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won’t be told what to do by a demon! Who does he think he is?” Toweling the moisture from her hair, she bent over to put hair gel in.
    As she combed her hair into shape, Mari ran over what she wanted to ask James at dinner. About Rosier. About her father. About witches. About stupid damn demons who thought they had a right to tell anyone anything. She’d have to glean as much of the truth as she could out of whatever he told her in order to figure out what she could truly believe.
    She got dressed then headed back to the bathroom to finish her makeup. Rosier burst into her room just as she was applying the final coat of mascara.
    “Dammit! Are you trying to make me lose an eye? I don’t want you in my room.
    What are you doing here anyway?”
    His eyes swirled with colors. “Trying to make you see reason, Mari. James LaPierre is dangerous. He will tell you anything to get what he wants. You cannot listen to him.”
    Desperation tinged his clipped words. She looked at him in the mirror. She shrieked when she saw the blue woman from before gazing past her, looking at Rosier.
    35

    Marilu Mann
    “Issia, now is not a good time.”
    Hurt shimmered in his sister’s eyes, but she simply bowed her head and blurred into a teal mist that wafted away into the darkness. Mari put her fingertips to her temple, pressing her face into her own palm. “I will never get used to that.”
    Rosier knelt beside her. “If you will give me your release, you will never have to get used to it. Mari, please. Please do not go out with this man. He is not what he seems.”
    “Rosier, I know what you said. But there are three sides to every story. Yours, his and the truth somewhere in the middle.” She stopped his outraged response. “I know.
    You say you don’t lie about this, and I believe you, odd as that sounds. I have only known about you, my father and all of this for what? Two days? I need another perspective, skewed though it may be. James LaPierre can give me that. I need to know so I can make my own decisions.”
    The sigh he gave her nearly melted her resolve.
    “Okay. Tell me this. Is James LaPierre a danger to my personal safety?”
    Ros grimaced when she added, “I command you to tell me the truth.”
    He sounded pained but he just shook his head. “I do not believe that LaPierre will physically hurt you. But he will lie. I know he will lie. Just promise me you will call me if you need me?”
    “Sure. What’s your number?” She was reaching for her cell phone when he grabbed her gently by the wrists. Heat seared until she was sure he would leave blisters behind.
    Jerking away from him, she blew on her wrists.
    “Ow! Ow! That hurt, dammit. Why did you do that?”
    When she focused on him, she had a fleeting wish for a camera. He looked almost lost. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I lost control I guess. Miss Greenlea, you don’t need my number. You have only to call me and I will be there. I am your servant and I am as bound to you as I am to this damn house. Though I can’t physically leave this house, I can travel on another plane to reach you if you need me. I can, for lack of a better term, 36

    Sex and Trouble
    possess someone else for a short period. Just long enough to give you aid if you need me. I can only do this for someone of your bloodline.”
    Leveraging himself off his knees, Rosier moved back to the hallway. The tight black tee he seemed to favor hugged his muscles. Mari wished she could run her hands down his arms just to feel those bulges herself. He stopped in the doorway. “Please be careful, Miss Greenlea.”
    Resisting the urge to throw sharp pointed things at his back for reverting to the formality of her last name, Mari sighed her disappointment at his retreat. She would go out. She would have dinner. She would get James’ side of the story. And, by God, she would find a way to get rid of that damn demon before he turned her into a pool of molten lust if it was the last thing she did.
    The