Page 3 of Rescued By the Dour Demon

Ah. So she expected to find a helpful spirit rather than a demon. She probably thought all those stories about deals with the devil were made up. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course she did. She was too dewy-eyed for her own good. The urge to scoop her up in his arms and rescue her from her own uninformed decisions warred with his desire to turn her over his knee and spank that round ass of hers for putting herself in danger.

“Well, you got me.” He grinned, his mind fixating on the idea of her face-down in his lap. “Lucky you.”

His tone was light, but inside, he bristled with outrage. She’d put herself in danger. Standing at a crossroads at midnight and calling out for help was asking for trouble. And she’d flung the portal open wide with her unfocused plea. Anyone could have stepped across that threshold before him. How was she this unaware of the dangers that lurked here, waiting for a tasty snack like her to make an appearance? She had magic; she had to know the risks.

Enough of this. Obviously, she needed rescuing from her poor decisions. Time to make a deal.

“Rowan Vera Burnay,” he said, the shadows pooling at his feet. “You have come to these crossroads seeking aid and summoned me to your side. State your need.”

She put her hands on her hips. “No, thanks. I’m not making a deal with you.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not getting my soul, demon.”

Oh, she was delightful. He could just eat her up. He’d make it a priority, in fact, once they struck their deal. With those luscious curves and porcelain skin that glowed in the moonlight, she was hard to resist. Her long, red hair was tied up in a loose ponytail that begged to be wrapped around his fist as he pulled her close to taste those plump red lips. A few curling tendrils escaped the band and framed her heart-shaped face. The form-fitting green vee-neck she wore accented her bountiful breasts, and those dark jeans hugged her like a lover. He wanted to peel them off and stroke every inch of her smooth skin.

Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he cocked his head, studying her. “What did you think would happen when you came here and did your ritual?” He dug a toe into the gravel, unearthing the small tin of graveyard dirt she’d buried at thecenter of the crossroads. “Did you expect to get what you wanted and leave with no cost, no repercussions?”

A muscle jumped in her cheek as she ground her teeth together. “I expected you to be a spirit that I could ask a question of, get an answer, and pay in coin before walking away.”

“A question?” Intriguing. “Tell me.”

She recoiled, shaking her head. “No.”

“What if I ask nicely?” he said, giving her the best wide-eyed, innocent expression he could muster. “Pretty please? With sugar on top?”

A dimple flashed in her cheek before disappearing just as quickly, but she didn’t immediately respond. A cool autumn wind danced over the road, kicking up colorful fallen leaves, a reminder winter was on its way. A chorus of crickets and frogs sang as an owl glided silently overhead.

Finally, she said, “If I ask you my question, does that mean we’re making a deal?”

“Not necessarily.” Crossroads deals came in all shapes and sizes. He had enough experience with both petitioner deals and legal contracts that he could twist and mold them to suit his purposes. Right now, his goal was to establish a connection, something he could use to keep tabs on her while he got to the root of her problem and decided how to proceed with the whole mate issue. Then maybe they’d renegotiate.

“Because I’m not willing to sign my soul over to you or anything like that.”

“Sensible,” he said, rocking back on his heels. He pursed his lips, thinking. “For this encounter only, you may treat this interaction as if I were the lesser spirit you’d hoped to summon.”

She cocked her head. “Really?” A double line formed between her brows. “That sounds too good to be true, considering the nature of demons.”

“You don’t know much about demons, then,” he said, irritation shading his tone. Not all of them were greedy, terrible monsters. His people were just as diverse as hers.

“I can’t leave until I do this, can I?”

“No. A call was made and answered. Both of us are trapped in this liminal space until the ritual is complete.”

Her palms rasping against her jean-clad thighs, she blew out a hard breath. “Fine. I’m not thrilled about this, but I guess I don’t really have a choice here, do I?”

“Not unless you want me glued to your side until I’m properly dismissed.”

“Fine. You’re my spirit stand-in. I’m going to ask you a question, you’re going to give me an answer, and I’m going to toss you a coin in payment. Got it?”

He nodded, refraining from rubbing his hands together in glee. Little did she know he had a plan.

She pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. “Spirit,” she said, “My grandmother, she needs help.” Haltingly, she spun a tale of a shady private equity firm run by an even shadier individual trying to buy up the town for cheap using threats and intimidation tactics. Her grandmother was the latest target. Swallowing hard, she asked, “How can I best help my grandmother? I’m afraid of what will happen to her if she loses her home and her store.”

Oh, this was too easy. He tried not to be smug when he said, “You need to hire a lawyer.”

Her jaw dropped. “What? That’s your answer?”

He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. With a shrug, he said, “Yep.”

Flags of bright red colored her cheeks as she spluttered with outrage, her fists clenched at her sides.

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