The Demon in Me

He was maybe waiting for… permission?

He didn’t need it. He’d proven that yesterday by possessing her twice against her will. If he’d asked her then she would have answered with a big fat no.

But since then he’d shown that he meant her no harm.

Other than killing her in a year, that is. She assumed that had to do with him slowly draining her of her energy in order to survive.

He thought her energy was tasty.

This was so wrong.

“Fine,” she said, attempting to control the instinctive fear she felt for the demon. “Just do it, already.”

That was all it took. The smoke moved toward her and swirled around her body. She inhaled sharply and braced her hand against the wall when she felt the strange, shuddering wave of pleasure as he disappeared — inside of her.

So wrong, she thought weakly. It was so, so incredibly wrong that being possessed by Darrak was unbelievably… orgasmic.

Andy had to find the witch so they could break Darrak’s curse. She couldn’t deal with this for much longer. It was going to drive her completely and totally insane.

“Darrak?” she said aloud. “Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here.” His deep voice flowing through her mind sounded worried. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Hurt her? Did he think it caused her pain?

“It’s okay,” she said. “I can handle it.”

It was better that he didn’t know. Better for both of them.

“Then let’s get you your golden boy. Don’t want to keep him waiting.”

Right. Golden boy. To say she now felt torn about this date would be putting it mildly. She really liked Ben and thought this date was important to her future happiness. But dealing with Darrak and his addictive but energy-draining kiss, not to mention the fact that he didn’t even realize he gave her mind- blowing pleasure whenever he possessed her body…

Despite all this, Eden sincerely hoped the date with Ben would go smoothly. The universe seriously owed her a big one.

CHAPTER 11

Ben had made reservations at a fancy, expensive seafood restaurant called Bella Bisque that had a great view of Lake Ontario and the Toronto skyline. Eden had never been there before, but she’d never met a lobster she didn’t like.

“Did I mention how great you look tonight?” Ben asked as he held out her chair for her. “Blue is my favorite color.”

She touched the blue dress that Leena had picked out for her. She’d already had second thoughts about wearing it, considering she’d agreed to let Darrak be the one to help her with Project Ben. “Thank you.”

Darrak had been surprisingly quiet since they left the apartment, considering their mutually agreed-to deal. What was he waiting for? She knew she sounded awkward and nervous with Ben already — especially at such a fancy restaurant — but the demon hadn’t offered her any help yet.

Was he okay? Maybe he was too weak to communicate with her. She tried not to worry. At least, not yet.

Ben looked divine in a navy blue suit and white shirt. She wondered if it was possible for him not to look good. He had a natural attractiveness about him that she was willing to bet he spent hardly any time on in the morning. He just got dressed, combed his hair, washed his face, and managed to look effortlessly hot.

There was a long silence as Eden looked at the menu.

“Why don’t you ask golden boy if he’s ever been here before?” Darrak suggested without much enthusiasm.

There he is, she thought with relief at hearing his voice. Better late than never.

“So… Ben, have you ever been here before?” she asked, feeling instantly more confident now that she had her internal backup in place.

He looked around. “No, but I got a great recommendation from a friend of mine. His wife thinks this place is the best restaurant in the city.”

“It’s not bad,” Darrak said. “Nice decor. The waiters seem a bit snobby and the food’s kind of pricy. And you really should have worn the red dress.”

Comments like these were not particularly helpful.

They were seated in a crescent-shaped booth. The lighting was low and a candle was lit on the table. Ben ordered a bottle of pinot grigio and a few minutes later the wine steward brought it over and poured a glass for her.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Ben said with a smile. “To Eden Riley. The most fascinating troublemaker I’ve ever met.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Troublemaker, huh? Is that a compliment?”

“If you’d asked me a few days ago, I would have said no. But I think you’ve managed to single-handedly change my mind.”

She smiled. “Then I’ll definitely drink to that.”

They clinked glasses.

She waited for Darrak to offer up any further bon mots, but there was nothing but silence in her head at the moment. She began to feel annoyed. What was he waiting for? A handwritten invitation?

“I have to ask,” Ben said. “I know I was a bit of an ass yesterday when we first met about the psychic thing. I’m a bit of a cynic, I guess.”

“You hide it so well.”

“Yeah, right.” He shook his head and grinned at her. “In my defense, you said you were skeptical, too.”

“My beliefs in, um, Otherworldly things come and go.” Mostly they come, she thought. But I’d like them to go.

Ben leaned back in his chair. “So how long have you been psychic? All your life?”

She waited for Darrak to suggest a response to this, but there was nothing from the demon in residence.

“It’s off and on since I was a kid, actually. But it’s really mild and usually completely nonuseful since I can’t control it. I had to pay my way through college myself so a friend got me in at a psychic phone line she worked for.”

“So your friend was psychic, too?”

Eden smiled at the memory. “Not especially. But she didn’t get any complaints.”

Ben actually seemed curious to know more about her past and he hadn’t put on that skeptical expression yet at what she was saying. That was encouraging. “So what do you normally use? Crystal balls?”

Eden curled her fingers around the stem of her wineglass. “I prefer tarot cards, actually. They helped give a more detailed story to callers than a simple yes or no answer to their questions.”

“That way you could keep them on the phone longer and make more money, right?” At her look, he held up his hands. “It’s not a criticism, just an observation.”

“Then you observe correctly.” She took a sip of her wine. “I could read your cards if you like.”

“How much will you charge me?” He played with the rim of his own wineglass.

She laughed. “I’d do it for free, of course.”

“And what would a tarot card reading tell me?”

“It would give you a glimpse at your future.”

Ben’s smile stayed firmly in place. Which was a way better reaction than backing away from her in horror. “Knowing what lies ahead might be a scary prospect. I think I’d prefer my future to stay vague. So, is that what people want to see? What’s going to happen to them?”

Eden nodded. “Mostly. They want to know if they’re going to get a job they’re after. Or if their love lives are going to pick up.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So you could tell me how my love life is going to go? And if there might be a beautiful