Whatever.My point was, I needed a permanent solution to my family issues.As soon as I figured out what that was, Arrythmia would be in my rearview mirror.
That meant there was no time to get freaky with Mr.Hottie Demon Guy.I knew what happened when women fell for overly good-looking men.That’s what happened to my mom.
She hadn’t known who or what my dad was—he was a master at camouflaging himself.Big surprise there—when she fell for him.And he hadn’t been smart enough to wrap himself up when he seduced her.Hence my appearance in the world.
I remembered overhearing them arguing when I was fourteen.Mom said, “But, Lucifer, she isn’t even a full-blooded demon.Why would you want her in the business?”
“That’s exactly why, sweet Marissa.She’smore thana demon.”
At the time, I’d thought beingmore thana demon was a good thing.Until Mom told me, “He’s just sugarcoating to make the idea sound alluring.He knew you were listening.”
And then Mom had gone into an entirely too detailed description of Hell—he’d taken her there, once—and, yeah, I’d lost interest in the idea of helping with the family business pretty quickly.
If only dear old dad would tire of trying to force me into joining his team, we’d all be happy.
I felt the demon’s presence before I dared glance at the open side window to see that he was now standing outside my vehicle, his hands clasped over his groin, which was pretty much at eye level.The wordamorwas tattooed across his knuckles.Amor was another word for cherub, which were these adorable little angelic flying toddlers, so I had to believe he’d chosen that tattoo sardonically.
“Welcome to Arrythmia,” a silky smooth, rich, velvety voice said.The timbre of that voice curled around my body like a silk negligee.I shivered before I could stop myself.
“I’m Asmoday,” he added.
Gah.Even his name was sexy.
“Uh…” I couldn’t form words.My brain wasn’t working.Actually, it was working just fine.It was busy documenting all the various sexual positions Asmoday and I could try, which, for the record, was not at all helpful.
“Generally, the next step would be for you to offer up your name,” Asmoday said, ever so helpfully and with a definite teasing lilt to his voice.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I finally managed.
“I’m not that kind of demon.I’m not going to invoke your name.”
“I know what kind of demon you are.”I ground my teeth and clutched the steering wheel, willing myself to shift the vehicle into reverse and get the hell out of town.While I wasn’t in any hurry to deal with Dad’s gun-toting demons, I was reasonably confident I could handle them far better than I could handle this guy.
Actually, I was willing to bet I could handle this guy really well.
“Gah!”
He blinked those glowing purple eyes, his heavy brows furrowing.“Something wrong?”
“J-just step away, would you?”I wiped sweat from my brow.Even though I was somewhere in the middle of Texas, it was still February, so it was definitely not wipe-sweat-from-your-brow weather.And yet, I was perspiring like it was mid-July.
Those beautiful eyes suddenly widened.“Wait.”
He canted his head.
I waited.
“Are you attracted to me?”he demanded.
Hellfire and damnation.
I definitely should have taken my chances with the gun-toting demons.
ChapterThree
Asmoday
“No,” the young woman in the old lady car protested.
