I shrug. “We’d better get started then.”
By the time Diego teleports us back to the B&B with my luggage, all traces of the arousal I felt earlier have been extinguished by exhaustion. I stumble when we land in front of The Crone’s Nest. Diego catches my arm to steady me, but there’s nothing sexy about the gesture. He looks just as tired as I feel, with heavy shadows beneath his eyes.
“Well, that was a bust,” he says, his tone dejected.
“We’ll try again tomorrow night during the bachelor party.” I try to sound reassuring, but I don’t think I manage it.
Once inside our room, we pause by the door, taking in the furniture. After a long look at the bed, Diego heads for the fainting couch. “I’ll sleep on this. You can take the bed.”
“Diego…”
“I don’t mind, Cat.”
“Well, I do. Look, this bed is enormous. And we’re adults. There’s no reason for you to be uncomfortable all night when there’s so much space. And I need you to be sharp enough to take on a demon tomorrow. Just sleep in the bed…with me.”
If he notices I falter on the last two words, he doesn’t comment. After one last look at the fainting couch, he gives up the argument. “You’re right. The demon has to be powerful if it’s managing a spell of this magnitude.
“Let’s just get some rest, okay? We’ll regroup in the morning.”
We take turns in the bathroom, which appears to be carved entirely out of black marble, and slide into the bed on opposite sides. There’s still enough space that we could fit a whole other person between us.
But I don’t want someone else there. I want to be closer to Diego.
The impulse surprises me. I wasn’t attracted to him when we were in school. Had I noticed his pretty brown eyes? Sure. But I’d been so absorbed in taking him down a peg, that hadn’t mattered.
Yes, Diego is objectively hot now, but it’s not the only thing drawing me to him. He’s more confident, less of a show-off, less argumentative.
As for me, I don’t feel the need to constantly one-up him or prove that I’m right and he’s wrong.
Maybe we’ve both grown up.
I’m overthinking this, trying to find a logical explanation for how he makes me feel inside, when the truth is…
I just want him.
My body responds to Diego in a way that it hasn’t for anyone else. At the party, every time he pressed against me, or slid a hand over my waist, or whispered in my ear, it didn’t matter that it was for show, or that he was talking about magical symbols and spells.
All that mattered was that he was touching me, and I didn’t want him to stop.
He rolls over. The rustle of the sheet sounds loud and intimate in the dark, and I feel the slight tug on my end of the blanket.
“Goodnight, Cat.”
His voice gives me goosebumps. If only I weren’t too tired to enjoy them.
“Goodnight, Diego.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Lucky for me, my sister Crystal planned the bachelorette party, and even in her half-trance state, she’s managing the guests—and the open bar—well enough that she doesn’t notice me sneaking out. The cameras have followed us to the club, and they’re a little harder to ditch. It takes me three trips to the bathroom before I’m able to lose my tail and head to the other club where Diego is keeping an eye on his brother.
Diego knows the club owner, another brujo, who gives him access to a side door. He meets me there and lets me inside.
That morning, Diego was already gone when I woke up, sparing us any awkwardness. He’d left a note saying he was going to borrow some spell books from Nestor, and he returned with the books and coffee as I was blow drying my hair. We spent the rest of the day flipping through old grimoires and determining our next course of action for expelling the demon wearing Matteo’s face. It was like studying before a big test, but with much higher stakes.
Once upon a time, I thought test scores were the highest stakes imaginable. Life has shown me otherwise.
We’ve decided to attempt a banishment spell, something tried and true. After returning to Casa Cartagena and raiding my mom’s supplies, we packed everything into my purse and split up to join the parties.
