didn’t
understand. As she held it, the book opened to a page in the middle.

Her gut told her Great-Aunt Absinthe wanted her to read the
passage. Turning toward the mist, Sin began to speak, her tongue stumbling over
the odd combinations of consonants.

The mist rippled.

Encouraged, and fearful of the smoke filling the room, she
continued, her voice growing stronger.

The mist darted about the room as if trying to escape. With
each move it thinned. Sin read the final stanza, yelling to force the words
out.

Kinetic energy filled the room, vibrating outward from the
mist. The curtains stirred. Pictures rattled on the walls. Sin’s hair lifted as
if she’d rubbed a balloon over it. The mist swelled and shrank, swelled and
shrank again, then expanded outward until it vanished.

Instantly the room stilled and Sin began to cough. Smoke rolled
in and surrounded her. Fighting the demands of her body, she crouched and ran
to the basement door again, using her shirt to try the handle once more. When
she found it still locked, she pounded and yelled until her throat hurt.

As she realized her vision was getting hazy, she slid to the
floor.

* * * * *

A severe coughing fit gripped her and Sin came awake. Where
was she? The walls around her were cold and sterile. She noticed she had a
plastic mask over her mouth and reached for it.

“You’re awake.” The sweet female voice came from the shadowy
corner of the room. Ana stood and came to the side of the bed. “Leave the
oxygen mask on. You need it.”

“Where…? How…?” Her voice sounded like a pond full of frogs.

Pushing back her long, blonde hair, the woman smiled. “I’m
Ana. We met at the MacDuirmads’ home. Do you remember what happened to you?”

“There was a fire in my basement.” Realization hit like a
bullet to her chest. “The MacDuirmad brothers were there. Are they…?”

“They’re fine. I’ll let them tell you about it. I’m glad to
see you’re all right, too.” Ana left then to find the nurse.

Later, a firefighter stopped by to let her know they had
saved the house and the cats, but the basement had been a total loss.

Time blurred as she dozed often. On one of his visits to her
hospital room, Baen told her she would stay with them until repairs were made
to her house. After two days in bed at the tiny Whispering Valley Community
Hospital, Sin was released. As Ana drove her to the MacDuirmad home, a mixture
of relief and curiosity filled her. She was eager to talk to the brothers about
the mist and the fire.

In the thin light of dusk, Sin looked out the window of
Ana’s car, through the trees at the familiar building that seemed to have grown
there in the forest. The house was a single story, a cross between a log cabin
and an old English cottage with thatched roof. The overall effect was pleasant
and unique. She more expected elves and fairies to live there than vampires.

The brothers came out to meet the car and each one hugged
her, holding her slightly longer than a greeting required. Baen waved to Ana,
saying, “Thanks for bringing her here.”

“My pleasure,” Ana said simply before driving away.

With his arm around her shoulders, Baen led her inside. She
was pleased to see the three cats sitting in the doorway. They greeted her
loudly.

“The cats aren’t too happy about being moved,” Gower
explained. “They’ve been protesting hourly.”

Sin inhaled a calming breath of cinnamon and lemon cleaner
while turning to face the three men. “So, are you going to tell me what
happened? The people in this town are so secretive. No one will tell me how you
survived. And then there’s the hospital staff. They didn’t say a thing about my
nocturnal habits, and no one offered me food.”

“But they had a blood drip in your IV, right?” Enos asked.

He was right. No saline bags, only blood, two or three bags
a day. They knew she was a vampire. While the guys had told her people in the
village considered that normal, she still expected stares and whispers.

Baen led her to the overstuffed sofa and sat on one side,
while Gower took the other. Baen spoke first. “This is a small, close-knit
town, as you’ve seen. Everyone here has their own, well, uniqueness, and
everyone watches out for each other.”

Sin thought she’d love to read the medical charts of the
town. How did a doctor know how to treat all the different creatures the
brothers claimed lived there? He’d have to go to vet school as well as med
school. With a mental grimace, she stopped the crazy train of thought and
focused on the important stuff. “Are you finally going to tell me what happened
in the basement?”

Enos leaned forward in his wing chair and rested his elbows
on his knees. “Yeah, and you can fill us in on what happened upstairs. We were
working on the heater’s pilot light when the thing lit, then flared up and
scorched the ceiling.”

“It was a huge flame,” Gower added. “Singed my eyebrows.”

“Somehow the ceiling caught and the flames spread as if
someone had poured gasoline across the beams.” Baen stroked her arm as they
talked. “We ran for the extinguisher that’s kept below the stairwell and it
wouldn’t work. The gauge read empty, but I know we checked the extinguishers
routinely for your aunt.”

Gower nodded. “I ran for the door to get the one from the
kitchen, but the door was jammed. It wouldn’t open. I banged on it and yelled
for you.”

Sin frowned. “I never heard. When I saw the smoke, I tried
to open the door but it was locked. I couldn’t find a key. I kept pounding on
the door and yelling for you guys. I even tried the outer door.”

“We couldn’t get to it. A wall of flames blocked it off.”
Baen clasped her hand in his. “When we decided we couldn’t get out, we all
crouched in the corner of the room and waited for you to find us.”

“I tried. There was this thing that didn’t want me to.”

The men exchanged glances. Baen squeezed her hand gently.
“Thing?”

“Yeah. A black mist. Before the smoke escaped the door, a
shadow came out around it and blocked my way. It kept moving in front of me
when I stepped closer.”

Enos lifted an eyebrow. “You moved closer to the shadow?”

“Well, yeah. I had to get to you guys.”

“Did it hurt you?”

She shook her head. “I finally ran through it and ended up
covered in goo. Slime. It smelled as if something died.”

All three men said, “Demon.”

“That’s what I figured. When I still couldn’t open the door,
I called to my aunt for help. A book fell off a shelf and opened to a page, so
I started reading. The shadow didn’t like it, apparently. It finally vanished.”

Gower ran a hand over her hair. “You destroyed it.”

“I did?”

Baen nodded. “That must be your gift.”

She laughed, dryly, almost a snort. “What? Demon slayer?”

Smiling, Baen said, “Yeah, pretty much. There must be spell
books in the living room, as well as in the attic.”

“It did look a lot like the one you took from me up there.
Come to think of it, the first day I arrived at the house, a book fell off the
shelf. I wonder if my aunt tried to warn me then? But how can I be a demon
slayer? I’m just me. My dad is a computer programmer and my mom sells
cosmetics. We even went to church when I was a kid.”

“It’s inborn, like being psychic,” Enos explained.

“Huh,” was all she could respond. She realized she didn’t
know how the brothers had escaped the fire, and asked.

“I’m guessing about the time you destroyed the demon, your
great-aunt was able to reach us. Something put a bubble around us to keep the
smoke and heat away until the fire department came.”

She released her breath, barely aware she’d been holding it.
“Thank God someone saw the smoke and called it in.”

“Um, no, they didn’t.” Gower turned to face her. “We told
you everyone around here has a gift. Well, the fire chief is clairvoyant. Come
to think of it, maybe he created the bubble protecting us. No one has ever died
in a fire as long as he’s been here.”

“It’s rare a fire can burn long enough to do major damage
before Chief Yost becomes aware of it,” Enos added.

Sin shook her head. “Well, that’s handy, I guess.”

She wondered what other oddities she would find as she
became better acquainted with the people. Her parents had never talked about
the community. Did they even have a clue what the place was like?

It didn’t matter. Whispering Valley was her home now and she
was beginning to feel as if she would enjoy living there. She looked at the
three men sitting with her. They hadn’t gotten to talk about their relationship
before the fire broke out. She really needed to be clear what was happening
between them all. Squeezing Baen’s hand, she looked up into his eyes.

“We still need to talk. About us.”

“Sure. Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, exactly. I’m just confused. And I want to make
things clear before anyone gets hurt.”

“Sounds good to me, “Enos said.

She drew in a breath. Where to start? She hated talking
relationships. She usually just let things happen and rode with it. But she’d
never had such strong feelings for three men at one time. Such strong feelings
for anyone at any time. “I didn’t know it was possible, but I’m falling for all
three of you.”

There. She’d said it.

Baen tightened his hold on her hand. “And?”

“And? And I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know how
to be involved with more than one man at a time. I can’t play you guys against
each other. What if I want to be with one of you one night, what will the others
think?”

Baen lifted her chin and she met his gaze. “We’ll think
we’ll have our time with you another night. You are our mate.
Our
mate.
I thought we’d explained that to you. If that’s agreeable to you, the three of
us will be with you always.”

The idea confused and excited her. “I don’t understand what
you guys get out of it, but it sounds perfect to me.”

“We get you.” Baen smiled, then leaned in to kiss her. The
gentle touch lingered, becoming more forceful. His tongue traced the seam of
her lips and she opened to him. His groan of pleasure made her breasts tingle.

Sin met his tongue with hers and explored his mouth, tasting
the sweetness of a mint he must have chewed recently. Her hands snaked around
him, roaming the breadth of his back. The relief of so many dangers and worries
drove her need for contact, for release.

Baen pulled away and stood, pulling her with him. “We need
to do this right.”

As she rose, it hit her that she’d been in the hospital and
hadn’t showered in two days. She smelled of smoke and a bit of the reek of the
demon, even though Ana had brought her some clean clothes.

“If we’re going to do this right, I need a shower.” She
looked at the other two men. What did “right” entail? She shivered as images
raced through her mind.

“Let me show you your bathroom.” Baen led her toward the
hallway.

Small lamps mounted high on the walls lit the way, looking
like candles in sconces. Baen led her to the last door on the right and opened
it for her.

The bedroom glowed, again as if by candlelight, bright
enough to see without losing an old-fashioned ambience. In the center stood an
antique four-poster with dark red curtains tied at each post. The mattress sat
high above the floor, a downy comforter pulled back. Pillows were piled against
the headboard.

Longing swept over her to climb in, snuggle down and sleep
for a week. After she had sex. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it. You can redecorate, if you’d like.
The bath is here.” He opened a door and turned on the light. A sunken tub
surrounded by marble tile called to her.

“Did Ana bring my things over?”

“We brought some and bought others for you. You should find
everything you need. I’ll leave you to relax, unless I can talk you into
letting me wash your back?” He drew her hand to his lips and kissed her
knuckles.

Sin sighed. Having Baen lean over the edge of the tub and
run a soft sponge over her would be beyond sensual. But she felt so grungy.
There was no way any man was going to see her until she’d spent a good
half-hour with a bar of soap. “Maybe next time.”

He smiled and bowed like the hero in a Jane Austen story.
“Enjoy your bath.”

She did. When the water grew tepid and she was sure she’d be
a prune if she weren’t undead, she dried off and went in search of a robe or
nightgown.

Chapter Nine

Sin debated what to put on after her bath. Her bathrobe was
a ratty, hot pink terry cloth rag that she’d be ashamed to be seen in. Her
pajamas weren’t much better, since she preferred t-shirts and boxer shorts. How
sexy. Not.

In addition to the bed, the room had a tall antique dresser,
matching wardrobe, and several Queen Anne style chairs beside a small table.
Sin dropped her towel and opened dresser drawers to see what she had to choose
from. Next to a pile of her boxers lay some plain white cotton.

Lifting the garment, she held it up to the light. It was a
long nightgown, but definitely not a granny-style flannel one. The cotton was
so thin it was practically nonexistent. In the drawer she found a matching
robe. Maybe with both layers she’d feel covered.