I faced Daruka and spread my arms wide.
“It’s just you and me, babe.”
ChapterFour
Daruka
The jury was still out whether making a pit stop in Arrythmia was better than looking over my shoulder every ten seconds, hoping Dad’s goons hadn’t found me.
Mostly, that was because of Asmoday—and my annoying attraction to him.
I understood it, on a basic level.He was a lust demon, and I was, well, in his orbit.Which was all it took for lust demons to trigger one’s desires, however latent they may have been previously.
What I didn’t understand was why no one else in town seemed to be affected by his existence.At least, not lustfully.
After parking my stolen vehicle next to the curb, I reluctantly followed Asmoday down the sidewalk, passing all those bright Valentine’s Day decorations as well as a blue genie sweeping the stoop of a mercantile store, a minotaur behind the bar at a pub, (who waved at us through the stained glass window), a clothing boutique run by a mummy with very stylish bandages, and an ice cream shop where a yeti stood out front offering samples of his newest flavor, Himalayan honeycomb.
In each instance, the other person was friendly toward Asmoday but showed no outward signs of attraction.
Meanwhile, I was as hot as a campfire that had been loaded with seasoned wood and stoked for hours.All I wanted to do was shed this heavy hoodie, except I was wearing only a tank top underneath, and my nipples were as hard as stone, stabbing at the thin material.
So no go on the hoodie shedding.
When we reached our destination, Asmoday paused on the sidewalk, presumably for me to take in the details.Because…wow.
It was an old antebellum-style house nestled among the various businesses right here on Main Street.The exterior was whitewashed brick like most of the other buildings, although this one was detailed with white pillars running along the gigantic porches on the bottom level and the second story.Ferns hung between each of the pillars, again on both levels.There were cozy seating areas with cushioned chairs and small wicker tables in between.Ceiling fans twisted gently on both levels.
There were red twinkle lights nestled into the ferns and draped along the porch railing.Two red hearts hung on the double front doors where wreaths normally would be.
The setup basically begged me to curl up on one of those chairs with a cup of coffee—or a lovely glass of wine—and watch the world meander by.
So not my scene.And yet, strangely intriguing.
“Ready to see the inside?”Asmoday murmured from beside me.He probably hadn’t intended for the question to sound erotic, yet here we were.
I shook my head in a vain attempt to clear it and said, “Yeah, sure.”
The damn lust demon chuckled as he led me up onto the porch and through the front door.
I presumed, naïvely, that the inside would be set up like a hotel.A lobby, maybe a restaurant and bar off to the side, individual rooms upstairs.This town wasn’t that big, and I couldn’t imagine they got an influx of wayward monsters at any given time, so he probably needed only a handful of rooms to rent.
This was not what I was presented with when I stepped into the building.
The huge entry had sleek hardwood floors with an Oriental rug in the middle.A sparkling chandelier hung from the ceiling two stories up.There was a mirror to my left, with an antique sideboard underneath, where a tray of crystal glasses and a matching dispenser were parked.Someone had handwrittenfresh squeezed lemonadein beautiful calligraphy onto a tiny tented sign sitting in front of the dispenser.Red paper hearts were scattered across all the horizontal surfaces as if they had rained down from the ceiling.
A massive staircase directly in front of me beckoned us up to the second story.Two French doors to the left offered a peek into what looked like a living room or maybe a parlor.To the right, another set of French doors, this time leading to a formal dining room.
“This is…”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”Asmoday finished for me.
Beautiful wasn’t adequate enough, but I didn’t say as much.
“Come on, I’ll show you the bedroom level first.I currently have full availability, so you can choose your room.”
I followed him up the stairs, biting my lip to keep from biting that entirely too firm ass that shifted and moved under the smooth leather of his pants.“You have no occupants right now?”
“My most recent guests just left this morning.A group of griffins.They kept clashing with the dragon who owns the jewelry store and ultimately decided they were ready to move on.Planning to settle in the Rockies, as I understand it.”
