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One

Labor Day weekend in Pe Or

I was sitting at a table down at Union Pier, listening to a band with my boyfriend, Sinclair—well, I’ for about three weeks and taking it slow

Okay, maybe I’d better back this up

My naent of Hel That’s Hel, the Norse goddess of the dead, who relocated to Pe World War I and currently presides over a modest underworld located in a buried lu sand dunes that an’s premier resort destinations Wild, untraan shoreline, and a boo business in paranormal tourism

Most of the tis run fairly smoothly, but not always That’s where I come in As Hel’s liaison, it’s my job to keep the peace between mundane authorities, such as the police, and the eldritch co e was found drowned in the river Undines witnessed it, there were ghouls involved—long story short, it was a mess

Anyway, the one good thing to co

So on Friday evening of the last big weekend of the su to music at Union Pier, a riverfront bar located in the shadow of the SS Osikayas, the old steamship permanently docked there

Most people who know h I have to admit that the Mauess fro, i-ever while stoned-looking kids in retro T-shirts swayed and nodded

But they were friends of Sinclair’s frolad to be there It was nice to feel Sinclair’s thigh brush mine under the table, nice to feel likethe b-word out loud, even if that wasn’t entirely fair to him

See, my life iscomplicated

It’s not that there are other guys in it Well, okay There sort of are Just not nice, noruys Not that Sinclair’s entirely nor, he sees auras For anotherwell, we’re still in the getting-to-know-you phase, and I’s I don’t know, like why his parents split Why his dad took Sinclair and ean

To be fair, uess that’s natural Normal or not, Sinclair’s definitely huor, lesser demon and occasional incubus Moer at the time—but that’s another story My mom’s one of the nicest people I know, and I inherited her white-blond Scandinavian hair, pert nose, and fair skin

Froht-black eyes and a propensity to struggle with the Seven Deadly Sins, especially anger Bad things happen when I lose my temper Oh, and also my existence represents a chink in the Inviolate Wall that divides the mortal plane froer Arht circuht So far, I’vean apocalypse is a pretty good motivator

So, yeah,it slowly Not just e, a little above-the-waist action Nothing lower Which, yes, is frustrating But I don’t bla a hell-spawn, and there’s one little detail I haven’t shared with him yet

At the end of the pier, the Mamma Ja, Sinclair slung one arm around onna co out, spend souys?”

I set in the way of guy time”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’tJamaican accent that charmed the tourists He had his own business, Pemkowet Supernatural Tours, which had debuted this sue part in it by arranging for regular appearances by pretty, sparkly fairies Sinclair gave my shoulders an affectionate squeeze “Hey, deirl Of course I want you to come over”

I’ll adave me a case of the warm fuzzies Still, I leaned back so I could look him in the face “Oh, yeah? What have you told them about me?”

He pursed his lips, which, by the ere nice and full and highly kissable Let me state for the record that Sinclair Palmer is a bona fide hottie He falls into that elusive sweet spot between handsoh, rounded cheekbones, an infectious sht I’d let the it on the the accent “Do you blame me?”

“Nooo” I admitted “Not really”

“So co “Ain’t no big thing, girl! We’ll put sorill, drink a few beers” He paused “Maybe you could spend the night?”

A jolt of desire ran through me, and beneath my short skirt, my tail twitched in an involuntary spasm

Uh, yeah That was the little so I hadn’t uys out

“You’re sure about that?” I asked him