body, she assumed harboring demons would put any person’s muscles—and soul—into a twist.
“I wish I could have exorcised Grief for you,” she said.
He slid a hand over hers. “It’ll happen. Come here.” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “I was fully present with Grief. I let it speak for me.”
“You...? Certainly?” She touched his cheek, so warm and stubbly. “Do you want to talk about your parents?”
“There’s not much to tell that you probably can’t guess. Witch hunters got them early in the twentieth century. My brother and sister and I watched in horror as their bodies burned at the stake.”
“Goddess,” she whispered, pressing her cheek aside his bare shoulder and wrapping her arm across his chest.
“But not before they committed a grave crime against the Light by summoning something...evil.”
She touched his thigh, reassuring him.
“I have strived for peace ever since.” He settled against the couch. “Vika, before I went to Daemonia my life was a constant, unchanging force. I enjoyed my work at the archives and spent most hours of the day there, researching and studying magics I hadn’t yet mastered. I’ve always been focused on improving my arsenal of the craft. To the detriment of a social life. My best friend, Lucian Bellisario, calls me Brother.”
“Because the two of you are so close?”
“No. It’s because I’ve led a monkish life. Especially regarding my social and sex life. I’d much rather hole up in the archives than hold a conversation or engage a woman in, well...” He sighed. A flick of his tattooed fingers made him smile. “I’m not a complete monk. But I’ve never had a relationship that lasted beyond a week. Nothing that could begin to broach an emotional connection. Nothing that touched my heart.”
How sad. She couldn’t imagine not engaging with others, even if only as friends. That truly was something to grieve. “Because of your parents?”
He sighed. “Perhaps. I’ve been afraid to establish a connection for fear it would be taken away from me. But since I’ve returned from Daemonia with a soul full of monsters, I’ve had a sort of mind adjustment. I don’t want to be a monk. I want to enjoy life. I want to have a relationship. To know love. To know what it’s like to have someone who cares for me and misses me when I’m gone.”
“Everyone should experience that.”
“But I’ve always set it aside.”
“No more?”
He shook his head. “No more. And since I’ve opened myself to this new way of thinking, look what has come to me.”
She nestled against his chest and kissed him at the base of his throat beside the vampire spell. “I care about you, Certainly. And I do miss you when you are away from me.”
“I feel the same. It’s an amazing feeling, yet it hurts to know I can care about someone so much, and to also know if anything ever happened to you I would be torn apart.” He hugged her tightly. “There’s no easy way to have closeness, is there? If I put myself out there, allowing for love and companionship, it is at the risk to my heart.”
She smiled. “That is how it works. Welcome to the real world, Certainly Jones. I hope you stay. And I don’t ever want to hear you’ve plans to return to the place of all demons.”
“I promise you I will not.”
He slid his hand down her back, stroking her softly, and Vika felt a buzz in her loins. “Whoa!”
“What was that? Did I do that?” He studied his tattooed hand. “I didn’t enact any spells.”
“Not that I’d mind.” Vika slid her hand in her pocket. “It’s my phone. Just got a text.” She checked the phone’s tiny screen. “Vika, B careful. Reichardt on warpath 4 U. Can only feed him so many cookies. He’s coming!”
“What the hell?”
Knowing her sister would never kid about something so serious, Vika stood and grabbed CJ’s hand, pulling him to his feet. “The soul bringer is coming for me. We need to ward this place. Fast!”
“All right.” He grabbed her hand and turned her around, so they stood back-to-back. “You know the angelic warding spell?”
“The zymeloz?”
“Yes. Let’s do this!”
* * *
Libby pushed the plate of cookies toward Reichardt while she texted the warning message to her sister.
“Why are mortals so attached to those electronic devices?” he asked, munching a cookie.
“It’s a handy thing. I can send a message to a friend, and it’s faster than calling.”
“It seems impersonal.”
She lifted a brow. Had the soul bringer suggested she