Page 29 of Demon with Benefits
The silence was deafening. Meph was starting to regret getting out of bed this morning.
Finally, Jacqui said in a low voice, “You’re telling me this option has always existed. That any human can be turned into a v—into a v—vampire... and become immortal.”
“Yeah.” Why did he get the sense she was about to blow?
“And Dan would know this.”
“Well, yeah. He’s probably killed his fair share if he’s any good at his job.”
“He knows this... and he didn’t tell me.”
“Yes?”
Jacqui leapt to her feet and slammed her coffee mug onto the table. Meph flinched like a bomb had just gone off in his face. Her nostrils were flared, and her hands were clenched into fists.
Had he thought Belial’s rage attacks were terrifying? Because this shit was on a whole other level.
“Here I am, torturing myself with the agony of my mortality, believing there were no options, no possible workarounds. And all along, he knew about this?”
“Wait, so you want to become a vampire just like that? I wouldn’t get that excited. It kind of sucks. No pun intended, but—”
“No, I don’t want to. Well, maybe. I don’t know. But he should have told me!” She plastered on the most terrifying fake smile he’d ever seen and said, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to make a phone call.”
And then she marched out of the studio and was gone.
Meph shuddered. He almost felt bad for Dan. Almost.
6
LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE
IRIS WAS LATE FOR THE COVEN MEETING.
Worse, Lily was already there, and now Suyin was texting Iris wondering if she was okay. Iris was usually there hours early, organizing or studying or doing whatever. The coven was her life. It was where she spent all her time. It consumed her every thought.
Well, ithad.
It was blizzarding tonight, the sky one big cloud illuminated by city lights, the snow coming down with a vengeance. After tucking Faust into her coat, Iris stepped outside and dug around her pockets for her keys. She still needed to lock the door, and somehow, she’d managed to lose them in the seconds it had taken her to leave the house.
Or maybe she was just distracted.
Thoughts about a certain red-eyed demon kept dancing through her head, churning her up inside. Against her will, she kept reliving how his fingers had felt sliding against her. God, and the way he kissed, his lips firm and demanding. She just knew he’d be dynamite in the bedroom. What would it feel like to—
“Good evening.”
She jumped and spun around. A man she’d never seen before stood beside her, having just stepped out of the apartment next door. He already had his keys in hand like a smart person, and he smoothly slipped one into the lock and then smiled politely at her.
“Evening.” Iris went back to searching her coat pockets until her fingers finally closed around her own bundle of keys.
“You live here, I presume?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then I suppose we’re neighbors.”
She studied the guy. He was tall and lean, graceful in a male-model sort of way. As he finished locking the door, he tucked his hands into a long wool coat that didn’t look warm enough for the weather, yet he gave no indication he was cold. A thin scarf was tucked around his clean-shaven chin, and his collar was flipped up to hide the ends of his tawny hair.
“You just moved in?” she asked.
