Page 43 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
“What was the question again?” she asked, dragging her gaze away from his upper body with quite a bit of difficulty. “Oh. Why am I here so early? I hoped to get a few cameras mounted before the start of morning chores and when I got here, Miguel was already working with the pups.” They both glanced to where Bella nursed the lively puppies, her tongue lolling out of her mouth in sheer canine happiness. “Their story is the perfect one to showcase first.”
Damian crouched, and seeing him, one of the puppies tried ambling closer, tripping over his too-big paws. They both laughed. “Was it your idea to put them together?”
“Maybe I watch too many Animal Planet shows, but I saw something about litter fostering once and ran it by Miguel.”
“It was a good idea.” Damian rubbed the puppy’s head before returning him to his new mom. “I should’ve thought of it sooner. It’s like Bella’s not even the same dog from two nights ago.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. People other than yourself do have the ability to have good ideas,” Rose teased coyly. “But you’re right. Bella’s eyes lit up when she heard the puppies, and then when she saw them, her pupils practically transformed into little hearts.”
“Four-legged or two, when someone finds their purpose, magical things happen. I’ll keep a close eye on them to make sure there are no issues, but so far so good. All seven of them definitely appear to be on the upswing.”
Rose wished like hell she’d be as lucky to find her purpose, but that really would be a magical occurrence. Maybe divine intervention.
Before she got stuck on the woe-is-me carousel, she refocused herattention back to half-naked Damian. “While you put on clothes, I’ll make sure the camera’s syncing to the system. That way there won’t be any hiccups when the sanctuary’s social media account announces the puppy cam later today.”
Discreetly fanning her too-hot flesh, she brushed past Damian and headed toward the office.
“Wait, Mari’s Sanctuary doesn’t have a social media account,” Damian called after her.
“We do now,” Rose threw over her shoulder. “You’re welcome!”
He grumbled before she even stepped into the office, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. She might not have yet downed her three cups of coffee this morning, but hearing Damian pretending to be annoyed was right up there with a triple-boosted caramel macchiato with extra foam.
And cinnamon.
On the way up to his apartment, Damian cursed himself and his infatuation with Rose Maxwell, and then compounded the problem in the shower when he resorted to wrapping his hand around his erection, imagining it was hers, because it wouldn’t go the hell away without it.
He’d taken so damn long to get his head—and body—in line that even Miguel gave him a look, pointedly looking at his watch when he appeared downstairs an hour later. And then he dove from patient appointments to handyman work in an attempt to avoid bumping into Rose again, but it proved impossible.
The woman was everywhere, working as hard as everyone else. She didn’t do anything half-assed. After she mucked stalls, the damn things practically sparkled, and when she fed the animals, she double- and triple-checked she’d given the exact amount needed.
Eventually, he didn’t need to look for her to know where she wasat every moment, and he couldn’t blame it on his demon because even though the bastard had been closer to the surface since the run-in with Julius, he was also eerily content.
That’s why Damian spent a good portion of the day looking over his shoulder, half-expecting Julius to pop in and screw things up. Only when the night finally wound down did he let himself relax.
Rose and Terrance sat in the birthing stall with Bella and the puppies, and the witch’s soft giggle as the critters climbed all over her lap nearly sounded like music. She looked his way as he passed to the office and as bad as he wanted to go and join them, it wasn’t a good idea. Instead, he headed to the clinic and organized his med cabinet, and when it couldn’t get any more organized, his gaze drifted to the open laptop on his desk.
“We’re getting low on vitamins for Butternut and Squash.” Miguel appeared in the doorway and nodded to the supplements Damian had just inventoried. “I added them to the list for the next supply run.”
Damian nodded, his hands still shifting items around.
“You know moving things around like a jigsaw won’t make more appear, right? Unless you have magical powers to go along with that stubborn attitude.”
“If only this could be solved by Magic,” Damian muttered, not a fan of hocus-pocus, but if a spell could make money appear instantly, he’d be first in line to snatch one up.
Miguel watched him like a hawk. “You saw him again, didn’t you?”
Damian turned to his mentor and grandfather figure. For a Norm, the man was damn perceptive. It wouldn’t surprise him if there was a Supernatural somewhere in his bloodline.
“Don’t know who you’re talking about.” Damian locked up the med cabinet and drifted into the office, Miguel following.
“You may be an adult now, kid, but that doesn’t mean I’ll listen to lies any more than I did when you were a teen.” As Damian took a seat, Miguel propped his hands on the desk. “We both knew that once he figured out you were back in town, it would only be a matterof time before he sought you out. Truthfully, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”
Damian was, too. His brother might put on a good show of indifference, but there wasn’t much in the Supernatural world of which he wasn’t aware… and that included when new demons sauntered into town. Even in a city as big as New York.
“And?” Miguel cocked a bushy white eyebrow. “How did it go?”
“About as well as expected. Barely veiled guilt. A dash of threat. Pinch of attempted intimidation. And a heap of implied extortion. The only reason Jules didn’t go the full gamut was because Rose was there.”
