Games Demons Play (Mystic Isle, Book 3) (9 page)

His temperature rose a few degrees. Damn. At
this rate, he’d need a cocktail of his own.

Why was he hesitating? This was exactly what
he wanted, after all.

Just take her the damn drink.

Easier thought than done.

Stepping foot in that room meant seeing her
in the tub. Covered in water and possibly bubbles.
Naked
.
And he already had enough trouble controlling his impulses where
she was concerned. He didn’t want a quick romp with her.

“Shade?”

He blew out a sigh. Hadn’t this all been part
of the plan? So why did he feel so hot under the collar? So unsure
of himself? How did he turn one kiss into forever?

“Coming.”

He pushed open the door. The room was dark
but light from the lamp in the bedroom filtered in. She’d closed
the shutters, blocking out the rising sun’s harmful rays.

She splashed the water and he heard half a
dozen droplets fall. He’d held out hope that she was still fully
clothed, preparing for her bath. But his gaze fell upon the trail
of clothing, like breadcrumbs, leading him to the edge of the
tub.

“I prefer baths,” she said in that sweet
accent he loved so much. “Except for washing my hair.”

He started to offer his help but snapped his
lips shut. Quickly, he sat the goblet on the edge of the tub and
turned away. If he helped her, so much as touched her, he was going
to lose his self-control. And for once in his life, there was
something more important than a quick fuck.

“Do you play?” she asked. Then she moaned.
“Good cocktail.”

He halted in the doorway. “Play?”

“Cards. Blackjack? Poker?”

He ran a hand through his hair. When he’d
been working his plan out in his mind, he’d imagined having this
conversation… fully clothed. But at this point, the scene before
him was far too intimate. Dangerous to his plan for a slow
seduction.
Get to know her, abolish her wariness.

“I used to.”

“Were you any good?”

“Pretty good.”

“Maybe you can give me some tips.”

He closed his eyes.
Oh, Izzy.
His
sweet, little Izzy. She didn’t know what she was asking. He could
teach her how to play cards all day and all night. Beat her
opponents. Learn anyone’s tell. Seduce them. Distract them. Best
them.

But she would never beat
him
.

“Sure. But you should rest first.” And
hopefully by the time she was well-rested he’d have figured out how
to win the game and the woman.

“Shade?”

Her voice stopped him.

“Yeah?”

“Would you sit with me?”

He turned and looked at the large tub full of
steaming water, bubbles, and beautiful naked woman. The tiled edge
was plenty wide for him to sit, even stretch out and relax. But
being that close to her would surely cost something. His sanity
perhaps. Because right now, all he wanted was to join her, pick up
where they left off in the bedroom.

“It is okay. You are probably busy. I am
sorry I keep interrupting…”

He closed the distance in three steps. She
had it all wrong. But he liked that about her. Her
conscientiousness was refreshing. “You’re not interrupting.”

She was so cute when she frowned. Like an
upset fairy. Only she was a vamp. Ridiculously young.

“How old are you?”

Her frown disappeared and her features
twisted as if she didn’t want to answer. He lifted an eyebrow,
waiting. “Two.”

“And before you were turned?”

“Twenty-two.”

That explained her youthful exuberance and
lack of self-control.
Ahh
, to be that young again. Some of
his best pranks had been in the early years when he’d been too
stupid to know any better. Paris might give you rose-colored
glasses, but youth made anything seem possible.

She sank deeper into the water. Her toes
peeked through the bubbles near his end of the tub. “Why? How old
are you?”

He grunted. “A lot older than you.”

“
Theese
is one thing I like about
immortals. Age does not matter. It is just a number.”

Her delicious accent wrapped around him,
captivating him. He was used to a great many cultures, had heard
all kinds of accents, but he never grew tired of the exotic. The
different. And hers, a mix of two, was like candy to his ears.

“Where are you from?”

Warmth flooded her cool blue eyes.
“Russia.”

“You drove that car all the way from
Russia?”

She laughed. “No. I live in France now, with
my coven mates.”

What a smile. So impish. Captivating. The
kind of smile he wanted to see next week, next year, and every day
in between.

“So you drove a car you don’t own from France
to Germany, in the middle of the night. Crashed it. And now you’re
half a world away, trying to win enough money to buy a new
car.”

“Or fix it.” She nibbled her lower lip.

Damn, she was adorable. Where had she been
his whole life? And why did he feel like he was about to kick a
puppy? “I’m afraid there’s not going to be any fixing it,
mausi
.”

“No?” Her blue eyes lost some of their heat,
their brightness and her bottom lip quivered. Not much, but he
caught the tiny movement anyway.

“No. My mechanic called me earlier.” He hated
being the bearer of bad news, but she deserved the truth. She’d
have to do very well in the tournament now. “It’s totaled.”

She stared at him for three heartbeats and
slowly slid beneath the water. Bubbles quickly filled the void.

Shade had expected tears, a wobbly
chin, or even a groan. But seconds ticked by and she didn’t
resurface. What was she doing down there?

Sure, the car was gorgeous. He had
the latest model in his garage. But this amount of stress… there
had to be more to the story.

“Izzy.”

He couldn’t help but want to
soothe her wounds. It was a new feeling for him. He didn’t consider
himself a callous person. But he didn’t offer hugs or warm fuzzies
either. He didn’t pick up after other’s messes. He didn’t offer
assurances and a helping hand. Those things weren’t his
style.

But her…

She was impossible to ignore. He
felt her pain and suffering on a level he’d never experienced. And
even though he could tell himself how silly it was to be upset over
a machine, he understood that her anxiety was real. The car
mattered to her.

And she, Lucifer help him, mattered
to him.

He reached into the water, felt
around until he grabbed an ankle. She kicked, water splashed his
shirt and she surfaced. Coughing, she wiped a mop of wet hair out
of her eyes. Even in the dim light, he could make out every
glorious detail. Thank Lucifer for extraordinary night
vision.

“Trying to drown yourself, little
one?”

She sputtered.

He didn’t let go of her
ankle.

“You’re wet,” she murmured, her
lips barely above the water.

Looking at him like that, she
reminded him of a siren calling to him. Singing a song that was
sure to run him aground. He was in deep. Too deep. The little vixen
in his bathtub had him firmly ensnared. Did she even realize
it?

“Your fault,” he told
her.

That sweet little rosebud mouth
turned up in a seductive smile. She lifted a hand until her fingers
were above the surface and then she smacked them against the water,
creating a tiny splash.

“Careful,
engel
. You’re dealing
with the six times World Champion in Tub
Splashing.”

That earned him a giggle. The
sound pierced his heart. So that was it. The last straw. The sound
that sealed the deal. If there’d been any denying his heart before…
it would not be denied now. A bubbly little laugh that he wanted to
hear at least once a day for the rest of eternity. And more
importantly, he wanted to be the man who made her laugh. Who
brought the smile to her face and mirth to those beautiful blue
eyes. Who kissed her lips and made love to her day and
night.

She splashed again, harder this time
and a droplet hit his sleeve. He let go of her ankle and splashed
back. Eyes bright with mischief, she used two hands and doused the
front of his shirt.

“Oops.”

That accent…

“Oops?” He grinned down at her.
“I’ll show you an ‘oops,’ sweetheart.” With that, he skated his
palm across the surface of the water, covering her with a
wave.

She laughed and splashed him back.
The war was on. Thirty seconds later his jeans were wet. There was
a puddle on the floor and they’d both dissolved into laughter.
During their fight, he’d slid closer to her.

“Truce,” he called.

She grinned and stared up at him
for several long seconds. Then she let her gaze drop, sweeping over
him. Her smile relaxed until just the corners were turned up. There
was a brief nod of her head as if she’d made a decision about
something.

“I like you, demon.” She seemed
satisfied with that discovery.

Some of the tightness in his chest
eased at her declaration.

“I like you too, vamp.” That, of
course, was an understatement.

She had a cluster of bubbles above
her eyebrow, and he couldn’t resist brushing them away with his
thumb. Her lashes brushed her cheeks as she closed her eyes. Was it
his imagination or did she lean into his touch?

He cupped her cheek and she nestled
against his palm. Nope. Not his imagination. He was losing his
self-control. Touching her made him want to touch her
more.

“Izzy…”

“Mmm huh?”

Slowly, she opened her eyes and
glanced up at him through those thick golden lashes. He felt a
punch to the gut and it snapped the last thread of control. Maybe
this was exactly how it was supposed to go.

Tightening his grip, he bent down
as he pulled her up out of the water. He needed to feel her lips
beneath his. Opening for him. Proving that this wasn’t some
fantastic dream.

Her hands circled his forearm. There
was no hesitation in her as she lifted her lips to his. As their
lips met, her eyelids drifted shut. It was a whisper of a kiss.
Testing the fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle. How had he known that
would be the case?

He must have passed her test. A
delightful little moan rang in his ears. She kissed him back, her
grip tightening on his arm as she held herself out of the
water.

He closed his eyes, losing himself
in the feel of her. Such a small area to be touching, and yet the
most erotic. Each kiss led to the next. Harder. Deeper. Faster,
until he was dizzy from lack of oxygen.

He severed the kiss and tipped his
forehead against hers. Her icy-blue gaze had melted, and the
smoldering brilliant blue glowing up at him stole his breath all
over again. She sank slowly back into the bubbles, looking both
shell-shocked and pleased.

They stared at each other for
several long, silent moments. Rubbing the tip of her finger over
her lips, she looked as stunned as he’d felt. Her lips were opened
ever so slightly, rounded, as if she were about to utter an “oh
my.” Never had a kiss felt life-changing. Earth shattering. And the
beginning of forever.

Her shiver was
unmistakable.

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

He grinned and held his palm to
the surface of the water. Bubbles parted like the infamous Red Sea
and the water molecules started to heat, then steam. She watched
the water, her attention unwavering, her eyebrows high.

“It is getting warmer,” she said
in that cute accent.

“That’s the idea.”

Her lips parted more and he felt a
kick to his solar plexus. Did she have any idea how sexy that was?
What sort of mental pictures it put in his mind? How hard it made
him?

“You...” She licked her lips and
he groaned. The sound didn’t alarm her. She met his gaze, a look of
awe and hope in her eyes. “You can warm me, yes?”

Oh, honey
. She could have no idea how the innocent question pleased
him. But it tortured him too. He didn’t trust his voice so he
nodded.

She smiled the slow but sensual
smile of a woman gaining confidence. Coming into her own. Then she
sat up, her perfectly round breasts peeking out of the bubbles as
she crossed the tub to him. When she knelt before him, a trail of
wayward foam slithered down the valley between her breasts, across
her flat stomach, and stopped at her navel.

He swallowed.

Her eyes tracked the movement. His
hands itched to pull her from the tub and take her on the hard,
cold tile. But he held himself immobile, terrified he’d scare her.
That brought him up short because he couldn’t remember the last
time he’d been scared of anything. Not even when he’d bargained
with Lucifer for his soul.

But here he was, sitting on the
edge of a bathtub, staring down a gorgeous young vamp, fear
trickling through him like an IV drip. He had to let her take the
lead… for now.

She placed her hands on his chest,
her eyes taking in every inch of him. Her inspection stopped at his
lips and she leaned forward, kissing him there. Just a light touch
before she moved to his chin. Then she trailed her lips across his
jaw.