After a slight hesitation, Lacy said, “Of course, I’m happy to be on call.”
“Good.” You should be, considering what you’re being paid.
Sixt pulled the briefcase to the desktop and opened it so that Lacy couldn’t see what was inside. She withdrew thirty-five large Cranes envelopes made of the heaviest cream-colored vellum. On the front the name of each guest was written in black calligraphy. The back featured a large black wax circle with the impression of Sixt’s seal. Underneath the black wax was a four inch red satin ribbon that could be used as a tab.
Lacy took the envelopes. “They are…” she hesitated, clearly impressed with the presentation, “beautiful.”
Sixt smiled. “I’m old-fashioned. And so are some of my guests. Please see to it that these arrive in good condition.”
“I will deliver them personally and emphasize that I’m available should they need anything.”
“Excellent. Well, I think I’ll go get settled in.” Sixt looked at her watch. “When will the guests who are staying here be arriving?”
“Between five and seven. So, the first will be here soon.”
“Thank you, Lacy.”
The woman took that as a dismissal. “Of course. Thank you.”
The schedules listed the planned activities, locations, suggested dress, the address of Sixt’s house, and Lacy’s phone number. They included an open door invitation to stop by the house for socializing at any time during the day for the following two days. There was also an addendum that read, “Confusion wards in place. Speak free and without worry.”
Sixt found Harm still in the kitchen chatting up a man who was stocking the refrigerator along with several food preparers who were setting out silver trays, arranging champagne flutes, and readying the hot finger food for baking or heating. Apparently the caterers had arrived.
Sixt caught Harm’s eye and motioned to him. When he walked over, she said, “Let’s make sure they put your things in the right room.” As they climbed the stairs, she said, “And we need to raise the free speech protections. Guests will be arriving within the hour.”
Harm nodded and followed. When Sixt reached the room she’d planned for Harm to occupy, Deliverance was there, sitting on the bed, apparently playing some sort of handheld video game.
“Deliverance,” she said. “I see you found the right place, but not the right room. This is where Harm will be staying.”
He glanced up at Sixt for a split second, but continued playing. “No,” he said. “I’m in here. Harm can stay in the room on the other side. I moved his stuff.”
If Sixt had actually thought of the demon as her captive, she might not have been amused.
Harm cleared his throat.
“Oh, well,” she began, “there’s been a change of plans. I’m not going to need you this weekend after all.”
Sixt’s eyes went to the device the demon held in his hands when she heard the faint sounds of an explosion and maniacal laughter emitting from it. She was far from being an expert on gaming, but she took that to mean he was virtually dead. His glare seemed to confirm that.
“You’re not going to need me?”
“No.”
“What about all the preparations? The clothes?”
“Change of plans.”
He cocked his head. “I sense something’s off. What caused this change of plans?”
“I don’t answer to you.”
“You don’t, but I think you like being courteous.”
She turned to Harm and nodded toward the hall. “The other room is pretty much the same as this one. See if your stuff is there and give me a minute with, um, Deliverance.”
Harm shrugged. To Deliverance he said, “Hey.”
“Hey,” the demon answered in kind.
When Harm was gone, Sixt shut the door, walked over and sat down next to Deliverance. “Okay. Here’s the truth. Harm is hoping to find someone.”
“Who?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Not someone he already knows. Somebody worthy of, um, courting.”
“Oh.” Sixt was close enough for him to register the heat coming from her body. And her smell. “What does that have to do with me?”
She sighed. “It’s probably not news to you that females find you attractive.”
He searched Sixt’s eyes as if he could extract a deeper meaning than the words conveyed. “He’s afraid they’ll only have eyes for me.” She nodded. After a brief hesitation, he said, “And are you afraid of that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He smiled. “Yes. You do.”
“You want me to tell the truth about whether or not I’d be jealous if I had to watch you cavort with other women.”
“Confirm or deny, but I’m very good at reading the change in auras when people lie.”
“Auras change when people lie?”
He pulled back, frowning, but looking surprised. “You didn’t know that?”
She shook her head and looked bemused. “I honestly didn’t. Can you teach me?”
“I don’t know. The question isn’t, can I? The question is, would I? And the answer is, why would I?”
She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes. It was charming to the very edge of beguiling, making Deliverance think that, had they spent time together under other circumstances, had he not wandered off that night in Boston, things might have been different.
“Because I asked?”
Sixt didn’t think for a second that the demon would say yes.
“Release me from my contract and I’ll teach you to read auras.”
It had been a joke and nothing could have surprised Deliverance more than seeing that Sixt was considering the offer. The deal. What started as a joke had turned suddenly serious. He was still as a statue, on some level afraid that if he moved a muscle she would decide the answer was no.
“Tell you what,” she said. “I’ll think about it this weekend and let you know when we get home. But right now I’m thinking that would be fair.”
The word ‘fair’ resurrected all the ire the demon had cached with her name on it. Sooner or later he would teach the witch the meaning of ‘fair’.
He smiled, supremely satisfyingly confident in the knowledge that she couldn’t read his lies. “Since I’m here, I might as well spend three more days with you, then.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “Don’t worry about Harm’s ladies. I can control what they see. They won’t even register that I’m in the room unless I want them to.”
He took her hand, which made Sixt’s back go pole straight like she’d been electrically shocked. As for Deliverance, he knew that was a mistake the instant he’d done it. When his body responded with interest to the way her hand fit in his, he barely stifled both a grimace and a clench of his jaw.
He withdrew his hand as if it had been the most natural gesture between friends. “Of course if Harm finds the ‘one’ and there are tasty morsels afoot, I’ll be free to explore.”
Sixt barely stifled a grimace and a clench of jaw at the idea of Deliverance stalking one night stands in her own house. “Of course,” she said without emotion. “Enjoy your stay.”
Without another word, she rose to leave. When she reached the threshold, she could hear the sounds of a video game resume behind her. Shutting the door firmly she walked to Harm’s room. The door was open.
“Will this do?” she asked.
He stopped hanging up clothes and held his arms out wide. “Unless you want to offer me your room.” She snorted. “Okay. Had to ask.”
“No. You didn’t have to ask.”
“Did you get rid of the demon?”
“We’re making progress. Now he’s the demon and not my demon. And no. He’s staying.” She held up her hand when Harm opened his mouth. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to compromise your chances. Seems that we’re not the only ones who know how to glamour.”
“Oh?”
“Hmmm. However, if you find the �
�one’, he says he gets open season on the rest.” Harm barked out a laugh. “What’s so hysterical about that?”
“I would have loved to see the look on your face.” Gaping at her brother, Sixt knew she wasn’t disguising her feelings. Harm shook his head. “He’s playing you. He knows you have a thing for him. You’re holding him prisoner. He’s put a ringed target on your heart.”
Seeing her look away like she was thinking that over, Harm continued. “Come on. This can’t be news. It’s his only play. The only way to get back at you and you’ve left yourself wide open for it. You haven’t even tried to hide how you feel about him. Have you?”
It wasn’t a question intended to be answered. It was an accusation. She shook her head.
“Well, what are you going to do?”
“I told him that I’d think about letting him go when we get back if he’ll teach me a trick.”
“What trick?”
“How to read lies in auras.”
Harm looked properly impressed. “That is a good trick!” He leaned against the door jamb, hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “As far as letting him go. That’s for the best. Just make sure he’s signing off on not pursuing further action. Some kind of release clause. You know?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” She turned to leave. “You’ll be downstairs to help me greet people when they start showing up?”
He grinned. “You know I wouldn’t miss it. Can’t wait to see the lineup.” He wiggled his eyebrows and rubbed his hands together.
“I think you need to manage your expectations.”
“Thank you, Dr. Phil.”
She chuckled, glanced at her watch and decided there was just enough time for a hot bath. “Later.”
The master bath was a work of art. It had a fireplace set into the wall at waist height, rain forest onyx counters, dark bronze faucets, stone floors, a doorless glass shower, and a copper tub set into a custom built redwood frame.
She started the fire just before starting the hot water running into the tub and tossed in a few lavender bath beads. The instant the calming aroma hit her olfactory sense she felt better about herself, her life, and the world in general. After laying out the clothes she would wear to welcome the first guests, she pulled her thick hair into a high ponytail, and stepped into the steaming tub. The second her body was surrounded by the soothing heat, she moaned out loud before lying back, eyes closed, to savor the decadence of half an hour without appointments, phone calls, responsibility, or any other nuisance. She hadn’t realized how tight her muscles were until she felt them surrender their stress to the bath.
The house was well built, but not so well built that the demon in the next room didn’t hear the bath water come on. He ignored it and continued to play his game until he heard the water shut off. The moan of sensual pleasure caused him to go stock still. The sound had attracted his demon curiosity, which would be hard to ignore if he wanted to. And he didn’t want to.
When Sixt felt a slight shift in the air, she opened her eyes to see what might have caused it. Mystery solved. There was a singularly beautiful demon standing over her staring at her nakedness like she was a meal. She followed his eyes to her red pubic hairs that were waving in the water as if to say hello.
In one motion she sat up and pulled her knees to her chin to cover herself.
“What are you doing in here?” She hoped she sounded as scandalized as she felt.
“Looking at you.” Deliverance answered the question as if she’d asked what he was watching on TV.
“I know that! You can’t just show up in my bathroom without permission.”
“I just did. If permission is a problem for you, then give me permission.” He gave a little wave as if to say problem solved.
“NO!”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m naked.”
“You’ve seen me naked.”
That answer flustered her to the point of spluttering. “I didn’t ask to see you naked.”
“Well, you have my permission to see me naked anytime you want.” He looked like a lightbulb had just gone off. “Oh! You feel like if you’re naked then I should be, too.” And with that his clothing vanished.
Sixt hugged her knees tighter as she closed her eyes. “Deliverance. Please restore your state of dress and leave this room.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m embarrassed. For one thing.”
“Why?”
“Ugh!”
“You’re bashful about your body? You shouldn’t be. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I’d even say you’re…”
She let one eye open ever so slightly, waiting to see how he’d finish that sentence. He had wished his clothes back on. Wished or whatever process he used to manufacture clothing from thin air. She opened her eyes again.
“What? I’m what?”
“Everything any male could ever want.”
Sixt sucked in a little gasp at that. It was a simple straightforward statement. Not poetic in any way. And yet it seemed like she’d been given the universe. Her sexual attractiveness had just been confirmed by the one creature whose opinion mattered to her.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Now, please, will you get out so I can get dressed?”
“You can get dressed with me here.”
“I could. But I really want to get dressed alone.”
“You know there’s absolutely nothing in our contract that addresses concerns about ‘privacy’.”
She acknowledged that was true with a small nod thinking that was another good reason to release him when they returned to New York. “That’s why I said please.”
He disappeared.
Deliverance picked up his game, but found that he was no longer interested. He suspected that the picture of the witch’s beautiful body, invitingly pink from the hot bath, was going to plague him until he found a way to scour the image from his mind.
He flung the game aside and sat on the side of the bed staring straight ahead. He didn’t realize he was unconsciously listening for sounds of Sixt moving around in her bath or closet next door until Ashes came padding in through the door he’d left open. She jumped onto the bed effortlessly, sat on her haunches and began making bread as she purred loudly.
“What do you want?”
He didn’t ask nicely.
Completely unaffected by his tone, she gave no appearance of caring whether he was harsh or not.
He sighed. Then heard a flurry of activity coming from the main part of the house. He looked at Ashes. “Show time.”
Clearly Harm heard the same telltale indications that company had arrived. He stopped by Sixt’s door, knocked loudly, yelled, “Let’s go,” and hurried on past.
Sixt emerged a minute later, skin dewy, cheeks still rosy from the bath, in jeans, UGG boots and a red silk sweater that complimented her coloring. She hesitated when she passed Deliverance’s room and saw the demon sitting on his bed. She narrowed her eyes at Ashes like she was accusing the cat of being a traitor, but proceeded with a scant glance at the demon and nothing said.
Deliverance loved red and hated being ignored, but he’d promised to be unobtrusive and not draw attention to himself. At the time that didn’t sound so hard to do.
Downstairs Sixt saw that Harm was engaged in conversation with two new arrivals. One was tall and lean with an athletic, Amazonian build and white-blonde hair. The other was medium height and curvaceous with light brown hair and stunning eyes, soft amber gold irises surrounded by a black ring. Both women appeared to be in their twenties, but with witches it was impossible to tell true age without asking. Even then it would be impossible to know for sure. At least until the demon taught her how to read lies in auras.
Harm glanced up, eyes dancing with excitement. “Oh, hey. This is my sister, Sixt. She owns this place.” He leaned into the two new arrivals and said conspiratorially, “But I’m trying to get it away from her.” He winked at Sixt, who gave him a knowing smile before introducing h
erself.
“Get settled in,” she said, “and then come join us for a glass of wine in here.” She pointed toward a far end of the living room where there was a smaller seating area in an alcove. “We’ll get to know each other a little before the place turns into bedlam.”
For the next half hour the four could sit in one of the living space alcoves where they could chat out of the way of party preparedness.
While Harm showed the two to their rooms and said he and Sixt would be waiting for them downstairs. Sixt told the temp butler, whom she’d instructed to dress like a local, to bring wine, cheeses, and fruit for four to the alcove. Harm returned with a brisk step, looking like he’d won the lottery. He threw himself onto the loveseat where Sixt waited, with a boyish grin any witch would fall for. Sixt wasn’t worried that he’d find what he was looking for.
He thought it was a pinup trophy, but she knew better. Her brother wanted love. The kind their parents had shared. Some of her earliest memories contained glimpses of her parents sharing silent smiles and looks laden with private messages. Day to night, year in, year out, they had sustained each other, making joy more rule than exception.
Harm had witnessed the same phenomenon. True love is that. A phenomenon. And he wanted it for himself.
Sixt never thought about love. In a way she’d been imprisoned by the throes of unrequited lust, or infatuation. She had known the demon for a moment. And that was all it had taken to ruin her chances for love. Having felt his breath in her ear, even for a moment, having heard the deep rasp of his voice and smelled the intoxicating scent of fire with a hint of arousal, it was painfully obvious that all others fell short.
“What are you thinking?” Harm asked. “You have that faraway look again.”
Two of the caterers brought the wine and glasses along with a tray arranged artfully enough to be a magazine photo.
As they were leaving Ashes padded in and leapt onto Harm’s lap. She curled up, began to purr, and looked up into his eyes with a drowsy expression of content. “Hey, beautiful.” He stroked her fur and her back arched to meet his hand. “Where’ve you been?”
Deliverance (Knights of Black Swan Book 12) Page 13
