A Demon Does It Better (2 page)

“That was three years ago.”

Lili ignored her cat’s snark while she did her best not to drool at the sight of the male standing a short distance away.

Hubba
hubba!

Lili’s sharp eye figured he was a couple inches over six feet, with black hair in need of a trim, but it didn’t detract from his dangerous good looks. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had a pair of blue eyes she could happily swim in. She also couldn’t miss the shadowy fingers that wrapped around his legs as if they were there to protect him.

“Go over and say hi,” Cleo instructed. “Tell him you’re new in town and you would just love to know the best places to check out. And ask if he’d like to show them to you.” She batted her paw at her very own private witch. “You can’t let such a prime specimen get away.”

“Are you sure your nagging didn’t push Marc Antony into killing himself?” she murmured, smiling as she heard the cat’s angry hisses.

Score
one
for
Lili!

The arrogant feline glared at her even as she raised her head and sniffed the air. “Something’s off,” she muttered.

Lili ignored her furry companion’s murmurs as she made her way stealthily in the direction of sexy guy. She knew she should listen to Cleo. After all, who else knew more about the male sex than the sultry queen of the Nile, Cleopatra?

“Subtle, my dear. Be subtle. Not like one of those galloping wolfhounds,” Cleo suggested in her usual warm purr that just managed to border on sarcasm.

As always, Lili ignored her and continued window-shopping while edging her way closer to her prey. She mentally rehearsed opening dialogue if they had just “happened” to bump into each other.

Oh, hello. Do you happen to know where Rangel’s Harvest Foods might be? Excuse me, but don’t I know you from somewhere? Actually, I know I’d remember you if you had been a patient of mine. No forgetting a body like that.

“I said
subtle.
” The arrogant feline hissed the last word, easily reading her mind. “No wonder the Greek empire fell.” She was fond of making disparaging remarks about Lili’s ancestry.

“That was the Roman Empire, and if anyone should know that, it would be you.” Lili shook her head. Arguing with a cat in Inderman was nothing unusual. Of course, if mundanes saw her actions, they’d haul her off to a nice quiet cell with extremely soft walls.

There, now she was close enough to
casually
turn and speak to the man. Except he was gone. She didn’t care about subtlety now and looked around, but it was as if he had disappeared into thin air. Considering the magick in the air, it was easy enough to believe.

“You’ll see him again,” Cleo said.

“How do you know?” Lili knew the moment she asked the question that whatever her feline sidekick said would come true. Cleo saw things so many others, even those with precognition, didn’t see.

“It’s so obvious it’s not funny. I saw the way he looked at you.” The cat hopped back into the bag and circled the bottom. She curled up in a fluffy ball and waved her tail like a feather duster. “No male looks at a female like that unless he intends to do more than look.” She stretched her mouth into a kitty smile and purred. “Plus, he’s demon. You know how focused they can be.”

Lili smothered her sigh. She knew better than to argue with the feline. She always said the cat should have been a lawyer.

She took her time exploring some of the shops while keeping her senses open. Every so often she was positive the mysterious male was in the vicinity. Except every time she turned around, he was gone.

Cleo sneezed as Lili stepped inside the Shop of Scents.

“My allergies,” she complained.

“Then don’t breathe.” The witch had no sympathy as she examined the many-colored bottles, some labeled, others a mystery.

“You wish something special?” The silver-haired woman at the counter greeted her with a broad smile. “Fragrance to tempt your lover? Something to give you luck perhaps?” Her pale eyes peered at her closely. “Ah, you are the healer. Something soothing, then?”

Lili picked up a bottle and pulled the stopper out. She smelled spring flowers and fresh greenery. Another bottle yielded a winter of sharp ice while the third had her thinking of an ancient bazaar of spices and heat.

“You have not been here in many years,” the crone named Sameka said. “You chose a scent that was light and carefree.” She gestured toward a delicate pink glass bottle. “No longer is it you. You require a fragrance that holds a hint of darkness and mystery.” She held up a finger. “Wait here.” She moved with the ease of someone much younger—Lili gauged her years to be past nine hundred. She parted the amethyst silk curtains and disappeared into the back of the shop. She returned a moment later carrying a gilt-trimmed bottle that looked as if it had been owned by royalty. She set it on the counter and carefully eased the stopper out.

Lili didn’t need to lift the bottle to inhale the contents. They lifted their way to her. Images of silk, moans in a dark night, and a sensuality that warmed her bones were only parts of what she sensed in the perfume oil. She feared to ask the price. She only had to look at the shopkeeper to know it was very old and very rare.

“This is truly what you are now, and even more so as each day passes,” the old woman told her with a knowing smile.

“Huh. She must see something we don’t,” Cleo muttered.

“Quiet, you.” She wanted to try it on her skin. There were no worries it wouldn’t smell right with her personal chemistry. Sameka never forgot a customer or what suited them.

“Try it.” The male voice near her ear was as intoxicating as the perfume.

She looked up to see her mystery man standing next to her. Dark hair, eyes that rivaled a cobalt ring she had, and so good-looking her senses immediately kicked into overdrive.

He picked up the bottle and carefully tipped it against his fingertip. Turning toward her, he gently traced a path down her throat, then repeated the touch on each wrist. The oil turned to liquid heat, creating thoughts of wearing the perfume and nothing else.

Lili couldn’t take her eyes off his hands. Strong, capable, yet gentle. She was positive they would feel the same everywhere else on her.

Get
your
mind
back
where
it
belongs!

Easier said than done.

He lifted her hand, palm up, and bent down to sniff her wrist. His breath drifted over the surface. When he lifted his head, his eyes blazed a vivid blue.

“She’s right,” he murmured. “This is meant for you.”

“Oh my,” Cleo said in a hushed whisper.

Lili silently repeated the words, not even realizing that little stunned the jaded cat. For a moment she forgot they had an avid audience.

“I shall wrap it up.” The crone swept the bottle away and soon had it nestled in a velvet-covered box.

The witch didn’t wince at the high price.

“Who are you?” she asked the man.

“Someone who knows what scent a woman should wear,” the crone cackled.

He lifted Lili’s hand and pressed a light kiss in the center of her palm. She felt the burn of his lips all the way to her core.

“Someone skilled in the blending of perfume oils?” she asked with a husky tone in her voice she couldn’t hide.

This time his lips hovered near her ear. “No. Just a demon who knows what he likes.”

As quickly as he appeared he was gone from the dimly lit shop.

“Many years ago, I would have tempted such as he,” the shopkeeper sighed, her wide mouth displaying blackened teeth. Her faded eyes twinkled with mischief. “If you wear the perfume of desire, you will see him again.”

“I’m not sure my senses could take it,” Lili admitted as she gathered up her purchases. She walked outside, now ready to return to Asmeth’s shop. She wanted to sit with the garrulous wizard and drink wine and listen to his gossip. If she was lucky, he might even know the demon’s name once she described him. For now, she had the memory of his touch. She had a feeling his kiss, still embedded in her palm, would keep her warm that night.

***

He
shouldn’t have approached her that way. Spoken to her, touched her. Felt the silken touch of her skin against his lips.
The golden light surrounding her told him she was a witch, but there was something more about her he couldn’t read. And it wasn’t anything to do with her feline cohort who looked at him with a little too much curiosity. Not that an inquisitive cat was anything new.

A
witch
with
a
cat
familiar. No surprise there.

Jared used the shadows so he wouldn’t be easily seen when he was free from the hospital. They allowed him to roam through Inderman and the surrounding area like one of the many specters that inhabited the supernatural community. He was seen, but always managed to ensure he wasn’t remembered. Females were drawn to him like moths to a flame. There were even times he didn’t mind singeing their wings in a purely carnal way. But no longer. He preferred conserving his power, so he could indulge in trips away from his cell. The trouble was that while the shadows were his friends, they were also his enemies. While they gave him a chance to believe he could have a semblance of a normal life, they also took away that feeling when they decided it was time to return him to his cell.

He felt the painful hitch in his body that meant he would soon be pulled back to the prison he’d called home for so long. The place where he was known as the most monstrous of all fiends.

Jared hoped he would see the exotic-looking witch again. He knew Inderman would be his best bet to do so. It might be a large community, thanks to the strong magick that kept it animated, but it also had the feel of a small town. He sensed she would return here for shopping and perhaps grab a bite in one of the many taverns and restaurants Inderman offered.

He hungered for the chance to learn her name. He already knew her voice was as striking as her beauty. The old crone had struck just the right note with the perfume oil she offered her. He’d filled his lungs with the fragrance, committing it to memory for the dark hours he would spend in his cell.

For now, his body wanted her. The need grew so strong he didn’t feel the pain the shadows inflicted as they pulled him back to his prison.

Lili sat on the floor with her back resting against the couch. She had a cup of chamomile tea resting by her bare feet. She bent over and touched each nail with a fingertip, watching a dark purple color shimmer on the surface. She next tried a neutral beige/pink on her fingernails. Classical music poured from the speakers that she had arranged around the family room, and pillar candles wafted the soft scent of sandalwood.

She hadn’t been able to sleep, so she finally abandoned her bed and came out here to indulge in some girlie pampering. She used her jar of The Body Bakery body cream, a gift from Jazz that smelled like snickerdoodle cookies. She felt the cinnamon and vanilla were a perfect blend with the sandalwood-scented candles. Pretty soon her arms and legs were soft and sweet-smelling and her nails manicured. To top off her girlie night, she pulled a container of Ben and Jerry’s Magic Brownies ice cream out of the freezer. The black raspberry ice cream swirled with fudgy brownies was the perfect finishing touch for a night of self-indulgence. Her mindless tasks also helped keep her from thinking too much. Except that now her nails were done and the empty ice cream carton sat on the coffee table, so there was nothing to keep the worries at bay. She leaned back against the couch, the cushion firm against her neck.

The image of the dark-haired male appeared behind her closed eyelids as she drifted in a soft mellow haze. It had been three days, and he hadn’t left her thoughts, even if he was nothing more than a faint mist in her memory.

“Why are you haunting me?” The words were a bare murmur. “What exactly are you?”

A tingle of magick prickling along the surface of her skin was her first warning she wasn’t alone. Her eyes popped open, and she saw the mysterious man seated on a nearby chair.

“How did you get in here?” she demanded, starting to jump to her feet, but she fell back before she could gain her balance. She chose to ignore her awkwardness.

“Hades if I know,” he said, looking around. “You have a nice place. Do you have the sports channels?” He picked up the television remote control.

Lili pushed herself off the floor again and this time managed to remain upright. A wave of her hand sent the remote flying out of his hand and into hers. “This house is heavily warded against unwanted intrusions,” she ground out. She tamped down the traitorous lower part of her body that felt all too warm and gooey at the moment. Cleo was right. It had been way too long between dates, not to mention her pretty much nonexistent sex life.