Demons Like It Hot (22 page)

Daniel shrugged. “I wish I could take claim for it, but it was all my producer’s doing. She’s the mastermind behind the show.”

“Well, your secret is safe with me.” Serah winked. “By the way, the show would tank with anyone else but you.”

“Whew. Thank goodness. I value being employed, especially in this economy.” He reached to grab the door handle. “And thank you for swelling my already ballooning ego.”

The door swung open. Daniel fell forward, catching himself on the ledge. The coffee teetered in his hand. “Whoa!”

Matthias stood in the doorway, arms crossed and gaze narrowed. He lunged forward and grabbed the tray of coffee before it fell to the ground.

Oh
shit. This wasn’t going to be pretty
.

Daniel blew out a huge breath of air. “Wow! Good catch, man.”

With a gruff snort, Matthias continued to stand there, blocking the entrance. “We need to talk, Serah.” He turned his gaze to Daniel and offered another gruff snort. “What’s he doing here already?”

Apparently Matthias had done his research. Sadly for Matthias, that research wouldn’t get him very far. She’d already gone down that road herself. Checked out his biography, looked up his picture, scanned the Internet film database to see everything he’d starred in. But no, she wasn’t obsessed. She just wanted to have something to discuss with him.

Daniel was the spokesman for boys next door all over the world. He was smart, somewhat funny, and generous to boot. He even sponsored a community center in the neighborhood he grew up in and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities all over the Chicago area. Oddly enough, she wasn’t as attracted to him as much as she thought she’d be.

Maybe that gaydar worked after all. And here Lucy had said it was perpetually broken.

“Is it a crime to be early for an appointment?” Serah asked.

Daniel scratched his forehead. “The file said you only had one employee and a cat that thinks he’s the boss.”

Serah shrugged. “He’s… umm… an outside investor.”

“Uhh. Okay.” Without further invitation, Daniel stepped into the building. He extended his hand to Matthias. “Daniel Blackburn. Nice to meet you.”

Matthias took his hand and crunched his fingers around Daniel’s and shook. “Matthias Ambrose.”

“That’s a powerful grip you’ve got there, dude.” Daniel rubbed his fingers then gave Matthias a friendly pat on the back.

Matthias took a sharp breath. “I work out.”

“No supplements at all?”

Serah managed to control the snort that threatened to erupt. Supplements? If Daniel only knew. He’d want nothing to do with those types of supplements.

Matthias simply shook his head and his nostrils flared. “No. I don’t need supplements.”

Daniel stepped back. “No need to get defensive. But I seriously want that workout, dude. Need to work on my upper body strength.” Daniel flexed and grabbed a bicep.

“Looks fine to me,” Matthias muttered. “I don’t think you could handle my workout, anyway. It has killed bigger men.”

Serah thanked the higher power that she was not sipping coffee, because she would have coughed and choked on it. What a way to state the obvious in a totally casual and nonchalant way—
not
.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Awkward.”

Shrugging, Matthias moved back and allowed Daniel through the hallway. “I value my
investments
. I want to make sure they stay safe and secure.”

Was Matthias trying to deliberately sabotage her audition? He did say he would keep her safe by any means possible. Did making her look like a fool in front of a celebrity fall in those realms? Seeing how some of these demons operated, it wouldn’t surprise her one bit.

Even Rafe wasn’t above a little trickery if it kept Lucy safe. But Rafe had good reason. This man… well, who knew what his reasons were.

“Matthias, why don’t you go back to the office and check up on your other investments or look at your stock portfolio or whatever you investors do. I need to show Daniel around the kitchen.”

“It’s Sunday. The stock market is closed.”

Damn, too smart for his own good. She’d never get anything done with him hovering so close. Just having him standing two feet from her sent her senses flying off the radar. She gritted her teeth and sucked in a long breath of air.

“Did I come at a bad time?”

“No!” they both answered in unison.

Bemusement filled the TV star’s face. “All righty then.” He clasped both hands in front of him and paced back and forth with a nervous gait.

“Matt is a grouch when he doesn’t get his coffee,” She nudged Matthias in the side. “Right, Matt?” She plucked the humongous-size coffee he had ordered and held it out to him. “Toffee Temptation with an added sugar buzz and subsequent caffeine and energy overload, right?”

Daniel’s eyes widened with excitement. “Wow, just how I like it. Dude, you are the man.”

Matthias yanked the coffee from her, a little sloshing out of the lid and down the side.

“Ouch,” she yelped, yanking back her hand.

Matthias’s expression morphed from frustration to horror. He reached out and grabbed her hand. “Did I burn you?” There was no masking the concern in his voice. His fingertips roved up and down her palm, sending sparks of electricity through each nerve and fiber in her body. Despite the gentleness, a path of fire followed his fingertips. To say she was hot was a major understatement.

Oh, he burned her all right. Anytime he touched her. A deep, burning inferno that not even a long sip of water could cure. She sucked in a long breath and managed to shake her head no.

“As much milk and whipped cream as the barista added, the contents were not as hot as expected.”

But his touch was hotter, probably worse than molten lava bubbling beneath the Earth’s surface. Unfortunately, the only relief she could think of was completely out of the question.

“Outside investor, eh?” Daniel slung himself into one of chairs surrounding the makeshift dining room. He stretched out his denim-clad legs and slid his hands into his back pockets. “How much of an investment are we talking about?”

Serah drew her lips straight and steepled her fingers. “Enough that he has a say, unfortunately. He wasn’t too happy with my decision to apply as a guest.”

“Nine out of ten people who’ve been guests on my show saw a profit increase of around fifty percent.” Daniel angled a grin that would make a salesperson jealous. “Your investment just got bigger.”

This man was good. Matthias took a sip of his coffee. Was it so wrong to enjoy some of the same things humans did? After all, it allowed him to blend in. The essence of dark espresso, toffee, and cream rolled across his tongue. Sweet, but not as sweet as Serah’s lips. Not now! He quickly gathered his thoughts.

“What about the tenth?”

“Can’t please them all.” Daniel shuddered.

“That bad?”

“Was that the ‘Diner Diva’ episode?” Serah clenched her teeth and grimaced. “Good God. How did you manage to keep your cool?”

Daniel smirked. “A lot of wine.”

“I must have missed that episode.” Matthias felt completely out of place and out of his element. This man could cook flaming bowls of cherries; he, on the other hand, only managed to burn down Serah’s kitchen. He and Serah were nothing alike. He glanced at Serah and Daniel, sitting at the table chatting and giggling about different episodes. They, on the other hand, were like two peas in a pod.

“Well, I need to call the producer and check in.” Daniel reached over and took Serah’s hand in his. “If that’s okay with you, Serah.”

Daniel called her by her first name already? Matthias gritted his teeth. He should feel happy that Daniel and she were hitting it off so well. Instead, he felt empty and alone. He’d been alone for centuries. Why all of the sudden now?

“Don’t let me keep you,” she said, a smile brushing across her lips. She let her fingertips linger with Daniel’s a little longer than he liked. “I need to speak with Matthias about some issues.”

“No problem.”

Serah pulled her seat back to stand up.

Quicker than most humans, Daniel burst from his chair and allowed Serah his arm. Great, he could add gentleman to the ever growing list of Daniel’s charms.

“Wow! How polite.”

“I was taught well, huh?”

Serah blushed. “You sure were.”

Matthias clenched his fists. Frustration pounded its way through his body. He wasn’t sure what frustrated him most, the fact that Serah filled him with emotions he had no business feeling, or the fact that she and Daniel were hitting it off so well. Too well.

“Will do.” Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out an iPhone. “Can I use your office to make a call?”

“Sure, just through the door there.” She pointed to the office in the far corner.

“Be right back.” Daniel swiped and pushed some icons on the screen. With that, he strode toward the office.

Matthias grabbed Serah’s shoulder and pulled her to the side. “I need to do some recon.”

“What?”

“Surveillance.”

“You are going to try and listen in on his conversation? Seriously?”

“Seriously. I don’t trust him.”

“From what I can tell, you don’t trust many people.”

“A good procedure to follow.”

“How can I trust you then?”

Leave it to Serah to emphasize a good point. “Just remember this: I have a duty to the Fore-Demons. I will not fail them.”

Serah’s lips curved down slightly. “I see.”

Matthias bit his tongue. He couldn’t get close. No matter how hard it hurt. She was safer with someone else. Someone who had purpose. He was still trying to find his.

“I’m going to see if I can hear anything.” He left no room for her to refuse. He marched toward the office and crouched low, pressing his ear against the door.

Just a few words to better understand Daniel’s interest in Serah’s shop. He pressed closer. He silently thanked whatever deity that decided to bless—or curse—him with extremely acute hearing.

“Hey, Sally.” Daniel’s voice lacked urgency. Matthias growled. So far, not so good. He pressed his ear closer to the door.

“I’m here at Tasteful Elegance. Pretty good, so far. Miss SanGermano is pleasant. Her investor—not so much.”

“I don’t know. Was there anything about him on the application? Well… He doesn’t look like the businessman type. Kind of weird but he looks like he’d be more comfortable on
American
Gladiators
than a cooking show.” There was a brief pause. “His name? Umm… Matt… No… Matthew? Wait… It’s Matthias. Yeah, that’s it. Matthias Ambrose.” He chuckled. “Kind of a stuffy name, if you ask me.”

Stuffy? Hah. Humans these days preferred silly names like Taylor, Peyton, and Jordan. They sounded more like surnames, not first names.

Daniel cleared his throat. “I don’t think they’ll go for that.” There was another short pause and he blew out a breath. “I can try. Other than that, everything looks good. I’ll call you in a couple hours.”

Did that mean Serah got the show? Or was there more going on? Why wasn’t the producer here too? Something was off. But he’d seen some of the videos and the website.
American
Chef
appeared legit.

The sensual aroma of orchids tingled at his senses. He looked up. Serah stood over him, annoyance clouding her expression. “So you have subsonic hearing too?”

“Something like that.”

Serah’s breath hitched. “That’s nice. Remind me to keep my mouth shut while you’re here.”

Matthias clenched his fists. “I can’t listen in on you, Serah.”

“Yeah, right. Tell that to the door you mutilated.”

“You yelled my name. That is the only thing I heard. It sounded urgent. I couldn’t travel inside, so I used force instead.”

Serah shrugged, but something mysterious flashed in her gaze. “Ever heard of knocking?”

“I’m not making excuses, Serah. I sensed danger and I reacted as I was trained.”

“Whatever.” She leaned over and peeked through the window. She scooted him with her foot. “Better get up. He’s making his way to the door.”

Matthias lunged up to his feet, grabbed Serah by the waist and took her toward the sink. “How long would he be here for?”

“So you approve?”

Matthias shrugged. “I didn’t pick up enough of the conversation to target him a threat. He seems harmless—for now.”

“And he didn’t smell like Infernati either, right?”

“You already knew that, didn’t you?”

Serah slumped against the sink and raked a hand through her curls. Grabbing the side of the counter, she blew out a long breath. “You just don’t understand. I just want a normal life—demon-free.” She snorted. “Well, free of demons I don’t already know, anyway.”

He understood more than she realized. He’d felt the same way when he’d lost his life and turned into a monster. He hated himself. He wanted to die. But as years turned into centuries, he’d learned that normalcy was just a fantasy.