Blaze (Dark in You 2)

“Before Harper, your demon was lonely and could fixate on a female, but it quickly got bored with every one of them because it was the challenge the demon really liked. Even though you warned the females in advance that it would happen and the fling would be short-lived, they were still extremely pissed when you walked away so soon. But as long as you continued living your life that way, never committing to anyone, it was something they could accept – though it was often done begrudgingly and with a little drama thrown in.”

A “little drama” was somewhat of an understatement.

“Now you’ve claimed a female as your mate, and they’re wondering what she has that they don’t. Harper isn’t from a high-class family, she doesn’t have a well-paid job, she wasn’t born into a large or powerful lair, and – to top it all off – she’s a Wallis. That you’ve chosen a female they believe is beneath them is something they feel insulted by and can’t quite wrap their heads around.”

“Harper isn’t beneath them.” It infuriated Knox that anyone could think differently.

“Not to us, no,” said Levi. “Honestly, I don’t think other breeds of demon truly look down on imps. I think they’re wary of them. Imps are scary in their own way. They’re cunning and daring and they can’t be controlled. Nobody ever knows how an imp will retaliate; they just know that they will and that it won’t be subtle. They’re wild cards. Jolene is the ultimate wild card. That woman drives even the Devil himself insane.”

According to Harper, Jolene had once fed Lucifer some drugged cookies; he’d later stripped down to his boxers and did a rendition of “Baby Got Back”.

“The point I’m making is that they see Harper as beneath them, but they’re also intimidated by her,” said Levi. “That elusive, aloof ‘I’m not interested and have better things to do with my time than talk to you’ air… it’s like she brushes people off before they’ve even spoken to her – which I find hilarious.”

So did Knox and his demon.

“It’s hard to approach someone like that. It’s hard to offend someone who simply doesn’t care what you think. And it’s hard to manipulate a person who you can’t understand. She’s not driven by power, greed, addictions, or the need for an adrenalin rush. They don’t get it, and they don’t like that they don’t get it. Nor do they like that she doesn’t care that they exist. They want her to be darkly jealous that they ‘had’ you before she did. It will make them feel better.”

“Even if Harper did feel any jealousy, she’d never let them see it.”

“Which infuriates them.” Levi paused as he shifted gears. “It’s a good thing that you rarely got involved with females from our lair. It means she doesn’t have to deal with bullshit from her own people. The few you were involved with are now mated and happily settled.” And once a demon fully committed themselves to someone, they had no interest in others.

Glancing out of the window, Knox saw that they were almost at the studio. Just like that, his demon’s agitation began to ease away. It had been in a bad mood all day, pissed that Crow had managed to evade the Force. Oh, the members of his Force had tracked down the cab quick enough, only to realize they had been following the wrong vehicle. There were just so many cabs around that Crow had found it simple enough to blend in and disappear.

The demon had wanted Harper; wanted to reach out to her telepathically and hear her voice. That alone would have helped both Knox and his demon calm, but Knox had resisted the urge. He hadn’t wanted to spoil her day with talk of Crow; he’d decided he would tell her face-to-face later on. Then he’d heard from Tanner that fucking Alethea had confronted Harper and the news had only served to enrage him further. He’d briefly reached out to her, wanting to be sure she was fine. That small conversation had cooled his demon’s anger a little, but not enough.

As Levi came to a stop outside the studio, he asked, “What are you going to do about Alethea?”

“That depends on Harper,” said Knox. “She’s been adamant since the beginning that it’s important for her to fight her own battles. I don’t like it. But I also know that Alethea is the type of person who finds bad attention better than no attention.”

“So if you call Alethea and threaten her, a part of her will get a kick out of it.”

“Exactly.” And Knox had no urge to please that she-demon in any way. Tanner, you can leave now. Harper’s coming with me.

Sliding out of the Bentley, Knox frowned under the weight of the dry heat. As the hellhound drove away, he pushed open the door of the studio and stepped into the air-conditioned building. He was instantly surrounded by the scents of paint, ink, coffee, and disinfectant. The receipt machine whirred as it printed a receipt for the human female standing at the desk, probing a bandage that was taped on her upper arm. Khloë gave Knox a brief salute, to which he nodded before turning his attention to his mate.

As if sensing him on some level, Harper paused over the tattoo she was working on and looked up. She smiled. “Hey, what brings you here?”

Crossing the space, he kissed her, and the stress of the day fell away. “I’ve come to take you to dinner.”

Her smile widened. “Really?”

“Yes. How long will you be?”

“I’m almost done here. Then I just have to clean up. Wait in the car with Levi if you want.”