good.
Eden finally forced herself to disentangle her hand from the demon’s.
“Don’t touch me,” she told him as firmly as she could, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.
“I’m sorry. Couldn’t help myself. I guess I’m a sucker for redheads.” His lips curled.
She was sick of talking about herself. All of these personal issues out on the table for him to pick over. It was time to turn the tables.
“Fine,” she said. “You want to talk? I have questions.”
“Such as?”
“How old are you?”
“That’s very personal. How old do I look?”
“You look like you’re thirty. Or younger, even. But I know you’re at least three hundred years old based on when you say the witch cursed you.” The thought that he was that old made her shiver.
He noticed. “I know I’m very old. Probably a thousand in human years. Maybe more. But time doesn’t really have the same value in the Netherworld.”
That made another shiver run down her arms. “A thousand years old and you’ve never had a donut before?”
“I had no idea what I’ve been missing.”
“Empty calories. You’ll get fat.”
“I don’t have to worry about that. My body will remain the same no matter what I eat.” He placed his palm over his flat stomach.
“Lucky.” She wasn’t going to consider the demon’s body. Which she’d seen in all its glory first thing that morning, if only for a short time.
Bottom line, Darrak had every right to be vain about how he looked. He was just as gorgeous as Ben, but in an entirely different and much more darkly dangerous way. But she knew what he was and she knew what he could do. She wanted a normal man in her life. Ben was normal.
She had no interest in the demon in that way. After all, he was a
However, sitting in her car, he didn’t seem like a demon. He just seemed like a hot guy who knew how to easily push her buttons.
She cleared her throat. “We should probably get you some new clothes. There’s a mall just up ahead.”
“Clothes? You’re thinking fashion at a time like this?”
“You said you couldn’t… conjure… anything other than what you’re wearing.”
“I thought this was adequate. Isn’t it?” He looked down at himself.
“It’s getting really cold. It’s supposed to warm up a bit but after that the temperature will be nose-diving to penguin climate. You need a coat.”
“Temperature doesn’t affect me.”
“Yeah, but people will wonder why you’re walking around in short sleeves.”
He nodded. “Of course. Appearances are very important to you, aren’t they?”
“I don’t really care one way or the other.” She was silent for a moment. It was frustrating talking to him. “Were you always a demon?”
“What? Oh, more questions?”
“I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Some demons were once humans. Others were fallen angels. And others were created as demons from the energy of the Netherworld itself — hellfire, actually. I fit into the latter category.”
He was created from hellfire? That was so strange she couldn’t even begin to wrap her head around it. “You sound very human.”
“From you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You fit in. No one would ever guess what you really are.”
“See, you’re saying that with the thought that demons are completely different than humans. We’re not all that different. You need to forget about everything you’ve ever believed.”
“Easier said than done.” She swallowed. “You have powers, though. Powers of conjuring up clothes that otherwise could be bought at Old Navy or the Gap. Anything else?”
“I used to have a few tricks up my sleeve. But maintaining form seems to currently take up all my energy.”
“So what could you do?”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Lots of fun things.”
“Such as?”
He sighed. “Maybe some new clothes would be a good idea. We can pick you up some new hand towels while we’re at it. You said there’s a mall around here?”
Was he trying to change the subject? “Darrak, we need to—”
His body suddenly tensed and he inhaled sharply. “He’s here.”
She frowned. “Who’s here?”
Darrak’s eyes widened and he craned his head to the right. Another car was gaining on them, moving right up until it was only inches from her bumper.
“Who the hell is that?” she said out loud.
Darrak didn’t answer, but he reached out to clutch her forearm hard enough to hurt.
The pursuing car swerved into the lane to her left and quickly gained until they were side by side. Eden struggled to keep the car on the road.
Palms sweating, she looked out the passenger side window past Darrak to see who the maniac driver was.
Her eyes locked with Malcolm’s. The exorcist from last night.
Malcolm turned his angelic face toward Eden. His lips were moving but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Eden pressed the gas pedal down to the floor and sped up, taking the next right into the mall parking lot and stopped the car. She looked over her shoulder but couldn’t see Malcolm anymore. He hadn’t followed her any farther.
“Maybe he was just being friendly.” She looked at Darrak. He was pale and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. His breath came shallow and rapid.
“Darrak!” She undid her seat belt so she could take him by his shoulders and shake him. “Are you okay?”
He wasn’t talking. His blue eyes rolled back into his head.
“What did he do to you?”
Malcolm had already started the exorcism last night. Had he been trying to continue it, even at a distance? How was that even possible? Whatever he’d been doing, it was enough to hurt Darrak.
Darrak blinked after a moment and his eyes slowly regained focus. But he was still pale. “Eden…”
“What can I do?”
“I didn’t realize how weak I am.”
“It takes a real man to admit something like that.” She tried to sound light.
“I’m stronger when I’m possessing you. When I have my own body I’m more susceptible. I can draw from your strength when I’m inside.”
“So turn to smoke and possess me again.” She couldn’t believe she was actually suggesting it.
“I can’t control that. Not when it’s daylight. But I–I do need some of your energy.”
“What?”
“The fairy… she hates demons because she knows how similar she is to us. Unseelie fairies must drain the energy from humans to survive and grow more powerful. They have to. They have no choice. A demon can survive just fine without doing this, but we can skim a little off the top if necessary.”
“So skim, already.”
He snorted softly. “So willing? And here I thought you hated me.”
“I do. But you can take a little energy if it’ll make you feel better. After all, I was the one to introduce you to
