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“Listen,” she said softly, “I’m a big girl. I don’t kiss anyone I don’t want to kiss.” Wariness crept into his gaze as if he expected her to add abutto the conversation. There would be none of that. “I definitely wanted to kiss you…and I’d have taken it further if you’d let me. I’m not ashamed of that, Logan.”
Her cheeks heated at the admission because…holy shit, she’d just confessed way more than she wanted to. To a supernatural being.
And yet…the shock of it all was…underwhelming. The truth was that she’d always wondered what being with a non-human would be like. She’d grown up in a world where supes were out in the open, so even though they were generally despised, they weren’t complete rarities. Some were even celebrated. Demons like Stryke, the CEO of StryTech, who had as many groupies as he had enemies. Or J.R. Chance, a movie star who spent full moons in a werewolf containment system rigged with cameras so his fans could watch him even when he was all furred out. Women loved him.Beggedhim to bite them.
Which was illegal in every country except Australia.
Logan didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Maybe she’d crossed a line. She had no idea. But what she knew for sure was that she didn’t want this tension between them.
“I mean, it might have been nice to know who you were,” she said with an exaggerated casual shrug. “But that’s on me. I should have done some research. Would have been great to know one thing, though.”
His eyes narrowed as if he suspected a trick. “And what’s that?”
“Kynan brought me dinner and mentioned that you like mayonnaise on your fries. I’m sorry, but that’s gross. If anything makes you a monster, it’s that.”
He blinked. Stared. And she kicked herself for attempting a bit of humor to lift the pall of the hell they’d been through today.
“We’re in Belgium,” he said finally, one corner of his mouth turned up in the sexiest hint of a smile she’d ever seen. “You gotta have mayo on yourfrites.”
“It’s ketchup or nothing.” Tension dispelled, or at least tamped down, she tapped her tote, which felt lighter than it had. She suspected they’d relieved it of the Smiter gun. “Where are we going?”
He stood aside and gestured for her to exit. “My place.”
“Where’s that?”
“Sydney. I need to—”
“Sydney?” Her heart stopped, and she nearly stumbled as they walked down the hall. “Sydney, Australia?”
Ever since the continent had been ceded to demons by the entire world, few humans stepped foot there. Fewdecenthumans, anyway. It was, however, a popular destination for corrupt, power or wealth-hungry individuals and evil sickos.
That said, the states formerly known as Queensland and New South Wales were relatively safe. Ruled by Ufelskala Tier-One and Tier-Two demons, New Horun and New South Horun were, on the surface, not much different than when humans occupied the country. Sydney was especially well-managed and open to human visitors.
“Do you know another Sydney?” he asked.
As a matter of fact, yes. “There’s a Sidney, Nebraska, you know.”
“Why the hell would I live in Nebraska?” He guided her to a nondescript door in an area of the building she’d never seen. It opened into an empty cobblestone courtyard with a nine-foot stone wall topped by iron spikes.
“My grandparents were from there.” The courtyard was weird, only about twenty feet by twenty feet. It was empty except for a twisted iron arbor fastened to the back fence. “And it would make sense for your place to be in Nebraska. No one would look for demons in the middle of nowhere.”
Grunting, which she took as a reluctant acknowledgment that she’d made a point, he pressed a quarter-sized bronze disk into her palm. “Here, hold this.”
“Why?” She pocketed the coin. “What are we doing?” She glanced around, confused as hell. “Wherearewe?”
“We’re taking a Harrowgate to my place.”
The hell they were. “Humans can’t go through them. We’ll die unless we’re unconscious.” She took a couple of wary steps back from him. “Are you planning to knock me out?” Because screw that.
He gestured to her pocket. “That’s what the coin is for. StryTech made them so we can transport humans through the gates.”
She dug the disk out of her pocket. Both sides of the rich bronze metal were smooth and shiny. One was blank, while the other had been embossed with a spiral symbol. She ran her thumb over the glyph, horrified by the implications of its existence.
“So now demons can kidnap humans and transport them alive to Hell for their own sick and demented purposes?”
“StryTech gave us exclusive access to them,” he said, “and they came with a shit ton of restrictions and rules.” He glanced up at the cloudy night sky. What time was it, anyway? “I think they even track their usage. Each is numbered and accounted for, and if any are lost or stolen, they’ll be deactivated.”
“Interesting.” She eyed the archway, her stomach rebelling a little.
