Page 78 of Hooked on a Demon
When he breaks the kiss, her hand comes up and wipes away a tear from his cheek that he didn’t know he shed.
Huh. Maybe the beast has a heart after all.
* * *
The ride to Eliana’s apartment is quiet.
What should have been a celebration after the showcase turned into a shit show with Everest storming off, and her parents and Kaia left confused. Eliana didn’t want to talk about any of it, and so Declan offered to take her home.
As he parks in front of her building, he hears her sniffle beside him. “Do you want me to come up?” he asks, knowing it was a big night and she may want to be alone to process it all.
She smiles weakly at him, tears rolling down her cheek, which he reaches over and wipes away with his thumb. She leans her head into his touch, her eyes closing slowly as she does. “That would be nice,” she says softly.
He leans over, kissing her forehead, before opening his door and climbing out. He runs around to her side, opening her door for her, and holds out a hand to help her down. Her fingers interlacing with his, she steps next to him and rests her head on his arm as he tosses her bag on his other shoulder as they make their way to her apartment.
Declan grabs a drink from the fridge and sits on the couch as she goes and changes. He takes a sip, and then his head tips back on the back of the sofa, and he huffs audibly. He knows he’s gonna have to have a talk to Everest, not only to try and repair their friendship, but to try and convince him that what Declan said at the theater was true. It’s not a game to him. He loves Eliana—more than he can even say.
Her footsteps pull him back into the room. Even in a pair of oversized sweatpants and a T-shirt with her hair in a messy bun, she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. She comes over to him and kisses him quickly before lying down, placing her head in his lap. His hand comes to rest on her hip, where he finds a slice of exposed skin that he begins to caress with his thumb.
“I don’t care about what Everest said about you,” Eliana says, breaking the silence.
“I…”
She rolls onto her back, looking up at him as his hand slides across her soft stomach. “I don’t. We all have a history. A past. The important thing to me is that it is in the past. It’s you and me.”
“I know I’m not perfect, and I know people say shit about me. They always will. But I swear, there has been no one else since you walked into my shop. It’s only you. It will only ever be you, Oaks.”He leans down, awkwardly kissing her. Breaking away, he says, “What Ev said was true. I’ve been a dick and I’ve been a player, but it’s not who I am. At least not anymore. I think I was afraid to get attached to someone, for fear that they wouldn’t stick around or see me as worthy. So I made it a thing to leave before I ever had the chance to. I mean, one night can’t hurt anyone, right?”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Declan.”
His thumb rubs a circle on her stomach. “How do you figure?”
“You didn’t see yourself tonight, when I said Sam was here. You didn’t see the fire in your eyes. How you wanted to tear the world down. It was the same when I first told you about him, and when you realized something was wrong after the drive-in. When you care, Declan, you care so deeply. It’s what I love about you. Well, one of the things I love about you.”
He’s not sure how to respond. Declan can’t think of a time he has ever had someone say something like that about him. For years, he’s tried to stay detached, doing his best to be the fun friend who goes along for the ride. But if he’s honest with himself, that hasn’t been who he really is for some time. Sure, it sucks that Everest is angry at him, but the anger is worth it if Declan can finally allow himself to feel. To have what he’s been missing.
“I’m gonna have to square things away with your brother.”
“I know,” she says, tilting her head down to look at her hands as she places them on top of his. “Maybe we could go together? Maybe if he knows everything, he’ll understand.”
“I think that’s good. United front and all. Let him see us together in a different situation. Hopefully, it will help him see how serious we are.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she says. Her fingers intertwine with his, and she rolls over onto her side, bringing their hands up to nestle between her breasts. A smoky tendril brings him the remote from the table. He turns on the TV, and she picks out some comedy movie to watch.
Declan shifts, scooting down a little to get comfier and allowing her to snuggle in further, all the while trying to figure out how he got so fucking lucky.
CHAPTER46
Eliana
“You ready?” she asks, fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves.
“Like ripping a band-aid off, right?”
The corner of her mouth quirks up in a forced semi-smile. She is hoping they come out of this conversation all right, but Everest was so fucking pissed. Which she understands. They lied to him. But she’s also realized that as a grown woman, she doesn’t need his permission to date anyone. Even his best friend.
“Something like that, yeah.”
Declan steps forward, opening the door to her family home, then lets her walk through first. Thankfully, her parents were on board with their plan and agreed to convince Everest he needed to come over. It feels like a bit of an ambush, but it’s the only way she could think of to get him in the same room with them.
