Chapter 4 #2
I was now. I bit my bottom lip and curled my hands into fists to keep from fanning myself and making it all too obvious what his compliment did to me.
His molten gaze dropped to my lips.
I skirted around him and jerked open the door before stumbling out onto the porch, welcoming the cool air as it hit my exposed skin.
We’d passed the boutique on the way here, but I suddenly realized I hadn’t eaten or had my daily dose of caffeine yet today and had reached that point where I was reasonably confident I could not continue to function without a cup of joe and some sweet carbs to go along with it.
“Coffee first,” I announced, striding across the street without waiting to see if Asmoday would follow.
The coffee shop, Witch’s Brew, had dark wood detailing, walls that were deep purple, and magic hung on the air like a living, breathing entity.
All the clues to the proprietor’s identity were there, which was good because witches’ heredity wasn’t nearly as obvious as, say, a demon. Or a yeti. Or gorgon. Or mummy.
You get my drift.
Witches, by contrast, appeared entirely human. If they didn’t tell you outright, you either had to touch them or catch them casting a spell to confirm their nature.
Instead of simply looking human, Arrythmia’s resident witch more closely resembled a super model.
The woman who stepped through the swinging door behind the counter of the coffee shop was probably six foot and thin as a rail, with a curtain of crazy long black hair that fell past her waist.
She wore what could best be described as a sexy schoolgirl uniform: white button-down shirt with most of the buttons unlatched to show off the type of cleavage that was usually only possible via surgical enhancements or a really good bra, a satin blazer cinched at the waist and decorated with black lace, and pleated black skirt just long enough to (barely) cover the naughty bits.
And let’s not forget the fuck me Mary Janes with cute little bows on the straps.
I hated to think it, but she’d look damn good on Asmoday’s arm.
Speaking of, her sexy witch’s gaze lapped up Asmoday like warm milk while she wrapped herself around him and simpered, and I took it all back.
She looked terrible there. She shouldn’t be touching him. She shouldn’t be near him. She shouldn’t even be looking at him—and what the hell?
I turned around to catch a glimpse of myself in the reflection in the window, not that the wide-eyed, blue-haired woman staring back was helping my confusion in any way.
Wait. Don’t even tell me I was jealous.
Hellfire and brimstone, I didn’t even want to be attracted to the guy!
“Why don’t you wait outside, Daruka, and I’ll grab something for both of us?” Asmoday suggested.
Why did he not want me inside this coffee shop, hmm?
“Daruka?” Sexy Witch purred, studying me like a bug under a microscope rather than the sizzling way she’d sized up Asmoday. “Is this your sister, Asmoday?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the P. I felt like I was watching myself up on a movie screen. I had zero control over anything that was happening.
Sexy Witch arched a single brow. I’d always wanted to do that but had never been able to accomplish it, despite spending hours in front of a mirror trying.
“Selina,” Asmoday said hurriedly, “this is Daruka. She’s new in town. Just arrived this morning. Daruka, Selina. She runs the coffee shop, and if you hadn’t guessed it yet, she’s a witch.”
“And you are another demon,” Selina said to me.
“I am.” Normally, I downplayed the demon aspect of my nature, since most people tended to fear us. Mermaids were far more likable.
This was a special circumstance.
“Two demons,” Selina said slowly, now eyeing me suspiciously. “Gal should have closed that hellmouth a bit more quickly.”
“Hey, now—” Then those two words hit me with the force of a hurricane.
Hell. Mouth.
Hellmouth. The portal between here and there. Where Dad lived.
“There’s a hellmouth? Here?” I pointed at the floor, which had been painted to look like a Ouija board. I quickly shifted to the side.
Just in case.
“Not here,” Selina said, sounding as if she were mocking my tone. “It’s down at the end of the street.”
I flung around to face Asmoday. “I thought this place was protected. Warded. Safe!”
He lifted both hands, palms facing out, as if he worried I might attack him. And not the sort of attack that my body wanted to do, even now, when I was suddenly very, very afraid dear daddy would figure out where I was hiding.
“It is all of those things,” Asmoday said. “Gal opened the hellmouth, but then she closed it again.”
“Mostly,” Selina added.
“It’s fine,” Asmoday stressed. “You are safe here. I promise.”
No idea how he could promise such a thing when this town had been built over top of an actual hellmouth, but I kept myself in check because Mom swore this was the safest place for me.
And Mom knew her stuff. She hadn’t let me down for my entire life, except when she died, of course.
But that hadn’t been her fault, so, yeah, she’d never let me down.
I trusted her judgment.
“What kind of coffee do you want, Daruka?” Asmoday asked, as if the subject were closed and he was ready to move on.
I supposed I was too. Or, more realistically, I now needed a jolt of caffeine more than ever.
Glancing at the menu board on the wall behind the counter, I noted that it was all the standard coffee drinks, with silly witch-centric names like Witch’s Cold Brew (the specialty), Salem’s Lot Latte, Cinnamon Coven Cappuccino, and Black Magic Macchiato, which was the one I opted for, along with a heart-shaped scone drizzled with pink icing.
Asmoday went with the Witch’s Cold Brew, which Selina took an absurdly long time making while I tried to tell myself I had no reason to be jealous of the attention she paid to him. Didn’t matter that she was the only other person in this town who seemed remotely attracted to him.
He wasn’t mine. I didn’t want him. My attraction was entirely the result of him being a lust demon.
And yet, the moment we stepped out onto the sidewalk—after I took a sip and grudgingly admitted Selina the Bad Witch made damn delicious coffee—I blurted, “Why are she and I the only people in this town who are attracted to you?”
Asmoday shrugged.
“Because I’m pretty sure you’re my fated mate.”