A Demon's Desire Read Online Free Page B

sterility. His drawers contained folded, organized
clothing, and pairs of shoes peeked from beneath the bed. There
were no pictures, no wall hangings, no trinkets, doodads, or
decorations.
    She hesitated before opening the door into
the hall. The Great Dane climbed off the bed and nudged past her,
starting down a narrow hall with a cool wooden floor. She followed,
peering into a tiny living room with an awkwardly massive couch.
The dining area, a round table with four chairs, sat squashed in
the corner of a narrow kitchen.
    Her stomach roared to life. She took in the
empty dish drainer and spotless sink, the aligned appliances on the
countertops, and the spacing of towels hanging off the oven. It was
not what she expected, though how she expected the devil to live
she didn’t know. No fire and brimstone or minions roasting humans
over a spit.
    She opened a small pantry. Herbs hung from
the ceiling and jars of creams and pastes lined the wall before
her. The scent of the pantry was strong, and she recognized
rosemary, basil, and mint before the urge to sneeze made her grab a
box of cereal and close the door. She crossed to the refrigerator
and grimaced as she looked over the contents of his fridge.
    “Who knew the devil was a health nut?” she
muttered. She retrieved soy milk, fished out a bowl and spoon from
cabinets, then turned at the hellhound’s whine. The Great Dane
stood with its nose at the cabinets under the sink. Emma opened it
to reveal a folded bag of dog food and clean dish.
    “Your master is a bit on the anal side,” she
told her.
    After breakfast, further exploration led to
the discovery of her shoes sitting with his under the bed, and her
purse tucked away in one of his drawers. She changed back into the
clothes she’d been in the night before and debated leaving her
dirty bowl in the sink to break up the creepy organization around
her or rinsing it and putting it away. He had, after all, taken her
in.
    He’d also drugged her after blackmailing her
into having sex with him. But she’d do anything to have Sissy well
again, even sleep with some weird stranger. After all, her last
boyfriend had been a stranger to her even after their time
together.
    She left the bowl in the sink and put on her
shoes without making the bed.
    “C’mon, angel,” she called to the dog and
started to the door in the kitchen. She held it open for the Great
Dane, who led her down a narrow hall lined with three more doors to
a set of stairs. The scent rising from the floor below caught up
with her as she descended the stairs. It was different from that of
the night. Jasmine, she mused, and something she didn’t recognize.
Sultry, exotic scents, like the shadow man himself.
    She entered the store. It was as small as she
remembered, though bright and non-threatening in the light of day.
There were no corners with impenetrable shadows, no gleaming eyes,
no devil.
    Same clerks. Emma almost rolled her eyes but
looked to the back of the shop. He did have Coke.
    “Will you tell Tristan if he leaves his
coffin that I’m going to call a tow truck for my car?”
    They both gave her looks more hostile than
previously.
    She ignored a hiss of bitch and
stepped into the sunlight. The street was as she left it:
possessed. There were plenty of vampire and fairy wannabes, more
than she had ever seen concentrated anywhere except during
Halloween, mingling with the tourists cheerfully strolling in and
out of shops with names like Witch’s Brew, Demon Delicacies, and
World’s Smallest Portal to Hell.
    Distracted by the weirdos, she didn’t realize
her car was gone until she reminded herself why she’d come outside.
She muttered a curse, her gaze lingering in front of the store
where she’d parked.
    No keys, no car. It was fully insured, though
that wouldn’t get her home today. Unease stirred within her.
Tristan didn’t seem like a very eager host, and his location of
living quarters left much to be desired. Most of the caped and
winged