Page 7 of Hooked on a Demon (Leeside Witches #3)
Declan
“W hy are we going out for coffee so late?”
Everest, taking his eyes off the road, turns his head and glares at Declan.
“Late? Dude, it’s not even eight. Did you suddenly turn into an old man in the last twenty-four hours?
Is it past your bedtime, old fella?” He turns his eyes back to the road, an annoying smirk sitting on his ugly face. He’s so fucking proud of himself.
“You’re such a dick.”
Everest laughs. “And yet, here you are.”
“Anyway…” Declan says, drawing out the word. “Do you plan to answer the question?”
“Do you?” The fucker laughs again. If they weren’t traveling as fast as they were, Declan would be tempted to open the door and roll out. Hell, as it is, he’s still tempted.
Everest looks over at him and must pick up on Declan’s frustration as he answers, “The call you saw me end when you came back from the kitchen.”
“Yeah.”
“It was Ellie. She was being weird and asking to hang out. So I agreed, and since you were already with me, I figured you could tag along.”
Declan does his best not to visibly perk up at the mention of Eliana’s name. “But you two never see each other.”
“We see each other,” Everest says before clarifying, “Just not often. As I said, she was being weird about it. So something’s likely up.
She probably needs money because of how much you’re charging her to fix her car.
” He looks over at Declan again and smirks at him before facing the road again and turning down a side street.
Declan rubs the back of his neck with his hand, hating how uncomfortable that look from Everest made him feel.
As if Declan already didn’t feel bad enough.
He tried to keep the cost as low as possible, giving her the wholesale cost where he could.
But fixing the car was cheaper than replacing it altogether, and it’s not like the shop doesn’t need the money.
That’s always been a difficult part of him, balancing the need to charge what is needed to keep the shop up and running, while also trying to be cognizant of how expensive these things can be for people.
He likes to think he strikes a good balance, but some days, it’s definitely harder than others to charge what is necessary.
When Everest’s truck pulls up in front of what Declan can only assume is Eliana’s apartment building, she’s already waiting outside.
Declan has to cover his mouth and pretend to yawn to hide the sharp intake of breath as he takes her in.
Even though it’s a bit cooler tonight, she’s dressed in an off-white sundress that stops mid-thigh, showing her deliciously toned legs, black Converse, and a jean jacket.
Her blond curls are partially tied back, framing her face and sitting softly on her shoulders.
She looks every bit as perfect as she did in his shop earlier.
Looking at Everest, Declan sees concern, but it quickly vanishes as Eliana jogs over to them.
“You gonna let her in or sit there staring at me? I know I’m pretty, and it’s sometimes hard to look away, but this does work better if all three of us are in the vehicle,” Everest says.
Shit. Well, at least he thinks I was staring at him.
“Yeah. Sorry.” Declan opens the door and hops out.
Eliana climbs in and slides across the bench to the middle seat.
Because, of course, Everest has to have an older truck that only has the front bench seat for three people.
Declan follows Eliana in and closes the door behind him.
He reaches for his seat belt and when he turns to clip it in, he nearly bonks heads with her.
“Shit. You go first,” she says.
“No, after you,” he replies, motioning like some Victorian gentleman giving a pass to a high society lady.
She nods, smiling at him, and then buckles herself in before facing forward. Declan clips himself in and does the same, trying to ignore the heat radiating up his left side from every point where their bodies touch as the truck jostles as Everest drives them into town.
“Everyone good with Taster’s Delight?” Everest asks as he turns onto another street.
“Yeah, that’s good,” Eliana replies at the same time Declan says, “That works for me.”
Everest snorts. “You two are so agreeable when together. Maybe the three of us should get together more often.”
As much as the idea of spending more time with Eliana sounds exciting, Declan is afraid of what that might do to him.
The current of heat flowing through him from simply having their knees, hips, and shoulders touching has him thinking of every disgusting thing he’s ever seen come out of or inside of a car, hoping that it will keep his dick from standing at attention. As it is, it’s barely working.
Everest parks the truck, and before he can even unbuckle himself, Declan is out of the vehicle and nearly five paces away, sucking in breath after breath in an attempt to calm his body. But then she climbs out, her dress riding up to expose her thighs, and he’s fucking done for.
His brain instantly floods with images of his hands running up her legs, feeling how soft she’d be under his rough hands. Wondering what it would be like to kiss them. Lick them. Slide between them…
“Fuck.”
Eliana jumps, and Everest turns to him, cocking an eyebrow. “You alright, man?” he asks.
Declan turns, putting his back to them and tilting his head back. He breathes out. “Yeah, I’m good. Forgot something I needed to do at work today.”
“Ah. That sucks, but you’ll be able to fix it tomorrow, I’m sure,” she says kindly.
Everest comes to stand next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What she said.” He points to the store across the street. “Anyway, shall we go get some coffee?”
Declan swallows. “Yeah. Let’s go.”