Demons Don't Always Tell The Truth (Kate Storm Series Book 3)

by Meredith Allen Conner

  I should have known better. Aunt Tabs didn't have a problem confronting things. She was in the mulling over stages.

  "She's had years to fess up to the truth." I set my wineglass down when I realized my knuckles were white. "How could she be my best friend and still lie to me? Not admit that we're related?"

  Damn it. I kept thinking I had a handle on this and it continued to blow up in my face. How the hell could I help Morgan if I couldn't get past this?

  "People keep secrets all the time, Kate. It doesn't mean our feelings are any different. Do you love Morgan any less now that you do know the truth?"

  "No." But it still made me mad that she'd lied.

  "Does it change the way you feel about her?"

  I picked my glass up again, took a large sip. "I'm still mad at her. I worry she might be keeping other things from me." I looked away from my Aunt, pretending to admire my view. "And I can't help but wonder if she kept the truth from me because of who I am."

  What I am.

  Half-bred. Cursed. Witch.

  "I'm sure that factored into it to some degree." I froze. Couldn't look at her. Did she really mean that? "Morgan feels responsible for the curse on our coven. It's not her fault, of course, but it has to hurt her every time she sees you. Especially when Ash is around."

  I'd just begun to let some of my fear go when her words hit me. Sweet Spirits, was I some sort of double edged sword for Morgan?

  Al leaned up and licked my chin. "Morgan loves you, Doll."

  I rubbed the fur between his little ears. I felt fairly confident of that myself. Or I had. Now, I just didn't know. Could she love me if I constantly reminded her of her painful past?

  I looked at my Aunt. The identical sister of my mother. Yes. Bitter sweet at times. But I didn't love her any less because of it.

  I sighed.

  "And while you're working your way through this, you might want to remember what Morgan lost." Aunt Tabs picked up my hand, squeezed it.

  Morgan had lost her family too. I understood that. In fact, she'd been present when most of her sisters and relatives had been slaughtered by Morgause.

  I did get that.

  Family is all important to me too.

  "She gave up her magic, Kate. She lost all that was familiar to her when she became a vampire. She gave up everything she knew in order to seek revenge." Aunt Tabs stroked the back of my hand with her thumb. "Morgause is still alive. That's centuries of living with failure."

  The cold that gripped me right then was so powerful I wasn't sure I'd ever feel warm again.

  I'd been relating my past, my loss to Morgan's. Understanding some and furious about the rest.

  I hadn't understood at all.

  She truly had recreated herself. From witch to vampire. Nurturer to killer. As a witch, she'd been brought up to help sustain nature, and then as a vampire, she'd had to destroy life in order to survive.

  I hadn't understood at all.

  I'd had my share of loss. That I did understand. But I'd always been me. Half-bred. Cursed. I understood my limits. My weaknesses. They were familiar to me. And as much as I sometimes wished and prayed my life could be different, did I truly?

  Would I be able to give up everything to be something else? Something darker? Something totally foreign to me?

  I looked at Al cuddled between my breasts. My Aunt Tabs holding my hand.

  Could I give them up?

  Morgan hadn't had a choice. Her family had been brutally taken away from her. If someone killed Al and Aunt Tabs, then yes, I could - and would - do anything I had to in order to exact revenge.

  But at what cost?

  No. I hadn't understood at all.

  My feelings of anger and betrayal were legitimate, but compared to a lifetime of loss, were they worth holding onto?

  I sighed and took a rather large gulp of wine.

  Aunt Tabs let go of my hand, then rubbed her palms down the front of her pants.

  Okay. Enough already.

  "What's wrong, Aunt Tabs?"

  She started to shake her head, caught my eye and sighed heavily.

  "I don't know."

  Well, that didn't help one bit.

  "What do you mean you don't know? Something is obviously bothering you. What is it?"

  "That's the problem, Kate. I don't know. I've got an itchy feeling, but I don't know why."

  Uh oh. That wasn't good at all.

  A witch's intuition is a radar for trouble. If I ever got that feeling I knew to watch out for everything from checking the street both ways to potential psychotic mass murderers as clients.

  And it always panned out too.

  Not that I'd ever had a psychotic mass murderer try to become a client, but I'd always been prepared for the trouble when it did arrive.

  A car that didn't stop for the red light.

  A high school witch who tried to turn my hair green before a dance.

  My instincts weren't as keen as my aunt's, probably a result of my human half, but I knew to trust any itchy feeling.

  "You don't have any hint of what it could be? What kind of trouble you could be in?"

  I'd start casting every protective spell I knew. No way would I allow my Aunt Tabs to be hurt.

  "I didn't get the itchy feeling until I got here." Aunt Tabs turned in her seat to look me directly in the eye. "I'm not the one in danger, Kate. You are."

  Well, shit. That rounded off my day perfectly. I picked up my glass and downed the rest of my wine.

  9. Party Preparations.

  I woke refreshed and eager for the day. Which was odd. Given the current state of affairs in my life - having a client who used black magic, something bad about to happen to me and all my problems with my UDBF, secretary and boyfriend - one would think I'd be having nightmares and unable to sleep.

  I'm not sure what it said about me that I could sleep soundly under these circumstances. Clearly I'd had way too much stress in my life lately for this to be commonplace.

  Then again, I wasn't complaining and I had a party to get ready for.

  I tossed the covers back and sat up.

  A low growl emanated from my crotch.

  I looked down to find Al glaring up at me. He lay curled in the vee of my spread legs. The top of my vee acted as his pillow. Which placed his head as intimately as he could get with my body.

  I tried to tell myself that he was a very small dog despite his ghostly presence.

  "It's still early, Doll. Why don't we sleep in some more this mornin'?" He snuggled his head deeper into my vee.

  I snatched him up.

  He might be a Chihuahua, but he was also a very determined hit man with a one track mind and a totally unrealistic agenda.

  "I've got a lot to do today, Al." I tucked him into my chest then shifted him into my neck when he started to nuzzle my breasts. Crazy Chihuahua.

  "It's Saturday." He licked my neck. "I thought you didn't have any appointments today."

  "I don't." He stared up at me. I kissed his head. "We're having the dinner party tonight, remember?"

  I wanted to bounce on the bed. My very own dinner party with my very own boyfriend.

  "Right. Ass is coming over." Al's upper lip lifted.

  "You know, I'd really appreciate it, if you would stop calling him Ass. His name is Ash." I held him out in front of my face so he knew I meant business.

  He blinked his bulging, watery, brown eyes.

  I maintained my glare.

  His little body shivered.

  I pulled him in close. "Are you cold?" I grabbed my comforter and tugged it up around us both.

  He shivered again.

  Damn it. I hadn't meant to upset him. I simply wanted him to stop calling my boyfriend an ass.

  I fluffed a pillow behind me and leaned back, keeping the covers tucked tight. "A few extra minutes in bed won't hurt anything." I snuggled him in closer. "Maybe I should get out your sweaters?"

  Al wasn't a big fan of wearing clothes, but we'd found s
everal black knit sweaters - one with a white skull and crossbones and one with a gray revolver on the back - that he found acceptable.

  Usually, I didn't bring out his sweaters until mid-October. I rubbed his head under the covers. He pressed his nose between my breasts.

  I knew there was a very high likelihood he was manipulating me. I also knew he was a very small Chihuahua with a limited amount of fur.

  Either way, it didn't matter. I could afford a few minutes of cuddle time. I didn't have it in me to upset him.

  ****

  I finished dusting the living room and took a step back. Every surface gleamed, the floors shone, pillows and cushions fluffed and the faint scent of lemon hung in the air.

  Perfect.

  I'd been working hard all day. My apartment might be small - ridiculously cramped even - but it had still taken me hours to clean it. I didn't think there was a single inch I hadn't touched.

  I'd probably gone overboard. My apartment hadn't been this spotless since the first few months after my mother's death. And it wasn't like everyone hadn't been to my apartment before.

  Still, this was different.

  I'd hosted girls' night at my place before, but never an actual dinner party with couples and my very own boyfriend.

  I wanted everything to be perfect.

  I cast a quick dust-free spell guaranteed to maintain my über clean space. It would last until midnight. The dust bunnies were free to invade again after that.

  I like to work through personal issues as I clean. As a general rule. I figure, if I am going to clean my house - or my business - then I should do a full cleaning. Mental as well as physical. I like to multi-task that way.

  Which is kind of funny as it doesn't often work.

  Case in point: I still had no idea how to help Morgan. I was letting go more and more of my anger. It's hard to stay angry and hurt at someone when you would do the exact same thing in their position. But it didn't help in terms of me helping Morgan work through her issues.

  I had, sort of, come up with a plan in regards to Ash. I planned to give him another blow job. I know. I know. It had failed spectacularly the first time. I got that. I'd undermined his self-control. Something demons value above all else.

  I got that. I truly did.

  However, I planned to seduce him this time. I wasn't going to prove a point. I wasn't planning to show him that I was right and he was totally in the wrong. I wasn't planning on any of that.

  I simply wanted to show him that I wanted him.

  Rather desperately.

  And I hoped, if I did it right, he might want to show me how much he wanted me.

  I knew he had been trying to prove a point by controlling all of our make out sessions lately. I was hoping - one might even go as far as to say praying - that he was finally over it all.

  I didn't want to turn our relationship into a show of one-upmanship. Not at all. I had no problem being the one on the bottom when it came to our personal life. I preferred it.

  But the time had come to do something to shake things up.

  My hormones could not take another night of empty promises.

  And if the blow job attempt failed. I planned to break out the cuff-links.

  I'd ordered them online. They were gunmetal grey with a velvet lining.

  I mean, really, what demon could resist the site of a witch in handcuffs? I was betting Ash couldn't.

  I'd pretty much ignored all the other issues in my life. There were too many and I had a party to get ready for.

  I eyed the room one more time, sighed with satisfaction and headed to the kitchen to put away my cleaning supplies.

  As an added bonus, I felt confident I had worked off a few extra calories with all my cleaning.

  Go me.

  I decided to check on Al. He'd wanted to do his part. I think he was trying to show me how helpful he could be in a relationship.

  I'd assigned him the task of arranging the place cards.

  Not that I am a formal witch by any means.

  It was the only thing I could think of to disperse the weight of my male guests without being rude in regards to weight or bringing up potential structural issues. Which really wouldn't be a problem if the guys weren't so heavy.

  I have weight issues myself. I totally understand.

  I just wasn't one hundred percent sure my porch did.

  So, I'd come up with super cute place-cards and appetizer trays strategically placed to tempt a demon to stand in one spot, a vampire in another and a gargoyle in yet another.

  I set the dusting spray and cloth on the counter and stepped onto my porch.

  "Hey. How's the . . . Al, is that glue?"

  Damn it. I could see at least two tubes next to his front paw and it looked like he had a couple more hidden behind his tiny backside.

  "Hey, Doll." Al shifted, shuffled a napkin over the tubes and blinked at me. "All done with the cleaning already?"

  "Yes. I am." I marched over, picked him up and set him on the ground then grabbed the wooden tray. "You're just lucky I ordered more of these meatballs."

  Al's little nails scratched the floor in a rhythmic pattern as he followed me inside.

  "Glue can't hurt a demon, Doll."

  Damn it. He didn't sound apologetic, more irritated.

  "We do not insult, hurt or try to injure our guests in any way, Al." I slammed the tray onto my kitchen table. "Nor do we try to glue parts of their anatomy to the appetizers."

  I whirled around with my hands on my hips to glare down at him.

  Al shrugged, lifted one paw and licked it. "You forgot to include some entertainment tonight. I was just trying to help."

  I opened my mouth to let him have it when I caught sight of the clock.

  Sweet Spirits, I had just over an hour before everyone arrived. My hair would take a good forty minutes alone.

  I shook my finger at him as I hot-footed it out of the kitchen. "You better behave yourself tonight, Al."

  I was shutting the bathroom door when I head him mutter, "I knew I shoulda used the rat poison. It woulda have been so much faster."

  10. A Witch, A shirt and A Disaster.

  The doorbell rang as I was attempting to button my blouse. Apparently my cleaning frenzy wasn't as calorie reducing as I thought. Or I had put on more weight than I wanted to admit.

  Impossible.

  I must have grabbed the wrong size.

  The doorbell rang again. I still had a good twenty minutes before anyone was supposed to arrive. Maybe a neighbor wanted to borrow something.

  I gave up on the uncooperative buttons and tried to simply yank the top over my head. The silky material got stuck underneath my breasts. I tried to pull it back down, but it was bunched too tightly and a couple of the buttons had somehow tangled up which prohibited the shirt from moving.

  I hadn't been able to close the buttons near my breasts so the stupid blouse was scrunched up just under my bra with my purple bra and upper chest fully exposed.

  The shirt was too small.

  I didn't want to acknowledge it, but it was kind of hard to miss now that it was attempting to smother me.

  My brand spanking new top was too small.

  The doorbell rang again.

  I grabbed a zip up sweatshirt hanging from the back of my bedroom door and shrugged into it as I headed towards the front door.

  I refused to let this upset me. Obviously, this was the store's fault. They had mis-marked the top.

  I couldn't remember any untangling spells for the life of me.

  Damn it. I really wanted everything to be perfect for tonight.

  I'd hidden the glue and the rat poison - I did not remember buying rat poison - and put Al on the deck with my iPod and instructions for selecting a playlist. I was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to scroll through the music, but I figured it would keep him out of trouble and give him something to do.

  At least my hair was done. My curls had gone into full combat mode. Rather than att
empting to win that battle, I'd simply pulled my curls into a top ponytail.

  They were contained and my new dangly beaded earrings wouldn't get caught. A win-win as far as I was concerned.

  Plus it had cut down on my primping time. Which meant I was ready ahead of time except for my new blouse which someone had clearly mis-marked.

  I'd get rid of my neighbor, find my untangling spell and put on my red top with the low neckline and comfortable waist. Red always looked good on me.

  And I wanted to look good tonight. I was throwing a party and had big plans to seduce my demon boyfriend later. I definitely wanted to look my best.

  I didn't like it, but a small part of me had begun to wonder if Ash didn't find me appealing anymore. I knew demons valued control. Trust me, that was not something I would ever forget.

  I'd been telling myself he was showing both of us how very much in control he could be. That's what the logical part of my brain figured. The insecure witch inside of me had started to wonder if it was all about control or more about a lack of desire.

  He certainly didn't seem to have any problems cutting things off whenever they got too heated.

  I flung open my door in the middle of another buzz.

  Ash stood on the other side.

  Well Hello, baby.

  Ah shit. I was stuck in my shirt.

  He wore black boots, black leather pants and a black leather vest which hung open to reveal each and every muscle on his rock hard chest and powerful arms.

  Ash never had to worry about wardrobe issues. In fact, the less he wore the better.

  I, on the complete opposite hand, looked my best covered from head to toe. Preferably with multiple layers.

  I tugged the sweatshirt sides I hadn't managed to zip up closer together. Ash had seen me in much, much less. He'd shown me with words and actions how desirable he found my body.

  I knew this. Mostly. At least the logical part of my head knew this.

  It still didn't help the fact that my brand new party blouse was stuck underneath my bra in a tight band that felt tighter and tighter the longer I stared at Ash's perfect chest.

  "You're early."

  It came out as a slight snarl and a definite accusation.

  Ash raised one dark eyebrow.