Ren's smile matched hers as he quickly corrected her assumption, “I can’t take their power away from them but I can match them equally, which comes in very handy when I find myself fighting one.”
“If you don’t know what you really are, then how do you know that you’re not a demon or at least a half breed?” she asked curious now.
“Because demon blood is black,” Ren said remembering the way Vincent had earned her trust. He glanced down at the sharp looking letter opener on Gypsy's computer desk. Picking it up, he sliced it across his palm and let her see the crimson color that had time to bead up on the wound seconds before it began to heal.
Lacey's stomach muscles clenched when he hissed softly from the self-inflicted wound. She quickly looked up at his face feeling guilt wash over her for causing him to do it just to prove to her that he wasn’t lying. In a way, he reminded her of Vincent… human yet not.
“As you can see… I bleed just fine and it’s red.” Ren tossed the opener back on the desk. “I am completely human as long as there are only humans nearby… but as it just so happens, there is a demon war going on here in L.A. This place is teeming with demons and other paranormals at the moment. I even know of a couple Gods that are hanging around. My powers tend to change as they all move in and out of my range.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Lacey asked knowing that was something he should always keep secret… she would have.
“Think of it as a penance for forcing the truth from you by snatching it out of your memories. I’m sorry it came to that,” Ren said honestly. “I have my moments of being a right bastard but know this… I will do my best to protect you if you let me. That means the next time something comes at you from a mirror, you don’t lie about it… you scream for me.”
Lacey blinked when he said ‘scream for me’ and her mind hit to gutter. “You can’t read my thoughts right now can you?” she quickly asked feeling heat rush up into her cheeks.
Ren frowned and tried to hear what she was thinking but all he was getting was silence…. then it dawned on him that she had more than one mark on her body. He had seen it when she’d almost lost her towel in the bathroom. It made him wonder what other secrets she was hiding.
“The small symbol that is tattooed just under your left breast is actually a barrier that keeps others from reading your thoughts,” he said now knowing why he could hear Nick without trying but couldn’t hear her even when he had been concentrating so hard.
Lacey could feel the heat rise into her cheeks as she stared up at him unable to decide if she was turned on or pissed off. It didn’t take a genius to figure out just what his attention had been on when he’d first barged into the bathroom. She could have sworn she saw the silver of his eyes glowing through his sunglasses and glanced away as her heartbeat sped up.
“Well… glad to hear that the tattoo actually works,” she managed with a straight face before spinning around to retrieve the trunk out of the bathroom. She would be dead soon but her clothes still needed to be hung up and besides, she couldn’t just stand there and stare at him all day… it was turning her on.
Not hearing anything else, Nick moved away from the top of the stairway where he’d been eavesdropping and walked out into the main part of the shop. He grinned and gave Gypsy a thumb’s up, making the young woman smile fondly at him.
He glanced around the room counting how many customers were browsing. So far there were five and she hadn’t had to invite any of them in. He kept his eyes on the leader of the local Wicca group as she approached Gypsy wanting to know if the shipment she’d ordered last week had arrived.
Gypsy ducked into the back room and he started to follow her in case any of it was heavy but paused when the bell above the door jingled. His sixth sense was way higher than a normal human’s and Nick had to suppress his growl as he turned to see the demons just beyond the doorway.
They both looked like they were ex-military with their buzz cuts and hard expressions, but he’d become a pro at spotting demons recently. Like soulless vampires, their scent always gave them away.
A very handsome young man stepped between them and into the store before pausing. He looked over his shoulder at his two companions that were still standing just outside the threshold and wanted to laugh when he noticed them looking down at the floor directly in front of them in agitation.
When they both looked up at him accusingly, he just smirked and shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry chaps.” He could tell they knew he wasn’t the least bit sorry judging by the way they were glaring at him but he didn’t rightly care what they thought. “Looks like I get to do this solo after all.”
Dismissing them, he turned and let his gaze search the store for the old codger or the granddaughter he had come here to see.
Nick stood to his full height and slipped his hand into the deep pocket of his trench coat where the lining of the pocket was cut out, giving him easy access to other things sewn into the leather. He had a small arsenal of weapons that he wouldn’t hesitate to use, quiet things he could use on an enemy without gaining the attention of the other customers.
He followed the man as he walked toward the counter and noted how he wasn’t looking at anything else in the store. Nick had a feeling the stranger wasn’t here as a shopper and his demon guard dogs that were now watching him through the window was not a good sign for Gypsy's first day back in business.
The stranger gazed curiously at Gypsy as she came out of the back room with a box and went to the other counter where a woman was waiting on her.
Nick moved, placing himself between Gypsy and the strange man watching her. “Can I help you?”
The man gave him the once over with a bored expression. He hated to tell the shop’s bouncer, but he wasn’t that easily intimidated. Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, he removed a formal looking envelope. “I am only a messenger and mean no harm. I have an invitation for the proprietor of this establishment.”
Nick reached for the envelope but the man pulled it away, placing it back inside his jacket.
“It’s for the owner’s eyes only,” the stranger informed him with a British accent and the raise of an elegant eyebrow.
Nick inhaled deeply but only found the scent of a human. He turned around and leaned against the counter staring back out at the two demons who were watching the stranger with dark brooding eyes.
“You keep very odd company for a human,” Nick commented not expecting an answer and he didn’t get one.
Gypsy looked toward the window and saw the two men staring into the shop instead of entering. She immediately glanced around for Nick, finding him with a man she’d never seen before.
The man had black silky hair that sported a slight wave to it and barely reached his shoulders and a thick gold loop earring in one ear. His tanned cheeks were bare but he had a closely shaven mustache and designer beard that was only as wide as the mustache so that it framed a set of perfect lips. The perfection didn’t end there as she noticed long dark eyelashes that framed dark brown eyes that were the persona of bedroom eyes.
She had no doubt that he could probably seduce any female that crossed his path without much effort at all. Yeah, the guy was drop dead gorgeous and if the last couple days had taught her anything, it was that normal humans never ever looked that good. That knowledge made her nervous as she tried to hurry and ring up the woman’s purchase.
Becoming frustrated, Gypsy glanced across the counter at the pretty girl who always spent so much money in her shop then sighed thankfully when she was handed a large wad of cash and told to keep the change.
“Thank you,” Gypsy smiled and then noticed there was a list of pricey, hard to find items written on a piece of paper among the cash. She glanced back up at the other female realizing the young woman must know about the