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Sharp words about his offer to help lay on my tongue, and I was more than ready to stab him with them. I had plenty of questions for him too. Like why hadn’t he stuck around to fix me when it happened? But in the end, I knew fighting with Rasmus wouldn’t help me.

“I was going to take some pain pills and lie down before dinner.”

“The pills would dull your senses too much. If my help works, you won’t need them. Gale is sending us dinner so we can talk.”

“About what?” I demanded.

“Both of your statues.”

Protecting my pride seemed foolish when the knot on my head proved I needed help to handle both. “Fine. I’ll listen to yer ideas, but don’t bother giving me yer forty thousand alibis. I don’t care where ya keep running off to every time trouble starts.”

“I didn’t realize I needed even one alibi, much less forty thousand of them.”

He grinned a little when I glared at him but still held out a hand to me. I rolled my eyes but still put my hand in his.

Rasmus tugged me until I stood in front of the new couch and then he let go. It would have been childish of me not to sit down so I lowered myself and got comfortable. Unlike the leather couches other areas had, this small sofa had a soft fabric covering that felt luxurious under my aching butt.

“This sofa smells new. Henry must have gotten tired of waiting on me to pick furniture.”

“My understanding is that the furniture was purchased for your new office area in the blue house. Henry had them brought over here because you put Mulan and Conn in your quarters lastnight. I think he enjoys moving things around from living area to living area. Maybe I should ask for a bigger bed while he’s in the swapping-out mood.”

I leaned back and sighed at the plushness. “I bet he’d let me keep all this if I asked.”

Rasmus nodded. “I imagine he would. All demons seem to adore you.”

“Not the one that attacked me.”

“Good point, but he’s not exactly a demon, though they used to call his kind that. When I saw him mirror your powers so perfectly, I suspected he was another kind of creature. As a scientist among my kind, I possess more knowledge than most about the many experiments from the early years of humanity.”

While Rasmus talked, he gently turned me away from him. His hands rose to massage my shoulders and neck. Relief came instantly and I nearly wept.

“Are ya sure he’s not a demon? Gale sure thought he was one. Plus, he partially possessed Mulan’s family and Conn. Gale said Conn was purging the creature’s essence from his system. She also said the process was painful.”

“I believe the Wu Shaman’s brother-in-law is a jiangshi. That’s an immortal Chinese vampire zombie. They drain energy from the people they align themselves with. It’s done mostly to survive, but they can also possess a person’s energy and jump bodies. The zombie theory concerning them is they were terrible people in their first life and got punished by never dying. Over time, many Chinese creatures became classified as greater or lesser demons. But that was just a label to encompass many beings.”

“Jiangshi.”

“Yes. They’re calledblack ghostsas well.”

“I think he looks like a giant Ewok from the Star Wars movies, especially with that giant white mustache dragging the ground.”

It was hard to listen to Rasmus with his magickal hands working steadily on my muscles. My poor abused head kept wanting to find a pillow or lean back against him. Jack had not been the nurturing type. None of my lovers before him had been, either. Rasmus had offered me physical comfort even before he’d offered me himself.

I cleared my throat. “What do ya think he wants from Mulan’s sister and parents?”

“I don’t know. We would have to ask him.”

“Ya mean Mulan would have to ask. He doesn’t seem to speak any more English than her family does.”

When Rasmus moved his fingers to rub my temples, I slumped in relief. The headache fled from his touch. I felt like I could sleep for days. “Ya’re a miracle worker.” The compliment earned me a masculine chuckle, which brought a smile to my lips. “Thank ya for the massage.”

He moved his fingers away as he stood. Before I could protest the loss of his touch, the guardian scooped me up and carried me to one of the two new chairs. He sat down with me still hugged against his chest.

Goddess, I loved his strength.

I felt a slight movement before finding my face pitched forward into the side of his throat. The guardian’s grateful sigh was loud when he relaxed in the seat. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I could have stayed like that with him for the rest of my life.

“Both chairs are recliners. They’re one of humanity’s greatest inventions,” Rasmus said in a contented voice.