Demons Prefer Blondes (Demons Unleashed #1)(66)
Shrugging, she led Rafe up the porch steps, not even giving the bitch a backward glance. She wouldn’t let Lamia get under her skin.
Rafe leaned in, his breath teasing along her ear. “Very impressive. Even the strongest have failed against her charms.”
“Thanks,” she said as the snow barraged them. “But I wouldn’t necessarily call them charms.”
Rafe curved his lips into a reassuring smile. “Good point.”
She liked the new Lucy—demon and all.
Chapter 19
As soon as the door slammed behind them, Rafael blew out a breath of relief. Not that Lamia didn’t deserve a silver dagger slammed into her icy heart, but Lucia didn’t deserve the guilt and anguish that went with performing such a cold-blooded act.
They called it a defense mechanism, to keep the Paladins from straying. In his opinion, it was no such thing. It was their conscience, the only thing human that remained. Sometimes he hated it. He tossed a sidelong glance at Lucy, her dark blonde hair peeking from beneath her knit cap. Today he welcomed it with open arms.
He opened his mouth to speak.
“It’s about time.” The squeak sliced into his eardrum.
The sooner he got Squeaky to Serah, the better. He just wanted to lay back, drink some wine, and just be himself for a while. Squeaky’s talking did nothing to relax the mood. Not that he didn’t like the little guy… umm… imp. He… erm… it had whittled its way in. But Squeaky wasn’t the only one who had burrowed into the deep recesses of his heart. And that unnerved him even more.
Her scent, her taste, her… bloody hell… everything about her drove him to distraction. How could he protect her when he’d become as weak as a young puppy? The Fore-Demons were having a field day with this, no doubt.
Squeaky snapped his chubby chimp fingers. “Is everything okay, compadre?”
“Everything is fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Are you ready to go?”
“Fine,” Squeaky huffed. “Eager to get rid of me, are you?”
He wouldn’t let this chimp know he’d grown on him.
“You’re needed at Serah’s,” Lucy interjected. With a yank of her hat, she shook her head, her stylishly choppy hair bouncing around her face. Breathtaking. “You don’t want that lasagna to get cold.”
“Since Mr. Deleon here controls me, I suppose I have no choice.” Squeaky spread his chimp lips into a huge smile, revealing his big yellow teeth. “And two of my favorite things, Serah and lasagna. Now that’s amore.”
“Oh! Serah has an admirer.” Lucy shuffled Squeaky toward the door. “Just be gentle with her.”
Rafael blanked that thought from his mind. Some things were better left without visualization.
“It’s only for this mythical lasagna I’ve heard so much about.”
Time was of the essence. They’d socialized enough. “Ready?”
With a reluctant squeal, Squeaky nodded. “I prefer to drive, but since the storm demons have the whole town cluster-f*cked, I have no choice. If I freeze one hair off my ass, I swear I’ll whack you myself.”
Rolling his eyes, Rafael groaned. “It’s the only way to get you across town in less than five seconds.”
Lucy arched an eyebrow, bemusement lighting up her hazel eyes. “Are you poofing him there?”
“Something like that,” Rafael replied with a shrug.
“Oh, okay.” With that delightful nibble of her lip, Lucy turned away and gazed out the window. She raked a hand through her tousled hair and heaved a sigh.
What is the matter with me? Curiosity was a common trait, amongst mortals and demons alike. It was only natural for her to wonder, and here he was acting like an utter cad. Times were tough. The Infernati were loose. He was insane with desire. Not a good mix at all.
“I’ll handle the travel arrangements, Lucy. There are other things you need to learn, first.”
Couldn’t he say anything without sounding like a bloody bastard? He needed to worry about other things right now. Like protecting Lucy and the chest. The complexity of demon travel wasn’t something he wanted to get into. Maybe later. Yes, definitely later. There so much he wanted to do with her. There his mind wandered again! He turned his gaze back to Squeaky. “Ready now?”
Zipping up a puffy black down jacket around his squatty chimp body, gold pinky ring sparkling, Squeaky nodded. “As ready as I’ll never be.”
“Good.” Rafael closed his eyes and placed his hands on Squeaky’s shoulders. “Go with the winds to the workplace of Serah SanGermano. Protect her.”
With that, Squeaky nodded and lowered his head. In a burst of bright light and shards of ice, he vanished.
***
With mouth agape, Lucy stared at the pile of ice that had once been Squeaky. It was bad enough that was snowing enough outside to make an army of snowmen, but now Rafe had to bring the ice and cold inside? Not to mention the fact he’d annihilated poor Squeaky. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s fine. He’ll just have a few icicles in some unmentionable places.”
Poor Squeaky. “That doesn’t sound fun at all.”
“I just commanded him to Serah’s business. He’ll recover.” Rafe pushed his way into the living room where the offending chest still sat, with the styling cape draped over it, oblivious to the fact that the chest it covered had once held a bunch of overzealous—or was it not-so-zealous—demons. Whatever the case, there was no way in hell she would open that chest again.