Page 23 of Nightmares and Numerology

An unpleasant bark of laughter escaped me before I could stop it. “Oh yeah, because you’re great at helping women wind down. All you did last night was make empty promises and then you stood me up.”

Angelo released me so suddenly that I sagged over the table. It shifted the display by a few inches, and only his quick reflexes kept the crystal ball from shattering on the shop floor. He replaced it with a thoughtful expression, watching me retreat to the safety of the stacks, away from his pheromones. I couldn’tthink clearly when he touched me. All my reasons to be angry melted away for a while, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d been an ass.

His eyes narrowed on my face, searching for something there. He must have found what he was looking for because a mix of surprise and chagrin twisted his full, kissable mouth.

“Well, damn.”

“Damn?” I repeated. “That’s all you have to say?”

After everything we’d done last night and his attitude afterward, he was just going to write it off with a shrug and a swear word? Men. He was acting just like one. Trust them not to take things as seriously as they should.

Angelo took a deliberate step forward, putting more body language into the motion than was strictly necessary. It drew attention to all the parts of him I should have been ignoring, like the broad, well-sculpted set of his shoulders and the tapered waist that promised a delicious view beneath. I’d never seen him completely naked, and I wanted to. Good God did I want to. But that was the problem. This whole thing was unfairly weighted in his favor. Every red-blooded, straight woman would want him. I couldn’t blame him for giving me a pass.

“Yes, that’s all I have to say,” he replied simply. “Fifi was right. I’ve never done this...” Angelo paused, grimacing as though what he had to say next tasted funny. “This relationship thing. I hate being bad at it.”

I stared at him for a moment. “I don’t understand.”

Another gliding step forward. He was like a sleekly muscled cat stalking its prey. There was grace in the movement no human could possess. But then again, he wasn’t human. He was a demon who hadn’t fed in months because of me.

My eyes pricked, and my gut clenched in sudden horror as the first tear spilled over. Angelo spat out a vicious curse in a language I was vaguely familiar with. The demon magic Indigohad tied to her soul told me it was foul and spoken in an infernal tongue. Almost in response, more tears started welling up in my eyes. God, this was just so… so… humiliating!

Angelo’s arms suddenly clamped around my waist. My tears soaked into the soft fabric of his button-down. After a moment of hesitation, his hand came up to stroke my hair.

“Don’t cry,” he said, making soft shushing noises more appropriate for a cat than a person. Still, it was cute to watch him try in his own clumsy way. “I guess Taliyah and Fifi were right. I should have called. I should have told you what happened. I just didn’t want to worry you. You had such a horrible day yesterday and…”

I leaned away from him slightly, staring up into his wide, slightly manic eyes as he babbled. It wasn’t like him. He stopped talking when I leaned in and brushed a quick kiss over his mouth. It was the easiest way to quiet an incubus.

Angelo leaned toward me for a moment, eyes darkening with need. My skin felt tight, desire pooling low in my belly from just that point of contact. I was still mad at him, but at least I was getting answers. If I let him ramble, I’d never follow the conversation.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

Angelo sighed. “Something happened to me last night. Because of that, I couldn’t get to the office for our date.”

“What happened to you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. All I do know is that I was trying to make alternate plans when I got jumped.”

“Jumped?”

He nodded. “Someone hit me over the head with a bottle.”

“Oh my gosh!”

“I don’t know who smashed the thing over my head, but they did something to me. I woke up being towed off to jail, and by the time I got back to the house, you looked exhausted. I didn’twant to make you more miserable than Rodney already had.”

For a few seconds, I stared at him in confusion, my mouth slowly parting in horror as the reality sank in. I could sense Angelo’s sincerity. I knew he wasn’t lying. If he wanted to cheat and justify it, he wouldn’t have told this story. I could back it up with Taliyah and his sister, who had apparently known about this since last night. Even if Angelo hadn’t called me, surely one of them should have? I deserved to know why he’d stood me up.

I socked Angelo in the shoulder.

“What’s that for?”

“Not telling me! I was worried sick! I didn’t know where you were or what you were doing. Because your sister had a client, I would have understood a last-minute cancellation. But not telling me you got hurt? That’s not okay, Angelo! I need to know these things. I thought we were friends!”

“We are.”

“And if you were ever thinking we could be more…”

I stumbled over the word. It felt like saying it might shatter the peace we’d formed.

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