Page 40 of Broken Shadows

I growl defensively. “I am not jealous of your fucking bat.”

“So, you say, but the twitching of your eyelid and permanent snarl face in his presence shows otherwise,” she aptly points out.

I lower the lip I didn’t realize curled away from my teeth. “Shit,” I mutter.

Aiden shouts excitedly in the hall, “Hey, you two love birds!”

“For fuck’s sake,” I growl under my breath. I twist my head slowly, then stare at the side of her smiling face with darkening, narrow eyes as I slip my mask from my back pocket and slide it over my face. She flicks a glance in my direction and her body jerks, a boisterous snort turned into a laugh breaking past her control.

“Hi, Aiden,” Evie replies, and waves. Aiden bounds into the room, his laughter joining hers, then adjusts his peach ball cap, his blond hair curling around the edges.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, he bobs his head and looks around the room. “Sooo, what are you guys up to? I’m so bored.”

“I have an idea,” Evie says, a smirk playing across her lips. Oh, Hell no. “Aiden, why don’t you go with Lorcan to town? He wants to pick out a present for Gomez.”

“Absolutely not,” I hiss, but my denial falls to the wayside as Aiden’s joy circumvents my attempts.

“Hell yes!” he screams, then holds up his hand as if waiting for someone to slap it. He lets it hang there for a moment, then drops it, a brilliant, shiny smile taking over more than half his face. “Bro bonding time,” he continues,” I’ve wanted to hang out with you forever, Bro Demon. You’re not so bad when all of your time isn’t spent threatening to torture me in Hell.” Aiden’s blue eyes flick from Evie’s watery, mirth filled ones to mine. “You know, to peel my skin off or feed me to the wild dogs in the pits. Remember?”

Fucking traitor,I send down the bond to Evie.

Relax, I promise I’ll make it up to you later,Evie responds in kind and saunters over to me, her hips swaying sensually. Her pointer and middle finger walk up my sternum, then jab into my pec.Don't be such a grumpy asshole. Take him with you. I'm sure he will be much better at picking out a present than you would alone.

“As a matter of fact,” Evie says, speaking aloud, “you should ask Ezra to come along too.” My jaw drops as my witch winks, then glides from the room.

I growl into her mind,You’ll pay for this, Witch.

She replies huskily,Looking forward to it, Demon.

Her voice filters into my consciousness and wraps around my cock as if it’s her tongue, then a shiver skates over my skin.

I’ve created a fucking monster.

Evie’s laughter floats down the bond before I disengage our minds and focus on the present.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lorcan

“Fuck, no.” My skin screams to be itched under the thick layer of concealer Evie slathered over my true name. According to her, a mask would be too out of place in the Human Realm this time of year. I bring my lit cigarette up to my mouth and stare at the mom-and-pop store with disdain. Although I donned one of Ezra’s plain black hoodies, the hood large enough to hide most of my face, uncomfortable doesn’t begin to cover it—I feel utterly naked without my mask. “Martha Doyle’s Doilies and Gifts,” I read aloud, then cross my arms over my chest.

“C’mon, Lorcan. It's not so bad. I bet there're loads of awesome stuff in there,” Aiden encourages as he leans against the front window and peeks inside, his breath fogging the glass.

“Yeah, demon the fuck up,” Ezra agrees.

“Oh look, they have embroidery!” Aiden crows.

“And?” I drawl.

“And my mom owned a sewing store when I was a kid. She taught me some cool things, like how to use her embroidery machine,” Aiden explains with a shrug.

I gape at him. “I think that’s the most coherent sentence I’ve ever heard you speak, Aiden,” I admit.

Aiden grins at me, “Evie was right, we’re totally bonding and shit.”

Ezra snorts, then marches over to the entrance and shoves the door open, the welcome bell clanging so hard the bronze brackets holding it in place loosen from the wall. Aiden and I stare as it dangles by a lone screw. I smirk and watch from the shadows beneath my hood as Aiden cringes and lays a hand on Ezra’s thick shoulder. “Dude, you gotta be careful with human stuff. It’s not made for big demon bros like you,” Aiden whispers poorly, then turns a toothy grin on the elderly woman behind the store counter as I cross over the threshold.

“Beg your pardon? You’ll have to speak up, I’m afraid my hearing is not what it used to be.”

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