Nocturnal Part 12

"I'll get the light." She flipped a switch and a soft glow illuminated the stairwell and the apartment. Darius stepped into the single room and glanced about. There was a tiny kitchen to his left, with a small table barely large enough for two. A couple of mismatched chairs-one wood, one metal-were shoved beneath the wooden table.

A faded couch that appeared to have been some shade of brown at one time stretched along the wall to his right. Above it, a large window partially covered in dark curtains looked out on the main street below. Beside the window was an open closet with a few items of clothing hanging inside. Straight ahead, a mattress sat on the floor with pillows and blankets neatly folded on top. A door beside the bed opened to a small bathroom.

Mari stood in the middle of the room holding the blood-soaked paper towel to her arm. "It's just temporary," she said. "Only while I'm here to help my parents."

It was obvious she didn't want him to think she lived in such squalor all the time. This place might have seen better days, but they hadn't been recent. "It's good of you to come and help them. You're a good daughter." He stepped close to her and touched her shoulder. She didn't flinch. Didn't pull away. Instead, she stared up at him out of those glorious blue eyes.

He lifted her hand and cradled her injured arm. "Let's see to this. It should be cleaned."

Mari let out a big breath. He wished he knew what she was thinking. She seemed amazingly calm, considering he'd totally upended her life this evening, though she would have been in even more danger had he not arrived. Still, she was being forced to accept things she really didn't want to believe.

Of course, if Darius had his choice, he'd choose not to believe in demons, either. Unfortunately, whether one believed or not, they were here, they were dangerous, and they weren't going away on their own.

"I've got a first-aid kit." She carefully freed herself from his grasp and turned toward the kitchen sink.

Darius followed her and watched while she turned on the water and let it run for a moment. She unb.u.t.toned her sleeve and tried to roll it back. The fabric stuck to the blood on her arm.

"c.r.a.p. That hurts."

"Let me help you take it off. It will make it easier to clean the wound."

She flashed him a cheeky grin. "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"It really would be easier to treat if you..." Nine h.e.l.ls. Nine h.e.l.ls. He swallowed. Maybe she wasn't wearing anything underneath. He'd a.s.sumed...He dipped his head. "My apologies. I thought you wore another s.h.i.+rt beneath this one." He swallowed. Maybe she wasn't wearing anything underneath. He'd a.s.sumed...He dipped his head. "My apologies. I thought you wore another s.h.i.+rt beneath this one."

She laughed. "Actually, I'm wearing a sports bra. It's like a s.h.i.+rt. Help me get this off, will you?"

He was suddenly all thumbs, trying to help her lift the s.h.i.+rt off her shoulders once she'd unb.u.t.toned the front. When he finally slipped it over her arms, he realized a sports bra was nothing like another s.h.i.+rt.

Nothing at all. It bared her back and her flat belly and showed the curve of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the dark cleavage between. Darius forced himself to look away as he carefully worked the shredded sleeve over her injured arm. The fabric stuck where blood had dried. More blood seeped slowly from the wound. It bared her back and her flat belly and showed the curve of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the dark cleavage between. Darius forced himself to look away as he carefully worked the shredded sleeve over her injured arm. The fabric stuck where blood had dried. More blood seeped slowly from the wound.

Once Mari's s.h.i.+rt was off, he tossed it on the counter and opened the first-aid kit while Mari rinsed her arm clean under the faucet.

"Let me dry it first," she said. "Then you can use that spray. It's an antibiotic and should take away the sting, too." She dried her arm carefully with another paper towel.

Darius did as she directed. Once her skin was dry, he sprayed the length of the wound. Then he carefully wrapped her arm with soft, sterile gauze and closed the ends off with tape.

She looked up at him and smiled brightly. "Thank you. It feels better already."

Darius merely nodded. There was a strange tightness in his chest, an unexpected reaction to touching her, to standing so close to her with all that beautiful fair skin uncovered.

As if she might be aware of his reaction, Mari walked across the room and grabbed a soft-looking s.h.i.+rt out of the closet. Favoring her injured arm, she slipped it over her head.

Nine h.e.l.ls. He almost sighed when she covered up the smooth expanse of skin he'd hardly had time to admire. Almost, until he realized he enjoyed watching just as much as she pulled her hair out of the back of the s.h.i.+rt and smoothed the hem down over her slim hips. Those subtle, graceful movements as she covered herself held his attention every bit as much as her bare skin. He almost sighed when she covered up the smooth expanse of skin he'd hardly had time to admire. Almost, until he realized he enjoyed watching just as much as she pulled her hair out of the back of the s.h.i.+rt and smoothed the hem down over her slim hips. Those subtle, graceful movements as she covered herself held his attention every bit as much as her bare skin.

So many strange feelings swirled through him-feelings he wasn't certain how to interpret. Confused and unusually off balance, he walked over to the big window and pulled the curtain aside so he could get a better look at the street. "It appears quiet for now."

"That's good. Wow...black, misty demons aren't going to be easy to spot on a dark and cloudy night. Not from up here."

Her soft words in his ear shocked him. She'd followed and stood beside him. For a moment she was much too close, but then she glided away and headed toward the kitchen area. "I'm going to fix something for dinner. Are you hungry?"

He was starving, but he didn't want to impose. "You go ahead," he said, thinking of how she was injured and that he should probably offer to cook for her. Then his stomach growled.

Mari laughed, and the change in her was amazing. Her smile lit up her face. He could have sworn it made the room brighter.

"Sit down," she said. "Your brain might be telling you to be a polite guest, but your stomach knows better."

She opened the door of a tall white cabinet filled with packages and bowls. It took him a moment to realize it was her cold storage. Earth was really not so different from Lemuria, but then he figured that all civilizations probably needed the same things to run efficiently.

"Oh, look! I forgot about the soup." Mari turned and smiled at him. "We've got a feast in here. Lots of really yummy leftovers." She pulled out white boxes and colored bowls and within a few minutes the tiny apartment smelled wonderful.

After the boring food prepared for guardsmen in the barracks, the different scents coming from the stove and the machine Mari called a microwave drew Darius away from the window and close enough to lift lids and sniff appreciatively.

"That's my mom's minestrone. It's the best soup you'll ever eat." She checked the microwave. "I nuked some lasagna from the deli next door and there's leftover chicken and some potato salad." Then she looked in the oven beneath the pot of soup. "When the garlic bread's warm, we can eat. The bathroom's in there if you want to wash up."

The sheer variety of foods had his head spinning. Taking another deep breath, he decided to do as Mari suggested, rather than drool all over himself and look like a complete idiot.

He went into the small bathroom and washed his hands. This facility wasn't all that different, either, from what they had in Lemuria-except for Mari's personal items. There was a sink, a commode, a stall for showering...but a hairbrush sat beside the sink with a few long, blond hairs caught in the bristles. Next to it, a toothbrush and a.s.sorted tubes and bottles.

All very personal things of Mari's.

A couple of pairs of tiny pink panties hung from the shower rod. More of Mari's belongings. The thought of her wearing those small, feminine items beneath her tight-fitting pants made his mouth go dry. He quickly dried his hands on a towel next to the sink and reached for the door.

This little bathroom had suddenly become much too intimate, too personal. Too indicative of the private side of the woman currently preparing his meal in the room beyond.

That was another thing. No woman other than his mother had ever cooked for him before, and that had been so long ago he'd forgotten the tastes, the feelings of eating food prepared especially for him. Prepared with a woman's touch.

Why was the thought of Mari cooking for him so unsettling?

Darius turned back and took one last look at himself in the mirror. His hair was still neatly braided. His robe appeared clean, without stain or tear. He was the same man as always. Nothing had changed, and yet all was different.

He stared at the closed door and panic seized him.

What in the nine h.e.l.ls did he think he was doing? He didn't belong here. He had no business intruding on this woman's life. He should leave, now. Go back to Lemuria and leave demon hunting in Earth's dimension to Alton and the others who belonged here.

"Darius? Dinner's ready."

He glanced once more at his reflection and knew there was only one truth, only one path he could follow. The die was cast. There was no way he could go back to Lemuria. Not now. He had tasted the freedom that was Earth. Had seen beauty in one very special woman. Though he could never claim her, he couldn't leave her unprotected. Demons had found Mari. Either they wanted her, or they were after something in her small shop, and that put Mari at risk. She'd already been injured. He could not abandon her, not with danger so close.

"Who the nine h.e.l.ls am I kidding?" He glowered at himself. "I couldn't leave her even if she weren't in danger."

In just a few short hours in her presence, she'd left an indelible mark on his soul. He had to stay, if only to see where this would lead.

Knowing, deep in his heart, it couldn't lead anywhere good. Knowing himself just as well-that he wasn't going to let that stop him.

His life might be immortal, but Mari's was so short by Lemurian standards he couldn't afford to waste even a moment of time. She was a rare treasure, one he had to experience even knowing he'd eventually have to let her go. With those depressing thoughts clouding his mind, Darius joined Mari at the kitchen table.

Chapter 5.

Mari wasn't going to allow herself to think about anything, especially about sharing her tiny apartment with that great big, absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous man.

She bit back a laugh. Yes, proof that size does matter...especially when there's something weird and threatening just outside the door. Yes, proof that size does matter...especially when there's something weird and threatening just outside the door.

Darius was huge, and the flowing blue robe made him seem even bigger, but big was good-at least until she figured out what that black mist really was that had slashed her arm. Even if she wasn't quite ready to accept that they were actually demons, she realized she was a lot closer to accepting Darius.

Lemuria? It was not easy to wrap her mind around that that one even though every kid in Evergreen grew up with tales of the Lemurians, and the powerful energy vortex and sense of magic that surrounded Mount Shasta. They were bedtime stories, though. Legends for the tourists. Make-believe. one even though every kid in Evergreen grew up with tales of the Lemurians, and the powerful energy vortex and sense of magic that surrounded Mount Shasta. They were bedtime stories, though. Legends for the tourists. Make-believe.

Darius was definitely not make-believe.

He was much too real-so real he seemed to suck the air out of the room. It had to be something like that, because she felt light-headed when she looked at him-really looked at him-and she couldn't blame the feeling on that stupid cut on her arm.

If Darius was telling the truth, he wasn't even human, yet he was the most perfect man she'd ever met. Everything about him turned her on. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up this disinterested, independent woman facade.

He certainly wasn't making it easy!

She'd sworn she'd never need another man, not after all the c.r.a.p Brad had pulled. So why did Darius make her feel so needy? She had to quit making comparisons between the two men. There was nothing at all about Darius-other than his gender-that was anything at all like Brad.

She almost giggled, imagining her ex-boyfriend protecting her from demons. Too bad she hadn't kneed Brad in the b.a.l.l.s when she'd had the chance.

Darius took the seat she pointed to and his ma.s.sive size made the tiny table look even smaller. Mari poured a gla.s.s of red wine for each of them and set a bowl of soup in front of Darius. At least she had two of everything in the cupboards-exactly two.

Plates, forks, knives, winegla.s.ses. This tiny apartment was the first home her parents had shared, and it was still stocked with their old stuff. She tried to imagine her mom and dad sitting here like she was with Darius, but she wasn't sure she wanted the visual of her parents as two young adults.

They'd launched their relations.h.i.+p in the late sixties in a haze of marijuana smoke and regular acid trips. Over forty years later, they still hadn't entirely moved past their hippie roots.

It was just weird, thinking of her mom and dad living here when they had been so much younger than Mari was now. They hadn't been married then. In fact, they hadn't married until years later, right before she was born. Her mom had told her they'd only known each other a couple of weeks before the two of them actually shared an apartment for the night.

Mari had known Darius for only a couple of hours.

No. Don't even try to make sense of this. She took a sip of her wine and decided she'd just take it one step at a time. She took a sip of her wine and decided she'd just take it one step at a time.

She filled a plate at the stove, glanced over her shoulder at the man, back at the plate, and added more food. Darius's eyes lit up when she put it on the table beside his bowl of soup.

She served a small plate for herself and sat down.

Darius sat perfectly still and stared at his meal.

"Go ahead." She grabbed her spoon, inordinately pleased that he'd waited for her. Chalk up another plus in Darius's column, another minus for Brad. She really should quit comparing them. "Don't let it get cold."

He smiled at her, nodded, picked up a spoon, and tasted her mother's soup. If there was one thing she couldn't fault dear old Mom on, it was her minestrone soup. Darius seemed to agree. He closed his eyes with a look of pure bliss.

"Amazing. This is wonderful. We have nothing like this."

"There's plenty more." She smiled at him, but he wasn't even looking at her. No, he focused entirely on the meal she'd set in front of him. It gave her the warm fuzzies, knowing the simple leftovers she'd prepared pleased him so much.

They ate quietly, but there was nothing uncomfortable about the silence. Mari took the time to observe and wonder. For a woman who had forever relished the ordinary, she felt as if she hovered on the cusp of something amazing, as if her life was about to change.

But hadn't it already? She'd thought she would never leave San Francisco, yet here she was, back in Evergreen. When she'd lost her job, she was certain she'd never be happy again, not until she was firmly established at another bank or brokerage house. Yet she sat here smiling, pigging out on her mom's homemade soup, happier than she'd been in years.

She'd never had a fanciful nature, yet she was sharing dinner with a man who claimed he wasn't even human, that he'd come from the mythological world of Lemuria for the sole purpose of protecting her from demons.

In fact, he didn't just say it-he did it. If those black misty things weren't demons, she knew they weren't anything good. She was certain of that. If it weren't for the stinging cut on her arm, she might have trouble believing, but something had slashed through her flannel s.h.i.+rt. Something had shot out of the darkness, screamed like a banshee, and left her bleeding.

The image of fangs and scales, of strangely shaped limbs and a twisted body flashed through her mind. No, she couldn't possibly have seen that, but whatever it was had died in a burst of blue sparks and flames and stinking black smoke. It had died because Darius of Kronus had killed it, and he'd killed it to protect Mari.

He glanced up at her and smiled, and something inside her-something long unraveled-knit together. She couldn't explain it, couldn't describe it, but in that brief glance, that single moment, everything tumbled into place. Like puzzle pieces once scattered, all the separate parts of her life that had never before seemed to fit, found their match, slid into their proper position, clicked, and became whole.

She blinked, carefully wiped her lips with her napkin, and realized she couldn't have looked away from his emerald-green gaze if her life had depended on it.

But she didn't want to look away, because her life did depend on it. Her life, her future, her soul, all caught up, somehow, in the man sharing her little kitchen table in this d.i.n.ky, dingy little apartment over her mother's store.

Premonitions weren't her thing. Her mother was convinced she had psychic abilities but Mari had always feared her flashes of foresight and weird hunches. She'd learned to block them-Mom made the predictions, not Mari, but this one was so clear, so powerful, she didn't even try to fight it.

Her future opened in front of her like a tapestry woven in light. The glowing strands were tied to this man, this place, and this time. Instead of shying away from it or trying to block it, Mari let the vision take her.

And, as with all her premonitions, not a lick of it made any sense at all.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked and the vision snapped out of existence as if it had never been. Darius stared at her with a frown marring that otherwise smooth forehead, his black brows twisted and his green eyes narrowed.

Mari nodded. "I'm fine. Just tired." She pushed herself away from the table. "You go ahead and finish eating. I'm going to take a shower." She glanced at the gauze covering the slash on her arm. "Do you mind helping me rewrap this when I get out?"

Darius nodded. "Of course I will. Anything you want."

Mari almost laughed. Almost. No way was she going to tell him what she really wanted. What she'd seen in that brief premonition: the two of them, naked and aroused, together.

Very close together.

With that visual planted firmly in her mind, Mari headed for the shower.

"There's no sign of him, Sergeant Kronus."

"Thank you, Leland. Stand down." With worry eating a hole in his gut, Roland of Kronus checked the small tunnel leading to one of the lesser portals. He'd sealed the reopened gateway to Abyss, but d.a.m.n the nine h.e.l.ls, it appeared he'd lost Darius.

All he had was his cousin's frantic call for help, a warning that demonkind was pouring through a newly opened portal and headed for either Lemuria or Earth. Darius hadn't been sure.

Since then, there'd been no word. Nothing at all.