Page 46 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

I was bizarrely aware of the fact that he wasn’t a woman; he was an extremely handsome six-foot-five supernatural assassin.

John was definitely treating me differently than he had when I was disguised as a boy.

There was an unfamiliar edge in his eyes.

The way he looked at me.

It made me squirm.

I cleared my throat and tried to appear relaxed. “You still haven’t told me what type of creature a Smurf is. Also, I’m almost your height, so I’m not little.”

I flexed my arms.

Sadie was short and petite. I was tall and strong, and there was nothing little about me.

John chuckled, and I felt the vibrations in my groin.

Pain streaked across my back with such intensity that I barely heard him say, “Please, I have half a foot on you. You’re girly and adorable with your big blue eyes and hair, a little Smurf princess.”

His hand was resting on my thigh, and he absentmindedly drew circles with his thumb.

The maroon rays of the eclipse wrapped around John in a hazy glow.

Everything took on a dreamlike quality.

Warm feelings of friendship were twisting in my lower gut and becoming something more.

Something dangerous.

Streaks of pain lit up my back where “WHORE” was carved into my skin.

Whatever was happening between us needed to stop.

“Actually.” I pivoted the conversation by flipping my hair over my shoulder and pretended to put lip gloss on with my middle finger. “It’s Queen. Why does everyone keep calling me Princess?”

John laughed as he punched me in the gut. “Calm down.”

The pivot worked.

I punched him back. Harder.

The weird tension between us dissipated as we beat the shit out of each other like we always did.

After a light spat of arm wrestling (fourteen rounds later, we were evenly tied), John pinned me to the mattress and asked, “Did you really think I was going to treat you differently just because you’re a girl?”

My stomach flip-flopped.

I flexed and rolled so I was on top.

John punched me in the kidney and used my momentary shock to roll so he was once again hovering above me.

His eyes narrowed. “What type of misogynistic, close-minded jerk would hold the fact that you’re a girl against you? From what I’ve heard, you disguised yourself for a good fucking reason.”

I smiled widely at him, and he grinned back.

Everything with John was so simple.

He got it.

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