That Old Black Magic - By Michelle Rowen Page 0,28

sad.

Even sadder was the fact that he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that what Eden really felt about him was only a fraction of what he felt for her. Perhaps it was the fact he’d never been in love before that made his emotions so acute, so strong, so impossible to ignore. He wasn’t a puppy dog, ready to roll over and bare his belly the moment he thought she might give him a scratch. He wasn’t that whipped. But he knew he’d do just about anything for her.

And if, when all was said and done, she wanted them to part ways, then that was exactly what he’d do. As the saying went, if you love someone you should let them go, and if they didn’t return you should hunt them down and . . .

No, wait. That was a different saying. The original one was that if they didn’t come back then they never were yours to begin with.

Thus, the fretting.

Even Stanley, of all people, had been hit by the love stick when he’d least expected it, and it had changed the direction of his life forever. Well, Nancy did know how to make an excellent donut, that was for sure.

All Darrak knew for absolute certain was that he cared for Eden more than anything in the world. And the fact that she’d become a person of interest to Lucifer didn’t sit well with him. Lucifer might have a very disarming face here in the human world, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.

He just wished he knew what to do about that.

It felt like a very long time before the sun began to rise. He knew the moment it happened, because it hit him like a lightning bolt before surrounding his incorporeal form like a clawed hand, tearing him from the darkness and wrenching him up through to the physical world.

Eden gasped in her sleep as he was expelled from her body. Immediately he began to take form, his essence rebuilding itself in the image of whom he’d been before, so very long ago. Tall, demonic, and handsome, limbs in all the right positions. It was effortless and yet exhausting at the same time.

A few moments later he found himself lying next to her on her bed. A feeling of relief and calm swept over him.

Eden appeared to smile in her sleep, and she slid a hand over his bare chest. He covered it with his own hand, not wanting to break the moment. It did surprise him that she was able to sleep through this every morning—almost every morning, unless she was already awake.

“Today is special, I feel it,” he whispered to her. “It’s the beginning, not the end.”

She grunted a soft reply, but didn’t stir further. In her sleep she wasn’t consumed with worry or anxiety over their unusual situation. Eden slept very soundly for a woman who had to deal with an unwanted demonic possession and a million other problems since he’d come into her life.

Today could go very well. Darrak tried to hold on to that thought.

It was an important Friday. First he’d walk her through the curse breaking. One way or another, after that they would find Lucifer’s missing person to check that chore off the list and get him off their backs for a bit longer.

And tonight was also the full moon.

Andy was scheduled to turn into a werewolf at approximately the same time Darrak would next lose form. That was, if they were unable to break the curse this morning.

Let’s think positively, he told himself.

“Darrak . . .” Eden whispered, her eyes still closed.

She often talked in her sleep, saying all sorts of interesting things.

He drew closer, bringing his head to rest on her pillow. “Yes, Eden?”

“What am I going to do . . .”

“What are you going to do . . . ?” he prompted when she trailed off.

“. . . without you?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He frowned at the strange statement and studied her face. “Do you love me, Eden?”

His breath caught and held as he waited for her answer as if he was a teenage human boy looking for the girl he liked to confirm she would go to the prom with him. She was very honest when she was asleep.

“I want you,” she murmured. “I need you . . . yes . . .”

“All good to know. But what about . . .” Oh hell, what was he doing? Trying to coax some sort