Part 14 (2/2)
Paen's gaze flickered to the rearview mirror for a moment.
He's absolutely trustworthy, you know. You can say anything you want in front of him. He won't repeat it.
I could feel Paen hesitate, unwilling to share information in front of a stranger.
I know it's asking a lot, but I trust him with my life. You really don't have to worry about anything you say in front of him getting spread around.
”There was a demon waiting for me outside your flat when I left this morning,” he said finally, evidently deciding to trust us both.
Jake's eyes widened.
”It's not like it sounds,” I said hastily, giving Paen a small frown. ”We didn't have s.e.x.”
”We didn't?” Paen asked.
”No, we didn't!”
”We were both naked,” he pointed out. ”And you begged me to make love to your ears.”
Jake's eyes practically bugged out.
”Paen's blowing this totally out of proportion,” I told him, waving a hand at my would-be lover. ”The ear s.e.x thing was unexpected. And just so you know, all he did was bite my ears. There were no ear-to-genital encounters. That's just creepy.”
”I think this is probably none of my business,” Jake said, looking oddly delighted. He kept shooting little questioning looks at Paen, then grinning at me.
I frowned in return. ”True, so if Mr. Blabberfangs there doesn't mind, we can move on past the fact that we were naked and indulging in a little ear make-out session, and get to the point.” Unbidden, my gaze dropped to Paen's lap. ”Er... point of the conversation. You saw a demon?”
”Yes. On the street. It was waiting for me. It said it had been sent by its master, the demon lord who demanded the statue. The demon said that there was a man in Edinburgh, a theurgist who has an interest in art from the Dark Ages. This man evidently has information about the statue, and possibly knows where it is located.”
”Oooh, good clue, even if it does come from a demon,” I said, pulling out my PDA to take notes. ”What's the name of the guy?”
”Owen Race. Professor Owen Race.”
I almost dropped my PDA. ”Huh?”
Paen didn't seem to notice for a second or two that Jake and I stared at him with mouths hanging open in surprise. ”What? Do you know him?”
”Kind of,” I said, choking slightly. ”He's a client. Jake referred him to me.”
”Client!” Paen looked as surprised as I felt. ”What did he hire you for?”
I bit my lip (a bad habit, but one I am unable to stop). ”I can't tell you. That would be violating my ethics. It's not to find your statue, though, I'll tell you that.”
”I appreciate that you wish to adhere to client confidentiality, but I must insist on knowing what work Owen Race has engaged you to undertake.”
”Insist away. You are a client-I respect your right to privacy. Likewise, I respect Mr. Race's. I'll go so far as to a.s.sure you that my job for him has nothing to do with your statue, but that's all I'm saying.”
”That's not good enough. There may be a connection that you don't see,” Paen argued, turning onto a familiar street.
”Might I remind you that I'm a professional?” My frown got a little tighter. ”I'm not a complete idiot, you know. I can tell the difference between a job locating a stolen book and one to find a missing statue.”
”Stolen book? What book was stolen?”
I growled to myself.
”I think this is where I get off,” Jake said, evidently sensing the coming argument. He waited until Paen pulled past a zebra crossing and hopped out, poking his head back into the car for a moment. ”Nice meeting you, Paen. Thanks for the entertainment, Sam.”
”Bye, and thank you for all the support,” I said, upping my frown at Paen to a full-frontal glare. ”I'll let you know later how things turn out, OK?”
”It's a deal. Later.”
Paen drove off, heading not toward my office as I wanted, but into the newer part of town where our apartment was.
”You're taking me home? I don't want to go home. I have work to do at the office,” I said. ”There's a little business about your mother's soul, remember?”
”Of course I remember! How could you possibly imagine I'd forget something like that? I am, however, capable of dealing with more than one situation at a time. Since we are going to continue to work closely together, I think it's appropriate to discuss a few things regarding our personal relations.h.i.+p.” Paen's jaw was set as he whipped us around a corner.
”Oh. That makes sense. But we can talk at the office.”
”Finn is there with Clare.”
”So? I bet if we tried hard, we could talk with them there anyway.”
”Would you also like to have s.e.x with them there?”
My lips formed an O. I was about to protest that I wasn't interested in having s.e.x with him, but the truth was, the idea was more than a little intriguing. Just the thought of his hot breath on my ears made me s.h.i.+ver. ”Um. No. But it's the middle of the day, and I have work to do. I hate to waste time.”
One of his eyebrows rose. ”I have heard s.e.x referred to as many things, but a waste of time is not one of them.”
”You're not planning on s.e.xing me up, then trying to worm out secrets about Owen Race, are you?” I asked, sudden suspicion causing me to narrow my eyes. No wonder he suddenly was interested in doing the sheet tango.
Paen turned onto my street and headed for the tiny lot behind my building. ”The thought had crossed my mind, yes.”
”Ha! I knew it. Well, it won't work.”
”That was my conclusion as well. You are too honorable to do such a thing.”
I basked for a moment or two in the warm glow of his approval, frowning when I realized that his tone added a different interpretation to the statement. ”So why are we going to my apartment if you know I don't kiss and tell?”He shot me a look that had every cell in my body clamoring for action. ”I desire you. I believe you desire me. That emotion is impairing my ability to function. I need that ability to continue directing the pursuit of the statue. Therefore, a lovemaking session will do much to clear both our minds. Consider it work therapy.”
”Whoa, wait a second,” I said as he slipped the car into my parking spot. I put my hand on his arm, holding him in the car when he would have jumped out. ”Your desire for me is impairing your ability to function? What's that all about?”
He frowned. ”Surely you understand the power of desire? You said you feel an attraction to me.”
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