“Perhaps I'm not the only one avoiding things,” I mutter.
“And what areyouavoiding?”
“Paperwork, mostly.”
She glances up, her nose wrinkling and her lips twitch. It's adorable and I have to look away before I comment on it. She's distracting in a way I'm not used to. She may be a witch, but she's also a human. I have to remind myself not to woo her, bed her, and keep her. No matter how adorable she is, she's still a witch who would take too much of my time. Then again, she's already doing that even when she's not summoning me. I shake my head, focusing on my current plan—hiding.
She sweeps her dark hair over her shoulder, making me imagine the strands wrapped in my fist. “Demons have paperwork?”
“And upper level demons. I believe you call them managers here. They're just as annoying down there, always nitpicking their way through things. You didn't exactly help anything, either.”
She tips her head back. “It was the jar, wasn't it? I'm sorry.”
“Not your fault. You merely wanted it opened. It was the easiest summoning I've had in decades,” I say with a chuckle.
“You've had easier ones?” She wraps her arms around her legs and rests her chin on her knees.
My back itches, an ache settling between my shoulder blades. Hiding my shadows for so long hurts, but usually not this quickly. I'll have to release some of this pent-up energy soon. The easiest way would be to form wings. Except that would make me hot, which would then require me to take off my shirt and I don't know if I want to spend the rest of the night half naked. Especially with how her eyes keep darting to my crotch. It's been weeks since she saw me naked. Maybe she's been checking me out every time I've been here since and I didn't notice. I was too busy trying to ignore the pull toward her.
“I had a witch ask to me to gather herbs for him in the forest. No one would go into the trees because of some ancient lore. They said the trees rose up, attacking their ancestors and the woods had birthed some terrifying creature.”
“What kind of creature?” she whispers.
I fight a grin. “I never saw it. They said it would devour their ancestors whole. I thought it was ridiculous.”
“Of course you did,” she mutters, but I can tell she's fighting a smirk. “You don't seem one prone to whimsy or fairytales.”
“You'd be surprised, little witch. Anyway, turns out they were right.”
Her eyes widen. “What was in there?”
“There was a very large clearing in the middle. In the dead of night, something would nest there, making an awful racket.” I fight back a smile as she hangs on my every word. “When I got there, I found a herd of…elk.”
She scowls, shaking her head. “That's not funny.”
“It was a little funny. Of course, they didn't believe me until I sent the elk running out of the forest.”
She presses her lips together and focuses on the instructions again. “Well, that seems like quite a bit more work than opening a jar.”
“What's your issue?”
“Nothing. I'm just feeling sorry for myself.” She gathers some of the tools closer, using the directions to avoid my gaze.
A twinge hits my muscles and I wince. I give up and pull my shirt over my head. Clara squawks, but I ignore her as I unfurl my wings with a sigh of relief. Stretching the talons on each tip helps ease the last bit of ache. Smoke fills the room, wrapping me in a warm blanket of comfort. Spending so much time topside still drains me. I thought after my nap and some time in Hell, things would be easier. Apparently not.
“Uh, don't knock my pictures off the wall,” she says.
I glance to my left and find the frames she's talking about. Several humans gathered around a fire, their smiling faces shining with joy. I always envied humans and their ability to capture these moments. There are no pictures in Hell.
“Are these your friends?”
“Yeah. Most of them are married or have moved away. They're on another weekend getaway right now. Taking advantage of the weather and all that.”
Given the look on her face, that's what's bothering her. I could tease out the reasons behind it all, but I doubt she'd open up. Delving deeper into her life might help me find the threadconnecting us, though. Clearly, the universe has plans for us. Or this could be someone fucking with me, making me believe we’re linked together for some other purpose when we’re really not. Getting Clara to talk would reveal a lot. Demons aren’t what one would describe as good listeners, especially when it comes to witches.
She mutters under her breath, picking up various pieces of wood and slamming them back down. It's painful to watch her struggle.
When I can't take it anymore, I prowl to her. Sliding my hands under her arms, I lift her up as she squeals. I set her down several feet away and quickly drop my hands. I didn't think through any of my actions and now I'm paying the consequences as I ease into her vacated spot on the floor. My cock protests, straining against my pants. My hands tremble and I swallow hard. I keep touching her and every time it backfires on me.
