Sex and Trouble by Marilu Mann Read Free Book Online Page B

was—something between envy and desire maybe. A chill swept up her spine as his icy eyes darkened to midnight blue. Her early warning system kicked into high gear.
    “My dear, your father was a very powerful witch. More powerful, I hate to admit, than myself. How he conjured Rosier is not something I was ever privileged to know.
    According to Augustus, I was never going to be ready for that. It is the one thing your father and I fought the most over. You see, I didn’t know about Rosier’s existence until recently. Really, just a few months before your father died.”
    Her breath caught in her throat. Something sinister seemed to stare back at her from his face. His features sharpened as his eyes maintained their darkness. He slid his tongue out to moisten his lips. It looked like a snake tasting the air. His hand reached out to hold her wrist. His chilly grip sent a shiver through her. She opened her mouth but he tightened his fingers.
    “I do not know how he trapped him, but I do know that you can order Rosier to serve someone else. Then you won’t have to worry.”
    Mari heard the words but it was the sharpness to his voice that set her teeth on edge. Hadn’t she told him that she wanted to free Ros?
    “James, I…”
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    He cut her off again. “I know, my dear. You want to free him. But you can’t, you see. He’s a demon. His kind kills humans. Oh he will tell you differently, but believe me, I know.”
    Sadness swept over his face and a tear welled in one eye. “You see, my parents were also witches. My mother tried to conjure a demon but did not have her circle set correctly. The demon she summoned killed her and my father as well when he tried to rescue her. I swore I would avenge them. I was only sixteen when it happened and I’ve been studying my craft ever since.”
    Avenge them? What was this? A bad gothic novel? Mari tugged her arm free of his touch, feeling suddenly unclean. “I am sorry about your folks, James. But I can’t just give you another human being. That’s slavery!”
    The demand in his voice nearly overwhelmed her. “He’s not a human being. That’s where you are making your mistake. He is a demon. A thing. An evil of biblical proportions. Give him to me and you won’t have to worry about him.”
    His eyes narrowed as his voice deepened. “You must give him to me, Marielle Greenlea. I will take care of this for you. You can trust me. I am your friend. You want to give the demon to me, don’t you?”
    “James.” Mari paused. The first words out of her mouth were nearly “yes, I want to give the demon to you”. Her self-control overrode the compulsion. The locket around her neck felt warm—almost painfully so. Focusing on that sensation eased her need to agree with him. “I need to think about this. And why did you use my full name that way? That was a bit formal, don’t you think?”
    James rocked back in his seat. The way his face fell was almost comical. Mari wondered why he seemed so surprised. He recovered quickly leaning forward to rest his hand lightly on hers. “You should think about it, but not too long. When a demon has a new owner, there is only a two-week grace period where you can reassign his contract to another witch.”
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    “Another witch? But I thought I wasn’t a witch?” Tension snaked across her shoulders, fusing the muscles. Something was wrong but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
    His dismissive hand wave made her want to snarl. “Oh Marielle, you are not a witch but you are a demon owner thanks to your father. I told him he was an idiot when we fought. I’m sure he meant to leave me everything including Rosier, but his anger ruined everything.”
    His anger? Mari mused. From her seat, it seemed that it was James’ greed that had caused this problem. She wondered if it were true. If James and her father had not fought, maybe she would still be in her apartment watching the evening news, unaware that