Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
“She’s tried different ways to make him admit defeat and leave her be. She’s yelled at him. Ignored him. Threatened him. Even set his hair on fire at one point. He just keeps coming back. Like the clap.”
“You want me to intervene,” Luka guessed.
“Actually, I want to fish out his gullet with a rusty spoon, but I’m pretty sure you’d have an issue with that. I’d prefer that we weren’t at odds. So yes, Luka, I’m going to need you to intervene. As a psi-demon, he can feed from people’s emotions and drain them dry; I won’t risk him turning that gift on her. You make a bad enemy, but so do I,” Jolene warned, her face hardening. “If there’s one thing imps are good at, it’s making themselves a problem for others.”
Understatement of the century.
“I can see that Iain’s behavior has surprised you. He might not have been stalkerish in the past, but I’ll bet he has a history of being clingy and overly possessive when in relationships.”
Some of the whispers he’d heard about the demon in question flitted to the forefront of Luka’s mind. “I might have heard something to that effect.”
“Traits like that can often be problematic for male demons who get involved with sirens—their allure draws out the intensity of those characteristics.”
That was when the penny dropped. “Naomi. She’s his ex.”
“Yes.”
Agitation spiked through Luka and his demons. He straightened in his seat. “Why wasn’t I informed of Iain’s behavior before now?”
“Naomi didn’t report it to me initially because she kept expecting his obsession to wear off. But it hasn’t, and none of her attempts made him back off. Just about done with his shit, she finally came to me. And now I’m coming to you. There’s little point in us having an alliance if we can’t count on each other at such times.”
Luka gritted his teeth. If you were around a particular siren often enough, you could become desensitized to their song . . . unless you fell victim to it. He wouldn’t have expected Iain to do the latter. “I want to talk to her.”
“I suspected you would, which is why I asked you to meet me at her place of work.” Jolene’s eyes went out of focus—a telltale sign that she was using telepathy. Moments later, her gaze sharpened on him once more. “She’ll be with us soon.”
The waitress arrived first. She set drinks on their table and assured them that their food would soon follow. It was as she was leaving the room that Naomi returned. Her gaze found Luka’s, and, that easily, lust smoothed its way up his spine.
Abraxas grinned, pleased she was back. It adored women. Well, it adored the validation of their attention.
“What d’ya need?” she asked, her gaze bouncing from Luka to her Prime.
“To talk to you,” he told her. “Alone.”
Jolene stilled. “I called you here—”
“And we spoke. Now I want to talk to Naomi.”
“You can do that while I’m present.”
“You know I won’t hurt her, so there’s no need for you to object to my speaking with her alone.”
“Why request that?”
“There may be things she’d prefer not to mention in front of you—mostly because it’s well known that you blow up entire buildings when in a rage. I want all the facts. She can always call out to you telepathically if she feels the need to.”
Sensing that Jolene might argue regardless, Naomi smoothly edged forward and said, “It’s fine. I don’t mind talking to him alone.”
Her lips thinning, Jolene stared at Luka thoughtfully for long moments. “All right,” she said eventually. “If you’re sure, Naomi.”
“I’m sure.” Naomi found Luka intimidating, yes, but she didn’t fear him. Nor did her demon. The fact was that she was no easy target. Her Prime knew that well.
Jolene rose from her seat, shot Luka a look of warning, and then swanned out of the room.
Naomi took the seat she had vacated and met his gaze steadily. He was still, but not the slightest bit tense. On the contrary, he was at ease, comfortable. And so very watchful. His eyes were fixed on her face, unwaveringly intense, as if intent on not missing a thing. It rubbed at her nerves, because Naomi didn’t like scrutiny as a rule.
She waited for him to speak, entirely too conscious of the chemistry buzzing in the air between them. It only added to her discomfort.
“You don’t need to fear me,” he assured her, clearly mistaking the source of her unease.
“Hmm, pretty sure I’d be a fool not to.”
His lips twitched minutely. “I mean you no harm. I’d just like for us to talk.” Leaning back in his seat, as if to seem no threat, he went on, “I want specifics regarding Iain. How often does he contact you?”
“Daily. Usually by text, though he sends them via spoofing websites using different phone numbers.”