Chapter 23
B en scrambled over to Sam, his concern for her being ok overtaking his fear of her discovering his truth.
“Are you ok?” he asked, bending down at her side.
Sam sucked in a deep breath and with shaking hands, pushed herself into a sitting position. “What the...” she said, all but breathless. “What did I...” she waited a second to catch her breath “...just see?”
The image of Ben’s handsome face twisted and contorted into something so evil stuck in the forefront of her mind as if she’d been staring at the sun for too long, leaving an imprint burned in her eyes that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times she blinked.
Ben took her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. “I...” He looked away, staring at the leaves beneath him “...I have no explanation.”
Sam, still dazed by images of Ben’s face darkened by purple veins, jet black eyes, and a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, stared at him as if he’d just introduced her to running water.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Ben asked, picking her left arm up and examining where the dog had bitten her. He twisted her arm over, looking for bite marks, but he found none. “I swear that dog bit you,” he said, dropping her left arm and reaching over for her right, looking again for any marks. “But there’s not a scratch on you.”
Sam jumped to her feet, her breath back, and feeling rather like a rabbit in headlights. She settled her hands on her hips and cocked her head to one side as she looked down at Ben. “I guess I’m not the only one keeping secrets, huh?”
Ben stood up, eyeing her with curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re clearly not human.” She looked down at her jeans and brushed some dirt off them. “And neither am I. But I guess you’ve figured that by now.”
When she looked back up at him, her eyes sparkling with life, Ben knew he’d met his match. He knew in that instant, without a doubt, she was his missing piece, his demi-soul, the missing part that would finally complete him.
“But...but I sensed nothing,” Ben said. “I should have sensed something if you weren’t human. I don’t get it.” He frowned and shook his head, questioning his own abilities.
Sam grinned. “You first. What are you? And who are you?”
He stared at her for a good few seconds before letting out a sigh and giving in. “My name is Balthazar. My brother is Azazel, and yes, he is actually my brother. We are...” He waved his hand through the air as if searching for the right word “...demons. We work for Lucifer and once a year for three months we get a holiday.” He lifted his arms up and gestured around him. “This year, we’re here.”
Sam nodded, pursing her lips. After a few seconds, she said, “I guess Dylan was right when he said something was off with you two.”
Balthazar frowned, giving her a questioning look. “How did he know? What are you?”
Sam grinned. “Werewolf, of course.”
Dawning realisation swirled through Balthazar’s eyes. “That’s why it attacked you. And you, not being a mum yet, don’t have full access to your powers.”
Sam shrugged her shoulders. “You got me.”
The two stared at each other for a good minute or more, silent, working out their options from here. Sam couldn’t help but think that actually, the universe had now given her everything she wanted—an older man, who was hot as hell, packed with money, and could give her everything she wanted. All wrapped up in this beautiful package. No compromise needed. He looked her age but had the experience and everything else of a proper gentleman.
Balthazar couldn’t help but wonder how his demi-soul had turned out to be a werewolf. What a curve ball. Could he give up his supernatural life to be a part of someone else’s? The supernatural world was dark and dangerous, he wouldn’t be able to protect her without his magic. But if he wanted to be with her, he would have to forfeit it.
Then a dawning realisation hit him, Mildred’s words coursing through his mind— Be careful, Balthazar. Sometimes the answer we crave is not the one given. Sam, being a werewolf, would live a much longer life than any human. At least two hundred years. If Balthazar gave up his demonic ways to be with her, he would still only get the mere eighty odd years of a human.
What a twist of fate.
“What next?” Sam asked, pulling him from his thoughts. “Are we just carrying on as normal or are we drawing a line in the sand?”
Balthazar ran a hand through his dark hair, letting out a sigh. “I’ll be frank, no more airs and graces. Is that ok?”
“Sure.”
“I think you’re exactly who I’ve been looking for. When I cast the spell for our holiday this year, I asked to be brought to the place where my demi-soul is.” He ran his tongue over his lips. “And I’m ninety nine percent sure that’s you.”
“Demi-soul? What the hell is that?”
“You might be more familiar with the term soulmate. We call it demi-soul because it’s half a soul. One complete soul is made up of two halves. You are my missing half.”
Sam took in his words for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. When she saw the serious look on his face, she stopped. “Wait, you’re serious?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and said, “You think that’s going to get me into bed or something?”
Balthazar rolled his eyes. “Please, I’m not my brother. I would wait years for that if I needed to.”
Sam folded her arms across her chest and studied the handsome demon before her, trying to decide what his end game here might be. After a few seconds, she asked, “And what makes you so sure I’m who you’re looking for?”
“Without risking sounding cheesy, it’s the way I feel when I’m around you. Everything is as easy as breathing. I feel calm and relaxed...” He tapped his fingers over his chest “...in here. I feel like...” He took a deep breath and then said, “...I feel like I’m home when I’m around you.”
Sam bit her bottom lip and soaked in his words for several seconds. In a split second she realised there was only one way to know if his words had an ounce of truth in them.
Closing the gap between them, Sam pressed herself against Balthazar’s firm body, cupping his face in both of her hands. She touched her lips to his, marvelling at the soft velvet brushing back against her mouth.
Balthazar wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him with all the strength he dare without breaking her bones. When he parted his lips, Sam took her opportunity and tangled her tongue with his in a slow, passionate dance.
An involuntary shudder coursed through her body, settling in a potent bundle of tingles straight between her legs. Her mind filled with images of her stripping him naked, kissing every inch of his fine form.
Balthazar deepened the kiss, his hungry desire for her surging through him as he quickened the slow waltz of their tongues to a spicy tango. Sam took her hands from his face and wound her arms around his neck, pushing the palm of one hand against the back of his head, keeping him locked in place against her mouth.
When Balthazar let out a groan, he stilled for a second, then pulled back, moving his hands down to Sam’s hips and keeping her at arms length. His chest rising and falling with short breaths, he looked at the beautiful woman before him and reminded himself that control was the key.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, frowning. “Was it not good?”
Balthazar shook his head. “No. I mean, yes, of course it was good. I mean that’s not the issue. I just need to stop before I get carried away.”
Sam licked her lips. “Maybe I want you to.”
“No,” he said, dropping his hands and shaking his head. “No, you don’t.”
“You’re holding back,” Sam said. “What are you afraid of?”
Balthazar looked down at the floor, his mind racing with possible answers but all of them would be a lie except one. And that one was the one sentence he never wanted to utter. Ever.
“Balthazar?” Sam said, reaching out and tugging at his t-shirt. “Look, I’m sorry if I overstepped the mark. I just...if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years it’s that as Betty Everett once said, it’s in his kiss.” She touched her index finger to her lips. “And boy, can I tell a lot from yours.”
“I really like you, Sam,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. He lifted his gaze back to hers. “And there are lots of complications to us being together, but I don’t want to face them yet until you’re sure about me.”
“What complications? How could anything be more complicated than you being a demon and me being a werewolf?”
Balthazar let a small smile play out over his lips. “Believe me, that’s the least of our problems.”
Sam let out a sigh and dropped her hand from his t-shirt. “Maybe we don’t think of the bigger picture right now. Maybe we think of one step at a time.”
“What are you suggesting?”
Sam shrugged her shoulders. “That just for now we get to know each other and spend time together. It can’t get any more simple than that right? Then if we want to bite off a bigger chunk, we move onto the first problem.”
Balthazar gave her a smile, trying his best to hide his doubts. How would this woman still want him when she learned the wicked truth?
“Hey,” Sam said. “I can see you wandering off into your thoughts there. Don’t do that. Unless you’re a child killer or a paedophile then you don’t have much to worry about.”
“I’m definitely neither of those,” Balthazar said.
“Good,” Sam said, clapping her hands together. “Then we’re all good.” She held her hand out, waiting for him to take it. “Now take me back to the car and take me for a milkshake.”
Balthazar gladly took her hand, gently brushing his thumb over the back of her hand. He knew these moments were precious. If she eventually rejected him, at least he would have had these moments and would have a small selection of memories to comfort him for the rest of his eternity.