“How very kind of you, Rachel Mariana Morgan,” the demon said, and I scowled.

Nick was starting to look angry. On sudden impulse I pushed the hair from his left temple. My breath caught as I saw two lines bisecting his demon scar instead of one. “Nick!” I wailed. “You know what happens when you get too many of those?”

He took a bothered step back, and his brown hair fell to hide it.

“It can pull you into the ever-after!” I shouted, wanting to smack him a good one. I had only one line through my demon scar, and the worry still kept me up at night.

Nick said nothing, watching me with unrepentant eyes. Damn it all to hell, he wasn’t even trying to explain himself. “Talk to me!” I exclaimed.

“Rachel,” he said. “Nothing is going to happen. I’m being careful.”

“But you have two IOUs,” I protested. “If you don’t make good, you belong to it.”

He smiled confidently, and I cursed his belief that the printed word held all the answers and he would be safe if he followed the rules. “It’s okay,” he said as he took my shoulders again. “I’ve only entered into a trial contract.”

“Trial contract…” I stammered, floored. “Nick, this isn’t twenty CDs for a penny with only three more to buy. It’s trying to take your soul!”

The demon chuckled, and I flicked a glance at it.

“That’s not going to happen,” Nick soothed. “I can call on him whenever I want, same as if I gave him my soul. And at the end of three years I walk away with no ties or commitments.”

“If it sounds like too good a deal, you aren’t looking at the fine print.”

Still he smiled, his face showing confidence instead of the terror he should have been feeling. “I read the fine print.” His finger rose to touch my lips and stop my outburst. “All of it. I get minor questions answered for free, and I can put larger questions to him on credit.”

My eyes closed. “Nick. Did you know your aura is rimmed in black? You look like a wraith in my mind’s eye.”

“So do you, love,” Nick whispered, pulling me close.

Shocked, I did nothing as his arms went about me. My aura was as tainted as his? I hadn’t done anything but let it save my life.

“He has all the answers, Rachel,” Nick whispered, and I felt my hair move with his breath. “I can’t help it.”

The demon cleared its throat, and I pulled away from Nick.