Page 26

“Lucifer’s fucking balls!”

I jolt up at the inhuman growl that follows the weird as hell phrase. My blanket pools around my waist, and for a moment, I forget everything that happened yesterday until it all comes rushing back.

The fight. The aftermath. Cassian’s office. And my two new roommates.

“Infernal fucking contraption. You should rot in the deepest pits of Hell!”

Whatever Zane’s fighting against piques my interest as I snicker quietly in my bed. It could be a number of things, but I don’t recall having anything that would give him problems.

“Listen here, motherfucker. You’re going to do it whether you like it or not!”

My brows furrow, but it’s the smell of burning plastic that has me scrambling out of bed, dashing out of my room, and sliding across the floor in my haste to find out what’s melting. Only I don’t stop in time and crash into the couch, flipping completely over it and landing on the hard ass floor with a thud.

All the air expels from my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath.

“Shit. You okay, snow?” Bane’s head pops over the back of the couch, humor dancing in his dark eyes.

I groan. There’s nothing I can do but that until I get my wits about me again.

“Hell’s bells, don’t make me shove you up Lucifer’s hairy asshole!”

Bane quietly chuckles as he comes around the couch, carefully helping me to my feet.

“He’s been fighting with that damn thing since it showed up this morning,” Bane stage-whispers, nodding in the direction of the kitchen. “He wanted to make you something for when you woke up.”

My heart melts at the thought of the big, bad demon wanting to take care of me.

Turning my gaze, I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

There, standing in the middle of my kitchen, is Zane. His long black and red hair is pulled up in a bun at the top of his head, an apron strains at the seams over his usual black attire, and there looks to be a dusting of flour on his face.

But that’s not all. He has a spatula clutched in his massive fist, waving it back and forth like a knight fighting a dragon, but in reality, he’s pointing it menacingly at what I’d guess is the air fryer Thaddeus said he was having delivered.

Or what’s left of it, anyway.

Bane and I share a look before we both lose it, doubling over and clutching our stomachs as tears track down our cheeks from laughing so hard.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very fucking funny,” Zane grumbles.

I wipe away the tears, but the chuckles continue.

“Don’t you start, pinky.” Zane brandishes the spatula in my direction, but a single glance at his apron has me losing it a second time.

I’m a real devil in the kitchen, is right.

The horns on top of his head, the red fleshy wings at his back, and the tail twitching agitatedly behind him really sells it.

“This is fucking hell hound shit,” he grumbles, his lips popped out in a pout. “Try to do something nice for my ma—roommate, and all she does is laugh at me.” He trips over his words, but instead of calling him on it, my focus turns to the now-smoking appliance sitting on my counter.

“Hey, Zane…”

“What?” he mutters dejectedly.

“Is it supposed to be smoking?”

“Huh?” He peeks over at the counter, alarm taking over his devilish face. “Fuck!” he screeches, grabbing a dishtowel and waving it through the smoke. “I swear to Lucifer, I’ll string you up by your cord and let the wrath demons have a go at you if you don’t knock it off.”

Instead of intervening, Bane leans his ass against the back of the couch with his arms crossed over his massive chest, while amusement tilts his lips in a smile. There’s a small hint of fang peeking between his lips, reminding me so much of my vampire mate.

Damn. I miss him. Luka, too. It feels like forever since I’ve seen either one of them, even though I just saw Axel yesterday. And I’m almost positive Luka is out trying to douse the fire of whatever bullshit is still fueling the rumor mill.

Because let’s be real. There’s no way the truth is circling the halls. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be stuck on lockdown like I killed the freaking kid.

A loud pop and fizzle jolts me out of the thoughts of my two mates. The smell of burning plastic intensifies, this time accompanied by a flickering of a flame from between the cracks of the basket shoved into the air fryer.

“Zane… I think it’s on fire.”

“Pffft. I’m a damn demon.” He puffs his chest out, proud of that distinction. “I would know if something was on fire.”

“Then what’s that orange glow coming from inside the air fryer?” I point to the basket, slowly backing away.

“The heating coil…” he trails off with a duh, concern flickering his eyes as he looks between my retreating form and the fryer.

A distorted ding echoes through the kitchen, sounding like something from a horror movie. Zane’s face breaks into a breathtaking smile, all smug and proud of himself.

“Breakfast is ready!” he crows, pumping his fist still clutching the spatula. “Get ready for a culinary masterpiece.”

“Or food poisoning,” Bane snickers, not at all worried that there’s possibly an active fire in the middle of our kitchen.

Grabbing an oven mitt, Zane stretches it to fit over his large hand and pulls out the basket. The moment air hits it, the entire air fryer explodes into a fiery inferno. Basket and all.

Zane immediately lets go, the inflamed basket hitting the floor.

In my head, I think of how we need water to put it out, and my magic responds, a zip of pink burning the back of my left thigh. A watery mass collects in my hand, and I fling it in the direction of the flames. Only my aim is way fucking off. The water shooting from my palm, kind of how Peter Parker expels webs from his wrists, douses Zane, completely missing the mark.

“Holy hellfire, pinky! That shit’s cold!” Zane whines, the water creating steam as it sizzles against his burning flesh.

Bane is on the floor, dying of laughter and completely losing his marbles, as I scramble to redirect my flow toward the actual fire. A moment later, the flames die out with a fizzle, along with the burning on the back of my thigh.

I’m left gaping at the absolute disaster left in its wake.

There’s water flooding the floor of my kitchen. Scorch marks on the cabinet above where Zane was working. And a burnt to a crisp piece of plastic that was supposed to help feed us for the week.

My eyes dart toward my coffee machine, worried it didn’t survive against the hurricane I’m now dubbing as Zane. Fortunately, it looks unscathed, the flames missing the appliance by mere inches.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Lucifer, that was hilarious.” Bane wipes his face, ridding himself of the tears still clinging to his cheeks. “I’ll run down to the dining hall and get us something.”

He quickly flees the dorm, leaving Zane and I with the aftermath.

“Fuck, pinky. I’m so sorry,” Zane mutters, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I just wanted to make sure you were fed when you woke up. I didn’t mean to destroy it.”

Be still my heart.

“Hey,” I call, carefully making my way across the wet floor, trying not to slip. My palm finds his thumping heart when I place my hand on his chest. “It’s the thought that counts, right? It was very sweet of you to want to do that for me.” I smile up at him.

“But I ruined it.” He clutches my hand like a lifeline.

“It’s fine. We can always get a new one, and I can teach you how to use it. Plus, I can survive off Mr. Tall, Dark, and Steamy until Bane gets back.”

A boyish grin transforms Zane’s face into something child-like. “I’m tall, dark, and steamy.”

He’s right. On all three counts, especially since there’s still steam curling off his shoulders.

But like Thaddeus, he’s completely wrong.

“I meant coffee, ya big lug,” I chuckle, swatting his chest with my free hand.

“Of course you were, pinky,” he murmurs with a wink.

“Come on, we have a mess to clean.”

He wrinkles his nose. “Do we have to?”

“Yes, but I’ll make it easy. Watch.”

Not removing my gaze from him, I send my magic to the air rune on my belly, relishing in the burn it gives. The wind starts almost instantly, whipping around the kitchen. All the standing water quickly evaporates, leaving not only the floor but also Zane bone dry.

The wind and burn taper off, taking the heavy burnt smell in the air with it.

“Now that was fucking cool,” Zane says in awe, but his onyx eyes never move from mine.

“It was…” I trail off, lost in the moment.

Like a tractor beam pulling us together, Zane lowers his head as I start to press up on my toes, bringing our faces within inches of each other. His breath is warm against my face, bringing the scent of roasted marshmallows and dark chocolate to my nose.

The door being thrown open rips us apart, startling the two of us out of what was about to happen.

“Food’s here!”

Shit. I clutch my chest, backing away from the demon staring at me with hearts in his eyes.

I don’t know what he sees, but he falters, his fists clenching at his sides.

Needing a moment, I dart back to my room, slamming the door behind me. My back hits a second later, and I slide down, pressing my head against the wood.

Fuck. What the hell was that?

Why did I almost kiss him?

I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I can’t deny the way Zane’s presence affects me. It’s been this way since the day I met him. Only I kept my distance from him for this reason, among others. Now that option has been taken away from me, and I need to have a serious talk with my mates before something happens that I can’t take back.

“You okay, snow?” Bane knocks softly on my door. “Lunch is going to get cold if you wait much longer.”

“I’m coming. One second.”

I blow out a breath and compose myself, pushing the almost-kiss to the back of my mind to examine later. Much much later. Like when I’m alone and I can figure out these confusing as heck feelings.

Rejoining the guys, we sit around the coffee table, me cross-legged on the floor, while Zane and Bane take up the couch. Styrofoam containers cover the entire surface, each one packed with my favorite foods and some that I’ve always bypassed, worried it might be something that could kill me like the brains at the end of the buffet.

In the craziness of the morning, I completely missed the fact that Aero has been passed out on the couch on the opposite side of the room, closer to the demons’ rooms than mine. He didn’t even make his presence known during the chaos that reigned in the kitchen.

Lazy Pegasus.

We’re all quiet, ruminating over our own thoughts, but Bane breaks the silence, jumping up with a fork in his hand, reenacting Zane’s antics with the air fryer.

The rest of the day and well into the night, we talk about anything and everything, laughing at each other's jokes, and genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

And like an unspoken agreement between us, Zane and I never bring up our near-kiss in the kitchen.