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“Raini co-owns this place, right?” The beautiful demon was also a succubus and fellow tattooist. “Will she sit in on the interview?”
“As I understand it, she prefers to leave that to Harper. They’ve had many applicants, but the sphinx vetoed them all.”
No pressure, then.
Shortly after that, Harper crossed to the reception area with a professional smile. “Hi, Piper, sorry for the wait.”
“No problem.” Piper rose to her feet and shook the hand Harper held out. “However this goes, I appreciate you considering me. And no, Levi, you can’t come along to the interview.”
Harper chuckled. “He was totally gonna ask to be present.”
Standing, Levi grunted, not bothering to deny it. His hand settled on Piper’s shoulder—warm, supportive, and strong. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”
She nodded and then walked behind Harper as they passed the stations that were separated with black-and-white checkered partitions. The other tattooists, Raini and Devon, both offered her friendly smiles.
Inside the office, Piper took the seat Harper indicated, metaphorically crossing her fingers and toes that all would go well.
Levi sank back onto the sofa, not at all impressed that he’d been told to wait here. It wasn’t as if he would have interrupted the interview. Much.
His demon cricked its neck, wound tight. It would no doubt feel edgy right up until Piper was claimed and wore the anchor mark, declaring she was under the protection of both Levi and his demon.
Levi felt just as tightly wound. Not simply due to the absence of the anchor bond, but because his mind was a place of chaos right now. The thought that his aunt’s killer could be not only alive but close by … it fucked with him. And when he was alone, there was no powering down his brain. His thoughts repeatedly circled back to the matter, sifting through the facts, pondering the many possibilities, driving him nuts.
Right now, Piper was his bright spot. She gave him something else to think about. Something else to focus on. She kept his mind solidly on the present rather than the past.
She also repeatedly caused his cock to stir in his jeans. It didn’t take much. A flash of her dimples. A whiff of her floral scent. A glimpse of her cleavage. The sight of her teeth digging into her lower lip.
The woman really had no idea how fiercely tempting she was to him.
Levi narrowed his eyes as Khloë hurried over and sat beside him, a huge grin on her face. “What?” he asked.
“So,” she began casually, “you’ve found your anchor. What a fun development. I’ll bet your demon’s psyched.”
“What do you want?”
“A lotto win. A villa in Italy. A rocket launcher. A Bull Shit. A rollercoaster in my backyard.”
Wrong question. You had to be a little more specific when dealing with imps, especially this particular one. Levi sighed. “I meant, what do you want from me?”
“Not sex, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“My mind honestly didn’t go there. Now ask whatever you want to ask.”
“Okay, okay.” Khloë clasped her hands together. “Can I be there when you tell Celeste the good news?”
“No.”
Her hands flopped to her lap. “Ah, come on.”
“What’s your problem with Celeste?”
“She came on to Keenan.”
Levi felt his brows draw together. “She did? When?”
“Oh, uh … about four years ago.”
Levi blinked. “A period when you and him weren’t even seeing each other, let alone mated?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m not understanding why you have an issue with her.”
“She came on to Keenan,” Khloë repeated, enunciating every word. “Dude, are you not listening to me or something?”
“I’m listening, I’m just confused.”
“What’s there to be confused about? She’s hot for Keenan. She keeps smiling at him. I don’t like it. Or how she looks at me all judgy. I’d enjoy seeing her have a total meltdown, so can I be there when you tell her that Piper’s your anchor?”
“No.”
Khloë pouted. “Why are you always so mean to me? Don’t you like me? Is that what it is? God, it is, isn’t it? I’ll bet you think Keenan can do better than me. You do, don’t you? You think—”
“Khloë,” he interrupted with a sigh.
“Yup?”
“Be quiet.”
She slanted her head. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No.”
The pout came back. “You are so unfair! Why are you being like this? Why can’t you—” She cut off when Devon splayed her hand over Khloë’s face.
“Stop tormenting Levi,” said Devon.
Khloë laughed, batting away the hellcat’s hand.
“I’m surprised Tanner’s not here,” Levi said to Devon. The hellhound had been hovering around his mate since learning she was pregnant.
She flicked her ultraviolet ringlets over her shoulder. “He and I have an agreement. I’ll go on maternity leave slightly earlier than I’d originally planned if he doesn’t insist on smothering me.”
Levi felt his brow crease. “That doesn’t seem enough to keep him from sitting on this sofa throughout your entire shift.”
“Ah, well, my seriously frustrated hellcat may have surfaced and clawed at his face earlier.”
