The Demon in Me

Ben glanced at Eden then back at Darrak. “I can tell we’re not getting off on the right foot here. Last night was hard to explain. There were some issues I had to take care of.”

Yeah, and one of them was Malcolm. Eden was very curious to know what had happened there.

“Did everything turn out okay last night?” she asked.

He nodded. “It’s taken care of. He says he won’t bother you again.”

She had a hard time believing it was that simple. “Well, thanks for talking to him.”

“Maybe the three of us should go out for drinks some time.” Ben looked at Darrak. “It would give you the chance to get to know me a bit better and see I’m not a bad guy.”

“I’m going to be leaving town very soon,” Darrak said. “So that won’t be possible. All I want to make sure of is that Eden is safe and in good hands when I’m gone.”

“She is,” he grinned, with a flick of his eyes to Eden. “My hands have never gotten any complaints before.”

She almost smiled at that but it was chased off when she saw the fire return to Darrak’s eyes at the casual innuendo.

“I think you should leave now,” Darrak suggested firmly.

“Oh, do you?” A less than friendly tone had gathered in Ben’s voice as well. “Look, man. I know you care about your sister, but I don’t understand this attitude. We just met. You don’t know me. So I would prefer if you keep that judgmental tone out of your voice. I might not be perfect, but Eden could do a hell of a lot worse than me.”

“Or, much, much better,” Darrak said dryly.

Ben took a step closer to Darrak, his eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to the side. “Oh, yeah?”

Darrak pressed his palm against Ben’s chest and shoved him back a step. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Andy said, “I think that’s good enough. We’ve had one broken door this week. Let’s not make it a double. If you two are going to go to fisticuffs, then you should leave right now.”

“Fisticuffs?” Darrak repeated.

“Besides,” Andy continued, “Darrak is very special and I would assume sometimes he doesn’t realize what he’s saying. He’s just very protective of his sister.”

“Special, huh? That’s debatable.” Ben glowered. “Eden? Tell your brother to get away from me. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with.”

That made two of them, actually.

“Darrak,” she said with a warning tone to her voice. “Back the hell off. Right now.”

A slow smile crept onto Darrak’s handsome face. He raised his hands and stepped back from the cop. “Of course, sis. Anything you say.”

“Maybe I should take off,” Ben said.

“That’s a great idea,” Darrak agreed.

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Eden, I’ll be in touch soon. Maybe we can continue from where we left off. When there are fewer people in the room.”

She walked with him to the door. “That sounds really good. And, I’m sorry about Darrak. He’s very protective of me.”

“I can see that.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Ben was focused now only on Eden. “Count on it.” He leaned over and brushed his lips against hers again. “Bye.”

He left with another look over his shoulder at her before he got into his car.

The phone rang and Andy picked it up.

Eden turned and cast a very unfriendly glare in the demon’s direction. “Could you have been any less friendly to him?”

He shrugged. “I could have killed him. That would have been much less friendly.”

“Darrak—”

“I can’t help it.”

“Sure you can. You just don’t even try.”

He focused on her completely, his jaw tense, and then he blew out a long breath. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“And I appreciate that, but I’d prefer if you stay out of my business.”

“The cop’s intentions are not pure. He wants to have sex with you. I can tell.”

“I’m actually counting on that.”

“You like him?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Are you in love with him?”

“Love?” she repeated. “Let’s not go overboard. I like him a lot and I want to go out with him again to see if there might be something between us in the future.”

A couple of days ago she was practically picking out her and Ben’s china pattern and now, even though Ben seemed to like her in return, her feelings had cooled toward him a bit. Why was that?

Damn. It was Darrak, wasn’t it? He’d gotten under her skin — literally — even though she tried to fight it. And he was totally ruining her mental wedding registry with Ben.

Darrak looked at Andy when he hung up the phone. “What do you think about the cop?”

“Me?” Andy pointed at himself. “I don’t know. He seems nice enough. I have to agree with your sister, sport. You’re overreacting. Ben seems like a perfectly nice guy with a good job and I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t have three wives and a dozen kids hiding somewhere. Eden will be fine. And when you go back to your normal home I promise to keep an eye on her for you, okay?”

Darrak closed his eyes for a moment. “I am overreacting. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t normally get this way. Like, ever.”

“You’re not taking your medication. It’s rough sometimes, kiddo.”

His eyes snapped open. “Let’s get something straight. I’m not slow. I don’t live in a special home. And if you call me sport, buddy, chum, or kiddo one more time you’re going to have to retrieve your Porsche from the bottom of Lake Ontario.”

Andy shot Eden a surprised look.

She gulped. A glance out the glass door showed that the sun was getting very low on the horizon. “Uh… we need to leave now. I have some things to take care of.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Andy said. “Uh… bye Darrak. Sorry for any, um, misunderstandings. If I don’t see you again, it was very nice to have met you.”

Darrak’s face was tight but he managed a smile. “Likewise.”

Eden grabbed her purse, and the demon, and they left the office. She was furious with him so she didn’t say anything as they got into her car and she pulled away from the parking lot.

“I’m sorry,” Darrak said after a few minutes had passed.

“No, you’re not.”

“I actually am. I don’t mean to hurt you. I can’t help the fact that I’m an asshole sometimes.”

“You’re not an asshole,” she said.

“I’m not?”

She sighed. “I know on some level you’re just trying to be helpful. I think your heart is in the right place.” She eyed him sideways. “You do have a heart, right? I felt it beating earlier.”

He hesitated. “Demon anatomy is a bit complicated.”

That was not the answer she’d hoped for. “Can I ask what’s the deal with the fire eyes?”

He frowned at her. “What?”

“Sometimes your eyes look as though they’re filled with flames. Usually when you’re mad or upset.”

“They do?”

“Yes. It’s kind of freaky.”

He blinked a couple of times. “It has to do with what I am, of course, and where I’m from. I’m not human and never was. My eyes — and every other part of me — were created in the Netherworld. Sometimes when I lose my