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I grab Dem’s arm before he can leave, but like I expected, my sudden movement causes all of them to stop and look at me.
Tears—those damn, wretched things—fill my eyes as I meet each of their stares, allowing my sincerity to emanate from my gaze. Originally, I’d planned to use their attachment to my advantage. But they’ve been so sincere…minus Cal’s lies, which haven’t been directed toward me. And suddenly, I find myself feeling attached as well.
“Thank you,” I whisper hoarsely. There are a thousand things I’m thanking them for, but I can’t articulate what each of them are. For being my friends when they were mere reindeer. For staying with me when they could’ve left. For helping me now.
For loving me.
“Always, beautiful,” Dem says softly, cupping my cheek. His eyes turn molten as they scour my face. “Be careful.”
“I will,” I assure him, covering his hand with my own. “You be careful too.”
His grin widens, revealing those adorable dimples, and he gives me a mock salute with his free hand. “I’m always careful.”
“I thought I was the lying demon,” Cal deadpans, but Dem simply winks, moving stealthily around the side of the workshop until he disappears from view. His job is the most dangerous. He’s got to get closest to the demons in order to swipe their weapons, and anxiety for him rattles my chest like a rain stick turned upside down.
Bryn moves to take his place, and I find myself immediately surrounded by the sloth demon’s heat as he pulls me into his arms. He rests his cheek on my head as he rocks us slowly, leisurely, from side to side. I feel comfort in his embrace, my mind immediately conjuring up all of the times I cuddled with Blitzen just like this. He, more than any of my reindeer, liked to place his head in my lap and have me run my fingers through his soft fur, directly between his antlers. I would read him all sorts of stories—everything fromRomeo and JuliettoMoby Dick.Heck, I even threw a few Christmas books in there, enjoying the way his cute little reindeer nose scrunched together in annoyance, before he got too sleepy to give a crap.
“Be safe, Sleepy,” I whisper, the stupid nickname leaving my mouth before I can think better of it. Am I really that girl? The type who gives out stupid nicknames? Apparently, I am.
He chuckles, the sound deliciously dark, before pulling away from me.
“Always.” He bops my nose before moving to the side, allowing Nico to take his place. The huge Scot doesn’t hesitate to take me in his arms and lift me until my feet are a few inches off the ground. He then proceeds to spin me in a wide circle, my blonde hair whipping around my face and my feet accidentally kicking Cal in the hip.
“Ow!” Cal hisses, but Nico merely laughs, placing his mouth to my shoulder to smother the sound.
“Sorry, mate,” he says, sounding anythingbutsorry. “You got in the way of my girl’s foot.” He lowers me to the ground and rests his large hands on my shoulders, his expression turning serious. Tense. A myriad of emotions flickers to life in his vibrant green eyes. “You be safe, you hear me? Because if anything happened to yer…” He squeezes his eyelids shut, almost as if the thought brings him physical pain.
I’m beginning to feel like a broken record when I promise him that I will.
I can only pray that I’m telling them the truth.
Nico and Bryn hurry in the opposite direction Dem went, leaving me alone with Gus and Cal—my wrath and white lie demons.
Gus surprises the shit out of me when he stalks forward, practically shoving Cal out of his way. His hands lift, and he grips my cheeks between his two large, tattooed hands as his dark eyes gleam. And then he kisses me.
His mouth takes mine in a long, lust-filled kiss, one that grows deeper and hungrier with every passing second. His tongue brushes over my lower lip, asking for more, and I’m so shocked by the tentative gesture from the usually demanding demon that I open my mouth for him, giving himeverything.
Once inside, his tongue plunders my mouth, and his hands grip my face with an intensity that makes me ache.
All too soon, he pulls away from me, both of us panting like we ran a marathon. Ran a marathon…and died halfway through it.
“Fuck,” we both breathe at the same time, our eyes locking. I bite my lip to hide my smile as he leans forward and plants one last chaste kiss against my lips in an unspoken promise before he backs away.
“Wish me luck.” His dopey smile fades into something grim andwrathful. He strides towards the front door of the workshop as if he owns it. As if he owns the fucking world.
“I am not at all turned on right now,” Cal says, discreetly adjusting himself.
“Lie,” I say with a small smile, one that instantly fades when Nico flies up out of nowhere, a giant red bag in his hands as he wings his way through the air.
I watch Gus yank open the door and stroll inside the workshop like death and vengeance personified. My heart fires off like a missile, hurtling through space. There’s no turning back now.
Cal takes my hand and pulls me to the side, just as an enraged bellow reverberates through the still night.
He gives my hand a squeeze, his face grim. “It’s time.”
