Page 32 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
Bronwyn rolled her eyes, knowing full well where my mind, and my hormones, had gone. Sharing a bedroom with me for my entire childhood meant she knew me far better than any of my other sisters.
“If you’re worried about him going out and getting in fights before you can get the charges dropped and him out of town, then maybe he should be on house arrest.” Bronwyn nodded toward the door.
“Hey. The only way I’ll be on house arrest is if I get to stay at Cassandra’s house.”
Oh, so tempted. “It’s just until morning,” I told him. “I promise I’ll come get you after breakfast.”
“That’s not part of the terms of my bail.” His eyes glowed that eerie red-orange again. “I agreed to stay in the town until my hearing or until the charges were dropped. Never did I agree to remaining in a hotel room. You’ll make a lousy demon, Cassandra, if you can’t be specific in your contracts. As a lawyer, I would have thought you would have known that.”
“Well for normal folk, the anklet works. Actually, for normal folk we don’t even need the anklet.” I glared at him. “I’m considering using extraordinary methods because you’re not just going out for pizza or getting a beer at a local bar, you’re fighting. Again. You’re going to end up back in jail. Don’t you want to get back home?”
He gave me a slow smile. “No, not really. I’m kind of liking it here. I might stay.”
“Well, you don’t have any money. And don’t you have a job to get back to torturing souls in the third circle?”
“Third, fourth, and sixth,” he corrected me. “And demons don’t need money. No, I think I’m going to stay. This town is far more interesting than I’d thought. I clearly owe Charon a debt of gratitude when I see him next.”
“Well staying here won’t be as much fun if you’re in jail,” I reminded him. “I’m going to lock you in the hotel room and I’ll return in the morning to get you.”
That glow was back in his eyes. The air felt oddly heavy. We were about to have an argument, and the thought turned me on even more. Yes, psycho me. I had anger management issues, and I got hot and bothered disagreeing with others. Maybe that’s why I’d become a lawyer.
“Cassandra Nicole Perkins, the only way you’re locking me in that hotel room is if you’re on the inside with me.”
I sucked in a breath. How the hell had he known my middle name? But that was a minor concern. I was rusty. I wasn’t anywhere near as skilled as I’d be if I’d been regularly practicing my witchy arts. Wards aside, I was pretty sure if I went head-to-head with this demon, I was going to lose.
I’d lock him in. He’d walk right out. And I was pretty sure he’d show up at my house just to make sure I knew how ineffective my spell had been. The wards around Accident might have stripped him of most of his demon powers, but I had no doubt that there were a few things beyond sprouting a set of leathery wings that this demon still could do.
“Will you please promise me you’ll stay inside the hotel room until I come get you tomorrow?” I had a weird feeling that he’d be good to his word. Maybe there had been something in Grandma’s books about demons and making promises, but I was sure I could trust him to do as he said. Although if demons were like lawyers, he might find some way to wiggle out based on vague contract terms, so I’d need to keep it simple and make sure anything I asked couldn’t be interpreted another way.
“Now why would I promise that?” he purred.
Hell if I knew. “Because I asked you to? And said please?” I gave him my best smile, hoping that might help.
“Quid pro quo, darling. It’s not a deal unless I get something of equal value in return.”
Damn it. “I’ll buy you lunch,” I offered.
He stepped up to me so close that I could feel the heat of his body against me, feel his breath stir the hair next to my ear. “Fuck me and I’ll stay in the room until dawn.”
Oh, I so wanted to do just that. But I didn’t end up on the review board of my law school for lack of negotiation skills. “Lunch and extra fries. I am representing you pro bono, and I did give you back your coin that you somehow lost. Plus, I gave you a ride back to your hotel.”
“Your sister was technically the one who gave me a ride back here. It’s her truck, and she’s driving.”
He never looked at Bronwyn, every ounce of his attention still firmly on me. I was so hot I thought I was about to burst into flames. All of me, not just my pants.
“How about I buy you lunch and I give you a kiss in return for you agreeing to remain in your hotel room until dawn?” I have no idea what made me propose that. Drawing in a shaky breath, I evaluated the state of my willpower and found it sorely lacking. Oh well. I’d need to hold strong and wrench myself away from this guy with only one kiss. Good thing my sister was here watching, as backup in case I started shucking my clothing, or climbing all over this guy.
“You have to walk into the hotel room with me and give me the kiss with the door closed behind you. The kiss, and/or kissing session, cannot be less than thirty seconds long, and there are no restrictions as to what my hands, tongue, or other body parts do during said kiss.” His mouth brushed my ear. “And you cook me breakfast in the morning. At your house.”
I turned into him, my lips lightly touching his cheek. “I’ve already got a breakfast date to get Clinton to drop his charges against you. And trust me, babe, you don’t want to eat my cooking. Witch. Caldron. Eye of newt.”
“Maybe I like eye of newt,” he breathed.
“Can I leave? Are you guys going to boink right here on the pavement, or in the hotel? If so, then get it done because I’ve got a rather impatient centaur that threw a shoe over at the golf course.”
“Thirty seconds once I’m inside, Wynnie,” I told her. Then I pulled away from the warmth of Lucien’s body and boldly walked to his hotel room, unlocking the door with the spare key Hollister had given me when I’d checked my client in, and throwing open the door.
What I saw inside drove all thoughts of sex right out of my mind.
