Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Read online

  She heard his sharp intake of breath, his soft, quick laugh. “You’re an angel, and you’re afraid of rats.”

  Asta glared, feeling defensive at his mocking tone. “I know it’s silly, but I am. And I truly regret killing them. I mourn the loss of their lives and feel the tarnish their deaths caused to my vibration levels. I strive to do better, but it’s hard here in this physical form, surrounded by all these sensations.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Seriously, I don’t have any problem with you killing them. I’m just surprised.”

  “Like I said, it’s silly. They’ve got those beady eyes and sharp teeth. Plus I get shivers when their claws make that scrabbling noise. I just envision them swarming me, crawling all over my skin and biting me.”

  Dar grinned. “Sounds like foreplay. Sure you wouldn’t like it? I mean, maybe if just one rat was doing the crawling all over your skin and biting, you’d find yourself closer to orgasm then panic.”

  This was ridiculous. Here she was revealing her fears and moral dilemmas to a demon — this demon. Actually the whole experience was bizarre. Angels didn’t have conversations with annoying demons. They didn’t agree to a working relationship with one, no matter how short it might be. And they certainly didn’t find themselves enjoying the quick-witted teasing of demons. Time to get back to the topic at hand. Whether she actually killed this summoned demon or some other alternative, she needed to catch him first. Demons in her territory were inexcusable, those with immunity notwithstanding, and Asta wasn’t about to sully her exemplary record so close to her return to Aaru.

  “Is there an energy signature to the summoning circle? If the runes are charged, the magic should be giving off some kind of energy. Can you recognize it?”

  Dar scowled. “All right, we’ll go back to work, but I’m claiming both a rain check on the blues club and on the idea of me nibbling your soft, warm skin. All work and no play makes Asta a very dull angel.”

  “Blues club, but no on the biting. No biting allowed. Biting makes Asta a very pissy angel.”

  His grin was slow and seductive. “Might be worth it. And I think I like pissy Asta, although I like sense-of-humor Asta best of all.”

  “Work. Back to work.” Stars it was hot in here. She fanned her face and tried to remember what she’d originally asked.

  “You’d probably be better able to sense a summoning circle than me. Either way, we’d need to be fairly close. There’s a lot of energy flying around, especially at a tech conference. It’s hard to filter out all the noise and narrow in on the summoning area. If we could get a general idea of where it is, we might have an actual chance of pinpointing the exact area and possibly the caster.”

  It was odd to see him switch gears so fast, from irreverent playboy to smart and quick. This demon wasn’t stupid. He was intelligent. And he couldn’t be trusted, no matter how charming he could be. Asta took a deep breath, resolving to force herself to keep things solely on work, lest she forget exactly what lay behind his charismatic face.

  “Caster? Would the sorcerer have some residual magic clinging to him from the summoning?”

  Dar nodded. “But we’d have to locate him fast. These things fade quickly.”

  Asta considered his words, tapping her fingers on the table. Dar plopped down in a chair, propping his feet on the table, inches from her fingers. “Tough one, huh?” His voice was soft with an odd edge to it. “An awful lot for one angel to do — a huge conference room filled with people and electrical false leads.”

  “We’ll both just have to keep alert for the demon signature while we hunt for the summoning area and the caster. Between the two of us, we should be able to catch this sorcerer, and the demon, by the time the convention closes.” And then go listen to some blues music. Maybe ride on the Ferris wheel. Maybe do other things.

  Dar rocked backward on his chair. “We? I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed following you around and harassing you for the last few days, and kissing you was pretty much the highlight of my vacation so far, but this sounds suspiciously like work. I’ll have you know, I’m highly allergic to work — especially uncompensated work.”

  Negotiation time. Here we go. Asta bit back a smile. “I’m not having sex with you.”

  “You’ve already mentioned your reluctance, and I’ve got to say that your resistance is quite a turn on. I’ll settle for an evening out with me.”

  Asta narrowed her eyes. “Evening out doing what?” Ooh, she hoped it involved a Ferris wheel.

  Dar grinned, and his resemblance to the mythical Cheshire cat was remarkable. “My choice. You need to agree to go along with any of my proposed activities, or I’m not helping.”

  “No sex.” Sheesh, that sounded pretty half-hearted. She might as well have added ‘unless you ask really nicely’ at the end.

  The demon looked toward the ceiling and shook his head. “You’re really hung up on the sex thing, aren’t you? Angels are such damned prudes. Okay. No sex, and no activities that would violate the terms of my immunity. Is that good enough for you?”

  Bummer. She’d hoped he’d push the issue a bit more. Although, his terms definitely left a lot of wiggle room. Asta bit her lip and thought about all the things this demon could demand of her tonight. Still, she was an angel, and not without brains. If she couldn’t work her way out of anything she found terribly objectionable in this vaguely worded contract, then she deserved whatever she got.

  “Deal.”

  “Swear it.”

  Demons. Nothing ever seemed to be on a handshake when it came to them.

  “I vow that I will participate in activities of your choice with you tonight as long as it does not violate the terms of your immunity or involve sexual intercourse.”

  Dar’s eyes flashed red as he smiled. “Agreed. No sex, even if you beg me on bended knees.”

  Asta snorted. “Yeah. That would be the day pigs sprout wings.” Could happen. Demons were particularly good at manipulating the physical plane, and she wouldn’t put it past Dar to slap some feathery protuberances on a swine just to weasel her into bed. And a certain part of her kind of hoped he did.

  Chapter 8

  Dar’s feet were ready to fall off. Six hours of walking around a convention were five hours more than he’d ever wanted. The good news was, he was loaded down with bags full of freebies. The bad news was, there had been no hint of the demon. He’d taken to going from booth to booth, staring at their carpets and back panels, eyeing the geometric structure of their lighting. None had provided the appropriate circle and triangle pattern needed for a safe summoning. It was possible the sorcerer was reckless enough to do without protection runes, but there was no way he’d be stupid enough to yank a demon into this realm without the requisite circle and triangle to contain the being.

  Or maybe he’s not doing the summoning here. Or maybe he knows there’s an angel breathing down his neck, and he’s waiting for Asta to take a hike. Or—.

  “There’s a woman by the Environmetrics booth that has a sigil tattooed on her neck.”

  Dar jumped two feet in the air, spinning as he landed, nearly colliding with Asta. “For fuck sake, woman, never sneak up on a demon like that. You’re lucky I didn’t go all ninja on your ass.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest and pursed her lips.

  Cute. Especially how her arms pushed her breasts up. If he tilted his head right, he could almost see a bit of top-boob.

  “Ninja. Riiiiight. Come look at this tattoo.”

  Anything was better than wandering around this convention hall one more time, but her request sounded very much like a command, and Dar wasn’t fond of commands, even if they came from a beautiful angel.

  “Carry one of these bags for me. They weigh a fucking ton.” An order from her would be acceptable if he were to give one in return. Surprisingly, she took the bag without argument, weaving her way through the crowd.

  “What’s in this thing anyway?” she called back to him, turning her head over h
er shoulder and sending her brown curls dancing across her back. “It weighs a lot.”

  “Stuff.” Dar had no idea what he’d put into the bags. Anytime there had been a freebie offered, he’d taken it. Anytime there had been something not offered, he’d taken it. It was a strange compulsion for him to gather trinkets and little items and hide them away. His home in Hel looked like it should be featured on a hoarders show. The rat in him could never resist anything brightly colored, shiny, or intriguing in any way. One human’s junk was a demon’s treasure.

  “Here. The redhead.”

  Dar thrust the other bag into Asta’s hand and waltzed to the human in question. She was breathtakingly tall, taller even than Asta. The woman towered a good four inches over Dar with her modest heels. Auburn hair was pulled into a soft braid that draped over one shoulder and revealed the blue tattoo at the back of her neck.

  It was a sigil, and Dar recognized the mark right away. With a muffled laugh, he made his way back to the angel.

  “Uh, no. If she’s our sorcerer, and she’s summoning that demon, you might as well call it a night and go for drinks.”

  Asta frowned. “Why? Do you recognize the sigil? It didn’t appear to be one for any of the angels I know, and I thought it might be a demon mark.”

  “It’s mine.”

  The angel stopped breathing for a second, her brown eyes wide. “Yours? What do you mean; it’s yours? Why would that human possibly have your mark on the back of her neck?”

  Dar wiggled his eyebrows at the angel. “I may be a demon, but I don’t kiss and tell. And I certainly don’t fuck and tell. Even if the fuck in question was a particularly wild week in Jamaica during spring break five years ago. Oh, you have no idea what young college women do when under the influence of quality reggae music and good rum. It was a week to remember, even though there were moments when I feared for my life. Whew, humans can give us demons a run for our money when it comes to crazy. Good times. Seriously good times.”

  Asta craned her neck and stared at the woman. “You’re telling me you made such an impression on that woman that she permanently affixed your sigil on her skin? Just with sex? No untold riches, career success, promises of immortality, or anything like that?”

  Dar smirked. “Yep. Just sex. Because I’m that incredible in the sack, baby. You should try me out. Sample the goods. Take me out for a test-drive.”

  The angel shook her head, taking another quick look at the woman in question. “She’s got to have the IQ of a hamster. I can’t see any other explanation.”

  “Hey!” He couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m very fond of hamsters. Although I prefer angels. At least, I think I’d prefer angels. I won’t know until I’ve actually had one.”

  “As soon as I meet an angel with the IQ of a hamster, I’ll send him your way.” Asta sighed, her shoulders drooping. “We’ve been at this all day with no hint of the demon. Part of me wants to call it a night, but I’m afraid the moment we leave, the demon will show up.”

  She was probably right. He’d begun to suspect the demon was laying low until she left. Or there was no demon. Dar was starting to think that whoever they’d sensed last night was long gone. The best way to rule one theory out was to test it, and that would conveniently play right into his main goal. “Tell you what, you get outa here, get a cup of coffee, and shoplift some clothing. I’ll hang here for another few hours until the convention closes, just to make sure our guy doesn’t appear. Then we’ll go on our date.”

  Asta shifted the two bags into one hand to free the other and rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s my job. I’ll stay.”

  Dar gave an exasperated sigh and swatted her hand away, kneading her shoulders and neck. “I mean it. Run this stuff by my hotel room; take advantage of the huge Jacuzzi tub. I’ll call the room if I sense the demon. Chill out, raid the mini bar, watch some television, and meet me at Grand and Dearborn at six. Deal?”

  Tub. Jacuzzi tub. In the last century, she’d taken a few midnight dips in the lake, and stolen a few quick swims in private swimming pools, but the thought of stretching out in hot bubbling water. . . . Mmm, hot water. She relaxed a bit just thinking about it. Well, to be honest, she also relaxed a bit due to the demon’s skilled fingers working out knotted muscles. Wow, she must be frazzled if she was letting a demon put his hands on her neck, let alone enjoying it.

  She chewed her lip. “Well . . . I really shouldn’t.”

  The demon spun her around, nudging her gently toward the exit. ‘Go. Now. The Jacuzzi tub awaits.”

  Asta glanced back with narrowed eyes. “Okay, but if you sneak in on me when I’m bathing, I’ll fry you to a crisp.”

  Dar raised his right hand, although the glint in his eyes was downright wicked. “No peeking. I promise.”

  “Asta! Hi, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  She turned. There was Carter Phelps, flushed rather red, trying to simultaneously smile at her and glare at Dar. Great. She so didn’t need this right now — a cockfight between a man and a demon. She was just too exhausted for their jealous antics.

  “I was thinking of what you said last night, and I had an idea,” Carter announced.

  Last night. And now Dar was bristling too, his eyes practically boring holes into the human. How to diffuse the situation?

  “You’ve identified a security risk?” There. That should clue in the demon-half of this testosterone battle that her meeting had been business related, but not alienate Carter — or give him the ridiculous idea that anything was going on between herself and Dar.

  The human looked sheepish. “Well, no. The other thing we discussed. There’s a huge charity event in San Diego next month, and as a major donor, Genus Micro gets to pick the charity. I was thinking maybe you’d like to attend? The money could go to a cause that benefits Rwanda and the situation there — you know, to help out your family and others that weren’t as lucky to escape the genocide as you were?”

  The demon made a sharp choking noise. “Rwan-what? What the fuck?”

  Asta quickly shifted her weight, bringing a sharp, tall heel down firmly into Dar’s instep. He yelped. “I would love to go, but I’m leaving after this week for home . . . uh, returning to Rwanda to stay. I won’t be back here for a very long time, if ever.”

  “Oh.” The human looked devastated, and Asta felt a twinge of guilt. Better to end this fantasy of his now than have him pining over her for however long it took humans to get over crushes. “I’ll still . . . maybe you can recommend a charity, and I can let you know how much money we raised? Oh, and I’m continuing to keep an eye out for the security concerns we discussed.”

  Even more guilt. She needed him, needed the knowledge and insight of a bigwig at the conference to clue her in on what possible motive could be driving a demon plot, but she didn’t want to lead him on. What a mess.

  “Thank you. I’m actually a bit tired and heading out now, but I’ll touch base with you in the morning?”

  He practically glowed. “That would be great. Can I walk you to your hotel? Where are you staying?”

  “Not a chance, dude.” Dar grabbed Asta’s elbow and practically knocked the human aside. “I’m walking her out, so you just keep your grubby charity funds away from her.”

  Carter rolled his eyes and gave Asta what she supposed was a smile of sympathy. “I’ll have an espresso waiting for you. No sugar, no cream, a twist of lemon — just as you like it.”

  Dar yanked her arm, almost throwing her to the floor. For some reason unknown to her, she allowed him to haul her through the convention. The whole way, he muttered something under his breath about how macarons were better than espresso.

  Once clear of the main conference hall, she pulled free and planted her feet. “Seriously? What is your problem? He’s one of the movers and shakers here. We need him for insight into what the demon’s motive could be, and an early warning of possible issues. Don’t drive him away.”

  “That’s hardly likely,” Dar snarled. “It
would take an atomic bomb to get him away from you. He knows how you drink your espresso? You went back to the party last night and picked him up. I’d expect the seduction method of information gathering from a demon, but not an angel.”

  “I didn’t seduce him,” Asta declared hotly. “We went for coffee next door and talked. That’s it. He has a bit of a thing for me, but I’ve done nothing to encourage it.” Nothing to discourage it either, she thought with another helping of guilt. And why did she care what Dar believed?

  Dar’s eyes narrowed, and her anger kicked in.

  “Take a hike. I don’t need you, and I don’t need your Jacuzzi tub either.” She spun around to leave, but he grabbed her arm. She allowed him to halt her, even though she was strong enough to break free.

  “I’m sorry.”

  It was insane how those two words deflated her anger like a balloon on a nail.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve never worked with an angel before, and I judged you by demon standards of behavior. Please forgive me? And please use my Jacuzzi tub?”

  Asta sighed, suddenly realizing she was still toting around his heavy bags of stuff. What was it about this demon? He could be such an irritating jerk, and then he’d worm his way into her heart with a sincere apology. What demon apologizes?

  Wait, heart? Oh no. That was so not happening. But she was exhausted, and the hot, steamy tub just a few blocks away called to her.

  “Apology accepted. I’ll drop off your stuff and take a bath at your place, even keep my vow on our night out tonight, but you need to promise not to harass Carter. Don’t prank him, don’t speak to him, and especially don’t engage in a fistfight with him. Deal?”

  Once again, the demon raised his right hand — the one not gripping her elbow. “Deal.”

  Carter. She’d called that stupid human prick by his first name. And the way her voice caressed the syllables made him itch to plant his fist in the man’s face. Still, it was him she was going out with tonight, not Carter. He just needed to play his cards right. Rwanda his ass — the angel had lied like a demon in addition to her other sins. Yes, he just needed to be the right combination of ballsy and patient, and she’d be his. The thought stirred not just the one-eyed trouser snake but something deeper inside him. Love was a shameful emotion for demons, one they denied with great vehemence, but Dar had felt that emotion before and wasn’t embarrassed to admit it — at least to himself. As amazing as youthful infatuation had been, it was nothing like what this could be if he just allowed it to happen — if the angel allowed it to happen.