Underworld Lover (A Guardian Angel Romance #2) by haron Hamilton

anyhow.
    “No. None. Why the question?” She smiled, but did not stroke his face like she used to. There was no effort on her part to make sure he knew how much she enjoyed his company.
    “You don’t hate me for bringing you here? Ever thought about what life would have been like for you up top?” He was looking at her breasts until she lifted his chin with her red fingertips.
    “Sounds like a question you should ask yourself, Josh.” She looked at him, her steely black eyes betraying no trace of humor. “I’m safe here. I like being safe. I never felt that way up top.”
    “Am I your best lover, even after last night?” he asked.
    “Yes. Absolutely.” And there he had the answer to a question he had not asked. She had not said he was her only lover, the only one she cared about. “You are the only one who sleeps here with me. But you know this.”
    Yes, he knew this. He also knew other things as well. Josh knew what the landscape was going to look like as the dark forces culled the population for all the most evil ones. He wondered how safe Helena would feel then. He wondered how long the miracle of her perfectly formed body and smooth flesh would survive, especially since it was his doing that brought her here. Had he condemned her to an eternity of pain? Would there come a time when she would beg for the miracle of death instead of safety?
    Josh tucked a forefinger along the upper collar of her peignoir then pulled the thin satin ribbon loose. He let the garment drape open and watched her perfectly formed breasts peek along the lacy edge like two timid schoolgirls. He could see they anticipated the feel of his warm mouth. He could claim them for his personal satisfaction as he had done many times over the years.
    He hesitated. But not last night. Something was different.
    “You have birds in the house now, Helena.” Josh’s gaze swept slowly up her neck, over her red lips, to her pitch black eyes and pinned her there.
    “Is that a problem?” she asked coolly.
    “No. A surprise.” His fingers traced over her nipples. “A change. So many changes.” He thought he saw her eyes widen just a little, giving further confirmation.
    “They were a gift. I have a pair. The female is laying eggs.”
    “Blue eggs?” he asked.
    “Yes, little blue eggs.”
    “What color are the babies?”
    “There are no babies. They are eating the eggs. They lay them in their food dish.”
    And there he had it. All the explanation he needed. Anything Peter would touch would suffer and maybe die if they were lucky. Even little birds that don’t have to be taught how to sing or how lay eggs would fail to procreate under this bastard’s tutelage.
    Josh was suddenly very sad for them.

Chapter 12
     
    Josh knew the director was expected back at his office in the Underworld sometime in the evening. He didn’t want to be anywhere around him when that happened, and didn’t want to have anyone he cared about near him either.
    He’d spent the day and early evening wandering. Looking for something familiar in the Underworld. But everything had changed. Darkness was a shade darker. Bright colors were muted. It didn’t matter where he went, he felt he didn’t fit in anywhere.
    Not even at Helena’s ?
    The change in the air was a constant distraction and hovered like a persistent haze. For so many years, Josh had experienced the satisfaction of free rein in the Underworld. Now that chapter was ending.
    I care for these people ? What’s up with that ?
    He was not sure he was up for the fight that was brewing. It wasn’t the personal cost to himself he was worried about, but to all the other people around him, people he had to admit he cared for. This was another change for Josh.
    He was alone in the black limo transport back to the metal garage. He was sure there wasn’t a driver tonight. He had made it a point to look. The sight of the vacant seat with a chauffeur’s cap resting on the passenger side struck him as strangely