Claiming a Demon (Dallying with Demons Book 3)

Chapter 19

It tookwork to keep the anxiety off my face. The entire time Mal was gone, I kept glancing over my shoulder, waiting for him to show back up again. His friend seemed a little scary, and I didn’t want him to get hurt.

“It’s gonna be okay. They’d never actually fight. They’re just growly sometimes,” Brandon tried to reassure me.

Tyler wrinkled his nose. “Especially Aziel. I thought he was a gangster when I first met him. At least around me, he’s all bark and no bite. Then again, Fe said he had a no hurting humans rule, so…” He shrugged.

“Why’s that?” I appreciated the distraction, so I figured asking questions was better than panicking.

Tyler tipped his head side to side. “Fe said it’s something about it being an unfair fight or whatever. I dunno. I take his responses with a grain of salt.”

Isla snorted. “You shouldn’t take anything Felix says seriously. He’s an attention whore. He’ll say the craziest stuff just to get attention.”

Tyler scowled at her, but Brandon interjected in disagreement. “I don’t think that’s true. I mean, yeah, he likes attention, but Felix can be serious when he wants to be. If it has anything to do with Tyler, he’s probably being serious, even if he sounds like he’s joking.”

That brought a smile to Tyler’s face. It was obvious he loved his boyfriend and probably would’ve spent half the night arguing to protect him if he thought he needed to. I felt the same way about Mal. He was quiet, and I was worried his friends just kind of shuffled him along without asking his opinions. I wanted to stand up for him when I could, but I also didn’t want to stifle him from voicing his opinions himself either.

Maya, Isla’s new fiancee, shook her head slowly. “Maybe not everything about Tyler. You guys are still fighting for prank king, right?”

Tyler snorted. “Okay, yeah, I’ll give you that. That’s not serious. Just a hell of a lot of fun. What’s the point of being in a relationship if you can’t have fun?”

They all bobbed their heads in agreement and I felt myself relax. The demons were a little intense, but their friends and significant others were fine. And I liked a good prank here and there.

“What kind of pranks do you do?”

Tyler’s face lit up, and he immediately launched into a detailed explanation of the most recent pranks he and Felix played on each other. Nothing overly crazy, but there were multiple occasions with confetti poppers and plastic wrap in doorways. And a couple of embarrassing photos, which Tyler was only too eager to show me.

We were still chatting when Mal appeared out of thin air. I barely glanced over my shoulder before he wrapped his arms around me and we disappeared again. I’d never teleported before, we flew to Mal’s apartment that night, so the experience was a little jarring. My body tingled like my limbs had fallen asleep and my stomach twisted uncomfortably from the shock. The feeling went away as soon as we appeared back in my apartment, but it took me a few seconds to shake it off.

“Mal? What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer, his face buried in my neck. I couldn’t even try to look at him, because he was behind me and his hold was too tight for me to turn around. I reached up, running my fingers through his hair, and just waited. He’d come out when he was ready.

Except, after almost ten minutes of standing there, Mal showed no signs of moving. His whole body was still tight, like he couldn’t relax an inch, and I worried he wouldn’t be able to get there on his own.

“Mal? How about we go lay down? I think it’d be more comfortable.”

It took him a few more minutes, but eventually, he let out a breath and his grip relaxed enough for me to turn around. Taking his hands, I pulled him towards the bed, kicking off my shoes along the way. Mal followed suit and when I nudged him onto the bed, he went without question. And without a word. It worried me just how quiet he was being. I knew he was quiet in general, but with me, he had been opening up. Something happened with his friends that made him shut down on me.

Climbing into bed with him, I cuddled against his side, one arm hugging his waist. His arms came around me, keeping me close, but he still didn’t relax. And I was only so patient.

“What happened with your friends?”

He didn’t reply, so I lifted my head to read his face. It was hard, since I didn’t turn on the lights beforehand, but my eyes adjusted eventually and I saw the deep frown pulling at his lips.

“Did you argue more?”

Still nothing. A muscle twitched in his jaw, but I didn’t know why yet. I kept asking, because I felt partially responsible. His friend wouldn’t have started anything if I hadn’t been there.

“Was it about me?” I murmured, my heart stuttering in my chest when his face darkened. That was a yes. Guilt settled in my stomach and I dropped my chin automatically.

“I’m sorry, Mal. I didn’t mean to cause trouble. You shouldn’t fight with your friends because of me. I–”

Without warning, Mal rolled on top of me. He captured my lips roughly, smothering my surprised sound. I wanted to give him what he needed, but I recognized what he was after. He wanted a distraction. He didn’t want my comfort. It tore at my insides and my eyes burned with unshed tears. That’s all I was for him. A distraction from the craziness happening in his life. I know I offered him that before, but I thought things had changed now that we were in a relationship. I was still okay with distracting him when he needed it, but I thought he’d talk to me first. It made me wonder what would happen when things settled. Would he not need me anymore? Or was this all I’d ever be? His distraction. Nothing more.

I gave in to what he needed without a word. I kept my face averted, my body responding in spite of my heartache. Mal didn’t notice. He was too lost in whatever was going on in his head. I waited until he fell asleep afterwards to slip out of bed, putting a little space between me and him. I listened out for him as I got dressed and put on my shoes, but he was down for the count. Whatever happened with his friends took a lot out of him. And because I was hopeless, my heart ached for him. I still wanted to fix it, despite how badly it hurt to know it’d never last. He wouldn’t need me forever.

Letting the door shut quietly behind me, I let out a long breath. I still felt like I was about to cry, and I wasn’t about to do that in my apartment and possibly wake Mal and make him feel guilty. Instead, I headed down the hall and knocked on the last door on the right. It was late, but they were both night owls, so I knew they’d be awake. Selene answered a minute later, her hair tied up and her glasses on her nose, telling me she was working on spells just now. She took one look at me and frowned, taking a step back to let me inside.

“Ingrid? Zach’s here and it looks like someone kicked his puppy.”

Ingrid’s head poked out of the kitchen, her expression confused. “That’s not possible. Zach doesn’t frown.” Her gaze swept over me and her head tipped slightly. “Hey… what happened to you?”

I shook my head. I didn”t want to get into it. My friends were protective, and I didn’t want them to get up in arms. Mal hadn’t done anything wrong. I didn”t want them to hate him before they got to know him.

Selene shut the door behind me and nudged me into the living room. “Is this a tea or liquor conversation?”

“Neither. I’m fine.”

She and Ingrid shared a look before she turned back to me. “Witch’s brew it is, then. Come, sit. Tell me what’s wrong.”

She steered me towards the couch with a hand on my shoulder, pushing me onto the couch. Ingrid came out of the kitchen a few minutes later with three mugs of what looked like a potion. Witch’s brew was potent and probably not safe for human consumption, but when things got rough with the three of us, it was our drink of choice. It was easier to face our feelings when we were drunk off our asses.

After a few sips, the urge to cry went away, and I sank into the couch with a sigh. Selene took that as a sign that I was ready to talk and leaned her elbow on the back of the couch, supporting her chin as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Given the state of your hair, I’d say this was a boy problem. Which doesn’t make any sense because the last time we spoke, you weren’t seeing anyone. Or have you been holding out on us?” she commented dryly.

Ingrid made a tick sound behind her teeth. “Selene, stop. He’s obviously going through something. Now is not the time to get jealous.”

Selene rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying. We tell each other when we start dating.”

“I am seeing someone. But since it’s only been official for two days, I think you can forgive me for not bringing it up.”

She pursed her lips, some of the annoyance disappearing. “Alright, fine. I can agree to that. So, trouble in paradise? If it’s only been two days, that might be a bit of a red flag, you know.”

Taking another healthy swallow of the brew, I shrugged. “I don’t know. It might be nothing.”

Ingrid put her hand on my shoulder and when I turned to face her, her soft smile made that lump in my throat come back. “If it’s bothering you, it’s never nothing. Tell us what’s wrong.”