Page 52 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
“Former… and I thought we agreed you’d forget about hearing that.”
She snorted. “No, you directed, but luckily for you, I’ve never been so great at following orders. That Gryndor called you Scourge. For you to be graced with a nickname, you must have been pretty darn entrenched.”
“You’re really not grasping the idea of forgetting everything you heard, are you?”
“You’re telling meformerHunters spend their free nights tracking hell demons into seedy Supernatural bars?” Her gaze flickered to where he worked on her arm. “Growing up as the Prima Apparent, I may have been secluded and deluded to some worldly things, but I’m the best at smelling a load of crap, and right now the stench is impossible to miss, and it’s not coming from the horses downstairs.”
He made quick work of the salve and gently taped a clean bandage over the wound. “How does that feel?”
She flexed her arm. “Like it didn’t even happen… and like you’re evading my question.”
“Good. With the salve in place, it’ll feel and look like it didn’t even happen in a few hours.”
“What would happen if you didn’t have the salve?”
He smiled mischievously. “Be thankful I had some on hand.”
“In your bounty hunter’s first-aid kit.”
He chuckled. “You won’t let this go, will you?”
“I’m sorry, have we met?” She stuck out her good hand. “I’m Rose Maxwell, the Un-Letting-Goer of Things. At least according to my sisters.”
Doing the smart thing meant helping her off the counter and walking away, but he couldn’t move. Instead, he braced his hands on either side of her hips and dropped his gaze to her mouth… and damn if he didn’t catch her doing the same thing.
He sighed. “Iusedto be a Hunter… in another lifetime.”
She rolled her pretty eyes. “I pretty much figured that out, Captain Obvious. And I’m guessing you were pretty good at your job considering you had a nickname and all.”
“I wasn’t good.”
“You weren’t?”
He shook his head. “Nah. I was the best.”
Rose smirked. “And oh so modest.”
As he gave a faint shrug, his attention wandered back toward her mouth. “It’s true.”
“If you were so good at it, why don’t you do it anymore?”
Any thought of kissing her at that moment was doused with that single question. Desire iced over, frozen so solid an ice pick couldn’t chip it to freedom.
He found the strength to pull away and put the kit back in its spot. “Because I found my calling with animals.”
Rose hopped off the counter. “If Vi’s the Queen of Horrible Liars, you’re definitely the King. I saw the smile on your face when those demons made the first move. Hell, until that moment, I didn’t think you had the facial muscles to pull that off. You got a thrill from it. I did, too… once I was done being scared shitless.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Damian mumbled.
“What was the problem?” Rose asked.
Ignore her and take her home… that was what heshoulddo. It was the smart thing, but she followed him into his apartment, and damn if he didn’t like seeing her in his space, and that brought on a whole new onslaught of issues he in no way could unpack right then.
“Yeah, I get a thrill out of Hunting,” Damian admitted. “But I’m not the only one who does. My inner demon likes it, too. Too damn much. He thrives on it. The chase. The violence that undoubtedly erupts, and not to mention the bloodshed. Every time I went on a Hunt, my demon side strengthened, overshadowing the human side.”
Realization slowly dawned on her face, but even though she understood didn’t mean shegotit. He wouldn’t expect her to.
Rose opened and closed her mouth.
