Chapter 11
Duncan spun her around on the barstool, his irritation at her public display instantly tempered by the mischievous look in her eyes and the tiny lift of the corners of her lips.
Inhaling a deep breath, he steeled his resolve to deal with the impertinent goddess. Waves of sexual energy flowed from her, even more so than before. Ava had a glow about her, an air of confidence that hadn’t been there before. Apparently the encounter with Trayan had revitalized her.
He hated to rain on her parade, but she had placed herself and others in danger by using her powers in public.
Duncan held his breath and counted to ten, preparing himself for the upcoming battle of wills. He had to admit Ava did him a favor by getting rid of the obnoxious Celestial, and the patrons in the bar seemed unaware of her involvement. No harm done yet, but she needed to understand the consequences of revealing her powers to mortals.
“Outside. Now,” he demanded.
When Duncan took her hand in his, the instant burn of desire snaked around his arm, into his bloodstream and straight south. By the time they got through the door, he was hard and fighting a losing battle. He guided Ava around the corner of the building away from prying eyes.
One look at the way her T-shirt molded to her curves and his thoughts scattered. She stared up at him, emerald eyes filled with indignation, a pretty pink flush to her cheeks. Her natural beauty captivated him. Caught off guard by his reaction to her, he had to remind himself of what he’d intended to say.
Humiliating that idiot, Trayan, had been entertaining, but the consequences of being revealed would cause panic. As long as mortals remained in the dark about the presence of non-mortals, they could all peacefully coexist.
Duncan had heard Trayan’s threat to Ava before being tossed out, and fury still lingered within him. If that moron Celestial showed his face in this realm again, he would hammer him into the ground.
“Ava, I told you to keep a low profile, but instead, you turned the Hoppin’ Hawg into a fucking circus.” His words were harsh, but her safety came first, even if she didn’t realize it.
“He pinched me on the ass and demanded that I become his whore,” Ava retorted, glaring at him defiantly, shoulders squared and arms folded across her chest.
“I will handle Trayan,” Duncan said between clenched teeth. His hands fisted by his sides in anticipation of making contact with Trayan’s face.
“I handled him just fine, and I didn’t need your help to do so.”
“You are not to use your powers in public. Period. End of discussion.”
Unfazed, Ava stepped closer to him, a move he found quite bold. He liked bold. A tingle of sexual energy skittered along his skin.
“Trayan needed to be taught a lesson, and I needed to be the one to teach it to him.” Ava placed her hands on her hips.
“Wrong. If he needs an ass-kicking, the pleasure will be all mine. And when I deal with him, I won’t have two hundred witnesses.”
Ava shook her head. “Instead of staying in the Celestial Realm where he belongs, he chose to hit on me.” Her heated words became louder with each syllable she spoke. “I had a duty to use my ability to pass judgment and put him in his place. Period. End of discussion.”
Duncan bristled when she used his own words against him. This woman had more balls than most men he knew. She turned to leave, but he caught her arm before she could take another step. “We’re not done here.”
He admired her feisty attitude and determination to take care of the obnoxious god on her own. Most demons weren’t willing to go toe-to-toe with him, but this sharp-tongued goddess dared to speak her mind without fear. He didn’t want her to fear him—he wanted her to be with him. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way.
“I told you this once already,” she said. “I had to take care of this myself.”
Duncan stared at his feet for a second, taking time to choose his words carefully. Maybe he could find a way to help her that didn’t involve exposing their existence to humankind. He understood Ava’s desire to have her powers back.
Just when he began to soften his stance, a pink business card on the pavement caught his attention. He knelt down, picked it up, and read, his ire rising with each word. He shook his head in disbelief at the message on the card. Ava was driving him crazy with her schemes to regain her powers.
“Tell me that this is not a working number.”
“Of course it is. Why would I put a useless number on my goddess calling cards?” Color flooded her cheeks as her words tumbled out.
“Give me that.” She tried to snatch the card away, but Duncan held it high above her head. “I will not take orders from an egotistical, ill-tempered bully,” she said.
“Dammit, Ava!” Duncan crumpled the card in his hand and tossed it toward an overflowing trash bin.
Fear for her safety had hijacked his brain. He placed his hands on the brick wall on either side of her body, trapping her. Her delicate jasmine scent assaulted his senses. His desire to take her into his arms had him shaking as he fought to bury the lustful urges.
“I can’t keep you safe if you don’t keep a low profile.” Sucking in a ragged breath, he shook his head. “No. More. Mischief.” He pulled her into his arms, surprised that she didn’t resist him. “I care for you, Ava, more than you can imagine.”
“I care for you, too,” she whispered.
Duncan was conquered. The sassy goddess had him by the balls and he knew it. Feeling like a complete asshole, he softened his tone with her. “You could get hurt. Las Vegas is a very dangerous place right now.”
“I could help you track them.” She spoke in a hushed tone. “I can see them, you know.”
Duncan continued to hold her close, blown away by her revelation. Amazed and humbled by her offer, he kissed her, lost in how good she felt in his arms. A wave of protection swept through him.
“I can’t place you in harm’s way. I couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
“Why?” Ava stared up at him with her luminous green eyes, waiting for an answer he wasn’t prepared to give just yet.
“Until I figure out what’s going on around here, you need to promise to avoid using your powers in public. And whatever you do, do not draw attention to yourself.”
“You really think I might be in danger?” Her lush, rosy lips pursed together in a grim line.
“You’re the second person to tell me that today,” she added.
When Duncan saw a flash of fear in her eyes, he nearly came undone. In that moment, he realized he would do anything to ensure her safety. How one spunky goddess could piss him off and incite his desire simultaneously was way beyond him, but he would protect her at all costs.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Ava.” He couldn’t explain his feelings for her, but hoped his actions spoke to her instead.
Unable to stop himself, Duncan bent his head to kiss her lips. She surprised him by melting into his arms as her body conformed to his. Turned on to find her responding with equal intensity, he deepened the kiss.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers cool and soft against his heated skin. She stood on her tip toes and lightly nipped his lower lip. Her sweet tongue explored his mouth as she arched her body against his.
He ran his hands along her sides and gradually down her hips. The feel of her curves beneath his hands ignited a spark of sensation that heated his blood.
The dragons on his biceps glided over his shoulders and slithered across his chest, leaving a blazing path of pleasure and pain in their wake. This had never happened when he kissed a woman before, and he wondered about the meaning of their movements.
“You feel so damn good, Ava.”
She moaned softly. “I love the feel of your hands on my body.” She traced a finger down his chest to the waistband of his jeans. “Let me return the favor.” Hooking her fingers on the belt loops, she guided him toward her.
Taking the hint, he gently pulled her closer. He wanted her to know just what she did to him. He wanted her to know how close he was to losing control.
Rocked by an electrifying jolt of sexual energy, he fought to stay on his feet. He felt the ripple of dragon power beneath his skin demanding release. If he didn’t get Ava into his bed soon, he was going to end up taking her right here on the street.
Like a rifle blast, the beginning strains of AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” shattered the spell he was under.
“Shit!”
Duncan yanked his phone out of his back pocket and held it up to his ear. Llion’s gruff voice assaulted his hearing.
“Demons. Warehouse district.” Click. Silence.
If a body part could talk, his manly parts would be swearing in protest. He released a long, frustrated breath.
“Ava, I have to go.”
Duncan wanted to ignore Llion’s call, take her to his penthouse and make love to her all night long. Separating duty from pleasure had never been an issue until now, and her hold on him couldn’t be shaken, no matter how hard he tried.
“We will continue this later?” His words were more of a question than a demand.
“Looking forward to it, Dragon-Man.” She gazed up at him, a sad smile on her lips. “I understand that you have duties to attend to, but I can’t say I’m happy about it.”
“I’m not happy about it either.” He gritted through his teeth, feeling like a first-rate jackass. “But I can’t ignore my responsibility to the mortals in this realm.” He brushed a tender kiss along her lips.
“Stay out of trouble, Goddess. I’ll be back for you soon.”
A mischievous smile curved her lips. “I am trouble, Dragon-Man—especially for you.”
~ ~ ~
Ava ordered a glass of wine, sucked it down, and ordered another. Still burning with desire inside and out, she needed to cool down and refocus on something other than Duncan Pierce.
Never had she met such a controlling, pig-headed man. Never had she been so instantly drawn to a perfect stranger, and Duncan Pierce was as damn close to perfect as any male specimen could be. Her skin still tingled from the memory of his fiery kiss.
There were lots of reasons why getting involved with him was a terrible idea: first, she needed to focus on her quest to regain her powers and get Trayan out of her life; second, she wasn’t certain she could trust Duncan—not with her heart at least; and third, she didn’t trust herself around him.
“Another wine, please.” The house wine tasted as if it had been fermented in a sewer, but it was all she had to settle her nerves. She sucked it down quickly in an effort to save her taste buds. As odious as it tasted, the resulting buzz made it worth the effort.“Hey, take it easy. We gotta walk home, remember?” Carman sat down next to her, propped her feet up on a nearby chair, and massaged her calves. “What did you do to drive the guardian off?”
“Why do you think I drove him off?” Ava regretted the snap in her reply, but she really didn’t want to talk about her encounter right now.
“That’s easy. You came back. He didn’t. Now, tell Carman all about it.” The look on her friend’s face told her that she might as well cave and tell all.
“There’s not much to tell. He took exception to me making Trayan dance on the bar.”
Carman giggled at the memory. “That was brilliant, by the way. I would have just ninja-kicked him in the unit.”
“My thoughts exactly. Duncan, however, forbade me to do any more compulsions.”
“He forbade you? Screw that! What’s he going to do if you don’t obey? Punish you?” Carman raised her eyebrows. “You know that might be kind of fun.”
“I half expected steam to come out of his ears or fire out of his mouth.”
“That could happen, given that he’s half dragon.” Carman laughed.
“He was seriously pissed off, right up until he kissed me.” Ava could feel her face heat. “I shouldn’t be swooning over some man. I need to stay focused on my goals.”
“So are you going to see him again?” Carman asked.
“Oh yeah.” Her skin rippled with anticipation at the thought. “He said he would come back for me.” She smiled and straightened up on the bar stool. “But this time there will be one big difference. This time, I’ll be ready for him, and this time, I’m going to be in charge.”