“Why the hell not?”
The demon shook his head. “You’re psychic. This is just a guess, but my current ability to take human form must draw entirely from that energy. When I stray too far from your side, I can’t maintain it.”
A fresh line of panic raced through her. She was psychic — even if it was just a little bit. She couldn’t deny it any longer.
But, hell, she could still try. “You’re crazy.”
His Adam’s apple shifted as he swallowed hard. He looked even paler than he had before. “I had solid form until a witch cursed me. I’ve tried searching for her ever since to break the curse, but it’s kind of hard to track somebody down when you have little or no control over your host.”
“A witch cursed you?” she repeated with shock.
“I didn’t think there was a chance to hope for anything else until today.” He looked down at his hands again. “This is so amazing. But… I can’t simply leave your side now.”
“Try again,” she suggested. “Try harder.”
He shook his head. “I went outside and couldn’t go any farther. I felt my energy draining away and then I was drawn back to you like a magnet. I have to stay close to you. You’re my host now.”
“Then you need to find another host,” she said firmly.
“Can’t do that. You’re stuck with me until…” He trailed off.
“Until what?” The thought of being possessed by a demon — impossible to consider only an hour ago, but now the central concern of her existence — was too horrible to deal with.
“Until your death. Or until I find the witch who cursed me. But there is good news in this bleak scenario. I know she’s in the area. I can sense her. It’s why I directed my previous host here — the one before the killer. It was tough, but I could influence his behavior in small ways.”
She’d only heard the first part. “Until my death?”
He nodded. “When you die, I’ll be released and I’ll have to find a new host.”
“But you’re released now. I release you.” She flicked her hand at him. “You can leave any time you want to. Go.”
“I can’t.” He glanced out through the glass doors. “I seem to be bound to your side whether I’m bodiless or not.”
Eden’s frustration welled inside her and threatened to spill over. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“I know.” His brow lowered. “For what it’s worth, I’m not a bad demon, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Actually, that was exactly what she was thinking. “There are good demons?”
“Before I was cursed it was my job to hunt down the bad ones that had escaped from Hell and bring them back. I made sure no humans got hurt.” He grinned. “See? I’m one of the good guys.”
She was far from convinced. “If you say so.”
He let his gaze leisurely move down the length of her and then back up again, from her tight jeans up to where her arms crossed tightly over her green blouse. “My name is Darrak.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“What’s your name?”
When she chose to bite her lip instead of answering him, he glanced around the room and moved toward her desk where there was a stack of business cards. He picked one up and looked at it. “I will assume you’re Eden Riley?”
The fact that he knew her name made her feel even more ill than she had before. She didn’t want him to know anything about her.
He put the card down and walked again to the door to look outside. “You know, it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a sunset with my own eyes.”
Eden felt overwhelmed and on the verge of hysterical tears. She closed her eyes and prayed for the first time in forever for some divine intervention.
A few moments later, Darrak let out a harsh gasp and her eyes snapped back open. He held a hand to his abdomen, his expression darkening with obvious pain.
Divine intervention? She blinked with surprise. Did it work?
He braced his other hand against the wall. “The sun is gone.”
She glanced outside. The sun had slipped completely beneath the horizon and darkness now spread across the sky.
“What are you talking about?” She grabbed her stapler as a potential weapon and held it tightly to her chest.
He braced his shoulder against the wall. “My form. I can’t hold it much longer. It has to do with the… the darkness. In the human world, light sustains energy, darkness takes away. Even for me.” He clenched his teeth. “I can’t fight this.”
Eden didn’t care how normal this guy looked, how attractive, or how his kiss hadn’t been completely disgusting — she wanted him gone and she didn’t particularly care how that happened.
He clutched his stomach and gasped in pain before sliding a few inches down the wall.
She drew closer and reached out to touch him, but her shaking hand slipped right through his body as if he wasn’t even there anymore.
His eyes raised to Eden’s a moment before his solid form faded away completely and she was looking at the shadowy black smoke from earlier. That immediately reminded her that Darrak wasn’t just a guy in pain that she might be able to help. He was a freaking demon.
She scrambled backward as the darkness began to swirl in front of her. She felt as if it was studying her movements — an evil rain cloud with a personality.
“Stay back,” she warned it. “Or else.”
Or else what? she thought. Or else she’d go get the vacuum cleaner? Or else she’d wave her hands really, really fast and hopefully stop it in its tracks?
It grew closer and closer until it had her cornered. “Look”—she held her hands up in front of her as if that would be enough to ward it off—“there has to be another way. You don’t need to do this.”
If it heard her, it didn’t pay any attention because the very next moment the darkness launched itself at her.
“Stop!” she yelled.
It didn’t listen. The moment it made contact with her it disappeared. She’d expected to feel pain or cold fingers of death or something equally horrible, but there was only a warm sensation that slid through her body in a jarring and surprisingly sensual manner that made her gasp out loud. She pressed her hand against her stomach, breathing hard and fast as her heart rate slowly came back to normal.
It took a while.
“Darrak?” she whispered.
There was no answer.