Demons Prefer Blondes (Demons Unleashed #1)(12)

***

Revitalized by a sudden burst of sugar and espresso, Lucy fumbled with the keys to the shop. Cold gusts of December air flicked her face, sending shivers through her body. Serah would be meeting her later and she needed to catch up on some paperwork anyway. Hopefully, Serah would arrive sooner rather than later, so they could open the box and be done with it. She cracked her knuckles as an odd sense of excitement coursed through her body.

Taking confident strides into the building, she held her head high and allowed the tingles to tease her skin, oblivious to the swirling snow around her. She ran her fingers through her hair and stretched.

Heading to the back office, she recalled the strange events of the day. From Gerardo’s photography, to the almost-orgasm from touching the chest, to Mrs. Carlson’s mushroom perm, to Rafe… especially Rafe.

Never had she seen eyes so silver and vibrant, even more so than the costume jewelry she sold. His glistening dark hair that danced across his shoulders, beckoning her to reach out and touch. Would he have reacted the same way he had to Gerardo? Then again having a dowdy hairstylist touching his gorgeous locks was probably the last thing Rafe wanted.

And how could she forget that body? Thick muscles straining against his T-shirt and leather pants that molded to each ripple and bulge. He radiated power, and not just the physical kind. But then he’d put Gerardo in a choke hold. Why did the drop dead sexy ones always have to be homophobes?

Settling into her office chair, she fired up her computer. The only thing she hated about running a business. Balancing the budget. Maybe someday she could hire an accountant. After a few hours of boring bookkeeping, she wanted to pound her head on the keyboard.

The sound of Justin Timberlake’s latest hit broke her thoughts. Rifling through her striped Dolce and Gabbana purse, she searched for her cell phone. Curse Serah for buying her such a gi-normous purse. It was so huge; she could’ve stuffed the Statue of Liberty in it and still had room for the Eiffel Tower.

Flipping up the receiver, she answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Open up. I’m waiting in the back.” Serah’s voice, full of urgency, echoed in her ear. “I think someone’s following me and it’s freezing out here.”

Lucy chuckled. “Please! You think everyone’s following you. It’s just some weird chest, not the Arc of the Covenant, for God’s sake.”

Something deep inside nagged at her, but Lucy ignored it. She wanted to open this box. At first it was to prove Serah wrong, but now something else drove her. Something dark and dangerous. Maybe opening this chest wasn’t such a good idea after all.

“So are you going to let me in or what?” Serah huffed with obvious irritation. “It’s kind of hard standing here with a huge chest in my arms. Thank God for Bluetooth.” A loud clunk soon followed. “Just let me in.” The phone went dead.

Flinging her phone back into the purse, Lucy trekked toward the back door. The sooner she let Serah in, the sooner they could open the chest. Then her stupid curiosity would be sated.

Serah’s pounding, followed by a groan, came muffled through the door. “Stupid box. Ugh.”

“I’m coming!” Lucy said in the most annoying singsong voice she could muster. From the sounds of Serah’s grunts and grumbles, she was none too pleased. With a wide smile, Lucy threw open the door. Serah stood there glowering, the chest propped atop her pink Jimmy Choo-clad foot.

“It’s about time,” Serah grumbled, pulling her foot from under the chest. With another loud grumble, she kicked it. “Ouch.”

Lucy shook her head and chuckled. “Then don’t kick it.”

With an irritated huff, Serah hobbled into the shop. “Seriously. This thing isn’t worth the trouble. I’d return it if I could.”

“Why can’t you?” She reached down to collect Serah’s forgotten chest and followed her inside.

Serah plopped down into one of the dryer seats and pulled her shoes off. “The guy said, ‘No returns.’ He seemed pretty eager to part with it.”

“So you don’t want to open it anymore?” Leave it to Serah to deflate her eager curiosity. “This was supposed to be the highlight of my evening.”

Serah chuckled. “Yeah, I know you want to burst the bubble in my overly active imagination.”

“Something like that,” Lucy fibbed. Her reasons now went deeper than that. Something about the chest had put her curiosity into overdrive. “To be honest, I thought it’d be kind of fun, like we were in grade school again.”

Flailing her mangled Jimmy Choo in the air, Serah sucked in a deep breath. “Do you know how much these cost me?”

“More than your über-expensive box?” Lucy asked, arching a brow.

Serah took an exhausted breath. “Okay, fine. You got me there. I exaggerated on the box. I got a deal. The guy couldn’t wait to get rid of it.”

“Yeah, a pentagram on the top of a box tends to do that to people,” Lucy added matter-of-factly.

Serah shrugged. “I didn’t see the pentagram until you pointed it out. The only visible thing was the inscription.” Her gaze grew serious. “I know you think I’m a loon, but maybe we should just forget it. I can put it on eBay.”

“Yeah, you do that. I’d hate to see the freaks who’d bid on that thing.” Then again, she was the freak who itched to open it. “Well, it’s here now, so why don’t we just have some fun?”