Page 98 of Tricky Magic
“I can’t fully blame Belias for it; I don’t even know if he’s the one that did it. But there have been whispers. One too many demon sightings, way too many vampire attacks, and all the missing people.” He paused, seeming to try and find the right way to say it. “Over the past year, more and more people have been going missing. I came across a group of women and children being herded into large semi trucks, but I was alone. I couldn’t save them.” He closed his eyes as guilt washed over his features. “Vampires and demons have joined forces, and they are planning something big. I don’t know what, but something is going to happen.”
“Don’t blame yourself for this.” She ran her hand over his rough beard, the scruff tickling her skin. He was so strong, did so much, and he didn’t see it? “You can only do so much.”
He laughed darkly. “I can do a whole lot, but I’ve been holed up in my happy little town.”
“Are you saying you regret our time together?” She couldn’t stop her face from scrunching in pain. “Could you have been saving the world instead of dealing with me and my crap?”
“I could never, would never, regret you,” he said, taking a finger and smoothing out her brow. “I have loved every minute of these past few months. My head was buried in the sand way before you barreled into my life.” He paused, searching her face. “I’ve missed you so much.”
It had only been three days, but she hated the thought of ever separating from him again.
“I’ve missed you too.” She kissed him gently, trying to put as much into it as she could, trying to lift him up a little bit. “So what’s the plan now?”
“Now?” he said, thoughtful. “Right now, I plan on fucking you enough to make up for three days. Then, we have a birthday to plan.”
He returned her kiss with one of wild hunger, as if their three days apart had been years. She almost missed the mention of ‘birthday.’
“Now is hardly the time for fucking and birthdays,” she said, confused. A prison had just exploded and two of the most evil people in the world were on the loose.
“One evening isn’t going to stop us from saving the world,” he said, kissing along her jaw and pausing at her ear to whisper. “We can save the world tomorrow. I want to bury myself so deep in you that I forget all my problems. Let’s start the birthday fucking now.”
He squeezed her ass, pressing her into his already solid erection, but she punched him in the chest. He only laughed and began kissing her neck. “Was it Sam or Garm who spilled the news?”
The way his tongue and teeth ran across her neck was so distracting. She was sure Billy had told Garm during whatever it was they did, and Devon had used his adorable smile and easy way with conversation to magic it out of her. So, of course, he’d told Sam.
“Ugh, that hound is on my shit list now too,” he said against her neck.
She yelped as he nipped her hard this time, then she moaned as his hand traveled down to her bare pussy. She was still in only his shirt. He cupped it, letting one finger play in the wetness that began gathering there. “I guess one night of fucking won’t hurt too much.”
52
Ellea
After the initial shock of her parents being on the loose, her uncle and nana learning she was shacked up with a witchy demon prince, and that she had befriended an outcast witch and his wolven boyfriend, things smoothed out. Kind of.
Her nana had very little time to chat, it seemed, especially when Ellea questioned her knowledge of the Gods and Hel. Her answer was always, “The Gods don’t help us, so why would we bother with them?”
Then she would run off for council business or would push Ellea to explain her relationship with Ros. Other than that, it had been a joy. After the first hurdles in those early days, things became quickly crowded. Ros began sneaking into her bedroom after everyone else had gone to sleep. Or she found herself sneaking out of the cabin to tiptoe over to his like some teenage girl. She was an adult and could make her own decisions, but Ros was beingold-fashioned.She tried explaining to him that it was fine, it didn’t matter that her nana was on the council or that her last relationship was with multiple partners. That was a mistake.
Ros looked like he’d swallowed his tongue. Ellea rolled her eyes as he spluttered. Once he recovered, his chest seemed to puff out, and she rolled her eyes the other way before he spoke.
His raised, defiant chin could not hide the blush that crept along his cheeks. “At the same time?”
“Yes, Ros.” She sighed and leaned into his bed, ready for whatever ass-hat argument he was going to start.
“Do you still want that?” He turned away from her, striding around the room slowly before picking up a book and examining it. The bored act wasn’t working.
“And if I do?” she asked with a raised brow.
“And if I don’t want to share?” It was a snarl as he whipped his head around, but her pussy clenched at his tone.
Something was so very wrong with her. She really wanted this anger to continue, to have him take it out on her. But with the way their life was at this moment, with everything going on, she chose a calmer approach.
“Come on, you’re a billion years old and you’re telling me you never had multiple partners? At once? In the same bed?”
He seemed to consider it for a second before taking slow, even steps toward where she lay on his bed.
“Of course, I have.” He knelt before her, slowly crawling over her and enveloping her body with his large one. He pressed her into the mattress and brought his mouth to her ear. “But I didn’t like them the same way I like you.”
