Page 22

Chapter 22

Dex

D ex cut the fruit up as he subconsciously listened to the shower running. Nova seemed to have settled down. He could hear her when she wasn’t wearing her boots, but he figured the scent charm was somewhere more permanent.

Was she really that annoyed about spending more time with him, or was it something else? He couldn’t figure her out.

Smiling, he placed the fruit on both plates. Dex kind of liked that about her.

The girl was definitely not easy to deal with. But the situation was something he understood. Neither of them should have let this happen, but being ‘just friends’ was clearly a struggle for both of them.

It was hard to resist the comfort Nova gave him or resist his feelings for her, especially when he knew that he provided her comfort as well.

Dex spun his knife, staring at nothing in particular. Had he ever had someone feel comforted by him before? He didn’t think so.

The shower shut off and he poured the eggs in the hot pan.

Everything she’d been through – it didn’t scare him off like he knew it should. Dex actually felt more invested now if that were even possible. If he could ease some of that pain…

Who the fuck was he kidding?

His angel was an emotionless sociopath who was designed to exact wrath upon the universe without giving a single fuck about the consequences. Then there was his demon with cravings for chaos and impulse control issues which made such a wonderful recipe for disaster, it really shouldn’t be funny.

But sometimes the only way he could get out of bed was to laugh at the shit he had to deal with.

Ironically, Dex wasn’t worried about his demon. Agmos had trained him how to focus the cravings for chaos into productive outlets. It was the excitement he felt when he was ready to fight, ready to make someone beg. His demon wanted sex and violence and really any kind of stimulation he could get his hands on.

Dex relished in his demon side.

But if he let something actually bother him, that rage he felt that came from the fires of hell triggered the wrath in his angel, and the switch from a guy just having a good time to a serial killer who’d murder everyone for a Snickers bar was something he couldn’t afford.

He used the strength and the wings. Dex loved the speed his angel gave him and the power that amplified his demon magic, but that cold unfeeling side disgusted him.

And Nova had been hurt by a demon – her sister murdered by one, which made things awkward.

Demon-touched.

It didn’t sound real. Dex had never heard of something like that before, but magic was unpredictable. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

The real question though, was why a demon would go after a witch child. What was the motivation for that?

A demon had murdered her sister right in front of her. Telling Nova he was part demon didn’t seem like a good idea.

He tossed in some ingredients for the omelets and rolled his shoulders back to ease the ache of holding back his wings.

Lying to her didn’t seem like a good idea either, even by omission. Maybe when they knew each other better, he could tell her. When he felt like she wouldn’t kill him for something he had no control over.

Flipping the eggs, he considered everything he knew about her.

Nova wouldn’t actually kill him for being part demon, but she might just decide to have nothing to do with him anymore and Dex hated the idea of that more than anything.

And then her sister had been a hunter.

Gently, he eased the omelets onto the plates and wondered what that must have been like. It definitely explained why she seemed too rash when it came to the situations she put herself in. Nova wasn’t afraid of shifters because her dad had trained her.

As a witch, she couldn’t match a real hunter, but knowing how to physically fight was something no one expected from a witch. After her sister died, he had no doubt her dad had trained the shit out of her.

It’s what he would have done.

Dex shoved that thought down deep and pretended like it had never existed. Kids weren’t in the cards for him.

Sprinkling some cheese on the eggs, he tapped his phone to turn up the music just a little. He could still hear her over it, but she was getting dressed and Dex couldn’t afford to listen to that.

Bacon was next and he let it pop and sizzle as he brewed coffee. She might not like coffee, so he started the kettle too. Whatever her preferences were, he was prepared. Both of them needed to eat, considering their general attitudes.

Being hangry on top of everything was like playing with fire in a room full of dynamite.

His door opened and he focused on the bacon, tracking her movements with sound alone. Her heart rate was back to normal, but he couldn’t scent her, just the fragrant steam from the shower.

She’d used his soap.

Was that why she was so ticked about a fucking shower? Dex rolled his eyes. Nova probably thought he used dish soap for face wash too.

“Here,” he said, sliding the plate across the counter. “Coffee’s on. There’s hot water and bacon coming up.”

“You can cook.”

He was not going to be offended at the shock in her voice. Dex had to remember most human men were fucking garbage.

Dex nodded, and flipped the bacon, eyes tracking her on instinct as she went for the coffee. Then he refocused on the bacon, clenching his teeth. He definitely shouldn’t have looked.

Nova opened a cupboard and grabbed a coffee cup, setting it on the counter with a tired sigh. Dex was aware of every tiny movement she made.

She was wearing his clothes.

Now he really understood.

This was what she was so pissed about.

Because the second he saw her wearing his sweats and one of his loose tank tops with her chest tat, clearly not wearing a bra…

Dex wanted to tear that shirt off her with his teeth and lick her nipples until she screamed.

“The bacon is burning.”

He growled in irritation, grabbing what he could with the tongs and tossing it on her plate. Dex put the burnt ones on his and tried not to look at her again.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything.”

“Mhm. Need me to wash your clothes?”

He could feel her attention zero in on him as she took a bite of bacon. “Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nope, just offering.” Fucking hell, why was she so perceptive?

He poured his own coffee and then sat next to her at the counter on one of the bar stools, shoveling food in his mouth before he could say anything else stupid.

“So, I don’t think I can sit around and watch TV,” she said, still studying him.

“What do you normally do during the day?” This wasn’t something he’d ever had to deal with before. Dex had no idea how she managed. What kind of work did she even do?

“Exercise, and then anything I need to do to get ready to look for work.” Nova shrugged and popped a piece of fruit in her mouth. “Usually when the sun starts dropping, I can manage if I need to go out. I just have to be prepared for it.”

What a weird thing, but Dex figured it wasn’t all that different from his own schedule. His was simply by choice. “Does it hurt?”

“The sun?” Nova sipped her black coffee.

He wrinkled his nose at the idea of tasting nothing but bitter beans. “Yeah, does it physically hurt?”

“My left eye is very light sensitive to the point of pain, but otherwise, no. I just…don’t like it.” Her shoulders hunched like she felt stupid.

Dex never realized how much he relied on scent before meeting her. He’d never been so blind to someone’s emotions and it was super fucking frustrating to constantly be guessing.

But he wasn’t going to ask her to take off her scent charm. There was no reason she should other than to make his life easier, and her discomfort wasn’t worth that.

“So, what work are you looking for then?” Dex finished off his omelet and realized his mistake when the plate was nearly empty. If he wasn’t eating, he had no excuse not to look at her.

“Bartending. What are we listening to?” Nova tapped her finger on the counter in time with the beat and he couldn’t resist anymore.

Fuck, she wasn’t just beautiful but hot as hell too.

The stark black tats were begging to be traced with his tongue, and her wet hair was hanging around her shoulders and down her back. Dex didn’t dare look down where he knew the curve of her breast was peeking out.

He was only so strong.

“K-pop. I didn’t know you could bartend.”

She turned and grinned at him. It was breathtaking. “Well, you never asked.”

“I have a bar.” Dex raised an eyebrow at her. “Why didn’t you ask me?”

Nova’s smile dropped and she took their empty plates to the sink, washing them off and drying them. Dex let his eyes travel down, and then back up. She had actual muscles, proof she worked out.

“I don’t need your charity,” she finally said. “I can take care of myself.”

Yeah, she could, but he’d rather she didn’t go get a job at a rival business. There were tons the Corp owned that she could work at, but knowing her, she’d get hired at one he could never go to.

“I wasn’t implying you couldn’t.” Dex sighed and drained his coffee. “I was just asking a simple question. There’s a gym in my building if you want to go there.”

“No thanks, I don’t have any gym clothes and I’m not working out in this.”

Oh, right. Fuck. He was definitely not thinking when she was around, messing with his head.

“Okay, fine. Go get your bra on, I have an idea.” Dex got up and went to the living room, shoving aside the mess from earlier. He found the remote and turned on the TV, accessing the internet.

“What’s your idea?”

He just gave her a look and Nova threw up her hands in frustration before disappearing into the guest bathroom.

Selecting the choreography video, he turned off the music with a grin. Dex was definitely going to turn her into a K-pop stan after this.

Nova came back and crossed her arms over her chest with a glare. “Okay, now what?”

“You like to dance, right?”

The way her eyes narrowed made him laugh. “Yes, what about it?”

“Well, since I’m not allowed to dance with you as more than a friend, I’m going to teach you K-pop choreography.”

Her eyes widened in surprise at the same time her arms dropped. “Seriously?”

“Got any better ideas?”

Nova studied him again before putting up one finger. “Hold on.” She disappeared into his room and then came back a second later, throwing a shirt at him. “I have to wear a bra, so you have to wear this.”

Dex caught it on instinct and studied the short-sleeved shirt – not a tank top. He grinned then, liking the confirmation she was just as distracted by his body as he was hers.

“What, you don’t like my nipple piercings?”

Her eyes dilated until they were nearly black and Dex bit his tongue, instantly regretting the question.

“They suit you,” she said, voice huskier than before. Nova cleared her throat and stretched her arms. “Exactly how many do you have?”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he slipped the shirt on before either of them tried to test the boundaries even more than they already had.

“Enough,” he finally said, making sure she saw the one in his tongue. “Ready?”

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“I can’t promise that, but I can promise that by sunset, you’ll know how to do this dance.”

Nova grinned then, reaching down to touch her toes. “Okay, I think I can live with that.”