Page 10

TEN

damien

T here were pumpkins everywhere.

Literally.

Willow had insisted we go back to her house and change before the evening’s festivities. I’d pulled on a soft, dark gray henley and a flannel jacket with my jeans. The temperatures started to drop in the evening, and even if the cold didn’t bother me much, I’d watched Willow shiver on the couch multiple times this week.

There was a reason that there was always a blanket handy next to us on the couch.

My mouth went dry when she walked out of her bedroom. Her body was wrapped in a long-sleeved pumpkin orange (because of course it was) dress that seemed to accentuate every curve, making her look like the embodiment of sin.

She was always beautiful, but this was— wow. The tan boots she’d pulled on gave her a few extra inches, making me that much closer to her mouth, and?—

There was something seriously wrong with me.

A fuck-ton of pumpkins surrounded me, but all I could think about was her lips. Soft, pink, and ever so sweet. I wondered what she’d taste like. If the taste of pumpkin would overpower the vanilla-and-coffee scent that always followed her around.

I’d never wondered what anyone tasted like before, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Her eyes lit up as soon as she stepped out of her car. Even though I’d told her I knew how to drive—how uncivilized did she think we demons were, anyway?—she insisted on it.

I’d let her do it a thousand times, though, just to see that look on her face again.

“I have to go help Luna set up,” Willow said. “But then I’m all yours.”

Yours. Why did I like the way that word slipped off her tongue?Especially when it set off my instincts , the ones that wanted everything.

“Okay.” My voice was thick, and I tried to push the thought away as I followed her through the crowd, towards the blonde girl setting up a tented stall.

Luna’s cookies, individually wrapped in cute little bags with ghost prints, filled one table, while the other boasted a drink station.

“And you do this every year?” I asked, not sure what to do as I watched Willow stir her hot chocolate.

Luna gave me a smile, and I tried not to grimace as her powers hit my senses. It was insane to me that no one else could feel it. All of that magical potential, and she baked cookies for a living.

“Yep. Ever since we opened the shop.” Happiness radiated off of her, which further cemented just how much she loved her job.

And you’re going to ruin that for her, my brain took the time to remind me.

But Willow… She didn’t have the same spark in her eye that Luna did. I could tell she loved her sister, and loved the shop, but it wasn’t her passion.

“I’m done!” She said, popping back up at my side. “Luna, you don’t mind if we take off, right?”

The smell of chocolate and sweets wafted over to where I was standing.

Her sister shook her head. “Nah, go ahead. Cait’s coming to keep me company, anyway.”

I thought Willow had mentioned her to me—their cousin. Was she the one who wanted to hex her ex?

“Great.” Willow turned back to me with a smile. “What should we do first?”

I cleared my throat. “This is your thing. Why don’t you pick?”

My witch bit her lip, looking around at the festival. She’d really undersold the event when she’d told me about it earlier. I expected a few food stalls and some low-key small town attractions, but this place looked like a big carnival. There were tons of games set up and even some small rides they’d brought in.

I recognized one of them: the Spider. I’d been on that before. It’d almost made me throw up, so I had no desire to do it again. Really, I was content just following her around. I’d gladly let her eat her pie, while possibly feeding me copious amounts of sugar. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have another opportunity like this, after all. To be normal. To feel like a human and not a demon who wasn’t even close to being in the middle of his life.

“Well… Do you want to take a ride?” Willow asked, forcing me out of my stupor.

I turned my attention back to her eyes. If I kept looking at her lips, I was going to do something stupid.

Like kiss her.

“What?”

She pointed at the little red tractor pulling a cart with an open back full of hay bales. “It’s practically tradition.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t look very comfortable.”

My witch giggled. “Maybe not, but you drink a cup of hot cider and cuddle up under a blanket, so it’s not so bad. Plus, the view is amazing.”

I looked around, trying to see it through her eyes. Strings of lights adorned the farm, adding a touch of magic that perfectly complemented the changing leaves and the sunset in the background.

The world was a blanket of orange, and she was at the center.

“It is,” I murmured in agreement. It was nice, but she was the most beautiful thing here.

Willow laced her fingers through my hand, beaming up at me. I loved her smile. It made me wonder what lengths I would go to earn it, over and over again.

* * *

“Come on, try it!” Willow said, offering me up a forkful of pie. “I promise, it’s to die for.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

She pouted. “Just try it. Please? For me?”

“Okay,” I agreed, bending down to her level. I couldn’t say no when she looked at me with that face, anyway. “Feed it to me.”

Willow’s cheeks pinked as she held up the fork to my mouth, and I held her eye contact as I slowly took the bite off the fork.

“Mmm.” I licked my lips. I hadn’t known quite what to expect, but the texture was incredible, and the whipped topping must have been homemade, because it was rich and delicious.

It could rival a feast in the Demon King’s palace.

“You have a bit of—” She giggled, pointing at my upper lip.

“What?”

“—Whipped cream. Right there.”

Her thumb brushed over the top of my lip, capturing the bit of cream.

“Oh.” I looked away, clearing my throat. “Thank you.”

She was staring at her thumb, and I bent down, licking it off with my tongue.

“Damien!” Willow turned pink. “You can’t just do that here. What if someone sees us?”

And what if they do, little witch?

A little scowl formed on her face. Do you want people to know who you are? What if something happens to you again?

Then it’s a good thing I have a fearsome witch on my side this time, isn’t it? I wove my fingers back through hers, kissing her knuckles. Besides, look around. Everyone is enjoying themselves, too.

No one was paying any attention to us. All around us, there were families laughing, the parents holding their kids’ hands with blissful smiles on their faces as they ate bucketfuls of sugar. Older couples quietly strolled along as they likely reminisced about the past. Even the teens looked like they were enjoying themselves, playing the carnival games, determined to win.

I could see the Witches’ Brew booth from here. Luna was flitting around, helping customers as she handed out bags of cookies and cups of hot chocolate. Frowning, I turned to Willow, about to ask if we should help, when?—

“Willow?” A voice called, and a female, dressed in all black, rushed to catch up with us. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh.” My witch peeked over at me. “This is Damien. My…” she trailed off, looking at me. I hated how she didn’t have a label for me.

But what was I? I’d known her for a week and a half, and most of that, I’d been stuck as a cat for. A fact that never failed to raise my hackles. Roommate? Friend? Something more? I desperately wanted to know how she was going to answer it.

I caught her eye, answering it when she failed to. “Friend,” I confirmed. I liked when she’d called me that before.

“Damien, this is Cait. She’s my cousin.”

The orange-haired witch stuck out her hand for me to shake it. “It’s nice to meet you,” she beamed. I’d never met a witch quite like her before. She had a nose ring and beautiful tattoos that went up the sides of her arms, and her tights looked like snakes.

“Cousins, huh?” If I looked really closely between the two of them, I could see the similarities. They had the same shape of their nose and structure to their jaw. But her cousin had dyed her hair, and her eyes were nothing like the bright green of Willow’s—that reminded me of Granny Smith apples.

“Yup. Our moms were sisters.” Cait gave me a warm smile.

“We’re in the same coven,” Willow added as her cousin threw an arm around her shoulder, hugging Willow tight.

“Ah,” I said, nodding. “Of course.”

It was a sobering reminder—these people would be in Willow’s life forever.

And me? Maybe we’d have a month. One good month. I wanted to make sure it counted.

“Come on,” Willow said, tugging my hand. “Let’s go find pumpkins.”

We said our goodbyes to her cousin, and I completely forgot about mentioning helping Luna as she pulled me toward the pumpkin patch.

I frowned, looking at a sea of endless pumpkins. “What exactly am I looking for? I’ve never exactly done this before.”

She looked surprised for a moment before smoothing her expression out, bending down to look at the orange squash at her feet. “You want one that’s a good shape, medium to large size, and a smooth surface.” Willow pointed out a few examples on the ground. “Though I suppose it all depends on what you want to carve into it, anyway.” She bit her lip, and I couldn’t help but stare at her teeth digging into those sweet, pink lips.

I blinked away the thought of what it would be like to do that to her.

“Was I supposed to think of something before this?” Because I definitely hadn’t.

“Oh. Well. I suppose not.” Willow brushed her hands on the skirt of her dress before standing up, leaning against me. “But you will… carve one with me, right?” Her eyes were pleading, practically begging. But she didn’t have to ask.

“Of course,” I chuckled. “Anything you want, Wil.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pulled her in tighter to me, inhaling the smell of her sweetness. I couldn’t get enough of it.

“Oh!” she squealed, pulling away from me. “I found them!” She rushed farther down the row, where two pumpkins were sitting side by side. They were almost equal in color and shape, despite one being slightly smaller than the other. “What do you think?” She looked up at me, and I nodded.

“Perfect.” But I wasn’t talking about the pumpkins.

Hefting them into my arms, I took them over to the weigh station so Willow could pay for them before depositing them in the car.

On our way back, Willow stopped at a few food booths, continuing to feed me different sweets. I’d lost how many forms of pumpkin I’d tried. Fudge, bread, muffins, scones…

“How are you still eating?” I asked her, watching her plop another bite of pumpkin spice cake in her mouth.

She stopped chewing to stare at me. “I have a bottomless stomach for sweets.” Willow’s voice was so matter-of-fact. “Obviously.”

I wiped a smudge of frosting from the corner of her lip before she handed me a small bag of candy.

“What is this?”

Picking one out, I held up the strange multicolored candy—yellow, orange, and white in a triangle shape.

She giggled. “It’s candy corn. Try it. It’s one of my favorites.” Corn? I made a skeptical face before popping it into my mouth.

Sweet. I made a face. It tasted like frosting and sugar, all rolled into one.

“What?” She laughed. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s too sweet. Are you sure you aren’t just eating pure sugar?”

Willow stuck her tongue out at me, grabbing a few pieces from my bag. “More for me, thank you.”

I didn’t mind at all as she finished it, entranced by watching her happily munch on the candy.

“Should we go through the maze now?” She asked, looking towards the stacks of straw bales stacked on top of each other.

We promptly deposited our food wrappers in the trash before she dragged me over to it.

The witch working the front handed us a map of the maze, so we could apparently find our way out of it. I stared at the diagram, showing the view from above. They’d made the damn thing the shape of a jack-o’-lantern, complete with the eyes and mouth in the middle.

“One year, they made it so hard that old Granny Crowley couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. They had to send in a search party,” she giggled.

“It’s a pumpkin,” I stated plainly.

“Last year it was a ghost.” She pretended to look contemplative. “Should I see if next year they’ll make it a cat?”

I rolled my eyes, pulling her into the opening of the maze. “Let’s do this.”

But when I turned around, she couldn’t see the ghost of a smile that spread over my lips.

How much straw could be in one fucking place? Hell. This place was actual hell. We’d been going through it for fifteen minutes already, but it felt like hours. The tall walls of straw made me feel trapped, like I couldn’t get out—even though I knew it would only take a moment, one use of my power to get out.

Letting my shadows curl through my fingers, I breathed out, calming down slightly.

I turned around to ask my witch a question, but she wasn’t behind me.

“Willow?” I spun around. Where’d she go? “Willow!” I shouted, backtracking slightly, checking the other branches of the path before going back to where we hadn’t walked yet.

“Fuck,” I cursed, rubbing my forehead.

How had I managed to lose her?

This place was claustrophobic, and despite the map, I still felt completely turned around.

“Got you!” She said, popping up behind me.

“Willow. For fuck’s sake. Don’t do that.” I rubbed my forehead.

“What?” She frowned.

“I thought—” You were lost. That something had happened to you . “Never mind.” I shook my head.

“I was just—” Willow started, moving towards me, but there was a patch of mud on the ground in between us, and her foot slipped, launching her forward.

As she stumbled, I quickly reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist to prevent her from falling.

“Oh.” Willow breathed, and I was vividly aware of the fact that the hay bales hid us from view, secluded in the maze.

She smelled so sweet; I had to stop myself from leaning over to find the source of the scent. Was it her shampoo? Or just something uniquely her?

Fuck.

“Little witch…” I groaned.

I was losing control.

If I wasn’t careful, I was going to take her.