Dark Desires After Dusk (Immortals After Dark #6)(18)

“My dad was a car buff, and I used to go to auctions with him. Don’t you think this will be conspicuous for our purposes?”

“We’ll take my brother’s other car when we meet him.”

“What is he driving?”

“A McLaren,” he answered. “It’s a Merce—”

“I know what it is.” She gave a laugh. “Not exactly the optimal choice for vehicle concealment.”

Cadeon slanted her a surprised expression. “I was thinking the same thing.”

*

The chit knew cars.

Demons loved cars. And Valkyrie. He was doomed.

She chose that moment to uncross and cross her smooth legs, drawing his eyes, reminding him that she wore no panties . . . .

“Cadeon, eyes up!” She tugged on his jacket, but it had ridden up to her midthigh. “Clearly, I can’t stay dressed like this.”

“I’ve told you we can’t go back to your loft.”

“Then let me get a friend to meet us,” Holly said. “I need to call her anyway to get her to stand in for my classes.”

“Is she a good friend?”

When Holly nodded, he said, “Those demons knew enough about your teaching schedule to nab you easily. Would it be beyond them to keep a man on your friend’s house?”

“But my glasses! She can bring my spare pair. I can’t read anything without them.”

Her glasses. Those small black ones that sat so sexily on her nose. They had the subtlest tilt at the corners, almost like cats’ eyes, just enough to call to mind the fifties. The bombshells of the fifties.

He missed that decade.

“We’ll get you new glasses. And we’ll buy you clothes and shoes on the road.”

“And we need to get my medicine refilled.”

“What happens if we don’t?”

She balled her hands into fists. “That’s not an option.”

“Some of these factions might think to check your pharmacy records. This is a life-or-death situation, Holly.”

“Though I understand very little about tonight, that fact has fully sunk in. But I’m not overstating the importance of those pills.”

“We’ll see. That’s the best I can promise.”

“Where are we meeting your brother?” she asked, letting the subject drop. He knew she’d come back around to it eventually.

“North of the lake.”

“So we have about thirty minutes. Cadeon, will you kindly explain why I am the most popular girl in town?”

“You’re a Valkyrie now, so that makes you a member of the Lore—it’s a collection of mythical beings, except we’re not mythical. Just about anything you’ve ever imagined or read about exists in some fashion.”

“Like vampires and Valkyrie.”

He nodded. “And werewolves and sirens and ghouls.”

“What are Valkyrie like?”

Strange, eccentric. Beautiful to a fault. Holly would fit right in. “They’re strong as hell. Fast, too, with good senses.” He couldn’t stop himself from saying, “But they’re very docile, and happy to do a male’s bidding.”

She frowned at that, but before she could ask, he continued, “Now, about every five hundred years, an Accession comes, and—”

“What’s an Accession?”

“It’s a force that affects Lorekind by pitting species against each other. Some think it began as a mechanism to kill off immortals, or we’d never die, continue spawning, and overrun the earth. So every five centuries, unique things happen. And you’re one of them.”

“What do you mean?”

“With each Accession, a Lorekind female called a Vessel reaches sexual maturity. Her firstborn will be the ultimate warrior for either good or evil, depending on the father’s inclination.”

“That’s why those demons wanted to . . . to . . .”

“Breed with you? Yeah. And the leeches wanted to kill you because they didn’t know if the demons had already completed their ritual.”

Her brows drew together. “Wait. I’m called a Vessel? Could there be a more derogatory term? By its very definition, a vessel is of no importance compared to its contents. Vessels are disposable. Couldn’t these Lorekind have gone with baby maker or bun oven?”

“I lobbied for cargo hold, but just lost out.”

Again, she recrossed her legs. They were toned, taut—all that swimming had done her right. He wondered what she would do if he reached over and put his hand on her knee, sliding it up her thigh. There’d be no panties to get in his way . . . .

As if she knew his musings, she pulled the jacket down with a glare.

Hell, he might have to turn her over to Rydstrom completely. No. As soon as the thought arose, Cade swatted it down. Call him a glutton for punishment, but he was going to take every second with her that he could get.

“All kinds of factions, both good and evil, will be searching for you,” he continued, “wanting you either bred or dead. Even some of the good guys will seek to kill you.”

“Why?”

“Because in the last seven Accessions, only one good offspring has been born. The rest are evil.”

“So the odds are that mine would be, too.”