Page 32 of The Secret Life of a Witch

“Yes, you do.” I take a whiff of the air. “Like dirty diapers and rotten olives.” Actually, he smells like cologne with woodsy undertones. It’s sort of nice. However, I’m going to keep that tidbit on the lowdown.

His eyes flare as he pushes up onto his hands and knees before crawling over to me. “You better watch what you say to me. If I wanted to, I could kill you.”

“But if you kill me, then you won’t get your fee for handing me over to those hybrids. That is … if your story is even true,” I taunt, and he responds with a hiss. I roll my eyes. “Will you freakin’ chill? Technically, I’m not even insulting you; just the demon who was at the park. If you don’t like what I’m saying, you could always change your appearance.”

“And take away your reward of getting to look at me instead of the ugly, little troll?” He leans in, dipping his head toward my face.

I try to angle my head in the opposite direction, but he pins me between his arms and hovers over me, his lips directly above mine.

“Now, admit it; you love how I look and smell.”

Golly, oh, witches; he’s becoming obsessed!

“Again, I stress that you don’t look or smell like you, so why does it even matter?” I argue.

“Because, I do look and smell like me!” he roars, then quickly throws on a neutral expression. “You know, for someone who’s supposed to be special, you sure are an idiot. How you didn’t notice that another demon entered the cage about thirty minutes ago is beyond me.”

I blink at him in confusion. “What?”

Heaving an exhausted sigh, he sits up and grabs my arm to pull me into a sitting position. Then he reaches for my face, and when I slant away, he fires a deathly glare at me as his hands dart out lightning quick to cup my face.

“Get your gross demon hands off me,” I gripe, sounding funny with my cheeks now squished.

He pushes on my cheeks harder until I have fish lips. “That’s a great look for you,” he sneers. “Fish lips. Rainbow eyes. You’re like a rainbow fish.” He smiles cleverly. “That’s what I’m going to call you from now on. My little rainbow trout.”

“Don’t you dare,” I warn. With my lips smooshed, it comes out sounding like something else entirely.

“I’m not sure what a ‘tote new pear’ is, but I do know that I’m going to call you my little rainbow trout for all of time and eternity.”

“For all of time and eternity? You know the lifespan on a demon is only fifty years, which means your life is half-expired already.”

His expression turns stone cold. “We only live that long because we’re hunted by malicious creatures who think they’re better than us.”

I wiggle my nose, struggling to get my lips to a normal, less fish-like position. “No, they hunt you because you’re murderers.”

“Says who?”

“Says years and years of history in this town. I wouldn’t be surprised if you guys are the ones responsible for the high amount of deaths going on in Mystic Willow Bay lately.”

With eyes like the devil himself, he inches his face closer to mine, his breath fiery hot against my cheeks. “Newsflash, my little rainbow trout, those murders weren’t caused by something this town considers evil, but by someone hiding behind their true colors.”

Hunter’s face flashes through my mind, but I karate chop the image away.

“Maybe you’re right, but that doesn’t make demons any more innocent,” I bite out. “I’m sure you’ve all done your fair shareof killings. Plus, you’ve been stealing dead bodies—bodies that don’t belong to you.”

“Don’t belong to me?” he questions. “Then who does a dead body belong to? You?”

“What? No!” I give him an appalled look. “They belong to the people who mourn them.”

“Actually, they don’t. Once someone dies, they cut all ties with the living … including their bodies.” He studies me with his head angled to the side and a ghost of a smirk on his face. “Except for you. In fact, bodies seem to be more in tune with you than the living and breathing.”

I wish I could argue, prove him wrong, but the brutal truth of his words is too great.

His lips expand with a grin. “You know that, too, don’t you?”

Pressing my lips together, I move to turn my head. Surprisingly, he allows me to, but only so he can position his lips beside my ear.

“Don’t worry, my little rainbow trout; one day, you’ll realize you aren’t as different as you think,” he breathes hotly into my ear. “You’ve just been hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

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