Burned by Darkness - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,2
sight of me.” Levet took a deep drink of his wine. “It seemed best to avoid Chicago for a few weeks.” He cleared his throat. “Or centuries.”
Tayla’s lips twitched. Although she found the tiny creature amusing, she knew there were other demons who weren’t quite so tolerant of his eccentric personality. Including the nearby wood sprite who’d threatened to neuter him if he caught Levet near his daughter again.
“And that’s when you decided to come here?”
“It is a lovely location,” he said, glancing toward the view of the lush countryside. “Of course I did not fully consider that it would be too remote to encourage drop-dead customers.”
Tayla blinked. Drop-dead? Zombies? Did they actually date? Oh…wait.
“Drop-in customers.”
“Oui, drop-in.” Setting aside his glass, Levet studied her with a sudden hint of curiosity. “It makes me wonder why you would choose such an isolated spot to open your teahouse.”
“I’m hardly isolated,” she pointed out, taking another drink. The wine was loosening the tension that had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember. “I have hundreds of customers who visit the shop.”
Levet clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Customers are not the same as family or friends.”
She shrugged. She’d never actually had a friend. Heck, she hadn’t had a real home until she’d bought this house. And even now her bags remained packed and located next to her bedroom door.
Being ready for a quick exit seemed like a good idea.
“They are to me.”
Levet blinked at her blunt honesty, then something that was perilously close to pity rippled over his ugly little face.
“And what about love?”
She stiffened. “Excuse me?”
Levet tilted his head to the side, rubbing one of his nubby horns.
“I can accept that you have made friends with several of your customers. Many of them are quite charming,” he said. “And I, better than anyone, comprehend a desire to avoid your family. They can be…”
“Difficult?” Tayla offered when his words trailed away.
“Homicidal.”
Ummm. Okay. Tayla regarded her companion with a newfound curiosity.
She’d thought her childhood had been shitty. At least her family hadn’t actually tried to kill her.
Was that what had drawn her to the little demon?
Had she sensed they were both wounded by their pasts?
“Yeah, families suck,” she muttered.
Levet reached across the table to brush a claw lightly over the back of her clenched hand.
“But such a young and beautiful woman should have a true mate who worships you.”
With a panicked surge, Tayla was on her feet. “No,” she breathed in horror.
Levet blinked in surprise. “Non?”
Tayla’s stomach cramped with fear. “The last thing I want is a mate.”
A long silence filled the room before her companion asked the obvious question.
“Why would you say such a thing?”
“Because it’s the truth.” She shivered, recalling a pair of amber eyes that had smoldered with cruel arrogance even as his touch had promised paradise. “Why would I want some arrogant, pig-headed, ill-mannered male thinking he owns me?”
The gray eyes widened. “Are you speaking of one arrogant, pig-headed, ill-mannered male in particular?”
Tayla hunched her shoulders. Damn that nectar. It was potent enough to make her say things that were better left unsaid.
“Not just one.” She tried to divert her companion’s sudden suspicion. “Males are all the same.”
The small demon hopped off the chair, regarding her with a lift of his heavy brows.
“Not all, ma belle.”
Oh. She grimaced. The nectar had not only loosened her tongue, it’d clearly stolen her manners.
“I don’t mean you, Levet. You’re completely unique,” she assured him. And she didn’t lump him in the same category as other males.
The gargoyle might occasionally make her a little nuts, but he was the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend.
“True,” he readily agreed. “I am quite rare. But there are males who are worthy. And I am just the demon to assist you in discovering one.”
“That’s very kind, but I have no need for a well-meaning cupid to be interfering in my life,” she swiftly assured her companion.
“Fah.” Levet’s wings quivered with outrage. “Cupid is a jack.”
“A jack?” She struggled to decipher the Levet-speak. “You mean a hack?”
“Oui. What kind of love expert would shoot his victims…ah, I mean his customers…with arrows?”
Tayla couldn’t halt her reluctant chuckle. He had a point. “They claim love is painful.”
The gargoyle snorted. “Ridiculous. It is a beautiful magic that fills the world with joy. Which is why I will be so successful. Magic is my greatest talent.”
Tayla didn’t actually know if the gargoyle was going to be a success or not. So far the fire sprite