Sin & Lightning (Demigods of San Francisco Book 5) Read online

  “I’ll stand,” Jerry said, taking up residence behind Dylan. “He probably needs a wall behind him. Every woman in this place is staring. It’s distracting.”

  “Well, yeah, he’s liquid sex,” Bria replied. “Look at the guy. He looks like a sweaty, dirty night in satin sheets. No offense, bud, but you do. Change your image if you want people to perceive you differently.”

  Dylan, clearly uncomfortable, spread his arms and looked down at himself. “I’m wearing a white shirt and jeans.”

  “Yeah. A tight white shirt, showing off your muscle, and snug jeans, showing off your ass. That is what hot guys wear. As a hot guy, you are clearly asking for it.” She put up her hands with a grin, obviously joking. “Hey, no one can accuse me of double standards.”

  Jerry chuckled. Bria had apparently grown on him.

  “Maybe try a faded, wrinkled blue shirt,” she added. “That’s a bad look. Or a bag over your head. That might help.”

  “He keeps asking if this is real life,” I said, and glugged down some of my Guinness. I needed it in this place.

  “Nothing with Alexis is real life,” Bria said as Liam sauntered up. “She will change your whole perception on things, trust me. Nothing will be normal after she and her kids trample all over your life.”

  “Why don’t you have a blood oath?” Dylan asked after she’d ordered and been given her drink.

  “In the beginning…because I didn’t want one,” she said. “I didn’t want to be permanently attached to a Demigod, especially one that shared genes with Valens. I accepted the job because he paid well and I’d be training a Spirit Walker. How could I pass that up, you know what I mean? I was ready to walk the second things got weird.”

  “And now?”

  She shrugged. “He hasn’t made it a requirement. He hasn’t asked, either. It’s probably for the best. I’m here for Alexis, mostly. He’s a good guy, I will admit, but I’m loyal to her. I’d do the oath to stay in the circle, but I don’t feel the need. I don’t have your issues, though. Someone might try to kill me just because I’m in the way, but they won’t try to force me into their inner circle. You need a powerful Demigod at your back.”

  Bria sucked down her drink like it was water. She pounded the bar with her fist.

  “Mick, how the hell are ya? Nice to see ya,” she said. “Now make yourself useful and call down Liam. Your next drink is on Kieran.”

  “Feck off,” Mick muttered, before raising his hand. “Liam! Ye fookin’ deaf bastard. Liam! Get a round, will ya? Yer useless! Like tits on a bull, ye are. Fuck sakes. Liam!”

  A ripple of excitement rolled through the bar. I smiled, knowing what it meant—I’d felt Kieran drawing nearer. Someone shrieked in the back, but the voices in the front of the bar had lowered to respectful murmurs.

  From my vantage point I could see the crowd parting. Kieran emerged from the throng of bodies like a ship parting the tides, his broad shoulders swinging as he strolled through the crowd of staring spectators. Strength and power oozed from him, filling the bar like a savory aroma. His smooth grace screamed debonair, especially with his pinstriped, tailored suit, but his intense, intelligent gaze and coiled strength spoke of danger in a way that dried up all the spit in my mouth.

  As he approached us, his stormy blue eyes focused on me, and my heart surged and then melted down through my middle. I couldn’t help but smile at his deliciousness. His guys walked in behind him, also wearing tailored suits, projecting strength and power and silently promising pain to anyone who stepped in their way.

  “That is sex on a stick,” I said in a breathy whisper, watching Kieran draw near. “A bag wouldn’t do much to hide his sexiness. He’d still have the style and the body.”

  “Not to mention the power and prestige, yeah. The difference is, he knows it,” Bria said, turning back to the bar. “Soon we’ll find out if he can sell it to the big dogs. Lydia will have all of her people, and Kieran will only be allowed a select few. That’s how it’s done. He’ll be protected, but his people won’t be. We’ll all be put to the test. Soon we’ll see if he’s as good as we all think.”

  Kieran stepped around Jerry and slid his arm around my shoulders. “Hey, baby.” He kissed me on the temple, sending my insides into a flutter again. Heat throbbed in my middle at his touch, his proximity. “How was your day?”

  “Liam, we’re closed,” Zorn said, leaning over the bar next to Bria. “Close out the tabs and get everyone out. You can stay on. The other bartenders can go home. They’ll be compensated for the tips they lost.”

  Liam turned, waved a dingy white bar towel, and yelled, “Get out! We’re closed. Demigod is in residence. No last call. Put your drink down and leave. Out!”

  Mick didn’t move a muscle, but none of the guys seemed to notice or care.

  “Dylan.” Kieran stuck out a hand. “Good to see you again. I didn’t expect you.”

  Dylan shook it. “I’m still not sure if I’m staying.”

  Kieran nodded, replacing his arm around my shoulders. “There’s a place on my team, should you choose to stay. No hard feelings if you go. You need to make up your mind quickly, though. We’re meeting with Demigod Lydia in two weeks. We have a lot to plan still.”

  Bria caught Dylan’s focus, and then brought him over to the rest of the guys, already cracking jokes and having a good time. The second they could let down their hair, they did. I had a feeling Bria was helping sell Dylan on that blood oath by showing him the kind of camaraderie he could expect. Jerry edged down a little to join them, leaving Kieran and me with a little space.

  “Everyone acts really crazy with him,” I said as Kieran trailed his fingers through my hair. I soaked in his warmth, not able to think about much more than his touch. About wanting to get him alone.

  His smile was languid, his eyes hooded. His sexy Selkie magic curled within my body, stroking all the right places and bringing a gasp to my lips.

  “How so?” he asked.

  “Apparently, everyone thinks that if he gets me alone, I won’t be able to resist his not-at-all-seductive ways.”

  Kieran laughed and reached toward the bar to grab the Guinness Liam had delivered. “Yes, I got that feeling when Sodge called me. He hinted that it would be best to send someone to watch you when Dylan is around.”

  “Tell me you didn’t hurry here for that reason.”

  He kissed my temple. “I didn’t. I hurried here because I was shocked as hell to hear he’d come. I’m hoping it means he wants to join our team. While I am possessive to a fault, I have absolutely no fears where you and Dylan are concerned.”

  I sighed. “Good. Frank and Sodge—and even Mick—were acting like such idiots. It was really embarrassing.”

  “Do you want to know why I have no fears?”

  “Because you’re rational and not prone to hysterics?”

  He laughed again. “We share feelings through the soul connection, and I’ve never once felt any arousal from you when you’re in his vicinity. I’ve never felt any sexual nervousness or even appreciation for his appearance. The only time I’ve noticed those things through our bond are when I enter a room.”

  I ran my fingers down the edge of his suit jacket. “I think I’m going to need to be marked again tonight.”

  He slowly let out a breath and squeezed my shoulders. I could feel the desire pooling hot within him. “Come here for a moment.”

  He set down his drink, then stepped back and guided me off the stool. He threaded us through the lingering bar patrons, slow to make their way out. Their gawking didn’t seem to bother him as he led me down a hallway, past the bathrooms and to a door that said “Staff.”

  He flicked on the light, pulled me inside, and locked the door behind us. I didn’t get a chance to look around as he pushed me against the door, his lips on mine and his fingers at my jeans.

  His Selkie magic pounded pleasure through me as I hurriedly unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, moaning. I pulled up the Line and heard his answering groan
as he felt my magic.

  He shoved my jeans and panties down my thighs before turning me around. My palms flattened against the door. Cool air kissed my wetness, interrupted by the heat of his tip. All the air exited my lungs as he filled me in one glorious thrust.

  “Oh God, Kieran,” I moaned, his magic blazing under my clothes and across my skin. “Yes, Kieran.”

  He grabbed my hips as he pulled out with deliberate slowness before ramming into me again. Aching pleasure coursed through me. I couldn’t get enough air. I couldn’t get enough of him.

  He pulled out slowly again, but I couldn’t wait for the next thrust, wild with need. I jerked my hips forward and back, impaling myself, seeing stars from how good it felt. I swirled my hips and jerked forward and back again, shoving against the door to get more traction. His fingers tightened against my hips. His pace increased.

  “Yes,” I whispered, repeatedly filled. Pounded with sensation. The pleasure built, filling every inch of me until it felt like my skin was stretched too tightly. The sensations were overwhelming. “Yes!”

  I hit a peak and shattered around him. He shuddered against me, groaning my name.

  Panting, love glowing within me, I leaned back against him. He circled me with his arms, holding me tightly.

  “I needed that,” he said, his hot breath feathering my neck. He trailed his lips up the slope of my neck and along my jaw line. It was only then that I realized one of the bartenders was knocking softly on the door. She probably needed to get her stuff so she could go home.

  “To be continued,” I said, and turned so I could kiss his full lips. “We’re holding people up.”

  “Let them wait.” His kiss was deep and sensual.

  I smiled against his lips. “My drink will get warm.”

  He laughed softly. “To be continued, then.”

  Hand in hand, we walked back to our places. I sat, and he stood by my side. The bar, once incredibly loud and obnoxious, now only held our crew, chatting and laughing together. Jack had joined us on an empty barstool, listening to the banter with a smile, although he couldn’t actually talk to anyone but me. Mick was also still there, minding his own business, exactly like any other day.

  “I’ll join you,” Dylan said during a lull in the conversation. He didn’t look away from his beer.

  “You’ll take a blood oath?” Kieran asked, his arm resting on my stool back, curved around me. “You’ll join my team?”

  “Yes.” The word was so quiet that I almost didn’t hear it.

  “What made you change your mind?” Bria asked.

  Dylan shrugged, and it was clear he was struggling with some demons. “A lot of things. Most importantly, I trust this.” He waggled his finger, basically pointing down the bar and back. “I didn’t at first. I didn’t understand how a bunch of misfits, led by a green Demigod and backed by the magic of someone that doesn’t seem to understand the magical world, could be so incredibly effective. I figured I was missing something.”

  “Nope. We’re just that screwed up,” Donovan said, sitting between Thane and Jack. I wondered if he knew his buddy was next to him—if maybe he’d sat on the end to leave a place for him, just in case.

  “And I think what I was missing was the sense of family,” Dylan went on. “I’ve never really had one. My parents didn’t spare any time on my upbringing. Their pride was in producing my magic, not as parents. I doubt they cried at my funeral. I was raised by nannies until I was old enough to be tested, and then I went to boarding school to be trained. After that, Gianna got a hold of me. The mark applied to me was not my choice. My bed was a holding place and her bed was my cell. The horror of that existence gave me a very warped view of what it meant to pledge service to a Demigod. This is…night and day.” He shook his head, hunched over his beer. “I would rather die than be tied to someone like Gianna again. Heaven help me if I’m wrong, but this is probably my safest bet. It seems like it, anyway. It is at least very clear Alexis does want that mark. She looks ethereal, a woman in love. I trust that.”

  Silence greeted his words until Mick said, “Jaysus. Talk about airing your dirty laundry. What da fook?”

  The Six, Jack included, roared with laughter. Even Jerry chuckled helplessly.

  “Well”—Donovan splayed his fingers across his chest—“I don’t want you in my bed. You’re safe there.”

  “I’m a nope there, too, brother.” Thane raised his hands.

  “No man meat in my sheets except mine,” Boman said.

  “Man meat?” Thane turned so Boman could see his full scowl.

  “Would you have preferred if I’d said dick?” Boman retorted.

  “Not really, no.”

  Zorn huffed. “I had to get saved, too. It’s hard on the ego.”

  The guys laughed again, and in response to Dylan’s obvious confusion, Zorn stood and peeled off his jacket. “We all got shit in our pasts.” He unbuttoned his crisp white shirt and took it off. Silvery white lines crisscrossed his torso and back. Some scars were long and straight, possibly from lashings, and some were jagged and bent, as if a knife had slowly cut into his flesh.

  Dylan’s eyes widened. “Did they douse you with some kind of magic that didn’t let you heal?”

  “This was before the blood oath. I didn’t get the luxury of healing between sessions. I’d hang from the shackles for a month, drenched in spit, blood, and piss. It would’ve been easier just to die, but I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. I wanted them to know that they could try as they might, but they weren’t going to get a word about the Drusus family out of me. I didn’t give a shit about Valens, but even then, I would’ve died ten times over for Kieran. You want to talk about dirty laundry? Being ignored by my parents would’ve been a luxury. I was beaten by them. Tossed downstairs. Blamed for their troubles. I can’t seem to maintain any sort of normal relationship—I drive everyone away.”

  Bria picked up her drink and took a long sip. As far as I knew, they’d been on the outs lately, it having been just physical in the beginning, gotten confusing a couple months ago (Bria’s words at one point), and now it looked like Zorn was revealing what was going wrong. My heart squished for the guy.

  “But fuck it,” Zorn went on. “You live, you learn, you keep going. It does no good to dwell on it. You will be safest in this team, that’s no lie. Even the dead watch our backs.”

  Zorn shrugged back into his shirt, his expression flat.

  “He wins,” Jerry said, his arms crossed against his chest. “He one-upped you, bud.”

  “Way to kill a moment, Jerry,” Donovan said.

  “If this shite keeps on, I’ll need to find a new bar,” Mick muttered.

  Everyone erupted into laughter again, and I wished we could stay like this forever. But I couldn’t forget that danger awaited us outside this door. Now that we had Dylan, the Zeus Demigods would probably take a new interest in our team, just like the Hades Demigods. At this point, all someone had to do was kill Kieran and divvy up his team.

  Then again, part of our job was to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Regardless, one thing at a time. Next up was Demigod Lydia. Two weeks and counting.

  24

  Dylan

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Dylan turned away from the railing on Kieran’s back deck to find Daisy standing in the open sliding glass door, one hand on a slim hip and the other against the doorframe. Her expression wasn’t cross or even expectant, but her tone and words told a different story.

  “Didn’t they tell you I was here?” he asked, letting the lightning fade away behind him. “I got here yesterday afternoon. Demigod Kieran is letting me stay in the non-ghost guest room until I get a new place lined up.”

  “Yeah, they told me.” She slid the door shut and walked to a spot beside him, looking out over the ocean. “They told me you showed up, had a few beers, and let Kieran give you a blood oath. Now you’re trapped. What happened?”

  Dylan sighed
, turning back toward the railing. Then started chuckling. He couldn’t help it. This kid was like no other teen he’d ever met, and he’d met a lot of Chesters at this point. She quite clearly liked her situation and the people around her, but not to the point where she wanted to give them any authority over her. Only two people had her total and complete loyalty, it seemed—Alexis and the other teen, Mordecai. That was it. She kept a layer of distance with everyone else, even her scarred-up trainer, Zorn. If circumstances compelled it, Dylan bet she’d have no problem cutting off ties to this life and leaving with no one but Alexis and Mordecai to go with her. She wouldn’t say goodbye, and she wouldn’t look back.

  He let the lightning rain down over the ocean. The bolts zigged and zagged and created loose and rather clumsy designs. He was incredibly rusty. He’d been nearly useless in that battle a couple of weeks ago. He had to blow the dust off his magic if he hoped to contribute to the team.

  “I would’ve been a hunted man, thanks to you all,” Dylan said, trying to twist the lightning in the sky while also rolling a sheet of lightning across the ocean surface. Sweat beaded on his brow and the lightning dried up in the clouds. The distance was too great. He’d need to work back up to that.

  “Cut the crap. That’s not why,” she said.

  He grinned. “If you cut and run from this life, you’d still have family. I have no one. I couldn’t even properly use my magic. Being alone gets old after a while. It gets lonely.”

  She didn’t respond for a while, instead watching him start up the lightning again. “Any regrets?”

  He pushed back the thick black clouds, a dead giveaway that there was someone with Zeus’s magic on the scene. Instead, he tried to pull lightning down from a puffy white cloud. The bolt splintered and spiderwebbed across the darkness, mostly useless by the time it finally touched down. That might give someone a jolt, but it wouldn’t kill anyone.

  “No,” he said, which had shocked him when he first realized it. “I used to always feel suffocated with Gianna. But even though Demigod Kieran said I’m in the probationary phase, and he’s exerting more of his will than usual to make sure I color within the lines, it’s nothing like I’m used to. Nothing. I barely notice his influence. I don’t feel put out at all.”