Demon’s Desire (Lovers of the Damned #3)

Chapter 1

ONYX

“This is an art gallery, not a coffee shop.” Onyx pushed past Ash and Dante, who stood in his foyer as if they were welcome to stroll in any time they liked.

They were not.

Ollie had come in with them today, and Onyx tried to reserve his contempt for his demon brothers, smiling apologetically at the human.

Ash glared, his hulking presence nowhere near as intimidating as he tried to make it. “Why are you yelling? No one could ever confuse this with a coffee shop.”

“I’m not yelling.” Onyx clenched his teeth, his voice barely raised.

Gallery Four was his space. His work. A legacy he was proud of. Why did his brothers have to barge in? Ash had no respect for anything. It was only a matter of time before he knocked over a sculpture. Damn oversized brute.

“We’re sorry to bother you.” Ollie eyed his companions as if he hoped they’d back him up.

“I know you are.” Onyx tone lost its icy edge. “If you’d come by yourself, I’d have been delighted. You could have at least left Ash behind. He’s never here to say a friendly hello.”

Ash muttered something undecipherable.

Dante slipped an arm around Ollie’s shoulders, eyes on Onyx. “You didn’t answer your phone.”

Onyx stalked to the reception desk. “If only you’d take the hint.”

Scott, Gallery Four’s curator, wasn’t working today. If he were, Onyx might have forced everyone out. This visit smelled of magic business. Scott was human and provided a nice buffer, an excuse not to talk about whatever shit Ash and Dante were trying to saddle him with this time.

Onyx sat behind the desk and opened the laptop, waking the screen. “I have things to do. I’m showing a new artist soon, and there’s a lot to coordinate before the opening. Unless you’re buying one of the pieces on display, you need to leave. We aren’t open to the public.”

Gallery Four operated by appointment only.

Ollie extricated himself from his mate’s hold and approached the desk. “Come on, we aren’t the public. Harper is on his way. After we talk, why don’t the three of us get lunch?”

Onyx’s lips twitched, but he recovered his scowl. “Depends on where we’re going.”

“Your choice. I don’t know any good restaurants in this neighborhood.”

Onyx stole a glance at Ollie. Fuck, he had a face that was impossible to say no to. Soft, round cheeks cut with dimples and tumbling hair befitting a stylist. “We’ll see. I’m not lying about being busy.”

“I didn’t think you were. But if you don’t want us stopping by, bothering you, then you have to return the demons’ calls.”

Onyx focused on the computer screen, ignoring the twinge in his gut. He didn’t care if his so-called brothers only came around if they had to. Only if they wanted something. It wasn’t like Onyx wanted to spend time with them.

The front door opened, saving Onyx from responding to Ollie as Harper walked in, his gaze immediately landing on his mate.

Onyx couldn’t imagine what Harper saw in Ash—the universe’s most insufferable being—but Onyx was glad Ash made Harper happy. The young witch deserved it.

“Sorry we’re late.” Harper planted a kiss on Ash’s cheek.

A second witch entered Gallery Four.

Onyx’s spine stiffened. “What is he doing here?”

Nico Velázquez glanced around the gallery, running a hand through his short dark brown hair. “I thought we were having a meeting?”

Dante flipped the sign in the window to closed. “We are, and we’re glad you could make it.”

The nerve!

Onyx stood, his demon fire flaring within. “Excuse me. I didn’t invite any of you here. You don’t get to close my gallery whenever you feel like it.”

“I thought you wanted me in on this.” Nico turned his warm gaze on Onyx, whose inner fire burned to the point of pain.

“What would I want with you? You’re no one but the witch who discovered my identity without my consent. Nothing going on here concerns you.”

Nico’s brow furrowed. The guy was annoyingly handsome with his brown skin and captivating dark eyes, his face soft and inviting like he was begging for your secrets. Onyx liked the look of his rough, stubble-lined jaw a little too much.

Onyx curled his lip at Nico’s sheer size. Another tall menace. The group had too many of those—everyone but Onyx and Ollie—and Nico’s thick build didn’t help. Onyx was sick of men who acted like being big was impressive.

Nico stood like he had authority. Over what, Onyx couldn’t imagine. Handsome or not, his presence made Onyx’s nerves itch.

“Things concerned me the moment hordes of demons entered the Human Realm,” Nico said as if the exodus from Hell was dire news. To him, it probably was, but that wasn’t Onyx’s problem.

Onyx marched from behind the desk, gaining on Nico until they were almost chest to chest. He pointed his nose in the air imperiously. Onyx wasn’t looking up because he was short; he was posturing.

He fixed Nico with a flame-flecked stare, his magic rising to the surface. “I didn’t give you permission to be here, so why don’t you go be concerned about demons somewhere else?”

Nico swallowed, and Onyx tracked his bobbing Adam’s apple. The witch was nervous. Good. An overpowering waft of citrus and earth filled the air, and electricity zipped along Onyx’s spine.

That was odd.

Nico cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother you. I’ll see myself out.”

The waver in his voice was disproportionately satisfying. At least Nico wasn’t stupid.

“No, wait.” Dante moved to block the door. “We invited you. Onyx, we need to talk, including Nico. Can’t you behave?”

Onyx’s cheeks flamed, and fire threatened to erupt from his fingertips. “I’m not the one being rude.”

Harper appeared at Onyx’s side, reaching out and lightly brushing his arm. “Please, Onyx. It’s not Nico’s fault he found out your identity. It’s mine.”

Onyx deflated. He didn’t want to hate Harper and needed to stop fucking up with him. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s fine. Whatever. Just tell me why you’re invading my gallery and then leave me alone.”

Harper flashed him a small smile, and Onyx’s gut twisted. He hadn’t exactly succeeded in being nice. Harper was too sweet to him.

To Onyx’s surprise, Nico spoke first, his nervousness banished or at least hidden. Onyx would need to work on that, keep the man off balance. Scaring Nico the night they met had been the most thrilling thing he’d done in quite a while.

As an immortal, you had to chase any high you could. It was the only way to keep eternal life interesting.

“I need to tell Rowan what happened in the Realm of the Damned,” Nico said. “The magic world has to know that demons returned to Earth en masse. Shearwater Landing has to prepare if more demons are settling here. We can’t wait much longer, or we risk people being caught off guard and lashing out.”

“What good is telling a vampire who owns a strip club?” Onyx crossed his arms and glared at Nico. “Getting the word out is a lot more complicated than telling your buddy. Not that the public needs to know what happened between Lucifer and the three of us.”

“I don’t even know what happened between you and Lucifer,” Nico said patiently. “All I know is demons escaped confinement. After a thousand years without demons, the world is going to change. The balance of power is going to shift, and I don’t want it to blow up.”

“We can take care of getting the word out.” Onyx turned away, wishing there was clutter around, anything to busy himself with. “You and your stripping vampire friend don’t need to get involved.”

“Rowan doesn’t dance at the club. At least not often. But he does need to be involved. His coven is well placed to spread the news and powerful enough to help us control how this goes.”

“Then we’ll talk to him.” Onyx spun back around, making a shooing gesture. “You can go.”

Ash lumbered forward. “What is your problem today?”

“You’re my problem every day, Ash.”

“We need an introduction to Rowan,” Dante cut in, trying to keep the peace as usual. “He can help, but he doesn’t need to know all our identities or personal troubles with Luc. Onyx, you can go with Nico to talk to him—”

“Me?” Onyx didn’t know who to glare at. Dante, Ash, and Nico were all pissing him off. “Why don’t you go? You love shmoozing.”

Dante’s jaw muscle ticked. “Ash and I are busy tracking Lucifer, and I’m trying to see what I can teach my flock about recognizing demons when they’re hiding their power and we don’t have specific descriptions to go on.”

Of course they were conveniently occupied. “I’m busy too.”

“Planning parties?” Ash sneered.

Onyx might actually kill him one of these days. Not permanently, but still. “I’m busy running a renowned gallery.”

Nico stepped closer. Did the witch have a death wish? “It would be good to have your help. You can make sure Rowan doesn’t find out anything you don’t want him to know about you, and you’ll be up to speed on exactly what’s happening.”

It would be nice not to be left out of the loop for once.

Onyx shook his head. “I’d be up to speed if people updated me.” He shot a look at Dante.

But Nico wasn’t done. “You’re good with people, and your skills would be beneficial here.”

Onyx whipped back around. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion? Good with people? I barely held back from setting you on fire when we met.”

Nico swallowed again. Excellent, the nervousness was back. Nico gestured to a painting. “You run Gallery Four. You must be good with people. We need someone adept at moving between the magic and human worlds.”

“Intermingling isn’t exactly Ash’s strong suit,” Harper added, though kindly.

Ash had lived like a hermit for decades, so that was an understatement, and Dante spent too much time with his shearwaters.

“I am better with humans than either of you.”

“See.” Dante clapped him on the shoulder, and Onyx shook him off. “You’re the best demon for the job.”

Dammit. A tiny bit of praise, and he’d walked right into that. Now he was stuck.