Good Will Ghost Hunting: Demon Seed [Good Will Ghost Hunting 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (25 page)

“No.” He didn’t bother looking up from the skillet. “I will never take you as a soul mate, Bera. If you want a shag, I’ll give you that if I’m in the mood to do so, but as I’ve told you before, you will
never
be my soul mate.”

Ryan knew without looking that her brow had furrowed and she was working up a relatively impressive pout of prepubescent proportions. “Maybe I won’t let you fuck me anymore.”

“Fine with me. Frankly, I’ve had much better. You’re nothing special to me, Bera. Quite the contrary. I literally can have any woman I want. I don’t need you.”

He’d never been so blunt with her before. He was sick of her, and extending civility to a half-Tanuki troublemaker wasn’t on his morning itinerary. Maybe he
should
be rude to her, then she’d leave him the home alone for good.

Well, probably not, but he could hope.

She’d obviously expected a different response. Her human lovers craved her, begging and pleading for her touch. Between her half-demon nature and her half-Tanuki shape-shifting capabilities, she could literally be any man’s wet dream.

Or nightmare.

Ryan wasn’t human, and he was the only archdemon who would bother putting his dick in her as a diversion. If he could catch STDs, he wouldn’t touch her with a stolen penis, much less his own.

His response must have shocked her, because it took her a moment to rethink her approach and change tactics. “You know, I could be a very valuable asset to have on your side.”

“You are already ‘on my side,’ as it were. Not that I want you here. How valuable would you be to the ‘other side’ if I took that amulet away from you now, hmm?”

Her hand immediately flew to her amulet, her eyes wide with shock. “You wouldn’t!”

He lifted his gaze to hers, kept his face stern and his voice soft. Much more thought-provoking that way. “Try me.”

Her mascara-coated eyes narrowed. “You can’t do that. You don’t have the authority.”

“Again—try me. I bloody well do have the authority and you damn well know it.”

Apparently she didn’t want to try him, because she sat back and reevaluated him. “Well, looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.”

He ignored her comment. “I wish to impart some not-so-friendly advice to you, Bera. Scratch that. It’s not advice, it’s a command. Do not approach Will or Kal. They are officially off limits to you.”

“Kal? Is that her name? What kind of name is that for a girl? Or did Aidan finally rub off on—”

“We’re done, Bera.” Ryan fought the urge to backhand her with the full, heated skillet. Wouldn’t kill her, but she’d have to trowel on more makeup than usual until her bruises healed. He flicked his fingers at her as if thumping a bug, then let out a deep sigh when all that remained was the lingering scent of her horrifically awful perfume.

The time had come for him to push a little harder where she was concerned.

Ryan plated his eggs, ate, then took a little trip to see his father. When he returned, his mood had lifted considerably. He whistled as he washed dishes and cleaned out the skillet. Stronger in his position now, he felt confident he could control Bera and her antics, especially with the weight of his father firmly behind him. His father was the only other one who knew the full story and had finally accepted that Ryan needed the ability to bring Bera in line as warranted.

Or the ability to dispose of her for good, if she got in the way.

She was useful in an increasingly limited fashion. Ryan suspected she had on more than one occasion played Mata Hari. He was already cultivating alternate contacts that would soon make Bera completely obsolete.

He couldn’t wait to see the shocked look on her face when he ripped that amulet from her neck and permanently banished her off-Earth to Tavares.

Kal’s first week with Will would have been funny if she’d watched it in a movie. Maybe an X-rated Cary Grant farcical comedy. The handsome hero and the uncertain if not-gross heroine boink like bunnies until the cows come home. A sultry look leading to a steamy, moaning encounter in a car, a closet, a restaurant bathroom—twice in one meal—and, of course, the office.

Will would have her ass prints permanently embossed on his desk if they kept it up at this rate.

Aidan, with Gery and Purson’s help, ran interference more than once on shoots as he recognized “the look” when Will and Kal disappeared to a relatively unoccupied and fairly remote dark corner to have at it.

“I’m gonna start throwing cold water on you two,” Aidan groused one night when they returned from a quick rendezvous in one of the vans. “Get a room, for Christ’s sake.”

Will smiled. “Somebody’s jealous.”

“Fuck you, Will,” he said, but he smiled.

Will wasn’t strong enough to disappear with Kal yet. He longed for the day when he returned to full strength and could show her things she never dreamed. Admitting to her out loud that he really did love her had been the hardest part. Now he felt like he couldn’t stop saying it, wanted to spend hours holding her, murmuring it against every inch of her flesh until she truly understood the way he felt about her.

He knew it wasn’t simply due to being bonded to her, not with the way he’d felt about her from the first moment they’d met.

The same way he’d felt when he’d first met Abby.

* * * *

Almost two weeks following their first night together, Kal worked alone in the office after lunch when she felt the air shift and pop. Assuming it was one of the boys, she didn’t call out from the edit room.

Then she smelled the perfume.

Turning, Kal spotted a woman standing in the doorway. The woman smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly “how ya doin’” hello. It was more like a crocodile’s “oh goodie lunch is served” leer.

“Well, hello there. You must be Kal.”

Stunned, Kal couldn’t think straight. This had to be a demon, because the woman had popped in. “Who are you?”

“My name is Bera.” She stepped inside the door. Kal didn’t want her that close, but there was no escape. The woman reminded her of Meryl Streep in
The Devil Wears Prada
, only a meaner version.

Much meaner.

“I’m an old friend of Will’s,” the woman said in a way that made Kal squirm and recoil as if something slimy had crawled across her foot. “I heard he wasn’t solo anymore and wanted to come introduce myself, meet the
girl
who’d stolen his heart.” She said “girl” as if she meant “child,” or maybe “interloping whore.”

Bullpucky
. This woman was trouble and she
dang
sure wasn’t a friend of Will’s.

When the woman took another step toward her, Kal didn’t wait. She immediately called out, “Will, Ryan,
appareo
.”
Let’s see how well it works.

Bera barely had time to frown before both men simultaneously appeared in the edit room, standing between her and Bera. Alarmed, they looked at Kal, then glared at each other. Kal pointed behind them and they swiveled and immediately closed ranks, firmly shoulder to shoulder, a solid wall of man separating her from Bera.

Between the two of them, not a bad-looking wall of man, either. It was the first time she’d ever seen them stand that close for that long. At least something made them drop their differences for thirty seconds.

She allowed herself the briefest feeling of pride that that something was her.

“Bera, what the fuck are you doing here?” Will growled.

“I second that,” Ryan said. “I’ll add an, I told you to stay the fuck away from her.”

For once the men were in obvious agreement about something, unified to protect Kal from this woman. If Ryan had ordered her to stay away, she had to be bad news. But if Ryan couldn’t keep her away when he could keep the paparazzi away from Will, who the heck was she?

Bera took a step back, obviously no longer as certain of herself as she was a moment earlier before Kal called in the cavalry.

“I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. There’s no need to get all pissy about it.”

“Bera,” Ryan said, “you don’t ever do anything just because.” Ryan’s tone of voice would have scared the crap out of Kal had it been directed at her. Used protectively it actually soothed and calmed her. That he would defend her meant he couldn’t be as big a jerk as everyone thought, right?

Even though he had dragged her into this mess and it was his fault in the first place.

Will’s deep growl did more than calm and soothe Kal. It started fires burning deep inside her belly. As soon as they had the office to themselves again, she was giving that man a well-deserved blow job.

Kal, focus
, she thought.
Deal with bad woman in office first, sex with hunky love muffin later. Bad woman now, blow job later.

That didn’t stop her pussy from clenching and throbbing in an achingly comfortable way.

“You boys need to calm down,” Bera said, her voice definitely sounding anxious. “Why do you assume I have ulterior motives?”

The men unintentionally spoke as one. “You
always
have ulterior motives.”

Ryan and Will stepped forward, forcing Bera out of the edit room and into the hallway. Kal stood to follow. Without looking at Kal, Ryan held out his arm.

“Stay there, Kal.”

She gasped. That was
Ryan’s
voice in her head, right?

“Yes, love, I can talk to you this way. Perk of the rank, you know.”

Bera’s perfume lingered in the air, sickeningly strong.
Hope we have some Lysol spray to get rid of
that
nasty funk,
Kal thought.

Ryan’s angry voice brought Kal’s mind back to clear, sharp focus. “Bera, listen to me, and hear me well. If Kal ever tells me you’ve come near her again, if you harass her, if you forward her funny e-mails, if you watch her name roll through the closing credits of the Otherworlds show, I will take actions against you that, believe me, you’d rather not contemplate. It will make your drunken Selkie binge vacation seem like a luxurious Caribbean spa cruise by comparison. You do not talk to her, you do not stop by to say hi, you do not call to offer fashion tips. Nothing. Do you understand me? Have I made my position crystal clear? You no longer have guaranteed safe passage, woman, and this is your only warning on the matter. Next time, I will take action.”

If Kal stood on tiptoe she could see between the men’s heads. Bera had gone sheet white under her pounds of makeup. Whatever Ryan’s implied threat meant—Kal thought a Selkie was a shaggy dog, she’d have to ask Will about that later—it was serious.

Bera gulped and nodded.

Ryan waved his hand and Bera disappeared.

Both men relaxed, deflated was more like it, as their tension released with Bera’s departure. Will walked into the edit room, followed by Ryan.

Will clasped Kal’s hands to his chest. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, now delayed-reaction scared that the threat was gone and her heart had started pumping again. The men had obviously been freaked.

“Did she touch you?” Ryan asked.

She shook her head. “No, she never got closer than the door. I’m sorry I called both of you. She just appeared out of nowhere and I got a really bad feeling about her.”

Ryan gently touched her shoulder. The world calmed, everything suddenly copacetic. “It’s okay, Kal,” he murmured. “You absolutely did the right thing to call both of us. It is far better for you to err on the side of caution should you ever feel the need to reach out.” He gently squeezed before releasing her. It was as if all her tension had drained away.

Ryan and Will exchanged a quick look and perhaps a silent communication Kal wasn’t privy to. “Thanks, Ryan,” Will said. His voice sounded full of genuine gratitude, surprising Kal to hear him speak to Ryan like that.

The other man nodded, then flashed Kal a quick smile before disappearing.

The adrenaline crash hit despite her sudden calm. Kal’s knees unhinged and she dropped into her chair. “What the heck was all that about?” she whispered. “Who was that woman? Why did the two of you freak out when you saw her?”

Will sat in the other chair and took her hands again. “Bera is a troublemaker. I mean, in the literal sense of the word. Her father was an archdemon, her mother was a Tanuki.”

“A…what?” Something with a name as stupid as that couldn’t be dangerous, could it?

“It’s a really, really long story.” A wry smile twisted his face. “I’d actually get perverse satisfaction watching Ryan try to explain the intricacies of the situation to you.” His face turned serious again. “Bera, being half demon, got privileges. Not Ryan’s idea, but his old man approved it. Ryan’s been looking for a way to get rid of her permanently for a long time. I don’t know what her major malfunction is. Maybe she has her sights set on one day clawing her way to the top regardless of how she has to do it. Not that she has the slightest chance of doing it.”

“How? I don’t think Ryan’s going to retire any time soon.”

“For starters, she wants to get pregnant. Because of her Tanuki blood, Bera apparently needs either a Tanuki or an archdemon willing to do the deed. She must not have received the memo that most of us aren’t dumb enough to allow her to dip her nasty French-manicured toe into the archdemon gene pool.”

A wave of irrational and totally righteous jealousy swept through Kal. “Well, she can’t…
fucking
have you! You’re mine!” She took a deep breath. “Goddammit!”

Will fought—and failed—to contain his laughter. Even Kal realized how out of place the words sounded coming from her mouth. She let Will envelop her in his arms.

“Sweetheart, she doesn’t have a chance. Ryan would host the Winter Olympics in Atlanta in the middle of July before Bera ever had a chance with me. I’ve been dodging her ever since…” He didn’t finish the thought, but Kal knew what he’d meant to say.