Page 16 of The Demon's Sinful Serenade
Every few seconds, she'd glance at the door, then the clock, then shift her weight to her other foot or pace away a few steps. Watching her move was a special kind of torture. My lips still burned from our kiss, the taste of her lingering like a drug I couldn't shake. I'd wanted to devour her right there, to claim what the mate bond told me was already mine.
But she didn't know. Couldn't feel it the way I did. And pushing her now, when she was vulnerable and afraid, would make me no better than the opportunistic bastards I'd spent my career hunting down.
I flipped the knife again.
"I still think we're making too big a deal of this," River said, arms crossing tightly over her chest. "It could have been a trick of the light. Or stress-induced hallucination."
"You saw him," I reminded her. "I saw him. And neither of us hallucinated your equipment failures or the light nearly crushing you."
"But a ghost? Really?"
"You hired demon mercenaries to handle your stalker problem," I pointed out. "Is a ghost that much harder to believe?"
River scowled at me, but there was no real heat behind it. More like she was going through the motions of being difficult because it was safer than admitting she was scared shitless.
I wanted to pull her into my arms. Tell her it would be okay. That I wouldn't let anything happen to her.
She's not yours. Not yet.
But gods, I wanted her to be.
I gently tugged River aside, my hand lingering on her elbow. "Come here."
She shot me a puzzled look. "Why?"
"Because—"
A cloud of crimson smoke erupted in the exact spot where she'd been standing. River jumped back with a startled yelp as Rava and Zral materialized, Miranda between them. The witch looked greener than the orc, one hand pressed to her stomach.
"Holy shit!" River clutched at my arm, her fingers digging into my bicep. "You could have warned me about the smoke show entrance!"
I shrugged, fighting a smile at her wide-eyed reaction. "More fun this way."
"Fun for who?" Miranda muttered. "Next time, I'm driving."
"You get used to it," Rava said, patting her shoulder before spotting me. Her tail lashed behind her. "This better be worth leaving Malak to handle surveillance alone. He's going to milk this for weeks."
"Nice to see you too, Rava." I nodded toward Zral. "Thanks for the backup."
The orc gave me a lazy salute. "Wouldn't miss it. Rava promised family drama and a chance to watch you squirm."
"I did not say squirm," Rava protested, but her smirk said otherwise.
Miranda brushed her dress free of imagined wrinkles. At least her color was looking better. "I was in the middle of prepping inventory for the music festival, so this better be apocalyptic."
River leaned closer to me, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Are they always this cheerful?"
"Only on good days." I turned to make introductions. "Everyone, this is River Rathbone, my client. River, meet Rava Kadhan, her mate Zral Shieldthorn, and Miranda Crowell."
"Hannah's on her way," Zral offered. "Galan said she just finished her shift at the hospital."
Right on cue, someone pounded their fist against the entrance. I buzzed open the door, then swung it wide. Hannah stepped inside, red-gold hair pulled back in a messy bun and dark circles under her eyes betraying her long day. She nodded a greeting to the room as we rounded out the introductions.
"Perfect." I gestured toward the conference room. "I called you all here to discuss an exorcism."
Rava's eyebrows shot up. "Look at you, thinking through a problem before trying to punch it. I'm impressed. Personal growth."
"I can, occasionally, rub two brain cells together," I growled back.
