Page 53 of Hooked on a Demon (Leeside Witches #3)
Declan
I ’m gonna marry this woman someday.
He nestles his head into her neck, breathing in her peppermint and grapefruit scent, pulling her back against his chest. They must have dozed off after the fourth or fifth orgasm, he’s not entirely sure, and he lost count of how many times she screamed out his name along the way.
She groans against him, the sound causing his cock to pulse and poke into her ass. “Mmm. Time?”
A smoky wisp appears before them, holding his phone aloft. “7:42 p.m.,” he says.
“Food?” she asks, clearly still groggy and unable to fully form coherent sentences.
“Sure. Wanna go to the Acorn?”
“Wonderful.”
He can’t see it, but he can feel her smile against him as she rolls over, throwing her leg between his and wrapping her arm over his soft belly as she squishes her face into his chest.
After a moment, her hand strays down to his cock, standing at attention. She begins to stroke him, and his eyes close, wanting to commit the sensation of her touch to memory. Not that he needs to, but he never wants to take for granted how lucky he is that she chose him.
“Oaks. As much as I love you and how good you feel against me, if you want food, you’re gonna have to let go of my dick.”
She pauses for a moment and then seems to relent. “Fine,” she huffs reluctantly. “But I want more of that when we get back, Grace.”
“I think I can oblige that request.”
She places her hands on his chest and pushes away from him, climbing across the bed. “You know, the view from this position is pretty fantastic,” he says, fully ogling her ass.
“If you want food, you’re gonna have to stop staring at my butt,” she replies, throwing Declan’s words back at him.
He chuckles, then flies out of the bed, chasing her to the bathroom as she squeals with glee.
After a quick make out session in the shower, they manage to extricate themselves long enough to get dressed. Declan lets Buckley out and gives him dinner before they head out for their own.
Walking into the Bittersweet Acorn with Eliana under his arm is exciting, but a touch unnerving.
It seems like everyone in the room is watching them as they make their way to a table.
As he looks around, he realizes it must be all in his head as the patrons engage in conversations at their tables.
Having come here for so long and using this place as a bit of a hunting ground for nightly partners, he recognizes that coming in with a date would feel different.
But then again, everything with her is different.
Daisy comes and takes their order shortly after they sit, and as they wait for their food and drinks to arrive, to the surprise of no one, Everest walks in the door with Tai.
Declan raises his hand, signaling to his friend.
Everest’s eyes light up, and they saunter over, pull out a chair, and join their table.
“Ellie. Declan,” Everest says. His greeting may be short, but the smile on his face gives him away.
This could have been such a problem, and could’ve caused a huge rift between Declan and his friend.
Instead, Everest is here as his usual self, so Declan gets to hang out with his best friend, no longer lying to him, and spend time with the love of his life, Eliana, at the same time.
Daisy reappears with their drinks and takes Everest and Tai’s orders, but not before winking at him as she disappears again. He turns his head and sees Sloan sitting at the end of the bar with a martini and a book as her wife floats around serving customers and barking orders at Lachlan.
It’s a live band tonight, which is always a great time.
The band takes the stage as their food arrives, and the crowd settles into the vibes as the acoustic guitar strikes up.
The conversation at their table is light and flows well, feeling relaxed and natural, as if they’ve been doing this regularly for years.
As one song leads into another, one of those natural lulls in noise across the room occurs at the same time the bell above the door chimes, signaling a new arrival.
Declan leans back, taking a sip of his beer, when he catches Eliana’s body language shift from relaxed to rigid.
His demon instantly awakens, becoming alert to the sense of a nearby threat.
“Love. What is it?” Declan asks, leaning in, his hand softly rubbing on her back.
“Sam.” She swallows. “That’s Sam.”
Declan is up with haste, pushing his way to the door and the so-called man standing there with a shit-eating grin on his face. And next to him, of course, is Charlie. He doesn’t need to look behind him to see that Everest and Lachlan are mere steps behind.
Smoke and shadow billow around them. This may be Lachlan’s bar, and causing a scene isn’t usually a great idea, but Lach knows that if Declan is reacting this way, it has to be for a valid reason, so he supports it without question.
“Get out,” Declan bellows.
“Told you, you’d find them here,” Charlie says. Goddess, what does he need to do to be rid of her?
“I think we’re good, thanks,” Sam responds.
“This is my bar, and if my brother here thinks you need to leave, I suggest you listen,” Lachlan responds before saying out the side of his mouth to Everest behind him, “who are these fools anyway?”
“That would be Ellie’s abusive shithead ex, and that would be the woman who has been spreading rumors about Declan for months,” Everest replies. “Clearly, they’ve paired up to form the ultimate shithead transformer. Pity that never made it to market.”
Lachlan rolls his eyes at Everest. “Ah. Yeah, then you definitely need to leave.”
“Again, I think we’re good. I’d like to speak with Eliana for a moment. Won’t take long, I promise.”
Declan allows his demon to rise to the surface, his eyes flashing gold, and his horns to come through. Lachlan must do the same, as Sam takes a step back. Apparently, the dingbat does know how to make a good choice. The bar behind them is silent as the patrons and staff watch everything unfold.
Eliana pushes her way through, her hand resting on Declan’s bicep. “Sam, there is nothing I have to say to you. I thought my lack of response would have said enough.”
“Please. There’s no way you’re happy here. With,” he casts a look at Declan and Lachlan, then looks back to her, “them. You know they don’t really care about you. Come back to me. We can start fresh and be better than we ever were.”
“Come back to you?” Charlie asks incredulously. “I thought you said you wanted to show her what she’s missing?”
“Shut up. This isn’t about you,” Sam responds.
Charlie’s face goes beet red, and tears form in her eyes before she turns and runs out the door. Declan and Everest pass a glance between them, wanting to laugh, but knowing this isn’t the time.
Sam smirks. “Thank fuck. She was a good lay, but that’s about it.”
Lachlan and Declan step toward him, deep demon growls rolling out of them as wisps of shadow and smoke work their way toward him.
Eliana steps forward. “No, Sam. I wasn’t happy with you.
You ruined my life. You destroyed who I was as a person and then refused to even give me the bare minimum in my time of need.
Find someone else to abuse.” She steps away, and Declan’s chest swells with pride.
She’s come so far in such a short amount of time, and he can only imagine how tough it would have been for her to say all of that a couple of months ago. Let alone say it to his face.
Sam steps forward, trying to follow her as he yells, “Fuck yo—” but is cut off by the tendrils of shadow and smoke that wrap around him and carry him out the door, Lachlan and Declan following him out.
They carry him around the corner, out of sight of the bar. When they release him, Sam tries to charge them, but a smoke wisp quickly trips him, making him face-plant into the sidewalk.
“Oh, I’m gonna end you,” Sam says, attempting to scramble back to his feet. If only Declan’s boot hadn’t landed on his back first to keep him in place. Lachlan steps back, crossing his arms, and watches as Declan leans down, putting his face level with Sam’s.
“Listen here, shit-for-brains. Eliana has told you nicely to leave her the fuck alone, and you refuse to listen. So I am not going to be as nice. See, I am a demon. I have lots of power inside me at this very moment, eager for an outlet. The demon in my head is roaring with anger because you, you tiny little ant, decided to come and threaten Eliana. I could cause you so much pain with the snap of my fingers if I wanted to.” He lets a tendril of smoke wrap around Sam’s arm and bend it back far enough so he can feel the threat.
“Oh, and on top of that, my brother here is the demon council representative, which means he has a whole fuck ton of power. Like miles beyond what I can do. And he could easily help me cover up anything I did to you. I want you to let that sink in for a minute.”
Declan gives the asshole a moment before continuing.
“I want you to think long and hard about what comes out of your mouth next. See that fabulous woman in there, that’s the woman I love.
I will go to the ends of the earth and back for her.
That means I have no problem making sure that you never become a problem for her, or anyone else for that matter, again.
So you have a choice: cut your losses and leave of your own volition, or try and cause a bigger problem than you already have here tonight, and see what two sons of a former crime boss demon lord can do to you. What will it be?”
Declan lifts his boot from Sam’s back and releases his arm before walking over to stand beside Lachlan, who looks at Declan as if he’s witnessed a miracle.
“She’s a fucking whore,” Sam spits out. A smoky fist meets Sam’s face with enough force to send him to his knees. His hand flies up and covers his quickly swelling eye. “Fine. I’ll go. She’s not worth it anyway.”
“Smart choice. And you’re wrong,” Declan says as Sam stands up and brushes himself off. “She’s worth everything.”
Sam huffs and begins to walk away, but before he is out of earshot, Declan calls out to him, “Oh, and Sam. If we get word of you treating anyone else the way you treated Eliana, you’ll be hearing from us again.”
Sam flips them off as he walks into the night.
Declan turns to Lachlan. “Thanks. For all that,” he says, vaguely gesturing around them.
“Anytime. I don’t know the history, and I don’t need to. But I have no problem sending him through a portal to some random location where hellhounds can feast on his balls if needed.”
Declan chuckles, clapping his brother’s shoulder. “Noted. Let’s head back inside.”
Eliana charges at him, leaping into his arms. Her hands clasp the side of his face, and she kisses him with fervor. It’s hard and fierce as her tongue meets his, spilling all of her emotions into him.
“I love you, Grace.”
“I love you too, Oaks.”
He can see the streaks of tears she must have shed while he was outside. His thumb runs across them. “He’s gone. He won’t be a problem any longer. And if he is, Lach threatened to maroon him on an island.”
“Works for me.” She kisses him again. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, love.” Declan lifts her up, her legs wrapping around his waist.
“Drinks on the house!” Daisy calls out from the bar, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.