Truth or Demon (26 page)

Poppy still had no intention of doing so, but a half-truth was better than a continued debate with a fifteen-year-old. Talk about an exercise in futility.

Daisy took a bite of her cereal, looking neither as if she believed Poppy nor as if she was appeased.

Poppy sipped her coffee.

After a moment, Daisy blurted out, “I thought something happened last night.”

Poppy’s heart stopped. But she managed to look up calmly at Daisy. “Why did you think that?”

Daisy shook her head. “I don’t know. I just thought something had.”

“No,” Poppy said, trying to appear perplexed by her sister’s notion.

Daisy returned her attention back to her breakfast.

“Like what?” Poppy found herself asking. Did Daisy still have some false hope that she’d become interested in Killian? Even after Poppy had made it clear that wouldn’t happen?

Instantly, the incident on the roof and then the dream flashed through Poppy’s mind.

Yeah, she’d made that clear all right. Maybe to Daisy, but apparently not to herself.

“I thought you might have met someone.”

Someone. Not Killian, just a random, faceless someone.

Poppy found herself nodding. “I did.”

Daisy’s head popped up, her dark eyes searching Poppy’s. “You did? Really?”

Poppy nodded again.

“I knew it,” Daisy exclaimed, a huge grin replacing her sullen irritation. “What’s he like?”

She shouldn’t be doing this.

“He’s nice,” Poppy told her. “A—professor.”

“Really?” Daisy’s smiled widened, if possible. “Like Dad? That’s a good fit for you.”

“Well, we just met. So, you know, I don’t want to make too many assumptions, but yeah, it could be good.”

Daisy jumped up. “Well, I think it’s great. You gotta go out this weekend.” She hugged Poppy. “I’m late, but I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks.”

As soon as Daisy bounced out of the room, Poppy’s strained smile faded. Why had she told her sister that? There was no professor. There was just a tawdry encounter on a rooftop with a man who would never really be interested in her—well, you know, beyond “like.” But she’d hated her sister’s disappointment.

And Poppy supposed it would be easy enough to get rid of a nonexistent professor. She just didn’t want Daisy to worry about her. Even for a weekend.

“Have a good day,” Daisy called to Poppy as she headed to the apartment door.

“You too,” Poppy yelled back, then pulled in a deep breath.

Twirling the pencil on its tip, she wondered how she was going to have a good day. Not with all these worries haunting her.

Killian was just stepping into the lobby of the apartment house when Daisy and the girls came off the elevator. Daisy grinned, dashing up to him. And much to his surprise, she hugged him.

“Thank you!” she said, squeezing him.

He hesitated, and then his arms went around her thin form. He hugged her back.

Daisy embraced him a few moments longer, then stepped back to beam up at him. “I knew you would do it.”

He nodded as if he understood.

“I could tell last night when Poppy walked through the door that it had finally happened.” Daisy practically danced with happiness.

Killian glanced at her friends. Emma smiled too, a small, wistful smile. Madison for once didn’t look completely unimpressed. But still he had no idea what was going on.

“I’m really happy with your choice,” Daisy said, giving him another quick hug. Then the girls hurried out of the lobby, rushing off to school in a flurry of giddy, girlish chatter.

Killian watched them leave, trying to understand what had just transpired. She knew what had happened last night and she was thrilled?

Somehow he had a hard time believing that Poppy would share all the details about what had happened. But she must have told Daisy something.

Killian walked into the elevator and pressed the number for Poppy’s floor. He leaned against the wall as the elevator shuddered to life. The wall against which he’d kissed Poppy.

He’d spent most of the night walking around Boston, thinking about everything that had happened over the past week. Trying to understand. Understand why he’d been conjured here. Why he hadn’t been willing to find Poppy a man, any man, and leave. Why was he attracted to her? More than attracted. His body ached for her.

As he’d walked and walked, one thing started to become clear to him. He was supposed to be with Poppy.

Not as her soul mate. He’d have to have a soul for that. But maybe as a stepping-stone. All along he’d had this sense she needed to move on. She needed to rediscover herself. To mend some of the wounds caused by Adam, and her parents’ deaths.

He had to help her do that before he could do this job. He couldn’t think of any other reason for everything that had happened. Including the sex. She needed to rediscover herself sexually too.

He considered sex pretty damned important. But then, he was a demon, so he would. But as he walked, and thought about the events of the art gallery, he also found himself thinking about those photos. Captured moments of human sexuality.

And he realized that Poppy needed to learn to open up to that side of herself just as much as any of her other sides.

Sex was important. And she needed to feel confident about that to move on too.

So he was going to talk to her right now about his plan. And it was a good one.

Poppy answered the door on his second knock. She was still in her pajamas. The T-shirt clung to her slight frame, and he struggled, not letting his gaze wander downward to appreciate the way the fabric hugged her pert breasts, more revealing than any silk teddy.

“Killian.”

He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or not to see him. Her dark eyes regarded him, wide, maybe a little uncertain.

He understood that feeling. Maybe for the first time in his existence, he wasn’t sure about his next actions. But he didn’t see any point in standing there, hemming and hawing. He knew this was part of what he was here to do.

“Poppy, I think we should have an affair.”

C
HAPTER
29

P
oppy hadn’t known what to expect from Killian’s early morning visit. But she was fairly certain that announcement wasn’t it.

No response came to her boggled mind as she stared at his expectant face. All she could do was gape at him as if he’d sprouted horns and turned into one of the demons he’d described to her from his paranormal research.

He waited a few seconds, then realized she wasn’t going to speak.

So he continued, “I know that sounds kind of abrupt and crazy, but I really think it would benefit us both.”

Oh, she could well see the benefits. At least the physical ones. But … she just couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that he’d even suggested such a thing.

“You see,” he started, and suddenly a moment of awareness reached into Poppy’s scrambled brains. She grabbed his wrist and tugged him inside the apartment. It wasn’t likely that any of her neighbors would venture by, but if they did, she didn’t really want them hearing Killian’s theories on why they should become lovers.

Call her old-fashioned.

She continued to tug him with her until they reached the living room. Then she dropped his arm like he was on fire. She moved across the room as if more space would help her think straight.

Killian watched her for a moment. Waiting again, she supposed, to see if she’d say anything, but really, still no words were coming to her. Well, none that she could string together into a comprehensible sentence.

“Poppy, I know this sounds crazy,” he said, taking a step toward her, then stopping, “but it’s clear we’re both very attracted to each other.”

Poppy realized her eyes must be the size of saucers. She was attracted to him. Absolutely. And she couldn’t deny a part of her was thrilled that he was saying he was attracted to her too. But the way he was approaching it was more like a business arrangement than a love affair.

“You see,” he continued, “we’ve both been too hurt from our past relationships to jump right into something committed again. In fact, I think that would be a disaster.”

She waited.

“But,” he said slowly, “I don’t think we can ignore our physical attraction. And maybe we could help each other gain some confidence again.”

By some miracle, she found her voice. “You didn’t seem particularly insecure last night.”

Killian actually smiled at that. Apparently he didn’t find this proposition strange at all.

“Believe me, you are the only one who has been able to make me react like that.”

Poppy’s heart fluttered at his admission. Was that true? He didn’t do things like that on a regular basis?

“I—I’ve never done something like that.”

Killian’s smile broadened, making him stunningly beautiful. His eyes glittered, filled with pleasure and what Poppy thought looked like possessiveness.

Her whole body reacted, skin tingling.

“So you can see, we have something special happening between us.” He closed the space between them, stopping inches from her.

“I don’t know if this is wise,” she said, even as she wanted to press herself against him and let him kiss her senseless. In fact, senseless sounded wonderful. No more thinking, just feeling. Just letting go.

But she managed to finish voicing her concern. “I still think there is the potential to really get hurt.”

He nodded. “I’ve thought about that too. But we have started this great friendship, so if we are just up front with each other, then things should be fine. We need to learn to trust again.”

She still didn’t answer. To her, this sounded like a recipe for disaster.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to ignore the attraction here.” His eyes caught hers, holding them. Heat flared between them.

No, she couldn’t argue with that, but she just wasn’t sure.

“So what do you see as the final outcome?” she asked.

He shrugged, the muscles of his shoulders rippling under the cotton of his shirt. “We have fun, keep it light, learn how to be comfortable being ourselves and being with someone else.”

She studied him for a moment. His eyes were filled with sincerity and hopefulness. He really thought this idea could work.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “I’ve never seen myself as a casual affair kind of girl.”

“No,” he agreed immediately. “But this isn’t exactly casual. We’re friends. We will remain friends no matter what. I’m suggesting … I don’t know, a relationship with training wheels.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow at that analogy. She was more inclined to see it as a relationship on a unicycle. On a tightrope. Someone was bound to fall hard.

And she was afraid it was going to be her.

She crossed her arms around herself, then moved to sit on the sofa. What did a person say to a proposition like this? Part of her wanted to say yes. Unequivocally yes. But another part of her, the rational part, the part not driven by her libido, knew she should absolutely say no.

The couch dipped as Killian joined her, his knee so close, it nearly brushed hers. Just the possibility of an innocuous touch like that and her body pulsed with longing.

Saying no would be so difficult. But saying yes could lead to much harder times ahead.

Even as she thought that, her head nodded as if the other part—the libido part—was answering without her consent.

Killian paused. Had she agreed? Even though he’d thrown the idea out there, he realized he hadn’t expected Poppy to agree. Of course, he wasn’t sure that slight nod was truly agreement, much as he wanted to see it that way.

“I—I just don’t see how.” She paused, clearly struggling with the idea. “I just don’t see how this works. I mean, I’m not comfortable with you just showing up to—hook up.”

That wasn’t how he’d imagined it either.

“I think we simply go on like we have been, except when it seems appropriate to both of us, then we …”

This sounded kind of weird now that he was saying it out loud.

“We …” How did he say this with any finesse?

“We fool around,” she supplied.

“Yes.”

Damn, what must she be thinking? About this suggestion? About him? That he was some weird lecher or something.

He sighed. Perhaps laying it out like this wasn’t the brilliant idea he’d thought it was while wandering the streets of Boston in the wee hours of the night.

Maybe he should have just let an affair happen on its own. Or not happen. Now he was back to not being so sure why he was here.

“Okay,” she said, standing.

He waited for her to ask him to leave. Or to tell him that it was the most offensive proposition she’d ever heard.

Instead, she walked toward the kitchen, pausing to ask, “Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Wait, the “okay” had been her answer. She’d agreed.

“Um, sure,” he said after a second. “That would be great.”

She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, and he fell back against the couch cushions. She’d agreed. She’d agreed to an affair.

His cock leapt in his jeans as if in an attempt to give him a high five.

And he groaned. What was he doing?

Poppy took down a mug from the cupboard, then stopped, bracing her hands on the edge of the countertop. What was she doing? She felt like she’d just made a deal with the devil. An affair with Killian?

Could she really do that?

She snorted quietly to herself. Oh, she could do it. Last night proved that. But could she do what he was suggesting? Sex without attaching to him? Nothing more than friends?

She couldn’t deny that she had chemistry with him. And clearly he felt the chemistry too, or why else would he suggest the arrangement?

She pulled in a calming breath and reached for the coffee carafe. She refilled her mug and then poured his. As she stirred in her cream and sugar, she realized one thing. The fact they were going to have sex, or rather more sex, was kind of inevitable.

So maybe having an up-front, discussed agreement was better. She would go in with her eyes wide open and enjoy this for what it was. And maybe she needed to take a risk and do something a little wild.