Goddess, Inflamed

PUBLISHED BY:

Cate Masters on Smashwords

Goddess, Inflamed

Copyright © 2014 by Cate Masters

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Thank you for buying my book!

I hope you’ll love my characters as much as I do.

You can find more books by Cate Masters at

http://catemasters.blogspot.com

or select online book retailers.

For Gary, always.

Chapter One

Spotlighted on the stage, Lily MacInnis moved like a woman possessed by the music. Rather than losing herself in dance as she usually did, she remained keenly self-consciousness, startled by the darkness edging the corners of the club. It seemed to come alive and swirl among the men who crowded around the stage like a pack of wild animals taking refuge in the shadows. The intensity of their stares was palpable. They watched her with the same hunger as a pack of wolves, a fire in their eyes that she felt rather than saw.

All but one. Him, she saw clearly. Standing at the rear of the room, separate from the others. A glow cast across him that caused his features to stand out in relief. Not the pale yellow from the exit’s safety light, but a warm blue surrounded him. Head held high, he gave the appearance of royalty, of power—even over the darkness, which ebbed from him.

Lily sensed his weakness. Like every other male in the club, the same fire burned in his eyes. After each spin, her gaze returned to him. She danced as if for him alone, daring his fire to burn them both, and teased the flame of desire just enough to keep it bright. When she wrapped herself around the pole like it was a lover, she imagined him there. The smolder circulating through the room burst into a four-alarm flame inside her.

Nothing like this had ever happened to her before. When she trailed her fingertips down the pole, it was his back she touched. His ass she cupped as she grazed herself across the metal. His whisper in her ear, urging her in an ancient tongue she didn’t understand but somehow seemed familiar. She danced at his command, and crossed over that thin line that she’d promised herself she never would cross—beyond dancing, to seduction.

To target her desire at only one man was a dangerous game. If any of the others were to reach for her, the bouncers at Polaris would take him down with the precision and speed of a missile.

A twist around the pole, and her gaze went to where he stood, the blue glow reflecting in his eyes like a hot flame. Tension showed in the set of his jaw, the flex of his biceps, all predator ready to pounce.

Another spin, and the spot was empty. With a gasp, she froze, wide eyes scanning the dark forms just beyond the frame of light in which she moved.

The darkness changed again. His disappearance had left a tangible void, like an invisible door had opened. When he left, the light left with him, allowing shadowy figures to slip through. Danger now hung in the air. A silly notion, but one she couldn’t shake.

Tonight was no different than any other night with one exception—today, Lily turned twenty-one. Minutes before she was due on stage, Bryn had carried a chocolate cupcake into the dressing room, and she and Keb had sung their birthday wishes. The single candle had lit Bryn’s face in an eerie way, and Lily glimpsed deep within her friend. The flame illuminated Bryn’s very soul, revealing in turns, her bitter tears, the joy and desperation in her dancing, a driving need to be loved that pushed her to the edge of reason.

What Lily saw in Keb’s smile frightened her a little. He’d never given her a reason to distrust him, but sometimes, desires have a way of making themselves known, and the usual twinkle in his eyes had a sharp spark that revealed the heat running in his blood.

Maybe these things had always been there and she’d just never noticed. Because if anything, the real difference was in herself. A new awareness of the world. Someone was watching her with more than the usual interest. Though she couldn’t see him—he might not even be in the club at that moment—she nonetheless knew because his gaze prickled over her skin and his hushed voice called to her in unintelligible words.

Something else waited for her beyond this place that these ordinary, flimsy walls could do nothing to shield her from, something unnamable for the sheer fact that her vocabulary had no description for it, her mind couldn’t yet comprehend it. And while that frightened her, too, the allure of the unknown was nearly irresistible.

Lily understood the darkness. She knew how some people absorbed the slimy underbelly of it, the insidious part that seeped beneath their skin, how it twined deep into their souls and choked the last bits of light from them. Every day, she saw evidence of how it could overshadow the person within.

The darkness called to her, too, in all its splendor and romance and evil. Mostly she loved the way it showcased the light. At sundown, when colors flared at the horizon in a last illuminated goodnight and the inky black edged out the pale blue dome of sky and put brilliant stars on display, the spectacle bedazzled her. Light was never so dazzling as when it was set in velvety black. Then it had the power to captivate her. Some wildness buried deep inside bubbled up, and excitement shivered through her veins with a whispered urgency.

No one could resist that sort of temptation. The best Lily could do was control the overpowering urge the only way she knew how—by letting it flow, and releasing the wildness in the sway of her hips, the ripple of her arms over her head, her steps keeping time with the rhythm pulsing through the air. Like music, the night freed her soul and sent it flying. She was never so alive as when she danced. Some might look down their noses at her chosen occupation, but for the past three years, pole dancing at Polaris provided more than a steady paycheck.

The pulsing beat of the song ended abruptly. For a moment, she hung frozen in the blazing circle of the spotlight, bent backward as she clung to the pole. The light winked out, leaving the room in a palpable darkness that breathed hot across her face, her chest. A raspy whisper flooded the air, repeating Lily like an echo from an endless cavern that reached inside her, gripped her. She pulled herself up and hurried behind the curtain toward the light, however weak the lighting cast by the hallway wall sconces.

She threw open the door to the dressing room, glad for the harsh brightness of the bulbs around the mirror. Sinking onto the chair, she stared at her image. In her own eyes, what she saw reflected back at her startled her. The girl in the mirror appeared two-dimensional, with multiple, descending images layered one upon the other like a corridor begging for her to enter, to fill the emptiness of herself so that all those layers would come together into one whole, a woman composed. At twenty-one, she hardly knew who she was, but whatever waited for her would force her to find out.

Hey sweetness. Keb leaned in the doorway, the chiseled bulk of his torso a barrier against her earlier fears. You okay?

Her laugh strangled her breath. Yeah. Thanks.

Bryn appeared at his side, placed her hand against his rock-hard abs and leaned into him.

He kissed Bryn’s cheek. Need anything? he asked Lily.

She turned and smiled, aware of the angle of her long leg and the fierce spark in her own eye. That birthday drink you guys promised.

Bryn’s smile held some of the same fierceness, a power she rarely displayed except onstage, when she commanded the attention of every male in the room. What are we waiting for? Let’s get the hell out of here.

Lily rose as if buoyed by a blossoming sense of certainty. Give me two seconds to change.

Tonight, of all nights, she would have to keep her head. That is, if she wanted to safeguard the rest of herself.

Within minutes, the three of them strode down the street arm in arm like they followed the Yellow Brick Road. In search of what, Lily couldn’t say. She had a feeling it would find her without having to look.

The cool night air hit her face like a smack, a much-needed refresher after the stale smoke and crowded atmosphere of Polaris.

Beyond the sidewalk, figures moved within the shadows, shades of black on black. Lily barely lent the activity a glance, the mystique lost to her long ago. Where to first?

Bryn and Keb quibbled over the decision, but Keb’s suggestion won out. He verbally laid out a succession of bars, mapping their path to each.

Sounds like a plan. Lily had no wish to go home. Much as she loved her tiny loft, she couldn’t be contained. Not tonight. She still felt like she might bust out of her skin. Dancing wouldn’t cure her restlessness, but might ease it.

She hadn’t counted on men acting so aggressive. The band at the first bar was already into its second set when they arrived. Keb handed mojitos to Bryn and Lily. After a few sips, Lily let the music slide through her. A twenty-something guy grabbed her hand and tugged her to the dance floor. Another guy wanted to cut in, then another. The dance floor turned into a mosh pit, but the jumble of arms and legs had nothing to do with the band and everything to do with her.

Keb guided her and Bryn to the door. Let’s find someplace less crazy.

Dammit. She liked the gritty sound of the band, especially the lead singer’s voice, but the drama ruined her night.

From one bar to the next, she had the sense of a thing missing, an important thing she needed to find. So she dragged her friends to the next place.

Bryn nudged her. You’re on a mission. Whew, when you bar hop, you don’t fool around, do you?

Lily faked a grin. Gotta spread the birthday love around. Not to mention whatever prodded her to keep moving.

Bryn stumbled, her pink-tinged spiky blonde hair bobbing as her grasp on Keb’s waist slid lower. When he caught her, she lifted her head to meet his kiss. How far’s the next club?

Keb slung a lazy arm around Lily’s shoulder, overdeveloped biceps thick around her neck. Three blocks. Pitched higher than most men’s, his voice contrasted his dark brown skin tone, leading others to think him less of a threat. Lily knew better.

Thanks to the rounds of drinks her friends bought, her head swam. She’d pay with a nasty hangover tomorrow. The effects already hit her—the shadow figures appeared busier than usual, and flocked on both sides of Lily no matter where they went. Definitely threw into question her theory that these were scenes from the past replaying endlessly by spirits who couldn’t or wouldn’t cross over. Ignoring them seemed the best option.

Until one silhouette pulled away from the wall and stood in their path, thick as the darkness inside a cave and shaped in the silhouette of a man taller than Keb, less bulky, but well built.

Whoa, that’s new. Probably an aftereffect of mojitos. Lily shook it off, and made a mental note to steer clear of the potent drink.

Bryn came to a wobbly halt and peered up. Who the hell are you? Her grip tightened, forcing Lily to an abrupt stop.

She sees him? Icy prickles ran across Lily’s nape. She gave the figure her full attention.

Dark brown hair fell above the collar of his black knit shirt, which his broad shoulders and chest filled out, long legs in jeans cinched by a black leather belt at his narrow waist. Soulful dark eyes appeared below quirked brows. Eyes she recognized from earlier tonight in the club, their fire singeing her veins.

We dumped all our cash at the bar. Keb eased in front of them. Be on your way.

He’s not a mugger. The words slipped out. Lily pressed her lips together. Apparently they’d missed his grand little entrance from the dark side. No one of his kind would cross over for a simple mugging.

No, the guy said, his low voice like a wind across the desert. I’m not. His sly smile suggested they shared a secret.

Keb stepped back, his outstretched arms forcing Lily and Bryn further away.

Then what do you want? Bryn’s hiccup stole any threat she attempted to make.

The guy fixed a bemused stare at Lily. I want to wish you a happy birthday, dearest Lily. He held out a single lily. Pure white lent it a glow in the dimness.

Her breath returned, ragged. Then she did what she always did in bad situations, and made her face a mask of apathy. A harder task in this case, which spurred confusion tinged with spine-tingly wariness.

Thanks. But no thanks. Whew. Her voice hadn’t wavered one bit.

Accepting even tiny trinkets gave guys too much encouragement. Handsome as he was, she had no room in her life for psychos from anywhere along the reality spectrum.

The slightest twitch of his eyes indicated displeasure, maybe surprise, and he suddenly gave off a dangerous vibe.

Oh shit. Instinct braced her muscles, and she readied to charge ahead of Keb and Bryn if he took one step.

His smile returned. He tilted his head and clucked his tongue. Lily.

One word. Her name.

More powerful than a physical assault. He’d lowered her defenses with a single utterance that wound through her head, breaking down her defenses. When he spoke her name, it was as if he’d reached inside her, touched something deep, his voice resounding through her like the cathedral bells of Notre Dame.

Lily.

He’d placed the word in her mind; she couldn’t explain it, only knew with certainty that she’d heard his voice distinct and clear as if he’d spoken aloud.

Irritation bubbled up. How dare he use her first name like an old friend? Who the hell was he anyway?

We have to go. She grabbed Bryn’s arm, to rouse her from her stupor as much as move her forward.

I understand. The guy ducked his head and stepped aside soundlessly.

Way too easy. A glance at Keb told her he had the same suspicion. Keb gestured Bryn ahead and strode forward, wide hand at the small of Lily’s back, a barrier between her and the stranger.

All her senses switched to high alert. Tough as he was, Keb wasn’t equipped to deal with this guy. Neither was Lily, but at least she had a better idea of what he was.

In passing, she fought the compulsion to look. She lost.

Head bowed, amusement lit his eyes as he held her stare like they were playing a kid’s game of chicken. Irritation slowed her pace. She couldn’t look away. She wanted to slap that quirked brow, knock the mocking look from him. Then wrap herself around him like she’d imagined earlier, do things to him she’d never done with any man.

They passed him without incident, easing her worry. She glanced back. Electricity shocked her again when she saw him still watching.

Lily? he called in a casual tone, as if he’d done it a million times before.

Something about his voice, his head raised in defiance, ground her to a halt.

You’re not my type. Get lost, will you? True, he had a mystique that appealed to her deepest senses, too close to the bad boy types she had such trouble breaking away from. The kind that spelled trouble and regret. The kind that infested her workplace.

To every soul is given the key to the gates of heaven, the guy said, twirling the lily like a kaleidoscope. The same key opens the gates of hell.

The saying she remembered from her childhood. Who used to say it? Not her adopted mother, Jean; she was certain of that much. Where did you hear that?

And why did his words hang in the air like an accusation? Or did he mean it as a warning? They wormed inside her head, reawakening long closed-off doors of her mind.

He startled when his cell lit up—not a dim glow limited to the display, but the entire phone. Nothing like she’d seen before. And no ring tone, just the brilliant light. He checked it, then scowled and dropped it back into his pocket. A wan smile, and he slipped the white flower behind his ear. If you need help, call and I’ll come. He strolled away.

You didn’t give me your number. Confusion diluted her sarcasm.

He stopped only long enough to say, Just call Bodie. I’ll be there.

Bodie? Her brain raced to find some trace of recollection. He is from the club, right? Of course he was the same man who stood at the back of the club tonight. The question meant nothing, except maybe a means to reassure herself.

Doesn’t look like any guy I remember, Bryn slurred. And I’d have remembered him. He’s hot.

Too many assholes a day to remember just one. Keb’s arm went around her waist, and he drew Bryn close to his other side. Let’s get out of here.

Yeah. Bryn leaned into Keb.

Okay. Lily let him lead them in the opposite direction down the street, and looked over her shoulder.

From the same place he’d emerged, the stranger melted into the shadows. Bright as if illuminated within a spotlight, the lily hung suspended in the air, then as if a curtain had fallen, was cloaked in darkness.

Lily’s shudder dug into her bones. You’re right, Bryn. We need to hit the next dance club. And stay there all night, so her imagination didn’t freak her out every time a car’s headlight moved shadows across the walls of her loft. Home was the one place the shadow people didn’t follow.

Maybe it was time for a new occupation. A nice, nine-to-five job with benefits and people who pretended respectable fronts, even if they snuck away from sleeping spouses to visit Polaris. The mere thought made her cringe with boredom. Too bad the ambition to be normal didn’t dog her the same way as bad luck.

I’m used to fighting the odds. She had plans. They’d win out over bad luck or any other barrier thrown in her path.

****

Fists clenched, Bodie strode through the darkness with one goal: to get out of this damned corridor. These nether regions always left him with a nasty aftertaste.

Shadowy shapes flitted past him, the swarm giving him a wide berth. One bold darkling loomed in his face, hissing, its teeth sharper because they were broken. Within a flash of blue, Bodie had drawn his sword, slit the cursed thing’s throat and had his weapon sheathed again, not even slowing his pace. He did, however, cast a keen eye around him to be