“No. That’s for emergency usage only.” He crossed his arms. “It’s not safe for you otherwise.”
“Not safe?”
He shook his head. “Siphoning energy from a human is a tricky thing. If I were to take too much… well, I don’t want that to happen.”
“But I feel fine.”
“Right. Other than your seven-hour nap, which you needed because of my draining your energy.”
“Right, that.” She frowned. “But I feel okay now. If you took just a little—”
Oh, God. She was trying to get him to kiss her again. How pathetic was she?
Very pathetic.
She forced herself to think about Ben, instead. Perfect, courageous, wonderful. Focus, Eden. Eyes on the prize. Not on Darrak’s lips.
“Seriously, Eden. I’m trying to be responsible here.”
“And I’m trying to understand what is happening to me.” She considered what he said. “What’s so bad about taking energy from me?”
“Fine. You really want to know?” He paced to the other side of the living room, over by her neatly arranged bookshelf. He looked stressed. “If I’m not careful or if I get greedy, I can take too much of your energy. And it could hurt you badly. I don’t want to do that.”
“Could I be turned into a demon?”
“No. You could die.”
She touched her mouth, thinking about when he’d kissed her in the car. It hadn’t felt bad, that was for sure, but would it if it had gone on for much longer? “I’m glad you’re against that, then.”
He closed the distance between them and leaned against the sofa next to where she stood and studied the floor. “The problem is that the energy I’ve tasted of yours is very… what’s a good word to use here?” His brow furrowed. “Irresistible. Delicious . Addictive. Any of those would do.”
“My energy is tasty?”
“Yes. Very.” He raised his gaze so that it seemed to burn into hers with an intensity she felt inside of her. Then his attention moved to her mouth. “So therefore I can’t take too much or I might not be able to stop myself.”
“You’d drain me completely.”
He took another step closer to her, enough that she could feel the heat from his body as well as his gaze. Then he made a move as if to touch her face but seemed to stop himself before making contact. “That’s what I’m saying. So maybe it’s good that we have Pussy Galore in the apartment now as your fur-faced chaperone. Just in case I get a little too close for comfort.”
She wasn’t sure why the thought that Darrak found her delicious didn’t freak her out. Okay, it freaked her out a bit, but not as much as she would have thought.
A demon admitting that he wanted to devour her totally? That was not a good thing.
But it was also strangely… exciting. And so was the look he’d just given her.
“So when you take the energy, it has to be through a kiss?” she asked, knowing that time was passing, but she still wanted more answers. “Is my mouth the only place you can get the energy from?”
“Actually, no. That was just personal preference.”
Her eyes widened. “Personal preference?”
A slow smile spread across his handsome features. “It worked, didn’t it? Unfortunately, it made your energy much more irresistible than it was to begin with. I’ll have to remember your mouth is a serious danger zone for me.” His gaze moved back to her mouth for a long moment before he met her eyes again. “You better go get ready quickly. The man you really want to swap spit with is probably already on his way here.”
With a firm nod of her head, and not another word spoken, she walked into her bedroom and closed the door, pressing her back against it. Her heart had started pounding very fast during their conversation about her mouth and his preferences.
“The dress the demon picked out sucks.” Leena, again in human form, held the red dress Darrak had picked out—coincidentally enough, Eden’s favorite one—against the front of her as she gazed into the full-length mirror on the wall. “I can find you something way better. Red is so trashy for a first date.”
“Okay,” Eden said, not moving from where she was.
“By the way.” Leena sat on the edge of Eden’s bed and nodded at the wall by the small window. “The Breakfast Club is my all-time favorite movie. Great poster.”
“Thanks.”
“Molly Ringwald never got the credit she deserved as a great actress.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
When Eden finally emerged from the bedroom, Darrak inspected her from head to foot in the blue dress Leena had picked out.
“I preferred the other dress,” he said. “But this one will do, I guess.”
“Glad you approve.”
His expression was grim. “Shifters are so annoying. Nearly as bad as fairies.”
She tried not to smile. “Are there any life-forms that you don’t dislike?”
“I’m fond of humans.” His gaze slid down the front of her again. “Some of them are very tolerable.”
She cleared her throat nervously and turned away from him, suddenly noticing how dark it was in her apartment. She flicked a glance out the balcony window to see the sun had slipped almost completely beneath the horizon.
She froze. The day had totally flown by. Now it was sunset.
And she knew all too well what was going to happen at sunset—other than Ben’s arrival for their date.
Oh shit.
Darrak’s breathing had suddenly grown more rapid and his expression tense. “It’s time.”
Those two words worked to kick her self-preservation instincts back into high gear. She took a step back from him. “You don’t think there’s another way?”
“There isn’t.”
“But what if you just try to resist?”
“If I could I would. Believe me, losing form isn’t fun.” He placed a hand over his stomach as a flash of pain went across his face. “Not good.”
“Maybe some Tums might help.”
“This isn’t indigestion.” He grimaced. “Maybe it only hurts when I fight it.”
A wave of concern flowed through her. “So stop fighting it.”
He looked at her and managed to smile a little. “Change your mind much?”
“I’m a Gemini, so sue me. But I don’t like seeing somebody in pain.”
“That makes two of us. Especially when the somebody is me.”
At that moment, the buzzer to Eden’s apartment sounded.
“That must be golden boy,” Darrak managed. “Perfect timing. What a surprise.”
She moved toward the intercom and pressed the button. “Hello?”
“Eden, I’m here,” Ben said. “Are you ready?”
Panic moved through her as she watched Darrak gasp with pain. The next moment his body morphed into a six-foot-tall cloud of black smoke. “I’ll… uh… be down in just a minute, okay?”
“Sure. Take your time.”
She released the button and turned around to press against the wall. Leena exited the bedroom in cat form and hissed and arched her back as the swirling black smoke moved past her.
The smoke approached Eden almost tentatively, swirling on the ground like a sentient pool of thick smog. Darrak was waiting for something. He was holding back.
He was maybe waiting for… permission?
He didn’t need it. He’d proven that yesterday by possessing her twice against her will. If he’d asked her then she would have answered with a big fat no.
But since then he’d shown that he meant her no harm.
Other than killing her in a year, that is. She assumed that had to do with him slowly draining her of her energy in order to survive.
He thought her energy was tasty.
This was so wrong.
“Fine,” she said, attempting to control the instinctive fear she felt for the demon. “Just do it, already.”
That was all it took. The smoke moved toward her and swirled around her body. She inh
aled sharply and braced her hand against the wall when she felt the strange, shuddering wave of pleasure as he disappeared—
—inside of her.
So wrong, she thought weakly. It was so, so incredibly wrong that being possessed by Darrak was unbelievably… orgasmic.
Andy had to find the witch so they could break Darrak’s curse. She couldn’t deal with this for much longer. It was going to drive her completely and totally insane.
“Darrak?” she said aloud. “Are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” His deep voice flowing through her mind sounded worried. “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Hurt her? Did he think it caused her pain?
“It’s okay,” she said. “I can handle it.”
It was better that he didn’t know. Better for both of them.
“Then let’s get you your golden boy. Don’t want to keep him waiting.”
Right. Golden boy. To say she now felt torn about this date would be putting it mildly. She really liked Ben and thought this date was important to her future happiness. But dealing with Darrak and his addictive but energy-draining kiss, not to mention the fact that he didn’t even realize he gave her mind-blowing pleasure whenever he possessed her body…
Despite all this, Eden sincerely hoped the date with Ben would go smoothly. The universe seriously owed her a big one.
ELEVEN
Ben had made reservations at a fancy, expensive seafood restaurant called Bella Bisque that had a great view of Lake Ontario and the Toronto skyline. Eden had never been there before, but she’d never met a lobster she didn’t like.
“Did I mention how great you look tonight?” Ben asked as he held out her chair for her. “Blue is my favorite color.”
She touched the blue dress that Leena had picked out for her. She’d already had second thoughts about wearing it, considering she’d agreed to let Darrak be the one to help her with Project Ben. “Thank you.”
Darrak had been surprisingly quiet since they left the apartment, considering their mutually agreed-to deal. What was he waiting for? She knew she sounded awkward and nervous with Ben already—especially at such a fancy restaurant—but the demon hadn’t offered her any help yet.
Was he okay? Maybe he was too weak to communicate with her. She tried not to worry. At least, not yet.
Ben looked divine in a navy blue suit and white shirt. She wondered if it was possible for him not to look good. He had a natural attractiveness about him that she was willing to bet he spent hardly any time on in the morning. He just got dressed, combed his hair, washed his face, and managed to look effortlessly hot.
There was a long silence as Eden looked at the menu.
“Why don’t you ask golden boy if he’s ever been here before?” Darrak suggested without much enthusiasm.
There he is, she thought with relief at hearing his voice. Better late than never.
“So… Ben, have you ever been here before?” she asked, feeling instantly more confident now that she had her internal backup in place.
He looked around. “No, but I got a great recommendation from a friend of mine. His wife thinks this place is the best restaurant in the city.”
“It’s not bad,” Darrak said. “Nice décor. The waiters seem a bit snobby and the food’s kind of pricy. And you really should have worn the red dress.”
Comments like these were not particularly helpful.
They were seated in a crescent-shaped booth. The lighting was low and a candle was lit on the table. Ben ordered a bottle of pinot grigio and a few minutes later the wine steward brought it over and poured a glass for her.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Ben said with a smile. “To Eden Riley. The most fascinating troublemaker I’ve ever met.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Troublemaker, huh? Is that a compliment?”
“If you’d asked me a few days ago, I would have said no. But I think you’ve managed to single-handedly change my mind.”
She smiled. “Then I’ll definitely drink to that.”
They clinked glasses.
She waited for Darrak to offer up any further bon mots, but there was nothing but silence in her head at the moment. She began to feel annoyed. What was he waiting for? A handwritten invitation?
“I have to ask,” Ben said. “I know I was a bit of an ass yesterday when we first met about the psychic thing. I’m a bit of a cynic, I guess.”
“You hide it so well.”
“Yeah, right.” He shook his head and grinned at her. “In my defense, you said you were skeptical, too.”
“My beliefs in, um, Otherworldly things come and go.” Mostly they come, she thought. But I’d like them to go.
Ben leaned back in his chair. “So how long have you been psychic? All your life?”
She waited for Darrak to suggest a response to this, but there was nothing from the demon in residence.
“It’s off and on since I was a kid, actually. But it’s really mild and usually completely nonuseful since I can’t control it. I had to pay my way through college myself so a friend got me in at a psychic phone line she worked for.”
“So your friend was psychic, too?”
Eden smiled at the memory. “Not especially. But she didn’t get any complaints.”
Ben actually seemed curious to know more about her past and he hadn’t put on that skeptical expression yet at what she was saying. That was encouraging. “So what do you normally use? Crystal balls?”
Eden curled her fingers around the stem of her wineglass. “I prefer tarot cards, actually. They helped give a more detailed story to callers than a simple yes or no answer to their questions.”
“That way you could keep them on the phone longer and make more money, right?” At her look, he held up his hands. “It’s not a criticism, just an observation.”
“Then you observe correctly.” She took a sip of her wine. “I could read your cards if you like.”
“How much will you charge me?” He played with the rim of his own wineglass.
She laughed. “I’d do it for free, of course.”
“And what would a tarot card reading tell me?”
“It would give you a glimpse at your future.”
Ben’s smile stayed firmly in place. Which was a way better reaction than backing away from her in horror. “Knowing what lies ahead might be a scary prospect. I think I’d prefer my future to stay vague. So, is that what people want to see? What’s going to happen to them?”
Eden nodded. “Mostly. They want to know if they’re going to get a job they’re after. Or if their love lives are going to pick up.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So you could tell me how my love life is going to go? And if there might be a beautiful but troublemaking psychic in it?”
“Pardon me while I gag,” Darrak said.
Her smile faded. What happened to his offer of helping her look good in front of Ben?
“I think you should tone it down a bit,” her unhelpful inner demon said. “Play hard to get for a bit before you offer up any lap dances, okay?”
She gritted her teeth. That was an overreaction if ever she’d heard one. What was his problem?
The waiter finally came over after keeping them waiting for twenty minutes. He was a small, snooty-looking man with a tiny moustache, who wore a tuxedo with a white tie. He had a crisp white cloth draped over his arm.
“Buena sera. Welcome to Bella Bisque. I am your server, Antonio. Are you finding your wine satisfactory?”
Eden nodded. “Yes, absolutely.”
He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Ben.
“Oh,” Ben said. “Yes, it’s fine.”
“I will tell you the specials now.” He launched into a one-minute dissertation about all the creamy, high-calorie features.
“The salmon sounds delicious.” Eden’s stomach was growling and not just because of the demonic presence inside of her. She was starving. “Do you think I can get that with rice instead of pasta?”
Antonio wasn’t looking at her. “It is the Bella Bisque tradition for the man at the table to make the dinner selections.”
She blinked with surprise.
“I knew the waiters here were snotty,” Darrak growled, “but this guy is a serious asshole. Kick him in the shins, Eden. Do it.”
Kick him? “Not going to happen,” she said aloud, then clamped a hand over her mouth.
“No, you’re absolutely right, Eden.” Ben looked at her, then at the waiter. “That’s a bit of an outdated way of dealing with customers, don’t you think?”
“Outdated?” Darrak said. “That’s all he’s going to say? If I had a body right now I’d punch him right in the face. Both of them.”
She covered her mouth with her napkin. “Relax. It doesn’t matter.”
Ben frowned. “It does matter, Eden. I don’t feel good about taking you to a place where you’re treated like this.”
The waiter shrugged with disinterest. “I meant no disrespect.”
Ben looked at him. “Then we don’t have a problem, do we?”
“No, sir.” The waiter turned to Eden with a sour look on his face. “What can I get for the lady?”
She cleared her throat, stifling an urge to do as Darrak suggested and kick the condescending creep. “I still want the salmon. And I’d like to exchange the pasta with rice, if possible, like I just said.”
The waiter looked at Ben again. “Please let your lady friend know that no substitutions are allowed at Bella Bisque.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ben said with annoyance.
The waiter shrugged again. “It conflicts with the chef’s vision for the cuisine.”
Ben’s jaw tightened. “I don’t care what it conflicts with. Tell her that yourself.” He looked at Eden. “I’m so sorry about this.”
“As am I, sir,” the waiter said. “But I can’t help my desire for proper tradition.”
Ben touched Eden’s hand. “Do you want to go somewhere else?”
She didn’t want to give the waiter the pleasure of knowing he’d annoyed her enough to leave. It was the principle of the thing. “No, it’s fine. Really.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded, and then looked at the food-toting Hitler. “Forget the substitution, then,” Eden said grudgingly.
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