Page 110 of Quiet Burn

“Do whatever, but I’m still waiting for an answer as to what was going on in here and whether I have a mess to clean up from your absences.” Jasper finally stomps into the living area, throwing himself into his big chair opposite mine as his eyes flash. “You can take your damn hands off your eyes now, for fuck’s sake.”

I hate doing what he says, but I remove my palms to give him a dirty look. Dottie makes a loud, angry sound, scrambling down my body to shake her fist at the dragon and I smile. He’s notscared of her, obviously, but I appreciate her showing up every single time the fuckhead gets nasty with me. Petting her head, I push up and lean against my armchair. “You’re a prick, Jasper.”

“Perhaps, but I’m theheadprick. Someone fill me in…now,” he growls as he leans his head back on the cushion of his chair. He rubs his temples, and I realize that he looks a bit haggard for someone who wasn’t hurt in the big battle.

I also realize that he’s been handling shit since it ended and I don’t know if he’s slept a wink—damn.

“Jas, I’m sure they emailed the professors. Right guys?” Zavida says, his eyes hopeful as his gaze darts from Salem to Anton to Oriel.

Anton nods and I almost let out a sigh of relief. That’s one. Maybe we won’t have to listen to the ‘clean up your messes’ portion of the rant. Salem and Oriel look sheepish, and I lick my lips as I avoid letting my eyes drift below their chins. Not one of the three of them put on a goddamned shirt, only sweats, and after the snuggle fest, I’m feeling far too warm to deal withthat.

“Fuck,” Jasper mutters as he closes his eyes. “Of course you two delinquents didn’t bother.”

Salem chuckles, winking at me as he heads for the kitchen. “I’m going to get some menus so we can decide what we’re eating while he loses his shit.”

“That would be wise,” Slash says. When I look over at him, he’s studying the group around me, including Zavida sitting just a bit outside of the circle. Before I can figure out what his problem is, he’s dropped to the ground and is scooting over to us. His big hands pick up my feet and he grins toothily as he rubs them gently.

I’d complain but honestly? This level of pampering is becoming more comfortable than I’d like to admit. Perhaps I’m getting spoiled, but I can’t seem to make myself tell him to stop. Anton chuckles, grabbing X’s feet to join in, and when Salem returns with the menus, Oriel mimics us. Zavida frowns a bit and it makes my chest feel funny, so I jerk my chin at him with a shy smile. We’re still figuring things out, but I won’t let him feel excluded.

Jasper growls when his foxy lover allows me to take his pale feet in my lap, his eyes dark. “What the hell are all of you weirdos doing? Satan’s burnt taint, I can’t deal with this shit after today.”

There it is—the opening to find out why the shit he looks like he’s been run through a grain thresher.

“Maybe you could tell us what the hell crawled up your ass and died rather than taking your frustration out on me?” I say softly as I raise my eyes to his. My expression is serious and I’m approaching it like he’s a rabid animal on purpose. I think we could all use a break from his ire, but I also think Jasper needs a break from himself. He needs people to listen to his shit for a few minutes, even if he’s going to act like a dick later.

The Prince tilts his head, studying me as I lean against Xerxes while I’m working on Zav’s right arch. His gaze darts to the kitsune, a small smile cracking as he notices the tails wrapped around the dude. “Okay, fine. You want to hear what I had to deal with while you guys fucked around?”

“Hey, wait,” X says with a frown. “No one fucked anything. That should be made very clear. It was just everyone being comfy and feeling close to KK. It will happen for everyone, eventually, I’m sure. Don’t act like it was some rando hookup, J.”

A flutter in my chest makes me duck my head at his words, and the big guy holding my feet chuckles. His thumb runs over the sole of my foot gently and I look up at him through my lashes. “Careful, I can be ticklish.”

“Yes, that must be why I feel your pulse speeding up.” Slash smirks and I know my face must be getting even redder by the second.

Jasper growls. “Okay. X’s clarification is noted. Are you ready for the story now or what?”

“O, Captain, my Captain,” Oriel says, his voice tinged with playful sarcasm. “Regale us.”

If they don’t quit screwing with him, we’re going to get nowhere.

“Shut up, Oriel,” the Prince sighs. “So you asked about the bodies, right, shrimp?”

I nod, watching his face. “I did and no one’s ever answered me.”

“We’re not picky about that shit in Hell. The clean-up crews came for them and then disposed of them in the Wastelands if their families didn’t want to pay for them to be sent back to their homes.” I blink, looking shocked, but Jasper shrugs. “Demons that are permanently killed aren’t worth a damn thing and obviously, we don’t believe in reincarnation. Only the wealthiest or highest tiers of demon lines give a fuck about the dead. Don’t let it bother you.”

My eyes move to the others and see nods all around. “Weird. But I guess it makes sense. Why would any demons actually want the bodies then? And why the Wastelands? What did the bodies look like? Was there anything odd?”

Jasper blinks, shaking his head as if to clear it at my word vomit. “Uh… in order: rituals and parts, beasts who are carrion eaters, dead, and not that I know of.”

Slash laughs, winking at me. “The Prince loves to talk but I think he’s unused to your inquisitive nature, little demon.”

“Well, if we’re all getting closer, he should get used to it.”

“Hmmph.” The dragon’s grunt doesn’t tell me anything, but I wait for him to go. “Well, after that shit, I had to deal with Darkstar and then classes and… as promised, my father.”

Oh no.

“We’ve been cleared to go above this weekend. I tried to get him to push our permission further into the future so we’d all be top notch, but without telling himwhy, I wasn’t able to convince him. So we have to go tomorrow if we want to poke around the surface for dirt on our illustrious Headmaster.”

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