Page 6 of Curses & Cold Brew (Maple Hollow #2)

IRIS

I ’d promised Jordyn that I’d stay away from Ramona, and I knew better than to go running after a demon down a dark alley, but something odd was afoot— and I was in desperate need of some entertainment.

The leftover spaghetti in my microwave could wait.

Ignoring the alarm bells blaring in my brain, I made a mad dash around the building.

Slinking down the alleyway, I hoped to meet Ramona at the other end of the shadowy corridor.

I waited.

Any second now.

But there was no trace of her. I couldn’t have been that fast, could I?

“I thought I heard a curious pussycat on my heels.”

I jolted, whirling to find Ramona behind me. “I . . .” I didn’t think this plan through! Of course, she would hear me coming from a mile away.

She folded her arms and arched a slender black brow at me, looking somewhere between bored and annoyed. “I’ll give you one chance to tell me why you were following me down a dark alley at night.”

“Well, I–I mean, you—” I cleared my throat. “You seemed upset.”

“And you thought putting yourself in the path of an upset demon was a smart idea?” She didn’t look mad, just disappointed.

Why did that make this even more embarrassing? I was a powerful witch, not a foolhardy child.

“I can take care of myself,” I said defensively. “I’ve faced bigger and badder beings than you.”

Her lip curled, pulling a small dimple from her angular cheek.

Goddess, help me.

She looked cocky and predatory, like a wild cat who’d cornered a plump rabbit.

I ignored the butterflies dancing in my stomach and finally asked the question that had brought me here: “Why were you stalking menacingly through the night? Well, more menacingly than usual.” I cringed with embarrassment.

“What would that information be worth to you, witchling?”

A vision of sealing my first deal with her flashed through my mind. The way she’d kissed me like I was the air she breathed . . .

Goddess, that happened almost an entire freaking year ago!

I really needed to pull myself together. I should’ve just turned and walked away, but I was hopeless.

“I actually thought you might need my help,” I supplied. “It seemed like something was wrong.”

“Perceptive,” she said flatly. I may have vastly overestimated how not annoying she found me. “Are you sure you only followed me to offer help?”

I hadn’t noticed that she’d backed me up to the wall until her long fingers reached up to tug a rogue Ichabod whisker from the collar of my cardigan.

She held it between us like an offering.

When I didn’t take it, she tucked it into the pocket of her blazer.

“Because I think you have more than just being helpful on your mind.”

“It’s a small town. Things can get a bit . . . stale,” I admitted, instantly feeling as if I had just given her information she could use against me.

“My work is not for your entertainment.” Her words should have sounded harsh, but they didn’t hold the bite of indignation.

“Please?” I pushed, my mind floating back to the pathetic, lukewarm spaghetti in my microwave.

Mischief lit Ramona’s expression. “What is it worth to you?”

“You think I’d make another deal with you? Just to have something to do?”

“It’s not my job to know what people want. Everyone thinks they know what they want when they call upon me, and they never do. My true gift is to know what people need . What they don’t know they’re desperate for.”

Something in the way she emphasized the word “need” made my core tighten.

“I have everything I need,” I countered. I had a coven, a good job, a home, friends, family . . .

Action and adventure weren’t needs. They were hobbies, if anything.

My gaze flitted to Ramona’s mouth as I thought about how much I didn’t need her kind of amusement.

Nope. Definitely not.

Ramona’s silver eyes beamed in the darkness, making me keenly aware of being the sole point of her focus. It was utterly addicting.

The things I might do to be the object of her attention . . .

I shook off that thought, not sure how far I’d go to test that theory.

“Want to find out if that’s truly what your soul desires?” she asked as if reading my mind.

Inching closer, she braced her forearm on the wall behind me. Her body was so close to mine that I could make out the notes of vanilla and spice in her perfume. My skin heated as I took another deep breath of her in.

“I think I’ve made enough deals with you,” I rasped.

Technically, I’d made two: I agreed to go on a date with her in exchange for information about Lou’s killer last year, and this summer, she’d agreed to extend the deadline for our date in exchange for another kiss . . . and what a fucking kiss it had been.

Ramona’s smile widened as if she were thinking the same thing. “Oh, you and I are just getting started, red.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, haha , I have red hair. Very original nickname, you corporate hellion.”

“Come on. Make a deal with me,” Ramona goaded, her alluring voice like a siren’s song.

My stomach somersaulted at her commanding tone. “No.”

“It could be fun,” she purred.

“I don’t think we have the same definition of fun . This was a mistake.”

“Maybe. But do you have any better things to do?”

A small voice in the back of my head was screaming at me to run.

Not because I thought Ramona wanted to hurt me .

. . at least not out of malice. I could play it safe, go back to my empty apartment to cuddle with my cat, eat a bowl of spaghetti that was fifty percent parmesan cheese, and binge-watch Derry Girls again.

Or . . .

“No more deals,” I declared as I fixed Ramona with a glare. “But maybe helping you would be less boring. So, you can take my help with no deal or you can leave it. What will it be?”

I could tell Ramona was battling a smirk as she pursed her lips and considered me. “Perhaps a witch on the case would help,” she mused. “Not that you were all that helpful with the herbs before.” She sucked her cheek. “Fine. But you stay behind me and don’t make any trouble for us, got it?”

“Yes!” I squeaked instantly. “Now?”

“You asked where I was going.” She stepped back, brushing the brick dust off her sleeve. “You stopped me on my way to somewhere important. Somewhere I still need to be. Are you in or not?”

“Absolutely,” I said a little too eagerly. Clearing my throat, I schooled my expression. “I mean, yeah, fine. Let’s go.”

“Excellent.” The demon flashed a toothy grin. “Into the night we go, little witch.”