Not Your Ex's Hexes (Supernatural Singles, #2)(87)

“Julius had no business asking you to go on a Hunt by yourself, much less one involving a female Gryndor.” She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “And don’t tell me he went with you. He hasn’t been in the field since he put on his Council suit. He had no business making you think he had your back.”

“Maybe not, but if we hadn’t gone, things would’ve been so much worse. That she-demon didn’t care who she hurt. It was the middle of Times Square, doc. Do you have any clue how many people are in that one-block radius at any given moment?”

Damian carefully sat on the cushion next to her. “Don’t use common sense on me right now, little witch. This isn’t a common sense moment. This is a pissed-off moment and I’d like to be pissed a good while longer.”

As the tension in his shoulders slowly drained, Rose chuckled. “Can we have a napping moment? Because mine was cut short and I’d like to get back to it.”

It was his turn to chuckle.

“Come here.” Damian gently eased her head onto his lap and she curled her legs up, getting into a comfortable position.

His fingers played with her hair, sliding through her scalp, the soft touch making her moan. “That feels really good.”

“At least I can do something right tonight,” he muttered.

She stared up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He glanced away.

“Uh-uh.” Grabbing his chin, she rerouted his attention back toward her. “What did you mean?”

He went quiet, pulling himself away despite her upper body still lying in his lap. He was there, but not there. Something told her if she pushed too hard, he’d disappear completely.

Damian sighed softly. “I can’t even explain the thoughts that went through me when Julius called, and then when he told me to use the DP at his place … fuck. I didn’t hesitate.”

She waited, gently coaxing him to share more. The pained, frustrated look on his face told her she didn’t know what that meant. “And that’s a problem, why?”

“Because when I called on my demon to gain portal access, he was right there. Like, right there, waiting with bated breath to burst free and take his show on the road. The last time he’d been that close to the surface, I’d stood in front of my ex, covered head to toe in Quall demon sludge, listening to her curse me out. Literally.”

He stopped talking, shaking his head as he clammed up.

“Damian…” She gently sat upright, and reached for his hand, but he was already standing.

“I wanted to rip Julius’s head off his shoulders tonight, Rose, and before you tell me that it’s normal for siblings to fight, I should warn you that Julius and I have never been normal anything. We’d been trained to fight since the moment we could walk. If we squabbled over the same toy, there was nearly always blood spilled. And with Ezeil being who he was—when he was actually present—he didn’t stop it. He encouraged it. That’s a damn hard habit to break … especially with my demon riding my ass the way he’s been lately.”

“I’m sorry.” It seemed an inadequate thing to say, but she didn’t know what else to say. Tears gathered in her eyes as she thought about the childhood that Damian must have had, one so different from hers and her sisters’. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Damian looked shocked at the offer, and then he fidgeted, looking ready to climb out of his skin as he shook his head. “If you’re certain you’re okay, I need to get back to the sanctuary to check on the animals. I left pretty abruptly.”

“Sure. Okay.”

Damian placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I’ll check in on you later, but you should take that nap. I’ll let Vi and Olive know you’re here alone. Behave, little witch. Let people help you for once, okay?”

He paused at the door and smiled wanly before disappearing outside.

What the hell happened?

One moment they were serious, and the next, joking. And then in another blink of the eye he practically ran out the door as if she’d suggested a stroll down a wedding aisle. She was still attempting to figure it out when Vi and Olive appeared with a cloudy spark of Magic and the use of their gran’s short-distance teleportation spell.

“What’s going on? Why did Damian leave?” Vi asked, looking as confused as Rose felt. “With the way he was acting all … grrrr … I thought for sure he’d tuck you in for the night, and then tuck himself right next to you.”

“If I knew why I’d explain it to myself first.” A severe flash of white-hot pain quickly overshadowed her worry. “Son of a witch’s … hex me, this hurts.”

“Pain med time!” Vi hustled into the kitchen and immediately pulled out the blender, then strawberries. Next up was ice.

“What pain meds involve frozen fruit?”

Violet pulled out three tall hurricane glasses and plunked them on the counter. “The strawberry margarita kind. Best thing about magical healing that Gran has taught me? No need to avoid alcohol. In fact, it’s highly encouraged, and I am nothing if not a freakin’ cheerleader of encouragement, baby.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to decline, but Damian’s ominous tone and indecipherable look had brought a fresh wave of worry.