Page 47 of Demons and Debts
‘I had a different one yesterday,’ I say. ‘Do you mind if I take a look?’
He gestures with his arm. ‘Knock yourself out, Sweet Thing.’
Sweet thing?
I decide to ignore the endearment, going into the pantry, trying to figure out which one of them doesn’t want me to have the nice cereal. I find the empty space where the good stuff was before. There’s nothing there and I frown. There was too much cereal in that box yesterday for it to already be gone unless more than one person in this house eats it. But if that’s the case, why only buy one box?
I reach up onto the shelf where I can't see and my fingers brush against something.Ha!
I get up on my tippy toes and pull myself up a little bit, grasping the glossy cardboard I can feel and pulling it down.
Yes!
Theo must have hid it from me. Now that I'm thinking back, maybe he did look a little bit off when I helped myself to that second bowl …
Fuck it, it’s mine now!
I clutch the box to my chest and turn only to find Paris behind me, the morning sun shining through the windows and silhouetting him in the doorway.
I can’t see his face, but he doesn’t move as I step forward to leave. He’s boxing me in.
He doesn’t say a word, but I see his head turn as he looks behind him, his Adam’s apple bouncing as he swallows hard and closes the door, plunging us into darkness.
He surges forward and cuts off my startled cry, his mouth taking mine hard. I rear back, dropping the box of cereal, but he moves with me until my back scrapes against the shelf at the back.
His lips are moving against mine and, without letting thoughts intrude for once, I mimic the motion on pure instinct. He lets out a guttural sound, one hand cupping the back of my neck and drawing me closer. His other hand holds me under my chin, angling my face up to his.
As if finally realizing that I’m not fighting, he lets go of my neck, his hand trailing down my spine to grab my ass, and I give a muffled squeak as I’m forced closer to him.
His whole body is hard and I do mean hiswhole body. He pushes me into the shelf again, his hand grabbing my thigh and pulling my leg up, opening me. He winds my leg around his waist and rubs himself against me. Fingers graze the apex of my thighs through my clothes and I gasp into his mouth, my knees going weak. I know that what I’m feeling isn’t real, but it’s so so good that I don’t care.
He pulls away a tiny bit. ‘Fuck,’ he breathes, ‘I knew you’d taste sweet.’
‘But I haven’t brushed my teeth,’ I mutter, my mind having caught up to my actions and shattering the moment.
He retreats with an abrupt laugh before he seems to come back to himself and lets me go, pushing himself away from me.
The door opens and he starts to leave. I follow. I sort of don’t want him to stop. I’ve never been kissed like that before. The other stuff neither. I want more.
‘Shit!’ he hisses and turns back. ‘I’m sorry I—’
He closes the distance between us and I’m excited for him to kiss me again, but instead, he pushes me into the shelf hard, making me swallow a cry of pain as it presses my bruised back.
‘If you tell anyone about this, I’ll make your time here so much worse than it needs to be!’
And then he’s gone, leaving me breathing hard in the pantry.
Frowning and trying to get control of myself. I can practically hear my heart beating in my chest and the roaring in my ears is like a summer downpour on a steel roof.
I pick up the cereal box with a shaky hand and take it out of the pantry, pushing everything away practically involuntarily. There’s a bowl and a spoon on the breakfast bar already and I pour out a generous amount of cereal. I add the milk, eating it quickly while it still has its crunch.
Belatedly, I see that Paris isn’t gone. He’s by the window, surveying their stupidly massive lawn with a look on his face that I don’t understand.
‘What time can we go?’ I ask between mouthfuls.
‘As soon as you're done,’ he says. ‘It's already past ten. Best get it done this morning before the party later.’
‘Party?’
