“He’s just had a bit too much to drink,” I replied, eyeing the demon living in my boyfriend’s skin. “But we need to borrow your car. Unless you want us to crash here for the night…”
Kelly propelled herself toward the end table beside the couch and fumbled with the drawer for a moment before straightening and producing the keys to her brand new Ford Explorer. She thrust them at Azi. “Take it—but Samantha stays here.”
I groaned. “He’s not going to hurt—”
“Out of the question,” Azi said with utmost calm. It took the keys from her. “She remains with me at all times.” The demon turned to me, the smallest hint of a grin on Jax’s face. “Her words, of course. Not mine.”
Before I could protest—even though he was technically telling the truth that I’d said exactly those words—Azi grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out Kelly’s front door.
Chapter Three
Azirak/Jax
Sam insisted on driving, which was fine with Azi. The encounter with Kelly, and having been deprived of feeding, had made the demon angry—not to mention hungry. The growing itch made me worry about the thing’s control.
“We need to get something straight,” Sam said, changing lanes to pass the car in front of us. “That shit you pulled back at Kelly’s? That can’t happen again.”
Irritation surged in Azi, but more than that, confusion. It genuinely didn’t understand what she was pissed about. “You chastise me for protecting you?”
“Damn right,” she snapped. “Because no matter what you say, that’s Jax’s body you’re temporarily squatting in. He has to live with the fallout after I find a way to evict your ass. Besides, that’s not what that was all about anyway.”
“Oh?” The demon’s irritation turned to amusement. It didn’t bother correcting her on the temporarily bit. Azi had me locked down tight and wasn’t the least bit concerned about her—or me—turning the tables. And even though I had complete faith in Sam—if there was a way to fix this, she’d find it—even I had to admit I was pretty much fucked.
“You’re the equivalent of a demonic spoiled brat. Any time you don’t get what you want, you throw a fit. That doesn’t work in this world, buddy. You need a little more self-control if you want to pretend to be a real boy.”
I worried the demon’s temper would flare, but instead of anger, I felt a swell of admiration from it. “You know what I am,” Azi said. It shifted around in the seat so that I was facing her. “You know what I am capable of. And yet you still speak to me as you would a lowly human?”
“Lowly human?” She shook her head and stomped on the gas. Kelly’s Explorer surged forward. I cringed internally. I’d seen Sam drive angry. It wasn’t a pretty sight. “No, no. You’re totally misunderstanding me. I’m speaking to you as I would an asshat.”
If Sam wasn’t careful, she’d push the demon too far. Despite knowing it wouldn’t work, I tried to take back control.
If you hurt her…
Azi chuckled, and Sam slowed the car just a bit. “What? What’s so funny?”
“He’s concerned for you. Fearful that I’ll harm you for speaking to me in a tone unbefitting of my station.”
She snorted. “Unbefitting of your station? You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“You find that amusing?”
“More like annoying. Newsflash, demon-boy. You don’t have a station anymore. You’ve pissed off your clan and something tells me there’s nothing you can do to repair that. Not in this lifetime, at least.” She snickered and palmed the wheel. “You’re just a neutered hell-spawn in the body of a hot guy.”
This time the demon did react. My arm shot out, fingers wrapping firmly around Sam’s neck. I fought with all I had, but my limbs wouldn’t respond. She gasped, surprised, and stomped down hard on the brake pedal. Squealing tires and car horns filled the air, and Sam jerked the wheel to the right. The truck came to a screeching halt on the shoulder of the road.
The pressure wasn’t enough to cause Sam discomfort, but the gray of fear bled into the air.
“While I view your outspokenness and bravado as interesting, understand, Samantha Merrick, that I will only tolerate it for so long. Do not overstep your bounds. I don’t want to kill you, but rest assured, I will make your existence difficult.”
Slowly she nodded, and Azi let go. Some of the fear abated, replaced by dark red—fury. The demon ignored it.
“You have me driving aimlessly down this highway,” she said after a moment. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder, and once the coast was clear, pulled the truck back onto the road. “Going to tell me what our destination is?”
“We’re going to obtain the skill set.”
“Skill set,” she repeated. “Is this just any particular set of skills, or do we have a specific person in mind?”
“We seek a very particular set.”
“I suppose the obvious question would be to ask whose skills we’re after…”
No answer. Frustration exploded into the air around Sam.