Games Demons Play (Mystic Isle, Book 3) by Selena Blake Page A

on. I am tough.”
    He looked her over, from the roots of her
hair to her toenails. “You are that.”
    When he said nothing more she took a long
drink from her goblet.
    “So this Valencia who found and turned
you…”
    “Yes.”
    “Is the same Valencia who owns Gorgeous.”
    Izzy was not perfect in her English.
Contractions still tortured her most of the time, but she did know
her tenses. “Owned.”
    “Owns. She’s just a little banged up.” He
covered her left knee with his hand and she smiled.
    He was right, of course. But the verb tense
did not change the fact that Valencia owned a pile of rubble. That
thought wiped away her smile and replaced it with a wobbly
frown.
    “You finish your drink while I go get your
chips.”
    “Thank you,” she said and watched him stride
across the room, confident, sexy. Maybe there was enough time to
sneak back to his room for a quickie.
    She smiled at the thought.
    After a few more swallows she sat the goblet
on the round cocktail table and made her way to the main
hallway.
    “Izzy!”
    She glanced over her shoulder and saw Coco
and Grayson. Coco grabbed Grayson’s hand and pulled the big wolf
down the hall. Though Coco was not as petite as Izzy, she still
reminded Izzy of a small pony pulling a large, stubborn cart.
Grayson shuffled along behind the beautiful black woman in the
sparkly T-shirt. The visual made Izzy smile.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked as Coco
pulled her in for a hug. A long, tight hug.
    “We’re here for moral support, chéri .
Where’s your lipstick?”
    “At home. You did not have to come,” Izzy
insisted, but she grinned up at her friend.
    Coco was already fishing a tube of lipstick
and a mirror from her purse. “Not your usual color, but it’ll have
to do.”
    Izzy stared down at the offering. She had not
thought about her makeup today. Strange. But if she put on the
lipstick and Shade kissed her, or she kissed him, she would leave
her mark. She did not want to do that to him.
    “I am okay without it. Thank you, Coco.”
    She was about to greet Grayson when she felt
a warm hand close over her shoulder. Her body took note of dozens
of tiny details in a fraction of a second and immediately
recognized her lover.
    “Hey, sweetheart —”
    His words were cut short as Grayson launched
himself at Shade’s chest. “Hands off the lady —”
    Izzy spun, saw Shade shove Grayson back, and
felt the tension in the air thicken to quicksand consistency as the
two held each other by the throat.
    “Grayson!” Izzy rushed between them. For once
her tiny stature gave her an advantage. She placed a hand in the
center of their chests and pushed. “He is my lover,” she said under
her breath, staring up at the gray-eyed werewolf.
    “Friend of yours?” Shade asked dryly, backing
away and straightening his shirt.
    It took Grayson a second longer to compose
himself. She watched him give Shade a thorough once-over before his
gaze dropped to hers. “Sorry, Iz.”
    She nodded and took a deep breath. “It is all
right.”
    Months ago, when they’d first come to Mystic
Isle, Grayson’s friend had gotten handsy and would not take no for
an answer. Before she and Coco had had a chance to protect
themselves, Grayson had taken his friend to the mat.
    Protective to the core, that’s what Coco said
about werewolves, Grayson in particular.
    Izzy was starting to believe it. Which made
her wonder why that wolf had attacked her in Paris? The wolves and
vamps were no longer at war. Attacking a defenseless human went
against everything she knew to be true about werewolves like
Grayson and Maxim.
    “Everything all right here?” 
    Izzy recognized the sound of Charles Latham’s
voice and turned to see the god striding up. She noticed how quiet
it was in the hallway and instantly thought of the strict policy
against violence. For an instant she worried that he’d throw them
all off the island. And then how would she make the kind of money
she needed to buy