who can front, you should start your own band. You need guys who can play and aren’t too much trouble personality-wise. People who understand that getting along is as important as anything.” She yawned. “Okay. I’m gonna go. I’d ask you in, but it’s not a real date. Right?”
“Not a real date?”
He sounded confused, which was exactly the reaction she was hoping for. Those four words told her what she wanted to know. Was he interested in her only for how she might help his career? Or was he also interested in her as a woman?
She got the answer she wanted, but it segued into a conflict she didn’t want. What if Doo Darby hit the big time? She’d maintained a hands-off policy with musicians, deciding early on that having romantic “history” is counterproductive to being effective in the industry. Sooner or later you run into people. It’s just best to not know if they tuck left or right.
But even with those warnings clanging around inside her head, she heard herself say, “I mean, was it? Is it? Did you want it to be? Real. I mean.”
“Well. Yeah.”
She grinned. “I’m tired and this is gonna sound so hokey. But how about a goodnight kiss?”
He leaned in and their lips met half way above the console between bucket seats as his left hand pulled her feather lapel toward him. Both knew instantly that their chemistry went beyond a shared love of music, or even physical attraction.
When Cass pulled back for breath, she said, “Well, Doo Darby. It turns out you’re a great kisser. I was thinking I hate these new bucket seat contraptions.”
“Next time I’ll get a car with bench seats.”
“Next time I’ll invite you in. Maybe.”
“Maybe? What do I have to do to get to yes?”
She laughed. “We’ll see. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Sleeping.”
She shook her head. “No rest for the wicked. You want to be part of what’s happening here or not?”
He huffed out a soft laugh. “I’m not sleepin’ tomorrow. What am I doin’ instead?”
“Pick me up at eleven. We’re going over to see Old Man Skinner on Sutter.”
“Ah. I have to give this car back.”
She laughed. “I have a car. You’re close enough to walk over. Right?”
“Yeah. No problem.”
“Okay. Night.”
“Night.”
He watched as she tripped up the walk. It was only then that it hit him. He’d kissed Cassidy Power, his grandmother’s friend and neighbor. Worse, he’d wanted a lot more. With a mental slap, he promised himself to never think about that again. She wasn’t the musical mentor he’d adored, the actual reason why he was in San Francisco in 1967. She was a gorgeous rock chick with flaming hair and totally smoochable freckles across the bridge of her nose, who was solidly plugged into the musical moment.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN Black Magic Woman
Quicksilver knew the music demon had seen him watching, and didn’t care. He didn’t have enough respect for Lyric to bother changing form. Perhaps on some level he wanted the other demon to know he was coming for the prize; make things more interesting. Although it was hard to imagine how much more interesting things could get. An unmated female demon? Inconceivable. But true.
He'd only been waiting for his appointment with Shelejiah for a few days, but it seemed like a lot longer. Everything about this pursuit was refreshing, even caring about the passage of time was different.
Shelejiah was… Well, Quicksilver didn’t know what she was, but, “What’s in a name?” he muttered to himself. He knew what he needed to know about her. She performed works of sorcery. Feats beyond what demons could manage, for a price.
He stepped out of the passes and into her workroom, a place that looked like a cross between a science lab and a greenhouse. A huge polished concrete sink sat in the middle of the space that looked suspiciously like a trough.
Shelejiah was six-and-a-half feet tall. Not knowing her species made it impossible to guess her age, but there was typically an assumption of lifespans that were millennia-long. She had short teeth except for exceptionally long canines, ears that were shaped like those of fauns, and small horns that appeared to be covered in something that resembled the texture of velvet. He couldn’t know that for sure and had no intention of touching those horns or anything else that belonged to her person.
She was the only person in the worlds who could give him what he wanted, so far as he knew, but she might also be the world’s