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Something clicked in my head, like a puzzle piece falling perfectly into place. And just like that, I knew exactly how I was going to convince her to let me stay.

“Jennifer?” I repeated, my lips curling into a slow grin. “As inJen Myers?”

Her glare sharpened, her entire body going rigid as a blush crept up her throat. Right on cue, the notebook appeared between us on the coffee table. I moved to grab it, but Jen was faster, snatching it up and clutching it tightly to her chest.

“Yes,” she said flatly, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “I momentarily forgot about the blatant invasion of my privacy.”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “The ghost left me the notebook as reading material for my bath.”

Jen’s glare snapped to BooDini, who wisely backed into the kitchen and out of sight. Her gaze returned to me, sharp and accusatory, the air between us suddenly thick with the scorched sugar scent of her embarrassment.

“I’m sorry,” I said, lowering my voice. “I thought it was just a manuscript a previous guest had left behind.”

She sat silent, lips pressed thin, her grip on the notebook tightening. Finally, she murmured, “I wrote it almost a decade ago, just before...” The air grew heavy, thick with the scent of lilies and salt as grief unfurled around her once more.

A slow, aching pressure crushed my chest, squeezing like a phantom hand clenching around my heart. I felt as if I were intruding on her sorrow, an uninvited visitor looking in. I dampened my senses, forcing myself to tune out the pulse of emotion radiating from her. If Jen wanted to tell me what had happened, she would—when she was ready.

“... Anyway,” she continued, “I’ve been away for a long time, and I’d forgotten about it until today. But it needs a lot of work, and I don’t know if I’m in the right place to...” She trailed off again, her hazel eyes flicking toward me, a sheen of vulnerability flashing in them that made me desperate to pull her onto my lap. To run my hands down her back. To whisper against her skin thateverything was going to be okay.

“I really enjoyed it,” I said, keeping my tone steady.

Her eyes widened, but her lips pressed into a thin line. “You don’t have to pretend to like it just to get in my good books.”

You literally caught me jerking off to it, I thought.

Well... technically, I’d been jerking off to my own revised version of the scene—not the one she’d written. But everything else?Perfect.

“I mean it,” I said, letting sincerity creep into my voice. “I literally fell a little bit in love with Mina.”

I hadn’t thought it was physically possible, but Jen’s face reddened even more. For a split second, I was tempted to undampen my senses, to feel whatever emotion was humming beneath her skin, just out of reach.

“Kieran was the perfect balance—gruff and guarded on the outside, but absolutely adorable underneath. The plot was exciting enough to hold its own, but not so convoluted that it overshadowed the romance.” I let out an unconscious sigh. “And the romance... The way the sexual tension practically sizzled off the page?Perfection.” I grinned, tipping my fingers to my lips in a chef’s kiss. “The wholethey’re mates, but they don’t know it yet? Torturous. I was torn between screaming at them to just get together already and devouring every second of their resistance,dyingfor the moment they finally gave in.”

Time to plant the first seeds of the quid pro quo I was leading up to.

“It’s exactly the kind of connection I want to make with someone,” I said. “And Mina is exactly what I’m looking for in a potential date.”

Jen flushed, then let out a slow breath, though her tone still carried a layer of suspicion as she asked, “You’re not just trying to butter me up so I’ll let you stay in my house until you can get back to the Shadow Realm?”

“Technically,” I said, unable to contain myself, “the house is mine for the next two weeks.”

The scowl she shot me was downright lethal. She opened her mouth, but I cut in quickly.

“I was joking! Well... kind of joking.”

Her glare darkened.

I held up my hands. “Look, I think we could help each other out.”

“You don’t have anything I want, demon.”

Shit.

I might have already fucked this up. Why the hell hadn’t I just gone with a simple “Please may I stay in your house?”and offered her the envelope of cash Jasper had given me?

I treaded carefully, keeping my voice light. “As much as I adored the characters, the plot, and especially the romance...” I paused, watching her reaction. “Idohave... one tiny piece of constructive feedback.”

“Oh yeah?” Jen said, her tone wary.