Page 8 of Demon Touched (The Demon Syndicate #2)

Dex

D ex stared off into space, trying to focus on work, but it felt nearly impossible. All he could think about was Nova and her full lips, how it felt when she’d yanked back on his hair even when she knew what would happen…

The look on her face had dared him to do it again.

He dropped his head into his hands and sighed.

This was not productive.

Imagining the way she’d look straddling his face was not going to help him figure out who in his territory had the Black Lotus tattoos, but fuck him, her thighs were so thick and all he wanted her to do was suffocate him.

“Dex?”

Or have her bent over the arm of his couch, ass in the air…

“Hey Dex?”

He looked up at Larry and realized the wolf had been standing there for a while. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

The wolf politely ignored the scent of his arousal and cleared his throat. “I brought the witch you asked for.”

His stomach flipped.

Was he talking about Nova?

“I’m Sam,” someone said as they entered the private room.

This witch looked nothing like Nova. Where was his head even at?

Everything about her was fucking with him and Dex couldn’t seem to shake it no matter how self-destructive it was.

The sounds of the café filtered into the quiet room in the back – one of his favorite places to do business. Dex liked that it wasn’t loud and aggressive. He could go there during the day and no one bothered him.

But daydreaming about a girl wasn’t exactly smart either, even in his own territory, not until he’d found every single Black Lotus member.

The witch sat down across from him and Dex studied the unique mixture of feminine and masculine aesthetics.

“Anything I can get you, Dex?” Larry asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

The wolf looked pretty unassuming during the day in his jeans and hoodie, but Dex knew what he was truly capable of.

“A nitro cold brew coffee with cream, and you?” he asked the witch, pulling out his favorite gun and setting it on the table.

“Same.”

Sam eyed the gun and Dex arched an eyebrow, curious how they’d react.

“Are you threatening me with a good time, emo boy?”

Larry coughed to hide his laugh, closing the door behind him.

Dex gave the witch a sharp smile. “I’m just sexually frustrated.” He spun the gun around, wishing he’d done the smart thing and left Nova alone at the club.

“Clearly.” The witch flipped their hair over their shoulder and Dex decided he was going to like this person. “So, what can I help you with?”

“Right, do you know anything about enchanted ink tattoos?”

Sam pulled out their phone. “While I don’t personally know anyone who can enchant ink, and tattoo the runes into the skin properly, I do know a few people who have them. What exactly is it you want me to tell you?”

He tossed a piece of skin on the table between them, eyeing the shimmery black ink in annoyance. Black Lotus members were in his territory and he’d been fucking furious he hadn’t noticed it before.

They were definitely planning something big if they were already infiltrating.

Sam studied the piece of skin with a disgusted look on their face.

“I took this off a guy who was in one of my clubs. He told me the Black Lotus was planning on taking over Corp territory with an army of witches. While I think it’s a bold move, I’m more worried about the fact that these are enchanted so I couldn’t see them until I knew what to look for.”

“There’s a tattoo?” The witch leaned forward, intrigued. “Okay, I see it now. Wow, that’s a nice piece of work.”

Dex couldn’t help but agree no matter how much it pissed him off.

“I need my people to be able to see them. I can’t be the only one,” he told the witch. “Tell me how to reveal the tattoos for someone with very little magic, or no magic at all. Then tell me what I need to do to protect my territory from an army of witches.”

Sam considered Dex took the piece of skin and folded it back into his handkerchief.

Larry came in with the drinks a moment later and a plate of pastries. He set them down without a word and then left them to their business.

“You have mostly shifters on your payroll, right?” the witch asked as they grabbed their iced coffee and sipped on it delicately.

“I do.” Dex had a few witches too, and if things went well with Sam, he might just offer them a job. “There is no scent to the ink either. I already checked.”

Sam held out their hand and Dex gently placed the skin in their palm.

“A reveal spell for this kind of magic can be done easily enough. I can put it into an object someone can look through, but it’s not subtle.

A spell to reveal the tattoo within your territory once they cross a line would be more advantageous. ”

Dex liked that idea. “And the Lotus witches?”

It was something he wasn’t personally worried about, but if witches started to cross the border, too many of his people could get hurt.

His best bet was to hire more witches and assign them to his various legions. The shifters needed a witch to protect them or they’d all be fucked if it came down to a war.

“There are one hit wonder shield charms they could wear that would protect against a magical strike, but not an illusion or an enchantment. What you really need is an army of hunters.” Sam shrugged and slipped the handkerchief in his pocket.

“Why don’t you just hunt them down yourself? You clearly have the power to.”

He glared, wishing it was that simple.

Inside his own territory would take too long and the Black Lotus would have too much time to remove their people.

Outside his territory, Agmos would skin him alive for disobeying a direct order.

Then there was Nova’s request.

If he stayed out of it, she might not hate him, and maybe she wouldn’t have to kill him one day, but Dex knew without a trace of doubt that if the council told her to arrest him before her ninety-day contract was over, she’d do it without question.

He couldn’t let that happen, not with what he was.

So, then what? How would he keep her from doing that without killing her?

“What about something to nullify magic?” Dex asked, avoiding the witch’s question.

Sam sipped their coffee, eyes narrowed as they considered him. “That’s hunter territory, and very expensive magic, but I’m sure I could source a few items for you. Why am I really here?”

“Get me a spell that triggers the tattoos to reveal themselves in my territory, I don’t care how much it costs. After that, I’m going to offer you a position working for the Grim Corp. How’s your defensive magic by the way?”

Dex pulled out his phone and selected the camera while he waited for an answer. If he had to be lost in his damn head wondering what she’d taste like, he refused to be the only one without a way to scratch the itch.

Flipping the camera around he spread his fingers into a ‘V’ over his mouth, lifting one side to show off his sharp canine and then stuck out his tongue, the piercing clicking against his ring. Snapping the picture, he sent it off with a smirk and a message,

Thinking about you.

If he’d timed it right, it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up.

How he’d managed to drop her off at her place last night and then leave without more than a simple kiss on the cheek…it was a level of restraint that had shocked even him.

But Nova wanted slow and Dex planned to go so slow that she’d be begging him not to and still he’d tease her until he was the only one she could think about.

He sighed and slipped his phone in his pocket.

Dex was under no illusion that he had normal expectations.

Sam studied him like he was an interesting specimen and then smiled slightly. “You’ve got it bad.”

He ran his hands through his hair. “I know. If I could forget about her I would.”

The witch sipped their coffee and raised a sassy eyebrow. “Why?”

Dex considered the witch and whether he should answer or not.

There was a reason he’d never been with anyone longer than a night. There was a reason why he found fuck buddies in other cities. Dex even kept everyone who worked for him at arm’s length emotionally.

If they died, he wouldn’t break. It would just be another day.

People died all the time in his world, and Agmos was the only person who’d managed to gain Dex’s trust. The demon had raised him to survive what he was – to survive what other people would want from him.

Violating the trust the demon had in him wasn’t something Dex planned to do.

What would Agmos even say when he found out about Nova? Would he give him the same speech he had the last time or would he prove his point just like he had before?

He’d be more worried if he didn’t think Nova could take care of herself, even against a demon.

“I’m a weapon,” Dex finally said. “I am nothing more and nothing less. If I have no one to care about, then it’s easy to stay loyal.” The witch gave him a sad look and Dex snorted like he didn’t give a fuck about any of it. “This is nothing more than a way to pass the time.”

“Sure,” Sam murmured, but it was obvious the witch didn’t believe him.

Even Dex knew he was lying to himself.

The moment he saw her again he would drown.

Nova had her own current, her own gravitational pull, and every time she was near, he couldn’t stay away even if he wanted to. He was sucked down into the depths of her eyes and soul and he never wanted to leave.

“I can get you the spell by the end of the week,” Sam told him.

“As for the defensive magic, I’m okay but could use some practice.

I’d be interested in a trial run with the promise of good pay, and as much magical training as I can get.

The coven rejected my application for the third time thanks to my shadow work. ”

They rolled their eyes and sucked down half of the coffee. “So, I might as well get paid for it, right?”

Dex grinned. “Right. If you have any friends who might need the same thing, bring them to me.”

Sam grinned and blew Dex a kiss before standing. “I hope she likes the picture. I’m not even into guys and I thought it was hot.”

Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and tried to think about anything other than her.

Would she respond to the picture, or would she just ignore him? Dex sighed and pulled out his phone.

He needed to make a plan, because things were getting out of hand and he couldn’t afford to be unprepared. Not this time.