Company of Angels 02 - The Demoness of Waking Dreams

boat rocked.
    For an instant, Luciana wondered if the whole contraption might tip into the canal, spilling all of them into the murky water. The tourist clambered out of the boat onto the fondamenta and took off without a backward glance.
    Expert with his long pole, the gondolier steadied his craft. He frowned deeply at his two remaining passengers and opened his mouth to complain, but Brandon cut him off before he could speak.
    “There’s nothing out of the ordinary here,” the angel said, staring deep into the mortal’s eyes. “Please continue rowing, and pay no heed to our conversation.”
    The gondolier hesitated and his eyes blanked before he began absorbing the suggestion. Then he complied, and they continued to glide along the canal.
    “You again,” the demoness hissed at Brandon. She frowned deeply, leaning back on the velvet cushions of the gondola. Suddenly, she felt cold, the rush of adrenaline from the hunt seeping out of her, replaced by something else. The chill of exposure as Brandon stared at her. “You’re ruining all my fun these days.”
    “I’m ruining your fun? You’re the one invading my dreams, succubus.”
    “ Zuccolo. You’re completely crazy,” she said. “I’m not a succubus. Why would I stoop to seducing men in their dreams when I am perfectly capable of doing so while they’re fully conscious?”
    “Then what did you do to my dream? How did you control it?” he demanded.
    Her brow furrowed in the moonlight, peering at him in the darkness. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
    “What you dream is your own business,” she said, giving an exasperated sigh. “If you saw me in a dream, it was because you wanted me. Your unconscious mind is running wild. We can pick up where you left off....”
    She ran her hand up his thigh. And felt his entire body tense. Yet, he didn’t make a move toward her.
    “They’re your dreams, too,” he said quietly. “There are details that I’ve never seen before.”
    “Perhaps you’re simply imagining what my world would look like.”
    He grabbed for her wrist. She moved away, out of his reach. She leaned over the side of the gondola and trailed her fingers in the water, enjoying the flow of the cool water over them. Biding her time.
    “You think you can just grab me again, barbarian? Think. I’ll just escape, the same way I did the first time.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, too low for the gondolier to overhear as she spoke in the angel’s ear. “Besides, after our last little encounter in the flesh, I set up a little insurance policy. If I don’t return to my home by a certain time, my Gatekeepers have instructions to distribute a large amount of very lethal poison among the demon hierarchy. The results could be devastating.”
    She smiled, keeping very still and very calm.
    The trick to bluffing, she knew, was to believe your own lie.
    It’s partly true, she told herself. If I don’t return, in all likelihood, Massimo would do exactly what I said. He has all the knowledge he needs to master the art of poison by himself. Even if he is not quite ready yet.
    “You’re bluffing,” he said. “If you had a massive amount of that poison, you’d have used it by now.”
    “Would I? If you’re willing to take the risk, you can find out for sure,” she challenged back, staring deeply into his eyes. “If you don’t believe me, take your chances. Slap the cuffs on me. Haul me away.”
    “You wouldn’t dare release that poison,” said Brandon. “You know you can’t violate the rules between angels and demons.”
    “Rules are made to be broken. And if not broken, rules can be bent. Try me.”
    “What do you propose?”
    “You should consider joining our side,” she said, sliding her hand up his thigh, reaching upward. “I can feel something in you that’s not like the rest of them. Something dark.”
    She looked up at him, letting her eyes do their work on him. She could see him struggling with his lust, the turmoil in those gray-as-rain eyes of his. Saw him clench the muscles of his tightened jaw as he fought to keep his cool beneath that tough-guy exterior.
    “What will it take to get you to cooperate?” he said.
    “Why should I cooperate?”
    “Because you have the power to do the right thing.”
    “Don’t talk to me about the right thing. You don’t know what I’ve had to endure to get to where I am. You think Venice is beautiful and