Page 22 of The Devil and His Ghost

“I love it! I already want more.”

I laughed, not surprised to hear that.

We walked down the bustling streets of the city, my arm still draped around her shoulder while she tucked herself against my side. It wasn’t until I was hit with the city air and hustle of life that I realized … my fucking arm was around her. It had landed there so naturally, which was an issue. Clearly, we’d spent far too much time together for us to be this comfortable. I’d have to make a point of ignoring her more at home.

I glanced down at her jovial expression and excited gaze as it peered into all the shops we passed, simultaneously remembering the look of stricken terror that had been there not very long ago.

Meh. I guess shrugging her off can start tomorrow when it’s not her birthday, I thought to myself, leaving my arm where it was for now.

The Ghost Speaker didn’t want to go to a club for her birthday, because she wasn’t comfortable with crowds and the potential spectral baggage they unknowingly brought. Instead, we spent the day walking around less touristy and packed places around the city. Everything was so new for her, and she couldn’t take it in fast enough.

We had to stop at every café and bakery for her to get a singular treat to eat while we walked. She was fascinated by the tall buildings, especially the older ones. Ghosts occasionally peered out of windows to look down on the passerby outside, but we kept our attention diverted so they wouldn’t notice that we could see them.

I guided her into various stores, because I thought the human might want to try her hand at a shopping spree on her special day. My wallet and I were fully prepared to drop as much as she wanted us to, but just like the day we grabbed her some clothes for the penthouse, she had no interest in getting a lot of clothes, jewelry, or make-up. She’d make a quick sweep of the clothing shop before pulling me back onto the street.

“You don’t like shopping?” I asked her as we sat on a park bench.

She shrugged, scooping a spoonful of the chocolate mousse cheesecake she’d picked from the last dessert house we’d popped into. “You already got me some clothes. I don’t know how to do make-up or anything more than a braid or ponytail for my hair. I don’t need more stuff.”

“Sure. But you know you can want things. You’re not in a hospital with restrictions. You’re free to want and have things.”

She looked up from her cheesecake. “Are you saying if I want something, you’ll give it to me?”

I was rich, so she couldn’t have a request too hard to meet. The stores we’d gone into hadn’t been very expensive, and she didn’t really know big brands. Going back for whatever she had in mind wouldn’t be an issue.

“Yeah,” I answered, draping my arms along the back of the bench behind her and on my other side. “What did you want?”

She smiled and tilted her face up. “A kiss.”

“Ha!” I threw my head back on a faux laugh before fixing my bland stare on her. “Not happening. Nice try, though.”

She immediately pouted and stared at her cheesecake while grumbling. “Jerk. You said you’d give me whatever I wanted. It’s my birthday. I’m eighteen, for crying out loud.”

I listened to her grievances with a smile threatening to take over. I wasn’t an idiot. How could a demon who’d been around as long as I had not know that Kendyll liked me? She typically tried hiding it, but I guessed she felt bolder on her birthday. Still, I’d meant what I’d told her before. Eighteen was too young for my taste, not to mention I was the only person she’d really interacted with outside of the hospital. She thought she liked me, but that was just inexperience talking. She needed to explore romance with other people, not me.

“Why agree if you aren’t going to follow through?” she continued lamenting under her breath, taking an angry bite of her cheesecake. “Asshat. All talk. Wussy.”

The barely audible grumbles had me chuckling softly. She was trying to goad me into doing what she wanted, but it wasn’t going to work.

“Thought you were a demon, but turns out you’re just a scaredy cat.”

My eye twitched. So it wasn’t going to completely work.

While she huffed and puffed, I leaned down to drop a kiss on her cheek. “Happy birthday, Ghost.”

She froze and stared wide-eyed at her dessert. Her entire face went from pale cream to firetruck red. The tips of her ears practically glowed like Rudolph’s nose. She blinked many times behind her glasses and peered sideways at me.

“Jerk,” she squeaked again, all the fight gone from her voice.

I smiled. “Guilty. Finish your cheesecake so we can keep going.”

She barely managed to do that, still clearly dazed. Served her right. She wasn’t so quick to taunt me now.

With her food gone, we stood and resumed our trek down the many store-lined streets. Eventually, she shook off the moment on the bench. We grabbed dinner at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant before returning to my penthouse.

The day had been long and busy. We put on a movie, but it wasn’t long before we were both fading and decided to call it a night.

“Do I get the bed tonight since it’s my birthday?” she asked, standing at the foot of my bed in one of my long shirts and pajama pants. I’d bought the girl her own freaking clothes, but she insisted on wearing mine to sleep in.