Page 57 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
Her gaze flickered from his eyes to his mouth to his eyes, her heart beating so fast he could see its flutter at the base of her throat. “Then that’s what I’m proposing. What do you say? Are you in?”
He should besoout, every one of his internal alarms—the ones that had kept him alive through years of Hunting—blaring like a damn tornado siren in his head.
“I say yes,” Damian heard himself answer, “but with one caveat.”
“Let me guess… no emotions involved? Pretty sure that’s the definition of an FBA.”
“That, too, but I should warn you that shifters aren’t the only Supernaturals who are territorial with their Mates… or their toys.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits as Magic surged beneath her skin. “Did you call me atoy?”
His lips twitched. “I just meant I don’t share well. You and me. That’s it.”
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of no strings? If there aren’t emotions involved, what does it matter if we continue to keep ourselves open to see other people?”
He brushed his nose against the curve of her neck as he spoke. “It matters because when I’m fucking you, I better be the only one you’re thinking about.”
She swallowed audibly. “Oh. That… shouldn’t be a problem. I can barely manage one grumpy demon veterinarian in my life. I can’t imagine throwing another person into the mix. But if either of us gets into the position where they don’t want to follow that caveat anymore, we notify the other person. Sound fair?”
“Makes sense.”
“Then we have a deal…” She stuck out her hand.
He ignored it and brushed a soft, slow kiss along her lips and across her jaw. “We have a deal.”
Her breathing hitched. “So I guess I’ll be seeing you around…”
He forced himself to take a step back, reminding himself about the cranky animals waiting for him downstairs. “We’ll most definitely be seeing each other around.”
He saw her downstairs to where the Ryde she’d evidently ordered already sat waiting to take her home despite his protests. Just as she was about to climb into the sedan, Miguel and Terrance showed, the two men watching knowingly.
“Uh… hi… and bye. See you guys later.” Rose’s cheeks flushed bright red as she waved and disappeared into the car.
With a humorous grin on his face, Damian watched the Ryde cardisappear down the lane, and turned to face two distinctly different expressions.
Terrance waggled his eyebrows like a comic book character, giving him a thumbs-up, while Miguel’s neutral expression slowly turned into a frown. The teen snuck a wary look at the older man and quickly disappeared into the barn, muttering about stall-mucking.
Damian tucked his hands into his jeans. “You have something to say, old man?”
“I have plenty to say. Just figuring out which I should say first. Are you sure you know what the hell you’re doing, son?”
“I thought you liked Rose.”
“I do… a whole hell of a lot… but you know what I mean, Ian. She’s not some faceless woman you picked up at the bar. She’s working here—at least temporarily—and she’s the sister of your best friend’s Mate. If things go bad, it’ll not only bring a lot of drama, but hurt feelings and worse.”
The hex.
Miguel was one of a select few who knew about it, the path he’d been on to earn it, and the fallout that came afterward. As hard as he’d fought to get the damn thing removed, it did come with a small benefit. It woke his demon ass up, or more accurately, put the bastard into a deep sleep.
Damian hadn’t realized what was on the line until he’d pissed off his ex by not performing what she’d called The Big Gesture. To this day, he still didn’t understand, and he wasn’t so sure that he ever would.
“Ian.” Miguel’s worried voice pulled him away from his thoughts. “You know you’re walking a fine line here, right?”
“I have no intention of hurting Rose. And,” Damian added when his mentor’s mouth opened to interject, “there also won’t be any falling in love. Withanyone. But especially not with Rose Maxwell.”
“Intentions don’t mean squat when it comes to matters of the heart. You say that now, and you may even believe it, but when lovecomes around it doesn’t give a damn if you never planned for it to happen. Trust me. I know. Pretty much those exact words left my lips when Marisol and I started things up.”
He clapped the older man on the shoulder. “I got it covered, Miguel.”
