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TWENTY-TWO
Alethia waited until the hot shower spray drowned out any noise she might make, before she sank onto the shower tiles and burst out laughing. It was partly hysterical laughter, but she had to admit it was funny.
Last night, she'd gotten drunk with the girls and summoned a hot demon, who she definitely had not had sex with, who was not only still here the next morning, but he wanted her help solving a murder mystery. Funnier still, for a moment there, after he'd offered to help her in the shower, she could have sworn there was a wicked glint in his eye that said if she wanted the sex they hadn't had last night, at a word from her, he'd absolutely come and give her the hottest shower she'd ever had.
And she'd almost agreed to have steamy sex with a demon. Until she'd gathered up her lost wits and forced herself to say she was showering alone.
Of course, he was probably still sitting there in the bedroom, waiting for her. If she was to ask him for help...
Her wild imagination offered up a tantalising image of him backing her up against the bathroom wall, plunging deep inside her until she screamed his name in ecstasy.
Stanley Steel. Not the sort of name she'd expected for a demon, but then he'd been human once, hadn't he? In 1834. Right at the start of the Swan River Colony.
She took her time in the shower, even shaving her legs, which she usually didn't bother to do in winter, but if she wrapped her legs around his waist, she wanted them smooth as silk.
Of course, she'd probably imagined that glint, she decided, as she dried off and dressed. She'd read far too many paranormal and alien romances to believe that any hot-blooded creature who wasn't a normal human male would absolutely be looking for love and filled with lust for whatever lady he first saw. But that didn't stop her from wanting it to be true.
He was waiting for her when she opened the bathroom door, appreciative eyes taking her in as if a stretchy sweater and a pair of leggings were the sexiest thing he'd seen all year. Well, if he'd been stuck in hell, maybe it was.
He didn't look so bad himself – in nothing but a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips, so his tail could swing free. "Shall I carry you to the kitchen?" He held out his arms.
"Yes, please."
His arms around her felt just as good as they had last night. Wait, hadn't they landed on a rooftop on the way?
"Did you fly me home last night?" she asked.
He set her down on one of the dining chairs. "Of course. Much faster than walking."
"Or hopping." Which she did, to reach the kitchen bench and the coffee machine. Her parents usually ordered a whole selection of pods, but she stuck to two – the mocha, and the caramel ones. This morning, she picked a mocha one.
While the machine did its magic, she turned to face Stanley. "So, what would you like for breakfast? My parents had a standing order for a weekly farm produce box, only they forget to cancel it, and the first one was so good, I just kept going. The delivery came yesterday, so on top of the usual cereal, milk and toast, I have apples, blueberry muffins, a sourdough with olives, some jam I haven't really looked at yet, and a massive jar of honey. Oh, and some sort of creamy, spreadable cheese that I wanted to try on some toasted sourdough."
Stan just shook his head in wonder. "So many things I've never even heard of, let alone tasted. The colony truly has flourished, just like I said it would. If only I could enjoy its bounty, as I'm sure you do, but I have no need for any of it."
Alethea's mouth dropped open. "What, demons don't eat? I mean, I've never met a demon before, but this is the first time I've heard they don't need to eat. Or that they turn to stone in sunlight. I thought that was trolls, not demons. What else about demons do I need to know?"
Stan shrugged. "I don't need to eat or drink, so you don't need to cook on my account, though that coffee does smell quite delicious. I can fly, of course, but you already knew that. I don't know what to tell you – I don't know any other demons."
"You mean you didn't see any demons in hell? What's it like there, then, if there aren't any demons?" Alethea asked.
Another shrug. "I don't remember. All I remember is the night I died...and then you summoning me."
"But you remember the early days of the colony," she said eagerly. So many things she wanted to ask him, she wasn't sure what to ask first.
Stan shook his head. "I remember one night, and even that's hazy. I could not even remember how to make you a cup of tea last night."
"Good thing I don't drink tea, then. Callie's the tea drinker. I prefer coffee, but I like it sweet." She topped her cup up with milk, then held it up in a toast. "What should we drink to? I mean, normally it's to good health, but you're a demon and I've twisted my ankle, so that seems pretty pointless right now."
Stan frowned. "You should not be standing on your injured foot. Do you have what you need for breakfast?"
Alethia grabbed a blueberry muffin in her free hand. "Now I do."
He scooped her up, then carried her back to the dining table, so smoothly she didn't even spill her coffee.
"I didn't know nursing duties were part of being a demon protector. Or is this just you, going above and beyond? Because I haven't even known you a day and I can tell you, you are definitely the best protector, demon or otherwise, that I've ever had." She raised her coffee mug to him before she drank.
A sad smile appeared on his face. "If only Carline had agreed with you."
"Oh, Stan." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Carline. But I'll tell you what. While you're here protecting me, I'll help you find out what happened that night, if I can, and maybe even work out why she killed you. It's the least I can do."
"But how can you possibly find out something that happened almost two hundred years ago, when everyone who was there is dead?" He didn't make an exception for himself, either.
Alethea grinned. "Well, it just so happens that you are the demon protector to an archaeologist who specialises in early Swan River colonial history. Why, only yesterday I was digging up the bodies of some of our earliest Scottish settlers." Oh hell, had she dug up his body? She hoped not. "I have contacts everywhere historical documents are stored, and if it's on the internet, I can and will find it. And seeing as there's no way I'll be able to go to work for a few days until my ankle heals, you will have exclusive use of my services for the foreseeable future."
He stared down at her hand atop his, where it still sat. "We have a deal," he said slowly. "I will protect you, and you will help me."
Alethea almost choked on her coffee. She'd just made a deal with a demon.
