"Ghostly stuff. Right." Jess's concern is gone as she rolls her eyes at me, turning to Athanis. "So, how'd you die, hot stuff? Whatever happened to you, it kept your pretty face nicely intact."
They stay outside as I slip through the back entry of my house, pulse rocketing inside of me as I hurry to my front window, peeking out.
I don't see Ryan or whoever else is with him, but I didn't imagine hearing them.
"A—asher?" I try to call, but my voice comes out as an embarrassingly weak, useless rasp.
At least, I think it's useless until Kaenon is suddenly at my side, making me startle. His dark eyes search mine, concern filling his face.
"What is it,tseramòr?"he asks me softly.
His English is barely accented. I'm surprised until I see the shell of metal around one of his ears. It must be somekind of magic translator. I know next to nothing about magic, translating, or magical devices, but the way my name rolls off his tongue with such smooth warmth comforts my scared inner beast immediately.
"There's someone outside," I whisper to him. "I think…they might attack my house."
Kaenon's sharp jaw clenches. When he peeks through one of the front windows, I can't help admiring his strong profile and the way he looks with his dark hair tied back. I know he's been asleep for thousands of years, but I wonder what age he was when he was put under Athanis's spell. To me, we look almost the same age.
"Heidi?" Ian calls before he's also blurred into my living room with a furrowed brow, Zak and Asher joining us moments later.
When Asher sees Kaenon looking through the window and the worry I'm wearing, his expression firms into something entirely professional.
"Zak. Kaenon. Take Heidi to her room."
"Fine, but spill lots of blood for me. Come on, Candy," Zak says chipperly, slipping his hand into mine.
He tenses for a second when my anxious feelings and lingering curiosity about Kaenon swirl around him—but when I try to pull my hand away, Zak clings to it tighter, lifting it to kiss the backs of my fingers gently.
That simple motion makes my inner beast calm down even more as my heart flips.
"Wait," I shake my head, looking at Asher. "I don't want you guys going out there and getting hurt."
"We won't," he says with all the confidence in the world, striding past me toward the front door. "This will just take a second, Shorty. Let's go, Boone."
Before Zak and Kaenon can lead me away, Ian steps forward?—
And kisses me.
Just like that, right in front of the others.
It's gentle and so fleeting that it stirs up my desperation for more of the physical contact I've been so starved of for the last eight months. My face is eight million degrees when Ian pulls away slightly to lightly poke my nose with his.
"Be back in a moment, Sunshine," he promises.
Then he's out the door with a very unsurprised Asher, and I'm left to look at Kaenon and Zak, who's still holding my hand even though another guy just kissed me. I'm expecting looks of jealousy, or irritation, or any number of things. Gods know I would have a strong reaction if someone else kissed one of them.
Zak just grins. "Aww, look at the way he made her blush."
"Divine," Kaenon murmurs in agreement, his gaze on my pink neck.
"You smell even better when you're blushing," the half-demon informs me as he starts leading me toward my bedroom. "And believe me, that's saying something."
When we step into my room, I look between them, confused. "You mean, you two aren't…"
"Aren't what, Candy?" Zak asks before he flops onto my bed. He wraps the blankets around himself, rolls over to bury his face against my sheets, inhales deeply, and moans. "Infernalhells, that's the stuff. I wanna get high on yourmeritall the damn time."
I don't know what merit he's talking about or why his sniffing my sheets is kind of turning me on, but I finish my question with the tiniest voice ever.
"You guys aren't jealous?"
