Page 3 of Mending Mayhem

Ash chuckled. “She isn’t worried about him killing her. Are you, Em?”

I narrowed my eyes, refusing to acknowledge her ridiculous statement.

“Sleep on it.” She rested a hand on her demon’s chest. “We have to re-summon him tomorrow morning, and you know this is the best way to do it.”

“I don’t know anything.” I shifted my weight to my right leg, jutting out my hip in protest. “If we get the amulet first, we can get it over with all at once. We don’t need to summon him until we find it.”

“Yes, we do.” She flashed a knowing smile, though what she thought she knew was ludicrous. “I’ll see you in the morning, bright and early.”

“Good night, Ember.” Chaos followed Ash down the hall, leaving me alone with Mayhem’s skull.

I eyed the hunk of bone, debating whether or not to pulverize it and be done with the insufferable demon. If my sister’s life…and the lives of every witch in the coven…weren’t at stake, I wouldn’t have thought twice.

Much to my chagrin, however, we needed him. Dammit.

Even more chagriny…chagrinish…annoying… I owed him an apology. As usual, I had acted before my brain could warn me of the consequences. Hell, sometimes I wondered if I had a brain at all.

I closed my eyes, taking two deep breaths to center myself. This whole ordeal had to be one long-ass dream, right? When I opened my eyes, there would be no skull sitting on the counter, no demon in my sister’s bed. Cinder and my parents would be sleeping down the hall, and I could sit on the couch and binge the last season of Why Women Kill like a normal person.

“As I will it, so mote it be.” I lifted one lid, then the other. Mayhem’s eyeless gaze stared back at me. “Oh, for Hecate’s sake.”

This was my life now. Might as well get used to it. I locked the door and turned off the lights before scooping up the skull in one hand, my sword in the other, and padding to my bedroom.

“You really gave me no choice.” I set Mayhem on my nightstand and hung my sword on the wall before sinking onto the mattress. “I won’t say I was starting to like you, but I was tolerating you better. You were growing on me.”

And my body enjoyed the way touching him made me feel, despite my protesting brain.

I reached for the skull but stopped, fisting my hand and jerking it back to my lap. “What is it about you that burrows into my psyche and makes me feel things no mortal should feel for a Prince of Hell?”

My sigh came out more like a growl as I stood and headed to the shower. When I finished and put on my PJs, I opened the door and steam wafted into my bedroom, dissipating before it reached the ceiling.

Settling into bed, I turned off my lamp and brushed my fingers over the skull. It still gave me the same not-unpleasant pin pricking sensation that spiraled up my arm and warmed my chest.

“What is it about you?” I shook my head, attempting to chase away the intruding thoughts taking up residence in my mind, and lay back on my pillow. “If I had a type, you would be the exact opposite.”

Well, personality-wise, anyway. Looks-wise… Let’s just say my body wanted him to bang me like a screen door in a hurricane. “What the hell is wrong with me?”

I rolled over and put my back to him, closing my eyes and begging Morpheus to grant me a dream-free slumber. Sadly, my prayers went unanswered.

His purple eyes glittered with mischief as he trailed strong hands down my arms, turning my skin to gooseflesh. Lacing his fingers through mine, he lifted my arms before taking the hem of my shirt and tugging it over my head.

His pupils dilated, blackness spreading outward until only a thin ring of purple remained, and he inhaled deeply, his lips curling upward in approval. His tongue slipped out to moisten them, and warm shivers ran through my body in anticipation of him moistening mine.

He glided his fingertips up my stomach, cupping my breasts and brushing his thumbs over my nipples, hardening them instantly. My breathing grew shallow, every nerve in my body firing on overdrive, making my ears ring.

He moved closer, his cheek scant centimeters from mine, and he took another deep breath. A contented growl rumbled in his chest, but I barely heard it over the incessant ringing in my ears.

The culpable sound grew louder as he turned his head toward me, his nose brushing my skin.

Louder yet, the annoying sound yanked me away from him, my lids flying open, the ceiling coming into view. My breath came out in a huff, though I wasn’t sure if it was irritation or relief that the dream didn’t go any further.

I swiped my hand down my face and lightly slapped my cheek to wake myself up fully. Rolling to the nightstand, I grabbed my phone and answered the call. “Hello?” My voice sounded like I’d swallowed gravel.

“There’s a ghost in the library,” Higgins said. “Take care of it.”

“What? What time is it?” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “A ghost?”

“It’s tearing the place apart. Security footage looks like it’s reading some of the books too.” Rustling sounded on his end. “We’ve never had a problem with ghosts before. Invisible bastards.”

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