From the Bookshelf of Vampires, Weres and Fae! …

"Are you going to help me find my demon?" I asked. "Because if you are, I'll offer you something to drink. If you aren't, I'm not gonna bother."

"Arcadia," Lon's voice said from my phone.
"Who is this?" I teased.
"You can't take my son on a date."
"I didn't ask him. He asked me."
"He stole my cell and called without permission."
"Sounds like a personal problem to me." A low growling noise came out of the phone.

I rallied my determination and tilted my face to the moon. The same way I reached out for electricity, I willed the ability to manifest.
And it came like a bullet.

My arms frantically brushed away the clinging web as irrational fear made me batshit-crazy for a moment. Scared of a damn spider when a bloodthirsty demon was chasing me down. Ridiculous.

"Arcadia it is," he said definitely. "By the way, I apologize for lacing the cigarettes."

"I paid you compliments."
What in the world was he referring to? Compliments? "You mean when you told me that I had a nice ass?" I asked, sarcastic.

His halo was oddly beautiful, and in a weird way that I couldn't really justify, the horns were kinda sexy.
"Well, shit," he said softly, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Now I don't know why I was so worried."

"I don't handle jealousy well," Lon said. "I'm warning you."
"Well, I'm a bartender, so I get hit on a lot. I'm just warning you."
"I don't like to share."

"Come on Jupe," he said, "where are your manners?"
"Huh? Oh, come inside. You're letting the flies in."
"Jupe," Lon chastised.
"What? That's what you always say."

"Don't let him fool you," Jupe said, "he drops the F-bomb like a billion times a day, but he only pretends it's wrong in front of other people. H-Y-P-O-C-R-I--" he began spelling.
"Goddamnit, Jupe."
"Language, Dad."

"He kinda was a dick, wasn't he?"
Jupe laughed, then gave me a confident look. "I set him straight. Don't worry."

"Jesus," he said between breaths, "Je-sus."
Amen to that.

"Don't men your age always have pocketknives?" I asked in a high-pitched voice.
"My age? I'm not a fucking grandfather," he snapped.

"Look, he's kind of a pain in the ass, so if you're just telling him yes because he put you on the spot, don't worry about it. I'm sure you've got bigger boys waiting in line for dates on your nights off."
I held the phone away from my ear and looked at it momentarily before speaking. Oh, too young for him, was I? "Lon Butler, are you trying to find out if I'm dating someone?"

He looked at me challengingly with his arms crossed over his chest. "Don't think I can arouse you?" I froze. Maybe he was joking. "Or is it that you're afraid you can't arouse me?"

"Why is it up to me?"
"Because...your memories, not mine."
"Oh, that's right."
"Your sexual fluids, not mine."
For the love of God, would he please stop saying that?

He lifted the armrest between us and pushed it up into the seats. "Now then, will you please kiss me again? You might not be willing to beg, but that doesn't mean I'm above it."

"--I'm here for you...unconditionally."