She didn’t particularly like the reminder that Darrak had once been an incubus, a demon who fed off the sexual energy of humans. However, he’d later been promoted to “archdemon,” which, actually, was much scarier. Luckily for her, he’d changed a lot since being cursed.

“I liked being alone,” she said. “I was perfectly content being alone before you arrived.”

“Were you?” Darrak’s tone turned amused again. “Or maybe I was the answer to your silent wish to have somebody in your bleak, lonely life. You’re much too attractive to be a spinster.”

“I think there’s a big difference between having a live-in boyfriend and being possessed by a demon who will slowly but surely drain me of all of my energy until I’m dead.”

She hadn’t meant for it to sound quite so blunt, but the fact was, if they didn’t find a solution to their problem, Darrak’s demonic presence would eventually kill her. She knew in the three-hundred-plus years he’d been cursed, he’d been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people he’d possessed. He’d tried his best to choose hosts that deserved death — murderers and other vile humans. But, still. Knowing she was possessed with someone who was essentially a metaphysical leech — even though he was a very attractive leech during daylight hours — didn’t help her rest easy at night.

“We’ll find a solution,” Darrak said firmly. “I swear we will.”

Eden downed the rest of her wine in one gulp, then dug into her purse to pay for it. “If you say so.”

“I do.” There was a pause. “And speaking of our solution, I just saw him.”

Darrak’s voice now held a thread of anxiety. This was important, after all. If they didn’t find an answer to their mutual problem. . well, she may as well invest in a nice gravesite with a view, and he’d be forced to find his next unwilling victim.