Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

Breathing heavy, I slowly straighten up and lean against Ethan for a moment. Stars dotting my vision, I turn and drop to my knees, taking Ethan’s cock into my mouth, tongue swirling around the tip. I bob my head back and forth, moving my hand along with my mouth, going faster and faster and then slowing down to tease him until he comes as well.

Ethan helps me to my feet and puts his arms around me again. “Are you warm now?”

“I am.” I hook my arms around his neck and lean against him, letting the water roll over me for another minute before I break away to finish showering.

We’re both in the bedroom getting dressed when the doorbell rings.

“Expecting a delivery again?” Ethan asks.

“No, and the Amazon drivers don’t usually ring the doorbell. You didn’t order a pizza by chance, did you?”

He flashes a crooked smile. “Unfortunately, no.”

“Darn. I’m hungry. Demons don’t usually ring the doorbell, do they?”

“They don’t,” he assures me and pulls a navy blue Henley shirt over his head, going into the hall to look out the window.

There’s a truck in the driveway. It’s the neighbors about a mile down the road.” Growing up as a hunter has made Ethan hyper-aware of pretty much everything. We live out in the country, on the road that divides Thorne Hill from its neighboring town of Paradise Valley. Our farmhouse is seated on a decent plot of land, and the few neighbors we have on the street are a good half-mile away.

“What do you think they want?”

“If we’re lucky, it’s a much over-do welcome committee and they brought that pizza you want.”

I laugh. “More people should do that, actually. New neighbors move in? Order them pizza. I really want pizza now. Can you get the door?” I flip my head over and rake my wet hair into a messy bun.

“I’m thinking more ignore them and they’ll go away.”

“That is tempting and my go-to. But I’m kind of curious. We’ve been here for a few months now and we haven’t met our neighbors.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

I laugh and Ethan runs a hand through his hair, doing his version of styling it. It’s unfair, really, how the effortless look works for him. “I’ll get it.”

“Thanks. I need like a minute to put myself together.” I’m already dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater. I fuss with my hair for a minute and then realize it’s hopeless. I redo the bun, making it not quite as messy, and then hurry down the stairs, finding Ethan in the foyer, holding the door open.

“Hi!” a woman with a can I speak to the manager styled haircut says cheerfully. She’s holding a basket of baked goods. It’s not pizza, but those chocolate muffins look good. “I’m Donna, your neighbor down the street.” She thrusts the basket at me and steps inside.

“Oh, uh, hi,” I say, side-eyeing Ethan with a “what-the-fuck” look. “I’m Anora and this is my boyfriend, Ethan.”

“Lovely to meet you both.” Donna takes another step into the foyer. “Wow, this place is just as magnificent as I imagined. We were worried this house would be torn down or be left to rot after the previous homeowner died.”

“You knew my aunt?” I rush out, eyes widening.

“Estelle Fowler was your aunt?” Donna stops short.

“Great-aunt, technically.”

Donna looks me up and down. “Huh. I didn’t know she had any family.”

“She does,” Ethan says, moving into the doorway that leads from the foyer into the hall that takes you to the back of the house. “Did you know Estelle well?”

“No, she kept to herself and wasn’t in the best health when we moved in about ten years ago. Though, I will say everyone in the area spoke highly of her. She just had a way of helping anyone in trouble.” I try not to smile. She was helpful because she was using magic, no doubt. “I believe she spent the last several years in a nursing home, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I say, mentally cringing that I have no clue. Though, I shouldn’t feel bad about Aunt Estelle’s fate when she was the one who wiped my memories.

“I wish I could have met her,” Donna says. “From what I’ve heard, she was quite the interesting woman.”

“That she was.” I might not remember much, but there’s no doubt that Aunt Estelle was quite interesting.

“This house,” Donna goes on again as she shuffles toward the dining room. “It’s incredible!”

“Thanks. It’s our dream house.”

“So you’re not putting it up for sale?”

“No, we like it here.”

Donna purses her lips, looking at me as if what I said was offensive. “I grew up in Paradise Valley and always liked this house. I’ve been waiting for it to come up for sale. I thought after the renovations it would be on the market.” She slowly turns, looking around the foyer. Obviously, she’s here to creep inside the house after she realized we were here to stay. I’m sure she’d love a house tour, but I don’t want to show someone I don’t know around my house.