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“How do you do that? See right through me?”
“Because you let me in,” he said with a smirk. “You tell me everything with those expressive emerald eyes, the way you hold yourself, reading between your words.”
“I thought demons weren’t such sweet talkers,” I teased. He had me feeling bolder already. It was strange and heady, but I loved it.
“See, I knew that bratty side of you was hiding in there.” He snorted. “And I’m only a sweet talker with you.” He pressed his lips to mine and I melted, his arms all that were holding me up as he swept his tongue into my mouth, dominating, tasting, possessing me. I gave it all willingly, glad to let go even for a moment.
“You’re right,” I admitted, breaking the sweet moment with a dash of reality. It was easier to face with him so close. “I want to be stronger. To hold onto my identity.”
“Good. Because I know several people who wouldn’t be the same without you,” he said.
“Like me.” Harlow startled me as she walked up on quiet feet. She laughed at my reaction, the sound melodic and captivating. He consumed me while she drew me in. “What have you boys been up to?”
“Drake gave me a blow job.” They burst into laughter, and this time I didn’t shy away from it, I joined in.
She paused as she passed Drake, kissing him and letting their tongues dance. The sight of them had my cock twitching like it was ready to go again. “You need to stop disappearing.” There was a warning in her tone.
“I can’t make that promise.” She glared but let it drop before turning to me.
“It’s nice to see you smiling again,” Harlow said as she moved in, her body pressing into mine. She did that often, as if she craved my touch as much as I craved hers. “Am I too late for snuggles, because I could use a nap before dinner.”
“I’m out on that,” Drake said as he stepped back. “I need to check in on something.”
It was just like Drake to sweep in and throw my world upside down, then waltz out without looking back.
Yet I only felt light and free. My trauma wouldn’t disappear because Harlow gave me the touches and softness I craved, it wouldn’t fade away because Drake kept me out of my head, that much I knew. Hell, I’d been through enough psychiatrists and therapists to know that. But I couldn’t dismiss how easily they grounded me, just a simple touch and I felt stronger, more sane. That was a big deal to me.
As I snuggled into Harlow on the couch, my eyes drifted closed. For the first time in far too many years to count, I felt whole.
ChapterSix
Harlow
Tuesday Afternoon
Dark Haven Library
“We have Sadie down on the streets of Ridgefield now with a report about what is going on. Sadie, can you fill us in?” My heart sank as the news switched from the anchor to the one on the field. She was standing in a parking lot, a huge sinkhole already sucking several cars into the void.
“Angie, it’s madness out here. This is the fourth sinkhole this week. Which begs the question, how safe is Ridgefield?” The poor girl looked shaken. Her eyes were wide and skin pale as she reported on the disaster. Who could blame her? There had been reports of sinkholes, insane weather, and even smaller cases of raging fires since the demons broke free. “We have someone from the city here to talk to us. This is Don Carlton from the street department.”
“Thanks for having me,” he said with a fake smile. “We’re all working as hard as we can to discover the source of these sinkholes. Unfortunately, so far, we have no definitive information. Everything has been up to code and it is almost unexplainable.”
Angie laughed, thinking it was a joke until he shook his head and walked away from her, leaving an awkward silence.
“That’s promising.” I sighed. “We have to do something.”
“What can we do?” Layne countered. “Walk out there and be like, ‘well you see, demons are the cause’?”
“Burn the whole city,” Crew muttered. “They’d suffer less.” He’d been the hardest to adjust to the new life we were all thrust into. Fear had turned him from the fun-loving guy I’d met to a sarcastic jerk. Then again, we were all barely medicated, missing days and taking half doses half the time to get through.
A figure loomed behind the TV. It had been following me all day, a reminder I’d rationed my meds by half for two days now and really needed to get the fuck out of here.
“I’m going to lunch,” I said, standing so abruptly that Roman almost tumbled off of the couch. I’d been sticking close to him since he’d switched places with Hiro. I wondered if it was a voluntary switch or if Hiro was done with him hiding and blaming himself. It was painful to see someone as strong as Roman beat himself down mentally. I was doing what I could to help, but I had problems in spades. This was one he had to face and conquer.
“Have fun,” Crew said pointedly, earning an annoyed huff from Layne.
“You need to get your head out of your ass. Get up,” she ordered. “We’ll head for the boiler room to get some of this fucking tension out of you and hopefully you’ll come back a happier person.”
