Page 69 of Demons of Eden

“Okay, Eden. We’ll protect each other,” Daion agrees with a kiss to the top of my head.

The thought of Daion losing anyone else he loves because of that shit-eating fuckhead sperm donor makes rage bubble up inside my chest. Paimon won’t ever get his creepy fingers on my baby, of that I’m positive, but he’ll have a hard fucking time laying those fingers on any of the rest of them, either. If I have anything to say about it, anyway.

If he so much as tries, I’ll chop them off and feed them to my pet alligator. I’ll need to work on the pet alligator part, but the point stands. I’ll chop them off and feed them to…something. I’ll figure it out.

I suck in a ragged breath as I realise just how deeply that feeling runs within me for all of them, even for Rio.Fuck.These protective instincts are beginning to get a little out of hand…

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Igroan, rubbing body oil over my itching tummy.

If I could break Paimon’s fucking nose for speeding up my pregnancy, I would. Right fucking now. Waking up to back pain, itchy, stretched skin, and the urge to pee is not fucking fun. Everyone always talks about how pregnancy is supposed to make you glow, yet there was so little spoken about all of this crap. As if glowing skin, along with hair and nails looking pretty, makes up for the fact that I can’t stand for more than five seconds without my feet and ankles swelling.

And I still have more time to go!

I would cry about it, but at least I won’t be giving birth in that creepy, evil egg.

I’m feeling extra irritable today, as I can’t get comfortable in bed or on the couch. I can’t so much as walk without pain. My back hurts; my ass hurts; even my fucking boobs hurt! Why are they getting bigger? What purpose does that serve when any physical appreciation for the increase would be damn painful? Other than the obvious, boring biological one. I don’t feel like accepting logic, though—especially not today.

Tears prick my eyes as the frustration and hormones mix together in a deadly cocktail of rage. Then, with truly terribletiming, there’s a knock on my temporary bedroom’s door that startles me and has me snapping at the person on the other side, further incensed. “What!?” I hiss loudly, furiously swiping away my tears as the bedroom door opens slowly.

“Happy birthday, little witch,” Ash says happily, as he cautiously steps into the room. There’s still a handsome smile on his stupid witch-impregnating face, though. “I brought you a pastry. We thought you could have a shower and then meet us downstairs?”

He presents his offering of a chocolate pastry on a paper plate. I glare at him for the reminder of what day it is, but he seems oblivious to my agitation. He looks so freaking sincere in his attempt to make me happy as he continues to smile at me. It makes me feel crappy for snapping at him. I sigh.

“Thank you,” I murmur, giving in. I already managed to get up by myself this morning, after some effort, before heading to the shower. My hair has already dried, though, as I’ve been awake for a while now. I choose not to mention it, wondering if I still look like I need another one. The thought makes me want to cry again. “I’ll be down in a few.” I sniff.

“You look like you need a foot rub,” Ash says. Instead of leaving, and without another word, he takes the oil and grabs my left foot. He pours some of the oil in his hands, rubbing them together to make sure it isn’t cold, and then starts massaging my feet.

He’s surprisingly good at this. I don’t know if my eyes roll back in my head or if I look like I’m being possessed, but I do moan.Loudly.It probably sounds like I’m getting birthday sex right now.

Wait, is birthday sex on the table?

No…no. I’m too achy right now. This is good. It’ll have to be birthday foot rubs this year.

After at least ten minutes massaging the left foot, Ash switches to the right, and I quietly think I might die happily right here, so long as he doesn’t stop. When he’s finally, sadly, done, he presses a kiss to my head, then tells me to meet him and the others for breakfast once I’m ready.

I take my time getting presentable, mostly because I only really have one speed at the moment, and it’s slow as fuck. By the time I make it downstairs, though, I’m starving. My pregnancy being unnaturally progressed has left me feeling unsatisfied after every meal and more than a little hungry for most of the day.

“Happy birthday!” Torrin roars like a beast when I step off the bottom of the stairs. I wonder if he was watching the entire time I made my pathetically slow descent. He rushes to my side and scoops me into his arms for a hug. My big belly gets in the way, but the hug is still good. I breathe him in. He smells so fucking good, but I pick up on something else coming from ahead.

“We have several kinds of pie,” he says, clearly catching my sniffing and looking off towards the scent of food. “We’ve also got all of the good breakfast staples, and Suvi should be here in about an hour to help you celebrate. We figured you’d want some time to eat before she arrived.”

“It smells amazing in here,” I admit with a smile as Torrin leads me into the living room.

Daion meets us as we walk in, pressing a kiss to my lips before handing me a single white rose. “Go sit; we’ll serve you, and happy birthday,” he says, then heads off to the kitchen with Torrin, leaving me alone with Rio.

After taking my usual spot on this couch, I glance up at him nervously, trying to gauge his reaction to all of the open affection they’re showing. I know how he feels about me and his brothers. He wanted me to end things with them…and here I am, carryingon with both of them and Ash regardless. He’s probably so pissed.

Rio looks at me oddly, and then, to my surprise, he sits right beside me on the couch, handing me a small but extravagantly wrapped box. “Happy birthday. I’m…uh, glad that you’re not dead.”

“Oh? That's progress, I suppose.” I smile, taking the box from him. “What is it then? Poison? A banishment spell? Some kind of bomb?” I tease, and Rio leans closer to me, gripping my chin between his thumb and finger.

“Eden, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble to protect you just to hurt you now. I don’t want to see you in pain or harmed. Maybe you won’t believe me, but I…I wouldn’t enjoy it.” Rio stares into my eyes, only a few inches away from me, and I can’t resist glancing down at his lips. They part a little as his tongue slips out to lick his upper lip slowly.

I swallow thickly, my mouth suddenly dry, but then Rio releases me and sits back. “Open your gift already, Eden.”

“Now I’m half worried it's a love spell…or at least a lust one,” I whisper to myself, but sitting so close, he catches it and snorts.

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