Page 45 of Winter Unleashed
His lips found their way to my neck as his hand slid into my hair to tilt my head aside. I let my arms drift down his back. “We should go eat,” I said when his stomach growled even louder than mine.
He groaned as he released his hold on me. “We should. Your friend and my sister are here.”
I concentrated on the energies in the house and felt Isaac and Ciara. “Again, he has a name. And I wonder how long they’ve been here.”
“Long enough,” Isaac’s voice called from downstairs. We shifters have exceptional hearing… it’s usually a good thing.
Liam’s lips twitched at my wide-eyed reaction. “They’ve been here since just before your first orgasm.”
“Bastard,” I said, swatting at his arm.
“Would you have preferred I stopped?”
He laughed when I nibbled my lip while I debated with myself. “No.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s go have leftovers and find out why they’re here.”
Isaac and Ciara had recently moved to his house, and it was odd for them to show up this late. We dressed and wandered down to the dining room where they sat with Philip and Stella.
“What brings you here, Stephens?” Liam asked as he settled himself in his chair.
“Uh, hello to you too, brother,” Ciara said with an exaggerated wave.
Liam smiled at her and bowed his head. “Hello, sister. It’s lovely to see you. What brings you here?”
My attention was on Stella and Philip, looking for any signs of trouble. But she was staring up at him like he was the sun and the moon in her world. Which reminded me…
“Um, where’s Bruno?” I asked, glancing around the room as if the giant vampire could hide somewhere.
“He’s gone to my house,” Stella replied. “I explained I couldn’t be with him anymore, but that he didn’t have to go back to Celeste. I, uh, didn’t think he was welcome to stay here.” She glanced at Philip and whatever she saw in his eyes had her licking her lips and crossing her legs.
“All righty then… Ciara, Isaac, what brings you here?” I grinned at Isaac when he sneered at me.
A member of the kitchen staff entered the room with a tray of leftover sandwiches. Liam and I pounced the second she placed it on the table.
“Do you know who this is?” Isaac asked Liam while holding his phone out to him.
Liam ignored him long enough to take a bite of his sandwich, chew it, and swallow. When he looked up at the picture, his shoulders drooped. “Well fuck me sideways.” He looked over to Philip. “It’s Lucifer.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say Lucifer?” I asked, letting my food fall to the plate below. Philip’s reaction was typical for him. He smiled his creepy smile and let out a laugh. Ciara turned white as a ghost.
“His real name is Belial, but we call him Lyle for short,” Liam replied.
“It can’t be him. I didn’t recognize him. How could it be him?” Ciara muttered, almost to herself. It seemed like she didn’t even notice us anymore. Her mouth hung halfway open, and her eyes had glazed over. She was in her own little world.
“Is she okay?” I asked Liam. “Who is Belial? I feel like I’ve heard that name before… Why is Ciara so freaked out?”
He looked at me. “Let me take care of Ciara and then I’ll explain.” He rose from his seat, took his sister by the arm, and pulled her to her feet. “C, walk with me, okay?”
Isaac sprung to his feet and grabbed Liam’s arm. “What’s wrong with her? You can’t just take her away without telling me what’s going on.”
“You’d be wise to release your hold on me.” Liam’s voice was steady but deadly and Isaac dropped his hand. “You are free to come with us.”
Once they were out of the room, I nailed Philip with a look. “Tell me. Now.”
He recrossed his legs, picked at imaginary lint on his shirt, and straightened his place setting. I was just about to launch myself over the table when he finally looked at me. “Lyle is a demon.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I said, slapping my hand on the table. “Demons are real?”