Page 44 of Demon

Ivy

Upon hearing my alarm,I stretch awake and get changed, wincing as the tenderness between my legs becomes apparent. Standing at the center of the bedroom, I mentally spiral. Is Jett ready? Will he actually take me to work today after what happened yesterday? The whole situation seems like déjà vu. I really need to get home and pick up my car. I can’t keep relying on Jett to drive me every day.

I exhale deeply, but it doesn’t do much to calm my nerves. Closing the bedroom door behind me, I find him waiting, leaning casually against the wall. His hair is damp from the shower. He looks gorgeous. Heat rushes to my cheeks as I glance away. “Do you mind taking me to pick up my car tonight after my shift?” I ask.

He pauses before nodding slowly. “Sure, butI’d still like to drive you to and from work.”

He wants to keep me safe... how can I argue with that?

Like yesterday, I trail behind him through the house and climb into the passenger seat of his truck, blushing furiously. As he backs out of the driveway and takes the dirt road, I realize I can’t avoid the little ball of tension lodged in my throat. I need to know. With a dry mouth, I ask, “Do you regret last night?”

His eyes stay fixed on the road, and the silence that follows churns my stomach. A sliver of fear begins to settle in until he finally says, “No.”

Relief washes over me, and I melt into the seat with a tiny smile tugging at my lips. “I have the next four days off,” I say, eager to fill the charged silence with something more hopeful. “I was just filling in until my boss could get me back on the roster. Maybe we could do something tomorrow. Just us.”

He doesn’t respond right away, so I blurt out more. “We could go into town, maybe grab some lunch.”

“Yeah... okay,” he says after a beat, his focus still on the road.

He’s not giving me much, but I tell myself that spending more time with him will help. I want him to see how good we could be together. Even though my experience with relationships is limited thanks to Dickhead, but I believe in this. I believe in us. There’s potential here, and I think we might be able to make something really great.

* * *

Demon

I stayout in the parking lot in the truck sitting with the air conditioning on, wondering what the fuck is going on. Ivy... just her name in my skull makes me feel weird, but she was the warmth my cold body needed. I wasn’t ready for the impact she and her daughter have had on me.

She’s my new obsession... my infatuation. The cloud of darkness isn’t there when she’s around. She’s just what I thought when I first met her... pure sunshine, the pretty little face that keeps the darkness away. But I’m the storm and I’ll steal her light. I can’t be redeemed. I pull out a piece of gum and shove it into my mouth, liking the strong mint taste. My mind filters with thoughts like sandpaper grating on my sanity.

Ivy looked me dead in my pupils, into my dead soul—and said she likes me... A woman like her likes me? She keeps looking at me as if she can see my heart. A shiver rattles my spine. Her presence has become my favorite place, and there’s nothing I won’t do for her, but she wants to be loved...Am I capable of loving a woman?I shake my head. I don’t think I can give her that. I’ll never be the person she needs and deserves.

That doesn’t mean I can give her up. Sometimes even the devil wants a taste of heaven. My lips almost curve up into a true smile. And her taste... fuuuck. I salivate at the thought of the sweet flavor. My thirst for her is startling. Now I’ve tasted her I crave more. She branded me with that kiss, and I know for sure no one else could ever taste as good as she did.

I sigh, still puzzled at what happened last night. I’ve never cared about sex. Had it when I was a teenager, but the day of the incident my soul was taken. That night I was killed and born again... nothing else mattered as the darkness swallowed my pain.

Sex didn’t matter... or I didn’t care about it until Ivy. But now? My cock aches to sink into her snug heat again, knowing how good that felt. And when she yelled out my name in pleasure... I shift uncomfortably in the seat; my dick’s getting hard. It’s permanently etched into my brain. I’ve never given a fuck about sex, but being in her was fucking perfect.

She’s the only woman I’ve gone bareback with, and I don’t regret it. I could do that every night, but I’m still wary because I’m fucked-up and she and Sammy deserve someone who’s similar to Reaper, who’s protective but has morals, because I don’t fucking have any and my issues could bleed all over them.

Just the thought of Ivy with someone else though... that makes my hands twitchy like I want to use my knife to commit murder. So... I’m in quite a dilemma.

The world doesn’t understand why I’m so messed up, and that’s okay... yet there’s this compelling urge to tell her. But she’s still in danger, and I don’t want to scare her. I never got to experience the full spectrum of life, but being with her makes me feel human, like she’s altered my brain chemistry. In a world that made me feel dead inside, she makes me feel like I’m alive, and now I can finally breathe again.

The ringing echoes throughout the truck. I glance down to see Twitch’s name on my phone. I don’t mind Twitch, but he’s scared shitless of me, not that I blame him... I am dangerous, but I’d never hurt a War Brothers club member. I answer, “Yes, Twitch,” in my manufactured voice that tends to make people uncomfortable. At least over the phone I don’t have to fake a smile.

“Ah, yeah, I just seen a car drive up to our gates. They stayed there for a minute, turned, and drove away. I checked the number plates. It was the same car you saw that night at Ivy’s house, so they know she’s staying at the clubhouse.”

I thought they were still after her because they broke into her house again the other night. I just haven’t told Ivy. There’s no point in worrying her until this is all sorted. “Did you see the men?”

“Both had dark features.”

It wasn’t her ex then—he has dirty-blond hair and pale skin.

“I had to tell Reaper and Bomber, who was at the gate. They want you to come in for a club meeting.”

“Be there in twenty,” I reply and end the call.

I tug at the neck of my shirt. My body is too warm, even when the cold air from the air conditioning washes over my skin. I check my radial pulse. It’s racing. I’m feeling weird.

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