Page 20 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Dex

“ D ex,” Nova whispered. “Dex, it’s getting late.”

He sighed and reached for her without opening his eyes. The scent of her was everywhere and it relaxed him enough to actually sleep.

Wrapping his hand around her, he pulled, but Nova resisted. “Dex, you need to wake up.”

Growling in irritation, he yanked as he rolled over. Nova landed on top of him and he wrapped his wings around her so she couldn’t go anywhere.

Not sleeping with her in the same bed had been more than a little frustrating, but she’d been insistent and Dex had to admit he never would have slept if he’d been pressed up against her.

The sounds she’d made when he touched her were impossible to forget.

“You’re in the family room,” she whispered. “Not wearing a shirt, and your wings are out. Just in case you may have forgotten.”

“I didn’t.” He rubbed his nose in her hair and breathed her in.

Nova was happy. Dex tightened his arms around her and promised himself he’d get up after five minutes.

“Why didn’t you sleep in the guest room?” she asked as she played with one of his nipple piercings.

Dex slapped his hand over hers. “If something came at us, I’d hear it.”

“Nothing can get this close without setting off at least three different alarms,” she laughed.

Then Nova nibbled his other nipple piercing and he glared down at her. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Wake you up,” she said, eyes wide with fake innocence. “It’s almost three in the afternoon.”

Dex sat up so fast she shrieked, but he kept his wings around her as he inspected the house.

Not a shred of sunlight leaked through any of the windows and there were a lot of them.

“My dad set up these blinds a long time ago,” she told him, pushing his wing aside gently. “They use them in places like Alaska.”

Slowly he moved his wings so he could see her, sitting in his lap like she didn’t care at all if anyone walked in on them. Nova smiled at him and his heart started racing.

How was she so fucking gorgeous?

“I think it’s cute you were worried though,” she said, leaning in to give him a quick peck before climbing off the couch.

“Well, the last time you nearly blew my head off.” Dex sighed and laid back down, throwing his arm over his eyes.

Sounds from the kitchen told him she was making coffee.

The last thing he wanted to do was go back to Seattle, where she would have to finish her mission, and he’d have to deal with Agmos and the Black Lotus.

All he wanted to do was to spend time with her.

Nova was an addiction and everything else in his life was quickly becoming pointless in comparison.

How was he supposed to manage this?

Unlike her, he’d experienced feelings for people before, but nothing like this—nothing so consuming .

He understood why she was afraid, because he was too.

They’d just have to figure it out together now that he knew she was planning on sticking it out.

“Here,” she said, setting a cup of coffee on the table. “I think I made it the same way you do, but there’s more cream and sugar in the kitchen. My mom left out food too.”

“They’re used to the dark then?” he asked, letting one wing drape over the back of the couch and the other stretch out across the floor.

“When I’m sleeping, they block off my end of the house with that door and all the windows. There’s a button on the inside and I press it before coming out. They’re both outside gardening right now though.”

Dex opened his eyes and studied her as she stood there, sipping her own coffee. Why was he so tired?

Oh right.

Grinning, he sat up and kissed the exposed skin just above her pants. “Thank you for the coffee.”

Sliding her shirt up, he studied the black marks, noting how much they’d retracted. Dex kissed the smooth skin, glad the damage from the knife was gone at least.

The feel of her fingers in his hair was pure bliss. Closing his eyes, he pressed his face into her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Are you okay?” She stroked his hair back and Dex loved it, but he was surprised she was letting him be so clingy.

“I’m good, just feeling lucky.” He ran a hand up her spine and kissed her hip, wishing he could wake up with her every day.

The sound of footsteps closing in was the only thing that could make him release her. “I should get ready.”

Nova made a face and flicked a nipple piercing. “Put on a damn shirt already.”

Oh, she’d pay for that later.

He grinned and reached for the coffee, watching as she went back to the kitchen. Nova started warming up the food and he took a sip, surprised she’d gotten it right on the first try.

Sometimes he worried she didn’t feel quite the same way he did, but it was small shit like this that reassured him. Nova had been watching him just as closely as he watched her.

Reaching down for his shirt, he took another sip before setting the cup down, listening as her parents made an extraordinary amount of noise on the porch. It was kind of adorable that they’d give him time to stop kissing her before they walked in.

He yanked his shirt on just before they opened the door. A flash of sunlight and then it was gone.

“Have you two eaten yet?” Adelaide asked Nova softly, avoiding the family room completely.

Dex was shocked he’d managed to sleep so long, and with two people he didn’t know in the house, moving around. But after waiting for Nova to fall asleep, he’d been exhausted. The emotions and shit were a lot more than he was used to after coasting through life.

Taking his coffee with him, he walked into the kitchen and ignored the way her parents studied his wings.

For whatever reason this place felt safe, and Dex hadn’t seen the point of hiding them away, not when his shoulders had started to ache from all the tension.

“How does that work?” Glenn asked, sitting down at the table.

“Dad,” Nova warned, setting plates of food on the table. “It’s none of your business.”

“I don’t mind.” Dex kissed Nova’s cheek, enjoying the blush that colored her cheeks. “Thank you for the food.”

“My mom cooked it,” she muttered, pushing him toward the table and away from her. “Eat already.”

The only thing that kept him from snickering was the look of shock on her mother’s face. Clearly Nova was acting out of character, but she’d always been like this with him.

More of that anxious fear slid away.

“It’s like what shifters can do,” he explained, sitting down across from her dad. “They can be folded away and brought out when I command, but just like a shifter it starts to hurt if I keep the wings tucked away for too long.”

“Can all angels do that?” Glenn asked, pouring hot sauce all over his food.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, taking the hot sauce from him. “I’ve never met another angel.”

Nova sat next to him in the awkward silence, taking his hand in hers. “It’s how we got here and how we plan to leave.”

“It’s a lot faster than driving,” Dex agreed, offering her the hot sauce.

She shook her head and he frowned. He’d definitely seen her eat spicy food before.

“Nova, eat something,” her dad snapped – like this was a regular argument.

“I’m not hungry,” she gritted out, her purple eye flashing.

Her mother sighed and Dex focused on his own food. This was definitely a common occurrence then.

“If you want those marks to go away, you’ll eat,” Adelaide told her, shoving the plate closer.

Nova practically radiated power and irritation. Was this because he was here?

Dex leaned over and whispered in her ear. “If you don’t eat, I’ll tie you down and force feed you.”

Nova ripped the bottle of hot sauce out of his hand and glared daggers at him. “I’d like to see you try,” she hissed.

“I don’t know why you force yourself to wake up so early,” Glenn muttered, very carefully not rolling his eyes as he shoved more food in his mouth. “It only makes you cranky.”

“Normal people don’t sleep during the day.

” Nova drenched her food in hot sauce just like her dad, and then got up and grabbed the green hot sauce before adding that too.

“I was planning to eat when we got back, thank you very much. If I throw up while we’re flying, just remember you brought it upon yourself. ”

Dex choked on his food, but he couldn’t stop laughing. That was definitely something he hadn’t considered. “Noted. I’ll take my chances.”

“Fucking ridiculous,” she muttered, taking a bite.

Adelaide chuckled good-naturedly and slid a piece of paper across the table. “Here is the spell to unlock what was bound. The rune is already tattooed into your skin, so in theory you can bind and unbind, but I couldn’t tell you how that would affect your body in the long run. I don’t advise it.”

Nova took the paper and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I put together some more charms for you, and a few other things.” Adelaide slid a box over to Nova next.

She hugged her mom and Dex was relieved to see everything seemed to be forgiven. Having a demon-touched child couldn’t have been easy, but they’d adapted to her needs and trained her well enough she’d managed to survive this long.

Hopefully the binding spell would hold up for as long as Nova wanted it to.

“When do you think you’ll be back?” Glenn asked as he pushed his empty plate forward.

“After the mission. I’m hoping the timing works out.” Nova grabbed all the empty plates and took them to the sink. “But the way this has been unraveling I wouldn’t be surprised if it took me the whole ninety days.”

That was right.

Dex didn’t know how to feel about her contract and the idea of her continuing to work for the council, but he supposed it would be like anyone else who had a job where they’d go on work trips for long stretches of time.

It wouldn’t be all that different from dating a girl in the military, he supposed.

“Well, I hope you come back to visit too, Dex,” Adelaide told him.

He just smiled, not sure what to really say to that other than, “Thank you for the hospitality.”

It was time to go. Neither of them wanted anyone asking questions about where they’d been and why.

Nova took the care package and disappeared into her room, leaving him alone with her parents.

“I’m not going to ask you to take care of her, because she doesn’t need that,” Glenn told him as they both stood from the table. “But…she does need someone to be there for her – like a partner. Nova has never had to work alone before.”

Right…work.

“Whatever she needs, she can just ask,” Dex said carefully.

“She’s not great at asking,” her mother whispered. “So just remember, she isn’t invincible.”

It would be impossible to forget that after what he’d seen.

Dex hugged Adelaide. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Good.” Glenn almost smiled and Dex was actually flattered he was getting to see it.

“If you all could stop talking about me, I’d like to go now,” Nova yelled from the other room.

The way her mom blushed was cute and Glenn’s smile widened as he went into the family room. “Are you going to train today?”

“I train every day, Dad.”

“Good. No need to get sloppy. I almost got you yesterday.”

Nova’s eyes flashed as she put on her sunglasses. “Maybe you’ll actually succeed next time.”

This was definitely what family was supposed to be like, but hers had an interesting twist that suited him.

Dex opened the door and held it for her, eyeing the backpack on her front. At least she looked warm enough. It was impossible to protect her from the wind when they were flying unless she let him use a shield.

Maybe she wouldn’t act so tough this time around.

Nova stopped far enough away from the house with that bratty look on her face again. “Don’t do anything crazy this time.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dex walked up to her and opened his arms, giving her one of his best smiles.

“Sure, but remember I just ate, and the sun is out.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

Dex scooped her up and stared down into her mismatched gaze. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to how unique and beautiful it was. “Can I shield you this time?”

“Yeah, okay fine, let’s just go already.” Nova waved and then tried to hide her face behind him. “It’s embarrassing to have them watch you carry me.”

He snorted at that and spread his wings wide to stretch them out. “You don’t have to be the strong one all the time.”

Then he wrapped the shield tightly around her, so it laid against her skin.

“Maybe not,” she admitted. “But it’s usually safer. Now go, feather boy.”

Just for that…

Dex launched upward, flapping his wings once as they shot into the sky. Then he dove for the ground and her scream made him grin before he snapped open his wings, coasting over the forest.

“I hate you,” she muttered, holding on so tight he was going to lose feeling soon.

“I know.” He smirked and picked up speed.

The sooner they got back, then the quicker they could figure out their next step, and if he had anything to say about it…

She’d be staying with him until she finished her mission.