Page 71 of Unbinding the Demon
“This doesn’t look like Finnish?”
A dark brown spider crawled across one of the papers on the table, and then up into a small crevice between two stones forming the wall. The movement led my eyes to a list of various names. I picked up that paper too, and a sense of dread fell upon me as I looked it over.
I recognized at least half of the names of local people and school staff members. All whom I only remembered because they had made a point of asking me if I was Elowynn’s niece. But what was really unsettling about it was that some names had red slashes going through them. Someone underlined“Benjamin Adelstein,”as if his name were more important, but they didn’t slash it. However, written right under his name was“Julianna Hoffman”with a big red slash crossing it out.
“Julianna Hoffman? The police officer?”I whispered to myself with furrowed brows. My stomach twisted as I tried to make sense of what I was actually looking at. Suffocating anxiety surrounded me, and the feeling of being watched heightened.
“What are you doing down here?” Ashton’s deep voice asked from literally right behind me, causing me to nearly leap right out of my skin.
I screamed and threw the papers in the air as I frantically jumped and whipped around. With curious eyes fixed on me, he snatched a paper from the air as it fell, like a frog catching a fly with its tongue. The other paper floated gently down onto the table behind me. He then gave me a loving smile, as if I hadn’t just stumbled upon something that I assumed wasveryprivate.
How the hell did he even get down those creaky stairs without me hearing him? The man is clearly a master of stealth, but holy fucking guacamole!
“Well, um, I was... You see, we tracked in dirt last night, and I needed a broom...” I shifted my eyes and gestured with my hands, my heart racing.
“Buttercup... It’s all right,” he said softly, with a kind expression and love in his eyes.
“Am I not allowed to be down here?” I looked up at him, my voice catching in my throat, then I gulped.
“Why wouldn’t you be allowed down here?” He chuckled while setting the paper down. “You live here too now. Nothing in this house is off-limits to you.” His arms wrapped around me as he gazed endearingly down into my eyes. “It’s just a strange time of day for you to be awake and down in the basement, that’s all.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I was just looking for the broom, and then I found this.” I pulled an arm free from his embrace and pointed in circles at the table. “What’s, um, what is all this?” My gaze drifted back up to his face.
“That’s just something I’m... taking care of.” He shrugged. “It will be much easier to explain once we’ve had our talk, though.”
“Alright.”I picked up a random piece of paper with the strange writing on it and shook it in my hand. “But can I at least know what language this is?”
He gently took the paper from me and placed it back down. “It’s called Enochian. Now, I know this must seem strange to you, but I promise it will all make sense once I’ve explained everything.” He tilted my chin up, so that I was looking into his loving eyes. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, so don’t worry about it. Just trust me.” His lips softly pressed against mine, and I rested my hand on his bare chest.
“Okay, I trust you,” I said as I looked into his eyes, even though I still had a major case of the creeps.
His smile grew brighter, and he pulled me tighter into the hug. “Come on, let’s go have breakfast.” He kissed the top of my head, then took my hand and began leading me back up the stairs.
I glanced over my shoulder to get one last look at my odd discovery, with a heavy feeling of uncertainty.
30. Killer Instincts
The morning sun beamed brightly through the windshield as Ashton pulled the car up along the sidewalk next to Aspen Hall. Large gray bricks formed the cathedral-like building, with a lofty tower in the center housing the large wooden door. Tall-paned windows glimmered as sunlight passed between the barren branches of pale aspen trees that were planted symmetrically in front of the building.
I looked over and smiled at Ashton, who was already looking at me. He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and took a deep breath. “Gwendolyn, can we have that talk once I pick you up after class? I know I probably seem pushy about this, but it’s very important that we have it soon.” The sunshine illuminated his weary eyes as he gazed into mine.
“Yeah, sure, that sounds fine. I’ll be out at eleven.” I was now somewhat looking forward to this mysterious conversation. However, I was less interested in the actual talk and much more interested in his explanation of the bizarre papers in the basement.
“Alright, well, say hello to Mrs. Chuong for me. And don’t be out a minute later than eleven, or I will kick down the door to the classroom and carry you out over my shoulder,” his deep voice rumbled as he sternly looked me in the eye.
Oh, dear god...
“Okay, okay, I’ll try to be punctual!” I held up my hand while shifting my eyes around because I knew without any doubt he wasn’t bluffing. I certainly didn’t want him to give poor little old Mrs. Chuong a heart attack.
He put his hand on my cheek and gave me a soft kiss goodbye. “I’ll see you then, Buttercup.” I pushed open the door and had just begun to exit the car when I was abruptly pulled right back in. “On second thought, you’re going to be a few minutes late.” He roughly grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed his mouth against mine in a deep, passionate kiss.
Oh my!
My lips parted to grant his powerful, dominating tongue entrance as our mouths feverishly moved against each other. My fingers wove through his hair, and I moaned into his mouth. A deep growl rumbled in his chest as he bit my lip and tugged with his teeth before releasing it with a wicked smirk.
“Ashton... we probably shouldn’t be doing this here. Anyone could see us,” I said with a breathy voice as I trailed my hands down his muscly arms, wishing that they weren’t concealed by his jacket.
“Let them see. I don’t give a fuck. We probably look sexy as Hell, anyway.” With a feral, inhuman-sounding growl, he aggressively crashed his lips onto mine again—hot damn—and his tongue ferociously fucked my mouth for a good five minutes or so.
