Page 54 of Spit

I laughed awkwardly. “I bet this is an everyday thing for you guys?”

“It gets tedious after a while.” Sev waved a hand.

Arlo cleared his throat. “Speak for yourself.”

Sev turned to his friend, his brows disappearing into his hairline. “Do I sense some sexual tension, Arlo?”

Arlo spluttered a laugh. “I’m excellent at taking care of my tension; thank you very much.”

“Same.” I bit back a smile.

Sev shook his head rapidly. “You two are both utterly tragic.”

“I can’t afford to lose control.” Arlo countered, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “My wrath form has been tenuous since Camio died.”

Sev turned his attention to me, his golden eyes flashing with mischief. “And you, Pinkie Pie? And don’t tell me that you are worried about your pesky curse. A person can do plenty of things that don’t involve swapping fluids.”

I held my hands up as if I was being held at gunpoint. “I’m perfectly fine.”

Sev sniffed the air, glancing at the television. “Let's watch some more of the footage then.”

“Sure.” I agreed stiffly.

Sev’s mouth ticked in a smile as he plucked the remote from my fingers, scooted back onto the sofa, and got comfortable.

Sev seemed to know exactly what videos he wanted to watch, selecting a date from earlier in the month. I should have known that he had dropped the subject too quickly as soon as his face flashed on the screen. Sev, nude, knelt on the bed, stroking his cock. He was far away enough from the camera that I couldn’t see how big he was, but his fingers didn’t close, which told me enough.

I stood up as if shocked, my cheeks burning even brighter. “This is pointless.” I spluttered. “Let’s go back to the house before Legion realizes we’re missing.”

Sev turned off the television, his smile turning wicked. “Certainly.”

It didn’t take long to collect the land rover from the valet. The moon hung closer to the walls than it had when we had gone into the apartment, and I knew the sun would rise soon. Though I hadn’t slept much since coming to the Red City, I didn’t feel tired. Maybe it was the demon blood in my system, or perhaps it was because my shadow was full for the first time in years, but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As we rode through the city in silence, my thoughts snagged on Camio. His disappearance. One demon going missing in the Red City wasn’t unusual, butthreestewards? The office of the steward was being targeted, but why?

Would someone want revenge on the seven?

Did someone want them out of the way?

Chapter Nine

Still groggy from sleep, I felt the familiar sensation of Rogue, my cat, as she bounded onto the bed with enough force to make my head bounce off the pillow.

Tired from my midnight excursion and the residual symptoms of being poisoned with silver nitrate, I batted the cat away.

“Hekate’s handbag,” I cursed as my eyes scrunched shut, resisting the urge to get up. “You are getting fat. No moreKitty Bittiesfor you.” I told Rogue.

A loud breath puffed across the skin of my face, smelling of meat. My brow creased for a moment, and I took stock of the heavy weight on the bed.

I wasn’t at home, I remembered with the force of a car crashing into a wall. I was in the Red City—and something was on the bed with me. An animal that smelled like rain and carrion.

My eyes snapped open, and I scooted back until my back hit the headboard.

There was a three-headed dog at the end of my bed.

“Kiko?” I asked hesitantly as the three dog heads panted.

The heads cocked to the side in unison.

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