Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (2 page)

Barry
went over to where she sat and knelt in front of her. He gave her one of his
patented smiles and covered her shaking hands with his own. “It’s okay,” he
whispered. “You had to take care of yourself. No one got hurt, so no harm,
no
foul.”

Sloane’s
words made complete sense now. “You are a slut,” she said lowly. When his face
fell, she shook her head and moved away from him. “I have to have sex in order
to survive. I would have been fine at the club. But no. You had to come to my
rescue. You had to bring me home and turn yourself into my source. That was all
you.”

Brown
eyes darkened as he sat fully on the floor. “So you’re saying that you would
rather have a quickie in a men’s room than coming back to my apartment?”

Her
eyes filled with tears. “Yes,” she answered. When his head hung low, she went
to the door and grabbed the handle. “I didn’t want you. I never would have
slept with you. You were the one that took advantage.”

“I
didn’t mean for you to feel like that,” Barry said quickly. He jumped up to his
feet and went after her. “Lily, last night wasn’t like that.” Just as his
fingers brushed her arm, her hand connected with his face. He froze as he
finally looked into her eyes. The pain that he saw there made him want to hit
himself. “Lily,” he whispered.

Tears
started to fall. “Sloane was right. I have to sleep with people in order to
survive. You just do it because you can.” When he reached for her again she
pushed him away. “If you touch me again, I’ll make it so that you’ll only be
able to get off with a cactus,” she said before pulling the door open and
quickly leaving.

Barry
slammed his hand against the door before walking over to the phone. He hadn’t
meant to hurt her. With everything that had happened to Eric, Barry thought
that he could be a shoulder for her to cry on. Lily’s being a Succubus had
nothing to do with it. He could only blame his own stupidity for her anger.
Barry dialed the front desk and rubbed his eyes. “There’s a woman coming down
from my apartment.”

“Yes,
Sir, she’s exiting the elevator right now,” the front desk clerk replied. Her
breath caught for a moment. “Would you like for me to have a car take her
home?”

Barry
smiled at his building’s efficiency. The young woman behind the front desk
always had a good eye. “Please. Thank you, April.”

“Any time, Barry.”

When
he hung up the phone, he looked around his living room. There was no question
that his family was going to be pissed with him. What he hadn’t counted on was
Lily’s anger. She was genuinely hurt by his actions and that made him feel even
worse than he thought possible. As he turned to return to his bedroom, he saw
Lily’s forgotten bra on the floor. His eyes softened at the black satin fabric.
She had been everything that he had thought she would be, and now she was gone
out of his life.

The
ringing of his phone caught his attention. Barry quickly picked up the
receiver. “Hello.”

“You
couldn’t keep it in your pants, could you?” a familiar voice accused.

Barry
rubbed his eyes as he moved to his sofa. “Good morning to you too, Sloane,” he
sighed. The last thing he wanted was to deal with his brother’s husband.
Especially when Eric was still in a coma.
“I take it Lily
called you.”

“She
wanted to make sure I was here to let her in. She lost her keys thanks to you.”

Barry
knew exactly where her keys were. Everything was still in the front seat of his
car. “I’ll bring them by your place later. I have her purse too.”

“You
can leave them all at my office. Lily doesn’t want to be near you, and I sure
as hell want you to stay away from her.” Barry heard something slam on the
other side of the phone and jumped. It was rare for Sloane to get angry with
anyone. “Was it too much to ask to stay away from one person? You know Eric
thought of her like a little sister. Now you do this.”

“I’m
not going to defend myself to you,” Barry said hotly. Hearing accusations from
Lily was one thing, but being raked over the coals by Sloane was something else
altogether. “Lily and I were both consenting adults.”

Sloane
snorted. “Lily is a Succubus that needed to feed. You saw someone you wanted
and took the first chance you had to have her. What you did was nothing short
of slipping her a
ruffie
and taking her home.”

Barry
jumped to his feet. “Are you saying that I raped her?” he asked incredulously.

“You’re
a cop. You do the investigation,” Sloane countered before hanging up the phone.

Barry
threw the phone across the room. He knew he had done the right thing. If his
family didn’t want to see that, fine. What happened between him and Lily had
nothing to do with them. If she never forgave him, he would have to find a way
to deal with it.

As
for his family, they would just have to get over it.

Lily
smiled as she and Sloane walked into the ballroom of the Solomon Estate. The
previous times she had been here, the walls were a comforting champagne color
that accented the cherry wood floor. Now it was covered in festive fabrics and
balloons. Streamers and banners were spread across the room while a number of
children played in various costumes. “Lacey went all out, didn’t she?” Lily
asked as she adjusted her hold on the gift bag in her hand.

Sloane
chuckled. “She wanted a
cosplay
party, Dylan and
Crispin gave her one,” he said with a shrug. His own costume was a bright red
suit of samurai armor. He also made a breastplate with matching arm, leg, and
hip guards for Lily. “It also helped that they’re also anime freaks and jumped
on the idea.”

A
soft laugh escaped Lily. Dylan and Crispin always made sure Lacey didn’t want
for anything. So when the young girl asked for a costume birthday party, they
allowed it. It also helped that Lacey practiced her magical skills by making
most of the costumes. “And you conveniently had two sets of armor lying around
for no reason?” she teased.

The
metal worker had the decency to blush. “I went to a few conventions with Dylan
and Madison. These were my best work, so I kept them.”

“Aunt
Lily! Uncle Sloane!” Lacey chimed. She wore a pink and white dress that was
covered in frills and lace. Long grey hair fell over one eye and a matching
miniature top hat sat perched on her head. She ran over to them followed by a
group of girls in dresses almost identical to hers.

Lily
could only be amazed at the detail of each dress. Lacey truly had a talent for
fashion design. It was almost frightening. A smile crossed her face when the
seven year old caught her in a hug. “Happy birthday, Sweetheart,” Lily said
returning her embrace.

Lacey
smiled brightly as she turned and hugged Sloane. “Happy birthday, Princess,”
Sloane echoed. When she pulled away, he winked at her. “The room looks divine,”
he gushed. “You have to tell me how you did it.”

“Mommy
handled it,” Lacey giggled. She then turned to her group of friends. “This is
my uncle Sloane and
aunt
Lily. They’re dressed as Ryo
of the Wildfire and Lady
Kayura
from the anime
Ronin
Warriors.”

Lily
glanced at Sloane. He barely contained his laughter as the child went on with
her little lesson on the anime that inspired their costumes. It seemed that the
little princess enjoyed the opportunity to educate her friends. Lily tilted her
head to the side. “Who are you and your friends supposed to be, Sweetheart?”

Lacey
spun around in her dress to reveal petticoats and black-heeled boots. “I’m Ciel
Phantomhive
when he had to dress in drag. It’s from
the anime Black Butler. Tony is around here somewhere dressed as Sebastian. And
since a lot of my friends don’t know about anime, they’re just dressed in
Lolita style.”

Lily
nodded as she looked at the different people in the room. “Can I assume the
ones not in costume are their parents?”

One
of the little girls smiled. “Since they didn’t want to dress up, we’re calling
them
Muggles
.”

Sloane
snorted before he could stop himself. He then looked around the room and saw
Dylan and Crispin over by what looked like a photography backdrop. “Well, you
girls have fun. I’m going to see what the rest of the family is up to.”

Green
eyes spied Madison sitting at a table with Leigh. Lily left the group and made
her way to the table. “Do you think I would disappoint Lacey if I said I was
overwhelmed?” she asked as she sat.

Madison
laughed as she rubbed her pregnant stomach. “I think she’d be disappointed if
you weren’t. That girl loves being over the top.” Madison shook her head when
the little girl in question took her flock of friends out into the gardens.
“She’s her mother’s daughter that way.”

Leigh
chuckled when she saw a few parents talking quietly with Victor, Casper and
Troy. It was like the trio had been cornered. “The pictures from this are going
to be hysterical. I know it.”

Lily
looked around the room again. It warmed her heart to see how close Eric’s
family was. Growing up, she only had Cord and then Mathias. Now with both of
them gone, she expected to feel lost and adrift. But Sloane needed company with
Eric still in a coma, and Madison practically bullied her way into a friendship
with her. It was almost as if Lily had become an unofficial member of the
family.

“Hello
ladies,” a voice greeted from behind.

Madison
arched an eyebrow at the man standing behind Lily. “Out of all of the costumes
you could have found, you chose Cloud?” she asked.

Lily
turned and pressed her lips together when she saw Barry dressed in a dark blue
uniform and a blonde spiky wig. “Hi, Barry,” she said as Madison stood and
inspected his outfit.

Barry
looked at her with wide eyes. While he caught glimpses of her for the past
seven months, Lily hadn’t spoken to him since that morning. “Hi.” A small smirk
crossed his face. “You look amazing,” he complimented.

Madison
smirked as she touched his hair. “At least it’s not Styrofoam,” she said before
looking into his eyes. “She made you wear contacts too?” Madison laughed as she
went back to her chair.

Barry
shrugged and went to sit next to his sister. “Better to be a black man with
blonde hair and blue contacts than a pregnant school girl, Madi,” he joked.
When she rolled her eyes, he laughed. “How did Lacey get you, Casper and Troy
to dress alike?”

“It
wasn’t easy,” Madison chuckled. She then looked around. “Do you realize how
hard it is to get a Werewolf to dress like a Vampire?”

Lily
laughed. “I don’t know if I would want to be a fly on the wall or run away
blind.” Her laughter died when she noticed Barry watching her. “What?”

He
shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh,” he told her.

Madison’s
eyes rolled again. “Barry, please. No sap or I will be sick. If you want to
grovel at her feet, please wait till tomorrow.”

A
heavy blush crossed Lily’s face as Barry frowned at his sister. “Don’t you have
any tact?” he asked. When Madison simply shrugged, he stood. “Just for that, I
hope your kids give you hell.”

Leigh
laughed. When Barry looked at her, she smiled. “The boys already worship her,
so you’ll have to wait and see if little Aurora takes after her mommy.”

Barry
shook his head and sighed. There would never be any winning with Madison. And
that was before she seemed to team up with the female werewolf. He turned his
attention to Lily and held out his hand. “Can we talk?”

Shrewd
green eyes looked at his hand, then up into his fake blue eyes. Lily stood
without taking his hand. “I’ll give you five minutes,” she said before turning
and walking to the outside patio.

Madison
grabbed Barry’s hand before he could follow her. “Don’t be an ass B,” she
warned. “We like Lily more than we like you.”

Barry
leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Funny, Jimmy and I feel the same with you
and Troy,” he teased before leaving. Barry could only take a shaky breath as he
went after Lily. He caught glimpses of her around the DA’s office while he
worked. After a conversation with his former partner, Barry figured he would
have to track Lily down and have a long talk with her.

When
he stepped onto the patio, Barry saw Lily gazing out across the flower garden.
Something in him softened as he watched her. The puzzle that was Lilavanti
Dallas always brought him peace while it also drove him crazy. If he didn’t
know any better, he would’ve said that it was love.
Or at
least a minor obsession.

It
was a good thing he told himself he knew better.

“What
did you want to talk about?” Lily asked softly. She turned to him and folded
her arms in challenge.

A
slow breath left Barry as he gathered the courage to say what he should have
said all of those months ago. “I’m sorry.”

Lily’s
amusement left her. A frown crossed her face as she leaned against the railing.
“I said, what
did you want
to talk about?” she
repeated.

Barry
stepped closer to her. “I should have said it to you months ago. I could come
up with dozens of excuses, but each one would also be bullshit. I shouldn’t
have interfered. You’re an adult and you know how to take care of yourself.”

Lily
blinked rapidly to hold back her tears. “Why do you even care?” she asked. “It
was months ago.”

“Because
I’m a bastard,” he said honestly. When she looked at him, he shrugged. “I think
there’s something between us that needs to be examined. We can’t do that with
that night hanging between the two of us.” He touched the sides of her face and
caught the tears that spilled from her eyes. “And while I know you don’t want
to date any of Eric’s family, I’m selfish enough to want to take that risk.”

She
placed her hand on his chest to stop him from leaning closer. “I’m not.” Lily
backed away from him and tried to slow her rapid heart. “I ruined a family
once. I refuse to do that again.”

Barry
smirked. “I hope you realize that I have a strange family. If things go south
between us, they’ll all just blame me for screwing it up.” He chuckled when she
started to smile. “As a matter of fact, Dylan and Lacey made me dress up like
this just to see you.”

“Stop,”
Lily pleaded. She moved to the railing and tried to get her hormones under
control. When she turned to look at him again, the longing in his eyes turned
her inside out. “I don’t need you to be charming.”

“You
don’t need to hide either,” he replied. When she looked at him in silence, he
shrugged. “You don’t need to dress like someone’s grandmother.”

She
nodded and bit her lower lip. “Sloane says the same thing. He’s even threatened
to have Lacey give me a makeover.” When Barry laughed, she shook her head. “I’m
half tempted to let him.”

Barry
didn’t want to think about the wardrobe Lacey would come up with. Lily would
probably be stuck in frilly short skirts and lace thigh-highs. Barry shook his
head again. “Listen, I know you don’t want to start anything too serious. But
how about hanging out?”

Lily
frowned at his phrasing. Just because she liked to keep to herself, she wasn’t
stupid. “I’ve been hanging out with someone else Barry. Right now, our
relationship can only be in the friend zone.” Green eyes met with his in a
silent challenge. She wasn’t going to become another notch on his bedpost.
At least not again.

“Ouch,”
he mumbled as he broke eye contact. He knew she wasn’t always the shy and quiet
woman she tried to show to the world. With a sly smile, he moved closer to her.
“You do realize that’s the worse place for someone like me, right?”

“Why?”

He
touched the side of her face again.
“Because, again, I’m a
selfish bastard.
I’ll sit back and watch, and plot. I’ll learn all of
your secrets and when you least expect it, I’ll strike.”

It
was on the tip of her tongue to remind him of why she hadn’t spoken to him in
months. But there was something about the way he was currently looking at her,
like his next breath depended on her. A soft smile crossed her face at the idea
of growing closer to him. “I’m having a small fight party tomorrow. You’re more
than welcome to stop by.” She turned away from him and moved to go back inside.
“We can have your coronation of sorts.”

“Coronation?”

“As
King of the Friend Zone,” Lily chimed. She laughed at the shocked look he wore.
“Just like you can be a selfish bastard, I can be an asshole.”

Barry
laughed as he watched her return to the table with Madison. He couldn’t help it
when his eyes strayed to her backside. “We are going to have an interesting
relationship.”

* *
* * *

Ashton
Nicodemus tapped happily to the song on the radio as he waited. The plans that
had been carefully crafted over the past three decades were finally coming
together. It was finally time for the final piece to fall into place.

A
gentle knock at his driver’s side window brought Aston out of his thoughts. The
Mage pasted a smile on his face as he cut off his radio and rolled down the
glass. An airport security guard looked at him with a deep frown. “Is there a
problem, officer?”

The
aging man frowned. “This is a pickup area, and you’ve been sitting here idle
for a while now. I’m gonna have to tell you to move.”

Ashton
hated the man’s condescending tone. “I’m sorry. My niece said her flight would
be in by now.” He glanced at the airport doors and spotted the tall blonde he
had been waiting for. “There she is now. We’ll be gone in a few more minutes.”

“See
that you are. We need to keep the traffic flowing,” the security guard mumbled.

With
the same polite smile, Ashton climbed out of his car and popped his trunk open.
When the blonde rounded the back of the car with two suitcases in tow, his
expression fell. “It took you long enough,” he hissed.