He crossed his muscular arms, his mouth curved into a stern frown. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
He didn’t. But I still didn’t believe him until he returned, fully dressed, then gingerly lifted me into his arms like I was a human-sized doll. I was too startled to protest. I knew from experience that carrying another human being wasn’t as easy as it looked in media, yet Chase’s arms didn’t even tremble with the effort. It was impossible not to feel his powerful biceps bulging against my back.
“You good?” he asked.
I was probably as good as I could be, given that I’d just been bitten by a demon. Being carried in Chase’s arms like a sack of flour definitely numbed the pain.
“Yes,” I said. “Let’s go.”
17
Chase
The air was stillcool in the early morning, and the streets were quiet. Sagitta and I were the only people on the sidewalk. The scene felt strangely intimate—a handsome man in my arms in the soft dawn light...
It was every weightlifter’s dream. All those protein shakes and hours in the gym finally came in handy. Halfway to the temple, I’d broken a sweat, but I was proud to have carried Sagitta all that way without stopping once. I felt like the cool, sexy action star in some movie.
Except I was the reason he got hurt.
If I’d listened to Sagitta and stayed out of the way, he wouldn’t be suffering. I felt like an idiot for butting in when I didn’t know shit about supernatural entities. I was almost annoyed at Faust for not telling me basic information, like ‘baseball bats don’t work on demons’. How the hell was I supposed to know?
As if reading my mind, Sagitta spoke for the first time since we left the apartment.
“Hear anything from Faust yet?” he asked.
“Not since we had sex.”
The relief in his dark eyes shone through the pain. “Good. I hope that was enough.”
I couldn’t bite back a playful retort. “Why, ‘cause you don’t want to have sex with me again?”
“You’re an idiot.”
I chuckled. “I know, I know, you just wanna exorcise the demon.”
Sagitta closed his eyes with a sigh. “Let’s talk about this when I don’t have Hellspawn residue on my leg.”
I grimaced as I remembered how badly he must be suffering. I rushed ahead, eager to find this temple healer. But I wasn’t looking forward to running into Cygnet again. He always seemed to be lurking around, radiating waves of judgment at everything that crossed his path.
“I’m sorry, by the way. About butting in,” I murmured.
In a cute catlike motion, Sagitta slowly blinked at me, then rested his head against my chest. “It’s okay. You didn’t know any better. I appreciate you trying to help anyway.”
My heart beat wildly. He could probably feel it thumping against his cheek, which made it race even faster.
I tried to think about something else. My mind veered toward Faust, or the lack of him. He hadn’t said a word since suggesting I return to the apartment. I was almost too cautious to hope he was really gone. I’d gotten my hopes up once before and had them dashed. But I had a better feeling about it now. If sex was really all it took to evict him, and we’d done that, then wasn’t he truly gone?
I couldn’t tell anymore, but I wanted it to be true for Sagitta’s sake. Every time he tried something and it didn’t work, I could tell it shook his confidence. I didn’t want to see him down on himself.
But what if Faust came back? Sagitta seemed to be at his wit’s end, and I couldn’t think of another option, either. If Faustreturned, was it kinder to tell Sagitta the truth? Or lie and pretend the demon was gone forever?
As we passed Dustin’s Donuts, I half expected Faust to pop into my mind and demand we visit. But he didn’t.
Maybe he’s really gone...
We arrived at the temple as dawn broke over the horizon. Sagitta gave me directions to the doctor’s chamber, and I was relieved to get there without any interruptions. When I knocked, a sleepy groan sounded on the other side of the door.
“Who’sat?” a hoarse voice asked.
