Blaze

by Suzanne Wright

  Raini sidled up to Harper and linked her arm through hers. “Let’s go find you a dress.”

  The next few hours were spent browsing and trying on clothes and shoes. Keenan repeatedly sent Harper “please have mercy on me” looks, but she just shrugged each time. Raini and Devon were on a mission to help her find the perfect dress, and Harper preferred that to dealing with Belinda’s designer-friend. Still, it was easy to feel claustrophobic when the mall was so busy. There wasn’t much that it didn’t sell. Clothing, books, electronics, jewelry, toys, music, shoes, purses, make-up, housewares, furniture – that was just the beginning.

  Just as Harper was losing the will to live, Raini brought her to an abrupt halt and pointed to a dress in a window display. “That is perfect for you,” declared the succubus.

  Harper bit the inside of her cheek. “It’s a little too… sophisticated for me.”

  “No, it’s not,” said Raini, urging her into the store.

  A dark-skinned woman approached, smiling politely. “Hello, Miss Wallis. Can I be of any assistance?”

  The amount of times Harper had heard that very sentence in the last few hours was unreal. Before she could get a word out, Raini pointed at the peach dress on the mannequin and asked what sizes were available blah, blah, blah.

  Harper browsed the rails while they chatted, sliding hangers back and forth on the racks. She paused as she came to a raspberry red, satin, strapless dress. Decorated with little gemstones, it was tight fitted down to mid-thigh, where it then flared out.

  “You look great in red,” said Devon. “This is perfect for you.”

  “Definitely,” agreed Khloë. “But I’m not sure Raini will agree. She’s got a hard-on for that peach dress.”

  It turned out that her cousin was right. The succubus insisted that it was the better choice.

  “It’s graceful, silk, and the shade suits your skin tone perfectly,” stated Raini. “Right, Keenan?”

  The incubus opened and closed his mouth several times. Then he grimaced. “Why are you involving me?”

  “You’re a guy; guys like seeing girls in dresses. This will look good on Harper, right?”

  Again, his mouth bopped open and closed. “Stop. Enough. I can’t handle the pressure.”

  Leaving them to argue, Harper went into the fitting rooms and tried on the dress. When picking clothes, she didn’t really care about what they did for her bone structure or cleavage or ass. She just like to be comfortable and, well, feel good in whatever the item might be. This dress met her criteria perfectly, though it didn’t manage to hide all of the brand Knox’s demon had left on her breast. Not many dresses did.

  When she came out of the fitting rooms, it was to find Raini and Keenan still arguing – this time about whether succubae or incubi were the better sex demon. Ignoring them, Harper went straight to the checkout.

  With a bright smile, the shop assistant took the dress and did all the usual rigmarole. Carefully folding the dress and slipping it into a bag, she then said, “Have a great day.”

  “I haven’t paid yet,” said Harper, holding up her debit card.

  “But… you don’t need to. You own the Underground.”

  “But I don’t own this store, and it wouldn’t be good for the store to be giving out free stuff.” Harper knew from her own experience that it wasn’t easy to run a business. The overheads in the mall had to be pretty high.

  The shopkeeper inclined her head in respect and charged the dress to Harper’s card.

  “Now we just need to buy shoes,” said Devon, but Harper shook her head.

  “Another day. I’m tired.” Harper wasn’t the type of girl who could shop until she dropped. She was more of a “shop until you feel like punching random people for doing nothing more than bumping you with their bags” girl. “Time to eat.”

  As they were passing a shoe and purse store, Devon grinned. “Oh, I love that red purse. So shiny.”

  Scratching the back of his head, Keenan cleared his throat. “You probably shouldn’t go in there.”

  “Why?” asked Devon.

  “The manager once…”

  “Had a little fun with Knox,” Harper finished.

  He blinked at her. “How did you know?”

  “I went in there a few weeks ago, and she bitterly congratulated me on my mating to Knox. With a sly smile, she said that she knows from personal experience how good in bed he is; she went on to paint a very vivid picture of their time together.” She’d mentioned how good his psychic hands felt, how desperate he’d been for her, and repeated all the little compliments he’d made as he fucked her. “She then added just how comfy his bed is and asked how it feels to sleep in a bed that my mate had fucked so many other females in.”

  Devon gasped. “She didn’t!”

  Scowling, Keenan said, “You’re the only female he’s ever taken to the mansion. He took the others to his hotels, and he replaced the beds in all of his penthouses once he mated you.”

  “I know,” said Harper. “Knox told me the same thing months ago, which is the reason I was able to laugh in her face and say I’d add all that to the list of other fictional concepts that I don’t care about.” But it had still been horrible to hear all that shit and be reminded of how… eventful… his sex life had been before she came along. “I would have dealt her some soul-deep pain, but then she’d have known just how much she’d pissed me off.” Harper wouldn’t give the heifer the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.

  “Don’t let her get to you,” said Keenan. “She’s no one. And I’m not saying she’s a slut, but she’s easier to pick up than a radio station.”

  Khloë licked her front teeth. “You know, Devon, I think we should take a closer look at that purse.”

  The hellcat smiled. “I think you’re right.”

  Harper sighed. “Girls, let it be.”

  “I sure do like that blue scarf over there,” said Raini.

  Khloë gave Harper a pleading look. “Come on, let’s have some fun. It’s been a while since we tortured retailers.”

  Harper chuckled. “All right.” Inside the store, they split up. Khloë and Devon checked out the purses and accessories, and Harper and Raini admired the shoes while Keenan kept a look-out.

  Harper almost laughed when she noticed the manager’s reflection in a mirror. The redhead’s eyes went wide and she turned to one of her assistants and hissed, “Tell the guard to follow the tiny one and make sure she doesn’t steal anything.” By that, she clearly meant Khloë.

  Raini cast Harper a “how petty” look.

  The manager then appeared at their side. “Can I be of any assistance?” she asked stiffly, her smile brittle.

  Harper read her name badge and smiled. “Well, hello again, Lora. I’m just here to find some shoes for the big event – Knox likes me in heels.”

  Lora’s face hardened. “I see.”

  “You look surprised to see me.”

  “I didn’t expect you to return, given that our last conversation didn’t go so well,” said Lora, touching her perfectly coifed hair. “I truly didn’t mean to offend you.” Glancing at Keenan, she cast him a sultry look that he completely ignored.

  “How did she offend you?” Raini asked Harper, folding her arms.

  “Lora felt compelled to share in great detail the fun she’d had with Knox,” replied Harper.

  Lora lifted one shoulder. “It was just a little girl-talk.”

  Ignoring that, Harper continued speaking to Raini. “And she claimed that she’d slept in my bed, which of course is pure bullshit.”

  The redhead licked her lower lip. “It is the truth. I didn’t expect you to be sensitive about the subject. It’s not as if it’s a secret that Knox is highly sexual.”

  Glaring at Lora, Raini put her hands on her hips. “You’re like summer. You have no class.”

  At Lora’s gasp, Harper said, “Raini’s right, you know. Sharing graphic details with me of your time with my mate was both petty and distasteful. I’
ll bet most of it was also pure bullshit, just like your little claim to have slept in my bed.”

  Lora sneered. “You want to believe it’s a lie, but I know the truth.”

  “There you go again with your bullshit,” said Harper. “God, your mouth must be full of it. Maybe you should do what you do best and swallow.”

  Lora’s face flushed with rage. “I think you should leave.”

  “Why are you following me?” a familiar voice whined from behind them. They whirled to see Khloë pouting at the guard. “Are you some kind of weirdo?”

  He gestured to his uniform. “I work here.”

  “You think I’m going to steal something, is that it?” Khloë sounded genuinely hurt. “Why? What did I ever do to you?”

  The guard spluttered. “I’m not —”

  “And why are you looming over me? Is it to intimidate me? Do you do that to all women?”

  “I’m not – you’re not – she asked me to follow you.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the manager.

  At this point, they had the attention of everyone in the store.

  The redhead lifted her chin and shrugged at Khloë. “You’re an imp.” As if that was all the explanation she needed.

  “At least I’m not prejudiced against other demons,” Khloë said, eyes wet. “I’ll be outside, Harper.” Lower lip trembling, the imp sharply turned to leave and crashed into a display rack, knocking all the purses over and even sending some sliding out of the store. The alarm started blaring and, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, Khloë marched out.

  Harper turned to the redhead. “I’ll have to go track down my cousin. First, I should probably let you know that it’s very, very possible that the overheads for this unit might suddenly become much higher.”

  The managed gasped. “You can’t do that!”

  Her demon shoved its way to the surface. “And don’t ever think you can dictate what we can or can’t do.”

  As the demon withdrew, Harper spun on her heel and left the store with Raini and Keenan; stepping over the assistants who were desperately trying to fix the display.

  Glancing around, Harper spotted Khloë sitting next to Devon on a bench, head down, near the restrooms. The hellcat was rubbing her back soothingly.

  As they reached them, Keenan crouched at Khloë’s side, the image of concern. “You okay?”

  The imp looked up and smiled. “Sure.” She then fished a blue scarf out of her pocket and handed it to Raini. “Here.”

  The succubus took it with a delighted smile. “Ooh, it’s so soft.”

  Keenan stared at Khloë for a good ten seconds. “You’re good.”

  “First rule of stealing: make the alarm go off before you leave,” said Khloë. “Then no one bats an eyelid when you walk out. Sometimes I make it go off a few times so it seems faulty.” She stood, happy. Then she frowned at Harper. “Hey, what happened to your contact lenses?”

  “My demon briefly surfaced to talk to the redhead,” replied Harper. Whenever that happened, her contacts disintegrated. “Let’s eat.”

  After having a Chinese meal at the food court, they finally stepped out of the mall. Harper was honestly surprised that Keenan didn’t fall to the ground and kiss it in relief. She smiled at the sight of Larkin, Knox’s fourth sentinel, waiting there. The stunning, slender harpy moved like a warrior; her gray-blue eyes missed nothing.

  “Hey,” greeted Larkin. “Keenan said you were done.” Obviously they’d had a telepathic chat.

  “Tell me you’re here to say they’ve found Crow,” Harper said.

  Larkin’s smile dimmed. “I wish. No, I’m here because Knox wants you to have two bodyguards while the place is so hectic.”

  Great. “That’s not necessary,” Harper told her as they began to walk. “I have Keenan, and none of my girls here are weak.”

  “No, but Primes need to keep themselves well-guarded,” Larkin said. “You’re a Prime now.”

  “I’m so looking forward to the celebration!” said Raini. “You could look a little excited, Harper. It’s partly to celebrate you being Knox’s co-Prime.”

  “You know me well enough to know that it’s not something I’d ever want to celebrate,” said Harper. She was getting a headache just thinking about it.

  Larkin’s mouth quirked. “I don’t think I’ve met another demon who has no interest in power.”

  “Well, you’d better get used to it, Harper,” began Keenan, “because you wield a shitload of it now. Being mated to Knox Thorne was never going to be a simple thing.”

  “Where is Knox?” Devon glanced around. “I thought he was meeting you here.”

  Harper shrugged. “He said he would.”

  “He’s in the Underground,” said Larkin, “but he’s at his office. Jonas appeared as he was leaving and asked to speak with him.” Jonas was another Prime. “He brought Alethea with him,” Larkin told Keenan, whose brows flew up. The two sentinels exchanged some sort of meaningful look.

  Harper halted. “What? What don’t I know?” And who the hell was Alethea? Since it was pretty much impossible for any female to be around Knox without wanting him, Harper had to ask, “Is she an ex of his?”

  “Ex?” Keenan stretched out the word.

  “Ex-bed buddy,” Harper amended.

  “I wouldn’t describe her as that,” said Keenan. “More like they had the occasional one-night stand over the centuries.”

  “Centuries. Right.” Harper’s stomach rolled. She hated jealousy. It was a wasteful, pointless emotion. “What is she?”

  Larkin bit her bottom lip. “She’s an encantada.”

  Gut twisting, Harper blew out a breath. “He shook the sheets with the ultimate sex demon. Good to know.” Encantadas and their male equivalent, encantados, were all exceptionally beautiful and well-known for their powers of seduction. They could also shapeshift into dolphins, which she thought was pretty random.

  “Encantadas might be powerful, but they can only enchant humans. Succubae and incubi – we can enchant anyone.” Keenan lowered his voice as he added, “Almost anyone.”

  That didn’t make her feel better. Harper tried to shove the matter out of her mind but, dammit, it was hard not to be bothered by it. Just like it was hard not to be bothered by having two bodyguards; both of whom were now crowding her. And just like it was hard not to be bothered by her life suddenly changing in dozens of ways and how she was now co-running a freaking lair.

  She didn’t regret or resent any of it, but adjusting wasn’t easy. What she’d love right then was a distraction. Something. Anything.

  Hearing a loud, ‘Yee-ha!’ in the near distance, Harper looked to see a small rodeo arena. She looked at Khloë. And they both smiled.

  Fingers steepled, Knox said, “Jonas, Alethea, what business brings you here?” His tone wasn’t the least bit welcoming. He’d come to the Underground with the intention of finding his mate and taking her home. He wasn’t in the mood for meetings, but Jonas was one of his business associates, so Knox had agreed.

  He had no idea why Alethea was there, considering she didn’t usually accompany her brother anywhere and she wasn’t involved in any of Jonas’s businesses. Knox didn’t particularly care so long as the meeting was over with quickly.