Demon Marked

husband’s business—probably in the financial sector—and who’d begun working all hours of the day and night, transforming the business into a burgeoning success.
    He’d also searched for a kid battered by every recent change in his life. The ones marked by razor scars across their wrists or who’d spent nights in the hospital having their stomachs pumped. That had been the worst part of the search. He’d found far too many of those kids, and not a single one of them had ended up there because of a demon.
    Did Ash know that part of his history? He hadn’t been wearing a shirt in Madelyn’s bedroom. If Ash had spotted the scars on the insides of his wrists, she could guess their origin, just as she’d guessed what Madelyn had done to Ringo. Not that it would matter if Ash had guessed; he was no longer self-destructive. All of the rage and pain he’d felt as a kid had cooled and hardened, and he’d channeled it into revenge.
    “You searched for her and found me, instead,” Ash said.
    He’d find Madelyn, too. “Yes.”
    “And I resemble the assistant she killed—a woman you once dated.” Her brow furrowed in a way that told him she’d been distracted by some detail again. “But I can’t figure out why Rachel would date you, no matter how charming you were. As Madelyn’s assistant, her association with you created an enormous conflict of interest and was completely unethical.”
    That had never been a problem for Nicholas, not where Madelyn was concerned. “Why is a demon bothered by something unethical?”
    “I’m not bothered.” She frowned, as if trying to decide whether she should be or not. Finally, she shook her head. “What I don’t feel is beside the point. I’m trying to figure her out—and everything I’ve learned about Rachel says that she wouldn’t behave unethically. Do you think Madelyn told her to date you, to undermine your takeover bid?”
    “Probably.” He’d used Rachel for the same reason: to undermine Madelyn. He had to assume the demon would have done the same thing. “If so, Rachel didn’t follow her directions well. She tried to make us reconcile instead of destroy each other.”
    And Rachel had never understood that there’d never be a chance in hell of that happening. But then, Madelyn had been a different woman with her—a ruthless businesswoman, but not a cruel one. Rachel had been convinced that Nicholas’s hatred was just born out of ancient misunderstandings and a teenager’s rebellion.
    “Did that amuse you?” Ash looked away from the road to study his face. “Or did it irritate you?”
    Both, depending on how hard Rachel pushed him. He wouldn’t tell the demon that, though. She was here to learn about herself, not about him.
    Her eyes narrowed. Ah, now she was irritated by his refusal to answer. “At least Rachel’s relationship with you makes sense now. I knew it couldn’t be your charm.”
    Maybe she was right. “What did you think it was?”
    “You said she was smart. So I assumed she dated you for your money.”
    “Rachel had more than enough of her own.”
    “As much as you do?”
    No, but enough to live well for the rest of her life. Now, her assets hung in limbo. Only six years had passed since Rachel had gone missing, and she’d never been officially ruled dead. A demon with her face and identification could access them . . . which was why he’d taken the passport back as soon as they’d passed through customs.
    When he didn’t respond, Ash bared her teeth, just a little—and there were those fangs. “I suppose money isn’t incentive enough to put up with you, anyway.”
    He grinned. “Probably not.”
    She was still watching his face rather than the road. If her driving hadn’t been so smooth, he might have been worried. As it was, he just wondered what she was looking for.
    Her gaze dropped to his lap. “Maybe she wanted you for sex, then. Is your penis big?”
    Was she serious or just winding him up? “I haven’t had any complaints.”
    “If you haven’t had any complaints, it must not be too big.”
    She slanted a look up at his face, and he realized that she wasn’t serious at all. And fucked up as it was, Nicholas was getting a kick out of this, too.
    “It’s not monstrous.” He’d never heard anyone compare his cock to an ogre’s, at least. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
    “Yes.” She sounded slightly mystified by that fact. “And I want to be your girlfriend.”
    Now that seemed serious again.