“I could call her parents, drop by, but after the intervention, assumed possession, discussions of exorcism, and then the quick recovery, they were led to believe it was drugs. They may not be as liberal with information leading to their daughter’s whereabouts from a street walker on the arm of a guy that looks and dresses like her business manager.” Chew on that, dragon breath. I’d snarked him and fed him a few other Down Under possibilities for my true nature. Demons to angels and a shitload in between; the possibilities are endless.
“I see. Well, while demon possession would seem inappropriate for what you are wearing, I could see the attraction. She certainly is worth a demon’s evil endeavors in other ways, now isn’t she?” Vuur chuckles and rolls his eyes in mock camaraderie.
Demons usually possess the pure, the religious. He’s putting down my attempts to hide my identity, and I choose to ignore his smartass attitude. Jane does not.
“Admit it, you’re attracted to me—evil incarnate—and, oh, how you’d love to get all down and dirty with me, huh? Well, bring it on, big guy. Let’s get the sexual tension out of the way,” she says. “It’s twenty for a—”
“Although I’m getting used to your Jeckle and Hyde, yin-yang battle from within, it repels and annoys me.” Vuur takes a moment to emit large furry animal warning noises. “I suggest you reign in your bawdy side. If you can’t keep her at bay, I’d be happy to assist.”
“’Ey, hothead, I’m right ’ere. Talk to me, not at me.” Jane thumbs the soft valley between our breasts. “You can assist, alright. Shut your trap and start actin’ like a nice guy instead of a hubris prick. That’s how you can assist.”
“My dear,” Vuur says, “while you definitely made a debauchery of the English language with that eye-watering attempt at ridicule, I certainly must commend you on the usage of the word hubris.”
“I didn’t debitch nothin’!”
“Exactly. And this, young lady, was, and will be, my only attempt at ’actin’ like a nice guy’.”
“Alright, that is enough,” I say. “How about we both give up our debauched attempts at foreplay—metaphorically—” I smile at his steaming nose holes. “—and try real hard to stay on point. How about we work on a game plan?”
“Fine,” the dragon says. “Will you be calling your last victim’s family, or will I?”
“All the faith I had had, had had nothin’ to do with you doin’ shit for us,” Jane mumbled.
“Although your rapid-fire usage of the word had is quite impressive,” Vuur tells Jane, “the remainder of that sentence hurt my head. Not to worry; I am quite sure no one else in this seedy establishment can see the humor within your misdirected epiphany.”
“Jeeze! Speak freakin’ English, will ya?” Jane says on our way out of the diner, thumbs punching numbers into a cellphone. “But shut up right now. I’m makin’ the call.”
Chapter 13
Jane
“It’s only the first week in September and it’s fifty-seven degrees!” I say, hands wrapped around my arms as I bounce beside Vuur’s Jeep Wrangler in my Florida weather garb. “How do these people live here when it drops below fifty?”
The wind blows my hair back, and my reflection in in the jeep’s side-mirror has cherry red cheeks.
CeCe’s mother had been compliant when I told her I’d been a roommate the previous year and wanted to hook up again this year. I didn’t even have to mention the college; she didn’t give me a chance. She told me she’d already secured a room for her daughter. With an acid-laced voice, CeCe’s mother then added her daughter had found another location, a rental a mile from Ferris State campus, but she didn’t have an address.
It had been twenty-six hours since we’d arrived, and we’d seen neither her nor Gaire. CeCe was not staying on campus in the dorm, and she wasn’t at the address her mother had given us. Twelve guys were, though, and not one knew my former host.
“In my country, the climate can be very brutal,” Vuur says. “I remember a winter back in fourteen—”
“Who gives a shit! My tits are freezin’ off my chest!” Jane blurts. “Let’s find this bitch and get the hell out of here.”
It was a lot easier to control CeCe. This blonde haired, blue eyed beauty is aggressive, antagonistic, and absolutely addictive.
“Surely you did not have a lucrative business with a mouth like that?” Vuur says under glaring eyes.
“The men I deal with appreciate a mouth like mine,” Jane says, with a wicked smile and our hands stuffed in the back pockets of our jeans.
“Yes, well, with men of that caliber,” Vuur counters, “I’m quite sure it was not what came out of your mouth that they appreciated.”
“Will a bullet through your smartass heart shut that F’n mouth of yours?” Jane wants to know.
I love her lewd and assertive personality, and find myself soaking it up. Without a host, I tend to be on the timid side. That has gotten me nowhere. I haven’t tried to argue with Mother without a host in years. Maybe after Jane, I will finally be able to stand up for myself and win my independence.
“Do you see this CeCe human anywhere?” the dragon shifter asks with obvious diversion. “I have seen no one who even remotely resembles Rogaire. Have you?”