“No, I’d only met her the one time at Norah’s, and we barely spoke.”
“Are you sure it was her in the flames?”
“Definitely.” The tarot cards were still spread out on the table, and I glanced down at them now, focusing on the girl in the Nine of Wands.Reva.“She was terrified, Ash.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“I swear I could taste the sea,” I said, remembering the saltiness that had filled my mouth right before I’d slipped into the trance. “I heard it, too—like a constant roar, but muffled. Like I said, I think they’re in some kind of prison. No windows. Now that I think about it, it looked like a giant… cave.” I filled in the rest of the details, giving Asher a moment to turn it all over in his mind.
“This prison,” he finally said. “You think it’s here in Washington?”
It was a good place to start. I pulled out my phone, flipping to the maps app. “The coast is only two hours from here. And there are plenty of places to disappear out there without anyone noticing.”
“Two hours… That’s just far enough for the hunter to slip out of range, but close enough he could still zip back into the Bay and grab more witches.” At this, he turned to look at me again, his ocean-blue eyes serious. “Or grab you.”
“Well, that’s not happening now.” I shook my head, forcing a smile. Anxiety in a situation like ours could easily lead to paranoia, and paranoia was as contagious as a yawn. “I’m out here in the middle of nowhere with my very own demonic bodyguard.”
Asher nodded, but he didn’t look convinced.
I broke his gaze, turning to look out the windows at the front of the house. It was pitch black outside, silent but for the occasional rustle of dried leaves in the breeze.
The logs shifted in the fireplace, sending a cascade of sparks shooting upward, and I flinched.
“Relax, Cupcake,” Asher said softly, a trace of humor slipping through his concern. “Your demonic bodyguard will keep you safe from all threats, great and small.”
“I suppose so. After all, youdidrush out of the shower to save me from scrying-induced smoke inhalation.”
“All in a day’s work.”
“Thank God you had time to grab your towel.” I nudged him in the ribs, trying not to pay too much attention to the drop-dead sexy tattoos snaking across his arms, chest, and abs, disappearing behind his back. Now that most of the wounds from his ordeal in the devil’s trap had healed, the designs stood out much more clearly. They were all done in black ink, no color in sight—a mix of ancient-looking symbols, mesmerizing patterns, and words written in a language that might’ve been Latin. The tattoos on his abs rippled when he laughed.
“No shit,” he said. “You have a hard enough time keeping your eyes off me as it is.”
I wonder what it would feel like to touch his stomach...
“Uh, case in point,” he said.
Probably smooth and hot, his muscles rock-hard underneath that perfectly painted skin...
“So basically, you’re saying you want me,” he said. “Right here on the floor, no holds barred. Right?”
“Yeah…”
“Uh, Gray?”
“Mmm?” I blinked, tearing my gaze away from his body and up to his face. “I mean… Wait, what?”
He cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing, waiting for me to catch up.
His words crashed into me all at once.
My cheeks flamed.
Totally busted, I turned away from him, looking out the dark windows again. “Maybe if you weren’t prancing around here half-naked all the time, I wouldn’t have to see your goods on display every five seconds.”
“Okay, first of all? I don’t prance. Second of all, I don’t fucking prance.”
I smiled and bit my lower lip, not willing to give him the satisfaction of a full-on laugh.
