He was already a series of sharp contrasts and contradictories, of ups and downs, sharp twists and jabbing words. That he seemed to have run out of juice from the night before only added to the list that made up the different chapters in his book. So while his face, with its dark shadow growing in with a hint of copper, showed signs of being bone weary, the ember in his eyes did spark back up as her tongue became the flint that lit the fire again. Rather than take offense by her retort, he instead grinned like someone who had expected exactly that kind of reaction to his words. Before she could escape him and draw back, taking her pensive stare with her, he caught her fast once more. At first, it seemed like he was going to force another kiss against her mouth. Instead, he leaned himself forward in the chair he occupied and murmured in her ear, “Show me your skills, then.”<br/><br/>It was as simple as that. The grin faded into a lingering smirk when he drew away to again slump backwards, his head kicked back and lids lowered as he watched her still. It was a look that meant he knew very well what boundaries he crossed by insulting her the way he did and that he did so on purpose. The words that followed it confirmed the suggestive nature of his stare. This time, the condescension was gone from his voice, replaced by something with a trace amount of respect for the blonde. At the same time, his years also showed through the mask of youth he’d worn for too long.<br/><br/>“I would advise that you not demean<i>yourself</i>then.” See, he had been paying attention to her past. “Half of anything to do with power stems from confidence. You don’t see the bashful wizard in any TV show taking down the bad guy; they have to gain their confidence first. That you’re taking<i>me</i>with a grain of salt is a good sign in my book.”<br/><br/>He grinned all over again that soon turned into a leer when she left her seat across from him to retrieve his<i>special brew</i>. His eyes trailed down her back to where the end of her shirt met bare thigh, and clung there to watch the motion of her hips sway until her lower half disappeared behind the kitchen counter. With an audible groan, he hefted himself up out of the chair to trail her, but kept the guard of the counter between the two of them as he watched her fix the tea. The second lesson was about to be learned, only he waited until it was too late to say the words.<br/><br/>“You also shouldn’t drink strange things, Ms. Barnes,” he commented ironically as soon as she tilted her head back to down the liquid. It had a bitter taste underneath the mint, which was simply there to cloy the smell underneath. Unlike most things that took their time when hitting the digestive track over being snorted or injected, this one kicked hard. Like taking ten shots in one go. One minute you feel find and the next it knocks you right on your ass. “I could have just roofied you so that you wouldn’t fight back when I dragged you back to my lair now that I’ve won your trust during our one night stand together so that I can conduct all manner of sordid experiments on you.”<br/><br/>Except that most of what he had to say, albeit dripping with sarcasm, might very well have been lost on her ears judging by the glazed-over stare and slack-jawed expression on her face once his<i>medicine </i>worked its wiles. Despite the cruel twist of his lips that dubbed him the<b>asshole</b>, his expression was quickly melting down until it was curiosity that reflected back at the blonde. Carefully, he maneuvered himself to stand next to her in the kitchen in the event she lost her balance. Even more curiously was wondering just what she saw when the memories flooded back in her mind. Joke as he might, James had concocted something that would have only worked if his suspicions had been right; if Adella, if only a part of her, had been a part of this young woman. He’s be a liar if he hadn’t hoped for it as well – though a majority ruling would have him hoping that she<i>wasn’t</i>.<br/><br/>Once she broke free of her trance, he was quick to move. Strong arms moved around her slim waist and his head dipped down so that his cheek pressed against hers, though his was rough like sandpaper against hers. “<i>Sorry</i>,” he whispered. “But I’m glad. It means I have a chance,” he teased after, left a sloppy kiss on her cheek as he drew back, then led her out of the kitchen to the chair she had occupied.<br/><br/>This time he remained standing while his attention moved from her to the book left on his own chair. “This also means you’re going to learn a lot more about those dark things you don’t like very much once the memories really start flowing in. That felt kind of like a hot flash, didn’t it?” He again turned his attention back to her, brows furrowed as his darkened eyes watched for any pallor in her feature. Sweats. Trembling. Signs of a mistake that he had made. “Because I might have had an ulterior motive thanks to your insistence in muddling in harmful business.” Enter the wry expression now that played into the subtle worry on his face. “If you remembered being Adella – or at least part of her – in a past life, then her memories would teach you everything that she knew about witchcraft. Call it cramming for a test that happens to be tomorrow in one day when the semester should have taken sixteen weeks. I didn’t feel like taking that long.”<br/><br/>So he was using her to some extent. Or at least that was what his words insinuated. There wasn’t an apology ready to leave his lips this time, though. Nor did he even look the part. Instead, he began roaming the small space of her living room with the<i>salamander </i>inflaming his leg. “We’re going to summon a lesser demon. How you handle holding a lesser demon will determine whether I don’t just leave here to take care of my own business. I might not be a white knight, but I’m also not in the habit of sentencing girls that I like to their death.. or worse.”