That Old Black Magic - By Michelle Rowen Page 0,15

He swore under his breath. “But he was wrong. It used your magic and your soul at the same time. It was like introducing two horny people on a blind date. They went for each other immediately. It was a direct conduit to your soul for that black magic.”

She glanced down at the amulet, taking the cool piece of oval-shaped stone in her hand. It was significantly darker by at least two shades. It was now a medium gray with lines that were the color of charcoal. It was quite pretty, actually, if you didn’t know what it really meant.

Instead of panicking, she felt a strange sense of resolve.

“It was worth it,” she said, mostly to herself. “Besides, I don’t feel any different.”

“Not yet.” He paced back and forth before stopping and looking at her. “You know, there is a way to take it back a few shades before it gets too much darker.”

She shook her head. “No, Darrak.”

“You think I like the idea of it? But if necessary, it’s what you have to do—”

“Stop it.” Her voice cracked on the words.

“Another kiss from Lucifer wouldn’t really be so bad, would it?” His eyes burned bright with immediate jealousy, but a dark smile twisted on his face.

“Keep it up, Darrak, and the next time I see him I might not only kiss him.”

That helped erase the humorless smile completely.

However, she couldn’t exactly argue with his logic. It had already been proven that kissing the Prince of Hell, even a chaste, emotionless kiss, drew the darkness out of her and straight into him. He was the ultimate magnet for evil. But he was a devious, manipulative man. Fallen angel. Demon. Prince. Prisoner. A split-personality Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

All of the above.

She didn’t trust him. That her life was now irrevocably intertwined with his didn’t exactly help her sleep that well at night.

In a way she felt sorry for him, and that didn’t help much either. Lucifer, or Lucas, which was the name she preferred to use for him, felt trapped in Hell. His only desire was to go back to Heaven where he thought he truly belonged, but his darkness was an eternal anchor keeping him stuck in the Netherworld.

Lucas thought he was cursed. Eden couldn’t very well say he was wrong about that.

When the prince chose to come to the human world, he did so with one drawback. Here he was mortal. He still had power, especially over beings like Darrak, whom Lucas had created himself, but his mortal body could be killed. And if so, his essence would be sent back to Hell with no chance to escape again for a very long time.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“What for?”

“Everything.”

“You’re taking my lines again, because I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“Maybe we’re just a sorry pair.”

He snorted. “No kidding.”

She slid her hands up his chest. “There is some good news, though.”

“Oh?”

“Your spell is broken.” She smiled. “You can’t give me any more black magic than I already have.”

“Oh.”

“Can you feel it?”

“I think so.”

“How does it feel?”

He lowered his face so they were eye to eye. “It feels very good.”

“This means we can be together. Whenever we like.”

She thought he was going to pull away, tell her to wait, but instead he kissed her, a kiss that didn’t hold back anything. It was deep, searching, passionate, and she wanted more. Desire swelled within her swiftly, immediately.

“Here?” he asked.

She just nodded.

A smile spread across his handsome face. “Your wish is my command.”

He pressed her back against the desk, his mouth moving down the column of her throat, and then she heard the sound.

A jingle. Somebody had entered the office.

Damn it. They should have locked the door. They were lucky no one had walked in during the spell removal.

She swore against Darrak’s lips as he kissed her one more time before releasing her, and they turned toward the door. A young and pretty raven-haired woman stood there looking at them with a hand on her hip and a raised eyebrow.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked.

Eden cleared her throat and stood up. Her legs felt shaky, and she ran a hand through her long hair to neaten it.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “That must not have looked very professional.”

Darrak shrugged. “Sometimes I just can’t keep my hands off her. She’s irresistible.”

Eden couldn’t help but laugh as she cast a look in his direction. “Anyway, let’s start again.” She moved toward the woman and stretched out her hand. “I’m Eden Riley. Welcome to Triple-A Investigations. And you