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“I delivered you safely home after you collapsed. You’ve been out for hours.” He set the book aside and stood. “What were you dreaming about? It was either horrific or very pornographic.” He tilted his head. “Perhaps both.”
Ray materialized in the doorway. “He carried you inside. I was worried you were dead, so I came in to check on you. Once I saw your chest rising and falling, I felt better.”
“He was a perfect gentleman,” Nana Pratt added, appearing beside Ray. “He didn’t even undress you. Just placed you in your bed and watched over you, and not like one of those perverts.”
I looked down at my clothes. Nana was right, this was my outfit from earlier.
I shifted my focus to Kane. “I collapsed in Ashley’s room?”
“Whatever you attempted to do must have overloaded your system. I heard a thumping noise and returned to the bedroom. I thought you were having a seizure. Usually when I pin a woman down to a bed, it’s because she requested it.” His mouth quirked. “One might even say she begged.”
I didn’t know what to say. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. The nightmares themselves didn’t disturb me; nightmares coursed through my veins as naturally as blood. What bothered me was that I lost control to the point of losing consciousness. I blamed Steven and my visit to Ashley’s bedroom; the personal connection had thrown me off my game. Pops would disagree. He believed there was nothing more personal than the ability to invade and control someone’s nightmares. Their nightmares revealed their deepest fears and allowed me to wield them as weapons. Although I knew he didn’t mean to, my grandfather had shamed me for my ability, as though I’d volunteered for it. I never forgot the way it made me feel.
“Thank you for bringing me home,” I said.
“What do you remember?” Kane asked.
“Not that much.” I struggled to pull the pieces of the nightmare into place. I’d already been to the bar where Ashley had last been seen. I wasn’t sure what the nightmare revealed.
His gaze swept the room. “I find the lack of pink walls reassuring, although you may want to consider a pop of color here and there. One’s home should never feel like a prison.”
“I’ll call you the next time I need design tips.” I nudged him toward the doorway.
“The keys to your truck are on the counter. And you might want to ring your friend, Steven. He was distraught when I carried you from the house.”
“Did anybody else see you?”
“Not to worry, I was discreet. One of my best qualities, you’ll find.”
“It’s almost as though you have practice in stealing women away under everyone’s noses.”
“Are you accusing me of something, Miss Clay? If so, I can assure you that you have the wrong supernatural being. I have many red marks in my ledger, but Ashley Pratt isn’t one of them.” His whisky-colored eyes focused on me. “I have a question for you. Why did you refuse to shake my hand when we first met?”
“I didn’t refuse. I just … didn’t.”
“Is it because I’m a demon? Because I’ll tell you right now, that sort of prejudice is not welcome in Fairhaven.” The demon paused. “At least, not in the Devil’s Playground.” He tapped the doorjamb. “Lovely house, by the way. Heaps of potential.” He gave the room an admiring glance before leaving it.
Nana Pratt and Ray exchanged looks.
“He’s very polite,” Nana said diplomatically.
“Why did the house let him in?” Ray asked. “I thought he needed an invitation.”
“He isn’t a vampire.” I kept my voice down in case Kane had lingered downstairs.
“What is he then?” Ray asked, mimicking my whisper, not that Kane could hear him anyway.
“Some sort of demon.”
Gasping, Nana clutched her imaginary pearls. “You don’t say.”
“I hate to break it to you, but he’s not the only one in Fairhaven either.”
Nana Pratt drifted across the room to the window and peered outside. “You think you know everything about a place…” She turned to face me. “I was born and raised in this town. Never left. I don’t know why, but I…” She promptly burst into tears.
Ray moved to comfort her.
“What is it?” I asked.
