Demons Don't Always Tell The Truth (Kate Storm Series Book 3) (5 page)

5. My Second Plan Fails.

I got to
Madge's
before Ash, which allowed me a small amount of time to prep for my interrogation. Grilling. Relationship issues questioning. Whatever. I needed to get ready.

I set my purse on the white plastic table, unbuttoned the top two buttons, glanced around to see if anyone was looking, then gave the sisters a little shove up and in.

I grabbed my compact from my purse and checked out my preparations. I unbuttoned the third button.

Perfect.

"Hi, Kate. How are you?" Candy, the young waitress, grinned at me from the edge of the booth. She smoothed her blue and yellow streaked hair, brushed off her apron and glanced casually around.

At least, I assumed she meant to glance around. The moment she realized I was alone, her gaze got stuck on the entrance.

"I'm good, Candy. How about yourself?" I watched her. She watched the glass doors.

"Good. Good." She didn't glance at me as she spoke. And I didn't have to shake her hand and cast a truth spell to know she wasn't lying.

I'd heard the rumors.

The cop and the judge - aka mom and dad - had apparently been talked into beauty school. On a trial basis only, and if it didn't work out, then she was off to law school.

I eyed the healthy gleam of Candy's shoulder length locks, the lively and well-blended streaks in her hair and the cut  framing her round cheeks. Law school would have to get over its loss.

And so would her parents.

The bell jingled over the door. Candy sighed. I straightened up in the booth and shoved my shoulders back which pushed out my chest.

I was ready.

"Hi Ash." Candy sort of moaned both words.

He slid into the booth across from me. Ash wore a brown knit skull cap today. The color complimented his amber eyes. His vest made me think of dark chocolate. My mouth watered.

The rest of his big body was hidden by the table. I couldn't see anything else, just his wide shoulders, smooth, dark skin, heavy muscles and scars.

Oh, darn.

"Candy." Ash nodded his head in acknowledgement. His amber eyes focused only on me.

"What can I get you?" Candy's voice squeaked at the end. I couldn't hold it against her. I'd just gotten to the point where I had my voice under control when I was around him and I was dating the demon.

"I'll have my usual." Double cheeseburger medium, fries, onion rings, caramel malt and a coke. "What would you like, Kate?" Ash reached across the table and encircled my wrists with his hands.

Candy squeaked some more.

"I'll," I coughed into my shoulder. "I'll have an order of fries, Italian meatballs and a diet coke." My voice recovered enough so it wasn't squeaking at all by the end.

Now, if only my heart would stop racing and my breathing would even out, I'd be on my game.

Ash frowned. "Is that all?"

Bless him. Ash hadn't noticed any change in my waistline. He loves my curves.

Demonas have tough skin, sharp claws and horns. They don't have soft curves. I'm not even sure they have breasts.

"That's all." It wasn't exactly diet food. Okay. It wasn't diet food at all. I was planning on some exercise, not eating salads, to change my waistline.

Besides, it satisfied my envious side. Morgan and Drake went on dates in different parts of the world. I got to see the photos on Morgan's phone and eat my French fries and Italian meatballs.

Worked for me.

I would have ordered an Italian soda as well, but I don't like Italian sodas.

"I guess I'll go put your order in then." Candy sighed, huffed, uttered a small moan then dragged herself away.

Poor thing. Demons are hell on a girl's hormones.

"I was surprised you called." Ash rubbed his thumbs up from my wrists and over my palms. He pressed and smoothed my skin, the heat from his touch warming my hands.

Either Ash had studied Chinese acupuncture and knew the precise pressure points to push or he just had my number, because I felt a lot of inappropriate fluttering in my stomach considering we were in a public restaurant.

Ash's gaze slid from my eyes, down my throat and locked onto my prominent cleavage. His eyes made that turn from solid amber to molten lava.

My breath hitched.

Oh, yeah. He definitely had my number.

"Kate?"

Right. No more dodging, ducking only if attacked and this witch could face problems head on.

"Where did you go last night?" Ash didn't look up. He spoke to my breasts as he answered my question.

"Somewhere."

I decided facing me - any part of me - counted in terms of meeting problems head on. His answer, however, did not.

"You're not going to tell me where you went after you stopped by my apartment for a ten minute visit, started making your moves and then abruptly left with barely a kiss goodbye?"

Ash raised his eyes. He frowned. I understood. Usually, I don't prod. I'd get my non-answer and we would move on to other matters.

I was done with usual.

"No. I'm not going to tell you." The molten lava cooled to a wary amber, before he smothered all expression in his eyes. He moved his thumbs back until his hands were caging my wrists.

"Well, how about you tell me why my name was in the text you got last night?"

Ash released me and sat back against the red plastic vinyl.

I much preferred him trying to dominate me than this icy stiffness. What was so awful about my name in his text?

"You read my text?" There was something in his deep voice I couldn't quite put my wand on. Something I hadn't heard before.

"No. I didn't read the entire text." Was my imagination going totally haywire or did Ash's massive shoulders just slump? As if in relief. "But I did see my name."

I saw the lie before he opened his mouth.

I braced myself. This would be it. The end of us. I could handle a lot of things from Ash. Lying wasn't one of them. I was still trying to work through Morgan's lie and we'd been best friends for years.

If he could lie to me, he didn't care about me.

Ash slammed a fist down on the table.

"I don't want to lie to you, Kate." Air rushed back into my lungs. I hadn't been aware I wasn't breathing. "I want to tell you everything, but now is not a good time."

Everything? Shit. How much was Ash keeping from me?

"Why isn't this a good time?"

We were alone, no one to interrupt us and Ash didn't want to lie to me. Seemed perfect.

Ash grimaced and reached one hand into a pocket. He pulled his phone out, swiped the screen and glared at something.

Not again.

"I've got to go."

Yes, indeed. All over again.

"Where? Why?" If he couldn't tell me, if he insisted on his secrets . . . Wasn't that as bad as actually lying?

Ash slid his large body out of the booth, crouched down on my side and cupped my cheeks.

"I will tell you. I promise." His amber eyes raced down to my breasts and back to meet my gaze. "You are what's important to me, Kate. Remember that."

His lips touched mine. His tongue pressed in. And then he was striding out of the restaurant.

Candy set my diet coke down in front of me. She set the coke and the malt in front of Ash's empty seat.

"Everything okay?"

I nodded. "Ash had something come up. Would you mind boxing up his lunch to go?"

"Sure thing."

Since it was plain old me now, Candy didn't bother to linger.

I took a sip of my diet coke and stared at the red vinyl across from me.

Clearly, my confrontational skills were lacking. I didn't sweat it. There's always a learning curve.

At least he hadn't lied to me. However, our relationship bar needed to be raised a lot higher, because not lying should be a given, not an option.

But I'd been the one to set us back when I took away his control. I'm not a fifty-fifty witch. Give me twenty in the bedroom and fifty in our fights and I was willing to negotiate the rest.

With the demon, I'd take five or ten in the bedroom.

Regardless, Ash promised to tell me what he was hiding. I could live with that. It meant moving forward. Cementing us.

And I was important to him.

He hadn't said he loved me, but then neither had I. One thing at a time.

I sighed. My stomach pressed against my jeans.

The hell with it. I pushed aside my diet coke and pulled Ash's caramel malt over.

6. A God Walked In.

I took my time eating my cosmopolitan lunch. I didn't want to get back before Désirée and Phil. There would be questions and I liked the image of myself as the cool witch employer.

Not the witch who kept getting stood up by her demon boyfriend.

  I expected to find Désirée at work and had geared myself up for a big confrontation with her.

  Given my scorecard so far in my new non-ducking-and-dodging plan, I should have known better. But her empty desk still took me by surprise.

  There was a folded piece of bright green paper on top of the desk in my HC office. Apparently, Désirée had an appointment she'd forgotten about. She'd be back later in the afternoon.

  I sincerely hoped her appointment included a rather rotund, gray/blue gargoyle. One of us needed to be getting some from our boyfriends.

  I threw my purse in the corner and sat down. If nothing else, I could work on finding the perfect match for Snake before I reviewed the file for my 3 pm appointment.

  So far, I really wasn't having much luck in discovering Snake's other half. We'd discussed his preferences and his desires on several occasions. I had several dark haired, brown eyed, athletic women in my files. That wasn't the problem. Snake thought it had to do with his nickname. I thought it was more his preference for S&M and nipple piercing.

  Not even Ash could get me to pierce my nipples.

  Just
ouch
.

  I opened the folder for single heterosexual women. In my matchmaking business I divide clients up into different folders. HC vs. human, men vs. women and hetero vs. other. I had another folder set aside for those who wanted to use me as an escort service. It sat next to my trashcan.

  The folders were then divided into different Charms. I use my magic on every client. We'd shake hands, I'd cast my truth spell, interview them and then cast another spell that worked in conjunction with the spell symbols I had placed on my guest chair. Those symbols helped me determine whether or not each client could indeed afford my services, if the answers to my questionnaire had been truthful and what Charm group a person belonged in.

  You'd be surprised at how many people think they know what they want in a partner, but really have no idea. My magic and symbols helped me see the actual truth, regardless of what the client had written down.

  Hence my one hundred percent success rate.

  You can't fool a matchmaking witch when it comes to love.

  I had quite a large selection of possible matches in the Charm group that matched Snake. I'd already set him up with ten dates so far. Not one of them was a match. There was nothing wrong with my magic. I simply hadn't added a section of kinky preferences into my questionnaire - or my spell symbols - before Snake.

  I'd devised my questionnaire fairly recently. Previously, I'd relied solely on my magic. Now that business had picked up, I needed a written questionnaire. My magic is great. My memory, not so much so.

  After Snake, I'd had to revise both my brand new questionnaire and my spell symbols. And I sincerely hoped there were a lot more kinky people out there. It cost a fortune to re-upholster those chairs.

  I was flying blind with Snake. It was a novel experience for me.

  I didn't like it.

  Not one damn bit.

  I love to find matches for people. It's my passion. I've always been fascinated by love. What makes people fall in love. What keeps couples together.

  Call me a naive witch, but I hadn't realized how all consuming certain lifestyles can be. I've discovered a slightly kinky side to my own nature since meeting Ash. But that's all it is - a side.

  I've only been to one S&M bar. It opened at 6 pm and closed at 1 am. I figured that's how it worked. I mean, people have to work for a living. You have work hours and kinky hours.

  Apparently, I compartmentalize.

  There's a certain percentage of the population that does not.

  One can be the VP for a motorcycle club and a Dom all at the same time - and I'd give up several bristles on my new broomstick to sit in on one of their monthly meetings.

  So, now I had a new spell symbol for sex and a revised questionnaire. I'd always thought sex and love went hand in hand when people fell in love.

  Feel free, call me Naive again. I've done it several times.

  Turns out, sex can be a thing on its own even when the couple are in love and making love with each other. Not to imply they have sex with other people. Although, apparently they can and still be in a committed relationship to each other and it doesn't break their vows or their bonds to one another and usually the sex only happens happens in situations referred to as scenes and . . . Really, I just understand the basics. The very, very basics.

  Like I now know that a cat o'nine tail can be used as both a punishment whip and a pleasure whip and that punishment can equal pleasure and vice versa.

  It was at that point I'd realized my naive witchy mind could only handle the basics.

  Although I do have several books I can recommend if you feel the need to do the research on your own. My email is:
[email protected]
.

  Snake had certainly opened my eyes. I didn't mind. Everyone deserves love - whatever their form of love is - and it's my mission to find that love for my clients.

  But, as a result of my lack of knowledge on certain matters, I had holes in the profiles of the women who matched Snake and had been in my client books before him.

  This was an entirely new experience for me.

  I couldn't use my magic. I needed the person to be present when I worked a spell. But I did know one of these women would match Snake. A general spell will work on photos. It just doesn't narrow down the specifics.

  So, I was guessing. Throwing random darts at the Dart Board of Love.

  I'd started with the ten edgiest photos in this Charm group. Edgy in a small town can mean anything from dying one's hair a shade other than blonde, brown or red to wearing five inch heels.

  My Aunt Tabs is considered totally hot and edgy.

  I moved nine of the women Snake had gone on a date with to the back of the folder. The tenth one had fired me after her date with Snake.

  I wasn't overly worried. She was a bit of a drama queen. She also had five kids. The oldest was eleven. She'd be back.

  Snake loved kids. He had three of his own. With three different women.

  I had to hand it to him. He kept trying to find love.

  But like the song went, he'd been looking in all the wrong places. We'd had several conversations in regards to dark corners in bars. I'd finally just made him a list of appropriate courting places.

  And I kept his number on file and cast tracking spells each time he went on a date.

  Snake was stubborn. He also liked to deliberately misinterpret things. Most sporting events that involved balls had been crossed off my list. I'd left golf as it involved both a club and a ball and we had several lovely courses in and around Dominion.

  However, if Snake mentioned a hole-in-one . . .

  He was my most challenging client to say the least.

  Although, I did have this zombie client once who kept decomposing on his dates. Sort of grossed them out. I'd been ready to break my wand with him, but then he actually did die.

  Besides, at heart Snake was a decent guy. He may have committed murder, but he'd done his penance - and his time - for it. Life's rough in a motorcycle club.

  Snake was also loyal, protective of those he cared about and coached his son's little league.

  My boyfriend had nearly burned me to death the last time he got angry. I try not to judge.

  I'd just closed my eyes and chosen five possible matches - we witches use luck as well as magic as luck can have a magic all on its own - when the bell tinkled over my front door.

  I set the photos in my hand on top of the folder and went out to corner Désirée Norma-Sue.

  I almost stumbled in my doorway.

  A god stood in my waiting room.

  I had no idea if he was a minor god from one of the more obscure religions, one from Greek or Roman history - mythology to some, history to others - or if he simply worked out all day and lived in a realm of milk and honey.

  The male was divine.

  Hair so dark it held hints of blue. Eyes deeper than any ocean. Perfect black eyebrows. A nose that somehow brought to mind sexy masculinity and seductive power. Lips, both strong and sumptuous.

  And Sweet Spirits, he just got better and better as my gaze traveled down.

  He wore a black button down which did a very poor job of covering his muscles. It looked as if the linen had fallen in love the moment he put it on. The material clung to his biceps, caressed his pecs and hugged his washboard stomach. He was going to have a serious fight on his hands when he tried to take it off.

  His forearms practically inspired visions of spontaneous and drawn out hugs and being spoon fed gallons of ice cream from hands Michelangelo would have killed for.

  A wide black watch surrounded one masculine wrist.

  I'm surprised he managed to pull on his faded jeans. The greedy pants flaunted his thighs, knees and calves, clinging like a lost lover.

  And, Spirits save me, he wore shoes. Not boots. Not sneakers. Not the usual assortment of footwear the men in Dominion favored, but actual stylish black leather loafers with silver buckles.

  He could have stepped right out of a men's magazine.

  I swallowed. Blinked several times. When the male perfection in front of me didn't disappear, I shook my mental finger at my naughty hormones.

  Those girls could have cared less. They hadn't been getting any and such total masculine perfection didn't walk in a witch's place of business every day.

  I really couldn't argue with that.

  "Hello."

  Oh, Hellfire. His voice seduced without trying, his tongue pure sex. He could give a corpse heart palpitations by reading her obituary.

  "Hi." My voiced squeaked. Horribly. "I'm Kate. Kate Storm." I gave myself a lecture on unruly hormones and the value I'd always placed on monogamy and held out my hand.

  That's when things went wrong.

  I couldn't get a read on him. I'd cast my truth spell as usual and got nothing. No hint of his character. No knowledge of his soul. Nothing at all.

  Simply skin against skin.

  And while his hand was firm and warm and put images of snuggling together in front of a fire on a sheepskin rug into my mind, I'd never had this happen before.

  And I'd never had any desire to snuggle cozily in front of a fire either.

  Get down and dirty with a certain demon? Absolutely. Have a sheepskin rug at my naked back while the demon was at my naked front? I'd start Googling sheepskin rugs the minute I could. A blazing fire, crackling and casting a romantic glow over the room? It could be the middle of winter and I still wouldn't fantasize about a blazing fire. I had my very own heater every time Ash got turned on. A fire would simply be overkill.

  What the heck was going on?

  "I'm Adam Night and I'm in need of your services." He smiled at me.

  Curses, the man even had two dimples.

  It was almost too much for one witch.

  I racked my brain, but couldn't come up with any major or minor gods named Adam. Adam as the first man in Christianity, Greek and Roman history, or mythology - depending upon one's background? Yeah. He was a whiny little guy who blamed Eve for everything.

  I also knew an Adam, as in the Beast, from the Beauty and the Beast fairytale.

  I'd met that Adam, however. He and Belle were quite happy together.

  This was an entirely different Adam, and I was shocked I hadn't heard of him. A guy like this doesn't go unnoticed. Period.

  The HC love to gossip as much as the humans. And this Adam was definitely a member of the HC. No human could defeat my magic, but he had. With a simple handshake.

  And put seductive images into my mind.

  It's a good thing my idea of romance these days runs toward handcuffs, pewter horns and a touch of hellfire. His creepy attempt at seduction did nothing for me.

  I tugged my hand away and took a protective step back.

  Mind control was strictly forbidden in the HC. Even a little nudge could land one in a heap of trouble. And cloaking one's character? One's sense of self?

  Very, very few creatures could do that. And even fewer with the capability to do so would actually use that power.

  You can't use black magic without it tarnishing your soul.