Page 16 of Beneath My Skin

“The last thing I need is to be trapped in a tiny room with a man I don’t know who, incidentally, tried to kill me.” I felt a jolt of shock. Dax was a slave to the woman who wanted to rip me apart. All for a measly demon. Why couldn’t she find someone else’s demon? Or summon one herself?

Why did she want mine?

“I didn’t try to kill you, sweetheart,” Dax replied.

“Again with the sweetheart bit. How many times do I need to tell you?”

“Jacqueline wanted me to capture you but not kill you. Technically, I did everything in my power not to capture you.” His tone turned pouty and frustration twisted his features until his face became hard. “There are these loopholes—”

“Dax, I don’t care. You lied to me.” My eyes narrowed and my voice was laced with disgust. “And then you delivered me to that woman.”

“Technically,” he argued, “I tried to get you to leave but you refused to listen.”

I continued on as if he hadn’t spoken, getting to my feet with minimal wooziness. “Then you yelled at me. Is any of this making sense to you? Because I feel like I’m going out of my mind and really, you aren’t helping.”

“I’ve done nothing but help, so I’m sorry you feel that way. If you’d like to have a seat on the bed, maybe we can talk about things for a minute. I’m sure you’re confused. We have a bit of time to spare before Jacqueline wakes up from your last punch. We need to use the time to plan.”

Again I wondered what Cer had done and how we’d managed to escape. The gaping hole in my memory was a real bummer.

The thought brought a nervous chuckle. “I’m not falling for your charm again. I’ve seen what’s underneath the false sincerity, mister.” I brought out the finger point again, rising and crossing the small space to dig it into his chest. God, were there muscles underneath his muscles? Was he made of frickin’ granite? “And I don’t like what I see. Why should I trust you?”

“Because…” Dax took the time to lift my finger away from him. Oddly similar to the way he’d handled—yes, handled—Sandy Hair. “You tried to take me down but I’m still here. I think together we can work to accomplish something I haven’t been able to do on my own.”

“Which is?”

“Freedom. I know it’s something you want, too,” he said.

“I’m free,” I insisted, turning away to wipe the rest of the dried and crusted blood away from my nose. Suddenly conscious of my appearance. “I can go wherever I want. Do whatever I want.” Well, except right now. I was grounded at the moment.

“And what about your demon? Can you ever be truly free with her?” Dax tightened his jaw.

“I…I don’t know.”

“Tell me about the nature of your curse.”

“My curse?”

“Why you have a demon attached to your soul. I’ve seen the Enochian script she uses to communicate. I know what she does to you. Who did you piss off? Or did you sell something?”

I made a sound of disgust. “Sell something…jeez, no. I’m not sure why I have her. Wait, how do you know it’s Enochian? No, don’t walk away from me. Dax? How do you know it’s Enochian?”

“Because I can read it.”

A flash of pain reminded me that no matter how I felt about Dax, there were more pressing matters. I stumbled over to the bed and let myself drop. Knees weak and head suddenly heavy. “How long are we stuck in your bottle?”

“Well, three minutes in here is like thirty years out there,” he replied. “I should tell you…everyone you knew is now dead.”

“What? Oh. Oh my God.” My head dropped between my knees. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

He gave me an odd look. “It was a joke. Come on. It’s not like you care, anyway. I know about you, Mariella. I know about all the supernaturals in the area, it’s true, which means I’ve done my research and I’ve seen the way your family treats you. Why are you so eager to get back to them?”

“What makes you think I want out for them? All I want is to live a normal life. I want a normal job and to walk down the street without wondering what people think of me. I want a boyfriend, for goodness’ sake!” I laughed nervously.

The edges of his lips twitched. “A boyfriend? I’m sure you have plenty of men beating down your door.”

“With a demon who could go batshit crazy at any time? No, I can’t trust myself. I’m hardly going to drag some poor unsuspecting man into my crazy life.”

“Okay.” Dax took a deep breath and shuffled over to kneel at my feet.

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