Poisonous Pleasure (7 page)

“But you’re a demon. How can I trust you?”

“We all make mistakes. Believe it or not, I’ve actually calmed down a lot. I’m even trying to be good. Anyway, you know what I do, and that’s eternal. But have you ever thought about why you’re a collector? You once were a type of demon, so to speak, but put on a higher pedestal. Somehow you managed to get reborn. Should I hold your past against you?”

Caught off guard, Marcella quietly thought about his words. “But I don’t remember what I did.” The dreams she’d been having pushed into her head, but she quickly dismissed them. There was no way that was her. The feeling of authority that accompanied the dreams was absolutely absurd. But she couldn’t get over the fact of how identical they now looked. They were a mirror image if she wanted to be truthful with herself.

Dominic grabbed her hand. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but I’m doing everything I can to make things right. You need to know we can’t escape what we’re given, but we can make the best of it. I want to make the best of it with you…and Jason, if that’s what you want. You’re right, I’ve been a dick. I never thought I’d have a mate,
ever
. I’m not sure what’s going to happen and it scares me. Fear is something I don’t take to well.”

A low groan broke the beginning of her response. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now let’s just get through this.”

Dominic nodded and began to pace while Marcella climbed up next to Jason and focused on changing back into a collector. The cobwebs came naturally, moving faster than before, until she held her breath and felt the thick sensation leave her.

Opening her eyes, she noticed the tattoos and smiled at Dom. “I’m getting better. When Jason’s better, I’m going to change into whatever he wants. It’ll give us something to do while we’re waiting for your master.”

“About that.” Dominic looked at the ground and then lifted his gaze back to her. “I’m not sure what he’s going to do. If for some reason they take me away, I need you to promise me something.”

Marcella sat up straighter in the bed. “What do you mean, take you? Where?”

The demon laughed. “You have to earn your position on earth, Marcy. I didn’t get here because I was randomly picked from a hat. It took a long time. Don’t you see? I’ve failed to make quota. They have every right to replace me with someone else.” She watched him walk to the bed and sit next to her. “Promise me something.”

“But…I don’t want them to take you. Dom, I need you here with me. I’m lost without you. What would I do?”

A tender smile transformed his face into the angelic beauty she remember standing in the fire. The one she thought was an angel. “You and loverboy would live happily ever after, working endless jobs and paying mortgage. You’d never learn to materialize and I’d be miserable for eternity without you.” The smile disappeared. “Damn, I sound sappy.”

“I’m not talking material anything, Dom. I’m serious. My collector is lost. Who would I collect? How many souls do I need to take in? What if something goes horribly wrong, and I have no one with experience to turn to? They can’t take you away from me. I’ll talk to them and convince them to let you stay.”

“That’s really sweet of you, but when they make up their minds, there’s no stopping the decision they reach.”

“You say they? Who are you talking about?”

“The masters of us demons. They only get together when there’s a problem. I’ve decided not to tell them about you. If they feel threatened at all, I’m afraid of what might happen. That’s why I want you to
promise
me something.”

“What?” Marcella asked cautiously.

“Don’t forget about our connection. I know you don’t know me, but I feel like I’ve known you forever. It’s a very confusing feeling, but a part of me feels protective over you, and it has nothing to do with being mates. No matter what happens, I think our connection is a link I haven’t been able to decipher.”

“I won’t forget. I promise. But this is my fault. I can’t just sit back while they take you wherever they want.”

Jason’s fist pounded hard against the mattress of the bed making Marcella scream. He began to thrash and convulse while she helplessly held him down so he wouldn’t hurt himself.

“Dominic, is this normal? Should he be going through this much pain?”

“The pain is normal. The moving isn’t. He should be immobile, locked inside his body. Watch out.”

Marcella moved back while Dominic materialized restraints on Jason’s wrists and ankles. “That should hold him for now. If he changes, they’ll rip like tissue paper. That’s when the real fun begins. I’ve never actually seen a vampire hunt for prey before. Let’s hope poor Jason doesn’t kill anyone tonight.”

“He’ll feed from me,” Marcella said lowly. I’m sure I can shift to human if I have to. It’ll work to calm him down until we can find someone else.”

“I’m not sure that’ll work, but if all else fails, we’ll try. Hell, I’ll let him feed off of me too if that’s what it takes.”

Groans quickly turned into growls as the thrashing turned to violent jerks on the restraints. Marcella pushed the hair out of Jason’s face while she tried to sooth him. “Jason, it’s okay. I’m here. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Make it stop. The pain. Make it stop.”

“I’m so sorry, Jason.” Tears streamed down her face. She felt so helpless. There was nothing she knew to ease his pain. As the hours passed, Jason’s breathing decreased. The endless waiting was torture. At times he would gasp or let out a pain filled groan. For the last hour he remained quiet. It looked like he fought to stay breathing. A large intake of breath broke passed his lips. Marcella frantically grabbed at his shoulders.

“Wait. Jason, look at me. Jason!” She quickly slapped his face trying to bring him to, to make him wake up, even if the pain returned. “Jason.” The top part of his shoulders came off of the bed as she gave him a hard jerk. “Don’t do this to me.”

“He’s going to have to die, Marcella.” Dominic’s hand settled on her shoulder. “Just pray he comes back.”

The tears came down steadily making it hard for her to see. She’d been so focused on if he would die, she didn’t actually think about what it would look like when it happened. And it scared the crap out of her. Every fear she’d ever felt didn’t even resemble watching someone she loved slip away while there was nothing she could do.

A last gasp escaped his mouth and she felt in her fingertips the moment his heart stopped. Air was almost impossible for Marcella to take in while she waited what seemed an eternity for him to change or his heart to start up again, but nothing happened.

“Oh god, I killed him. Dom, do something!”

“Marcy, I can’t. He didn’t call to me. I can’t believe he didn’t change. He should have turned into something. He shouldn’t have died. ”

Marcella desperately shook him, screaming for him to wake up, but he didn’t. His beautiful body lay motionless on the bed. Lifeless. Hiccups wracked her body. Defeated and clueless, she rested her head against his still chest. The smell of his body twisted her stomach until she was sure she was going to be sick with what she’d done.

The images, memories, everything she’d ever been through with Jason filtered into her mind. He’d trusted her, and look at what she’d done. There was no way she could let him go, ever. He was the biggest part of her life that existed on this earth today and if she couldn’t have her family, she’d have him. Anger and greed took over and she knew what she had to do.

“I’m taking his soul. He’s mine.”

“Marcella, do you think that’s a good idea?” Dominic quickly scooted closer to her. The pressure of his hand grabbed her arm making her temporarily stop.

“I don’t care! I want him with me,” she sobbed. “Don’t you for one minute tell me I can’t have him. I will!” With a hard jerk, she removed her arm from his grasp.

Gently, she opened his mouth placing her lips against his. An instant connection made her heart accelerate. She waited for his soul, but it didn’t come. Searching inside herself, she willed it to come to her. The air left her lungs so suddenly she gripped to Jason’s shoulders to support herself from collapsing forward.

Screams filled the room. Marcella felt like her stomach was getting pulled inside out. She tried jerking back from Jason, but her lips were locked to his, just like before with Dominic. Bright light filled the room, dying out the moment her lips broke and she flew back into her mate.

“What in the hell just happened?” Dominic embraced her tightly.

The restraints flew from the bed as Jason sat up, his eyes a vibrant gold. Marcella’s mouth parted as she watched the same tribal tattoos she held begin to inch its way up his stomach. The thick dark lines angled off forming what looked like a dragon’s face on his chest. It stopped at the base of his neck and moved down the length of his arms. She stared in shock, bringing her eyes up to the pale, flawless complexion of his face. With the tattoos, he looked older…dangerous, and sexy as hell.

“Jason, I thought I killed you.” Her breath came out more as a whisper. She threw herself into his arms holding onto him tightly. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again.” Wrapping her legs around his waist, she tried to get as close to him as she could. “If you wouldn’t have come back...”

“You’ll never lose me now. We’ve got each other for an eternity. God, I wasn’t sure what was happening. I thought I was a goner.” Jason hungrily kissed her, tightening his arms around her waist.

“I hate to break up the happy reunion, but you both need to take a step back and look at our new situation.”

They both turned to look at Dominic. “What do you mean? Jason’s not dead. He’s a collector like me. What’s there to look at?”

“Exactly! Marcella, where are my souls? When you had them, there was a possibility I could at least try to get them back. My mouth isn’t going anywhere near his, sorry.”

Fingers quickly lifted to her lips. She closed her eyes searching for the souls that rested inside of her. Turning, she looked at Jason. “You took one of them from me.”

“Yes, I’m not sure how. I just knew I needed a soul as much as I needed to breathe. Without it, I knew my change could never completely ensue. It was as if I was alive in my body, but I couldn’t move. I felt weighted down. I could see you, hear you, but there was nothing I could do to get to you to hear my shouts.”

“The same happened to me when I died. Once I managed to get out of my body, I couldn’t leave the room. Maybe since we had you tied, that’s why you couldn’t move. I’m not really sure, Jason.”

“It doesn’t matter, all that’s important is the fact that we’ll be together now, no matter what. Marcy, I never want to have to see you go through that much pain again. Now, I’ll make sure you don’t.”

She rested her head against his chest. “But what about Dominic? If you could hear everything then you know the situation we’re in. He and I share a connection, one that I’m sure hasn’t changed. It’s possible Dom and I are mated.”

“Yes,” Jason sighed. “I can feel your bond to him. I felt it the moment my change was complete. Losing him would be equivalent to losing me. As much as I don’t like it, we’re going to have to find a way to make sure he isn’t taken away. Dom, come sit down. I need you to tell me everything you know about your masters.”

“Hell, not you, too. My name is Dominic, not Dom. Let’s try to skip the nicknames. Only pansies cut their names in half. I don’t like it.”

The tall blond sat on the edge of the bed, not a foot away. “I’m not sure what you want me to say. It’s not like it’s going to help.” A heavy breath came from his mouth as he rubbed his eyes. “There are a total of ten masters. They all take their orders from the one man who runs the show. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to say his name.”

“I’d prefer you not.” Marcella shuttered just thinking about it.

“Good. Now this is how the process works. After you put in your time, do what is told of you, you’re promoted to demon. Demons have different tasks; some manipulate humans to make them do evil deeds, while others simply collect the souls of those who commit multiple sins throughout their lives.

“Every other month we meet with the master we’re assigned to turn over the souls, or report on our progress. The ones who fail to complete their tasks are taken and punished. They basically have to start over in the chain and work their way to the top all over again. Just getting promoted to the next stage can take hundreds of years.”

“How does one become a master?” Jason asked.

“I’m not really sure. In all the centuries I’ve been here, they’ve never changed. No one speaks of the masters, it’s strictly forbidden. The punishment for offending a leader is brutal. You couldn’t image the consequences when we disobey or mess up. I guarantee the worst thing you’ve ever heard doesn’t even compare.”

Marcella turned around on Jason’s lap and rested her back against his chest. “Dom...inic, tell me what to do. There has to be a way I can help you. Maybe you don’t understand, but I can’t just leave you to take all the blame. I won’t.”

He rested his head in his hands. “Marcella, if they know about you, I’m betting they tell the one person who can kill you. Jason and I can’t live with that. You have to know, if you die, so does he. You’re his master. The connection you two have runs blood deep, literally. Do you understand now? You have to let me take care of this.”

“Then what are you going to tell him?”

“I’m simply going to say those pesky angels came and took them away from me. It’s been known to happen. There are two who are in the area that have been nothing but a pain in the ass for the demons around here. I’ve been lucky to avoid them. I’m sure he’ll buy the story and assign me more, but there’s no telling.”

“How long do we have before you need to meet with him?” Jason asked.

Dominic looked toward him and sighed. “I have a month, but I think I’m going to go to him early. The story will look more believable that way.”

“That’s a good idea.” Marcella yawned, cuddling deeper into her boyfriend.

Looking at her wearily, Dominic narrowed his eyes. “We should all go to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day and an even longer night. We’ll need to test your powers, teach you to shift on command, and the best thing of all, materialization.”