Maybe?
Hopefully?
There’s still so much we don’t know about demons, and for good reason. Witches who’ve gotten too close in the past, even in the name of research, have died. But I’m not just anyone.
And I have a relative who is the literal ruler of all things demonic.
“I shouldn’t, right?” I ask Binx, who jumps from the windowsill to my bed. He rubs his head against me, purring, and settles down in my arms. I run my hand over his sleek fur, wrestling with what to do. “It hasn’t hurt anything yet,” I argue with myself. “But then again, he’s not really that trustworthy. But why?” I ask out loud. “I’d rather talk to you, Dad,” I say and close my eyes. Please, Dad…if you can hear me, give me a sign.
Sighing, I open my eyes and grab my phone, scrolling through Instagram to distract myself. I’ve slacked—again—in running Novel Ground’s social media.
I look through my old photos, think of a snappy caption, and put up the photo. Then I go back through the feed, find one of our better performing posts, and set up an ad to promote it.
“We’ll go in tomorrow,” I tell Binx. “All of us. We can take some cute photos around the store, and I’ll get everything scheduled to go up for the next two weeks.”
Binx rolls over, stretching his arms out and wanting a belly rub. I relax as I pet him, and I’m tired and almost asleep again when Lucas comes home.
“You smell like the woods,” I mumble as he gets into bed next to me. He’s stripped out of his clothes, but the scent of fresh forest air clings to his cool skin.
“I came home that way. And no, I didn’t see anything.”
“I assumed. You need to close the window,” I say as he slips his arms around my waist. “The screen won’t keep you safe.”
“I already did. Go back to sleep, Callie.”
“I can now that you’re here.”
Lucas kisses my forehead and holds me tight as I drift back to sleep.Bright sunlight streams through the windows. I stretch and roll over, finding Lucas lying perfectly still next to me. He really does look dead when he’s sleeping. His chest isn’t rising and falling. There’s little color to his cheeks. And he’s cold to the touch.
Yet he’s still as gorgeous as ever.
It’s only eight a.m., and I could easily fall back asleep. But I should get up, go for a run, and then head into town, getting everything done so I can be home by lunch.
Lucas wakes as I get out of bed, and we get dressed and go downstairs together. I plug in my coffee pot and sit on the couch in the living room as I wait for the coffee to be ready. Exhaustion hits me again, and I doze off.
“Are you awake?” Lucas asks softly, coming into the living room with my cup of coffee.
“I am,” I mumble. Lucas sets the mug on the coffee table and sits next to me, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch.
“Go back to bed if you’re tired.”
“I should get up,” I say and take the blanket, covering us both. I’m comfy next to Lucas and just so damn tired. Maybe I should go back to bed. “I didn’t sleep well last night,” I explain. “I missed you, and I couldn’t turn my brain off.”
“I’ll be here tonight,” he says, running his fingertips up and down my arm. It’s all I need to be lulled back to sleep, and my coffee is cold by the time I wake up forty minutes later. Lucas is still on the couch with me, and the Infernal Dictionary is in front of him.
“Riveting read, isn’t it?” I ask as I stretch.
“It is,” Lucas answers seriously. “There are many demonic creatures I wasn’t aware of, even after sixteen hundred years of walking this earth.” He flips a page, and I get up and stretch, reaching for my coffee.
“I need to go to the store today,” I tell Lucas, holding my hand over my coffee, using magic to reheat it. “I’m supposed to take care of all the social media posts, and I’ve been slacking.”
“You’ve had a good reason to,” Lucas says, trying to make me feel better.
“I know. I meant to schedule posts like a week ago and didn’t, so I’m going to for real now. I’m taking the herd with me. People always like my cat and books posts. Now I can do cats and books and a puppy.”
“If you want me to pose naked with the books, I’m willing,” he says with a perfectly straight face. He closes the Infernal Dictionary and turns to me as I blow on my coffee.
“Those photos would go viral.” I smile and take a sip of the coffee. It tastes bitter today. Maybe from sitting out and then being reheated? I take another drink anyway, needing the caffeine.