Buttercup (Spell Library #10) - Helen Scott Page 0,25

wasn't about to change it for anything though. And this afternoon? I was going to bend Buttercup over this bed and have her screaming my name and begging for me to let her come. Those thoughts needed to wait though.

Within an hour the three of us were showered and cleaned up. Buttercup's purple patches were fading, and I suspected that they would only be visible when the demon in her came forth and fed.

"I can't leave the house looking like this!" She cried as she walked out of the bathroom gesturing to the purple that was visible on her lips and chest.

"I can show you how to hide it, if you want?" I asked, not wanting to assume anything.

She nodded mutely, looking adorable with her lip pouting just a little. I wanted to bite it. Gods, I hadn't been so horny for such an extended period of time since I was a teenager. I mentally slapped myself and got my head straight.

"When you glamour your wings what does it feel like?" I asked.

"Kind of like wrapping them up and tucking them away for safekeeping," she replied. I got the feeling that those words belonged to someone else, her mother, maybe, and she was just repeating them.

"Okay, so take that feeling and extend it outward. Wrap all the sections of your body that are a different color and tuck them away with your wings, picturing your skin looking the way it did before."

She closed her eyes, and the purple patches flickered on her skin before fading away completely. Her skin went back to its normal pale color.

I reached up and cupped the side of her face, looking her in the eyes. "You've done it. I just want you to know that you never have to hide in front of us. I think I'm safe to speak for Cas when I say, we love those purple patches because they will always remind us of the night we found our mate, and will never feel any different about you because of them. Even if you were completely purple, I wouldn't care, and I'm sure Cas wouldn't either."

"Not a damn bit," the other man called from across the room as he pulled his shoes on.

"Shall we?" I asked, offering her my arm like a gentleman.

She took it, and we all walked downstairs and out of the shop. It was only when I caught my reflection in the window that I realized I'd forgotten my own glamour. I quickly pulled the magic around me like an old, comfy sweater.

"You know Silver Springs is warded so humans wouldn't see your demon form even if you walked around town like that, don't you?" Buttercup asked.

A deep unease stirred in my gut. "I don't trust the wards, plus, even as open minded as the residents of Silver Springs are, people still freak out when they see a full-on demon walking around. I don't know if it's the red skin, or maybe the combo of that with the horns and tail, but it generally helps if I hide at least some, if not all, of it, unless I want to start a panic."

She stopped walking and I stopped with her. When her hand touched my cheek, I leaned into it. Her skin was cool against my own. "I just want you to know that you never have to hide in front of us," she said, throwing my own words back at me before continuing, "I don't care if people look at us strangely, or cross the street when they see us coming, or whatever it is they do, I just want to be with you and for you to be with me, for you both to be with me."

"I appreciate the sentiment, sweetness, but until you've lived that way it's hard to understand how much it can impact your daily life. There's a reason I tend bar for a bunch of bikers and dino shifters." I shrugged.

"Fair enough. I just want you to know you never have to hide from me," she said and tugged on my sleeve, having me lean down so she could kiss me on the cheek. The gesture warmed my heart, and that flame inside me that I'd fallen asleep watching, grew a little more. We walked into Yes Now, Bob and the hostess seated us, smiling as she recommended the waffles with real maple syrup.

10

Buttercup

Breakfast, or rather brunch, at Yes Now, Bob was amazing. The conversation flowed so easily between the three of us