Page 3 of The Devil in the Details

“Sorry, but if I wanted him dead, I’d hire some ruffian.” The details on how to do that were sketchy, but they would give her less lip than the demon, so it’d be worth the trouble.

His lips twitched, betraying his amusement. “Sure, ruffians. While you’re at it, hire a rapscallion, a few scallywags, and a cad.”

Zelda blinked, slowly processing the sheer amount of snark coming from the demon. “I don’t need a cad. I want revenge on one. Anyway, don’t mock me. You’re the one dressed like you’re on the hunt for Jack the Ripper.”

“Thank you.” He smoothed down the front of his suit with a pleased grin.

“That wasn’t a compliment.” Zelda ran a hand through her hair. She didn’t have a lot of options here. She had to make a deal with this demon, as aggravating as he was. Better do some damage control. “Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Would you like a drink?”

“I desire the water of melting snow collected from the sacred pools of Jesare,” he said, like that was something she could pick up at the store.

“No sacred water, but I’ll find something.” She had hot chocolate. That was sacred in her books.

He waved a dismissive hand. “Very well. Surprise me, mortal.”

Zelda scurried into the kitchen, very aware of the demon watching her with his swirling black and blue eyes. She resisted the urge to tug her sweater down over her butt. She didn’t need to draw more attention to her big behind.

While water boiled, she leaned against the counter. This wasn’t going the way she expected. The demon wasn’t supposed to be real. She fully intended to do the little ritual and when nothing happened, laugh at herself, have an ugly cry, and get on with things like an adult. Then Malgraxon had the nerve to show up and ruin her perfectly reasonable pity party.

She poured boiling water over the powdered mix, stirred in peppermint syrup, and topped it with whipped cream and crushed peppermint candy. Nature might have given her extra padding, but she saw no reason not to treat herself.

When she returned to the common room, Malgraxon sat on the floor, embroiled in a staring contest with her cat, Mr. Fishtopher. Mr. Fish’s tail was straight in the air, wary, but not puffed in alarm.

Zelda set the mugs of hot chocolate in front of Malgraxon. “It’s better hot,” she said, grabbing Fishtopher and setting him on her lap. The cat wasn’t having it and moved to investigate the hot chocolate.

“That is mine, foul fiend,” Malgraxon said, cradling his mug to his chest.

“Fishtopher is not a fiend. He’s a good boy,” Zelda said, reaching for her own mug.

Malgraxon sniffed the mug, frowning. An obscenely long tongue darted out, taking a swipe of whipped cream. His eyebrows went up in surprise. He greedily downed the drink, leaving whipped cream on his top lip. “What is this?”

“You never had hot chocolate before?”

“No. Humans insist on plying me with whiskey or wine. It’s rather tedious.” His long tongue licked the inside of the mug. It was wrong, but she couldn’t stop staring. His tongue was forked.

How would that feel?

Zelda blushed and stared into the bottom of her mug. She had no business imagining his tongue doing stuff… Moments ago, he annoyed her. Yes, he was handsome, but he was a shapeshifter, so a good-looking face didn’t mean much. Hot or not, his attitude needed an adjustment.

“This is not tedious,” Malgraxon said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Well, help me take down Walker, and I’ll treat you to an ice cream sundae,” she joked.

His eyes flashed and he leaned back against the sofa, laying his arm along the cushions. For no good reason other than to torment her, that tongue licked his lips, getting the last of the whipped cream.

He did that on purpose.

Zelda shifted, pressing her thighs together because she did not need to be having thoughts about that tongue. “I, uh, have, that is, I saw, on the newsfeed about the, umm—” She stumbled over her words because he was biting his lower lip as he watched her, looking as if he knew full well she was having thoughts about his tongue. “Walker’s going to be at a party,” she finally managed to say.

“You require a date? I am flattered.” Despite sitting on the floor, he managed to lord over the room.

His uncontrolled attitude had the effect of taking a cold shower. All her desire vanished. She said in a flat tone, “I don’t needa date. I need an invitation. It’s exclusive. Look, did you hear about the ruby slippers that were stolen?”

“I do not keep tabs on human shoes.”

“They’re famous. They were props from an old Earth movie,The Wizard of Oz.” She waited for recognition, but none came. “The ruby slippers are priceless from a cultural standpoint. I am—I used to be—the curator at the Martian Historical Society. The ruby slippers are—were—the only pair off Earth. They were stolen, and the thieves used my keycard and passcode to do it.”

Malgraxon eyed her untouched hot chocolate. She handed her mug over to him and was rewarded with a genuine smile of delight.

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