Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)(24)

Pure-Blood? Yeah, right. Maybe her grandmother, but not her. She wasn’t good enough to fill her grandmother’s shoes. She couldn’t even speak her grandmother’s native language. How dumb was that?

Her ever-present inner self reared its annoying head. But what about the door? How did you do that?

It was a fluke. That’s all. She might have believed in all that supernatural stuff, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be a part of it. Look at Lucy. If it wasn’t for Rafe, she’d probably be a raging nymphomaniac, sexing the life out of innocent men. But, knowing her friend, she’d probably aim for the not-so-innocent.

“Cat got your tongue?” The evil demon whispered in her ear, his cold stony fingers tracing along her lips. Screw the watch. She had the perfect opportunity to get out of this mess on her own. A little bit of trickery went a long way.

She drew out her tongue and traced his fingertip, the contact sending shivers of revulsion coursing through her. She murmured and pressed closer to him.

Matthias drew a deep breath. “What are you doing to her, Bal?”

“It’s all her. She wants me. How does that make you feel?”

“I feel nothing.”

Serah’s heart fell at those words. What the hell?

“I know you too well, Ambrose. I remember that look well. Try all you want to hide it.”

“This woman means nothing to me.”

“Really now. I beg to differ. I should have known you’d fall for the Pure-Blood charms. You were always too noble.”

Fall for her charms? What the hell was this guy spewing? Unknown frustrations rammed their way through her body. Whatever trick this guy was playing was working.

Bal, or whatever his name was, swirled his rank tongue along hers. Sour milk and spice rolled across her tongue. She bit back the urge to retch—quite a feat.

It amazed her how she managed to control her disgust and anger. She angled a gaze toward Matthias. His gaze burned and lips curled into a snarl. He raised his arm, silver glinting. He wasn’t doing nearly as well. So much for Mr. Cool-and-collected. What was up with that?

Bal pushed his tongue inside her mouth. She now had her chance. With as much strength as she could, she bit down hard. Slamming her stiletto heel down hard into his foot, she wrenched herself free from his grasp.

“Bloody bitch!” He lunged forward.

Swiping the metallic tang of his saliva from her chin, she gasped. The blood stung her mouth. She coughed and sputtered, her mind reeling.

“Serah, move!” Matthias’s shout echoed through the alley.

Heart pounding against her rib cage, she sidestepped Balthazar. Rummaging through her purse, she dug around for anything she could use as weapon. Palming the silver letter opener Lucy had insisted she carry, she slammed it into Balthazar’s shoulder.

A loud, agonizing roar ripped from his mouth. Thick, dark blood pooled from the wound. He snorted in anger, his snarl morphing into something dark and hideous. Fangs glinted in the moonlight as he hissed viciously. The sound grated in her ear.

A hand, strong and demanding, crushed around her shoulder. Sizzles of electricity raced through her. Matthias yanked her out of Balthazar’s way. Eyes blazing, his jaw ticked.

“I said move.”

With that he hauled her down the darkened alley.

Turning the corner, Serah looked over her shoulder. With an eerie chuckle, Balthazar swirled away in a mist of ice and snow.

Another cold blast slammed into her chest.

“Matthias, do you forget who I am?” Balthazar smirked, brushing off the shards of ice from his tailored jacket. “We can do this all night.”

Matthias pulled her away and bolted toward the parking lot. Balthazar just laughed some more, poofing away again. Absolutely ridiculous.

“Over here!” a strong feminine voice called. Serah angled a glance. The door stood wide and inviting, a hand beckoning them toward. Serah peered up at the signage and cringed.

Wisdom of the Goddess. What? That store had been closed for almost a year. When did it reopen?

Matthias snaked an arm around her waist and hauled her toward the open door.

Then again, resolutions were meant to be broken, right?





Chapter 10


This wasn’t going to be easy. Any time she walked into this shop some weird piece of jewelry, a statue, or some other strange item always called to her. She didn’t like breaking resolutions, even if they were silly. She pushed and pulled against his hard, unyielding body.

“I can’t go in there!”

Matthias turned her to face him, his onyx eyes smoking. “We have no choice.”

She gulped. “What about one of the other stores? There’s a bakery three doors down. I know the owner.”

Matthias shook his head and pulled her across the street. “Balthazar will get us before we make it.” He scanned the perimeter. “And the shop is heavily warded. It’s the safest place.”

“But—”

“No buts. You are safer in the spiritual shop.”

Props to Matthias for calling it what it really was. New Age? Unless you consider the time before Christ new. But from everything she’d learned about demons and angels in the past year or so, she knew that all religions had a common bond. Funny, that.

“I can’t go into a shop like that without buying something.”