Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(85)
“Of course, Gran.” Olive gave him a small smile and left him alone with the Prima.
“Do you mind if I stay here with Rose?” Damian gestured to the chair next to the window. “I’d like to be here when she wakes up.”
“Knock yourself out, my boy. Just not literally. These massive healings take a lot out of these old bones.” The Prima smiled warmly, and gently brought the mug to Rose’s lips where she sipped it once before falling still again. “But I should warn you not to expect her eyes to open anytime soon. She’ll be asleep for the next few hours, if not a day. Ridding the body of Gryndor toxin isn’t a quick process.”
“Consider me warned, Prima Maxwell.”
She winked. “Call me Edie … unless I have reason to be cross with you. Then you can call me Your Worst Nightmare.”
Damian chuckled softly, and when the Prima left him alone with Rose, he pulled the corner chair next to the bed and reached for her hand. Her skin was cool to the touch. He missed her usual warmth instantly, and tried his best to gently rub heat into her fingers.
His heart still hadn’t fully returned to his chest, partly clogging his throat ever since he’d answered Julius’s phone call.
He’d lost track of time when he sensed an unwelcome presence hovering outside the door. Damian stiffened but refused to relinquish his hold or his attention on the woman in front of him.
“If you know what’s good for you, brother, you’ll be gone before she wakes up,” Damian warned, knowing his brother’s scent anywhere.
From the doorway, Julius murmured quietly, “I really am sorry, Damian. I shouldn’t have—”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” Damian growled quietly, his demon once again pushing close to the surface. He took a deep breath before barely turning his head toward his brother. “And we’ll be talking about that at another time that’s not now.”
“I understand.” Jules nodded grimly, and turned to leave.
“And Julius?”
His brother glanced back at him warily. “Yes?”
“Find someone else to do your dirty work because both Rose and I are officially done. Push me on it, or go around me, and you’ll get a firsthand glimpse of the beast you so desperately want me to embrace.”
Julius left without another word.
Damian half-expected Rose to wake up and yell at him for making decisions on her behalf, and it was a lecture he craved hearing like he’d craved nothing before.
Even to retain what remained of his humanity.
21
It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere
Rose bolted upright with a sharp gasp, heart lurching in her chest as each breath stumbled over the other in a mad dash to push fresh air into her lungs. The abrupt move sent a searing jolt of pain through her abdomen and she sucked down a hiss.
It took a minute to rein in the double-assault, and while she did, she slowly registered the pale yellow walls and white lacy curtains that looked familiar and yet not. She definitely wasn’t at her place because the room was blessedly warm and her building’s super still hadn’t managed to fix the dilapidated furnace.
Rose kicked the gold-threaded comforter away from her bare legs and peeked beneath the IT’S FIVE O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE T-shirt for the source of the hot, throbbing pain. What she found confused her even more: her braless boobs, and bulky white bandages that wrapped around her torso and covered her from the waist of her panties to the bottom edge of her sternum.
“Definitely didn’t go to sleep with this here.” She poked it. A searing pulse of pain ripped through her abdomen, stealing her breath. “Found the source. What the hell…?”
A mummified abdomen. A pounding headache. Gran’s clothes. How the hell did she get to Athens, and into Edie’s bed? And why?
Did she get hit by a Mack truck? Or maybe a bicycling tourist finally took her out because let’s face it, it was only a matter of time before that happened. Throwing together busy, narrow roads and out-of-towners who didn’t know how to navigate them was a multi-vehicle accident waiting to happen.
Shifting slowly in bed, Rose worked her way through her fuzzy memories, starting with the last fully formed one and working backward. The Gryndor. At Times Square, she’d climbed out of Julius Kontos’s Audi and …
Loud shouts, two of which were distinctly male tones, erupted from her gran’s living room. Something crashed, the sounds drilling a pain-wave right through her temples. Vi’s not-so-veiled warning went ignored as two freight trains slammed together.
Enough was enough.
Pulling up her big witch panties, Rose sucked down a groan and padded barefoot to the living room. A vase crashed against the wall, a scant few inches shy of hitting her head.
Vi threw her an apologetic look. “Sorry, sis. I tried dousing them with water to cool things down, but it didn’t work as planned.”
Normally, she’d have a snarky comment at the ready. Instead, she turned to the them her sister had mentioned, and shot both Damian and Julius hard glares. Not that they noticed. Locked in a battle of wills and fists, the two men moved around the room as if it were a boxing ring.
“Pretty sure I told you to be gone.” Damian swung at his brother and Julius ducked, the hit clipping his shoulder instead of landing on his jaw.