Page 126 of Their Demon

It didn’t get any easier. It was gut-wrenching, heart-stopping. I’d alternated sleeping with the twins and Keir, but with it being two nights before the third trial, I was in his bed for the next two nights.

Keir and his rules.

He’d tried everything to help me, though. Extra training to exhaust me, making the bedroom relaxing with a warmed bed and lavender in the air, even having someone brew a special spell that was supposed to ward off nightmares. None of it worked, though, not even having my brains screwed out each night before bed.

They all already knew what had happened; I’d told them as soon as we got home. I didn’t leave anything out. Not the attack. Not the ice shards that left my hands, which excited the twins the most. Not even the sirens who helped me. I told them everything.

Apparently, the sirens hated Satan more than anyone else. He’d thinned out their numbers hundreds of years ago, and they’d been struggling to reproduce fast enough to keep their race from being endangered. No one was surprised to hear that they’d assisted me, and Ida let on that she may have even hadsomething to do with them finding out about the task in the first place, though she said it was better I didn’t know specifics.

I looked at the clock; it was five in the morning. I’d almost made it all night without a nightmare. I leaned into Keir, wishing I could stay like this forever, safe and comfortable in his arms.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” I finally said to him.

He buried his face in my hair. “Who needs sleep anyway? There is nowhere I’d rather be than awake with you in my arms, princess.” He hugged me tighter for emphasis. “Are you hungry?”

Right on fucking cue, as if this man commanded my body, my stomach growled.

He chuckled, and the sound made me smile. I loved when he laughed. It warmed my body and made my stomach do flips.

“Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen.” He placed me back on the bed, my body instantly missing him, and stood.

I watched him stretch his arms over his head, pushing his abs and chest out. I didn’t hide the way I admired his muscles, his tan skin, his tattooed chest and arms.

Fuck breakfast.

He laughed again, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Meet me in the kitchen,” he repeated. He walked to the door slowly, watching me drink him up like a tall glass of water. “If you listen like a good girl, maybe I’ll reward you.”

I got out of bed before he even closed the door, grabbing my clothes from the drawer and yanking them on. I stopped for a split second to admire the glass pieces Keir had made for me: a black dragon and a blue hippocampus, a warmth of pride andpure adoration spreading over my chest, before running out the door. I was still pulling on my shirt when I left the room.

The sound of dishes clanging met me as I made my way to the kitchen. He was standing at the counter, already whisking away at some batter.

“How did you do that so fast?”

He looked up from his bowl and smiled. “It’s my kitchen, so I know where everything’s at, and I have many, many,” he looked me up and down, “talents.”

I rolled my eyes and strolled over to him, planting my hands on the counter and hoisting myself up right next to him. “What’re you making?”

“Cake.”

I hesitated, sure I’d heard him wrong. “Cake? For breakfast?”

“Mmm-hmm.” He poured the batter into a baking pan and placed it in the oven, which I happened to notice had been preheating. “Ida used to make us breakfast cake when things were not so great. She said, ‘cake makes everything better, especially breakfast cake’. It’s not like a birthday cake; it’s dense, like a coffee cake, but as a kid, you don’t notice the difference when someone says you can actually have cake for breakfast.”

He looked so at peace, so happy when he talked about his good memories. I loved seeing him like this and wished I could capture him like this all the time.

He cocked an eyebrow when he caught me staring. “What’re you thinking?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Just that you seem happy, and I really like you happy.”

The oven made a beeping noise, and he held up his finger, pausing things before putting the cake into the oven and setting a timer. He walked over to me, putting himself right between my knees. “I’m the happiest.” He planted a kiss on my nose. “Because I have you.”

His words made me laugh—not because they were funny, but because just a few weeks ago, he was pushing me away, steadfast in his idea that we would never be a thing, yet here he was, head over heels for me, just like I was for him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and did the same with my legs around his hips.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His eyes darkened and dipped down to watch me bite my bottom lip.

“I’m trapping you,” I said as I kissed his cheek.

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