The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,32

a setup like that. Not to mention, we don’t even know each other.”

Phenex bristled. Of all the humans he could have gotten fixated on, it had to be one who liked sex to have some deeper meaning.

“You know me well enough. I’ve been here since last night,” he pointed out.

Sofia rolled her eyes. “Yes, and you’ve been hiding up here for hours. Wow, quality time.”

“I’m not hiding.” Phenex shifted in the uncomfortable little chair. This was the problem, he thought. Humans and their sentiment and their need to make connections even when it would do more harm than good. And still, he couldn’t make himself get up and leave her here, even if it would have made his life easier.

“You know everything about me that matters,” he added, hating how defensive he sounded.

Sofia gave him a look that could only be described as withering. “I know that you’re an amazing musician, that you’re some kind of winged fallen angel, ex-demon something-or-other, and that you kill things with a sword for a living.”

“Exactly,” he said. “That’s all you need to know.”

She didn’t look convinced. “Uh-huh. And what do you know about me?”

His smile faded as he tried to come up with things. “You’re a nurse.”

“Very perceptive, since you’ve been spying on me at work. What else?”

“You speak Spanish. You can swear in Spanish, anyway.” She looked at him expectantly while he tried to think of other things, but none of what he came up with was all that relevant. He knew she wasn’t afraid to tell him what she thought, though the jury was out on whether that was a good trait or not. But as far as her life went, she was right, he guessed…he hadn’t paid much attention to humans, any human, in so long that he couldn’t even remember the last time. With a rush of frustration, Phenex wished he’d taken a closer look at all the pictures in Sofia’s bedroom. She probably had a family. Or something.

“And?” she prodded again.

“And nothing,” Phenex grumbled. “Why does it matter? It’s attraction, not rocket science. I want you in bed. On the floor. Against the wall. You pick, I’m game.”

He couldn’t miss the flash of desire in her eyes before she looked away, visibly flustered.

Good. He liked her flustered. And hot.

“It’s not that simple,” she insisted again.

“It can be.”

She blew out a breath. “No, it can’t. I can’t just say screw it and start messing around with a demon! I know you’re not technically working for Hell anymore, Phenex, but that doesn’t mean you’re not still some kind of evil. I don’t want to sleep with evil. That’s entering B-movie territory.”

Phenex tried to keep his frustration from his voice. He’d never had to defend his nature before. Nor had he had to define it in the time since he’d left Hell. What was he, exactly? It wasn’t a comfortable question, and it certainly wasn’t one he was going to spend a lot of time on when his ass was parked in a plastic chair on Sofia’s roof.

Finally, he said, “I am who and what I am, Sofia. For thousands of years now, actually. It’s not that interesting, and telling you all about it is just wasting time that could be better spent otherwise. I’m not an angel, no. But it’s not like you have to worry about taking me home to your parents.”

She looked at him long and hard, as though she were searching for something. Phenex forced himself to be still under the scrutiny. She would relent. No matter his interest in her, she was still a human, even more guided by her desires than he was. The way she’d kissed him, moved against him, left no doubt that he would have her. And right now, he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in Sofia for a while. It would be worth it. She’d see.

But when Sofia spoke, she did what humans almost never managed to do.

She surprised him.

“It might not be interesting to you, but your life is interesting to me. I guess I’ll have to think about it, Phenex. For right now, there’s TV and the Chinese I ordered. Which should be here any time, actually, so when you feel like bodyguarding again, come on down.”

Without another word, and only a brief flicker of a smile, Sofia turned and walked back toward the stairwell, leaving a dumbfounded Phenex staring after her.

“Maybe?” he asked incredulously.

But she was already gone, taking her audacity back to her apartment with