"I wish I could help." But only time could heal what had been broken inside him. All she could do was be there when he needed strength and friendship.
What are you thinking?
She needed to keep her distance from him. Yet it was so hard when all she wanted was to strip her clothes off, slide into bed beside him, and pull his body deep inside hers.
There was something so infectious about him.
What if he's my mate?
Surely the Fates wouldn't be that cruel.
Oh, what was she thinking? Of course they would. They'd conspired to have men eat their own children. Mothers kill their babies. There was no one more treacherous than the Moirai.
Her heart heavy, she ran one finger over his grizzled cheek. She loved how he felt. How he looked.
Most of all, she loved his sarcastic, bitter humor.
Letting out a tired breath, she leaned back against the wall. "What's going to become of us?"
Eli looked up as Cosette entered his study. The light-skinned Creole woman was as beautiful as her ancestor, Marie Laveau, one of the most notorious voodoo priestesses in the world. A mere slip of a woman, she wore a white flowing skirt and pale blue peasant top that fell off one shoulder. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face by a red scarf so that the tight curls fell out of control to her shoulders.
But it was her green almond-shaped eyes that were haunting. She reminded him of an untamed cat and swished across the floor with a seductive gait that would draw the notice of any straight man who saw her. That gait also caused unseen bells to chime with every move she made.
Damn, she was gorgeous.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, shutting the planner he'd been making notes in.
"We have a problem, cher."
"And that is?"
"My demon is dead."
Eli didn't move for three heartbeats as those words sank in. "What do you mean?"
"My spirits have told me that a loup-garou slew him as he went for the whore I'd sent him to kill. It is hard for me to frame your enemies while my servants are slaughtered before they can carry out their assignment. I just thought you should know."
Eli folded his hands with a calmness he certainly didn't feel. The demon was supposed to have killed a student and then leave evidence to implicate Kyle Peltier for the murder. The alley of the attack had been carefully chosen since it was a block away from a club the young bear was renovating.
"I'm not happy, Cosette."
"Do I look to be celebrating?" She pinned him with a glower that would make a lesser man fear for his soul.
"Can you not summon another demon?"
She made a sound of deep aggravation. "Summoning one of his strength is not an easy thing to do. I was in bed for three days afterward."
"The details don't really concern me."
"Well, they should."
"And why is that?"
One corner of her mouth lifted into a mocking smile. "The universe is one of careful balance. What you send out always finds a way to return. This loup-garou is a hunter, a chaser for another. My spirits have told me to leave him be."
He scoffed at her superstitious bullshit. "You should be careful, ma petite. There are things far scarier in this universe than your hunter."
"I know this to be true. But . . . there is something evil brewing here in this city. A convergence of spirits. It concerns me."