Page 9 of Paramour of Sin

“Seriously, there have to be rules about how many demons are allowed in the house at one time,” Gleason muttered as he went to the liquor cabinet.

With an irritated huff, he shut the door and went to the fridge to pull out a fresh bottle of white wine, clearly deciding he preferred that over whatever we had in the liquor cabinet. He busied himself with uncorking the bottle, then poured himself a healthy glass—it was definitely a much larger portion than the one we’d shared prior to Lord Zebulon’s arrival.

“Just as grumpy as always, I see,” Eve said, hopping up onto one of my counters to look around. “This place is a lot nicer than our old house, Gwen. I really like the island. And the double stove. Oh, and what is that? A sink?”

“Filtered water,” I explained. “With real temperature controls.”

“Sweet.” She looked at the wall near the stove. “And those?”

“Cooking gadgets improved while you were gone,” Gleason said as he put the wine bottle away in the drink fridge to let it chill. “Actually, technology improved in general. Surely you’ve noticed the energy efficient transportation? It’s all made a significant impact on environmental health.”

Xai grunted. “I’m still trying to understand telecommunications in this realm again.”

“That explains showing up without calling,” Gleason drawled.

“You missed me and you know it,” Eve returned.

“I did,” I piped up, smiling. “I missed you a lot.”

Eve smiled. “I missed you, too, Gwen.” She slipped off the marble counter to hug me, her arms strong and secure around me. “Now I want you to tell me what the hell is going on with you and Zeb. And Zane.”

I sighed. “There’s nothing going on.”

“Uh huh.” She pulled back, her blue eyes intense. “Now try telling me the truth.”

“They’re just mentoring me,” I said, my cheeks heating. “That’s all.”

“How do I enroll in the succubus mentorship program?” Remy asked, sounding serious.

I just shook my head. “I’m fine. It’s all fine. Well, apart from Clark…”

“Who’s Clark?” Eve asked.

“The dead human.” I grimaced.

“I thought his name was Carl?”

“Was it?” I flinched. “I really need to get better with names. But he was satisfied when I left. And alive.”

“I believe you.”

I knew she did. She was my best friend. And she knew I wouldn’t be shy about accidentally killing someone. Sad, yes. But I owned my mistakes. “Thanks for being here, Eve.”

She hugged me again. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come back. We have a lot to catch up on.”

I eyed Xai lurking nearby. “Yeah, I’d say we do. It must be some crazy story if you decided to forgive that asshole.”

He merely smiled. “As charming as always, Guinevere.”

“Oh, I’ve not even started,” I informed him with a grin of my own.

“Come on, we’ll have a drink and catch up,” Eve suggested. “Maybe you’ll somewhat forgive Xai.”

“Not likely.”

Eve seemed to consider that. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not very likely.”

Gleason just shook his head and started pulling glasses out from the bar area in the kitchen. “Might as well make it a proper party if I’m going to host all these beings from Heaven and Hell,” he was saying to himself.