When Darkness Comes (Guardians of Eternity #1)(30)

A subtle tension prickled around Dante as he swept a searching gaze about them. "What is it?"

"I'm out of a job, and my rent is due."

There was a moment of sharp silence before Dante tilted back his head to offer a very unsympathetic laugh. With a frown, Abby slapped her hands on her hips.

"What's so funny?"

He reached up to grasp her chin with his slender fingers. "You've become a Chalice for a powerful spirit, confronted demons, and are about to place yourself in the hands of witches. Now you're worried about whether or not you can pay the rent?"

Her eyes narrowed at his amusement. "I'm worried about spending my days pushing a shopping cart down the streets and sleeping under a park bench—very real possibilities that are as bad as any demon or witch."

His brows drew together as his fingers strayed to brush over her cheek. 'You think I would allow you to be tossed into the street?"

Something painful clenched in her heart. Soon enough, the witches would remove the spell from her and Dante would be bound to another. Why would he ever give her another thought?

They were the proverbial ships, or in this case vampire and mortal, who passed in the night.

Troubled more than she cared to admit at the thought of being completely alone once again, Abby forced a stiff smile to her lips.

"Well, you did lock you former lover in a cellar."

"Only in self-defense." His fingers tightened on her face, his expression oddly somber. "I have promised that nothing will harm you, Abby. Nothing. It's a promise I intend to keep no matter what the future might hold."

She was forced to swallow the lump lodged in her throat as her hand lifted to cover the fingers upon her cheek. By God, but he knew how to steal a woman's heart.

"Dante," she breathed softly.

A low groan was wrenched from his throat as Dante pressed his forehead to her own.

"Oh, lover, if you have any pity in your heart, you won't look at me like that. At least not now."

A dark sinful heat raced through Abby as she pressed herself next to Dante's hard body. If they weren't standing in a thorn briar, or if demons weren't chasing them, or if there weren't witches lurking nearby, she would have thrown him to the ground and have had her way with him.

Damn but he made her hot and bothered.

Unfortunately, no amount of wishing could change their situation, and with a shuddering sigh, she forced herself to step back.

"We should find the coven," she said with a resigned grimace.

Dante briefly closed his eyes, as if battling for control, before lifting his head and sweeping his gaze over the star-studded sky.

"Yes, dawn will come too soon. Let's get this done."

Chapter 9

The past centuries had taught Dante more than a few lessons.

Never dine upon drunkards. Never turn your back on an angry woman. Never bet on a horse named Lucky. Never wrestle a Chactol demon after a bottle of gin.

And never, never ignore pure instinct.

That last lesson had been the hardest and best learned, which was why he had not directly headed for the coven, although he had managed to catch its scent only a mile from the abandoned factories.

There was something not at all right, he decided as they drew closer. An icy chill prickled over his skin, and the smell of fresh blood filled the air.

A battle had been fought nearby. A battle that had involved powerful magic and undeniable slaughter.

Skirting the trees that hid the coven from view, Dante attempted to determine the danger ahead. He could sense no demons, but he was no longer certain that it was the creatures of the night who posed the greatest threat.

And that, of course, was what troubled him the most.

Devil spit.

He didn't like the feeling that he was being led by the nose by this unseen enemy. And yet, what choice did he have but to go forward?

He had to find the witches.

Even if it killed him.

A thought that pissed him off royally.

Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as Abby struggled to free her shirt from a clinging thorn bush. A faint smile twitched at his lips. She truly was the most unusual of creatures. As rare and precious as the finest jewel.

As if sensing his gaze, she abruptly jerked her head up to glare at him with that glorious annoyance that she seemed to reserve solely for him.

"Dammit, if we're going to walk in circles, can we at least do it somewhere that sells mocha ice cream and has air-conditioning?"

"We aren't walking in circles," he instinctively denied, only to give a faint grimace. "At least not precisely."

"I suppose you possess some sort of bat vision?"

He flicked his brow upward. "You do know that bats are blind?"

She gritted her teeth. "Vampire vision, then."

He gave a shrug. "I can see well enough, not that it truly matters. I'm not looking for the coven."

"What?" Her eyes glittered with danger in the fading moonlight. "I swear to God, Dante, if you've led me through this mutant briar patch for some sort of joke, I'll st—"

"Stake me, yes, I know," he drawled. 'You might try to be a bit less predictable, lover."

"You didn't give me the chance to say where Yd stake you," she snapped.

A flare of humor raced through him. "True."