Jenna Black - The Devil Inside

He did, but he didn’t lose that intimate look in his eyes. “I think you’re in trouble. And I think you need help. And I think you’re too stubborn to ask for it.”

I figured he was right on one and three, but the jury was still out on two. And if it did turn out I needed help, Adam wouldn’t be the one I’d turn to.

“It’s very nice of you to try to rescue the damsel in distress,” I told him. I tried not to be overly sarcastic, but I think I failed because he lost the bedroom eyes, or whatever it was he’d been giving me. “I’m a big girl, and I can take care of myself just fine.”

The look he gave me then wasn’t quite so friendly. “We’ll see.” He pushed his chair back from the table and grabbed the handcuffs. I wasn’t stupid enough to resist, so I passively held out my wrists to him while trying to read the look on his face.

“You know, Adam, that sounded suspiciously like a threat.”

The cuffs closed around my wrists. He met my eyes for a moment, and I couldn’t read a thing. He’d wiped his face clean of all expression. That blankness disturbed me more than anything else I could have seen, and I dropped my gaze.

He left without another word, and the guards took me back to my cell.

When I woke up in that blinding white room again, I was kind of shocked. I hadn’t thought I’d sleep a wink in that jail cell. It wasn’t exactly the Hilton, and I wasn’t what you’d call relaxed.

I blinked a couple of times, and Lugh was standing in front of me. He’d ditched the bomber jacket and wore a skintight black T-shirt instead. The rest of the outfit looked about the same as last time. The clingy shirt showed off a broad, powerful chest tapering into a lean waist that I’d bet anything featured a six-pack in the ab area.

I considered throwing a temper tantrum because this was so not what I needed right now. If I was actually getting some real, honest-to-God sleep, I wanted it to be peaceful like it’s supposed to be. I didn’t want to have a chat with my own personal demon.

I put my hands on my hips and glanced around the empty white room. Then I faced Lugh again.

“Love what you’ve done with the place,” I said, faking a nonchalance I certainly didn’t feel.

He smiled, showing movie-star white teeth. I’m pretty sure smiles like that are against the law in some states. My dream-self got a severe case of jelly-knees, and I had to look away.

“I thought I’d focus on the important things first,” he said.

That got me to raise my eyes back to his. “You mean like yourself?”

The smile widened. I was so glad I amused him. “Yes, I suppose I do. But I think I’m getting better at this, so I’ll try for a little more flourish.”

A sofa, coffee table, and love seat appeared out of nowhere. The sofa and love seat had spare lines and bland, cream-colored upholstery, and the coffee table was a piece of unvarnished lumber on legs. I’d have said I wasn’t impressed, but I can’t make furniture appear out of thin air.

“Shall we have a seat?” Lugh asked, gesturing to the couch.

I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t like the idea that I might be here long enough to sit down for a cozy chat.

“Sorry, can’t stay,” I said. “I’ve got a bail hearing in the morning, you know.”

He nodded gravely. His hair was unbound today, and I found myself admiring the blue-black shine of it. I rolled my eyes at myself the moment I noticed myself noticing.

“I know about your troubles, Morgan. I may not be able to control you, but I am still with you at all times.”

My dirty little mind conjured up pictures of rolling around in bed with Brian. Had Lugh been a conscious passenger through all that? My cheeks heated and I wished I’d wake up right this moment.

“Please don’t fight me now,” Lugh said, interrupting my spiral into humiliation. “We need to talk, don’t you think?”

I forced away the image of giving Brian a blow job while Lugh rode along. It wasn’t easy, and I had a feeling I’d go back to it later. But Lugh was right, and we needed to talk.

Reluctantly, I dragged my feet toward the sofa and sat down on the middle seat, taking up as much room as I could. I might be willing to talk to Lugh, but I didn’t want him sitting on the same couch as me.

My first thought was that he moved with the grace of a dancer as he strode to the love seat. But that image was all wrong for someone who practically radiated danger, so I amended the mental image to one of a martial artist. That worked better. He folded himself into the love seat, stretching long legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankles. His skin looked almost golden against the creamy fabric, and his long, silky hair was raven’s-wing black. I reminded myself of nice, wholesome Brian and told my hormones to get a life.

I leaned back against the sofa cushions, affecting a casual pose, though I was uncomfortable on so many levels I couldn’t count them. “You wanted to talk,” I said in my blandest voice. “So talk.”

For the first time, a hint of uncertainty crept into his expression. He licked his lips like he was nervous. My hormones suddenly noticed how full and sensual his lower lip was. I pulled back the reins and tried to focus.

I didn’t have the patience to wait for him to decide what to say, so I decided to hurry him along.

“Tell me again why you decided to move in uninvited.”

His eyes narrowed. “I was not uninvited. You were not in your right mind when you spoke the invitation, but you did speak it. What’s more, you invited me in particular, not just any demon. And you invited me in such a way that I could not refuse the call. Believe me, Morgan, this is not where I wish to be.”

Glad to know I was such a wonderful prize. “So what you’re saying is that you were forced to possess me. I’ve never heard of such a thing.” The subtext was I don’t believe a word of it, but though I didn’t actually say it, I could see in his eyes that he understood.

“It’s not something that is supposed to happen,” Lugh said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. “It requires the host to summon me by my True Name, which is known to only my closest family.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So Lugh isn’t your real name?”

His smile was somehow softer this time, but my hormones liked it just as much as his other smiles. “It is my real name, but not my True Name. A True Name has power, and a great deal of ceremonial significance. Not everyone has earned one, but for those who have, it is their most closely guarded secret.”

I salted that little tidbit away for later digestion. There were more important questions before me right now. “So you claim someone called you by name and forced you to possess me against my will. Why the hell would anyone do that?”

The smile disappeared as if it had never existed. The lines of his face seemed to harden and sharpen as I watched, and his eyes glowed brighter. I was guessing this was anger, and it scared the crap out of me. I swallowed hard and pressed myself deeper into the sofa cushions, thinking now might be a good time to wake the hell up.

Lugh saw my reaction and visibly calmed himself. When he spoke, his voice was mild, though the glow in his eyes hadn’t diminished.

“It isn’t you I’m angry with,” he said. “It’s…whoever’s done this.”

That slight hesitation made me think he knew exactly who had done it, but I didn’t want to piss him off by insisting he tell me. I didn’t know if he could actually harm me, but I didn’t want to find out.

“As I told you before, I am a reformer among my people,” he continued. “Reformers are often unpopular. I believe I was called to you to silence me. Which means someone close to me betrayed me by telling my True Name, and which may also mean that someone knew you’d be able to suppress me.”