Getting Familiar with Your Demon: That Old Black Magic, Book 4 by Jodi Redford Page B

tiny step back, and her gaze slashed to the left again. He narrowed his eyes. A waiter passed by, and Sam thunked his full beer on the silver tray before advancing on her with grim purpose. “What, precisely, did you find out about me?”
    “Enough.”
    Another exuberant dancer whirled into her, jostling her sideways. The individual laughed and swung a scrawny arm around her waist. “There you are, Marabella.”
    Sam glared at the sandy-haired pipsqueak. For fuck’s sake, the dude was wearing fangs and glitter. What was the damn world coming to?
    Twinkle Toes frowned at Marabella when she didn’t respond to him. He followed her gaze to Sam, and his frown deepened. “Who’re you?”
    Your worst nightmare, Glitter Boy. “Her date. What the fuck is it to you?”
    “No you’re not.”Scowling, the kid turned toward Marabella. “Is this guy bugging you?”
    Worried she was seconds away from blowing his impromptu cover, Sam tugged Marabella into his arms. “She loves it when I bug her, don’t ya, snookums?”
    She gaped at him, and he read the panic flashing in her eyes. Her lips parted, the threat of exposure likely milliseconds from popping free.
    Desperation had cornered him into committing plenty of half-baked, moronic acts. None of them came remotely close to the stupid asshatery of what he was about to do. Sliding his hands through the loose tendrils of hair framing her head, he leaned down and crushed his mouth over hers. He swallowed her shocked gasp. Her sweet, addictive taste immediately invaded his senses, firing his awareness of her into hyperdrive.
    What started as a means of keeping her from revealing his identity quickly morphed into something far more primal and elemental. He thrust past her lips, his tongue seeking hers. She submitted with a hunger that nearly matched his, leaning into him so her delectable breasts pillowed his chest. He grazed a hand along her shoulder and dipped beneath her elbow to cup the side of one plump mound. She moaned breathlessly.
    He didn’t know how long they stood there devouring each other. It wasn’t until a pointed cough intruded on the moment that he recalled they had an audience.
    “Okay, guess you are her date.”
    Sam broke the kiss in time to see Glitter Boy sidling away. Returning his scrutiny to Marabella, he noticed the rapid rise and fall of her chest and the dilation of her pupils. Wariness warred with the equally fierce need burning in the pit of his belly. He took a staggering step backward, his heart tripping more than his feet as one word clanged inside his head and raged inside his soul, repelling as much as it beckoned.
    Mine.

Chapter Seven
     
    “You shouldn’t have done that.” Her heart galloping out of control, Marabella pressed shaky fingers to her swollen lips. “ We shouldn’t have done that.”
    Samael’s dark, fire-filled stare remained riveted on her mouth. “You left me no choice. You were about to rat me out.” An edge of anger lent steel to his voice. She got the feeling he wasn’t pleased with what had just gone down.
    That made two of them. As for ratting him out, she most certainly hadn’t been on the verge of doing any such thing. But it was probably wise not to let him know that. Bottom line, she wanted to get him far away from here before something truly horrible happened, like him being discovered and all hell breaking loose. If letting him believe she intended to reveal his identity ultimately served her goal, so be it. “You have to leave. Now .”
    He cocked an eyebrow. “Or?”
    “I’ll see to it you’re thrown out.” She prayed the bravado she’d forced masked the underlying tremor in her voice.
    Samael’s intense, calculating gaze continued to prod at her, making her nervous. “No, you won’t. Know why?” He took a stealthy step toward her and leaned his head close to hers, their lips a mere hairsbreadth away. “Because if you truly know what I am—what I’m capable of—you realize what a damn-fool