Page 47 of Incipient

“At twelve o’clock at night? I’m sure they would’ve called first.”

The doorbell rang again, twice this time.

“Only one way to know for sure.”

I tightened my hold on his arm, my nails digging into his flesh. “I think it’shim. I can…feel him.” I knew I didn’t need to say his name for Trace to know that I was talking about Dominic.

Trace looked down at me, the edges and lines of his face all business. “Don’t leave this room until I come back.”

My eyes swelled as I dug my nails deeper into his bicep. “You’re not answering that door, Trace!” My shrilly voice sounded foreign, like it didn’t belong to me anymore.

“I’m not scared of that leech, Jemma. Besides, he can’t come inside here.”

“I know that…and so does he.”

“So, what’s your point?” he asked, not following my train of thought.

“Well, if he knows he can’t get inside here then what’s he doing here in the first place?” I wondered aloud as my stomach twisted itself into an uncomfortable knot.

“To fuck with your head, obviously,” he said, looking as though he were growing angrier by the second. His gaze drifted back to the hallway as his jaw muscle ticked furiously. “He has some nerve showing up at my house.”

“He has something planned.” I could feel it in my bones.

“Good,” said Trace as he stormed out of the living room. “That makes two of us.”

20. UNINVITED

Trace was at the front door in a matter of seconds. It didn’t matter how quickly I dashed after him or how hard I’d tried to claw at the back of his shirt, there was no stopping his advance. He was a relentless tornado on a set path and there was nothing I could do or say that was going to derail him from his target.

He swung open the front door and I hid in the shadows behind him like a coward, bile rising at the back of my throat as numbness spread through my limbs.

“What the fuck do you want?” roared Trace, his back muscles rigid with tension.

The sound of a tongue clicking in disapproval sent prickles all over my skin. I didn’t even need to see the dark angel’s face to know it was Dominic. I’d know that sound anywhere.

“Is that any way to answer the door, Romeo? Where have your manners gone?”

“I said, what the fuck do you want?” repeated Trace, taking a step toward the threshold as he flattened his palm against the door jamb.

“If you must know, I’m looking for mysweetheart,” answered Dominic, his voice deceptively sweet. “I was told I could find her here.”

A snarl spilled into his voice. “Told by who?”

“Well, now, that’s for me to know, isn’t it?” Dominic snickered darkly but there was nothing humorous or nice about it. “See, we had a date she and I, but she never showed up.”

“That right?” asked Trace, his back muscles flexing through his shirt as he shifted on his feet. “Maybe you should take the hint then?”

“Maybe,” mused Dominic. “Or maybe she’d like to tell me that herself.Angel?What do you say?”

My veins turned to ice as my feet solidified into the foyer tile. He knew I was standing right there, cowering behind the door like a chicken. He knew because our connection went both ways, and while a part of me was screaming that I needed to step forward; to show him I wasn’t afraid of facing him, I couldn’t seem to get my feet to cooperate.

“She’s busy, but I can take a message,” said Trace when I didn’t bother to step forward.

“This isn’t really a message kind of situation. It’s more of a tête-à-tête conversation. Perhaps I’ll just have to catch up with her some other time and place. I’ll be happy to make the arrangements.”

His underhanded threat snapped me out of my frozen stupor.

What the hell was I doing? I was playing right into his hand, that’s what—boldening him like the prey to his predator, feeding his inner demon, which was precisely the thing that wasnotgoing to get him to turn his emotions back on.

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