would like to go home now, if you don’t need anything else.”
Heat pooled in his gaze as he dropped it to my lips. “And if I do?”
“There’s a menu beside your phone.” I smiled at him, showing a few teeth of my own. “There are maids who cater to the various predilections of the clientele here at the Marshal Building.” I nudged him aside with my shoulder when he continued blocking my path. “I’m not one of them.”
“I meant no offense.”
“None taken.” I was used to dealing with entitled jerks. It came with the bloomers. “Just stating facts.”
Penthouse reached for me, clamping his hand around my upper arm. “Ana—”
“My name is not Ana.” He let me struggle in his ironclad grip, and I lost it. “Get your hand off me.”
One dark eyebrow climbed his forehead. “Or what?”
There was no implied threat, not exactly, only more of that damnable curiosity from him. And his nostrils—he kept flaring them, drawing in my scent like he wanted to memorize it at its freshest.
That wasn’t creepy at all.
“I will break your fingers, joint by joint, one by one,” I informed him, “until you decide letting me go is the smartest decision you’ve ever made.”
As a thoughtful noise scratched the back of his throat, he squeezed my biceps as if he was checking for ripeness on the produce aisle. I half expected him to thump me next. “Are you that strong?”
“Where it counts, yes.” A growl rumbled in my chest, and I let it come. “Care for a demonstration?”
“Yes,” he said, and I swore his horns had lengthened, twisted, as I watched.
Infernal magic was my go-to power. Breaking was easier than fixing, injuring easier than healing, and I favored the path of least resistance when my feet had gone numb from squishing them into their pointy-toed prison twice in one day.
Mom was an agonae daemon, her gift inflicting physical harm without ever lifting a finger. Magic did all the dirty work for her, with medical precision. What can I say? Playing doctor was my favorite game as a kid, and he had volunteered for a round of Operation.
Without lowering my gaze, a rookie mistake when facing a predator, I homed in on the sensation of his fingers encircling my upper arm, and then I saw. An intricate map spread in my mind’s eye, highlighting the bones and tendons and ligaments in his hand. Starting with his pinky, I focused on the damage I wanted to inflict, and my eager magic leapt to do my bidding, snapping three bones in quick succession.
Penthouse didn’t flinch, merely puckered his brow and studied the results of my efforts.
“As much fun as this has been, I already covered the bit about how I’m not on the menu. I don’t cater to clients sexually, sadistically, or otherwise.” Shoving past him, I gave the suite a final once-over on my way out the door. “You have a beautiful home, but I won’t be stepping foot in it again.”
Proud of taking a stand, even if it cost me a lucrative client, I kicked off my heels in the hall as a reward. I grabbed my jacket, shrugged it on, and shot Sven the bird via video camera before carrying the blasted shoes with me into the elevator.
On the way down, I existed in a happy bubble of self-righteous fulfilment that burst when I stepped out into the lobby to find Penthouse checking his watch like I had kept him waiting.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, he said, “I will double your salary if you come back and work for me.”
Work for me. There was the confirmation from his own mouth I had been a fringe benefit.
My heart pitter-pattered, but I had savings. I could afford to tell him no, so I did. “Nope.”
Hands balling into fists, he acted like he was resisting the impulse to reach for me again. “Triple then.”
The air thinned around my head until I had trouble breathing and squeaked, “Not interested.”
“Money doesn’t motivate you.” More curiosity, the guy must be part cat.
“Do you see how I’m dressed? Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to wear this getup five days a week? Do you have a clue how slimy I feel after coming home from this job?” I took a step closer, widening my path to veer around him. “I’m very motivated by money.” And other things. “But I don’t want yours.”
He angled his chin to one side. “Why?”
“I’m not for sale.”
“I don’t want to buy you, only your services.”
Mmm-hmm. Yeah. Sure. Right. Like it wasn’t one and the same to guys like him.
“I don’t enjoy inflicting pain on others.” That was a straight-up lie, but it was morally true. I didn’t want to enjoy hurting people, but it was easy, and I was good at it. Plus, it kept me safe from weirdos. Usually.
Ah, the paradox of being dae. Half fae, half daemon. Half good, half evil. Half right, half wrong. Half Dad, half Mom.
I was a hot mess of conflicting desires long before Ben entered the picture.
“I won’t force you to use your powers again,” Penthouse said, and it came out sounding like a promise.
“You’ll pay me three times my current salary to clean your suite? Cleaning? Nothing else?”
“Yes.”
A whimper escaped me, but I forced my head to turn from side to side. “No.”
Working for Penthouse was inviting scrutiny I couldn’t afford. The maid gig worked for me because, costume aside, the job title might as well have rendered me invisible. Sure, clients got their jollies checking out my butt, but they never paused to wonder if there were brains behind the ruffles.
Jaw tight, he zeroed in on the shoes dangling from my fingertips. “I’ll let you wear sneakers.”
Butter biscuit.
Picking up on my moment of weakness, he moved in for the kill. “And jeans.”
Butter biscuit with a side order of jelly.
“Fine,” I spat, hating myself for caving. “But I’m wearing flip-flops, not sneakers.”
So there.
“Done.” He stuck out his hand, which had healed in the time it took him to corner me, and we shook.
I might have been the half daemon, but I left feeling like I was the one who had struck a bargain with the devil.
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About the Author
USA Today best-selling author Hailey Edwards writes about questionable applications of otherwise perfectly good magic, the transformative power of love, the family you choose for yourself, and blowing stuff up. Not necessarily all at once. That could get messy.
Also by Hailey Edwards
The Foundling
Bayou Born #1
Bone Driven #2
Death Knell #3
Rise Against #4
End Game #5
The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy
How to Save an Undead Life #1
How to Claim an Undead Soul #2
How to Break an Undead Heart #3
How to Dance an Undead Waltz #4
How to Live an Undead Lie #5
How to Wake an Undead City #6
The Epilogues
How to Kiss an Undead Bride #7
How to survive an Undead Honeymoon #8
How to Rattle an Undead Couple #9
The Potentate of Atlanta
Shadow of Doubt #1
Pack of Lies #2
Change of Heart #3
Proof of Life #4
Black Dog Series
Dog with a Bone #1
Dog Days of Summer #1.5
Heir of the Dog #2
Lie Down with Dogs #3
Old Dog, New Tricks #4
Black Dog Series Novellas
Stone-Cold Fox
Gemini Series
Dead in the Water #1
Head Above Water #2
Hell or High Water #3
Gemini Series Novellas
Fish Out of Water
Lorimar Pack Series
Promise the Moon #1
Wolf at the Door #2
Over the Moon #3
Araneae Nation
A Heart of Ice #.5
A Hint of Frost #1
A Feast of Souls #2
A Cast of Shadows #2.5
A Time of Dying #3
A Kiss of Venom #3.5
A Breath of Winter #4
A Veil of Secrets #5
Daughters of Askara
Everlong #1
Evermine #2
Eversworn #3
Wicked Kin
Soul Weaver #1