‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ Finn pulled her close, forcing the breath from her lungs. ‘I leave you alone with her for five minutes, Eleanor, and you get her into trouble. You see, this is exactly why I don’t trust you, why I keep you on a tight leash.’
‘It’s my fault,’ Jill said. ‘I couldn’t sleep. I wanted to … wait a minute.’ She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, jostling a couple dancing behind them. ‘The last time I checked, I was an adult. I don’t have to ask permission to do what I want, and I don’t have to apologise for it.’
He reached for her, but she stepped back again. ‘You left her alone.’ It was Eleanor using her vocal cords, and the change was so swift and seamless that it startled both Jill and Finn.
‘I didn’t leave her alone.’ He shook his head in confusion. ‘I didn’t leave you alone, Jill. I was right in the next room, I just wanted you to be safe.’
‘Well, as you can see, I am safe, so you can go home and go back to sleep now. That is what you want, isn’t it?’
‘Fuck.’ He spoke between barely parted lips.‘Is that what you think I want? You think I want to sleep? If I’d been able to sleep, I wouldn’t have heard you leave, would I?’
‘You heard us leave?’ Jill yelled to be heard over the music. Another couple jostled her up against Finn, but she pushed back.
‘Of course I heard you leave.’ He jerked his head toward the bar. ‘I’ve been standing there watching you. I don’t mind you having a little fun, but when that arsehole moved in for the grope, that was enough.’ Was she mistaken, or did she sense Eleanor was quite smug about Finn’s behaviour? But then her anger took over.
‘You followed me?’
‘Hell, yes, I followed you. You can’t really believe I’d let you out of my sight, can you?’ Then he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him close and tight, taking her mouth in a brutal kiss that ended in a sharp bite. In a move that was startlingly swift he cupped her arse cheeks and pulled her tight against him. And Jesus, he was hard, and regardless of who might be watching, she practically climbed his body in an effort to get closer. Everything inside her sparked and the sounds Eleanor was making inside her head were positively copulatory as she ate Finn’s mouth and rubbed against him. ‘I want you so bad I can hardly stand it, Jill. Don’t you know that?’
She was tempted to fuck him right there in Juno with the whole Saturday-night crowd looking on, but instead she pulled away, and it was as though she were suddenly an island in the middle of a vast ocean with a clear view all around her. ‘No I don’t know that, Finn. And we need to talk.’ For the first time she wasn’t sure who was doing the speaking, her or Eleanor, but it didn’t matter. There were too many things that needed to be dealt with if she were going to survive being possessed by a lust demon. Finn ran a hand through his already mussed hair, squared his shoulders then led her off the dance floor.
* * *
They opted for neutral ground, an Indian restaurant whose name Jill forgot even before they were seated in a cramped corner near the back, the only place free in the late-night mishmash of clubbers and pubbers. Strangely she eschewed her usual biryani in favour of chicken jalfrezi. Even as the fiery dish burned her tongue and made her eyes water, she relished all the flavours she had never experienced before, but in the back of her mind she knew that Eleanor liked Indian spices, hot and steamy. Across from her, Finn picked at his korma.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘Why are we here?’ he asked.
‘Well, first of all, I’m hungry, and Eleanor was in the mood for a good curry. Secondly and most importantly, if you’re going to be Eleanor’s chaperone while she’s in residence, Finn, then we need to set some ground rules.’
He raised an eyebrow, polished off his pint of Kingfisher and motioned for the waiter to bring him another. ‘Ground rules?’
She leaned across the table and hissed at him. ‘I’m possessed, for chrissake, remember?’
He blinked.
‘And I don’t even know what that means. What little I do know is no thanks to you or your Sole Alliance mates. You ordered me home like a naughty child and sent me to bed.’
‘Jesus, Jill.’ He looked around as though he feared someone might be listening in, then leaned across so close that they nearly banged heads over the small table. ‘I’m trying to keep you safe, not punish you.’
‘I know that, really I do, but –’ she spoke between barely parted lips ‘– Eleanor’s a lust demon.’