I let my forehead fall against his and chuckled. “Not too honorable, I hope?”
With a finger, he lifted my chin and planted the softest kiss against my lips. There was a spark of hunger in his eyes. I knew because I felt the same one mirrored inside me. He stepped away, this time putting several feet between us. A shift to the right, and he backed into the darkened corner of my room. With a wink, he said, “Jessie, please. I’m a demon. There’s only so much honor I can handle.”
The words were on the tip of my tongue. Cocked, loaded, and ready to fire. But my metaphorical gun jammed up, and Lukas blended into the shadows, disappearing before I could get them out. “I love you,” I whispered. I’d said the words in the cave. I meant them. Speaking them face to face would take some time, though.
A breeze blew in through my partially open window. Warmer than it should have been for January. God. Was that really so hard?
I smiled, unable to keep from grinning like an idiot, and sank onto the bed. Smokey was sprawled out on the floor at my feet, camped out on my shredded pillow. He was chewing on one end and sitting on the other, amid a pile of feathers. I yanked both halves out from under him, which earned me a scathing glare. With a bark and irritated turn of his nose, he puffed out in a cloud of thick, foul-smelling smoke.
“Awesome,” I said, holding one of the pieces between two fingers. It was covered in demon dog drool.
“That stuff is a bitch, isn’t it?”
You think I’d be used to it by now, but I jumped anyway. I whirled around to see Valefar sitting cross-legged on my bed.
“Please don’t say you need me to go run an errand,” I said, flopping down into the chair by my computer. “I’m about three days overdue for a coma.”
“There is something I need you to do, but it will keep until morning.”
I blinked, then brought the heel of my hand up to rub my eyes, certain I’d just imagined the whole thing. “Seriously?”
Val frowned. “Come on now, Peaches. Have I not proven myself a fair and empathetic Master?”
Master. God. He knew damn well I hated that word.
I sighed. “If you say so.”
He picked an imaginary piece of lint from his shirt and flicked it over the edge of my bed. “So I trust all is well in the Darker world?”
He was fishing for something. “Dad proposed, if that’s what you’re nosing around for.”
“Ahh. Yes. I assumed he would do it straight away. And your mother said yes, of course?”
“Val, could we not—”
His expression darkened. He was off the bed and in front of me before I could swallow the rest of my screw up. “What did you just call me?”
Oops. “I—um—I mean—”
For a second I thought he was going to implode. Go nuts and zap me or something. But instead, he laughed. “Val. I like it.” With a nod, he said, “You have my permission to call me that, Sugar. It seems only fair. You being my right hand, after all…”
“Yeah. About that…”
“That’s what you want to talk to me about?” He fell back onto the bed. “Huh. I was sure there would be something else you’d be itching to ask. You being so, what’s the word, inquisitive?”
“Something else?”
He rolled his eyes. “Something your father said…” When I didn’t answer, he prodded, “About the loophole?”
Then I understood. “You’re totally here to cause trouble, aren’t you?”
He clutched his chest and tilted his head back in mock insult. “How could you say such a thing?”
I wanted to let it die there, but he had me pegged, and I couldn’t resist. The can of curiosity worms had been opened, and they were crawling all over the place. “Fine,” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible. “What about the loophole?”
He grinned and picked at the corner of my comforter. With a shrug, he said, “I don’t know of any loophole that would allow a demon to marry a human.”
A chill rushed through the room. “I don’t understand…”
He stood. “I’ve been Lucifer’s Regent a very long time, Cupcake. He has never given someone permission to break one of the rules. Never.”
“You’re saying he’s not going to let them get married?”
“I’m not saying anything. I’m merely suggesting you proceed with caution, as there is still much you don’t know.” He clapped his hands. “And that brings us to your task. The rules. You need to learn them. You will spend an hour each day with me until you do.”
I opened my mouth to object, but thought better of it. There was no point. If I said I didn’t want to, he’d ignore me. If I didn’t show up, he’d simply drag me there. Or worse, show up here. “Fine.”
“Good,” he said, and snapped his fingers. The room flickered, and my ruined pillow and demon drool–stained sheets were replaced with new ones. “Those are sheets worth sleeping on.”
And he was gone.
I went to the bed and ran a finger along the pillow. Wow. He was right. The material was satiny soft. Great. Mom complained when I overslept already. Catching Zs on these wasn’t going to help that any.
I kicked off my shoes and slipped into my pajamas—the I love Mashin’ tank Mom had made for me a few years ago and my favorite flannel pants—and slid into bed. The second I got myself all snuggly under the covers, the cell started to vibrate.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” I grabbed it and answered without looking. “This better be someone offering massive amounts of chocolate or a subscription to Weapons Weekly…”
“It’s me,” Kendra said. She was whispering, and there was an odd sound in the background. Like she was outside, standing by the side of the road. Every few seconds I’d hear what sounded like a car passing by.
I sat up and threw off the covers. “Ken? What’s wrong? Why does it sound like you’re playing in the middle of traffic?”
“I’m fine. I ran to the store. I needed some supplies.”
I glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. “And by supplies I guess we’re not talking about milk and cookies?”
A horn honked. “It’s for a spell.”
I rolled my eyes. “Figured. What kind of spell?”
There was a short pause, and then she sighed. “Promise you won’t yell at me first.”
This should be good… “Sure,” I lied.
“It’s a demon banishing spell…”
“Kendra!” I snapped, trying to keep my voice down. Mom and Dad weren’t home, but it was habit. “Are you crazy?”
“I didn’t go looking for trouble. I swear.”
I believed her. She had enough on her plate without going digging for demon gold. Still, I was intrigued. And she knew me so well.
“So what do you say? Sneak out and go kick some demon ass with me? You know you wanna…”
She was right. I totally wanted to.
“Come on,” she prodded.”Come out and play. Be my Charles.”
I sighed. This newfound confidence and heightened power of hers was going to get me into a ton of trouble.
And I had a feeling I’d love every minute.
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Acknowledgments
I’m extremely lucky. I may not have had a ton of friends growing up. I didn’t earn ribbons or sports awards, and I never had the hottest toys. But I had a family that loved and supported me. To this day, if I tell them I’m going to do something—no matter how crazy/insane/impossible it sounds—they’re right there to cheer me on. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for them.
Then there’s my extended family. I am grateful to them, as well. Without
the people at Entangled— from my editors Liz and Robin to the multitude of promotion, art, and editing specialists—Jessie and Lukas would be nothing more than shadows stashed away in the corners of my mind.
And of course, my crit partners and beta readers. Gia, Lynn, Mary, and Caz. You guys are my rocks, never failing to call a plot hole or, if necessary, kick an entire character to the curb.
Finally, to you. The one reading this. Yep. You right there. For taking the time to pick up this book and spend time with these characters, when there are so many other distractions in the world, I thank you. I may write them, but it is you who truly bring them to life.
About the Author
Jus Accardo spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food.
Jus is the bestselling author of the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing, as well as the Darker Agency series, and the New Adult series, The Eternal Balance. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.
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Other books by Jus Accardo…
Darker Days
a Darker Agency novel
Jessie Darker’s family runs a paranormal investigation business. When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case--until they learn that the box is full of Sin. Seven deadly ones, in fact. They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they’re recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. And eventually, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family…
Discover the Denazen series…
Touch
Untouched
Toxic
Faceless
Tremble
For new adult readers…
Ruined
a Eternal Balance novel
Rules of Survival
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