She watched him make his way to the opening. As he reached it, his fiery form became a very tall, well-built male. The finely sculpted muscles were perfect, his shoulders were broad, and his arms and legs displayed tremendous strength. The color of his skin was honey brown. As he approached the table, she could see his body narrowed down at the waist and hips in a masculine manner.

Beccah held her breath and looked up at his face. He wasn’t the most handsome she’d ever seen, but his chin was firm and his nose straight. Only his mouth hinted at his demonic origin. It was framed by thin, ungenerous lips. Then she noticed his pointed ears and large, up slanting eyes. They also confirmed he was a demon. Garr’s eyes weren’t red, but displayed an astonishing shade of bright green that darkened as he looked at her. Beccah could see flames swirling in them. He bowed his head, which caused his shoulder-length, deep-chestnut hair to cover most of his cheeks. As he spoke, she realized his voice was even deeper than when he communicated telepathically.

“Yes, mistress, may I be of help to you?”

The wine rather than Beccah answered him, “Not really, my friends wanted to see you in your other form.”

“Yes, I heard what they said.”

So he had listened to them.

Garr looked at Noni and May, and then faced Beccah with his head once again bowed. She made a “What do you think?” expression to her friends and they in turn, nodded their approval.

“Okay, you can go back now.”

He moved away from the table, went behind the panel and resumed his fiery form.

“Wow!” exclaimed May. “He’s gorgeous and a real hunk. Did you see those muscles and wild green eyes?”

“There’s no way you’ll want to keep him at arm’s length, as he’s so well-endowed everywhere else. I’m sure he’s similarly blessed where it matters. If you don’t want him, I’ll happily pay to have that hunk become my protector.” Noni looked across at the fire daemon and waved a hand at him.

“Stop it, Noni! The wine has affected you. I know it has made me feel tipsy.” Beccah took one more bite of food before she pushed her almost empty plate aside. “He was different from what I expected. I thought he might have horns and other extra demon bits.”

“They do have horns and long claws, but no wings. My first protector told me they hide those extra bits when they’re around humans. However, when they’re with their fire daemon buddies they let it all hang out.”

May asked, “So do you feel less afraid now? I’m not into demons, but he could change my mind. You’ve really lucked out, Beccah.”

“I don’t feel as frightened as I did, but I think that’s the wine’s effect.” She paused and continued, “I must admit he does look stunning.”

“He certainly does, and is very servile. Did you see how he bowed his head rather than look at you directly?” questioned Noni.

“That’s because I told him not to stare at me. It makes me feel very nervous when he does that.”

Noni explained, “They do stare, but that’s because they have to keep an eye open for any threat coming our way. You’ll get used to it, especially from those demonic eyes.”