He rushes me out with his hand on my arm and slows down a bit only when we reach the sidewalk. He jerks to a stop beside the car where he turns me around to face him. "Okay, time for a little talk."

"We could've talked back there. I could be having my second drink right now," I grumble while trying to ignore how his proximity and the warmth that radiates off his body are affecting me. I also find his pale blue-grey eyes on me disconcerting. It drives my heart to go overdrive.

"We couldn't, those women were too nosy, trying to listen in on our conversation," he says and I think he meant the two blondes he was cozying up to earlier.

"You seemed to be enjoying their company just fine before," I can't help but mutter.

That draws a lopsided grin from him, showing off a row of perfect, straight, white teeth. "Did that bother you, dollface?" he drawls with a raise of an eyebrow. "You sounded like you were jealous."

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" I fire back even though a little voice inside my head is saying that it might be true. I was seeing red when I saw those women all over him, one was practically on his lap! I mean, what was that about? I tilt my chin up as I continue, "You're free to go back to them. They can have you. I'd rather make out with a snake than be in your company, anyway."

"Is that so?" He looks amused. His pale eyes however are narrowing, full of challenge.

"Yes!" I reply haughtily, crossing my arms across my chest. It's hard to give attitude when I have to crane my neck to look up at him.

"You sure about that?" His voice is quiet and his gaze is suddenly predatory.

When he moves forward, crowding me like a wolf cornering its prey, my breath catches in my throat. My heart skips a few beats then starts racing wildly and my stomach clenches. I let my arms fall to my sides and step back warily.

It suddenly occurs to me that maybe it's not wise to throw a gauntlet like that at the feet of someone like Joshua King.

He takes another step forward and I take a couple of steps back until my back is pressed against the side of the car. A while later, he's smiling wolfishly down at me. He's towering over me with his hands pressed against the roof of the car on either side of me, caging me in.

I swallow hard. My blood surge through my veins and my whole body warms up. I'm not quite sure if I'm feeling intimidated or excited. Probably both.

"I'm more than sure," I snip back, lifting my chin up higher to show him that I am unaffected. "First off, I don't know you, Joshua King! And secondly, I find you cocky and annoying as hell."

"I'm annoying as hell, huh?" His voice is low and smooth and so very sexy. "I should warn you that that sassy mouth of yours is turning me on, dollface," he continues as his eyes flicker down to intently watch my lips.

I'm feeling hotter by the second and I'm sure my face has turned red. No one has ever made me feel this way. Oh, God, I'm going to combust!

"Need I remind you that you and I have some unfinished business?" he says. "You still owe me one night, dollface. We're going to finish what we started....soon."

"No, we're not doing that!" I manage to squeak and somehow my voice comes out louder than I intended. "You started something with that woman, not me! We won't be finishing anything even if you were the last man on planet earth!"

"Oh, for hell's sake!" barks Otto who has finally caught up to us. "Are you two always gonna be bickering like an old married couple?"

I'm about to say something sassy but close my mouth when I see his face. Goodness, the man is scary! Now I remember why I made the vow not to sass him.

Joshua grins. "We were not bickering," he denies as he steps back, taking the heat with him. I almost sag in relief... and disappointment. "That was foreplay."

Foreplay? A choked strangled sound comes out of my throat.

I hear him chuckle as he and Otto simultaneously open the car doors.

Otto gets into the driver's seat but Joshua stands there with that amused glimmer in his eyes, holding the car door open for me.

"That wasn't a foreplay," I grumble as I squeeze past him to get in.

"Whatever you say, dollface," he murmurs with that smug knowing grin.

I let out a huff. Does he know how terribly annoying he is?

As though he could hear my thoughts, I hear him laugh before he enters the car after me.

Once everyone settles in, Otto doesn't immediately start the engine. He half turns toward me and says, "You told us that you were at the bar yesterday evening, but the bartender said she's never laid eyes on you before tonight."

"Of course not," I scoff. "I've never seen her face before either. There was a different bartender working there last night."

"Why didn't you tell us that earlier?"

"You didn't ask," I reply with a shrug.

Otto mutters something impolite under his breath while Joshua grins, looking highly amused by my answer.

"We'll try again tomorrow night," says Joshua. "Maybe the other bartender would know something."

"You mean to tell me that we're coming here again? The same bar?" I ask him.

"The same bar," he confirms with a sure nod. "A succubus doesn't give up her hunting ground very easily. It's a territory thing, so yes, she will come back."

"That's true," agrees Otto. "But don't you wonder why she's not here tonight?" he asks his friend before he starts the engine. Then he eases the car out to merge into the traffic.

"Uh, maybe because she's scared?" I say, using my "duh" tone. "She's worried that I might come looking for her or lead you two to her."

"Nope, that's not it," answers Joshua. "She's not worried about you."

"Why not?" I ask, feeling somewhat offended. Do I look that non-threatening?

"Because a succubus is like a vampire. They make their victims forget," he announces. "She must've compelled you to forget, so you weren't supposed to remember meeting her. You're not even supposed to remember coming to this bar."

"Well, she must be pretty crappy at being a succubus," I return. "Because I do remember. I remember her very clearly. I remember everything."

"Everything?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. Our eyes meet and hold in the review mirror.

The heated look in his eyes makes my cheeks burn and I'm sure my face is bright red. I tear my gaze away from his to look out the window. "Well...up to a certain point," I mutter. I certainly don't remember the intimate moment he claimed to have happened between us.

I mull things in my head for a little while before I gather the courage to ask a question that I'm not sure I want to know the answer to. "Why do you think she wasn't there tonight and why do you think I can remember when I was supposed to forget?"

"I don't know for sure," he replies. "But I have some theories."

"Okay..." I say hesitantly.

"Your father..."

I wave my hand to stop him from talking. "If you were going to tell me that I was a demon spawn again, I'm going to stab you with the pointy end of my shoe!" I threaten.

It's not true! I can't be a half-demon monster or whatever. It's just not possible. I mean, demons aren't real and I feel normal. Cut me and I bleed, hit me hard enough and you'd break my bones. My biological father wasn't a demon. Both men are crazy. I refuse to entertain such a crazy thought.

My outburst doesn't seem to faze him. He shrugs his broad shoulders and puts some music on instead.

"Are you taking me home now?" I ask him.

Joshua turns his head slightly so that I can see his striking profile. His lips curl up into that irritating grin. "Yeah, unless you want to..." he trails off suggestively.

"Nope! Nope, nope," I respond quickly. We're not "finishing what we've started" as he called it. We're not sleeping together. "Home is good. I mean my home...not yours."

He chuckles. "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" I answer through gritted teeth. Incorrigible!

"You don't know what you're missing," he drawls.

I catch his smirk in the rearview mirror and I scoff. "I have a question for you."

He quirks up an eyebrow so I ask, "What is it like to have an ego so massive, that you need an area code for it?"

"Oh, sweetheart, that's not the only thing that's massive about me."

Otto lets out a snicker.

Ugh!

We continue back and forth like that throughout the journey. But somehow, the ride back feels faster than the drive to the city. Maybe because it's late and the traffic is lighter. Or maybe because I'm enjoying myself...sort of. This is not foreplay!

We enter my street and I almost feel sorry. Almost.

Otto stops the car across the street from my building, exactly where he parked earlier this evening.

Joshua opens the door and exits the car to let me out.

"Where are you going?" I ask him when he follows me across the street.

"I want to make sure that you get home safely," he replies.

"I'm perfectly safe," I tell him. It might be better not to be alone with him. He's impossible...and very tempting. I might end up strangling him or kissing him. Who knows. Like I said before, I'm prone to make bad life decisions and my taste in men is crap.

"I'm just going to make sure that nobody's waiting to pounce on you on the stairway."

"There's no one here!" I argue.

"No one here? What do you call that?" He says jabbing his finger toward a homeless man lying on a street corner 50 feet or so away.

I give him a look that says, "Really?"

"I don't trust him," he announces. "He's looking at you funny."

"The man's asleep!"

"Not for much longer if you keep being so loud."

Oh. My. God! I give up! What did I do to deserve this?

I stomp up the narrow stairs and I can feel his eyes on my ass all the way up to my floor. If I'm being honest, I might have swayed my hips a little bit more than usual.

We reach my apartment and I fumble with the keys. Darn keys! They don't behave when you want them to.

Joshua leans against the wall beside the door, watching me with a smirk on his face.

When I finally manage to open the door, he casually straightens up and says, "Be sure to be ready at the same time tomorrow evening."

I stop in the doorway with my hand around the doorknob. My head swivels toward him. "Look, I'm not convinced that succubi exist. I don't know if anything that you told me so far is real," I tell him. "You know what? Just leave me out of this. She can have my shoes." Ouch, the last part is painful for me to say.

"Not happening, dollface," he drawls, playfully tapping the tip of my nose with his index finger. His eyes become watchful as his finger slides down to trace my lower lip. It lingers there for a little while and my lip tingles. My heart skips a beat and my stomach does a somersault.

He sways on the balls of his feet, leaning towards me a little bit before he abruptly pulls back. "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not, we made a deal, Damaris. Be ready by eight."

I watch dumbly as he turns away.

I continue watching him as his long legs take him away from me. The man has a nice butt.

"Oh, and don't try to run or hide. I'll just find you," he hollers over his shoulder. "Good night, sweetheart!"

****************************************************

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2023 will treat you well.

XOXO

Nicole♥