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She hoped that wasn’t a rude question, but now that she’d asked, she might as well get an answer. “Your father stores the souls of those he kills in his armor, and your mother can repel souls. I just thought maybe you inherited—” She drew a quick breath as a thought occurred to her. “My nightmare demon. You were able to catch it, even though it was a spirit, because you can see souls, can’t you?”
He watched her carefully, gauging her reactions. And it made her want to beat his ex for making him so wary of telling her personal details.
“Again,” she said, “you don’t have to answer.” She gestured to the table where the vase had been, looking for a change of subject and mood. “Why did Rade take that, anyway? Is it a priceless artifact? Was he afraid I would steal it?”
The tension seemed to melt from Logan’s taut body. She’d definitely made the right choice to focus her questions elsewhere.
Another lesson from her lawyer parents.
Logan started down the hallway directly across from the one Rade had taken. “It’s for sex.”
“Oh,” she said. Because, of course, a Seminus demon would need sex. Except… “Wait. Did you say sex?” At Logan’s nod, she paused, unsure how to process this. “He has sex with a vase?”
He stopped at the third door on the right. “You ever watchI Dream of Jeannie? It’s like a super classic TV show.” He tucked her carry-on under his arm and reached for the door handle.
“I only saw the reboot that came out a few years ago. Are you telling me a genie lives in that bottle and Rade has sex with her?”
“Masumi isn’t a genie.” He turned the doorknob. “She’s a species of succubus that can only survive by hooking up with Seminus demons. She has two vases. One is here for all the guys, and Stryke has the other.”
Damn, that was fascinating. “Does she live in both simultaneously, like in an alternate dimension?”
“Exactly.” He swung the door open and gestured for her to enter. “Her vases are a big Tardis. When a Sem summons her, she either comes out, or they can transport inside.”
“Wow.” She stepped through the doorway and found herself not in a bedroom but an apartment, complete with a living room and small kitchen. The place would have been stark if not for the pictures of family scattered on the end tables and shelves, and the bookcase loaded down with a few knickknacks that looked like ancient artifacts, several thick books, and some magazines. A hoverboard and surfboard sat propped against some whimsically painted exposed pipes, each done in a different primary color that brightened the place.
And in the middle of the living room was what looked like a giant dog bed.
“Oh, my God,” she blurted, suddenly remembering a detail that had been added to what little The Aegis knew about the children of Thanatos and Regan Matthews.
The son is bonded to a hellhound.
“You have a hellhound.”
“Don’t worry.” He took her luggage to the bedroom on the left. “He knows better than to eat anyone in this house.”
“Great.” She wasn’t sure she was as comforted by his words as he probably thought she’d be. “That’s just…great.”
At least the bedroom was cheery, with a sliding glass door that allowed plenty of light and access to a covered patio.
He set her luggage on the floor and plopped her bag into the chair in the corner. “I’ll sleep in the spare bedroom down the hall.”
She stopped him as he turned to the door. “Why not give me the spare bedroom?”
“This one has a private bathroom,” he said. “I didn’t think you’d want to traipse up and down the hall in a strange place in the middle of the night.”
Aw, how considerate. But the idea of being in the room alone tonight left her unsettled. “Aren’t you worried I’ll try to escape or something?”
He shot her an amused look, and she wondered if he saw through her clumsy attempt at getting him to stay. The couch looked comfy. So did the giant dog bed, actually.
“And where are you going to go? We’re on a continent owned by supernaturals. You take one step outside this compound and you’re in demon territory with no way out. Draven will be the least of your problems.”
“Right.” She hadn’t been serious, not really, but now the reality of her situation crashed down on her. She truly was out of her element, and all of a sudden, her body became aware of the stress the day had put on her.
“You okay?” Logan’s concern touched her, bringing the stress even more to the forefront.
“No, I’m not,” she admitted, too tired to feign strength. “I’ve been on the run, captured, there’s a demon after me, and friends have died. I just want to go to bed. And I don’t want to be alone.”
There. She’d said it. The truth sat there, hanging between them. She wasn’t ready for Logan to go.
