Two Parts Demon Page 9

  “Are we invited as well?” Smith smiled a little shyly.

  She leaned over and kissed him. “Of course. You are all expected to be there. I will send you the invitations sometime tomorrow...or later today. I am a little muddled right now.”

  Tremble chuckled. “Since Smith got a personal invitation, it is only fair that you will have to invite me and Argyle the same way.”

  She pressed her forehead to Smith’s and rubbed back and forth for a moment before flipping back and landing in Tremble’s lap. His kiss was rough, he held her hair and she responded for a moment before her reaction ceased his incursion.

  Benny glared at him and licked her lips. “Will you attend my parents’ anniversary surprise party?”

  He inclined his head. “I will.”

  She sighed and boosted herself off his lap, sashaying over to Argyle. “Argyle?”

  He grinned. “Yes?”

  “Would you attend my parents’ anniversary surprise party?”

  She placed her hands on his chest and slid up the cool surface of his shirt, even with the fire, he was still cold.

  She loved the combination of heat and cold as she went up on her toes and pulled his head down. His lips were soft marble, and she shivered against him. They kissed slowly and softly for several minutes before Smith growled low in his throat.

  She leaned back and blinked as she waited.

  “Of course I will join you. I will file a request for the night off as soon as you let me go.”

  Smith and Tremble were already on their phones.

  She sighed and let him go.

  Benny fished her phone out of her bra, “Fine, you do that and I will call my Aunty Sabina.”

  Argyle stiffened. “I thought Sabina was your great grandmother.”

  “She is; she just prefers to be called Aunty, as does Beneficia.” She hit her aunty’s number and waited while it rang.

  Sabina was a vampire; she would be awake.

  “Hello?”

  “Aunty Sabina, it’s Benny. I have booked Ritual Space for Saturday night, and she is expecting a fax with the details. Transports will be allowed beginning one hour before sunset and continue to be accessible until one hour after dawn. She is getting the noise waiver, so we are good. We have the entire facility.”

  “How did you manage that with such short notice? I am not complaining, I am just amazed.”

  “It was pure luck.” Something sparked in her mind about luck, and her eyes went wide.

  “Right. Well, hooray for luck. Okay, I will fax her the information, and she can call me after sundown. I am emailing you a copy as well, so check it out and see if I missed anything. Just make sure to have the song ready.”

  “Yes, Aunty. All the invitations are out?”

  “They are. You know the spell?”

  Benny smiled. “I do. I will get to it as soon as I hang up.”

  “Thanks, pet. It was something I could never grasp after Beneficia arrived.”

  “No problem. Have a good night.”

  Sabina groaned. “Unlikely. I have to negotiate for possession of a few thralls. They went to a party and the king decided not to release them. My job is so glamorous.”

  “And you do it well. Good night, Aunty.”

  “Good night, Benny. See you in a few days.”

  Benny hung up and sighed.

  Her guys beamed at her.

  Smith chortled. “We all got the week and weekend off. I have no idea how we got so lucky.”

  Benny sighed. “I think we have Minerva to thank for that.”

  They looked at her in surprise.

  “She gave us a thousand doses of luck in the binding spell. I think it has officially kicked in, though the first sign may have been the piece of Giltine’s robe. The odds of her having that were astronomical.”

  Tremble put his phone away and walked up to her, wrapping her in his arms. “We are feeling exceptionally lucky, and this is enough proof that you are possessed of a powerful magic.”

  She sighed and rested her head on his chest. “And it is all human mage magic, so there will not be issues with you three being tainted by demon magic again.”

  Tremble chuckled. “They cannot test us for that for another year.”

  Instead of cuddling her, he spun her away from him and then back.

  She went into the patterns of dance on instinct. “Why are we dancing?”

  To her surprise, Smith took her hand and twirled her expertly. “If I am not mistaking your invitation, we are going to a party, and I don’t think any of us will dance with anyone else.”

  She let Argyle take her for a spin after that, and then, she stepped back. “I have to write an invitation with addresses and details.”

  They sighed as one.

  She went to the desk in the corner and opened a piece of parchment. The address was in her phone, and she prepared a quill, selected the proper ink and started to work the letters onto the parchment. She was careful with the dates and the spelling of the address. When she had it down and completed, she verified the spelling twice before chanting to wake the ink. When the ink lifted, she leaned in and blew softly on it. The words disappeared with her breath, and they were being printed on every invitation that was sent by Sabina.

  When it was done, she capped the ink, put away the parchment and took the quill to the fire. When it flared blue, she relaxed.

  Tremble was watching with fascination. “You use the magic so easily.”

  She shrugged. “I have learned it along with learning to walk. It is my nature.”

  “I thought you would have more fey magic.”

  She smiled. “I have that too, but I don’t use it in the house. I would blow the roof off by accident. My grandfather taught me, and he is a little heavy handed with the natural powers. I was not taught subtlety.”

  Smith looked a little unsure. “Is there a chance that I can go for a run?”

  She blinked. “Damn. I am sorry. Of course. Come this way.”

  Benny led them out of the den and to the back of the house, past the kitchen and out to the grounds. The manicured lawns rolled, and Smith stripped rapidly, shifting into a stunningly proportioned lion that gambolled over the green before dashing to the left.

  Benny turned to the other two. “Care to join me on the terrace? We can wait until he finishes chasing the horses.”

  Argyle grimaced. “Please pardon me, but I need to go and feed.”

  “Can you drink from me?”

  His eyes glowed hotly. “I would love to, but I do not wish to weaken you.”

  “I am sure you will not take more than you need. You are a given vampire, you don’t need much.”

  He nodded slowly as if afraid she would change her mind. He settled on a chair, and Tremble watched over them as she sat in the vampire’s lap.

  Argyle held her carefully, and he lifted her forearm to his lips. He licked the skin slowly, and she shivered. When he bit, she felt only a surge of heat and nothing more.

  The heat began to build with every stroke of his tongue and each sucking swallow. She was shaking in his embrace, his hand behind her back supported her and the other kept her hand to his lips while he drank.

  He drank for ten minutes or so, and then, he carefully licked her punctures closed. If Tremble hadn’t been there, she would have stripped naked and jumped him after the first bite.

  Her blood was singing, and she was lightheaded. When Argyle looked down at her, she grinned and kissed him, tasting her blood in his mouth.

  She sighed when they parted. A moment later, she bolted to her feet at the sight of a lion being chased across the meadow by a herd of horses who looked distinctly unimpressed with the newcomer.

  Tremble leaned against the railing. “You know what they are, don’t you?”

  “The horses and Pooky? Yeah. They are the wild hunt. Ancient steeds of the fey, and in alternate mythologies, they are the bearers of the dead.�
� She grinned at his surprise.

  “Tremble, my car can change into a van and then into a horsy. I put that together already. Dang, I think I should head down there and calm things down.”

  With the pursuit heading back in the other direction, she stepped out into the path of the stampede.

  Saving one’s mate from a herd of horses because he tried to chase them didn’t rank high on her dignity metre. The moment the lion passed her, she stepped out, and the herd split, thundering around her and Smith. She could feel his breath on her neck, and she glanced back at him. “You just had to try and grab them, didn’t you?”

  He rumbled and his tail lashed from side to side. To see a goofy and pleased expression on his features melted her heart. She stroked his nose and rubbed his forehead. “Having fun?”

  He rumbled again and nuzzled her with his huge head. Argyle and Tremble came toward them, and she leaned against Smith’s huge skull.

  They stood around and scratched him behind his ears and under the thick waves of his mane for close to an hour. Smith was boneless with happiness when they finally decided to return to the house. Dawn was approaching and an uneventful sleep was definitely earned.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Benny woke up smooshed between Smith and Tremble. She didn’t remember getting into bed with either of them, but here they were.

  She levered herself up and out from between them. Tremble rolled to one side and clutched at his pillow while Smith frowned. With some contortions, she left the bed and headed to the bathroom to attend the call of nature and take a proper shower.

  She was unsurprised to feel a pair of hands on her in the shower, but she was taken aback when she turned to see Argyle soaping her back. “Good afternoon.”

  He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Good morning. For some reason, I am wide awake this morning.”

  She whispered, “What time is it?”

  “Eleven in the morning.” He was running his hands over her and getting the soap into all the nooks and crannies that had seen so much action the day before.

  “Ah. I thought it was closer to four.”

  He chuckled and ran his hands over all of her curves. “No. You must have some rejuvenating properties in your blood.”

  “I probably do. There are a lot of extremely long lifespans in my family.”

  He bent forward and pressed his lips to her neck. She arched back into the shower spray, and his cool mouth mixed with the hot water to make her shiver.

  His hand worked between her thighs, and the hot spray, cold skin and precise touch of his hand had her gasping under the flow of the water until she bit her lip and clutched at him with her nails in his shoulders as she enjoyed her first climax of the day.

  Dazed, she didn’t move when he turned off the water and helped her out of the shower. She was still focused on her swimming senses. He tucked a towel around her, and she wrapped her hands behind his neck, pulling him in for a kiss and playing with his hair. “I do love your hair colour.”

  He chuckled. “I guessed as much. You play with it every time you are in touching distance, which is not as often as I would like, but that is something that will change as we settle down. I do love the way you taste.”

  She blinked. “Well, it is probably all the magic.”

  Argyle whispered in her ear, “That wasn’t what I was referring to.”

  Heat seared her cheeks, and she cleared her throat. “How did you hear I was up, anyway?”

  “Jessamine and I were working on the floor plan of the new house. She told me that you were up, and I can move quickly when I need to, though slow is my preferred pace.” He winked.

  Her blush didn’t show any signs of slowing.

  Smith and Tremble sat up when they came into the room.

  Argyle sighed. “Well, I am going to have to leave you.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  He laughed. “I need clothing, a toothbrush, my laptop. Jessamine said that the house is working on one large bedroom for all of us, but that won’t provide me with what I need.” He smirked. “Lenora did provide me with a set of sunglasses that will keep the light from blinding me, so I should be good to go.”

  Smith got up and pulled on his jeans. “Can you take me by my place?”

  Tremble nodded. “Me as well. I would like to be back here for dinner.”

  Argyle nodded. “Come on. Get dressed. I will meet you downstairs.”

  Benny felt left out, but then, she had all of her stuff around her.

  She wandered to her dresser and pulled out some clean underwear and a black t-shirt with a kitten with wings on it. She was going to drop the towel, but she noted the three interested faces.

  “You can head downstairs. I will be down in a minute. We are going to have to work on finding a way to each get personal time, or we will drive each other nuts. Namely me.” She wrinkled her nose.

  Argyle smirked and headed for the door. “Oh, Benny, what is that tattoo on your right hipbone?”

  She scowled and put her hand over her towel-clad hip. “A birth-control spell. Regular human drugs don’t do much for me, so Minerva helped me design it.”

  Smith sighed in relief. “So, I don’t have to make any awkward announcements to my pride when I introduce you?”

  She shook her head. “No. I don’t want to have to rush anything, and I will have quite the lifespan to deal with if I don’t do anything stupid. I can spare a few years before kids are an issue.”

  Tremble smiled and came over to give her a kiss. “I would not mind a child.”

  She looked at him archly. “You would like to quit the XIA to look after the child full time? I have just gotten a job where I can be myself out in public. I am not going to put a cork in that until I have had some life experience that doesn’t involve me hiding in the shadows.”

  He crossed his arms and gave her a bland look, all confidence and buff security. “I would certainly resign my position to take care of my child.”

  She blinked. “Well, that sucks the air out of my next statement, but good to know.”

  He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Think about it.”

  Smith pressed a kiss to her cheek a moment later. “I am content to wait a while.”

  She laughed and gave him a peck on the lips. “Me, too. Off you go.”

  Argyle didn’t mention anything because he couldn’t father a child. He merely winked and headed out of her bedroom and toward the stairs.

  The other two bowed and left her alone. She sighed and pushed the door closed. With her mind whirling with the mental image of a small person in her arms with pointy ears and her hair, she got dressed and then pulled on a set of denim shorts. She put on her favourite kitten socks and pattered downstairs where her family was, once again, gathered in the kitchen.

  She came to a halt when she saw her father. “Dad?”

  He turned to her with open arms. “Come here, Benny.” He hugged her.

  She hadn’t hugged her dad as a human for over sixteen years. The lack of scales was weird and his thudding heartbeat was in her ears.

  “What happened?”

  He grinned. “Now that Yomra has lost his influence, I was able to use a glamour again. It feels solid, but I am testing it out at home.”

  Her father’s hair colour was a shade darker than her own, but his dark-hazel eyes were the same ones she saw in the mirror every morning. He was just as handsome and reassuring as he had been when she was small and he was lecturing at colleges and universities around the country.

  “You look...”

  He grinned. “I know, sweetie. It feels pretty good, too. My demon form is losing its ferocity, but this will be a better transition for going out in public.”

  She wiped tears off her cheeks. “It is just so nice to see you again.”

  Benny could see her mom, and Lenora smiled while she finished putting lunch on the table. It appeared that the change to the old was a favourite al
l the way around.

  After lunch, the guys took off and went in search of a change of underwear. Benny was not complaining.

  She saw her parents eyeing each other once they had finished the dishes, and Benny chuckled. “I am going to take a walk to the dower house. I will be back later.”

  Her parents didn’t respond, so she left out the back and started walking across the grounds.

  Pooky galloped up to her and nudged her with his head. She grinned. “Fine. Let’s go for a ride.”

  She hauled herself astride him, and he galloped off toward the dower house. Whatever was going on there, he was eager to have her see it.

  They jumped the creek, crashed through the meadow and, finally, he jogged into what would be her back yard.

  “Oh, wow.”

  The back deck that hadn’t been there before had a huge hot tub large enough for all four of them to fit in easily. Benny walked into her home, and she noted that it was three times larger than it had been on the main floor. A gym had been added with heavy-duty machines, a larger kitchen and dining room took up the main floor, complete with a living space and a wide-screen television.

  Benny snivelled as she walked up the stairs. Her parents and the house had gone above and beyond. She checked the guest bedroom, the upstairs bathroom and, then, she gingerly made her way into her own bedroom.

  Her bedroom now took up two-thirds of the length of the house. Beds for the guys were arranged on one wall, but the focal point of the room was the bed that was wide enough for all of them. “Oh, geez. That is not happening.”

  The house around her sent a wave of amusement out.

  The wardrobes were empty and ready. There were bookshelves waiting for books, footlockers and a pile of pillows on a thick carpet. The bathroom was built for four people to brush their teeth at the same time. It was a home built for her group, and Benny sighed. “Is there a study?”

  Silent laughter ran through the walls around her. She headed down the stairs and followed the silent nudging to a flat and nearly invisible seam in the wall under the stairs. It opened at her touch, and a staircase spiralled down under the house.