Page 9 of Their Offering

She stood in front of me and grabbed one of my hands, giving it a squeeze. “No, it's not fine. That was shitty of me to say. I swear I believe you. I don’t think you are crazy, and you willnotbecome your mom, Lilly.” She pulled me in for a tight hug.

The hug helped me relax as I reciprocated. I know she didn’t mean any harm. I probably would’ve asked her the same thing if the roles were reversed. She was just checking all the boxes.

“I forgive you, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that. I’m your only friend. Youhaveto forgive me,” she said with a smirk and a laugh.

“So, youdobelieve me? All of it?” I held my breath with anticipation. I hoped she believed me.

She nodded her head enthusiastically as she let me go. “Uh, yeah. I believe in ghosts, cryptids, aliens, all sorts of things. Hell and some ridiculously attractive princes aren’tthatfar-fetched.” She winked.

I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the bed, feeling more at ease now that I’d come clean to Katie, even though a small part of my brain wanted to know what the hell was going on. I shook off the feeling and told myself I needed to let it go and get on with my life.

Katie lit up, and I knew she had an idea. “C’mon, let’s go. Do you think you could get back to it? Maybe we can figure things out if we go back to the scene of the crime.”

I gave her a small smile. “I appreciate the gung-ho attitude, but I really just need some girl time, Katie. All that can wait.” I paused. “I want to forget about last night.”

Her shoulders slumped, but she nodded. “Yeah, of course. We can do that.”

“Your house, though. I’m already tired of being here.” I stuffed a change of clothes into a bag in case I decided to go out later, then I opened my door. “Let’s go.”

We stopped at the store for soda and ice cream on the way. My go-to girl time snack had always been a float, and she never forgot it.

We didn’t talk much. Instead, we settled on her couch under a fluffy blanket and watched romcoms while shoving our faces with our floats.

By the time Katie had to leave for work, I was feeling much more myself. In fact, I was feeling so much better that I decided to go to the bar to find someone to go home with. I was already aching for more sex, despite the crazy night I’d just had. I needed to get laid, and right now, I didn’t really care about anything else.

Chapter 5

Keir

I blinked rapidly as I woke, only to find myself in my own bed. How did I manage to make it home last night? Did someone find me and help me?

I pressed my lips together and looked around for any sign of what could have happened last night. My eyes stopped on my wrists, both of which had faint red markings ringing them.

I shot up. There was no way all of that really happened, right? Princes of Hell appearing out of nowhere, and one of them having their way with me? I had been crazy drunk, and clearly, something had happened. I just didn’t know what that something was.

“Oh my god,” I muttered as I threw the covers off my legs and stood up. I fell to my knees when the soreness between my legs hit me. “What the fuck?” I whispered.

My door opened, and I let out a startled scream, my hand clutching my heart, feeling as if it was going to leap out of my chest.

“Whoa, girl.” Katie entered my room laughing, her hands up in surrender. “My bad. I totally didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you. I was worried when I never heard from you last night.”

As I slowly stood, I grabbed my phone from the bedside table, scrolling through the numerous texts and calls from my best friend. “Sorry. I went for a walk, and next thing I knew….” I shrugged.

She laughed in disbelief and grabbed my wrists. “Went for a walk, huh?” She gestured to the red marks and gave me a wink. “Must’ve been some walk. Looks to me like you got a littletied up.” She quirked a brow as she waited for my response.

I pulled my wrists away, feeling a blush creep to my cheeks. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Trust me.”

She laughed. “I always knew you were kinky.” I almost corrected her, but thankfully, she changed topics. “So, have you heardanythingback from all those applications we put in?”

It wasn’t my ideal topic, but it was better than the alternative.

I had been searching for a job for a while. No one in this town wanted to hire me, though, thanks to being Margaret Stallard’s daughter. My mom had a reputation, and that was ruining my life.

I rolled my eyes and turned to my dresser, picking out some comfy clothes. I deserved sweats and a T-shirt. I was sore in spots I didn’t even know existed. “Don’t even go there. I’m never going to get anything in this fucking town, Katie. I’m stuck. I’ll probably end up just like my mom. It’s what everyone’s waiting for anyway.” I bit my lower lip to keep from crying.

“I didn’t mean to….” She let out a breath. “Let’s just hang out today, okay? I don’t work until four, so you have me all to yourself until then. You look like you could use some girl time.”

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