Leona crossed her arms over her chest and arched a perfect brow. "So, you do have it?"

Her insistency for the book matched his stubbornness to keep what was his. After all, her mother had given it up, so it was no longer hers. Why did she really call him? Was she trying to connect the book to the lost souls…and the lost souls to him? She didn’t trust him anyway and had even accused him of being a soul-stealer. "Yes, I have the book. If it’s the souls you are looking for, I couldn’t save them…or that of your mother. That demon died in a fire and carried them with him."

She cringed and shook her head.

"Tell me why you want it back." He had a feeling the reasons were more than keeping the knowledge away from demons.

"There are secrets that you should’ve never learned."

"Because I’m demon?" His father had told him that he would never fit in on Earth, despite his half-human blood. Humans were taught to fear their kind.

"That’s the main reason."

Would he be able to drag the others out of her? How could he explain to a witch that he had thought long and hard many times about bartering for his soul with her book? "Why is it so important to you if your mother gave it up?"

Leona stiffened, but drew in a deep breath before she answered. "She was possessed…not in the right state of mind when the demon lured her to hand it over. We know she made a terrible mistake."

"A terrible mistake, huh?" Carrick couldn’t read the language, but he had a hunch that the secrets it kept were important to Leona. What would’ve happened to her and her coven if he’d traded in her book? "You’ve managed without the book for several decades. This would imply that you or members of your coven know everything by heart. Why was this knowledge even written?"

"Demon, you ask too many questions!" She jumped up, rushed towards him, and tried to snatch his bag.

He grabbed her wrists, before her hands could reach his satchel, and clutched her to his chest. Blood rushed through his veins, quickening his pulse. No one touched his bag.

Curtains fluttered and whipped about as witch fury and demon intensity clashed. Chairs and furniture rattled against the floorboards. The crystal balls seated on the coffee table swirled with their magic and grew black. Candles went out and the scent of burnt wick fogged the room.

Carrick leaned in to bury his nose into her sweet-smelling hair. His face brushed against her soft cheeks, and she stiffened in his arms. Once her body relaxed, he released her wrists and snaked an arm around her waist.

Her chest pressed against his and her heart pounded with his own. With no desire to move away, he continued to absorb her scent. A shield of energy pushed at him. He recalled the summoner's circle and her powers. It would take more than a witch’s spell to run him off. Little did she know, her powers were like a magnet to him. Leona was living proof that one so different from other humans could still live in the real world among them. "I feel your power, Leona. Your energy could cause much damage. Do you use this for anything else other than destruction?"

Her eyes gleamed with anger as she struggled to break his hold. "I am not a witch of destruction. If it weren’t for you demons running amok, I might be able to devote all my time to healing."

"When was the last time you had a lover?" Carrick traced the soft outline of her jaw and paused to stroke the small cleft in her chin. She was so perfect and her floral perfume enchanted him. He couldn't get enough of her smell. Stroking the delicate curvature of her neck and collarbone, the pulse in her vein sped up under his fingertips. His hardened cock pressed against her belly. "When was the last time you used your energy to please yourself?"


Her eyelashes swept her cheeks as her body became pliant in his arms. "I…I don’t know."

Carrick wanted to give her what her body obviously desired. He understood her ache because he’d known the same for all of his life. His own urges consumed him and he needed… "You need release. That’s your problem, isn’t it?"

Leona parted her lips, but nothing came out. He licked his own, anticipating the taste of her.

"Well, I’d very much like to help you with the solution. Wouldn’t you enjoy that?"

Lust-filled eyes opened to meet his, but not before he spotted the flicker of doubt in them. Her opposition didn’t surprise him. After all, he’d known conflict all his life. He started to release her, but to his surprise, she took his hand and wrapped it around her waist.