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.I like to kick demon ass, not bathe it in white light.”“Oh, she can kick ass all right.”Dale inhaled the cognac’s fragrance of spices, flowers and nutmeg.Rich and heady, it suddenly reminded him of Keira.She seemed as delicate as oak-barrel-aged brandy, but that leg kick to the demon.He grinned and swallowed a sip.“You’re looking much better than you did in the hospital, my friend.You look alive again.”Dale roughly nodded in agreement.In the hospital, his eyes were cold and dead, blank and devoid of emotion.He’d look into the mirror and see nothing, feel nothing, except a frozen emptiness.He wasn’t a man.He had become nothing.When he came home, he learned to regain his life.Little things like shaving on his own with a steady hand.Sleeping with only one pistol under his pillow instead of two.Turning off the downstairs lights when he went to bed, not leaving them blazing to chase away every shadow.Little by little, his routine returned, with small changes.Now, instead of the basement, he kept the iron in the kitchen to press his shirts and get the crease in his pants perfect.He turned on the radio to SiriusXM’s classical-music station and let the soothing tones fill the air to tune out memories of his blood dripping on the basement floor.And then there was Keira, with her unevenness, disorganization, crystals and spontaneity, turning his ordered life upside down all over again.Keira with her shining white light and big green eyes and air of innocence amid a world-weariness he’d seen so many times in his mirror.Keira, who was bringing light back into the dark corners of his life.He wanted to kiss her, draw her into his arms and hold her tightly against him.Jesus, it had been too long since he’d had sex.Melissa was often his bed partner, safe and predictable, and always combing her hair after, checking her makeup and teeth.She always seemed to worry about ruining her hair.Orgasms, yeah, she’d had a few.Dale knew he was a good lover.Staying with Melissa had been the easy way.She never complained when his work took him overseas, never hinted about marriage or commitment.There was no real passion, no fire.With a start he realized his relationship with Melissa was tepid as cold tea.But Keira.Keira would probably love it if he fisted a hand in her hair and kissed her hard and deep.She wouldn’t complain about getting hot and sweaty if he coaxed her to scream and beg.She’d cling to him tightly as they tangled together, two lost souls reaching for pleasure to chase away the cloying darkness.Where the hell had that come from? He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.“I wonder if it has to do with your new Luminaire, Keira,” Stephen mused.“She’s definitely improved my life since I got out of the hospital.I’d have introduced you, but she went to bed early.”“Have you done a background check on her?”Dale nodded and told him about the admiral’s mind-meld.“She’s clean, seldom stays in one place, usually takes odd jobs here and there, probably to bulk up her income.No known relationships or associations with any groups.”“Bring her to the base and have Thad check her out.”He swallowed his surprise with the brandy.“Planned to bring her to the base, but not to have my half-demon petty officer examine her.Why?”“Most Luminaires lack sufficient power to tackle demons.Just being cautious.Especially since she’s so closely connected to you.Call me a concerned friend.” Stephen stretched out his fingers.“Tell me about her.”Dale did.For the next few minutes, he told Stephen how she’d invaded his life, turned it upside down.A wide grin touched his mouth as he relayed the story of the coffee.“She sounds quite spirited.” Stephen studied him.“You like her.A lot.”His shrug hid his feelings.“I like how she cleans my house.”“You like more than that, I sense it.If that’s the case, don’t screw it up, Curt, or you’ll lose her the way you lost Kathy.”The brandy soured in his stomach.“My wife left because she cheated on me with a goddamn yoga instructor named Larry.They’re probably eating macrobiotic food and living in a hut somewhere while they commune with nature.”“Your wife left because you couldn’t give her an emotionally satisfying relationship.You neglected her.”“Bull.I gave her everything she wanted.There was no reason for her to leave our bed.” He tossed back his drink.When I was around to please her.But the life of a SEAL meant deployment and down range took precedence over the home range.Stephen leaned back and swirled the brandy in his snifter.“I’m not talking about sex.For women, it has to be more than great sex if you want a relationship to outlast the tough times.When was the last time you told Kathy she was pretty? Brought her flowers, ones you picked out yourself, not had one of your staff buy? Took a day or two off to spend in bed with her, feed her chocolate and strawberries?”The vampire set down the glass and leaned forward, hands braced on his knees.“Told her all your dreams and hopes? Shared your fears about the job, shared yourself?”Dale’s scowl faded.Had he been so caught up in the job that he’d neglected Kathy’s needs?“I know a thing or two about women, Curt.And I know you SEALs.You’re so busy jumping out of planes and blowing things up that even when you spend time at home, your mind is still on the job.”Stephen glanced at the doorway.“That Luminaire is the first woman to make you this animated in the past ten years since Kathy left.She’s the best chance you have at happiness.Don’t blow it.Give her an emotionally satisfying relationship, not just the ten orgasms a night you give the other ladies who’ve wandered through your life.”“Twelve,” he said absently.Far easier to please Keira in bed and keep her so enthralled with sex than to share himself [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]