was, she didn’t need that sort of sarcastic tone regarding doctrine and discipline of his at the moment.
With a sigh and a silent prayer for strength and resolve, Marc opened the closet door.
I’LL BE THERE IN TWENTY MINUTES.
Chapter 21
How the hell could so much sleep get crusted in the corner of his eyes when he’d barely caught a wink?
Dee swigged the last bitter drops of coffee as he sat at his desk. Behind him, Suzette gathered up the files of the new members in preparation for his weekly review. A curious look overcame her features when he requested the stack; Dee generally did his review on weekends when she wasn’t there. Still, she wasn’t about to tell him no. Especially not since he paid her so well for the relatively small amount of work he asked of her.
He needed a pen, but the items on his desk were playing an impromptu round of hide-and-seek with all writing utensils. As the demigod shoved invoices and old envelopes left and right, a small pixel of blonde hair from the bottom of the pile caught his eye. There was no mistaking what it was; he just didn’t think he had any more copies of that picture lying about.
Her grey eyes were just as beautiful as he remembered. How often he used to whisper to her that he could see his purpose in those languid orbs of hers. Clare had been more than just a Pure Soul, she had been the most beautiful woman, both inside and out, that he had ever had the honor to hold. He would have loved her even if she hadn’t been a kickass witch, or if she’d been as ugly as a polecat, or if she hadn’t had that enduring refusal to take any of his goading. She had just the right dose of attitude balanced by enduring compassion. The perfect woman, as his father was fond of saying, was a gazelle during the day and a tiger in the night. As much as Dee hated his father’s objectification of the fairer sex, he’d hit the nail on the head with that one. Clare made his heart melt and his head spin. She loved him too much for her own good. Perhaps if she’d been a little less self-sacrificing, cared for him a smidgen less than she had, maybe she’d still be alive. Dee had yet to find a way not to blame her death ultimately on himself, no matter what the others told him at the time.
“Pretty girl,” Suzette eyed the photo as she set the files down in front of her employer. Dee held it up for her to examine closer; her interest was obvious and sincere. “Old girlfriend?”
“Something like that,” he admitted dryly. “Wife, actually.”
Suzette, whose curves, while a little worn by life, could still turn a straight man’s eye, play-slapped Dee’s shoulder. “Get out! I didn’t know you were married!”
“Not anymore.” With an exhale, he let his hand lower. He pulled out a desk drawer and let the photo fall unceremoniously before gently pushing it shut. “She passed away.”
“Oh, Mr. Zitka! Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I… I didn’t know.”
Dee reached up to Suzette’s trembling hands and pulled them away from her gaping mouth. “It’s okay, Suze. I don’t talk about her much. It still hurts once in a while.”
Which was a lie. It hurt every day.
“I loved her, but she’s been gone for a long time.”
“But you miss her.”
He nodded as he presently pulled the blonde gently into his lap. “Of course.”
“Mr. Zitka, if I can ever, ever do anything to…”
He knew he was just dulling the ache, but Suzette wasn’t exactly in the habit of refusing an occasional dalliance when he needed comfort. He never pressured her; their first time had been born of her initiation. A single mom, she was dedicated to raising her teenage son, and was doing a damned fine job of it, too. She didn’t want the complication of a relationship. She and Dee had an unofficial arrangement. Every so often, he let her find a temporary solace in his arms. No strings attached, and no loss to their friendship.
He’d given Suzette a key to his upstairs apartment, both for matters of business and as a means of access. As sadness grabbed him, he felt drawn to that lonesome and waiting bed. He wanted to pass a few minutes in taking this fine woman there and letting her touch paradise as he brought her body to the