“Others?”
“I can’t explain that either. They wish to do it together,” he answered, shrugging off my attitude. He was infuriating. Yet another reason to stay away.
“Wait…does this have anything to do with the creeper waiting outside the police station last night?” I probably could have been less demanding about it, but it was too strange not to overlook the possibility.
Rysten snorted. “Allistair?” I nodded once. “I look forward to relaying that message to him.” Damn it. They knew each other. This was not coincidence, but I didn’t get the feeling it had anything to do with them looking to dominate me. Our kind were not subtle in their endeavors, and if that’s what they wanted, I think this conversation would be going very differently.
Bandit purred against my chest, clutching me tighter. I glanced down to see his tail was swaying side to side. He was either happy…or agitated. I was hoping happy because dealing with a biting raccoon was not high on the list of shit I felt like dealing with today.
Rysten eyed him, wrinkling his nose, he said, “I have to ask. Why do you have a raccoon?”
I pursed my lips at the mild disgust in his voice. “Why does anyone have a pet?” I asked. It was rhetorical, but he cocked his head like he was seriously considering my question.
“I suppose companionship. It’s the only real reason I could see anyone taking in a wild animal.” It was both a thoughtful, and yet, a very typical demon outlook. We had the capacity to understand, but not to empathize with most things. My bond with Bandit was abnormal, but I just chalked it up to the half-human in me and left it at that. “He seems quite fond of you,” Rysten noted.
“He is.”
We locked eyes, a world of silent questions swimming before us. I really wanted to know what the hell he was doing here, but he seemed to be content just watching me and evading my question. “You’re not what I expected,” he said eventually. I tilted my head, raising an eyebrow. Before I could ask, there was a knock on my door.
“Your first client is here,” Moira called. I tapped Bandit’s shoulder signaling for him to jump down. He scurried across the floor and up the massive cat tower I kept in my office for when I brought him to work. Most people weren’t too fond of raccoons, and he wasn’t too fond of most people.
Rysten stood, and I walked around the desk to open the door. My hand stilled on the door knob as I faced him. I was prepared to ask him once again why he was here, maybe even add a little persuasion to the mix in hopes of getting a real answer, but something in his eyes had me frozen to the spot. My mouth went dry at the intensity I found: so very similar to the demon from last night, and yet different. Allistair had a roughness, and an air of danger that edged that dominance. I had no doubts that there was more to the incubus than the cold arrogance he exuded.
Rysten had a different feel. His power was offset with curiosity, like I was the enigma he couldn’t figure out. His glamor was still in place; he’d yet to drop it once. There was a flux of something behind it; almost like a ripple of power that he was struggling to contain.
What kind of demon are you?
He reached forward, his fingers only inches from my face, and a knock at the door brought the moment to an abrupt halt.
His hand dropped to his side, a boyish smile lighting his face again as the tension dissipated. I opened the door and stepped through.
“I’ll see you again soon, Ruby,” he murmured. I turned around to say goodbye, but he was already gone. His words hung in the air, a promise that had my skin heating with anticipation.
I was so royally fucked, and I didn’t even know why.
**Rysten**
I don’t know what I was expecting after Allistair passed the torch to me, but she wasn’t it.
She was warier than I thought she’d be. Cynical. Sarcastic.
I could see why his nature would rub her the wrong way.
She was fiercely independent, that much was clear. She wasn’t going to like being told what to do, and given that she had no idea who we were, this wasn’t going to go as planned.
The girl I just met was not going to drop everything and come with us. She had a life; albeit an odd one given that she kept vermin as a pet.
Not to mention the receptionist.
The banshee was suspicious. She knew I hadn’t booked that appointment. That was going to be problematic. I hooked a left on the corner and stopped inside the first coffee shop I found. Ordering a medium roast with two sugars, I then took a seat by the window and mentally reached out to Julian.
“We need to talk.” He was not going to like this, but what were we going to do? Forcibly remove her? No. This needed to be handled with tact; something my brother didn’t have.
“I’m meeting with Allistair. What is it?” he replied. I sincerely hoped Allistair had told him how the original meeting went down, or he might try to throttle me.
“I’ve met with Ruby. We need to have a dis—”
“What do you mean ‘you’ve met with her’?”
Well. That answered that. Pouting fucker hadn’t thought to notify him when things went south. “Speak with Allistair. Come find me when you are done. I’m changing the plan.” I could sense a brief surge of anger before his mind pulled away.
I sipped at my coffee, savoring the bitter burn.
We had her. She was right here.
Except the moment she looked at me and called me on my glamor, I knew we were in trouble.
There was spark of the devil behind her eyes and she doesn’t even realize it.
Chapter 4
The afternoon passed in a blur as I thought about Rysten’s parting words: soon. That could mean a lot of things, and I was pretty sure our next encounter would not be alone. He mentioned that there were…others. Including the one I already met. The thought sent shivers running down my spine.
“Moira!” I called, and she poked her head around my office door. “My schedule is clear, yeah? I’m going to leave for the night. Feeling a little under the weather.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I really was feeling strange, just not of the sickly variety.
Moira narrowed her seafoam green eyes. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with that guy from this morning, would it?” she asked.
Nosy banshee.
“Why would it have anything to do with him?” I asked, as good a non-answer as I could get. I didn’t like lying to her, but I was in no position to handle an interrogation right now.
“You’ve been acting weird since he left.”
Weird. That was one way to put it. I was freaked the fuck out. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn’t want to bring it up to her. It was one thing for me to worry when Rysten, and probably Allistair, would show back up for devil knows what. It was an entirely different thing to be calming Moira in that process. She was possessive. She’d hunt them down if she thought they meant to do me harm.
No. Until I knew what they wanted, I wasn’t involving her.
I lifted the corners of my mouth in a tired smile and went to retrieve Bandit from his hidey-hole in the cat tower. He practically sprang at me, locking his arms around my neck like a sloth in a tree. “Bandit’s been feeling a bit antsy today. I thought getting him out of the house would help, but it’s not.” I shrugged and turned for the door, hoping that was enough to satisfy her. As far as non-lie-lies go, it was golden. Moira’s eyes flicked to him and softened, just a little. Inwardly, I snickered. She could call him a trash panda all she wanted, but I knew the truth. He’d grown on her.
“Get him a can of sardines. He’ll be fine,” she said indifferently. Bandit started chittering at the mention of his favorite little fish. Damned raccoon. Food was always the number one priority. Now he’d be yapping in my ear the whole way home.