CHAPTER 12
REMMIE
Durning our walk to my house yesterday, Shade insisted on coming back over to look for more magical clues.
He seemed a bit off after our park lunch, but still walked me home, his signature smile on his face.
In preparation of today, I braved the attic in the dead of night to get a few boxes down.
Gran started moving things there before she passed, saying I didn’t need her old things around.
Now I’m wondering if she was just trying to hide her history from me.
Meeting my grans friends or better yet, her coven, was shocking but made sense. My grandmother was always warm and kind but had a sharp tongue when she needed to and gods help whoever she didn’t like. I think she would have loved Shade. He’s such a flirt and she would have eaten it up.
Dressing in a light-yellow sundress, I put my hair up in a messy bun and head to the kitchen.
The sun shines through the stained-glass windows, casting the dinning nook in rainbow of colors.
I love this space. It’s where I learned to bake.
Most of my fondest memories of my mother are here, making pancakes and dancing with gran.
After meeting her friends, I feel like I understand her better. Some of the things she said and did line up with the information I got about her from Helena and the others. Real life witches and I should have been one. Crazy.
Looking at the wall clock, I have about an hour before Shade said he’d be over.
An hour, huh. I can make some cinnamon rolls for him.
Ha! What a domestic thought. But it makes me giddy when he eats what I make.
A form of validation I was missing since losing my customers the last few months.
I dawn my apron, select some music, hits of the 2000s, and get to work.
I dance around my kitchen sifting flour and melting butter.
I have the dough ready in no time at all, setting it in a bowl to rise.
I work on the cinnamon filling, the smell of the familiar spice bringing me peace.
I have missed cooking for someone special.
And somehow, a certain golden demon got under my skin.
It could be his constant flirting or the way he finds small ways to touch me.
It could be how intensely he watches and listens when I talk about myself and my baking.
But mostly, It’s the way he genuinely wants to help me, regardless of what the coven says about the deal. He seems to like me for me. It’s a foreign feeling. I have always felt like I was too much for anyone to be around for too long. I learned to control my emotions and outbursts early on.
My mom would always ask me to be calm and quiet, while my gran pushed me to be loud and experience joy whenever I could.
They were both such different people, that it took until I went to college to really know who I was.
No other guy stayed long enough to know me, inside and out.
And even though it’s been a short time, I feel like Shade has been with me my whole life. That isn’t a feeling one could fake.
At least I hope it isn’t.
Dough prepared, I roll it out on my floured countertop and add the filling before making perfect little spirals, my favorite part.
The oven is preheated and they are ready to go.
I let out a sigh of happiness. Every time I bake and it comes out just right, I know I am doing what I am meant to do.
Now to get this spell off of my building so I can go back to sharing this joy with others.
The oven dings in no time and the cinnamon rolls are done. There should be enough time to cool and ice them before Shade gets here.
The icing!
I groan. I forgot to take it out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
Guess I have to pop it in the microwave.
At first glance I don’t see the bowl. I know it is in here.
I made it just the other day. I basically climb into the fridge, finding it in the back behind the milk. And then, I hear a groan behind me.
“All that cake for me, Sweetness?” Shade asks.
I squeak and stand, quickly fixing my sundress. Mortified that he just got an eye full of my cheeky panties. In cliché fashion they were the lacey ones because I still needed to do my laundry. I curse myself for my laziness.
The hungry way Shade stares at me has me melting on the spot.
Was it his magic that had me so weak in the knees?
Or was it just him and this is just how I respond to him?
Clearing my throat, I finish getting the bowl of icing out of the fridge and into the micro for a quick thirty seconds. That should be enough time.
“What Cha got there?” Shade was right next to my ear, startling me.
“Ahh. It’s icing for the cinnamon rolls I made.” I turn to look at him fully.
Gods, he’s gorgeous.
He’s wearing a cream-colored t-shirt that’s practically painted onto his thick body, the sleeve rolled up, greaser style.
His muscular arms are on full display and my mouth is suddenly super dry.
The patterns that cover them are beautiful but don’t take away from his manliness.
Or whatever you call it for demons. His soft brown hair lays in waves around his horns and that smirk he always graces me with is plastered on his face. Yep. I’ve been caught staring.
“Oh, you baked for me? You really do care, Sweetness.” Shade placed a hand over his heart, swooning. I look away, unable to hide my smile. He’s such a dork in the cutest way.
“No. not for you.” I lie.” I just thought we would need a snack while we work.” Not so much a lie. We would be going through boxes. That kind of task will work up an appetite.
“Honestly, I would much rather make a snack out of you.” He purrs.
“Oh, my gods, behave yourself.” I laugh.
“Remmie. If you’d let me, I would eat you for every meal.”
He stares into my wide eyes. His are molten, the hunger in them from earlier has intensified and my brain short circuits.
“Oh really. Um, how?”
Did I just ask, how? What is wrong with me? It’s not like I want him to lift me up on this countertop and eat my center like one of these damn cinnamon rolls I totally forgot I was making. I don’t want that. Nope. Not at all. But Shade senses my inner struggle and closes the gap between us.
The warmth of his big body engulfs me and I almost moan from how good it feels, as touch-starved as I am.
Shade backs me up until I hit the counter behind me.
Resting his hands on either side of my hips, he leans down till we are nose to nose.
He smells so good up close. Like warm whiskey and firewood. Cozy and so damn sexy.
“Maybe I haven’t been painfully obvious to you, Sweetness.
But I have wanted you since day one. I constantly fantasize what your skin would feel like under my lips.
What color your nipples are and how hard I can make them.
How pink your pussy is and how wet you’d get for me.
You are my dream girl, Remmie. And I would happily fall to my knees to show you just how much I want you. ”
Well shit. What can a girl say to that, besides get on with it.
“Kiss me, demon.” I whisper.
“Gladly, my little witch.”
Oh, he kisses me. Hard. Deep. So completely, that I know I will feel it on my lips for days.
The moan he lets out is sinful and delicious, and I lick the seam of his lips, floating when he lets me in.
At the first swipe of our tongues touching, I gasp at the feeling.
His tongue is split like a snake. The tips caress the inside of my mouth, giving me an idea of what they can accomplish in other places.
His hands slide up my dress, gripping my bare my thighs and I moan.
His body is warm against mine and the tips of his claws drag across my skin, making me groan.
Following his lead, I place my palms on his chest, loving the feeling of hard muscle.
Gods, what does he look like under this t-shirt and out of these jeans?
My hands keep going, over abs, back up to his thick arms. This demon is made of stone, I swear. There are muscles on top of muscles. And that tail. It’s been running up and down my calf this whole time. And I swear it adds something extra spicy to all of these sensations.
Finally, Shade pulls away, both of us panting. He licks his lips and I want to dive in again. That was one hell of a first kiss and I’m so down for more.
“Sweetness. Before we do more, I have to make sure you want this. I have told you what I wanted. But what do you want?”
The concern in his voice gives me pause. I study his face. It’s almost like he’s nervous I will stop this. That I will reject him. This strong silly male is shy and self-conscious. My heart opens for him just a bit more.
“I want this, Shade. I’ve wanted you more and more every day.”
His smile is so bright, it could light up the whole city.
“Then if you don’t mind. There is a bowl full of icing here. And I know exactly what I want to put it on.”