Page 18 of Hooked on a Demon (Leeside Witches #3)

Eliana

E liana pauses inside the door and allows Declan to walk ahead of her.

She’s seen this space a hundred times before, dancing here as a young child and many times as an adult before she moved away.

It’s one of her favorite stages, if she’s being honest. Most people think she’d love the big stages.

The ones that celebrities and the public pay buckets of money to see the big names perform on.

And before moving back home, she’d agree with them.

But she’s always loved this stage. It feels more personal and more intimate to be in a venue like this.

The ability to see most people’s faces is unmatched.

“This space is…” he pauses, his voice full of awe, “fantastic. Seriously, it’s beautiful,” he finishes as he turns back around and faces her, stressing the word beautiful as his gaze takes her in .

Eliana looks away, unable to handle the look he’s giving her. It tells her stories of longing. Desire. Potential. It’s too much. It’s inappropriate , she chastises internally, reminding herself that he’s her brother’s best friend, and they are here on business.

He can’t keep looking at her like that. “You can’t keep looking at me like that,” she says, more to herself than to him.

“Like what?” he asks, stepping up to her.

Her cheeks warm. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”

“But now you need to tell me,” he says playfully, rocking back onto his heels. “Like what?”

Despite the pull she feels to look up and drown in those crystal blues of his, she keeps her gaze down, focusing instead on the pattern of the carpet in the aisle.

His hand hesitates between them for a moment before he places his curved index finger under her chin and gently lifts her face to look at him. “Like what?” he asks again, his voice turning husky.

Her eyes find him, and it’s over. She has no more resolve to withstand him. “Like you want me. Like you want to devour me.”

He gives her the tiniest of smirks, and it’s the sexiest fucking thing she’s ever seen. “Maybe I do.”

Heat floods her body, and her knees go weak. If she were prone to swooning, now would be the perfect time to do it because holy Hecate, he is looking at her like he wants to do so many naughty things to her.

“We can’t,” she whispers, barely able to find breath under the weight of his heated gaze.

“Says who?”

“Everest.”

She catches the shift in his expression at the mention of her brother’s name.

It’s gone as quickly as it appeared, but it was there—that slight recognition of the barrier between them.

He sidesteps it, saying, “I’m pretty sure he’s never told me no.

At least not explicitly. So I don’t see the problem.

” He finally removes his finger from under her chin and gently clasps her hand.

“Declan.” Why does his name feel so good on my tongue? “Ev would never be okay with it. You know him. I know him.”

“So he doesn’t need to know. As of right now, there’s nothing to know. We can see where this goes for now and keep it between us. Assuming, of course, that you are interested in exploring whatever this is between us.”

“I do. I mean, I am. I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you. You set me aflutter like no one else ever has, and I find myself flustered around you.”

“I’ve noticed.” He laughs.

“But I don’t know if I can lie to my brother.”

“I wouldn’t call it a lie, more omitting the truth… again for the time being. To give us time to figure out if there’s something here.”

“And how do you suggest we ‘figure things out’?”

He steps into her space, wrapping their clasped hands behind her back and pulling her into him. Her head tilts back so she can still look into those precious blues. “Well, we could go on dates. Spend time together. I’ll be here quite a bit, too.”

“June did ask me to be an overseer of the project.”

“Perfect. So there’s a valid reason for why you’d be here, checking me out.”

“True,” she responds, ignoring his purposeful slip but knowing full well she’d definitely be checking him out. Her eyes dip down his lips, plump, perfect, and so close. “But you and Everest hang out a lot. How do we avoid running into him if we go on dates?”

“I can tell him I’m busy with work, or Buckley, my dog, misses me. Whatever it is, I’ll figure it out. What do you say? Will you go out with me, Eliana Oaks?”

She runs everything he’s said through her mind again. Can they do this? Can they actually be together and manage to hide it from Everest? Does she want to?

She looks back up at him, looking deep into his eyes, and feels his chest pause as he awaits her answer. “Okay, I’ll go out with you.”

Before she can second-guess it, his lips are crashing onto hers, and it’s everything she had imagined it would be.