Page 17

Chapter 17

Dex

D ex stood in his loft and studied it as if he were a stranger. The maid had come and gone so it was clean. He’d grabbed a few takeout menus since he had no idea what Nova liked other than pizza.

He didn’t have alcohol out except for beer. It wasn’t like he was trying to seduce her.

Running his hand through his hair, he let out a massive sigh.

Fuck, this was hard.

Dex slumped on the couch. How did one go about watching TV with someone else? Was he supposed to look at them or not? He’d only ever watched sports with the others in the Corp and that was usually at the bar.

Everyone sat and stared at the TV. For some reason, he felt like the stools made a difference.

Dex pulled up the anime and then tossed the remote on the table.

This was stupid.

It wasn’t like he could forget what she looked like—what she felt like. Dex still didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do about that, but at least this way, he could still take care of her.

As a friend.

If she wasn’t a part of his organization or the coven, she was going to have a rough time and Dex didn’t like the idea of that. Even if she’d managed to give him the slip.

Would she be able to hide from him if he was really hunting her?

He actually wasn’t sure, and Dex liked that.

But there were a lot of things that could happen when he wasn’t watching. Shit happened all the time and it wasn’t like he could insist she only go where he could watch her.

Dex couldn’t even put people on her without putting her in more danger.

There was a loud knock on the door, and he kicked himself for not paying attention.

Fucking witches and their charms. It’s not like the ones she used were cheap either, or easy to make. Which meant she had money or knew someone willing to make them for her.

Maybe her mother?

Dex stood and crossed the room in the blink of an eye, opening the door to see her standing there in jeans and a big puffy jacket.

It shouldn’t have been as sexy as it was.

“Sorry I’m a little early,” she said, shifting her weight from one foot to another in what looked like combat boots.

“Hey, no worries.” Dex stepped aside to let her in, resisting the urge to take her coat from her. Friends didn’t normally do that, at least not unless they were crushing, and he’d learned that from TV.

Nova didn’t take her jacket off and Dex froze as he tried to figure out if his loft was too cold. As a demon-angel, he honestly didn’t get bothered by either extreme, his body just adjusted.

“Are you cold?”

She shrugged. “A little, but I’m fine.”

Dex went to adjust the thermostat, trying to ignore how fucking awkward this was. “So, you really don’t mind watching anime?”

“I don’t watch TV, so it honestly doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Not at all?” He found that hard to believe.

“I don’t have the time.” Nova inspected his place with a strangely blank look on her face. Her usual sass and attitude seemed to be missing.

Dex grabbed one of the beers and popped the top off before handing it to her, just like he would for one of his guys. “You okay?”

She tipped her head back and downed the whole thing. “I’m fine.”

Clearly, she wasn’t fine, but he wasn’t going to push her about it. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” Nova didn’t take the second beer from him. “You got anything stronger than that?”

He felt his eyebrows nearly disappear into his hairline. Something was definitely going on. Dex went for his stash of vodka and grabbed some pineapple juice. He mixed her a quick drink and handed it to her.

Nova took the bottle from him instead.

Okay, so it was going to be like that.

She sat on his couch carefully, slipping her boots off and tucking them underneath. Leaning her head back, she rolled it to watch him standing in the kitchen like an idiot, practically daring him to drink the pineapple bullshit.

Dex didn’t waste alcohol so he downed it, ice and all. “What do you want to eat?”

There was a flash of fire in her eyes and he could practically hear the you out loud.

He had to bite his fucking tongue so hard it bled. Not even five minutes into this and it already wasn’t going well.

“Whatever, I don’t care.” Nova drank more vodka and Dex decided he needed to get food here ASAP at the rate she was drinking. “I’m ready to see this cartoon.”

“It’s not a cartoon,” he snapped, typing out a message to the place across the street.

“I know.”

He looked up and saw her smirk. Nova was purposefully fucking with him. Something tight in his chest eased and he grabbed a few bottles of water, setting them on the table in hopes she’d drink them.

But Dex wasn’t her fucking babysitter. She was an adult and could manage her own fucking life. If she was too drunk to drive at the end of the night, he’d just sleep on the couch. Maybe she’d talk to him about whatever it was, and in the morning everything would be fine.

That settled, he sat next to her on the couch, a healthy distance apart to make sure there was no way he could accidentally touch her. If he did, there was very little he could do to keep his impulse issues in check once they’d been set off.

And somehow Nova managed to do it effortlessly.

“Food’s on the way. You can talk about whatever is bothering you, or we can watch a ton of people get slaughtered.” Dex studied her in the corner of his eye, wondering why she would take off her boots but not her coat.

Nova took another sip with a straight face and he held out his hand. She passed him the bottle without question, and he drank some, watching as she pulled her hair up into some kind of weird bun.

He had to look away when he realized how cute it was.

“I’d like to see some slaughter.” She held out her hand for the bottle and Dex hesitated.

Even if she wasn’t anything but his friend, he still didn’t want to see her drink herself to death. On the other hand, if she got drunk, she might tell him what was wrong.

He handed her the alcohol and started the show, deciding that he would just keep an eye on her and her water intake. Some food and some water…she’d be fine.

They sat in silence, watching the show, and he couldn’t help but be aware of the way she curled up on the couch, using her coat as a blanket almost. Her eyes almost never blinked, and she seemed pretty content, if depressed.

Dex realized he didn’t know shit about her.

He had no idea why she’d be upset, and he didn’t know what she liked to do or eat or read, fuck, all he knew was her first name and that she was a witch with a death wish.

“Why are we watching the English version?” she asked out of nowhere, nursing the vodka.

He paused the show and switched over to the subtitles. “Some people don’t like to read.”

“I can speak Japanese.” Nova drank more and he snagged the bottle from her just for an excuse to stare at her.

“Aren’t we special.” He drank half the bottle just to make sure she couldn’t.

“You only speak English?” she asked, turning to arch an eyebrow at him like she was disappointed.

“I speak Korean, Russian, and Japanese as well as English.” He grinned at her and handed over the bottle. “Food’s here.”

He didn’t bother to pause the show and opened the door just enough the delivery guy couldn’t see her. “Thanks for the speed.”

“Of course, Dex. Another night alone? I keep telling you to get a girlfriend, a boyfriend, anything. Just stop being lonely.” The old Italian gave him one of those ridiculous winks and took the cash from him with a nod of thanks.

“I’m not lonely,” Dex called after him, but the old man just waved his hand in dismissal.

Nosy-ass old people.

When he closed the door, he saw Nova focusing on the show with her arms crossed over her chest. Dex knew she wasn’t shy now, yet her body language screamed so many contradictory things at him.

The first night he’d met her, he’d been sure she was insecure or shy or something . But after seeing her at the club wearing that outfit, he knew that wasn’t the case. There were just times she didn’t want anyone looking at her – times she didn’t feel safe.

He gritted his teeth and shoved down the irritation that she didn’t feel safe with him. “I got Italian.”

She tossed two twenties on the table without looking at him.

“Look, it’s not a big deal. You can get me back next time,” he told her, sitting on the edge of the couch to go through the food.

“We’re friends and I can take care of myself.” If he didn’t know better, he’d say she was pissed at him.

Dex grabbed one of the twenties and threw it in her face. “It wasn’t that expensive. Take whatever you want.”

Rage flickered in her eyes when she shoved the cash back in her pocket, but she unfolded from the couch to see what he’d chosen.

He leaned back to watch her without looking like that was what he was doing. Dex sipped the vodka and kept his eyes on the TV, but he was aware of every move she made. Nova grabbed a fork and the closest thing without even checking what it was.

Something was very wrong.

It made his chest tight and Dex hated the conflict of emotions inside. All he wanted to do was ask what was bothering her so he could fucking fix it, but she didn’t trust him. And why should she?

They were still trying to figure out how to just be friends.

Nova ate the pasta with her eyes glued to the screen and Dex grabbed what was left over. Things were weird between them, but it could honestly be worse. She could have chosen not to come because she was upset, and instead she’d stuck it out.

To some degree, she felt safe around him. Maybe safe enough to hang, but not talk.

“So, obviously everyone is going to die,” she said. Nova settled back into the couch like that comforted her.

What a fucking weirdo.

“I’m not spoiling anything.” Dex finished the chicken parmesan and went for the spaghetti next. “You can watch it and find out. I have all night.”

“I was surprised you weren’t working on a Saturday,” she told him, finishing the alfredo.

Dex didn’t know what to say to that either. His work wasn’t something he talked about with anyone. Either they knew what he did, or they didn’t. That was that.

“I can pick my own schedule.” Dex figured that was the safest explanation. “What’s yours?”

She gave him a look that clearly said it was none of his business.

“So, what do you do?” he asked as innocently as he could.

“I’m in between work right now.” Nova shushed him and held out her hand for the vodka. “Now be quiet so I can fucking watch this.”

Damn, she was a pain in the ass.

They passed the bottle between them, and he could see her getting sleepier, but she watched the entire episode without even flinching or reacting. Dex couldn’t tell if he was impressed or worried.

He finished the bottle and silently handed her some water. Nova took it without looking and Dex just sighed. This was not easy, and it didn’t help that she still looked cute as fuck.

The episode ended and he paused, turning to face her fully. “Before we start episode two, you have to tell me one thing I don’t know about you. I’ll do the same.”

Nova gave him a sideways look that promised pain and he wondered if she could actually follow up on that threat.

“My dad wants me to come home.”

For some reason that statement hit him in the gut. The thought of her leaving actually put him on the edge of rage, and he couldn’t figure out why. She was hot, sure, but they barely knew each other.

His life would be easier if she left.

“Why?” Dex tried to keep his voice normal. He tried to make it look and sound like he didn’t care. He leaned forward to grab another water and drank it while he waited for her to respond, focusing on keeping his heart rate normal before it set off his demon.

Nova was quiet for a long time and he could practically see her sink farther into her jacket. “He doesn’t think it’s safe for me here. He told me I was being reckless.”

The real pain in her words made him want to hunt the man down and force him to apologize.

Dex rolled his shoulders back and then grabbed more food – anything to distract himself.

Really, it wasn’t all that different from what he had told her. “I’m sure you’ll find a job and things will be fine.”

Nova sighed and turned back to the TV. “Your turn.”