Page 24

Liam

“You!” I pointed a finger at Seth. “You put a barrier around Hazel, so I couldn’t even talk to her!”

Seth leaned back against the highback leather chair of his home office setup, a neutral mask on his face.

I’d gone to her house to try to either calm her down, cheer her up, explain that Seth could be a major cunt sometimes, or whatever, but found myself stuck on her lawn.

So, instead of being a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear, I’d come off as a creepy stalker until she drew her blinds closed after my second attempt at sign language.

And by sign language, I literally meant turning into a sign with words on it.

“This is not a fair use of your magic, and you know it.”

“She’s not worth our time.”

“Bullshit! You’re just saying that because you’re so used to getting your way that you couldn’t handle someone telling you no! Well, listen up, Mr. Big Shot Wizard, you can’t fix all of life’s problems by being more powerful or richer than everyone else.”

“She is embarrassed to be seen with us. That should tell you what she thinks of us. She doesn’t care. We are just some fun for her.”

“When the fuck did she say that? She said she wasn’t looking for a relationship.

Okay, that sucks because we are. But that doesn’t mean we should just throw it all away and stop trying.

She likes us. We’re good together. We could convince her over time.

It’s been what? A week? What if I’d given up on you after only a week? ”

“This is different.”

“How the fuck so?”

“I was never embarrassed of you.”

“But you still hid what we had for years!”

“To keep you safe!” he hollered. “Not because of any stupid-ass teasing.”

“You forced that out of her. And so what if it’s true? You think her life on the force is easy. You think Tommy rags on you? I bet he rags on her too.”

Seth wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, but most of the time, I just had to pout and I got my way eventually. I couldn’t see Hazel doing that, not even if her life depended on it. They really were more alike than they thought.

“Tommy’s a jerk. She shouldn’t care about what he thinks.”

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to work with him every day.

And I’m sure he’s not the only one you’ve vexed.

It’s not like you haven’t been purposefully acting like a menace every time you have to deal with the police.

Do you know how much extra paperwork they’ve had to do on account of you?

Oh wait, you do, because you did it on purpose.

Come on, what the fuck did you think would happen?

And would it kill you to follow some of their rules some of the time? ”

I wasn’t sure I was being completely fair here because I knew that his outrageous behavior was a distraction so that his magic could rifle through the crime scene undetected.

Seth set his jaw in that stubborn way that I found both adorable and infuriating.

“And it’s been a fucking week! You want her to face possible ridicule for you after a single week? And you wouldn’t even fight for her. Fuck! You wouldn’t even let me fight on your behalf. Life isn’t always about proving you’re right or one-upping everyone else.”

Was I being a bit unfair? Sure. But I wasn’t the only one in this situation.

Now that I was tallying it all up, I was getting so angry it was hard to control my feelings.

The idea that demons didn’t have any was an utter lie.

We had feelings and emotions, and they burned hotter and stronger than mere mortals.

It was kind of ironic that I would end up being the mediator in this whole shebang.

“You know, Seth, I’m beginning to think maybe you’re not all that into her at all.”

“What the fuck, man. Of course I am.”

“Well, you sure didn’t act it.”

“Well, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad if you didn’t jump the gun and ask her to stay.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault now?”

And then, because if I stayed I’d say mean things I’d regret, I popped off to get some fresh air.

It was a warm weekend evening, and after wandering the streets for a while, I found myself in front of Delerium, a Darlington nightclub serving monsters, magical beings, and humans alike. The fire demon bouncer recognized me and waved me in.

Delerium was supposed to be reminiscent of the witch’s sabbaths of old as they danced with demons, incubi, and succubi around a bonfire under the light of the moon.

It wasn’t long before Julian, the incubus owner of the club, spied me.

Seeing that I was absent of my usually hyper-protective wizard, his smile turned into a salacious grin as he strode my way, the look on his face clearly indicating that he’d discovered fresh meat.

And I guess I was. For an experienced old hand like him, even a demon like me might be considered innocent enough to be corruptible.

I’d never left Seth alone with someone like him, and I bet I’d never hear the end of it if Seth found out I was here alone.

But I wasn’t here looking for bedroom games. I only wanted that with two humans I’d already claimed as my own. I was here so that the loud music could drown the frustrations in my head and so I could dance away my troubles.

“Trouble in paradise?” Julian draped his long arms around me.

“Nope,” I lied. “Just here to dance.”

“I see. Need a dance partner? Which version do you prefer?”

He flashed from the darkly handsome thirties-something-looking human guise he had on to the female equivalent.

“I don’t—”

“How about now?” His form grew younger so that she looked in her twenties.

“No, Julian.”

“How about now?” His form grew younger looking again, this time barely legal.

“No!”

“How about—”

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

Julian puffed back to his incubus form, not even bothering to look human this time and bellowed a laugh. “You should see your face. But you know I can’t go any younger because then I’d have to kick myself out.”

The things Julian found funny were questionable, but at least I knew that as long as I was clear that I wasn’t interested, I was safe. Unlike some incubi, he was a stickler for consent. But if you let him, he’d do anything and everything to you.

“I still don’t get why any self-respecting demon would want to settle down when the world is a buffet, free for the taking,” he said, shaking his head.

Incubi were a type of demon, except unlike the rest of us, they needed to consume sexual energy to survive.

Julian had frowned on my relationship with Seth until he realized that Seth was a wizard and a witch and recharged his powers through sex.

Apparently, that made it acceptable since those types of witches were particularly appealing to incubi.

“When you meet the right one, you’ll understand.” Or should I say ones considering my predicament?

“Never!”

I couldn’t wait for fate to prove him wrong.

Julian unhooked a velvet rope and let me into a VIP area.

I recognized a few faces right away. The first was Prax.

He was an incubus too, but he was happily mated and married.

I bet Prax also thought he’d never settle down.

He was one demon who never had a problem with Seth since Seth had been there when Tansy had freed him from thralldom.

Penny, his wife and mate, was waving to me now.

Penny’s two best friends, Griselda and Lily, were there too. Griselda’s fiancé, a minotaur named Marcus was also there. The girls all looked like they were having the times of their lives, but Marcus looked a little stiff. I guess the gym owner wasn’t used to a place like this.

Julian sidled over to Lily, the single unattached soul in this entire group. Unlike me, Lily was a lot more receptive to his charms, and the two started bumping and grinding to the music.

“Where’s Seth?” Penny asked before Julian could make a cut-it-out motion at his neck.

Was it that obvious that something was up? I guess it was because no one ever saw me here on my own. In fact, Seth and I were usually joined at the hip when he wasn’t working.

“Oh.” Penny recovered quickly from the shock. “Come dance with us. Always room for one more.”

Coming from her, it had no sexual connotation at all, though if it had come from Prax, I wouldn’t be too sure.

They were all dancing around a plush, semicircular couch with a low table in the middle.

Prax, it seemed, had splurged on bottle service, and there were several types of mixers, as well as an ornate hookah perched on the overflowing table.

I joined them, moving my body to the music and letting the driving beat and strobe lights take my mind off of everything that had happened.

They all took turns dancing with me to cheer me up.

Again, all except for Marcus, though he did glare while Griselda danced with me, so I guess that counted.

Realizing Lily wasn’t going to leave the group to join him in one of the private rooms, Julian left after a few songs to prowl his club for fresh meat.

It was the end of the night, and we were all at a table in a twenty-four-hour McDonald’s when I finally spilled the beans over a Big Mac. Except, I only told enough details to get the story across and I only referred to Hazel as... well, Hazel, since most people knew her as Officer Cooley or Sarah.

“So now, I’m pissed off at Seth for expecting too much and disappointed at her for not wanting enough,” I finished, glad to finally get it off my chest.

“Aw shucks, that sucks. I bet Seth is stubborn as fuck,” Griselda said, pushing an errant strand of her dark hair off her face.

I was still used to her being a redhead, but I guess she was planning to stay bottle-black for a little longer.

I nodded. “I love him for it most of the time. Hazel is similar.”

“Hazel. That sounds kind of familiar, but I can’t place it,” Griselda said.

I shrugged, not giving anything away.

“Well, I hope everything works out for you three,” Griselda said. “If it does, you have to bring her out one weekend, and soon, before Penny and I get knocked up and can’t party anymore.”

“Ha!” Penny laughed. “That’s not happening! I’m going to party forever!”

Prax just grinned.