The Entity Within

they just stayed there.

She could do this. She could win this stare-off. She was a witch. Not that that seemed to be helping her any at the moment, and she wasn’t about to use magic to help her win.

The corners of Damon’s lips lifted slightly in that semi-smirk he was so good at giving her.

He was a vampire. Not to be trusted. He didn’t like her. None of those things seemed to matter at the moment the way they should.

“Satisfied?” he asked in a husky voice that was both rough and sexy.

“Yes.” She had to look away. She likened it to looking too long at the sun. She didn’t want to go blind with desire or something. Maybe there was even a rule about not looking too long into a vampire’s eyes. She’d have to Google that later.

“Well, I’m not satisfied.”

“You both look ridiculous, staring into each other’s eyes that way,” Bella declared with a sniff. “You’re old enough to know better. Especially you, Damon.”

He growled at Bella.

Bella growled at him.

Zoe’s stomach growled. Checking her watch, she noted that it was time for dinner.

She looked at Damon again, belatedly noticing that he’d exchanged the black shirt he’d worn earlier for a black T-shirt accentuating his broad shoulders, and that he was wearing black jeans instead of black pants. “You changed your clothes.”

“That’s right.”

“Too bad I can’t change mine.”

“Why not?”

Zoe pointed to the camera. “Because those are everywhere.”

“So turn the lights out.”

“Aren’t they equipped with special night-vision technology?”

“Yes.”

“So turning of the lights wouldn’t really help anything, would it?”

“You don’t have to get so sensitive about it.”

“I’m a former librarian who is now a soap maker,” Zoe said. “I am not a stripper.”

“Exotic dancer,” he corrected her.

“I’m not that, either.”

“I noticed that you left witch off your description of yourself. You are actually a witch who is a former librarian who is now a soap maker.”

They were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Eager to avoid Damon, Zoe opened it immediately to find Nick standing on the doorstep. Zoe recognized his expression. She’d seen it a lot on Damon’s face. It was the expression of a pissed-off vampire.

Great. Now she had two of them to deal with.

Chapter Nine

“I’m here,” Nick announced curtly.

“Yes, you are. Is there a problem? Aside from the demons, I mean. Not that they aren’t a problem.” Zoe paused to take a deep breath. “Are you here to evict us?”

Nick looked over her shoulder at Damon. “You haven’t told her?”

“I was getting around to it,” Damon said.

“What’s all this about?” Zoe demanded.

“Invite me in and I’ll tell you,” Nick said.

“I thought since you’re the landlord, you could come in anytime. I’m sorry. Come in.”

“Where’s your grandmother?” Nick asked.

“She got a headache when Tanya came so she went to rest in her room.”

“Tanya has that effect on some people,” Nick said,

“A lot of them, I would think,” Zoe muttered. Looking at Damon, she added, “That’s probably why the two of you get along so well. You make a perfect couple.”

“We are not a couple,” Damon denied.

“It’s none of my business if you are.”

“You’re right. But we aren’t.”

Zoe shrugged. “If you say so.”

“You could at least pretend to believe me,” Damon said.

“Why should I?” she said. “You never pretend to believe me. Nick and Daniella are the ones who have been welcoming and polite.”

“Daniella sends her regrets,” Nick said. “She wanted to join us but I refused to allow it.”

Zoe tried hard not to show it, but her feelings were hurt. “Why?”

“Too dangerous,” Nick said.

“You think that my grandmother and I are dangerous?”

“I was referring to the threat of demons,” Nick said.

“You think they’d come here?” Zoe said.

“They were already right outside your house a few hours ago,” Nick said.

Stunned, Zoe stumbled backward and landed on the bottom step of the staircase. Now she was stunned and embarrassed. And scared. She’d opened the door before she knew that Nick was the one knocking. What if it had been a demon? Or two demons? Or a gang of them?

Yes, she did have a protection spell to keep her safe. She would rather not have to actually test its potency against demons, however.

Zoe accepted the hand Nick offered her. She stood and tried to look calm as she murmured her thanks for his courteous help. Unlike Damon, who stood there looking amused at her clumsiness.

“You didn’t tell her about the demons attacking you?” Nick asked Damon.

“No, he didn’t,” Zoe replied.

“A couple of demons attacked me when I left. I took care of them,” Damon said.

“What did they want?” Zoe said.

“To kill me,” Damon said bluntly.

“They were after you?” she said.

He nodded.

“Not Gram and me?”

“You, too, probably. But they had to go through me first, and that didn’t happen.”

“Are there more out there?” Zoe tilted her head toward the front door.

“Probably,” Damon said.

Nick was more forthcoming. “There is only one remaining demon unaccounted for. The rest are locked in the tunnels.”

“The bootleggers’ tunnels?” Zoe said.

“How do you know about those?” Damon demanded.

“Tanya told me.” She nervously glanced around the hardwood floor. “Do those tunnels run under this house?”

Damon nodded.

Once again, Nick was the one who elaborated to soothe her panic. “But the demons are not locked in this portion of the tunnels. They are actually near the section beneath my bar and the dental clinic. I believe in keeping my friends close and my enemies closer.”

“And which are we?” Zoe asked. “Friends or enemies?” She held up her hand before Damon could speak and shot him a quelling look. “I already know what your answer would be. I’m asking Nick.”