“Seriously, I’m fine. Are you good?” I ask.
“I think so,” he mutters.
There’s a familiar wrinkle between his eyes. I shake my head and smile.
“Do you want to talk about why you kissed me?” When he blushes, I waggle my eyebrows. “There’s no reason to be shy and shit now, Cal. Thirty seconds ago, you were using my hair like a steering wheel.”
Callum looks at the top of my head with a slight smirk. My curls probably look like a used mop at this point. Unfortunately, his smile doesn’t last, and the wrinkle reappears as he sighs.
“I don’t know. I was just upset, and you got it. You get me. You always have,” Callum explains. “It’s not like I’ve thought about kissing you a bunch of times before, but suddenly, I couldn’t think about anything else.”
His eyes drop to my lips again, and I don’t hesitate. I lean in and kiss him. It’s a hell of a lot softer than our first few kisses.
“What was that for?” Callum asks, so close I can feel the question on my lips.
“I was thinking about it, so I did.” I grin and take off down the hallway for real this time. “Come on. I’m exhausted, and it’s time for bed.”
“What would your mom say if she knew you were ordering me to bed?” Callum trails after me, laughing lightly when I groan.
“Knowing her . . . ‘I told you so.’”
CALLUM
We slide into bedon either side of Sheena. I wrap my arms around her, relishing in the feel of her soft body against mine and the way her scent relaxes me. She’s perfect.
My demon agrees—nothing has changed there. Not that I expected it to. It’s uncommon for incubi to be picky about thegender of their partners. A meal is a meal, after all. But I’ve never kissed a man before. Beyond that, I’ve never even thought about making a move on my best friend. Even when I was practically starving with the need to replenish my magic, it didn’t cross my mind.
He’s too important.
“Stop overthinking,” Gideon grumbles at me, his voice low and irritated.
“I’m not,” I snap.
“Yes, you obviously are. Your thoughts are so loud, I can’t sleep.”
He’s not wrong, but I can’t just turn them off. It doesn’t work like that. “But what does it mean?” I ask.
“Gods, Cal. It means whatever we decide it means.”
His confidence settles me.It means whatever we decide it means.I can live with that.
I feel eyeson me when I wake up the next morning. I crack mine open blearily. Emerald green greets me, burning with excitement.
“Are you awake?” Sheena whispers, the sound too loud for whatever time it is.
“I am now.” I wipe the sleep from my face and smile back at her. “Do you feel better today?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Sheena blows past my question, reaching across Gideon to grab the purple book off the nightstand. In the process, she jostles him awake. Like a bear coming out of hibernation, he grumbles, latching on to her and dragging her down his chest.
“More sleep,” he grunts, but already she’s squirming free.
“No more sleep. I have to show you something,” Sheena insists. Gideon cracks one eye open hopefully, but I don’t think she has any plans to show him what he’s imagining right now.
“Can I borrow a claw?” She asks, holding up his hand.
Gideon looks confused, but he transforms his nails into razor sharp claws. The look of confusion on his face morphs into horror when Sheena rakes her middle finger over one sharp tip.
