I felt compelled to help the poor guy out. Mom was tongue-tied and staring at him like he was a Cyclops. “I am sure you guys have a lot to talk about, so we are going to just skedaddle.” I grabbed a fistful of Chase’s cotton shirt and tugged him upstairs.
I barely shut my bedroom door before Chase was kissing me, eclipsing all my inner turmoil. His mouth moved tenderly and sweetly against mine, as he pinned me to the door with his body. I thought he was going to rip me a new asshole for going after Alastair alone, but this was so much better.
When he pulled away there was a dark scowl on his face, and I knew I wasn’t going to get off that easily. “Now that we got that out of the way, I could throttle you. What were you thinking going after Alastair alone?” Sparks of gold burst in the center of his eyes. “I knew you were planning something, but I didn’t realize you were reckless and brainless.”
I sort of wanted to punch him in the face. If I wasn’t still reeling from the unearthly feel of his lips, I might have given in to the urge. Actually, I didn’t understand how he could go from kissing me senseless to ripping my head off. “It had to be done.”
He started to wear the color out of my carpet, pacing in the room. “I get that. I’m a get-shit-done kind of guy.” What he meant was that he was a hothead. “What I don’t get is why you didn’t think to tell me.”
It had been a tiring day, and the last thing I wanted was to bump heads with him. I knew how stubborn he could be, and even if I wanted to do this later, that didn’t mean he would oblige. But heck, it was worth a shot. Maybe I would get lucky. “Can you just hold me? It’s been a long day, and I don’t want to fight. I just want to feel you.”
He zapped in front of me, which never failed to make me jump. Now was no exception. Off balance, I caught myself, flattening my hands on his expansive chest. “Tomorrow?” he asked.
My lips twitched. “Tomorrow, we can have an epic fight. We’re probably due for one.”
He took a breath. “You’ve taken all the fun out of it, buzzkill.”
Pressing the hardest part of him against me, I bit back a moan. “We are not doing that. My mom is downstairs with your uncle,” I said, giving him the eye.
“That’s part of the excitement. What do you think they are doing?”
I screwed up my face. “Gross. So not happening now.” Slinking out of his arms, I jumped on the bed. One of my frilly pillows hit the floor. Turning around, I blinked and Chase was already beside me.
Grinning, he reached up and smoothed my hair off my face. “Yeah, not my most strategic comeback.”
Wiggling my arms around his waist, I settled back into the crook of his arm, happy to just be near him. “I’ll say.”
“Let me make it up to you,” he murmured, chewing on my ear.
“It might take a long, long time.” My breath was shaky.
He rubbed his stubble over my cheek, tickling me. “Good thing we have a lifetime.”
That we did.
Chapter 29
“I think that went way better than I planned,” I said on our way to school the following Monday.
He snorted, taking the turn into the school parking lot. “Face it, Angel Eyes, your plans suck.”
I socked him in the arm. “Hey. I beg to differ.”
His eyes glittered like stars. “You would. At least it looks like your mom and Devin worked things out.”
“Including us?”
His eyes softened, and I knew he wasn’t angry with me anymore. Thank goodness.
Lexi was leaning up against my locker when I went to grab my books. Chase had stopped to talk to Hayden and Craig on our way through the hall. I could see that something was definitely bubbling inside her. She was dying to spill the beans. We hadn’t really seen each other since my mom’s safe return home.
“This weekend was so insane,” Lexi said, swishing her ponytail. “I can’t wait to do it again.”
I slumped against the metal locker, not sharing my best friend’s enthusiasm. “You are nuts. I never want to see another demon as long as I live.”
“Yeah, not that part, but the fighting…it is exhilarating. Ninja kicking. Getting my hands dirty. And I didn’t even break a nail. I get why Emma is into all that hunter crap. Demon hunting is ah-ma-zing.”
Oh dear God.
The last thing we needed was Lexi to do something so dangerous on a regular basis. Travis and Chase would have a shit-fit.
Spinning the dial on my locker, I punched in my combination. “Can’t you just take up kickboxing or something? Leave the whole underworld out of the equation?”
She propped a shoulder on the locker next to me and hugged her books. “You know that we can never be entirely rid of them. It is just part of our life. And yours now.”
I sighed. “I know.”
“On a brighter note. I met a guy,” she said out of nowhere, grinning widely. Her dimples twinkling on both cheeks.
My mouth dropped opened. “What? Where? When?” That was about all the Ws I could come up with. “Dish. I all the deets, and don’t you dare leave out the teensiest of details.”
The smile on her face shone brightly. “On my college tour.”