-- Coffee, Cupcakes, and Cold Showers
"Fiend," I muttered. "Can't I just banish you now?"
"So soon? But coffee and cupcakes were part of the deal," he wheedled. "And you haven't asked who summoned me this time."
"Because I know you won't tell me. I'd love to know what they got in return for sending you after me, though." Coffee. It was going to be a long night. I was trying to play it cool, but the banter was obviously forced on my part. Not only had we just done…whatever that was…but he was in my kitchen, outside of a circle. Ash. My nemesis. He wanted coffee.
I filled the coffee maker and then splashed my face with cold water.
Ash chuckled. "They gave me some seriously useful information on another project of mind, in exchange for…how'd they put it? Something about ice picks and eyes, and…well, it was messy and cruel, anyway. Slow and painful. The usual."
I stopped in my tracks. "They wanted you to lobotomize me? And you agreed? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of…"
"It does," he agreed. "Chalk it up to my respect for your ability to catch me, or weasel your way into a circle a moment after I show up. I always get the best end of the deal whenever I'm sent after you. I get the rest of the night off."
It was sort of a backhanded compliment, and I turned away with a humph to put the bag of grounds back into the fridge. "I'm flattered. I think." I wondered who his project was. Ash was a professional familiar-hunter, after all. It didn't take much imagination to figure out who the summoner was this time, though. I'd pissed off so many people, but most of them wanted me dead, not neutralized.
I handed him a cupcake. Of course he had to lick the frosting like that. "And best of all," he added, and I could almost feel the trails his gaze left as it raked up and down my body, "I get to indulge my sweet tooth." It was clear that he was not referring to the cupcake.
Exasperated, I went back to the sink. I splashed another dash of cold water on my face. Oh, God, he would never let me live this down.
"Get out some wine, while you're up," he said suddenly. "And a mirror, some salt, and your chalk. We're going to make you your calling mirror."
"Why?" I knew what it was. I didn't really want one.
"Perhaps you'll change your mind," he predicted darkly, his red-eyed piercing gaze capturing mine again, A slow, wicked, very satisfied smile curved his lips. "And perhaps I should have mentioned it earlier," he drawled, and my stomach lurched. Crap. What'd I miss? "I can nudge you now and then, you see, if I wish to speak to you. But you'll need the calling mirror to answer."
OK, that wasn't so bad, but still…. "This…nudging…thing," I stammered, "Does it feel…you know…"
"Do you want it to…?" he offered, leaning forward with interest. "I will very happily modify it to-"
"No!" I said quickly, perhaps a shade too loud. "No," I repeated after a good throat-clearing. "I was just curious."
He made a dramatic little snap. I suddenly sneezed, then sneezed again. "Excuse me," I said, then realized that tickle must be the signal. "Wait, seriously?" Sneezing?
"There you go, that's how you know," he said, leaning back and looking a little disappointed under all that smug. "Though I wish I'd thought of that modification before, it would have been great fun. No, I have to be physically present to do this."
I made a peep of protest as a sharp, intense shock of pleasure plunked itself right into my groin again, rather like a sudden rush of adrenaline. "Ash!" I scolded. "That is SO not fair."
He blinked innocently at me with a "What'd I do?" expression, and I stomped over to the coffeemaker and poured him a mug. Peevishly I thunked it down onto the table beside him, then went to fetch a cup for myself. I blanched at a sudden thought. "Ash, this mark thing…it's not one of those things that anyone can manipulate, right?" Just what I needed, a bright red "fuck with my head" target on my chest.
His eyes narrowed in pleasure as he replied quietly, "Only me, love. You're mine." His eyes narrowed further as he regarded me seriously. "And I hardly need to mention that if you try to make a similar arrangement with any of my colleagues, I'll know. And I will be very displeased with you."
And of course he had to demonstrate, and the mark tingled ever so slightly, but painfully this time. The threat was obvious. I closed my eyes with a sudden pang of nausea. Yup. There was the catch.
"But," he said lightly, leaning back again as if he owned the place, myself included, "I much prefer carrots to sticks." And the warning tingle turned back into a pleasant buzz, and faded away.
I resisted the urge to tell him where he could shove his carrots and his sticks, but he could read it in my face, and smirked. "Drink your damn coffee, Ash. Cream or sugar? How do you take it?" I turned to retrieve the creamer from the fridge.
I shouldn't have turned my back on him, not with a line like that dangling out there. Stupid! He'd reached around me before I had even realized he'd moved, and brushed a finger against the mark. A moment later I was whimpering and arching against him, as his mark flared to life and sent me right back into that haze of sensual bliss all over again. "I take it hot and wet," he breathed into my ear, as I struggled both to escape and not to escape at the same time. "Black as the devil, sweet as sin."
"All right, all right, you've had your fun, quit it." I gasped. I sagged against the fridge as he released me, smug as anything. With an air of exaggerated obedience, he sat back into his chair. He folded his hands and smiled politely. Demon on his best behavior.
"What are you, a damned vampire?" I stammered, rubbing the mark and resisting the urge to chuck the sugar bowl at him. He certainly had a lot in common with them, what with the teeth and the biting and the blood drinking and pheromones and the ecstasy ownership scars.
"Who do you think made the vampires, little witch?" He stirred about five spoonfuls of sugar into the coffee and sipped it, looking pleased and ignoring my horrified look. "Mmm. Good coffee. It's almost worth the smut of traveling the lines just to get a good cup of joe."
I rebuttoned my shirt and tossed my hair, humiliated again- not to mention freshly hot and bothered. This had to stop, or I'd end up making an even bigger mistake than just making out- there was still the very real possibility of ending up his toy for eternity. "You've had your fucking coffee and cupcakes. We're done. We'll make the mirror later. I'm going to take a shower. A cold shower. A really, really fucking cold shower."
Predictably, he opened his mouth to offer to help, and I commanded, "No. Stay here."
I knew he'd be following me, and he did, right over the circle permanently etched on the floor. I whirled, gave him a good hard bump with my hip to send him back a step, and promptly trapped his demon ass again. "STAY!"
He looked down and blinked in surprise, frowned, then smirked and gave me a "well played" nod. "I like the way you say that. I await the day when you command me to come."
One thing Ash is good at, I contemplated as I banished him back to the Ever After, is an evil laugh. He's really got that evil laugh to a T. Smug bastard.
