“Shh,” he whispered before dipping down and sealing my lips shut with hisown.
I was torn between pushing him away so I could reason with him and pulling him closer so I could get my fill of him. The latter won. I gripped his creased shirt and wrenched him as close as one body can get toanother.
I wasn’t sure how long we stayed tangled up, but I was sure it wasn’t long enough. We only broke apart because a knock sounded. Muriel came in, wrinkles seemingly more pronounced. She chided Jarod for “roughing me up” before proceeding to check on my wound. When her breathing whistled out a little steadier, I assumed she was pleased by how miraculously fast I was healing. She still cautioned Jarod to begentler.
Jarod and I both smiled atthat.
She ran me a bath, telling Jarod to go eat the dinner she’d left out for him before it went cold. He started to protest he wasn’t hungry, but she shut the door of the bathroom in his stunnedface.
He must’ve gone down for food because he wasn’t in the room when I emerged, bandage-free and in a pair of black pajamas that felt like silk. Had she bought them for me during the shoppingtrip?
I shuddered at the memory of that morning, and the brush Muriel was running through my damp hair slid out. As she started up again, her strokes slow and gentle, I wondered if my mother would’ve taken as meticulous care of me as Murieldid.
“What did you make Jarod for dinner?” I asked, not because I was especially hungry—surprising, I know—but because I wanted to wipe the frown that had crimped Muriel’s brow since she’d marched into thebedroom.
“Green beans and roastchicken.”
“His favorite,” I mused, remembering her saying this the first night I’d dined withhim.
“I made you some soup. Several kinds—there’s beef broth, carrot, sweet pea. I didn’t know which you’d like. I just assumed you’d be drinking your meals.” She lowered the brush, done untangling my long locks. “Which one would youlike?”
“Sweet pea. I lovepeas.”
Her wrinkles smoothed out. “I’ll be rightback.”
“Or I can godown—”
“You”—she pointed the hairbrush at me—“stayput.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want me to turn on the TV before I godownstairs?”
“TV?”
She walked toward the wall across the bed and opened the doors of what I’d assumed had just been a fancy armoire containing more books. She turned on the flat screen and left me to watch a news program broadcasting firefighters plunging into the Seine on a rescueoperation.
The body retrieved was shown for only a second, but that was all it took for me to understand there would be no rescuing this person whose skin was so bloated and blue I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eatanything.
“First time I toss a body in the Seine,” came a voice that made me spin away from the television. Tristan stood in the doorway wearing a proud smile and a buttoned iron-gray vest over a shirt the same shade as his eyes. “Quiteconvenient.”
Iswallowed.
He nodded to the looping coverage. “It’s Mehdi, the father of the girl who attacked you. In case you were wondering.” He jammed his hands into his pockets as he walked closer. “No one in that family will be bothering youanymore.”
“Why? Did you kill themall?”
“No. But death is sometimes not the worst fate.” He studied the discolored line of skin spanning my throat. “You gave us all a fright. I’m surprised you survived. It looked . . .deep.”
I studied his expression, wondering if he regretted that I’d survived. It would’ve been a convenient way to get rid of me. “I must have a guardianangel.”
His nonchalant mask was firmly in place, making it impossible to guess what was going through hismind.
“I hope no one finds out you put that body in the river,” Iadded.
“The police chief knows, but he’s a regular at our monthly demon bash, so he won’t be pressing charges.” A smug grin cracked the polished veneer of his mask. “Jarod seems to be under the impression we’ll stop hosting them. I hope you’re not putting any ideas inside his head, because those revels are very important to what we do.” The antipathy that rolled off him was so strong it was almostsolid.
I wedged my lips together. I didn’t want to answer, but I also didn’t want him disliking me further. “I didn’t give Jarod any advice concerning yourparties.”
