Killing Me Softly by Leisl Leighton Page A

couldn’t help but glance back at him though, as his voice wove around her, warm and enticing with a music of its own. She tried to shake off the sensation. She had no intention of getting distracted by a deep, accented voice, sexy hands and some well-placed tatts.
    Speaking of accents, his had to be affected. He’d been living in America for years, and had only recently moved back to England.
    Also, his nose was crooked.
    And he had an air of arrogance she didn’t like.
    All in all she wasn’t too impressed with the ‘great’ Daemon Flagherty. What had Rolling Stone magazine called him? ‘Magnetic. One of the greatest artists of our times.’ Well, that might be true, but they’d also called him ‘The second coming’. The second coming of what? Pfft!
    ‘What did you say?’
    Startled, Lexi looked up. ‘Nothing.’
    ‘I thought you said something.’
    She felt pulled into his intense gaze. Blushing, she stood up. ‘So, are you guys finished? We should get down to business. I want to spend some time with Cat later.’
    ‘I’d like to see her,’ Craig said.
    ‘Why don’t you come with me now?’ Billy suggested. Lexi shook her head, frowning, but he ignored her. ‘Bev should have brought her back; it’s time for her afternoon exercises. You can walk with us down to the pool and then catch up with Lexi and Dae later.’
    ‘Sounds good to me. If you’re okay with that, Lexi?’
    She looked from one brother to the other, then towards Daemon who looked at her expectantly. She had to say yes. After all, she’d invited him here. She put on a false smile. ‘I’m sure Cat will love to see you. We’ll be in the study when you’re done.’
    She stood, walked to the door then turned. ‘Are you coming?’ She didn’t wait for his response, but marched off down the hallway.
    Daemon looked quizzically at Craig and Billy. ‘I guess I’m supposed to follow. I’ll see you guys later.’
    ‘Good luck.’
    He huffed out a laugh. ‘Yeah, I think I might need it!’
    Daemon quickened his pace, following her down a long hallway, not noticing his surroundings, attention centred entirely on Alexia. She really wasn’t like anything he’d expected.
    She stopped at the end of the hall in front of a door, her figure silhouetted by the sunlight filtering through the window behind her. Tall and willowy, she had the long fluid curves of an elf queen. Her dark auburn hair, curling around her face in little waves, glowed golden in the sun. He didn’t normally like short hair on women but on her the look appealed. Confident and self-assured, there was something there at the edges, a look she got in those jewel-green eyes that made her seem like she didn’t belong in this world. His da would call it a touch of the fae . Whatever it was, it made him suddenly edgy, as if he wanted to hold onto her, keeping her in this world, safe.
    Ridiculous thought! Why on earth would she need protection? Besides, he was the last man on earth who could protect anyone. He couldn’t even protect himself from the things that hurt.
    He felt his smile slip a little as she shifted away to allow him to walk past her and through the door.
    She gestured for him to take a seat but an older woman, perhaps in her early fifties, appeared in the doorway and he remained standing.
    ‘There you are, Alexia. I just wanted to let you know I’m back and to see if you need anything.’
    Streaks of grey ran through the woman’s dark, bobbed hair. The thick tartan jacket, corduroy pants and plain black shoes encased her comfortable form. She reminded Daemon of the farmers’ wives who lived near his da’s pub.
    Alexia’s eyes lit up as she looked at the woman and exclaimed, ‘Bev, I love your hair.’
    The woman’s eyes crinkled as she patted her ‘do’. ‘I haven’t had my hair set in an age. I thought it was about time. Can’t let Karl think he’s married to an old hag.’
    Alexia laughed and patted her arm. ‘He’d never think that. Karl