Demons Like It Hot (18 page)

She scooped several spoonfuls of coffee beans into the grinder, silently wishing for the miracle to keep Matthias and his scantily clad body from hearing the clamor.

With a quick shrug, she rubbed the locket dangling from her neck. If it worked earlier, maybe it would work again. She closed her eyes.

May
the
kitchen
noises
not
disturb
the
demons
and
imps
in
this
house.

Maybe she should add an
amen
and a
hallelujah
for good measure. The powers that be might like that touch.

She pushed the lid down on the grinder and pressed the button. The grinder roared to life. And no one came to bug her.

“Hallelujah!” she exclaimed with a triumphant fist in the air. She pushed the button again and the grinder came to a halt. She brought her nose to the freshly ground goodness and breathed in.

“Mmm.”

She poured water into the coffee maker and flipped the switch. With slow, methodical drops, the coffeemaker bubbled and sizzled to life. Too bad
good
coffee
couldn’t just come in an instant.

The aroma of warm coffee wafted in the air. She plopped down into the barstool, a soft grin spreading on her lips.

It reminded her of Nonni. Her grandmother had always enjoyed her coffee, especially Italian roast. Serah on the other hand, preferred the darker, more flavorful blends. Usually she’d make an espresso, but she had the sinking suspicion she was brewing for more than one today.

Her stomach roared. Apparently breakfast was in order too. She lugged herself out of the barstool and fired up the stove. If these demons expected something fancy, they were sorely mistaken.

Scrambled eggs and bacon it would be.

She sprayed a healthy coating of olive oil and the pan sizzled in response. There was nothing she enjoyed more than cooking in private.

She whisked her eggs, added some milk and cheddar cheese and tossed the mixture into the pan. Chopped onions and peppers always made a good match as well. A little garlic and pepper and her not so secret ingredient—cottage cheese. Fooled them every time.

The sizzling aromas wafted in the air as she threw some bacon on the griddle. The scents continued to swirl around her. She loved cooking breakfast. She and Nonni had always cooked breakfast together.

“I wonder if demons like toast.”

“I’ll take rye if you have it.”

Pulling her housecoat tight to her body, she spun around. Matthias lounged against the doorjamb, a pair of lounging pants hiding her view from the silk boxers he wore earlier.

Thank heaven for that.

“How’d you get in here?”

Matthias narrowed his gaze. “I walked in.”

“I put up a blocking charm. I guess it didn’t work.”

“Oh.”

“See! I told you I’m just your average Midwestern gal.”

Matthias scratched his chin. “What did you say in your charm?”

“I prayed that the kitchen noises didn’t disturb the demons and imps in this house.”

Matthias roared in laughter. It was a nice sound really. He should do it more often. “It was the smell that brought me here, not the noise.”

“Oh.”

“Smells delicious,” he said, stepping further into the room.

“It’s just scrambled eggs and bacon. Nothing special.”

Matthias gaze sparked. “I’ve eaten my fair share of bacon and eggs over the years, Serah. None of them smelled this good.”

“I’m good at what I do, what can I say?”

“You can be good at other things as well, you know.”

“I don’t have the time to be your little hero. I have a business to run.”

“And your friend Lucia does not?”

“She has Rafe to help her, not to mention Kalli and Frankie.”

“What about your sous-chef?”

“Edie? She’s good, but there’s something off with her.”

“I can help.” Matthias stood proud. “I have cooked a few meals in my lifetime.”

“There’s a big difference between cooking for yourself and cooking for one hundred.”

“I want to help.”

“Okay buddy. Take care of the eggs while I go take a shower. How’s that?”

Matthias nodded. “Fine.”

“Good.”

***

Serah, still clinging tightly to her robe, strode out of the room. Matthias breathed a sigh of relief. It was pure torture to not strip that robe away and worship her curves.

He sensed she was self-conscious about her body, and that seemed to only add to her appeal. She was proud, but not too arrogant. It drove him mad with desire.

Why in the hell had he offered to help her? He didn’t even know the last thing about cooking. He’d cooked a few meals back in his human days, but as technology improved, cooking methods changed as well.

Eggs frying in a pan, though? That was something he could manage. He reached for the handle and stirred the contents. What were those white chunks floating in the eggs? With a shrug, he set it back down on the burner, a little sloshing outside the pan.

Oil bubbled and sputtered, flames flying out from the burner. In a rush, the flames jumped into the pan.

A shrill beep rent the air, alerting the entire house of his stupidity. Serah would be here any minute.

Matthias shook the pan. Flames only grew hotter and leapt higher. Setting the pan back down, he covered it with the lid. Flames snuck out the sides and as if it were taunting, flicked and flitted. What had he done?

He flew to the sink and cranked the water on full blast. Sprayer poised and ready, like it was his favorite firearm, he pushed in the trigger.

Water streamed and sprayed, sending balls of fire exploding in the air. Matthias burst to attention. Somersaulting over the counter, he grabbed a towel and slapped at the ever-growing flames. Heat and smoke burned in his nostrils, the stench clinging to his nose.

“Bloody hell!” If it weren’t for the lack of stench clinging to the air and the protection charm surrounding the house, he’d think it was the Infernati making their presence known. The smoke billowed and the flames leapt and danced from beneath the pan. Why wouldn’t it go out?

He flung open closets and cupboards, shuffling and clanging pots and pans. If he knew Serah’s eggs would turn into napalm, he would have helped in some other way. Now her kitchen was turning into toast—quite literally.

A flame leapt from the stove and licked his bare bicep.

“Shit!” he grumbled. Even though the scar would soon fade, it still hurt like a bitch. He rubbed his arm and threw down the now-flaming towel. What a disaster. She’d get rid of him for sure.

A spark of determination flashed inside him. He wouldn’t let her get rid of him. He’d find a way to make this right. Their breakfast was already ruined. He’d be damned if he let her entire kitchen go next.

“Damn it, where’s that fire extinguisher!”

“What the hell is going on?”

Serah burst into the kitchen, a damp towel tightly wrapped around her curvy body. An equally damp towel wrapped around her head, shielding her beautiful curls from his view. Even in a towel, the woman was magnificent. Damn. How could his mind wander to a place like that now? Her eyes, widening in horror, curbed his overactive libido. “Jesus Christ!”

She ripped open a cupboard and yanked out a giant yellow cardboard box with an arm holding a hammer stamped on it. With a forceful shove, she pushed Matthias out of the way. She pulled out the spout and poured its white powdery contents onto the fire, the flames dying and smoke billowing and churning in the air.

“It’s a grease fire. Water doesn’t work.” She sat the box down on the blackened counter and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, a charcoal streak forming in its place. “You are not allowed in my kitchen ever again.”

“I didn’t know,” was all he could mutter.

Coughing and sputtering, she swatted at the smoke. “My kitchen is ruined.”

Matthias rubbed his chin.
Sorry
wouldn’t cut it right now. How was he to know that, over the centuries, cooking would become such a complicated task. Life was supposed to become easier as the world evolved, after all. “I haven’t cooked in few centuries. I’m sorry, Serah. I was just trying to help out.”

She grabbed the blackened pan from the stove and dropped it into the trash. “Be helpful by fixing the door you destroyed last night. I hope your carpentry skills are better than your cooking.” Picking up the crispy towel off the counter, she blew out a deep sigh. “I hope Kalli can clean up this mess.”

Kalli Corapolous. He’d heard stories about her and her abilities. Cleaning, mind reading, tracking demons, to name a few. Matter of fact, she’d
almost
tracked him on several occasions. If she was as good as the stories he’d heard, she shouldn’t have any problems with a small kitchen.

“Was the mess caused by a demon?”

She shrugged. “I guess so, but she’s cleaned up a few of my messes too.”

“Because you know of our nature. You were blessed at some time in your life, which makes you even more powerful.”

“Fine I’ll call her from the shop. I still have to do my hair and makeup. I need to get ready for the audition, and I don’t want to be late.”

“Makeup?”

“You know, stuff women wear on their faces to make themselves look better?”

Look
better?
If she looked any better, he would die right then and there. “You don’t need makeup.”

“Yeah, right, tell that to the rings under my eyes. I only got a couple hours of sleep.”

Matthias nodded. So much for a compliment. “What about breakfast?”

“I’ll stop by BigBob’s on the way to the shop.”

“BigBob’s?” Matthias shuddered at the name. “Sounds interesting.”

“BigBob’s coffee is the best. Even better than Starbucks.” She scanned the counter, and picked up a half-melted coffee cup, the two
B
’s wilting and melting together. “Looks like I need a new cup anyway.” She dropped it into the trash can.

“Fine. What about your furry friend?”

“Farquhar? He can take care of himself.”

“Does he always sleep during fires?”

“No, but you were here weren’t you?” Serah smirked. “Then again, if you weren’t here, my kitchen would be fine.”

“Touché.”

“Oh, well. Kalli and her magic pail of wonder can fix it, but we are going to have a serious sit-down with Lucy and Rafe, especially if I get the show.”

She’d get the show. Despite her stubborn streak, the woman had charm. And, of course, she was beautiful, from those two sparking sapphire eyes to her full pouty lips. And those curves. This Daniel person would have to be blind not to notice.

If only he could be that lucky. “We can discuss this show later. I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I signed an agreement. It’s too late.”

Matthias crossed his arms. “I can be very persuasive.”

“If you enrapture Daniel Blackburn, I’ll kick you back to limbo myself. Got it?”

“Fine, but if I smell any brimstone, I can’t guarantee I’ll be so kind.”

She angled her chin high and stood proud—all while wearing that damned towel. He longed to pull that towel off her too-tempting body and have his way with her right on the kitchen table. If she continued to stand there so defiantly, he didn’t know how long he could last. Clenching his teeth, he reined in all his remaining control. She finally spoke. “Fair enough, but you have nothing to worry about. I doubt the host of a popular cooking show is a demon. Don’t they usually keep low profiles?”

“Let’s hope you’re right, Serah.” He’d seen some of those so-called celebrities. If they weren’t demons, then there was no hope for Hollywood. He spun toward the dining area and marched through the doorway. The sooner he got her towel-clad body out of his sight, the better.

She didn’t like the way he stared at her. Like he was the one she should be running from. Like a tiger ready to pounce on his prey. She scrubbed at her soot-streaked face. Running a brush through her dampened curls, she sighed.

Let’s hope you’re right?
“What a jerk!”

Did he think just because he was big, bad, and muscular he could come in here and control everything? Well, he was wrong. And he almost burnt her house down. He was lucky Kalli was nearby, or she would have skinned him alive—with a silver dagger.

She yanked a comb through a gnarled curl. “Ouch.” She flung the comb to the counter and raked fingers through her hair instead.

“I don’t need makeup?” What exactly did he mean when he said that? Men, especially those of the demon variety, had no clue. As if all women could look like instant sexpots with a snap of a finger. There was only one woman she knew with that skill, and Lucy was half-succubus anyway, so she didn’t really count.