Wicked Pleasure (6 page)

“You poked around in my closet and drawers?” Messenger of Bast or not, enough was enough. “And how'd you get into my room? I locked the door last night.”

Asima did the equivalent of a cat shrug.
“I unlocked it and walked in. When you have goddess connections, you can do things like that. Now can we talk about perhaps adding a small theater to the castle? Nothing fancy, just an intimate area where we could hold the occasional cultural event—
Swan Lake
, or maybe
The Taming of the Shrew
.”

“No.”

Asima blinked.
“No?”

Obviously those with goddess connections weren't used to the word
no.
“I'm not talking about anything until I've had my coffee, eaten breakfast, and taken a shower, in that order. Then I'll put on my tacky undies and something totally uncool from my closet. Finally I'll take a long walk to see if I can get my head on straight.” Kim pointed to the door. “You may leave now.” She didn't know how much longer she could hold it all together. First feeling someone else's emotions and now listening to a cat in her head. And in between the two, she'd met a few people who seemed just a tiny bit off.

Asima twitched her tail, plainly irritated.
“Well, I suppose I should give you some time to settle in.”
She glanced down at Fo.
“And please do something with those eyes. Purple makes me shudder. Silver or gold would project a more stylish image. Perception is everything, my tiny demon destroyer.”

Fo narrowed her eyes slightly. “My name is Fo, and I like my eyes.”

Asima yawned.
“Whatever.”
She leaped from the night table, padded to the door, stared at it, and when it swung open, she left with her tail waving serenely in the air.

Kim closed her eyes for the moment of blessed silence she knew would be all too short.

“Kimmie?” Fo sounded hesitant. “I heard her in my head.”

In my head.
More and more Fo was attributing human characteristics to herself. Kim didn't have the heart to correct her.

“Yeah. Me, too.” Kim rubbed the middle of her forehead where a headache was trying to form. Then she opened her eyes. “Let's not talk about Asima now.” She called room service for breakfast and a whole pot of coffee. Then she crawled out of bed to begin the rest of this really terrific day.

Kim wasn't looking forward to the moment when Fo found out she wasn't going with Kim today.

 

Brynn reached the top step and paused. He'd purposely taken the stairs instead of the elevator so he'd have more time to think over the pros and cons of what he was about to do—knock on Kim Vaughn's door.

It would be a
good
thing to get a closer look at that cell phone. If it was a fake, fine. If it was the real deal, he'd have to decide what to do about that.

It would be a
bad
thing to purposely initiate contact with the enemy. And women
were
his enemies, to be treated with suspicion and avoided whenever possible.

Each floor of the towers only had two rooms, so he didn't have to search far to find Kim's. He strode to her door and smiled grimly as he noted that she was in the Wicked Pleasure room. A fitting description of what he brought to the sexual table. Brynn hesitated before knocking. He could still walk away.

The sound of angry screaming from inside the room caught him by surprise.

“You can't leave me here, Kimmie. It's against the rules. I'll tell your dad. I'll tell Lynsay. I'll tell—”

The screams belonged to Kim's cell phone. He couldn't hear Kim's response.

“I can't help it if everyone in this castle is a demon. I'm supposed to tell you when I find one. You can't leave me here all day. Who am I supposed to talk to, the plants?”

Again he couldn't hear how Kim countered that argument.

“It's dangerous out there. If a demon knows you don't have me with you, it'll kill you. Then you'll be sorry.” The phone seemed to get a lot of satisfaction from that thought.

Kim evidently had an answer for that argument, too.

“Pleasepleaseplease take me with you, Kimmie. I won't say one word. Even if I sense demons closing in on all sides, I'll just vibrate. Very hard. Maybe I'll just whisper the word ‘demon.' Very softly.”

Kim finally raised her voice. “No. Ever since we hit Galveston, you've accused everyone we met of being a demon. What're the chances, huh? You're embarrassing me, Fo.”

“But they
were
demons.” Fo's voice slid easily from emotion to emotion. She was now trying on her petulant little girl voice for size. It seemed that even female machines were adept at manipulation.

Brynn was fascinated—by Fo and by Kim. He couldn't remember the last time a woman had dredged up any interest in him at all, let alone fascination. It wouldn't last, but he'd ride the wave until it died on the beach.

“The little ladies are having quite a dustup in there, aren't they?” The voice spun Brynn around.

The man was tall with brown hair, brown eyes, and a wide smile. Brynn smiled back even as he touched the man's mind. Force of habit. His smile faded.

The man's smile turned mocking. “Yeah, I'm a demon. I could've told you that and saved you the trouble of rooting around in my mind.” He held up his hand to keep Brynn from interrupting. “I'm a eudemon, one of the good guys.” His expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe good guys is going too far. Eudemons don't give a crap about humans. We just want to be left alone to do our own thing.”

His expression cleared. “Don't sense any cacodemons around. Those are the ones the Vaughn woman and her demon detector are hunting.” Bitterness crept into his voice. “Not that any of the Vaughns ever stop long enough to realize there's a difference. Their motto is, ‘Kill them all.' Oh, and I'm Wade Thomas.”

“Brynn McNair. My brothers and I help run the castle. The Vaughn family? Sounds like you know them.”
And why don't you sense I'm a demon like you?
“Bad luck that you have a room right across from a Vaughn.”

Wade laughed. “I don't believe in coincidences, but I'll investigate that later. No problem, though. That's one crazy demon detector. Someone must've dropped it once too often, because it thinks everyone's a demon. Ms. Demon Hunter won't have a clue who is and who isn't one. It's all good.”

“How'd you find out so much about your neighbor?” Talk about bad luck. A demon hunter right across from a demon. A hotel's reservation nightmare. It had to be a coincidence.

“I did some snooping. It pays to know who's nearby.” Thoughts of the Vaughn family seemed to drain his good humor. “The freakin' Vaughn family has been a pain in the butt for centuries. There're hundreds of them. They get their kicks from destroying, and some of them aren't too selective about what they kill.”

“But the detectors only destroy demons, right?” Brynn wasn't afraid for himself. He'd learned centuries ago that fear didn't make anything better. Besides, there were things worse than fear. But he had to make sure both humans and nonhumans in the castle were safe.

Wade shrugged. “Some of the old-timers don't trust the detectors and go with their gut feelings. They carry their swords with them to lop off heads. Must think we're damned vampires.”

Brynn followed the logic path. “But if the demon's possessing a human body, they'll destroy the host, too.”

“Doesn't matter to them.” His smile returned. “I don't think the little lady in there is one of the fanatics. But watch out for the loose cannons in that family.”

“Yeah, I'll do that.” Brynn tried to gather his scattered thoughts. The Vaughn family sounded like scary people. “So what brings you to the Castle of Dark Dreams?”

“What am I doing here? I'm staying in a cool castle with a Gulf view while I get ready for my next fishing tournament. Bay fishing. Trailered my boat in from Louisiana. Love to fish. Do any fishing yourself?” Wade looked eager for some male bonding.

“A little. But it's more of an excuse to be alone. No one's going to walk out to talk to you in the middle of a lake.” A demon who entered fishing tournaments. A first as far as Brynn knew.

“Any excuse is a good excuse to go fishing.” He slapped Brynn on the shoulder. “I'm on my way down to breakfast. I'll be here for a week, so if you feel the need to get away and don't mind country music, give a shout.” He started toward the elevator but stopped and turned around. “I can't make you, man. You're not human, but damned if I can figure out where you belong.” He shrugged. “Guess that's none of my business.” Then he stepped into the elevator, and the doors closed.

I don't belong anywhere
. No, that wasn't true anymore. For the first time in five hundred years he had some real friends, so he belonged right here in the castle. And no woman like Liz or the hundreds of others who'd taken what they'd wanted from his body would drive him away.

He'd confront Kim with what he knew about Fo and her. This was his home, and no one would make him cower or hide in it. Brynn knocked on her door.

Silence fell inside the room, and then Kim pulled open the door. He slid his gaze the length of her body, taking in the boots, brown pants, and cream-colored top. She was studying him with the unblinking, wide-eyed stare he'd seen on women's faces down through the centuries. They loved the shiny wrapping paper, but they'd hate the ugly gift that passed for his heart locked inside the box. Lucky for them, they never got that far.

“I'm walking over to the candy store. Thought you might want to go with me. I could answer any questions you have, and you might even be able to answer a few of mine.” He smiled at her. Brynn didn't use his smile too often, because women liked to see him smile. That was reason enough to wear a perpetual scowl. But he wanted something from Kim, so he smiled.

“Candy store?” She blinked. “Oh, sure. Sounds like fun. Let me get my jacket, and I'll be right with you.”

She turned away. Probably thought he'd wait outside the door. He didn't. Brynn followed her into the room and stopped beside the bureau where Fo lay open, her purple eyes narrowed with temper. “Not taking Fo?”

Kim spun around with her leather jacket in her hand. “Why are you in my room? And are you talking about my phone?”

Time to play hardball. “Let's cut the it's-a-cell-phone story. I was standing outside your door. Fo isn't a quiet little being.” He ignored her question about why he was in her room.

He had to give her credit. Once she realized she wouldn't be able to lie her way out of this one, she didn't go all sullen on him.

Instead, she flung her jacket over a chair and sat down. “What do you want to know, and how will what I tell you impact this job?”

Brynn almost smiled. She'd sure gotten over her wide-eyed reaction to him fast. Her gaze was now direct and cold. He didn't smile. “I know Fo is some kind of combination demon detector and destroyer. And I know demon destroying is a family business. What you tell me here stays here. The owner won't find out.” Okay, so he was lying. But considering what he was, lying was almost a positive character trait. He wouldn't tell the owner because he didn't know who the damned owner was, but he'd tell Eric and Conall. He wouldn't have to tell Holgarth, because Holgarth probably already knew.

A small smile played at the corners of her sexy mouth. He slipped into her mind. She didn't think he'd believe her story, thereby saving her butt. Her small, perfectly rounded, and made-to-be-kneaded butt.

Made-to-be-kneaded butt?
Where had that come from? When he wasn't under the compulsion, Brynn could objectively admire a woman's body, but the admiration was emotionless and analytical. The sway of Kim's behind stirred the beginnings of definite sensual interest. Something that
never
happened, that he didn't
allow
to happen.

Brynn could feel a line of worry forming between his eyes. It would be great if the crease became permanent. He needed some character lines in his face. But he knew from past experience that his face would remain unlined, forever freakin' perfect.

“You're right. The Vaughn family has hunted demons for centuries. My true love is architecture, but I have an obligation to destroy any evil entities I happen to stumble across.” She shrugged. “Over the years, the family has lost its sensitivity to demons, so it had to turn to technology. Fo was the first combination detector and destroyer created. She's not like the other detectors, she's . . .” For the first time, Kim seemed unsure what to say.

Brynn finished for her. “She's a bust at finding demons, but she's developed emotions and the ability to think for herself.” Artificial intelligence. Although Kim would probably argue the intelligence part.

Kim looked suspicious. “You got all that from standing outside my door?”

“Fo's volume control was turned way up.” He glanced down at Fo who was staring up at him with those huge purple eyes.

“You don't believe my story, right?” Kim looked hopeful. “It's just too far out there to be real, right?”

“I believe in what I see and hear.”
And in a lot of things that are so far out there they would blow you away, sweetheart
. “From the little I heard you say, Fo thinks anything that walks and talks is a demon.”