Angelic Avenger by Kaye Chambers Read Free Book Online

of them ended up in the reincarnation pile, but that suited me just fine since karma is a beautiful thing.
    “Thank you, Honora.” His voice was husky and held the depth and promise of things best left for the dark as he hugged her close. Somehow, I repressed the shiver that threatened to run down my spine at the wicked thoughts racing about in my head. “We really need to find Emily a new man. She’s turning part octopus.”
    “Emily sings our back-up vocals,” Honora explained as she turned to me with the type of innocent look that could only work on the very young or the infirm. She was none of those things, so it had me backing up a pace despite being pretty convincing. I didn’t know her well enough to be this suspicious, but I couldn’t help it. “She’s had a cold this week, so wasn’t able to go on today. But where are my manners? Gray, this is my new best friend, Arabella Morrison. Arabella, this is Gray Devereau. Gray, this is the wonderful woman who’s going to help us with our demo, which you’re going to sit in on, by the way. Oh, look, let me go over and drag Emily over to Melinda’s brother. I didn’t know he was going to be here tonight.”
    Just like that, she was gone, leaving me staring at the first man who’d had me tongue-tied since I was fifteen and locked in a broom closet with the object of my adolescent desires, Tommy Campbell, football quarterback and hometown hero.
    Chapter Four
    “That was about as subtle as a truck,” I muttered under my breath as I lifted the coffee up for a drink. I’d forgotten how keen a halfling’s hearing was until his laughter washed over me. This time, I couldn’t have repressed the shiver that ran down my spine. Granted, I didn’t need to breathe, but my body still went through the motions of it.
    “You think?”
    I looked up and smiled. I let my gaze sum him up much the same way he’d done me on the walk over, but made no effort to hide my approval. For one night, I could flirt a little on the wild side, I told myself as a spark of return interest flashed through his eyes. How much damage could it do?
    “You really have to stop that, you know. If you could bottle that laugh, you’d be a millionaire in a year.”
    “Maybe money isn’t that important,” he bantered back as he stepped closer to me, leaning down a bit to whisper in my ear. “I like to save it for people who deserve it.”
    Oh me, oh my. This wasn’t going to go over well at all with the Powers That Be, but I couldn’t resist. I stepped closer and whispered back.
    “Careful, I might feel pressured to do something to deserve it, then.”
    Heat lashed out from his aura and surged through mine, but whatever he’d been about to say was lost along with the moment as we were interrupted by raised voices across the room.
    “You can’t go cut a demo with someone else,” Andy argued with Honora and I saw her glance around as she shushed him. “Tim and I have been working on this for months. All you have to do is sign the damned contract and he can get you into the studio tomorrow.”
    Flirting was forgotten as I squared my shoulders and strode across the room to break it up since everyone else appeared too surprised by the outburst to take any action. Of course, they were bound by their friendship with her. I didn’t have to worry about that little restriction. Once I got the band in the right direction, I was likely not to see them again. It made this so much easier.
    “Ya see,” I began from a few feet away, “that’s where you’re in left field, Andy, old boy. Why do you want a contract for a production demo? The object is to get someone with an ear and a heart to the industry to want to sell her records. The demo, itself, isn’t worth anything. In fact, most studios only charge a flat usage fee.”
    I could see the controlled fury on his face as he turned toward me and watched it melt away as he realized everyone else could see him, too. I wondered how the talented