Chapter 3
Three
LILAH
Barely inside the small bakery, I come face-to-face with a towering, dark-red, fiery-eyed, rough-horned monster, and freeze on the spot. Then stare, wide-eyed and speechless.
Unlike my gaping mouth, his is tightly closed. Like me, he’s staring. Unflinchingly.
Holly wouldn’t have let me wander on my own if it wasn’t safe. Which, of course it is. Everything and everyone in this town is safe.
I’m still wrapping my head around the concept of a fully inclusive community with zero violence or crime.
My hosts overloaded me with information last night, enough to make my head feel as if it might explode.
Stuff I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t watched foxes turn into people yesterday afternoon, and vice versa when I watched them through the window of my borrowed cabin, as several of them shifted before taking a moonlight run.
Any lingering doubts about the existence of other monsters vanished this morning when Holly brought me into the main part of town. On the streets, in the shops…creatures and monsters from folklore and fairy tales are everywhere.
With his horns, stature, and red eyes, the monster man standing in front of me could have stepped out of a horror story. Intimidating as he is, he doesn’t scare me. Not because of the magical protection of Fate’s Falls that my new friends told me about. I’m safe with him. I just know I am.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s the most attractive person I’ve ever laid eyes on. Tall, broad, with biceps bigger than footballs. Even with his arms hanging at his sides, the bulging muscles test the integrity of his pale-gray t-shirt.
Parts of my body that haven’t tingled in years are awake and humming. It’s nice to know my libido didn’t totally die during my shitty marriage, but this isn’t the time or place for those thoughts.
Blinking up at him, I school my features into a friendly smile, the same expression I wear on the job. “I apologize if I’m blocking your path. Were you on your way out?”
“No,” he says, continuing to stare at me. Into me. “I was returning to my kitchen duties when you entered.”
“Please don’t let me keep from whatever you were about to do.”
A cacophony of metal clattering on tile fills the air, yet the hulking monster doesn’t flinch, his gaze not straying from mine for even a second.
“Do you need to check on that?”
“I do not.” He doesn’t move, even when a distressed groan drifts through the archway behind the bakery counter.
“Are you sure? If someone’s hurt back there, I can help. I’m certified in first aid and CPR.”
“It is my kitchen helper. He requires no physical assistance.”
Before I can ask how he’d know this without checking, a man who appears to be human steps through the archway.
“I, uh, dropped the scones.” Twisting his clasped hands in front of his stomach, the pale-skinned young man shifts from foot to foot. “All of them.”
The dark-red monster’s fingers flex and curl at his sides. Just once, but the movement catches my eye because he’s been still as stone since I walked in. “Dauphine has gone to The Brew to purchase refreshments. Go and assist her. We will clean and review kitchen procedures after you return.”
Red in the face, the man dressed in kitchen whites scoots from behind the counter, then out of the building.
“I am Amazra,” the looming monster says after the bell above the door quiets. “I have not seen you before.”
“Lilah.” I fight the urge to stick out my hand.
Amazra hasn’t been unfriendly, but he doesn’t strike me as the handshaking type.
“I’m new here. In town, I mean, though I’m also new here, here, in the bakery.
First visit of many, I’m sure. Never met a baked good I didn’t like.
Obviously. The hips don’t lie.” As if saying those words to an overwhelming monster man I just met and find attractive isn’t bad enough, I punctuate the humiliating sentence by patting my padding.
The gesture draws his attention downward, from my face to where my palm now rests on my soft, rounded belly.
One of the many physical traits that made me unsexy, according to my ex-husband.
Yet under this hulking monster’s red-eyed gaze, my skin ripples with heat.
I jerk my hand away, tucking it behind my equally ample backside.
“Sorry for rambling,” I say when his eyes meet mine again. “You can probably tell I’m nervous.”
“I cannot. Hell-born demons do not possess or interpret emotions as human do. But I assure you there is no reason to be ill at ease.”
“Of course.” I nod. “After I got settled in last night, Holly and Max explained all about the Oracle’s old and powerful magic, and the boundary that hides and protects Fate’s Falls, and how only those whose hearts are pure and intentions good can cross through the boundary and find Fate’s Falls, meaning there’s nothing to fear here. ”
The demon’s mahogany skin makes it difficult to see the shift in his expression, but since I’m blatantly staring at his stoic, uniquely handsome face, I see the slight rise of his protruding brow line. “You arrived in Fate’s Falls yesterday and you are staying with the fox shifters?”
“Yes.” I keep it simple and short this time. I’ve already talked too much. If I’d said even a portion of all that to Bart, he would’ve cut me off. Either that or blatantly stopped listening. I can’t count the number of times he walked away while I was mid-sentence.
But this hell-born demon just stands there, stock-still and staring a hole in me. Waiting for me to continue? Or to leave?
Old habits die hard, making me think it’s the latter. “I’m sure you need to get to that work in the kitchen. I’ll come back another time.”
“I do not need to go anywhere. You have my full attention, Lilah.”
It’s been years since I’ve had a man’s voluntary undivided attention. Amazra’s is professional, but that doesn’t stop warmth from rippling through me. The heart wants what it wants, even when the brain knows better.
“If you were not aware that Fate’s Falls exists, how did you come to be here?” he asks when my only response to the comment about having his attention is the genuine smile I don’t manage to contain.
“Right.” I nod. “I’ve learned it’s a big deal when someone new comes through the boundary.
” I’m sure that’s why Amazra asked. Everyone I’ve met today has been equally curious.
“I was hiking, farther down the mountain, and found Max badly injured. I had medical supplies and tended his wound. After I helped him get home, Holly invited me to stay and use her cabin. She’s over in the town square, on a call.
” I hook a thumb toward the bakery’s large front window.
“The sign out front caught my eye—Just Baked is such a cute name—I love baked goods, so I popped in here while I wait for her. She’s showing me around town. ”
“While you are visiting.”
“Actually, I’m staying. Moving here.” The decision I hadn’t firmly made before I walked into the bakery rolls off my tongue.
“For what reason?”
Now that’s a personal question.
“Honestly, I just went through some big life changes, and my gut tells me this is the perfect place for a fresh start. Holly thinks there may be a position for me at the veterinary clinic. But if that doesn’t work out,” I raise my hands and wiggle my fingers, “I have very steady hands and wouldn’t knock all your scones onto the kitchen floor.
” I finish with a big smile so he knows I’m neither serious nor critical of his kitchen helper’s mistake.
“I could not offer you employment.”
Okay, humor points earned: zero. But, embarrassment points: plenty.
Luckily, I have years of experience maintaining a forced smile.
“I was kidding.” My statement nets me no response, and the urge to say whatever is necessary to get some semblance of approval rears its ugly, habitual head.
But I’m not that woman anymore. Not for anyone, so I swallow it down. “So, this is your bakery?”
“It is.”
“It smells amazing. A shame about the dumped scones. I’m a big fan, especially if they’re flavored.”
“Only the cinnamon scones were wasted.”
“Figures. Cinnamon is my favorite. What other kinds do you have?”
Amazra glances toward the bakery cases. “Blueberry, chocolate, and apple.”
“Ooh, you’re making my mouth water.” Warmth rushes to my cheeks as the accidental innuendo leaves my lips.
If he notices, it doesn’t show in his expression. He’s probably accustomed to customers drooling over him as much as his baked goods. “I will prepare a box for you as a welcome gift.”
“That’s very kind, but I’m happy to pay.” Unsurprisingly, my offer goes unanswered as he walks away.
The yummy view of his wide back and taut butt lasts only for the few strides it takes him to cross the small shop. Deprived of the visual treat once he’s behind the counter, I shift my focus to the assortment of baked goods in the cases.
I’m a flour-based-carbs girl through and through, but it’s his hands transferring scones to a pink box that hold my attention.
I can’t tear my gaze from his long, deep-red fingers with black nails.
Watching him handle the pastries has my nipples trying to poke their way through my practical bra.
You know it’s been too long since you’ve been touched properly when you’re envious of scones.
I’ve been officially single and free for less than a week. The next chapter of my life is for rediscovering and rebuilding myself, not getting distracted by a demon. Although… some satisfying hot sex could be considered self-care.
That would require Amazra to share my interest, which he clearly does not. Curiosity about my arrival and decision to remain in town is not the same as wanting to get naked and sweaty with me. For all I know, demons don’t mingle with humans in that way.