Darien was at her side again in no time, and the tone he used was slightly teasing as he said, “I do.”
When they reached the brightly lit third-floor landing, Darien led the way to a guest suite that had its own bathroom. A set of glass-paneled doors led out onto a veranda that overlooked the large backyard. There was a pond in that yard, along with a firepit shaded with palm trees.
“Does it have its own kitchen, too?” Loren joked about the suite. Despite her attempt at humor, her voice was taut.
But Darien cracked a grin, and it was the closest to a real smile she’d seen on his face.
Not really knowing what to do, she shuffled over to the bed and set down her suitcase and purse among the teal and ivory pillows. Darien stayed just inside the door, watching her far too closely, as usual. As if he was trying to figure her out. Too much of a coward to meet his gaze, she busied herself with sifting through her purse in search of anything to occupy herself with.
But then Darien said, “It might be best if you stay in here until I get back.”
Loren forgot all about her need to distract herself. Her head snapped up, and she dropped her purse among the pillows. “Where are you going?”
“Out,” was all he said. Considering he’d decided to pass up the mynet tacked to her head, Loren supposed he had to make some cash by running other…errands.
She swallowed, feeling a little queasy. “Okay.”
“I’ve let the others know you’re here in case they get home before I do. They won’t hurt you—I promise.” A pause, then he added, “I should probably tell you we’ve got a house-Hob living with us. He keeps the house clean, the climate comfortable, and the spellwork up to date.”
Loren squirmed, wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. “Does he speak?”
“No. But he likes to bite, and he’s got nasty little teeth, so it’s best not to acknowledge him.” He winked at her and then left without a single word more.
Loren sank onto the soft bed, her knees suddenly weak with the realization of exactly where she was—and exactly which six people were aware that she was in their house. The six people who were bound to come home soon.
Not to mention the household spirit Darien justhadto bring up. Because of this, she found herself staring into the shadows of the closet and the unlit fireplace as she listened to the front door slam shut downstairs with Darien’s departure. She’d never seen a Hob before, but most texts claimed they were as small as toddlers and looked like silhouettes, the same as Familiar Spirits.
As the sky faded from a dull orange glow to a black canvas flecked with stars, she had the same feeling a mouse might get if it scurried straight into a den of snakes without stopping to really think it through.
PART II
WORLD OF WOLVES
10
Three hours passed and Darien had not returned.
When the slamming of car doors had drifted into the house half an hour ago, Loren had left her suite and crept to a window overlooking the front of the grounds, where she’d seen a gray SUV and a red sportscar parked in the driveway. She’d dashed back to her suite before the people who drove those vehicles made it into the entrance hall.
Two men and a woman with a sheet of white-blonde hair. That was all she saw of them, though she’d spent the past hour listening to the echo of their voices from the ground floor. She hoped Darien would return soon, for she was growing faint with hunger.
But when another forty minutes passed and there was still no sign of Darien, she couldn’t take it any longer. Her face had turned clammy, and her hands were shaking. If she didn’t get some food in her, there would be nothing left of her for Darien to find.
That is, if he ever came back.
But he’d said the other Devils wouldn’t hurt her. And she continued to tell herself this as she crept to the door, cracked it open, and listened.
It sounded like they were in the kitchen.
Great,she thought with a roll of her eyes. Exactly the room she needed. But she damned it all to hell and made her way for the staircase.
When her socked feet landed on the floor of the entrance hall, and she peeked into the kitchen, she supposed there was one good thing about this situation: no other Devils had come in during this time. Only the three she’d seen earlier stood drinking around the kitchen island, entirely unconcerned with her presence…for now.
She shuffled forward, taking them in as she moved.
The white-blonde female was statuesque, the black bodysuit that covered her from shoulders to toes fitting her figure like a glove. She had a gorgeous face with narrow bone structure, and her lips were painted the same vivid red as her claw-like nails. Nails rumor claimed were sharp as knives—and just as deadly.
The man who wore the brown overcoat—the man closest to Loren—was golden-skinned and incredibly handsome. He had short brown hair and a five o’clock shadow that only seemed to serve the purpose of drawing attention to his full mouth.
