Page 4

Liam

I watched Seth help Officer Cooley out of the wheelchair as I drove through the hospital’s roundabout toward them. She looked like a witch who’d overextended her magic: exhausted and drained. Except she was no witch.

Seth helped her into the back seat and then motioned that he’d drive, so I sidled over to the passenger side as he came around to the driver’s seat.

I couldn’t believe Seth had actually done it. He’d signed us up to care for Officer Cooley until she was well enough to be alone.

Seth was special when it came to wizards because he didn’t just train in wizardry; he was also an accomplished witch. Many wizards looked down on witchcraft as inferior woman’s magic, which was ridiculous because throughout history, some of the most potent witches and wizards dabbled in both.

His witchy side replenished magic through sex, which was where I came in.

At first, I’d viewed it as a way to repay the young wizard for treating me like a real person and giving me so much freedom; after all, I enjoyed bodies of all persuasions.

But imagine my surprise when I woke up one day to the realization that not only did I love the wizard whose family line had once enslaved me, but that he was my mate, my one and only, my forever and ever.

I’d kept that little fact from Seth for months, worried that it would change things between us. I liked what we had and didn’t want it to change.

So we’d continued as just lovers. He’d been staying at Desmon’s place at the time, and I was practically living with Seth in his room. The dragon had even asked if I wanted to work for him since he was always looking for reliable demons to add to his roster.

I understood; not all demons were trustworthy. Hell, I’d once been a menace to medieval society. But that was a long time ago—a whole other lifetime.

But having only been recently freed, I wasn’t interested in being bound to an employer, not even one who was a dragon and paid handsomely.

So I’d rejected the offer, but I did agree to help on missions if Seth was there.

But that was for selfish reasons. I ain’t losing my man!

I also wasn’t going to leave my mate in need of a magical pick-me-up.

I didn’t want the dragon throwing an incubus at him if he ran low on magic during a mission.

He was mine, and I was a jealous demon. Ain’t no other demons, incubus or otherwise, going to help my Seth recharge without me!

I was in charge of all his recharging needs.

Sometimes, that meant bringing in a third for fun and an extra boost of magic, but I was always around, and I always had the last word.

Those ladies came and went. They offered a little variety. Something fun but not required.

I knew Seth had had his eyes on Officer Cooley for a while. The police kept sending her and Hayes to the same anomalies Desmon sent Seth to. She wasn’t the type we usually picked up at Delerium, an incubus-owned nightclub here in Darlington, but that wasn’t a bad thing.

But caring for her while she was injured was not how I’d imagined it going. For one, she didn’t look like she’d be ready to spice up our bedroom anytime soon. However, I had to admit that the sight of her was getting whatever protective instincts I had all riled up.

“Thank you for picking me up,” she said, her voice gravelly and lacking her usual pep. “But you guys don’t have to watch me. I’ll be fine. Just drop me off at home.”

“No can do, Hazy Daisy.”

“Hazy Daisy?” I asked.

“That’s her name,” Seth said.

“It’s Hazel,” she corrected. “Or Sarah. I don’t go by Hazy.”

“Whatever you want, Sweetcheeks,” Seth said, winking at her in the rearview mirror as he turned out of the parking lot.

“Great. I want to go home. Then I want you to leave.”

Seth ignored her, so I decided to remind her that I was still there by turning myself immaterial so I could phase through the seat to the back to join our new charge.

Officer Cooley eyed me warily. She’d probably dealt with her share of ornery demons in her time on the force and was expecting the worst from me.

Demons had a reputation for a reason. Half of us were party animals, thinking about nothing but fun in the moment.

The other half had a bone to pick with humans because of the trauma created by being trapped by wizards and sometimes witches, most of whom were of the human persuasion.

I would’ve fallen into the second category if it hadn’t been for Seth.

Considering she didn’t even blink when I phased through the back of the passenger seat, I guessed she was used to dealing with us. I wondered how many demons she’d had to arrest with her special magical-proof handcuffs.

“So, Hazel? I can’t believe I never knew your first name, Cooley.”

“You never asked.”

“Touché.”

“Say, Liam, maybe you can talk some sense into him. Watching me for the next who knows how long is going to be super boring. And I really prefer to feel like shit alone. Convince Seth here that this is a horrible idea. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Oh, I don’t know. EA’s right, you need to be monitored.” I omitted the fact that Seth had been the one to advise the EA to make sure she and Hayes weren’t left alone after that blast. Then, knowing she was the type to respect brutal honesty, I said, “You look a mess. No offense.”

“Ugh! None taken; I feel a mess. But I want to feel like a mess alone,” she wailed. “Can’t you guys just call in and check up on me every few hours instead?”

“Nuh-uh, Babygirl,” I said, tucking her into my arms. “You’re ours for the time being.”

She frowned at the nickname.

I bet she was like Seth, always a little bit too independent, always needing to prove to some unknown force that she didn’t need help and not even realizing she was doing it.

She tried another tactic. “My house is a mess. I didn’t expect anyone to come over. At least let me get the guest room ready.”

And I was willing to bet that if we did, she wouldn’t let us back in.

“We’re not watching you at your place, Sweetcheeks. You’re coming over to ours,” Seth said from the front.

“But I don’t—”

“We’ll drop you off at your place if you need to pick up anything.”

“Oh. Well, my house is the other way.”

“We’re picking up dinner first,” I said. “I ordered from the Vietnamese pho place. Noodle soup is what I get Seth when his human weakness shows.”

“I have no human weaknesses,” Seth scoffed from the front seat.

I ignored him and continued talking to Hazel. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I ordered several things.”

“Fine, we’ll eat first, then pick up my stuff. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

She kept her eyes closed then throughout the ride until some idiot braked hard in front of us, and Seth laid on the horn. She cursed and then put her hands to her head, holding it like she feared it would explode if she didn’t apply pressure.

“Headache?”

“Uh-huh,” she groaned.

I formed my hands into giant fluffy earmuffs and covered her ears. They were large enough that they basically swallowed her head. I gave her head a light massage, focusing on different areas until she said, “There, right there.”

“How else do you feel?” I asked.

“Like shit.”

I chuckled. “You’ve got to be a little bit more descriptive than that.”

“Mushy, steamy, and pile-like.” After a pause, she said, “Exhausted. Every muscle hurts like I’ve run a marathon.

My head hurts like I haven’t drunk water in days, and all my brain cells are dehydrated even though I chugged two glasses back at the hospital.

My thoughts are jumbled up. I can’t think. Just answering this is difficult.”

“Hmm, are you hearing this, Seth?” I continued my furry-mitted head rub. “Sounds like a magic hangover, like the ones you get when you overextend.”

“I figured something like this might happen.”

“But how can I overextend my magic if I don’t have any?

“Oh, but you do,” I said. “I see it in your aura.”

“You mean that glow I see around people? A lot of people have it. That doesn’t mean they have magic.”

“You see people’s auras?” Seth asked.

“If you mean that glow, then yes, sometimes. It helps with the job.”

“Not everyone with magic has the sight, but everyone with the sight has magic. Even if that’s the only magic they have.”

She frowned. “Hayes can see the auras too.”

“Of course he can. I bet most everyone on your task force can,” Seth said.

“Nagin can’t, but she’s a snake shifter... not a naga, no blended form. And Lenny can’t, but he’s a lion shifter. But yeah, I guess everyone else could.”

But even this much talk was too much for her. She was reaching for her head again. I applied a little more pressure, holding in place until she closed her eyes and relaxed.

She was already asleep, her head cushioned in my giant mitts, when Seth stopped in front of the pho noodle place. He stepped out to grab our food, and before long, we were on our way home to our loft-style condo.