The Black God (#2, Damian Eternal Series) (29 page)

He pulled on his boots and left his room,
dressed to fight rather than to monitor his teams this night.

“Yeah,” he said as he joined the pacing vamp
at the top of the stairs. “What is it?”

“The White God sent his fucking Guardians,”
came the hiss.

Jonny frowned, not believing Damian was
stupid enough to drop a team of Guardians into his headquarters, no
matter how tense things often got between them. Jonny trotted down
the stairs and out of the mansion onto the front lawn, where the
majority of his vamps were gathered in a circle.

“Make way!” someone called out as he
approached.

The creatures before him parted, and Jonny
strode through the vamps. His step slowed when he saw the five
Guardians, hands on the hilts and butts of their weapons, with
Ashley standing cross-armed in front of them.

He hadn’t considered she
meant to fight
tonight
after almost dying. His heart did somersaults at the sight of
her alive, and profound relief loosened the vise that had been
around his chest since he first touched Ashley’s limp body at the
factory. Jonny didn’t miss a beat, aware of the attention of all
his vamps and the Guardians on him. He stopped two feet in front of
Ashley. The fire in her eyes was back, her chin raised in defiance
and her stance one of challenge. But he was also able to sense her
condition.

Bianca was right. What was the White God
thinking to send her out so soon?

“What is this?” he demanded.

“I told you. I’m going to find my brother,”
she responded. “The Guardians gave me a team to help, but only you
know where to go. So we’re here to work with you to find him.”

Jonny raised an eyebrow at her careful
words. “You brought Damian’s people onto my headquarters without
permission.”

“We’re. Here. To. Help. That’s it.”

Jonny considered her long enough for a
familiar flush of arousal to reach her cheeks and her pupils to
dilate. He stepped closer until only she was able to hear him.

“What kind of deal did you have to make for
Damian to hand over a team of Guardians?” he asked.

“I told you I’d do whatever it took,” she
replied.

“You’re in no shape to fight, Ash,” he
whispered. “I don’t need to touch you to know.”

“It doesn’t matter, Jonny. I will find
Brandon. These guys will help you. They have no qualms about
killing vamps.”

He folded his arms across his chest.

“The other vamps,” she clarified. “Dusty
gave me full control, and I told them the vamps with this mark are
off limits.” She held up her hand.

“Whatever negotiation you made with any of
them is non binding if it’s about me,” he warned her.

“It wasn’t. It’s about me.”

Jonny almost spoke the words he knew were
very wrong for this situation. Instead, he spun on his heel and
walked away. “Let’s talk. Now.” Those vamps nearest him jumped at
his sharp tone. “Tell your team to stand down or they’ll be
slaughtered where they stand.” Without waiting to confirm she
complied, he strode back into the house and paused in the foyer.
“Charles, do you know any of the Guardians she brought?”

“I recognize two. This is one of their
special ops teams,” Charles said from his position at the table
covered with weapons and radios waiting to be issued out for the
night’s raid. “Very highly trained, very disciplined.”

“So they’ll obey her.”

“Yeah.”

“And she’ll obey you.”

Charles didn’t respond.

“There can be only one ops leader for this
mission, Charles. She’ll do what you say, or she and the team are
out.”

“Yes,
ikir,
” he replied.

“I manage my own team,” Ashley said from the
entrance.

“You give them orders and Charles gives you
yours,” Jonny replied. “Or have you forgotten …” He lifted his hand
to display the mark all his vamps wore.

She rolled her eyes. He found himself
looking at her too long, a thrill running through him to realize
she wasn’t just alive but close to being herself again. He knew how
powerful of a healer Bianca was. Seeing the evidence, however, made
him truly appreciate his sister’s gift for the first time.

“Charles,” Jonny said and lifted his chin
towards the door. “Tell the Guardians what they need to know not to
be killed by our vamps tonight.”

Ashley shifted inside the doorway, and
Charles left them alone.

“Come with me,” Jonny ordered her.

“Um, no.”

“If you want me to stop the seizure you’re
going to have soon, you’ll listen to me.”

She cursed him and every vamp under the sun
– but she followed.

Jonny took the steps two at a time and
continued down the hallway to his bedroom. He stopped to await her
and closed the door behind her once she’d entered.

“What?” she demanded, facing him.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he returned
with more heat than he intended. “You’re more likely to get
yourself and those idiots killed than help Brandon!”

“They can handle themselves and so can
I.”

“Oh, really?” He almost laughed. “You can
handle yourself?” Jonny snatched her wrist and held out her hand.
“Can’t keep it still, can you?”

She pulled at it. He held it in place. Her
hands quaked. She was too weak to fend of the looming episode let
alone spend an entire night fighting vamps.

“What choice do I have?” she asked. “Would
you have let your sister die because you didn’t think you could
face Czerno?”

“Never,” he replied. “But you have people
willing to help you and are too stubborn to listen to them!”

“I’m still the best fighter you or they
have, even if I’m a millisecond slower than before,” she
retorted.

“You are,” he agreed. “You are also my
biggest liability.”

“Then patch me!” She took a step closer and
pulled her braid over one shoulder. Her nearness, coupled with the
challenge in her gorgeous gaze, sent a flare of desire through
him.

“Why the fuck should I?”

“Because I’m going out there whether I
collapse mid fight or not! If there’s any part of you that ever
cared for me, you won’t let that happen.”

Jonny glared down at her. He’d never been so
turned on and angry as he was in that moment. Ashley’s breathing
quickened, and he grew too aware of how little space was between
them.

“What did you have to promise them for them
to help you?” he asked again.

“It’s none of your business.”

“You want my help? You tell me.” Jonny slid
a hand along the side of her neck. Her pulse was fast and growing
faster, and desire raced through him at the intimate placement of
his palm against the delicate skin of her neck. She didn’t flinch
or move away, didn’t look away or back down. His Ashley had never
shied away from him, and he hadn’t appreciated how much he enjoyed
her challenges until he’d nearly lost her.

Ashley hesitated and licked her lips. “They
want me to join them. I told them I would after Brandon was
safe.”

Wrong answer.
Jonny spoke the word silently. This was what he
intended when he dropped Ashley off the night before with his
sister. He’d fully expected never to see Ash again, but the price
of the White God’s permission to heal her was worth it.

One look at her upturned face, at the fire
in her eyes, and he didn’t think it was possible for him to let her
go willingly.

“No,” he spoke quietly. “I’m not okay with
that.”

“It’s not your choice to make,” she shot
back. “Means to an end, remember?”

Jonny reacted rather than speaking. He
kissed her hard, testing the waters that were far too muddy for him
to decipher his own emotions. Ashley’s arms went around his neck
instantly, and she leaned into him, her mouth opening to give him
access to its depths. She melted into his passion, meeting his need
with her own.

With a growl of primal need, he pulled her
against him and kissed her, deep and long, wanting to do so much
more than he had time for this night. He hadn’t been able to shake
the fear he experienced when he saw her body hanging in the
factory. He wasn’t going to be able to let her go when this was
over, and he didn’t want to face the idea she could end up
dead.

When he’d rendered her breathless, he kissed
a path down the side of her face to her neck and sank his teeth
into her. She gasped and clung to him, her body trembling from more
than exhaustion.

Jonny savored her taste. After last night,
he was all too aware that there was no guarantee of tomorrow for
either of them until Valon was stopped. If his plan failed, if he
wasn’t able to protect Ashley, if Valon’s vamps got a leg up …

He listened to her ragged breathing and did
his best to experience every tiny drop, every inch of her body,
every sensation he could as he fed from her. She was too weak for
him to drink his fill, and he used his magic to patch up the attack
waiting to take her down and withdrew much sooner than he wanted.
Ashley remained against him, her cheek against his chest. Jonny
rested his chin on top of her head.

He was surprised to feel just how deep the
instinct to keep her close, to protect her, ran.

“I hate you, Jonny,” she whispered.

He held her, uncertain if or when they’d
have another chance to be together after his plan tonight. “You
belong with me, Ash. Not the fucking Guardians.”

“Oh, so you want me to stay this time?” she
returned.

He hesitated.

She was quiet, waiting for him to speak.
When he didn’t, she did. “It doesn’t matter. I may not have a
choice when this is over.”

“You always have a choice.”

“You sound like Xander.”

He didn’t respond. Xander had taught him
this, and he was surprised every time he realized how true it
really was.

“I won’t survive this if Brandon dies.”
Ashley’s voice was hushed and tight.

“He won’t,” Jonny replied. “I promise you,
Ash. I won’t let him die.”

“I want to believe you but you’re …
you.”

Jonny had spent years building a wall around
his emotions but he felt it again the moment the words left her
mouth. Pain. The kind that never really healed. The remembrance of
everything he’d lost when he chose to save his sister’s life six
years before.

He lifted her chin and met her gaze. “Yeah.
That’s why I’ll win,” he said. “That’s why you’re better off with
the Guardians and why I’ve done everything I can to convince you
not to love me. Do you really understand what I am, Ashley? What
I’m capable of?”

She studied him, troubled. “I don’t think it
matters, Jonny. I don’t think it ever did.”

“It should.”

“No.” She lifted her chin out of his grasp.
“It shouldn’t because I don’t care. You’re right. Common sense says
I belong with the Guardians. Common sense says loving you is what
fucked up my life to start with. Common sense says Brandon is
probably already dead after my confrontation with Valon.” Her voice
broke. She cleared her throat. “I say fuck common sense, Jonny. I
don’t care how wrong it is or how stupid you think I am. I am going
to do whatever it takes to save you both from Valon because to me,
there is no other choice. So don’t you dare try to tell me there
is!” Tears sparkled in her eyes. “That’s what you do when you love
someone. You fight for them.”

Ashley ripped away from him and slammed the
door open.

It was almost impossible for him to isolate
and repress his feelings when it came to her. What started as a
trickle of emotion upon their first meeting was turning into a
torrent he struggled not to let influence his actions and
decisions. The team of Guardians was going to be a boon, but he was
reconsidering the plan he’d created for tonight. His goal had been
to get the confrontation over with Valon. Ashley was right – even
at half capacity, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

But he was purposely
walking into a trap knowing he was going to lose a great number of
vamps to reach his end goal. It was a difficult decision to make
for the purpose of defeating his enemy once and for all. He
couldn’t risk
her
though, even if he were able to justify losing his
vamps.

“Ikir.
” Charles said from the doorway. “It’s time for the
briefing.”

Jonny drew a breath. No matter how he felt
or what he feared, he wasn’t willing to stop the plan he’d put into
steamroller motion after returning from the White God’s compound
the night before. Either he succeeded, and he dealt with what he
felt for Ashley after the fact, or he failed, and it didn’t matter.
Telling her how he felt when he wasn’t able to guarantee her they
had a chance at tomorrow was wrong in every way.

Resolved, Jonny trailed Charles out of the
mansion to the steps overlooking the dock and beach. The leaders of
each team, including Ashley, were gathered for the briefing about
the plan he’d kept under wrap all day. He purposely didn’t look at
her.

“You have one goal,” he started. “Keep
Valon’s vamps distracted. No matter how many losses we take. I want
to clear a path for me to challenge him directly. He’s smart,
shrewd and will do what he can to make this a very unfair fight. We
will take major hits. We will lose a lot of vamps. But if we’re not
all in tonight, we face a war of attrition and the destruction of
the truce we have with the Guardians.” Jonny paused and nodded to
Charles. His second handed out the individual team’s objectives to
each leader. “Read those instructions. Destroy them. Do not stray
from your mission or location, no matter what you see or hear
happening elsewhere.”

He felt Ashley’s gaze on him. She was
frowning and this time, it had nothing to do with their muddy
relationship.

Jonny gave the team leaders time to read
their objectives and then asked, “Any questions?”