Page 21 of April's Fool
“I didn’t want you to be alone.” Cody hugged the cushion tighter, a frown on his pretty face.
He’d gotten the hang of only letting some of his demon features out already. I could see his horns through his hair, the tips of his ears, and his eyes were fully black. The change wasn’t at all jarring to me, which made me wonder about myself. Here I was staying with a witch-demon in a demon’s castle, in a different realm to my own, and this felt more comfortable to me than my shared apartment.
“Sweetness, I would have been fine, but I appreciate it,” then I paused. “Hey, what’s that on your horn?” He had a similar etching on it to the one that Mori had. “Did you have that before?” My hand gravitated towards the right horn bearing the mark, but pausedwhen I remembered it was an intimate thing to let someone touch them.
Cody’s hand fluttered up towards it as his face colored. The blush ran down his face to his neck.
“Hon?”
“Oh, uh… well…” The redness deepened. “It’s my royal mark,” he muttered hastily.
“What?” I cocked my head, trying to get a good look at it. Huh, it did look like a crown.
“When me and Toth were made princes, we got these marks to show our status. Mori has one, too.”
“I thought it might just be a family thing since you met him, but that’s pretty cool, right?”
“You don’t think it’s silly?”
My opinion clearly meant a lot to Cody. We were best friends at this point. No one could dispute what we felt about each other. So I knew I had to be enthusiastic about my praise for the move. Honestly, it was the best thing that the royals of this realm had done. This, a mark as proof, would keep Cody and Toth safe. “It’s amazing! Everywhere you go, people will know how special you are.”
“Damon,” Cody complained, “be serious.”
“I am. They liked you, so they put a crown on it!” I joked. His lips lifted in a smile, his face returned to its normal color.
“Weirdo.”
“Takes one to know one.”
He suddenly turned serious. “Don’t hurt him, please.”
I didn’t have the words to explain to Cody just how I felt about his dad. Whatever was happening between us was more than just a one-night thing. With Mori, I knew I was in danger of wanting all his nights.
Tension flared to life between me and Mori whenever our eyes met over the breakfast table the following morning. I knew I wasn’t imagining the feeling of lust heavy in the air, and the prickling jealousy that came from the bodyguard.
Gregoris was keeping Mori’s attention focused on him whenever possible. He served Mori food, was conscientious about filling his coffee cup and checking that Mori had enough water or juice. He hung on every word Mori uttered and monopolized the conversation.
Then there were the touches. Did Mori realize just how much Gregoris touched him? Even when he didn’t have a hand on Mori, he was lingering just a little too close.
Even sweet Cody was frowning. Toth just ate his breakfast peacefully, making sure Cody had plenty offood to sustain him before their meeting. They still had to go and change. There was no way Cody was going into a serious business meeting in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. I wouldn’t let him. I’d already picked out a very snazzy suit, thank you very much. Someone had to help him! Cody looked all sex mussed and happy. Not the most professional first impression, though he’d met some of these shifters under less than perfect circumstances when they helped him find Toth.
Getting away from Mori and his bodyguard, who was clearly ready to mark his territory right there on the table, was a must. I shooed Toth and Cody off to their room to shower. I had to get ready myself. There was no way the Sweetwater pack Alpha Pair was going to see me in jeans, even if my ass looked fine.
The heavenly shower pressure washed away the tightness in my shoulders. I worked through my feelings as I soaped my body. Gregoris was jealous. Pure and simple. Though they were close, there didn’t seem to be a lot of affection there. Mori clearly cared about the bodyguard, but at the end of the day he was an employee and then maybe a friend. I just didn’t like how proprietary Gregoris was over Mori. Sure, they probably fucked. Often. I was under no illusions, but here in the demon realm where there were demons that fed from emotions and sexual energy, sex was not some weird taboo. It was feeding, like having lunch.Demons were much more open about their desires because of it.
I picked my suit carefully. Such a limited choice couldn’t be helped having left all my others in the apartment I shared with Parker. He knew how to treat my stuff, so I was sure the rest were sure to be in good condition when I took them out of storage. It wasn’t like I was going to take chances with these. They were unworn and so damn pretty. I was going to look amazing in both of them.
The navy made my blue eyes pop, so I went with that. A crisp white shirt, navy vest with a subtle silver pattern, blue and silver tie, my dark brown brogues, and I was set. My sandy blond hair was naturally wavy, so I teased it into falling over the left side of my forehead.
No more hiding. This was my face. No more makeup unless I wanted to look nice for a date. I was done with prosthetic noses and altering my face shape. Done with wigs and coloring my hair. Done with the contacts and fake lashes. How I looked was fine. It was time for a fresh start.
This was me. I was pretty normal looking. Decently attractive, some would say. Yes, my nose had a bump from repeated breaks. There was a tiny scar that intersected my top lip from a fight I’d gotten into in the group home, another on my chin from the samefight. I had good bone structure, and I was lucky that my features were pretty symmetrical.
If I wasn’t going to be a hitman anymore, then there was no reason for me to hide. I could live a normal-ish life. Not normal. Most humans weren’t best friends with a demon that was also a witch. They didn’t have a shifter brother.
A commotion sounded. I heard Cody’s squeal and then laughter. Rushing to the window, I was greeted with the sight of Toth flying with Cody and then fucking dropping him when Cody’s wings popped free of that gorgeous suit. He better not have wrecked it! Thank fuck he was a quick learner, because I wasn’t sure Toth was going to catch him when Cody began flying. I actually thought my heart had stopped for a moment, until I figured out that they seemed to be racing!
Sometimes, being Cody’s best friend felt like it would send me to an early grave.
