Page 15 of Heart Over Heels

As far as I could tell, she was alone without guards or her brother, Stefano, shadowing her steps. Despite her apparent isolation, she seemed unbothered by my approach, not turning despite my steps marking my advance like a countdown clock ticking.

“Miss Rossetti?” My voice resonated in the cavernous silence.

She turned at last, a vision of elegance. Her ivory business suit had been sculpted to her form, and her white satin blouse mimicked the opalescence of her wings. Gold accents gleamed at her sleeve cuffs and throat, as if she needed any more help looking like royalty.

Her pale lips pursed, and her milky eyes swept over me. Her pinprick pupils drilled into me like twin lasers.

“Mister James.”

She let the pause hang, and I got the distinct impression she was verifying whether I was, in fact, the man she’d summoned. I gave a nod to confirm, and she returned it.

“I was reviewing security footage from earlier this week,” she said. “And I noticed we had an unwelcome guest. A demon. Intercepted by my security team. And by you.”

The tilt of her head was slight, but the weight of it landed hard.

“Though from what I gathered, you were more of a self-insert in that situation.”

“They were breaking protocol, ma’am.” I kept my posture straight and my hands clasped behind my back.

Her brow arched.

“We’re supposed to escort any demon intruders off the premises, ma’am,” I continued. “Remove them from the property immediately.”

“And what were they doing instead?”

I hesitated, the memory of the other guards’ unsubtle handling of the situation fresh in my mind. Tattling might buyme points with Antonella, but it would cost me tenfold with the people I was supposed to trust at my back.

“I’m not sure, ma’am,” I replied.

Antonella’s head tilted—opposite side, same weighty judgment. “And yet you decided to intervene.”

Warmth crept up my neck as I nodded again. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You walked the creature outside yourself.”

“I did.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Did you speak to it?”

“Briefly.”

It gnawed at me, the way people kept labeling him as though he didn’t have a name, a face, a life. Luxe, his card had said. Probably an alias, but he was not a creature. Not an “it.” He was…

“Is it the tail or lack of tits?”he’d said.

I wasn’t in the habit of sizing up other men. I saw plenty during my time in the service, in all manner of undress, and I’d never batted an eye. Then again, I’d never seen a man like Luxe.

Smooth brown skin. Lithe arms. Shapely thighs. Plump little ass…

“What did it say to you?” Antonella asked.

I cleared my throat, glancing past the angel to the city beyond before forcing myself to meet her eyes. “He works at the Devil’s Dollhouse, ma’am.”

A flicker of recognition passed over her expression. “Here gathering information, no doubt.” She stepped closer. “What else did it say?”

The next words tumbled out before I could stop them.“He’s the manager there. Mentioned a security opening at the club.”

Antonella’s colorless eyes gleamed. “A security opening,” she mused, turning the words over, tasting them. “Interesting.” She took another step, and though she barely moved, it felt like the distance between us collapsed.