Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
SKYE
Ilook around Daniel’s living room with satisfaction.
The stage has been set. And by that, I mean the blinds are closed, there’s a salt barrier to keep nosy ghosts out, and my clothes are artfully strewn in a trail from the front door to the sofa, where I plan to lay my naked body in anticipation of his arrival.
It’s been a rough couple of weeks as our stress over whatever the higher demons are plotting rises more and more.
Nobody can find the damn hidden gateway, and given the methodical intensity they’re searching with, plus the number of people and hours being spent on it, the team from the Collective has concluded that the higher demons are putting a lot of effort into hiding the thing with an ability we didn’t know they had.
“We” being them, since I and the rest of the Mannix team didn’t know anything about any of this until last year.
Whatever, it’s freaking everyone the fuck out that demons have this kind of ability.
Worse, if they can do this, what else can they do that nobody knows anything about?
On top of that, I’ve had no luck finding any other spirits to talk to.
It’s weird, because I’ve been all over the county and the next one over.
This week, after summer vacation ended and things finally started to slow down during the week, Kieran told me to take a day and go to Chicago and look there.
I think Connor asked him to—he and Gabe keep asking me if I’m sure I haven’t seen any spirits.
But even in Chicago, I encountered nothing.
Something’s gotta be going on, right? Spirits love highly populated areas and they’re attracted to conduits, but even though I walked the streets of Chicago for hours, I didn’t encounter a single one?
Gabe’s theory is that the higher demons have restricted their access to Earth since the incident in my apartment.
So we’re all frustrated and worried and wondering when the other shoe is going to drop…
and what the fuck kind of shoe it even is, anyway.
The Collective’s archivists are supposedly working around the clock looking for a clue, any clue, as to what the higher demons might be planning.
The word from around the world is that spirits are suddenly scarce, which supports Gabe’s theory but doesn’t help anything.
I need a night off. Daniel, who is the most supportive and incredible boyfriend I’ve ever had, needs a night off.
And a reward. Hence, me planning to splay my naked body on his couch.
He’ll see me, immediately understand my plans for the evening, and sweep me off to shower with him.
The shower is a necessity. I love him, but he’s been working in the hot sun and dirt all day, and the man sweat he’s worked up isn’t sexy man sweat.
Trust me on this. Love is blind, but it still has a sense of smell.
Then, after a long, wet, relaxing shower, we’ll eat the dinner I wheedled out of Jorge.
It’s all ready to go, just needs to be heated up.
We can have a leisurely meal in front of the TV, then probably fuck again.
I can’t keep my hands off Daniel, and he seems to feel the same about me.
By the end of the night, I plan for us to be an unconscious, exhausted, sweaty mess on the living room floor.
Maybe the couch if we make it there for the last round.
Josh has faithfully promised to keep Ewan away—I think he might have plans of his own, once the guests are settled for the night—and I’ve used a lot of salt, so the ghosts won’t get a look in. Operation: Fuck Me into a Coma is underway.
Right on time, I hear the front door open. “Skye?” Daniel calls. “You here— Oh.”
I grin and arrange myself on the couch. He’s seen my shirt on the floor in the hallway. Hmm. To hold my cock or not? It’s not like he’s going to need the added hint, but it would make for a great visual.
Daniel pauses in the doorway, and his gaze catches fire when he sees me spread out for his pleasure, stroking my dick. “I could get used to this.”
“Mission accomplished, then.” My thumb brushes over the sensitive spot right below the crown, and I shudder. Daniel bites his lip and strides determinedly forward.
I let go of myself—reluctantly—and hold up a hand. “Let’s go play in the shower.”
Some of the heat fades as he laughs, but he obediently reaches out to help me up, pulling me close enough to kiss. “I’m not going to turn down the chance to get you all wet and soapy.”
“C’mon then.” I tug him after me toward the bathroom. He follows, lagging behind, and lets out a low whistle.
“Never thought I’d say this, but watching you walk away from me is a pleasure.”
I shoot him an arch look over my shoulder. “I’m okay with that as long as you plan to catch up eventually.”
Two quick steps have him crowding me, his hands on my ass. “Sooner than that.”
We stumble through the bathroom door, and while Dan strips off his clothes with lightning speed, I turn on the shower and grab the lube and a condom and lean in to stash them in the little shampoo recess.
“You’re taking too long,” Daniel chides.
I flip him off and get into the shower, which is steaming up nicely.
Standing under the spray, water soaking my hair and running down my body, I crook my finger.
Two seconds later, he’s the one under the spray and I’m pinned to the shower wall, his mouth on mine and our hands all over each other.
Yesssssssss…
Daniel ducks his head to suck at my neck—and bite, which I’ve come to love—and I slide my hand down the now-slippery skin of his hip, aiming for—
“Conduit, I have a matter of urgency to discuss.”
I scream.
Daniel jerks back and spins around, slipping and only just catching himself before his head collides with the shower wall. I grab his arm, partly to steady him, and partly because he’s seized the jumbo-size shampoo bottle and looks ready to hurl it.
“It’s fine,” I manage, my eyes on the spirit. It’s an adiut, like the one that came to my apartment, but even if that one hadn’t been destroyed, I’d know this isn’t the same one. The same way I could read the other one’s “expressions,” I can recognize the differences between them. “Get Gabe.”
Daniel’s gaze follows the direction of mine, and his lips tighten when he sees nothing.
Without saying a word, he turns off the water, gets out of the shower, hands me a towel, then goes naked and dripping to where his pants lie and grabs his phone from the pocket.
He’s barely more than a foot from the spirit, and my breath catches in my throat.
I don’t think it would harm him—in fact, I’m not sure if it even can.
But I still don’t like having it so close to him, knowing spirits like this usually work for higher demons.
Has this one sneaked away to warn us too? Or is it here to spy or cause problems?
“Are you here to pass a message?” I ask, wrapping the towel around my waist without bothering to dry off first. My hair is streaming, but this is more important than leaving a trail of water behind me.
Daniel’s in the doorway now, murmuring into his phone, still naked and wet, and the pang of regret is a big one. But sex can wait… for a while.
“I am here to speak with you. Another told me you were here and wanted information about Cato.”
I swallow. Is this good? Or is it here to eliminate me? “I do want information about Cato.”
Dan whips around, then says something else into the phone. He’s not that far away, but my heartbeat is thrumming so loudly in my ears that other sounds are muted.
The spirit changes somehow, the movement of its lights and wisps conveying satisfaction. “I can provide that.”
It’s risky, but I ask, “Why?” Why is this spirit so eager to provide information to a random human?
I get the distinct impression of a shrug. “I have it to give. You require it. You are a conduit. And in exchange, I have questions also.”
Hello, catch. “What kind of questions?” There’s a voice at the back of my head screaming for me to shut up and let it talk, to get as much information as possible in case something goes wrong like last time. But I also can’t commit to answering questions without knowing what they are.
Daniel’s still on the phone, still dripping in the doorway. His gaze is focused intently on me, and I know he doesn’t like that the spirit is between us. I want to smile reassuringly at him, but I’m afraid it would come out as a grimace and freak him out.
“Questions about Earth,” it says vaguely, and before I can push, I hear the front door burst open.
“Skye? Daniel?” Gabe shouts.
Daniel steps into the hallway, and footsteps race closer. The spirit either doesn’t notice, which is unlikely, or doesn’t care, which is concerning. Gabe appears in the doorway, his gaze zooming around the room. He’s slightly out of breath, probably from running here.
“This is an associate of mine,” I tell the spirit. “Would you give us a moment while I update him?”
The wisps and lights move in a way that makes me think the spirit is now focusing on Gabe. “He is not a conduit.”
“No, he’s not a conduit.” I repeat the whole sentence so Gabe can follow, but don’t add an explanation for the spirit. I’m not giving anything away that I don’t have to.
“My time is limited,” it insists.
“How limited is your time?” I echo/question.
“Very.”
Dammit. I flick a glance at Gabe, who’s watching me closely but also seems… distracted? Like he’s focusing on something else. “The adiut spirit I’m speaking with has offered to give information on Cato in exchange for me answering questions about Earth.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Gabe says calmly. “Why don’t we go into the other room? Space is limited here. Do you want to get dressed first?”
I really do, but I’m scared to take the time, so I shake my head. “I’ll just wear Dan’s robe.” It’s hanging behind the door and will be huge on me, but is warm terrycloth and should soak up the water and cover me from neck to almost ankles.
Gabe nods and steps backward into the hall, freeing the doorway.
I motion to the spirit. “Gabe will show you where to go.” I’m half expecting it to protest, but it glides away without a word, giving me the chance to grab the robe, wrap it around myself, and swipe quickly at my hair with the towel. Then I follow.
Daniel catches my hand as we meet in the hallway.
He took advantage of Gabe’s arrival to go put on a pair of sweatpants, though from the way they cling to him, he didn’t bother to dry off first. If the moment wasn’t so tense, I’d be salivating over that dick print.
Hell, even though the moment is so tense it could shatter like glass, I still have to drag my gaze away.
“Are you okay?” he asks in a low voice.
“Yeah. I was surprised, is all. Are you? Did you hurt yourself when you slipped?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve called Connor and Ewan.
Con’s on his way back, and Ewan’s going to wait in the kitchen with me.
” There’s a note of reluctance in his voice that tells me he doesn’t want to be even as far from me as that while the spirit’s here, but we talked about this.
It’s better if only the people with metaphysical abilities are in the room with the spirit, while the muscle waits nearby.
We don’t want the spirit getting distracted or overwhelmed.
“Door’s open, right?” I ask, more to reassure him than because I’m worried.
“Yeah. Speak up so we can hear, and yell if you need anything. Gabe said he might use signals. This means yes or okay.” He gives me a thumbs-up. “This”—he holds out his hand, palm down, and subtly slashes it from left to right—“means no or stop.”
“When did— Never mind. Got it.” We don’t have time for explanations. “It’s gonna be fine. And after, we’ll get back to busi— Oh my god, my clothes are all over the living room.”
Daniel levels me with a who-cares look. “Be careful.”
I blow him a kiss with a level of assurance I don’t feel, then go into the living room.
Gabe’s standing by the couch. The spirit is hovering in the middle of the room.
I go to stand near Gabe, but not right beside him.
I need enough distance for my peripheral vision to be able to catch any signal he might send.
How is this my life?