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A muscle in his jaw feathers. There are a hundred plausible lies he can feed me, but he doesn’t voice a single one.

I wait. And wait.

His answer never comes.

I sigh and turn around, heading to the door. The air thickens, the static electricity of it raising the hairs on my arm. That’s my biggest cue that Des is displeased. I’m practically suffocating on his power.

When I glance back again, his wings are out. They keep flaring and retracting.

Not displeased, I correct,out of control. He’s about to lose his shit.

Half of me thinks hewon’tlet me go. And a large, twisted part of me wouldn’t entirely mind that.

Instead, the heaviness in the air dissipates, and his wings fold tight to his back.

“Fine, cherub. I’ll take you home.”

Once we touchdown in my backyard, Des checks the perimeter of my house, then my rooms, a manic look in his eye.

I’m still too shocked by my surroundings to do much more than stare. I forgot I had agrown werewolftrapped on my property. My place is in tatters.

As the Bargainer moves through my house, his magic mends the worst of the damage. Shredded walls are fixed, my smashed table snaps back into place, the splintered wood fitting itself back together like a jigsaw puzzle. Shattered windows seal themselves back together.

Des comes into the living room, looking agitated, his towering frame full of pent up energy. “Everything’s clear,” he reports, running a hand through his hair. “There were two Politia officers parked down the street, but I sent them off. You should be safe for another day.”

A day is all I need to hunt down Eli’s furry ass and then rip him a new one.

“Thank you,” I say, motioning vaguely around me towards the damage he fixed, and you know, scaring off the supernatural po-po, who’d cart me off to jail the first chance they got. It’s still surreal to think I’m currently on the Wanted List.

The Bargainer hesitates, fighting to hold his tongue. I know he doesn’t want me to be here.

“Stay safe, cherub,” he finally says. “I’ll be back tomorrow evening.” He crosses the room, heading to the door out to my backyard, not sparing me another glance.

That shouldn’t hurt, none of this should hurt. But it all does. I don’t want him to go. My heart wants to give into him even if my mind knows better.

Halfway to the door, he pauses. Swearing under his breath, he turns and stalks back to me. He wraps a hand around my waist and takes my lips savagely.

I gasp into his mouth as he grinds into me. The kiss is over as soon as it’s begun.

He releases me roughly. “If you want to see me for any reason before tomorrow, you know how to get ahold of me.” He backs up. “I’ll be waiting.”

And then he’s gone.

Chapter 15

March, seven years ago

“Tell me aboutyour mother,” Des says across from me.

The two of us play poker and drink booze in my dorm room, while outside a rainstorm batters against the windows.

The booze had been his idea. “A little corruption will do you good, cherub,” he’d said when he’d appeared in my room with the bottle, winking at me.

I’d sputtered at the sight of the alcohol. “That’s not allowed.”

“Do I look like the kind of guy that follows the rules?” With his leather pants and inked arm on display, he most definitely didn’t.

So reluctantly, I’d rinsed out my mug and my water glass and let the Bargainer pour us each a glass of “really fucking good” Scotch.