the long day to be over. It’s just after two a.m., so the bar is closin’, the last of the demons filterin’ out.
Flint was playin’ his banjo tonight, and I have to admit, it’s more charmin’ than ear gougin’ like I thought it might be. But what ain’t so charmin’ are the female demons that flock down to the bar to watch him play. My eyes cut over to the door, where he’s tryin’ to extricate himself from his adorin’ fans. My hand wrings the rag tighter than I need to.
Alder follows my gaze and chuckles. “We better go rescue Flint before they try to sink their claws into him.”
I really shouldn’t be jealous that he has four demons fawnin’ all over him. I mean, if desperate and cloyin’ is Flint’s thing, that’s his cross to bear. I just wish it didn’t bother me so much.
Flint and Alder are still flirty. Innuendo drops so much in our conversations that I feel the need to yell bombs away to warn people, and yet, they haven’t made a single move.
I’m not in a rush or anythin’, but they seem interested and yet...nothin’. Maybe I’m readin’ this all wrong. It’s possible that they are just flirty by nature and I keep gettin’ stuck in the crossfire, and it’s not me that they’re actually aimin’ for. But even as I think that, it doesn’t quite ring true. They watch me like I’m their favorite dessert, but I can’t seem to get them to just take a bite. I’m on edge, sexually and emotionally, and I just want them to do somethin’.
I’m probably feelin’ grumpier about the whole situation because I promised myself I wouldn’t take matters into my own hands when it comes to the flirtin’ until I knew for sure I was lucky number three when it comes to guardin’ this gate. But it’s gettin’ real hard not to just outright ask if these guys are going to put up or shut up. Especially when I have to watch other demons flirt with them every time we’re at the bar.
And speakin’ of other demons, we’re still waitin’ for word from the other Hellgate Guardians, who apparently suck at returnin’ phone calls. Alder says he thinks they’re tied up, but at this point, I’m startin’ to wonder if he means that literally, because how hard is it to pick up the damn phone?
I must not wipe the jealous look from my face fast enough as I continue to glare over at the demons talkin’ to Flint, because Alder chuckles as I come out from behind the bar. He takes the rag from me that I didn’t realize I was still wringin’ and sets it on the bar before claspin’ my wrist, tuggin’ me forward. The two of us approach where Flint is cornered near the door. I roll my eyes at a high-pitched giggle that ricochets around my brain and has me feelin’ dumber just from listenin’ to it.
“Ladies,” Alder says smoothly by way of greetin’.
Two of them shoot him a welcoming, seductive smile, but the other two don’t take their eyes off Flint. They’re pretty enough, I guess, though three of them have horns and one has a tail. “You wanna come back to our place?” one of them purrs.
Flint is scowlin’, like this entire thing is makin’ him uncomfortable. “He’s gonna have to pass, but y’all have a nice night,” I say, cuttin’ in.
All four sets of demon eyes swing over to me. One pair glows like a cat’s. “Who’re you?” she asks, and I don’t like her tone at all.
“I’m his—” My words cut off abruptly when my mind catches up with my errant mouth. What in the hell do I even think I’m doin’? Maybe Flint wants to go home with them. Maybe my nobody ass shouldn’t be buttin’ in. Because the truth of the matter is, who am I to him and Alder, anyway? “Bartender,” I finish lamely, after too long of a pause.
The females don’t look impressed or threatened by my presence at all. The ruby-red-skinned one leans in and sniffs me. “What, are you an Ūnus or something? You think you’re better than us just because we’re Tres demons?”
“No. I don’t give a lick what Ring of Hell you’re from. I’m just very committed to my job, and the bar closed at two. So you ladies gotta take it outside.”
“Fine,” the green-haired demon says. She wraps a hand around Flint’s wrist and starts to stomp off, but