Page 8 of Virgil's Demons

I narrowed my eyes, setting the pencil down for a moment. "I'm not. But when someone walks in asking for a rune to ward off evil, it makes a girl curious."

The others were still milling around the shop, talking amongst themselves, but I could feel their eyes on us. Guardian was watching Virgil like he expected him to explode at any moment, while Brim and Saddle kept their distance, their conversation a mere hushed whisper as they took sips of the coffee Ray had offered them. But I didn't care about them right now. It was Virgil. Just him, who had my attention.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and I could feel the heat between us intensify, thick like smoke. "I hunt demons," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not here to ward off some bad dreams, Barythaya. I'm here because I need something stronger to keep the real monsters at bay."

My heart skipped a beat. He wasn't joking. His eyes were hard, intense, and they bore into me like he could see every part of my soul. I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice as I whispered, "Demons? You're serious?"

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Dead serious."

Suddenly, I felt the weight of something dark, something old, wrap around him like a second skin. His aura—if you believed in that kind of thing—was like nothing I'd felt before. There was pain there, so much pain it nearly knocked the wind out of me. But there was also power. A dangerous, seductive kind of power that had me leaning closer without even realizing it.

I stood, brushing the hair out of my face as I grabbed the stencil. "Alright," I muttered, keeping my voice steady even as my pulse raced. "Let's get this on you before you attract something worse."

He chuckled, low and dark, but he didn't move as I positioned myself next to him. "I think I've already attracted the worst of it."

I stared down at him, his fingertips gliding along my inner thigh. I felt his warmth, a primal instinct beneath the man. I licked my lips, his gaze following the path and leaving its heatbehind. I wondered what he would feel like right there, along my core.

I placed the design carefully onto his forearm, ignoring the urge I had to straddle the man. Instead, I grabbed my gun, and let the needle buzz to life in my hand. I hesitated for a moment before I placed it against his skin. His muscles tensed, but he didn't flinch, just kept watching me with those stormy eyes. As the needle sank into his flesh, I could feel the connection between us deepen, a thread of something unseen pulling us closer.

"You feel that, don't you?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

I didn't answer at first, focusing on the lines of the rune, but my heart was pounding in my chest. I felt it. Whatever the hell it was that connected us, was strong.

"You're not like the others," I said softly, letting the words slip out before I could stop myself.

He was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Neither are you."

I glanced up, and the intensity in his gaze made my breath hitch. This was more than just attraction. It was like we were two puzzle pieces, jagged and broken in the same places, fitting together perfectly.

"Is that why you've got your walls up?" he asked, his voice soft but probing. "Because you're afraid of me? Of what I'm making you feel?"

I met his gaze, the sound of the tattoo gun filling the silence between us. "You don't know anything about my walls."

He leaned in just slightly, enough that I could feel the heat radiating off him. "Maybe not. But I know what it's like to keep the world out. To feel everything and wish you could feel nothing."

I blinked, the words hitting me harder than I expected. He wasn't wrong. Hell, he'd hit the nail right on the head. "And youthink a tattoo is gonna keep all that at bay?" I asked, my voice a little sharper than I intended.

He didn't flinch. "No. But it'll buy me time. Buy us time," he gestured at the men.

I shook my head, biting my lip as I worked on the last line of the rune. "Whatever's after you, it's more than just demons, isn't it?"

For the first time, he looked away, his jaw tightening. "You could say that."

The energy between us buzzed like static in the air. I wasn't sure if it was him or the work we were doing, but it felt like something was building, something dangerous and electric. I wanted to ask more, to push him further, but I knew better. I wasn't ready for whatever answers he might give.

"There," I said, finishing the tattoo and wiping away the excess ink. The rune gleamed against his skin, black and perfect.

Virgil looked down at it, his fingers brushing lightly over the fresh ink. "Thanks."

I stood back, wiping my hands as I tried to shake off the intensity of what had just happened. "You might want to avoid pissing off any more demons while that heals."

He smirked, standing and rolling down his sleeve. "No promises."

As he turned to leave, he paused, his eyes catching mine one more time. "You ever feel like maybe you were meant for something more than just this place?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

He stepped closer, his voice low and full of something I couldn't quite name. "You've got something in you, Barythaya. Something powerful. Maybe you should stop hiding it."

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