Page 46 of Demon's Bane

A pulse of discontent ripples through me. Setting her gently down on her feet, I take her face in my hands and tip it up toward mine.

“Why do you think it wouldn’t?”

“Because I have all of this.” She gestures at the shop around us. “A life. Friends. Here, in the human realm.”

It’s a problem, certainly, and one I haven’t allowed myself to dwell on.

Perhaps it’s foolish, but right now, with the taste of my mate on my lips and her scent clinging to every inch of me, with the way it feels like we’ve just bridged some impossible gulf between us, I refuse to let it be insurmountable.

“Not to mention you have to go back to your realm like, right now,” she continues, and the slight edge of desperation in her voice has me leaning down to kiss her again.

Joan responds with eager hands and open lips. Melting, grasping, sighing into me…

At least until I pull away, and even the little groan of protest she lets out is one more reason we can’t let this end here.

“That won’t be a problem,” I tell her.

“Really? That’s a little hard to believe.”

“It won’t be a problem.”

Joan lets out an irritated breath through her nose. Apparently knowing we’re mates hasn’t lessened how exasperating she finds me.

“Andwhywon’t it be a problem, if you’re so certain you know everything?”

I grin at her sass and steal one last taste of her before I answer.

“Because you’re coming with me.”

14

Joan

“And the spare keys for the front and back doors are—”

“On the hidden hook behind the utility box out back,” Marli says, parroting the information back to me for what must be at least the third time.

We’re sitting in my office, papers scattered across the desk between us as I wrack my brain trying to think of something,anythingI might have forgotten to tell her.

It’s not that I don’t trust her with the shop for a few days. Of course I do. Marli has become my right hand around here, and between her and a couple other employees I have working part-time, I know they can handle it.

It’s just… I’ve never left Celestial Blends. In the four years since I opened the shop, I haven’t taken any true days off. Even on days when I’m supposedly taking my infrequent ‘weekends’ or when I’m under the weather, I’m just a phone call and a few steps away if anything in the shop goes wrong.

So leaving now, going into the demon realm with Rhett, feels nearly impossible.

I’ve gone over and over every eventuality, made plans and backup plans, and left Marli the number for every supplier andrepair shop. I’ve thought myself in circles about all the things that could go wrong… and I’m still nowhere near ready to leave.

“And Poe,” I continue. “He needs—”

“A scoop of food every morning and evening. I’ll check in on him, and Belinda’s also planning to stop by after work every day to spend some time with him.”

“Alright, alright,” I say with a grateful squeeze in the middle of my chest to know that whatever else has changed, I’ve still got my friends. “I guess I can quit repeating myself.”

“I’ve got this,” Marli assures me as we do one last walk-through of the kitchen.

“I know,” I tell her, trying and failing to calm the anxious pit in my stomach and the worry clawing at the back of my throat.

There’s no more time to think about it, though, as I glance at the clock and see it’s nearly time to go.