Sin & Salvation (Demigod of San Francisco #3)(45)

“What are you, an interpretative oracle when it comes to Demigods peeing on their booty of the month?” Bria asked, effectively ruining my nice little moment.

Jack laughed. “I’m a shifter. An ability to read the nuances of possession keeps us alive and our girlfriends ours.”

Bria’s face soured. “Because another man might move in on your girl if you didn’t stake your claim like a barbarian? What, you figure he’d be able to take her from you because women don’t have the brain power to choose for themselves?”

Mordecai took a step back like he was ready to flee.

Jack laughed harder. “You think men are the only ones who stake a claim on their significant others?” He jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t you remember who started it? Alexis tied up the man’s soul. His soul! That shit’s cray-cray—”

“You’re too old to say cray-cray,” Mordecai said reasonably.

“Even if she was supposed to be a booty of the month,” Jack continued, “and I don’t think he ever saw her that way, she made that shit permanent.”

“That soul thing isn’t permanent,” Bria retorted.

“It’s permanent now,” I muttered, my face heating. Bria’s shocked face rounded on me. I threw up my hands. “I didn’t mean to. His magic was searing across my skin and… I… It just felt right.”

Mordecai stuffed his hands into his pockets. “It took me a while to come around, but not many men are strong enough to protect Alexis in a way she can’t protect herself. And even fewer men are confident enough to accept her attitude and independence.” Even though his voice was soft, it somehow cut through the room, keeping the rest of us quiet. “He’s everything she’s always asked the ceiling for after coming home from the bar. And even if he wasn’t…he makes her happy in a way nothing else ever has. I want her to finally get her miracle.” His intense and heartfelt gaze hit mine. “I think he’s it, Alexis. I really do. I think he’s the miracle you deserve.”

Silence filled the kitchen and heat prickled my eyes.

Bria sighed and shook her head. “Do you know what’s annoying? I can’t form a rebuttal because then I’ll just look like an unromantic asshole.”

“If the shoe fits,” Zorn murmured.

Her jaw dropped and she stared at him for one tense beat. “Really, Zorn?” she demanded, and my small hairs stood on end. I took a step away as Jack shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, fine. What do you see when you look at the magically shackled chick?”

Zorn’s jaw clenched and his eyes glimmered defiantly. He focused solely on Bria when he said, “I see a woman who I will die to protect.”

It didn’t sound like he was talking about me.

“Whom,” Jack mumbled.

Bria rounded on him. “Are you serious?”

He shrugged. “Grammar.”

Bria narrowed her eyes, and another tense beat filled the space. I opened my mouth to make a light joke, but Jack shook his head at me.

Right. A lovers’ spat of some kind. How awkward.

As if on cue, Daisy walked into the room wearing nondescript clothing that made her look completely out of place. Her jeans had no rips or tears, or any style whatsoever. Her black tank, though slightly faded, wasn’t tied at her back to make it fit well, or ripped in a way that made it noticeable. I didn’t see one pop of color. Her ponytail sat at normal height, neither low nor high. Her whole outfit just…was. None of her usual personality accented this look.

“What’s up with you?” I asked as she stopped near the island. “Have you given up your love of flare?”

Her hip cocked out and her eyebrows lowered. “I need to be invisible. What’s up with you?”

“Ha!” Bria pointed at Daisy. “I knew I wasn’t the only one.”

“Non-magical people can see it, too?” Zorn asked Jack.

Jack pulled his lips to the side in thought. “I think to an extent.”

Daisy looked around the room and then back at me. Her expression flattened. “I’m not dense. I know about the morning-after glow, or whatever. Ew. Watch a movie and you know about that. But…did he get you new lotion or something? Your skin is practically glowing.”

Bria’s chin dropped. “Wait.” She put out a hand to Daisy. “That’s what you see? Are you saying you are cool with your parent hooking up with a possessive, stalking Demigod?”

“That’s exactly what she’s saying.” Jack grinned. “She’s happy about it.”

“He wasn’t stalking her when he first met her. He was trying to work out a potential threat,” Mordecai said.

Indignation crossed Daisy’s face. “Look. Do I think she should be shacked up with that guy? Obviously, no—”

“Liar,” Jack whispered with a grin.

“—we all know that. He is the worst, even if he wasn’t technically stalking her in the way we all originally thought. But clearly what I say has no effect on her actions, so I’ve moved on. Worry only about that which you can control. Learn how to adapt to everything else.” Daisy paused and Zorn nodded, pride glimmering in his eyes. “I’m adapting. Usually she has a sort of…air about her—”

“It’s happiness,” Mordecai said as Bria said, “It’s insanity.”