Fallen Venus: 7even Circles (7even Circles Series Book 4) Page 3

  She bit her lip, “I want to, but I have to go and check on a friend of mine in the hospital. He’s supposed to come home tomorrow and I need to be there to help him get settled in.”

  West hesitated for a moment before asking, “Is this guy a close friend?”

  Cass looked up at him in surprise. By the tone of his voice, it sounded like West was jealous. She shook her head. “Father Raphael is my priest and a family friend.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I have enough competition with the other two guys, I don’t know if I can compete against another one.”

  “What?”

  “Come on, Cass, I’m not blind. I see the way the blond from the diner flirts with you.”

  “Michael?” she laughed. “I’m not interested in Michael except as friends.”

  “He wants more.”

  “Well, he can want whatever he wants, but that doesn’t mean I would ever be with him. I have my reasons, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  West didn’t seem happy about that, but he let the Michael thing drop. “What about the other one?”

  “Who?”

  “The biker with the leather jacket.”

  Ari. She looked away. It hurt to think of him and how he had lied to her. “You have nothing to worry about from Ari.”

  “You’re not interested in him?”

  “He’s engaged,” she told him, looking at his handsome face. “You’re the only man in my life that matters.”

  “I’m sorry for being a little jealous. I’ve never had a girlfriend as sweet and sexy as you before and I don’t want to lose you to someone else.”

  She leaned over and cupped the back of his head bringing him toward her. “You won’t lose me.”

  Cass kissed him tentatively at first. She had never initiated a kiss before. Usually, he would kiss her goodnight, and both Michael and Ari had kissed her. The guys in her past always took the lead. This was new to her and she found it exciting.

  West pulled her into his arms as he kissed her back. She felt heat building up between them and traveling to the rest of her body. He was a great kisser and now that they had done it a few times, she was feeling more and more comfortable with it.

  It wasn’t like Michael’s quick and heated kisses. Nor was it like Ari’s soul-stealing ones. With West, it was simple and sweet. There was heat, too, but it built up slowly and didn’t make her feel like she was being taken over. They pulled apart and she could tell that he was aroused. His breathing was rapid and there was a bulge against the front of his pants. The look in his eyes was dark with his desire for her.

  “Come back to my dorm room with me. My roommate is going to be out the rest of the afternoon.”

  Cass blushed. West wanted to take the next step, clearly, but she wasn’t ready yet. It was like her sexual awareness was just coming into being and she had to figure out how to handle it all first. Eventually, though, she would say yes, just not today.

  “Sorry, I’m going to be at the hospital until it’s time to work at the diner.”

  “Right...your friend the priest. So we’ll go dancing tomorrow night?”

  “After I get Father Raphael settled. If there’s someone else to stay with him, then I would like to go dancing with you.”

  He packed up the items from the picnic, stood up, then offered his hand to help her stand. “I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow night.”

  “Good.” She leaned up and kissed him, then waved as he walked away. Sighing, she turned, intending to take her book bag back to her apartment, but froze in place at seeing who was standing there watching her—Ari.

  She didn’t want to show him how hurt she still was so she started to walk past him, but he followed, falling in beside her. She didn’t look at him. “What do you want, Ari?”

  “I went by the church to see if you were having an afternoon practice. Bird boy was there, but wouldn’t talk to me. I didn’t see Father Raphael.”

  “Father Raphael is in the hospital. I found him lying on the floor of the church.”

  “What happened? Who attacked him?”

  “No one attacked him. He had some kind of abdominal mass. They’re treating him right now, and he should be able to come home tomorrow.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about that.”

  She stopped to glare up at him. “Are you? I would think you would love it if Father Raphael or Michael died.”

  “I would never wish for that.”

  “Because it would hurt me?”

  “Yes.”

  She started walking again and they ended up somehow by his motorcycle. She had to admit she missed riding on his bike. She also missed spending time with him. Ari had been her friend for a long time, but lately, she just didn’t think she could trust him.

  “It looks like you and the human are getting close.”

  “Do you really want to talk about my boyfriend? If you do, then I get to ask you questions about your fiancée.”

  “I’ll answer any questions you have.” He leaned casually against this bike, taking off his leather jacket. She couldn’t help but admire how his t-shirt stretched across his chest and arms. Licking her lips, she fought to keep her hands off of him. It just wasn’t fair that he made her hot all over.

  “How long have you been engaged?”

  “Since before I was born. Tara and I had no choice in the matter. Our parents had a lure demon draw up a contract.”

  “That’s outdated thinking.”

  “That’s the way it’s done in the demon circles. It’s also why many demi-demons prefer living on the Earthly plane, so they can make decisions about how they live their lives. That’s why I left and planned never to return. It worked for a few years, but then I was tracked down and reminded about the agreement. My family isn’t wealthy or powerful, and now I have two younger brothers. Life for them is hard in the demon circle. The engagement offers power and financial stability for my entire family. That’s why I haven’t called it off.”

  “Can you call it off?”

  “It would be difficult, but not impossible. So many times since finding you, I have wanted to do exactly that. But then I worry about my brothers. What kind of life would I make them suffer if I don’t do the right thing? I’ve been working to help better their situation so that I could eventually end the engagement.”

  “Oh. So it’s about money?”

  “It’s about trying to do the right thing for my family.”

  “I thought that since she was a succubus, she somehow had you under her sex spell. Are you addicted to her? Aren’t you afraid she might suck you dry?”

  “When we were born, I was giving a small amount of her blood. It makes me immune to her full succubus powers.”

  “I thought succubi and incubi needed sexual energy to stay young and healthy?”

  “Tara gets what she needs from others.”

  She slept around with other men. She refused to feel sorry for Ari. “Are you okay with that?”

  “There’s no love between us. We are simply fulfilling our family’s obligations.”

  “How romantic. What I don’t get is why you would put the moves on me if you had other obligations.”

  Ari reached out, intending to touch her cheek, but she stepped out of his reach. There was hurt in his eyes, but she toughened herself up in preparation for his answer.

  “I had accepted my fate in life and was just biding my time. Then I found you and all my intentions of martyrdom went up in flames. I knew who and what you were, but you had no clue. It left you innocent and vulnerable. I had to protect you. In doing that, watching over you, I fell for you. It was unexpected but undeniable.”

  Oh my God! Ari was telling her that he had fallen in love with her. This was incredible and so out of bounds. She was dating West and Ari was engaged. It could lead nowhere.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged instead of leading me on?”

  “I never meant to hurt you. I wished more than anything that
I was free to be with you.”

  She remembered him saying once that he wanted her but didn’t think he could have her. It hadn’t made any sense at the time, but now she understood. She felt a deep sadness as she faced the fact that she couldn’t have him either.

  “What’s done is done. We belong to others, so all that’s left is being friends.”

  “I’ll take friendship over you never talking to me again.”

  “Friends it is. Just don’t lie to me.” She was scared that letting him back in would only break her heart even more. She had cried so many nights over him. He was her weakness. She had to keep her feelings for him under control.

  He nodded his agreement but wouldn’t meet her eyes. Already he was breaking the rules. That was so Ari. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “No, just wanted to see if you’d considered meeting with your grandfather.”

  “I don’t know. It’s so much to find out he even exists. What do you know about him?”

  “He’s not always an easy man to get along with, but a good businessman.”

  “Do you think I would benefit from spending time with him?”

  “I think you’ll get to know more about yourself and your past if you spent time with him. I would warn you, though, to never trust anyone at face value. He’s going to want you to travel to the circle he’s from.”

  “Do you think I should?”

  “No, you’re not ready to go there yet. If you spend time with him, keep it on the Earthly plane.”

  “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Will you be working at the diner tonight?”

  “Yep, I’ll be there.”

  “Maybe I’ll see later.”

  She frowned. “Don’t crowd me, Ari. It’s going to take time for our friendship to get back to what it once was.”

  “I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

  “It could be a while.”

  “You’re worth the wait.”

  She left him there despite his offer to drive her home. She needed the exercise, plus she wanted to get a run in. It always cleared her mind and Ari had certainly given her a lot that needed to be processed.

  Chapter 5

  Later the evening at the diner

  Cass arrived a few minutes early for her shift at the diner. She wanted to switch shifts tomorrow so that she could be off to help take Father Raphael home. Leeza was already clocked in, since she was doing a swing shift. The place was packed tonight with lots of customers. She wasn’t sure if it was because of Michael’s presence or maybe both she and Michael, with their super pheromones, were drawing people in. Whatever the reason was, she felt demi-demons mixed in the crowd, too.

  Leeza walked over to her. “Cass, how’s Father Raphael?”

  Cass had called Leeza earlier that morning after speaking with the physician and told her what happened. “He’s doing better but is still groggy. They said that they plan to release him tomorrow morning. I plan to go and stay with him.”

  “I have a morning and afternoon class, but I’m not working in the evening. I could stay overnight to watch over him.”

  “That would be really helpful. I was going to ask to trade shifts so I could be off all day tomorrow.”

  “Already covered. Michael told us when he came in for his shift earlier. Jerry went ahead and put the new girl in for you tomorrow and said that if you need to be off longer to help Father Raphael, he could accommodate.”

  “I really appreciate that,” she said. Cass was grateful for Jerry being so understanding, but it seemed like lately, she was needed less and less at the diner.

  “Hey, are you okay? You look sad.” Leeza put a comforting hand on her arm.

  “I guess I’m just stressed. Finding Father Raphael like that made me realize that holding on to the anger over having others try to control me was pointless.”

  Leeza hugged her. “I get it. You understand that there are more important things than your anger.”

  “Yeah, guess that’s why you forgave me for keeping things from you, huh?”

  “I forgave you because you’re my friend and I love you.”

  She hugged Leeza back, feeling emotional all of a sudden. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “I don’t know why I’m so…”

  “Sappy? It happens when someone you care about is hurt.”

  “I don’t get it. I was fine all day, went to class, had a picnic with West. Then all of a sudden the emotions came over me.”

  “It happens that way. You pushed down your emotions to get through the situation and now those emotions need an outlet.”

  Cass reached for her waitress apron and adjusted her ponytail. She needed to get herself under control. “Well, I don’t like feeling like this. I’m glad to be working tonight.”

  “So how did your picnic go?”

  Cass smiled wide. “It was wonderful. West brought food from that new southern-style restaurant that we’ve been wanting to go to.”

  “Really? How was the food?”

  “Amazing. We’re definitely going to have to go there.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “Are you two going to chat all night or work?” Jerry peered into the back room to yell at them.

  They laughed as they walked out, “Keep your pantyhose on, Jerry, we’re on our way.”

  Cass went to her first table of the night and took their order. It felt good to lose herself in work. This was safe for her. She smiled at one of her regulars and fetched coffee. She really enjoyed waiting on people.

  There were a few occasional assholes that came through the diner, but most were decent people. Some were young, just starting out in life, but there were also families and older people whose children rarely visited. She always listened to their conversations, getting glimpses of their lives. So many sad stories, happy stories, and others that were downright tragic. She couldn’t fix their issues, but she could smile and give them a moment where they could just feel human. It wasn’t saving the world stuff, but it made her feel like she could make things a little nicer somehow. This had been her world, and it still was. Only now, she fought demons and actually saved the world, too.

  “Order up!” Jerry yelled from the kitchen window.

  Cass went to pick up the food to take to her customers. Everything was going as usual. It was busy, but nothing that she and Leeza couldn’t handle. The bell over the door rang. Leeza was busy with her own customers at the moment, so Cass would take the next customer.

  She had her back to the door but called out to the new diners, “Take a seat, I’ll be right with you!”

  Cass grabbed her pencil and notepad and walked over to the table. “What can I get you?” When she stopped at the table edge and looked at the customers, she froze in place. Oh shit!

  “Hello, we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Tara Kenton, Ari’s fiancée,” the brunette said, looking at Cass like she was a child. The power coming off of her was less strong than Cass had expected, so she must not be a full succubus. She could tell the other two women were also demi-demons, and they were looking Cass up and down judgingly, clearly finding her seriously lacking. Cass wasn’t going to let them get to her.

  “Nice to meet you. What can I get you and your friends?”

  Tara picked up her menu, tapping the edge with her freshly manicured red fingernails. Cass looked down at her own nails that she had painted herself and couldn’t help but notice there was already a chip in the polish on her right index finger that she had gotten from practice with Michael earlier. She looked back up at Tara, with her dark hair and dark eyes. She was tall and slim with a face and body meant for the runway. Cass could feel herself growing increasingly insecure about her own looks, which was probably the entire reason Tara and her friends were there, to intimidate her. Well, she wasn’t going to let them get away with that. She pulled her shoulders back and stared them down.

  Tara ignored her, remaining focused on the menu. “What’s good here?”

&nb
sp; “Everything is good. It’s all cooked fresh and Jerry is one of the best cooks around.”

  The blond beside Tara raised an eyebrow. “Really? Is the food better than what’s served at Chartreuse? They’re a five-star restaurant. How many stars does this place have?”

  Cass didn’t like these girls one bit and it had nothing to do with them being demi-demons or even that Tara was Ari’s fiancée. She didn’t like their superior attitude and she took serious offense to anyone belittling her friends.

  “I’ve never eaten at that restaurant, so I can’t compare Jerry’s food to anywhere else. If we don’t have what you like, I suggest going somewhere else.”

  Leeza walked by, but stopped at that palpable tension coming from the group. “Is anything wrong?”

  “Yes, this waitress has insulted us,” Tara’s brown haired friend said snidely.

  What the hell? She had done no such thing, but she was about to do a lot worse than insult them. She slapped her pad down on the table angrily, about to beat some demi-demon ass. Leeza put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Who are you?” Leeza demanded.

  Tara tossed her long dark hair over her slender shoulder looking delicate and fragile. “I’m Tara Kenton, of the New York Kentons.”

  Cass added, “Ari’s fiancée.”

  Leeza’s eyes narrowed and there was a sudden coldness in her voice. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve known Ari a few years and he never mentions you at all. Why’s that?”

  Tara shrugged with elegant carelessness. “We’re still working out the details, but our engagement is long-standing.”

  Leeza pulled Cass a few feet away and whispered, “Take my table. I’ve already handed in their order, just take the food to them when it’s ready. I’ll handle this table.”

  “You don’t have to…”

  “Yes, I do. Jerry can’t afford any more repairs for the diner right now and you look like you are about to break some skinny bitch bones. I don’t blame you one bit, but now is not the time.”

  Cass knew she was right. She didn’t want to cause problems for Jerry and these girls looked like they could cause real problems for her friend. She nodded her agreement and walked away. She could feel them watching her, but she did her best to ignore them.