Page 39 of The Music Demon

“Yes.”

“Fine. Put the name Gray Darby on that one. And give the best room to the, um,” he looked at Shivaun, “lady.”

She responded to his capitulation with a smile so brilliant it outshone the contemporary sputnik-style chandelier. On the spot Lyric pledged again to do whatever it took to see that smile every day.

Turning to Gray, Lyric said, “Go stow your stuff and check out your room then then meet us in…” He looked at the little white card in his hand. “313.”

The kid nodded. He looked nervous as hell and Lyric hoped it was the novelty of travel and new experiences and not second thoughts. Not that the demon would feel guilty. Guilt wasn’t one of his things.

“You okay?” Lyric borrowed one of the most overused questions of the modern era because it was quick and easy.

“Yeah.” Gray attempted a smile that didn’t quite make it all the way to sincere while his eyes flicked between Lyric and Shivaun. “Good.”

“Okay. See you in a few minutes.”

Gray nodded again. He looked ready to flee. He carried his duffle bag that was part of a carefully orchestrated vintage collection. The bag and everything in it had been made prior to 1967.

As Lyric slid the card over the reader on the door of the room and gained entrance, he said, “That was impressive. How you handled Gray. You have an advantage over all demons who’ve come before you.”

“What’s that?”

“You understand humans.”

She scoffed. “If you think there’s such a thing as understandin’ humans, then you truly know nothin’ about them.”

He motioned for Shivaun to proceed, followed her in and surprised her by spinning her around so that her back was flat against the closed door.

“What…?”

She had no time to finish that sentence before he pressed the length of his body against hers and stole a breathless kiss that seemed to go on forever. Her eyes drifted closed as she let the ecstasy of seduction seep into her body. She was thinking Lyric’s scent was a combination of music and moonlight. Of course, music and moonlight don’t have scents. She was registering his underlying essence, what humans call magic.

When, at length, he pulled back with a satisfied grin, she said, “Are you sure you’re not a sex demon? Like Rosie’s da?”

His grin widened. “Ah. You’re a flatterer, ye are,” he said in his best northern Irish accent. “But whereas I can be a music demon and skilled lover, the sex demon you mention cannot sing for shit.”

She frowned. “Why would he want to sing for shit?”

Lyric laughed. “It’s just an exp…” Shy felt the knock on the door at her back. She pushed Lyric away and checked herself in the mirror. “Kisses only make you look more perfect, Shivaun. I’d always thought the concept of ‘stealing’ kisses was silly. I’m having a change of heart.”

She rolled her eyes, but was smiling as Lyric opened the door for Gray. Her manner changed within seconds of reading Gray’s energy.

In a schoolteacher’s tone, she said, “Dougray Darby. “You need to tell the truth right now. Somethin’s not right. If you’re havin’ another thought about this, ‘twill no’ hurt the demon’s feelin’s if you tell him so.” She looked at Lyric. “’Tis true. Right?”

Lyric studied Gray. “Like she says, it’s not too late to abort. If you’re rethinking this, we can have a night on the town and put you on a plane for Austin in the morning. No harm. No foul.”

Gray walked over and looked out the window at the street below. “I wasn’t thinkin’ that, but even if I was. What about the lottery win?”

“Well,” Lyric said, “that can’t be undone, but without a bit of magical tweaking, money acquired too easily has a way of disappearing on its own. If you want to back out of our deal, you can still do it while we’re in this time. Your sister and niece would blow through the money at an unbelievable pace and not even know where it went. That’s how these things work. But they’d have you back.”

He turned to face them. “I’m not lookin’ to get out of the deal. I’m just realizin’ this might be real. You know.Real“Twilight Zone” shit. Not pretend.”

The demon cocked his head. “You thought this was pretend.”

“No,” Gray said slowly. “Not exactly. But there’s knowin’ and there’sknowin’. You know what I mean?”

Shivaun looked at Lyric. “I know what he means. When I first heard about vampire, I did no’ believe a bit of it. Took some convincin’ to get Sher and me on the same page. Old money organizations that train vampire hunters? Takes some gettin’ used to.”

Gray turned to Lyric. “She’s kiddin’. Right?”