She shook her head. “They can’t. They won’t believe me, anyhow. I just need to lay low for a while until all the shit I’ve been going through passes. Then I’ll be out of your hair. A week or two tops. I promise.”
“I don’t know…”
“Please.” Leena looked at her with such open desperation in her gold-flecked brown eyes that Eden knew she couldn’t possibly kick her out. Not yet, anyhow.
She spread her hands. “I don’t have any room. This apartment is barely big enough for one person.”
“I can stay in my cat form.” Leena’s eyes lit up with hope. “I’m seven pounds that way. Tiny! And I don’t eat much. I’ll shift back to human form when you’re out. Come on! I make a really amazing lasagna.”
Well, Eden was a fan of homemade lasagna.
Ever since Darrak had come into her life it seemed as if she was a magnet for paranormal beings — demons, fairies, and now… feline shapeshifters? And everyone seemed to be dealing with a life-or-death scenario. Including her.
And she’d thought working for Psychic Connexions had introduced her to strange, desperate people.
The least she could do was help out a bit. She would hope that somebody might help her in return. She was all about the karma. The universe looked kindly on that sort of thing.
“Fine. Two weeks,” Eden said. “And that’s it.”
Leena smiled widely. “Thank you!”
“Just keep your claws to yourself.”
“Well, you do seem to have a walking/talking first aid kit currently in residence.” Leena shot an unfriendly glance at Darrak.
“That was only a scratch,” he said, his arms now crossed in front of him. “Anything more serious could have drained me completely.”
She looked at him skeptically. “Pretty weak for a demon, aren’t you?”
“Luckily, I have a nice personality.” He smiled thinly. “Didn’t you say something about turning back into a furry, nontalking animal again? Any time would be good.”
She pointed at her eyes and then at him. “I’m watching you, demon.”
“I do enjoy an audience.”
Leena grabbed Eden and gave her a big hug. “Thank you. You totally rock.”
“Oh… okay.”
“You’ll have fun on your date. It will be nice for you to spend some time with a real man,” she said pointedly. “Humans make for the safest lovers. Trust me on that.”
Before Eden could reply to that, Leena shifted and shrank until she was a small black cat again that scooted into her bedroom.
Did that just happen? She turned to Darrak.
“Her clothes disappeared when she shifted,” he said and shook his head. “Did you notice that? So convenient.”
“I…” she began. “I… just… I don’t know what to do right now.”
“If you’re taking suggestions, you really shouldn’t think too much about the paranormal paradise of your life and instead go get dressed. Time is a fleeting thing.”
He looked very pale, and he leaned against the wall by the wall unit her flat screen TV was on and a picture of her mom and her when Eden was ten years old.
“Are you drained again?” she asked.
“I’m at a level where I can recover on my own.”
“Well, no matter what your intentions were, I appreciate you… uh… healing me. Thank you for that.”
“My intentions were honorable, I assure you.”
“Do you need to take a little energy from me again?” And no, she wasn’t just looking for another earthmoving kiss from the demon. Because that would be wrong on too many levels to count. Especially when she had — she glanced at the clock — twenty-five minutes until Ben arrived.
“No. That’s for emergency usage only.” He crossed his arms. “It’s not safe for you otherwise.”
“Not safe?”
He shook his head. “Siphoning energy from a human is a tricky thing. If I were to take too much… well, I don’t want that to happen.”
“But I feel fine.”
“Right. Other than your seven-hour nap, which you needed because of my draining your energy.”
“Right, that.” She frowned. “But I feel okay now. If you took just a little—”
Oh, God. She was trying to get him to kiss her again. How pathetic was she?
Very pathetic.
She forced herself to think about Ben, instead. Perfect, courageous, wonderful. Focus, Eden. Eyes on the prize. Not on Darrak’s lips.
“Seriously, Eden. I’m trying to be responsible here.”
“And I’m trying to understand what is happening to me.” She considered what he said. “What’s so bad about taking energy from me?”
“Fine. You really want to know?” He paced to the other side of the living room, over by her neatly arranged bookshelf. He looked stressed. “If I’m not careful or if I get greedy, I can take too much of your energy. And it could hurt you badly. I don’t want to do that.”
“Could I be turned into a demon?”
“No. You could die.”
She touched her mouth, thinking about when he’d kissed her in the car. It hadn’t felt bad, that was for sure, but would it if it had gone on for much longer? “I’m glad you’re against that, then.”
He closed the distance between them and leaned against the sofa next to where she stood and studied the floor. “The problem is that the energy I’ve tasted of yours is very… what’s a good word to use here?” His brow furrowed. “Irresistible. Delicious. Addictive. Any of those would do.”
“My energy is tasty?”