Page 26 of Demons of Eden

I scoff, not at all reassured of his agreement to be on his best behaviour, but then the door behind him opens.

Eden steps inside before I can worry about it further. She clearly senses the tension, giving us both an odd expression, so I try giving her a reassuring smile. “Hey, come on in.” I nod toward the seating area, a bit of nervous energy flowing through me.

“Sure. Torrin said you wanted to talk? Immediately. Did you find Ash?” She looks so hopeful. I cringe internally.Shit.I should have told him to tell her we haven’t found the demon yet so she wouldn’t be disappointed. Of course she would assume that’s why we called her over; it had been Torrin’s assumption too.

“We need to ask you some questions, but we thought you might be hungry.” I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to ask her that we haven’t already, but I’ll think of something relevant. Hopefully.

She approaches, pausing with an unsure frown when she spots the food laid out. We brought in a folding table so we would have more space to set everything up for her to choose from. Torrin had grabbed three kinds of pie: apple, cherry, and blueberry, seeing as she seems to particularly enjoy them. There’s fried chicken, salads, a pizza, and even a turkey leg with potatoes and gravy. I also prepared a board with different cheeses, meats, and crackers.

Now that I look at it all, I’m feeling very unsure. Maybe it’s too much. I mean, I never expected her to eat or even like everything, but maybe it’s too much to pick from. Too much effort made on our part to not come across as suspicious. Rio may have bitched the entire time, but he did go pick up the tacos he likes to add to the feast. Of course, he ate three as soon as he arrived, but there are still some left she can pick at if she wants to.

“Are you having a party or something?” She stares at the food, still not moving.

“No, we thought you might be hungry,” I say again, feeling as dumb and unsure as I sound. “You’re usually hungry when you come here. I just…I wanted to show you we care about your well-being. Professionally speaking. I mean, personally too, of course, but I’m not trying to?—”

“Hey, you’re here! Nice to see you again, Eden. Are you hungry? We’re having a feast, so we made sure there was more than enough for you to join in. Let me fix you a plate. What do ya want first, pie or the turkey leg?” Torrin asks loudly, blessedly cutting off my rambling.

I let out a long breath, thanking him with my eyes. The more I spoke, the stiffer her shoulders got. How and when did she get the ability to make my brain cells stop working correctly in her presence?

“And you thoughtIwas going to ruin this,” Rio scoffs from behind me as Torrin leads a more relaxed Eden towards the food table.

“Shut up before I punch you,” I hiss quietly.

Rio chuckles, far too entertained by my fumbling for my liking. The sound happens to draw Eden’s attention, but he doesn’t seem to notice right away. Her eyes widen at seeing Rio truly smiling. However, the moment he catches her observing him, the smile wipes off his face, and he turns away from her.

She deflates slightly, her shoulders sagging. This is going so fucking fantastically, but it can’t get any worse, so I let it go. I can’t impress the poor witch, so I might as well be a friend. That’s all I was trying to offer. A friend, one she might need to fuck at some point so she doesn’t die, one who’s getting worked up just thinking about the possibility.

Shit.

I shake off all thoughts of what her body might look like under her comfy clothes. How her scent might compare to the way she tastes. What her voice would sound like, desperate and wanting, and the other noises she—Fuck.I curse my brain for that train of thought going right off the stupid metaphorical rails. That’sreallynot helping.

Torrin smirks over at me like he can see what’s going on in my head as he carries her massive plate of food over to the coffeetable, setting it down gently before looking at her consideringly. “We have TV trays; I’ll grab you one so you don’t have to bend forward.” He strides out of the room, leaving me standing in the same spot I’ve been in since she got here.

Unexpectedly, Rio moves before I do, placing his plate on the coffee table and sitting directly across from Eden. He watches her with a cautiousness I hate. He’s my brother, one of the best men I’ve ever known. He’s brave and loves fiercely, but he also hates with just as much passion too. Years of hatred for demons won’t go away because the woman before him is stunning and kind.

Sweet, sassy, and gorgeous…

She moans as she takes a bite of turkey smothered in gravy. Fuck me, that sound…it could have been drawn right from my own filthy imagination, even Rio’s gaze takes on a different look as Eden chews. She doesn’t see any of our reactions as her eyes are closed while she continues to moan at her food like it’s a completely different kind of pleasure.

I swallow thickly.

This isn’t going at all how I imagined it, but maybe that's not the worst thing. You can’t ever fully plan for everything, especially not people’s emotions, even when they’re your own.

“Are you going to eat?” she asks, blue eyes sparkling as Torrin returns, placing the tray in front of her so she can reach her plate more easily. “Daion?”

Realising the question is directed at me, I force myself into motion, walking over and grabbing a plate. “If you think I’m going to let you eat all this food without my help, you’re crazy.”

“Good. Let’s eat, then you can ask me your questions.”

Torrin lifts his brow at me. ‘What questions?’ his look asks, so I shrug slightly in answer once she’s distracted by her meal again. I add my own food to my plate slowly, trying to think of things we can ask, something that’ll justify asking her to comeover here. I still haven’t thought up anything good enough by the time my plate is piled high, but I shove aside the worry as I join the three of them.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ihave no idea what went through their minds to make them throw together a mini feast today—still, I’m hardly going to complain about it. I don’t understand what it is about eating over here with them, but it’s the one time I’m guaranteed to keep my food down. I intend to take advantage of that at every given opportunity. So despite my confusion, I let myself enjoy it. I’m totally stuffed by the time I finish eating, and I think I may actually resemble a pregnant person more than I did when I first walked in.

The food isn’t the only good thing about coming over here, either. Both Daion and Torrin are being super friendly and chatty today, making me feel like the training session with Daion really helped him warm up to me more. While I’m glad to feel like he’s even more firmly on my side, I’m still not looking forward to the next one. Especially not if there’s more running involved, which I’m sure there is, considering it’s one third of the goal he’s set.

Survive, run, call for help—bleh.

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