Demon Seed

  Ryan crossed his arms and glared. “What?”

  Aidan clenched his fists and advanced on his brother-in-law. “Don’t give me that clueless act shit! You gave Chloe’s amulet to Kal? How could you do that?”

  “It was mine to give.”

  “When I asked you for it, you told me it was gone.”

  “No, I told you it wasn’t available.”

  Aidan shoved him. It was as useless as pushing Mt. Rushmore off its foundation. “Fuck! How can you give Chloe’s amulet to Kal, you son of a bitch! She was my little sister!”

  “And she was my soul mate, lest you forget.” Ryan’s green eyes blazed. “As her soul mate and as head of The Firm, I have the right to give it to whomever I choose.”

  Aidan tried to stare Ryan down, then blinked in shock as he glimpsed Ryan’s thoughts even through his barrier. A startling realization slammed home. “Kal was Abby. You bailed on me and Will when he took Abby as his soul mate. You gave Chloe’s amulet to Kal. That means…” Aidan clapped a hand to his head and grabbed a nearby chair for support, the sudden revelation rocking him to the very depths of his soul.

  Ryan took Aidan’s arm and steadied him, guided him into the chair, then knelt in front of him. “Aidan, please,” he desperately whispered. “You must forget this. Please. You must.”

  Still in shock, Aidan shook his head. “Why?”

  “Because Will and Kal must never—”

  “No, I mean, why did you give her to Will? That’s why you couldn’t be friends with him after he bonded to Abby. Because you knew. Oh, shit.” He looked at Ryan. “Tell me I’m wrong. Please, Ami, tell me I’m wrong.”

  Ryan shook his head. “I cannot lie to you, brother.”

  Aidan stared at him. “You could have had Kal for yourself, had Chloe back. Why did you do that? Why did you give her to Will? If you knew who Abby was all these years, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Old agony flashed across Ryan’s face. “Because Abby and Will loved each other for many more years than Chloe and I had together. Had Will come back to The Firm sooner, yes, I would have gladly taken Kal as my soul mate. In a second.”

  Ryan stood and turned away from Aidan. “Why do you think I was so desperate to make him return? I could not let him die, Aidan. He’s our soul brother. Believe it or not, I do love him. I had no choice but to do it this way. Will’s bond with Abby was strong and pure, as is his bond now, with Kal.”

  Ryan looked at Aidan as his expression hardened. “And if I choose to give Kal that amulet, that is my business, not yours.”

  Aidan leaned forward, his head in his hands between his knees. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Fuck fuck fuck!” After a few minutes he sat up, still looking horrible but no longer feeling like he would pass out. “Why didn’t you tell me about Abby?”

  “Because it wasn’t your business.”

  “She was my sister!”

  “Will had no business knowing. If you’d known, he would have found out. It didn’t matter, Abby was already his soul mate, an unbreakable bond. Why make him feel guilty? Why taint their bond with his guilt?”

  Aidan finally nodded. Ryan was right. Had Will known Abby was Chloe reincarnated, especially after witnessing what Ryan went through after Chloe’s death, Will would have felt guilty. It would have tainted their bond.

  “That’s why all these years… That’s why you and Abby were friends. That’s why you’ve never taken another soul mate.”

  “Sometimes it sucks to be the boss, Aidan. This is one of those times.”

  Aidan sat there, stunned. “How could I not know? Why didn’t I recognize her? Or Kal?”

  “In a way, you did. The relationship you had with Abby was very much like the one you had with Chloe. As is your relationship with Kal. You were not her soul mate, you were her brother.”

  Still in shock, Aidan shook his head. “Fuck, Ryan,” he whispered. “All these years? You knew all these fucking years and did nothing?”

  “What was I to do? I have a job to do. My life is meaningless in the scheme of things. The greater good is not served by me being selfish.”

  “So you act like an asshole all these years?”

  “We all deal the way we deal. Don’t judge me before you’ve walked my path.”

  “You can’t have another soul mate because technically, you know your soul mate is still alive.”

  Ryan didn’t respond and dropped his eyes. “I could choose someone else. I don’t wish to.”

  “You could have had her back. You just walked away from her?”

  Ryan slowly shook his head. “I will never walk away from her. But the day Chloe died, she was no longer mine to claim, no matter how desperately I wanted her back.”

  Ryan left the room. Aidan took a few minutes to pull himself together. Everything had snapped into place, why he immediately felt like Kal was family from the first moment he met her, why Will fell in love with her, everything. Why he’d loved Abby like a sister.

  Ryan was right—Will and Kal could never know. Will never knew Chloe, and she’d only been with Ryan a fraction of the time that Will had with Abby.

  It explained why a soul brother would turn his back on them. Why Ryan had reacted with shock and distance when Will introduced them to Abby.

  Why Ryan wouldn’t talk about Chloe. Why Abby’s death had seemed to rip out a hunk of Ryan’s soul, even though she wasn’t his soul mate.

  Why Ryan was so close to and went out of his way to protect and take care of Abby, and now Kal.

  Holy crap.

  * * * *

  Aidan drifted through the reception. Fortunately, Kal and Will seemed too caught up in their day to notice his shock. Ryan kept his distance from Aidan, politely interacting with the wedding guests and allowing Kal’s mother to walk him around and introduce him to their friends and relatives.

  But Jeff noticed. At one point he walked over and sat next to Aidan and handed him a glass of wine.

  “What’s wrong?” Jeff softly asked.

  Aidan shook his head. “Nothing.”

  He sensed Jeff’s eyes on him. When he looked, Jeff was studying his face.

  Aidan sighed. “Nothing.”

  “You’re a horrible liar, Aid. I know you better than that.”

  Aidan looked around and finally found Will and Kal at the other end of the reception hall. Aidan leaned in close to Jeff and lowered his voice. “Just some old memories trying to bring me down, that’s all. Melancholy kind of day, okay?”

  Jeff reached out and smoothed Aidan’s hair. “Do we have any plans later?”

  The hopefully nonchalant way he said it coaxed a smile from Aid. “I was hoping I’d be spending the afternoon alone with you.”

  Jeff glanced around, then leaned in a little closer. He winked. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said.

  * * * *

  It surprised Aidan right out of his funk when Jeff later took his hand and led him across the hall to a table in the far corner, where an older man and woman sat alone at a table.

  He thought Jeff might release his hand when they approached, but he didn’t. Instead, he squeezed it more tightly.

  “Mom, Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Aidan Faust. He’s the man I’ve been telling you about.”

  Aidan hoped he hid his surprised shock as he shook hands with Jeff’s parents. “Pleased to meet you.” Jeff had told Aidan he would introduce them, but their schedules had been too busy to get together with them before now.

  Jeff’s parents smiled. “It’s very nice to finally meet you,” his mom said. “Jeff’s told us a lot about you.”

  More shock. Happy shock.

  “Oh?” He glanced at Jeff, who smiled.

  “Yeah. Oh,” Jeff said with a playful grin.

  Aidan knew he had to be blushing. He’d never been introduced to anyone’s parents as a romantic partner before.

  He’d never been introduced to anyone’s parents before, period.

  “Please sit with u
s for a few minutes, Aidan,” Jeff’s father invited.

  “Um. Okay.” Aidan nervously sat, not wanting to say or do anything to upset them. Jeff sat next to him and surprised Aidan yet again when he reached out to where Aidan’s hand rested on the table, covered it with his, and laced his fingers through Aidan’s.

  And left it there.

  After twenty minutes of conversation, two things were obvious. One, that Jeff had made it unquestionably clear to his parents that he was dating and romantically involved with Aidan. Two, that while they might be a little uncomfortable with it, they were open-minded and supportive of their son.

  Aidan swallowed back an unexpected emotional lump in his throat.

  When Aidan and Jeff had to get up to take another round of pictures with the rest of the wedding party, Jeff’s parents also stood. Mrs. Conrad leaned in and hugged Aidan. Mr. Conrad again extended his hand and offered a genuine smile.

  “It was very nice to finally meet you, Aidan,” he said. “I hope you two can come over for dinner before you return to Florida.”

  Stunned in a happy way, Aidan nodded. “That’d be great. Thanks.”

  As they walked away, Jeff once again took Aidan’s hand.

  He looked down at Jeff. “You set me up, sugar,” he said with a playful smile.

  Jeff nodded. “Yep. I knew you were nervous about meeting them.”

  Aidan stopped him. Jeff was absolutely right, but Aidan had never confided that to his lover. He’d lived thousands of years and fought countless bad nasties, yet the thought of meeting Jeff’s parents had terrified him. The last thing he’d wanted to do was cause any problems for Jeff with his parents.

  They were in the middle of the dance floor, no one paying the slightest bit of attention to them. Aidan quickly glanced around, leaned in, and pecked Jeff on the lips.

  Jeff grinned.

  “I’d say you’re officially, publicly out,” Aidan teased.

  Jeff latched on to Aidan’s arm and they continued across the hall. “What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you, Aid? As long as I’m out with you, that’s all I care about.”

  * * * *

  When it came time to cut the cake, Kal nervously stepped behind the table. Will winked, having already been warned by her that if he wanted to enjoy his honeymoon, he would not smash cake in her face. She kept her eyes on him, warily watching his every move as many of the guests hooted and cheered them on, expecting a food fight.

  He carefully held the cake for her and didn’t get a speck on her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He grinned. “I’m not an idiot.”

  She held his, and when he leaned in, Aidan bumped into her from behind, which shoved the cake into Will’s face.

  She turned around and took the piece she had left and jammed it into Aidan’s face. Ryan and Jeff both laughed, earning them each a dose of their own.

  Will, who laughed as he wiped cake off his face, stepped in front of Kal before she got Purs and Gery involved in a full-fledged cake fight. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He kissed her, got a little frosting on her nose, then licked it off for her.

  “I’m gonna kill you, Aidan!” Kal growled.

  Jeff and Aidan were busy laughing and wiping cake off each other. Laura had grabbed a napkin and was taking care of Ryan.

  “It was worth it, sweet cheeks,” Aidan said with a devilish grin. “I just hope the photographer got pictures.”

  As the reception wound down, Becky went with Kal to help her change clothes. She’d opted for slacks, not a fancy dress like her mom had wanted. All Kal had gotten out of the men was that they’d be on a plane, and she wanted to be comfortable while traveling.

  Kal fought a little bout of weepiness when she hugged Becky, Aidan, Jeff, Ryan, and her parents before she made the final exit from the reception hall with Will. They paused for one last set of pictures before racing through a spray of birdseed thrown by the guests, then dove into the waiting limo.

  * * * *

  After the ceremony and reception and seeing Kal and Will off, Ryan quietly slipped away and returned to Atlanta. There, he placed a barrier around the condo. He didn’t want company tonight.

  Not tonight of all nights. Especially not Aidan looking to rehash things that were over and done with. He’d stupidly hoped Aidan wouldn’t recognize the amulet, but it was a chance he’d been willing to take.

  He stared out the windows overlooking the Atlanta skyline and tried not to think about Kal.

  And he tried not to think about Abby.

  Especially not about Chloe.

  He failed, miserably, on all three counts.

  When he walked into the bedroom, Ryan stopped by the dresser and stared at the empty box. For ages it had housed Chloe’s amulet, the only possession besides his sword that he would never part with. Now the amulet was back where it rightfully belonged, even if the woman no longer belonged to him.

  He stroked the lid as he had so many other nights before. Since giving the amulet to Kal, Ryan occasionally felt flashes from his own amulet. He knew if he wanted he could home in on her and listen, feel, experience.

  He didn’t want to. Not tonight, at least.

  He couldn’t bear it. The pain in his soul throbbed, stabbing, worse than normal. It was his own fault. He could have refused to perform the ceremony, even though it would have hurt Kal’s feelings.

  He could have cut himself off from Kal except to fulfill his promise to Will to protect her.

  But he couldn’t stand the thought of that, of never seeing her. Just as he hadn’t been able to totally distance himself from Abby either.

  The agony hadn’t felt this bad when Abby was alive. Ryan idly wondered if it was because this time he’d come so close to having her back and yet gave her away.

  Ryan changed clothes and walked to the kitchen. He’d taken the precaution of stocking up. Five brand-new bottles of bourbon sat on the counter in a perfect, straight line. They would be enough to get him through tomorrow morning.

  Barely.

  Hopefully by then he’d be able to function again. While archdemon physiology was nice in some ways, a high tolerance for alcohol wouldn’t help him get through the night without feeling miserable.

  He cracked the seal on the first bottle and reached for a glass.

  Chapter Seventeen

  In the limo, Kal sat back and smiled at Will. “We finally did it.”

  He grinned. “We sure did, Mrs. Hellenboek. Or are you going to be Mrs. Martin-Hellenboek? Or Ms. Martin?”

  “I’ll stick with Mrs. Hellenboek. I’m an old-fashioned kind of girl.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “Whatever you want. You know that.”

  “So when do I find out what Aidan planned for us?”

  “What’s the one thing you always said you wanted?”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “What?”

  Will playfully grinned. “When we were first together. You said you wanted one thing.”

  Kal thought about it for a while, then stared into his eyes. “I said I always wanted to be normal. Is that what you mean?”

  “Ding ding ding!” He kissed her again.

  “So where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  A “normal” honeymoon covered a lot of real estate—literally. Unless they were heading to Niagara Falls, Kal had no clue about their destination. The limo took them to the airport, where they boarded a flight for Denver.

  Well, that answers that question. Sort of.

  Will carefully shielded his thoughts from Kal upon arrival. They rented a car and checked in to a nice hotel near the airport.

  Kal laughed as Will carried her over the threshold. “Okay, I know I said normal, but I think Aidan took me a little too literally,” she joked with a smile. “I expected something a little more exciting than the Denver Marriott.”

  He gently laid her on the bed. “This is just the first stop.” He called room service, ordered them dinne
r, then stretched out next to her. “We haven’t even got to our final destination yet.”

  “We haven’t?”

  “Nope.”

  “No hints?”

  His fingers started working on the top button of her blouse. “Nope.” He grinned. “Normal. That’s what you said.”

  She stared into his eyes. “I love you so much. I can’t believe I get to spend eternity with you.”

  He kissed her. “I’m the lucky one.”

  He started working his way down her neck with his lips. Kal didn’t want him to stop, but the knock on their door a few minutes later from room service made her groan with disappointment.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said.

  They ate dinner. Kal thought she’d tackle Will immediately after, but she realized exactly how tired she was as she tried not to yawn in Will’s face when he stretched out next to her again.

  He grinned. “A little worn out?”

  She nodded. “Yeah.” Kal rolled on top of him. “But I still want to do something.”

  From the feel of the stiff length in his slacks, so did he.

  As she closed her eyes and let Will take over, Ryan’s words before the ceremony drifted back to her. Pretend it’s the first time. It’ll be just as special.

  Not easy to do considering what they’d been through already, but what the heck, why not try?

  Will slowly finished undressing her. When she was naked, he propped himself up on one elbow and brushed his fingers down her side. “What would you like me to do, sweetie?”

  She smiled. “Make love to me like it’s the first time.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her.

  “Without the wraith possession,” she snarked. “Duh.”

  He laughed. No way could she ever call him The Great Brooding One now. His smiles lit his face, warmed her heart, and liquefied her need for him.

  Will climbed out of bed, turned off most of the lights, then returned to her. Kneeling beside her, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. The blatant need smouldering in his eyes stirred her very core.

  “I’m going to make love to you, baby,” he whispered. “I’m going to show you how much I love you and need you and want you.” He dropped his shirt to the floor. Then he bent over and took one of her nipples in his mouth, gently flicking it with his tongue until it tightly peaked.