Page 4 of Firefly

He stepped back, giving her space, and she slid around him, backing toward the door.

“Rebecca.”

She glanced behind her. “I should check on Sarah.”

He nodded, and she continued backing up.

Something in her expression had changed. The woman who had barricaded herself inside the house six months before was back and was no less frightened of him now than she had been that night in the orchard with those two small boys.

He watched her go, saying nothing. He had been wrong to push her. Perhaps she wasn’t ready for this version of him; perhaps she never would be. He waited, hoping for just a moment she might come back, change her mind, and throw herself into his arms.

When she didn’t return, he left the kitchen, following the hall to the stairs that led to Alexander’s laboratory. He dreaded going, but if he didn’t check in, Alexander would come looking for him, and that was never a good thing.

The room was bathed in an unnatural light as the amulet swung from some imaginary string, glowing faintly. Alexander wasn’t there, but he couldn’t be far. He never left the necklace for long.

As if on cue, the door leading up the back stairs swung wide, and Alexander strode in.

He was a tall man, even compared to Simon, standing at least two inches taller and carrying himself with an air of importance that only lent to his height.

“You’re back. Good. I have work for you.”

Simon dipped his head, hiding his scowl. It was a blessing. He would be allowed to leave and be far from Alexander. He had to remind himself of this fact every time Alexander gave him a new and terrible task.

“I need more demons. Rebecca grows weaker by the day. You must find me more. Preferably ones with stronger essences. The last were weak, barely enough to sustain her strength for days.”

It was a lie. One Alexander fed him every time he wanted Simon to bring back demons. One Simon pretended to believe to ensure he didn’t find himself shackled to the ceiling in the dark room where Alexander performed his magic.

“I leave for New York tonight.”

Alexander met his gaze, his penetrating stare boring into Simon’s as if to eke out any deception. When he found none, he smiled. “Good.”

Simon turned to leave. He would check in on Rebecca and Sarah, ensure they were safely tucked away in their beds, and then he would leave this house and the memory of Rebecca’s horror-stricken face.

With distance between them, he could admit something strange had happened when they touched. He couldn’t say what, but whatever it was, she was convinced it had been his fault.

He had acquired other gifts in his new form: speed, enhanced hearing, and canines that lengthened at will. Was it such a leap to assume he might possess other yet undiscovered gifts?

“Oh, and Simon,” Alexander said to his back, “take Astaroth with you.”

He ground his teeth, stalking from the room.

Chapter 4

Rebecca

Rebecca slid between soft sheets, letting the fabric chill her overheated skin. Shocks of electricity still sparked in her veins along her back where Simon’s fingers had brushed down her spine. She pressed her fingers to her throbbing pulse at the base of her neck, and her breath caught, remembering the way she’d pictured him taking her there on the kitchen counter.

She took a steadying breath and leaned over the side of her bed to peer into Sarah’s crib.

Although the baby had her own room, Rebecca never felt comfortable leaving her all alone across the hall in their large home.

She smiled down at her sweet baby as pale cheeks, illuminated by the moon’s silvery glow, puffed before exhaling another deep breath. Dropping her head into the crib, she pressed a kiss to Sarah’s forehead and inhaled her sweet scent.

Some of the tension racketing her body eased as she leaned back and fell onto her pillows.

She stared up at a pink ceiling, wondering how the evening might have gone had she only given in to the feelings coursing through her. But Simon had left her, chosen her father’s money without even saying goodbye. She would not be that girl—the girl who threw herself at a man who clearly had an interest in only one thing.

He’d gotten what he wanted, and no matter how real it felt, it was clear she meant nothing to him.

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