Perhaps he had an innate resistance to being influenced.
 
 Savannah pushed up beside me and wrapped her arm around mine in a
 
 way that immediately soothed my temper and aroused my body. “Please. My
 
 friend is a bit of a brute, and I don’t think he was taking you seriously. How
 
 about I pick one for him?”
 
 The demon, whose sudden nervous eye tic indicated he might be worried
 
 I would crush his skull, nodded. “Yes. Let’s try again. Of course.”
 
 I waited while Savannah went to the shelves and quickly returned.
 
 “That was mercifully fast,” I grumbled.
 
 “I saw it earlier and thought of you.”
 
 She handed it over, and the man lowered it in the dumbwaiter.
 
 It came back moments later with a very full glass of whiskey.
 
 He nodded and handed me the glass. I lifted it to my nose. The aromas
 
 were bold—honey, almond, and charred oak, with a soft hint of vanilla. I
 
 took a sip and let the warm liquid linger in my mouth. “This is excellent.
 
 What book did you offer?”
 
 The bookseller held up a book with a couple of sweaty, steroid-pumped,
 
 bare-chested, and tattooed men on the cover. Taming Bad Alphas. He leaned
 
 forward and whispered, “It’s from our very spicy book section.”
 
 I clenched my fists tightly and glared at Savannah.
 
 She smirked. “It got us in, right?”
 
 The bookseller placed the books on the to-be-reshelved-rack, but she
 
 stopped him. “Actually, I think we want to buy those.”
 
 Then she looked at me expectantly.
 
 The gall.
 
 “Fine. Whatever gets us in.” I slapped a fifty down. “Where’s the bar?”
 
 The demon bagged Savannah’s books, then strode over to a shelf of
 
 historical fantasy novels and pressed an emblem carved in the side. The shelf
 
 slowly swung open, revealing a dark stairwell. A couple of red bulbs
 
 flickered to life, and the demon bowed. “Welcome to The Bookshelf. You