Demon Hunting with a Dixie Deb - Lexi George Page 0,106

from a lack of rational communication.

I wanted to—Grim kicked at the leaves, feeling awkward and stupid. Gods, he was anxious and shy as a virgin. In truth, he was a virgin, for nothing before Sassy mattered. I wanted to surprise her.

You wish to—as the poets would say—woo Sassy?

Aye. That and so much more. Grim longed to demonstrate, in some small measure, the shattering depths of his feelings for her.

Bah. This was a waste of time. The Provider was not flesh and blood. He could not understand.

Never mind. Grim turned to go. My pardon for disrupting your ruminations.

Hold, Dell said. I have an idea. Here is what I think you should do . . .

Chapter Thirty-Two

Grim set to work putting up the shield, and the air shimmered with magic. Always the warrior, Sassy thought. Always protective and in control.

She, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. Mother-of-pearl, what a time to develop the jitters. This beautiful, stubborn, impossibly wonderful man wanted her—and God knows she wanted him—so why was she acting like a wallflower at a middle school dance?

Terrified no one would ask her to dance. Petrified someone would.

She hadn’t been nervous the first time she and Wes had sex. Why now?

Because you weren’t in love with Wes.

True story.

Because you told Grim you love him and he hasn’t said it back.

Was she on a roll, or what?

Because you’re head over heels in love with a man you’ve known three days, which is plain old nuts.

She preferred to think of it as spontaneous.

Because there’s no going back. Grim has your heart, and you’re scared to death he’s going to break it.

Well. Give her a big ole prize for self-awareness.

Grim glanced over his shoulder at her, and Sassy’s pulse rate kicked into high gear. Heat spread from her breasts to the place between her legs. Her skin felt tight and tingly. He was so big and unrelentingly male. What would sex be like with him? Did he like it hard and fast or exquisitely slow?

Either one would be Jim Dandy fine with her. No, both, one after the other. Again and again.

Meredith was right. She was a sluthole when it came to Grim. Her fairymones were out of control.

Sassy removed her sandals and retreated to the edge of the quiet pool to cool off. She took a seat on a mossy rock. The water was deep and clear. At one end, a rocky bluff rose some ten feet. At the summit of the crag, two trees clung together across a split boulder, trunks and limbs entwined in a lover’s embrace. The little stream flowed between them and danced down the face of the cliff. Fish darted along the bottom of the pool.

Vroom, vroom, vroom, a large green bullfrog called from the opposite bank.

The bullfrog plopped into the water; its strong back legs propelled it to the bottom of the pool. The frog resurfaced not far from Sassy. Crawling out of the water, the big croaker hopped up with something flat and rectangular in its wide mouth.

Buhdurp. The bullfrog deposited its find at Sassy’s feet, slid back in the water, and swam away.

Sassy picked up the frog’s gift and examined it. It was her driver’s license, the one she’d lost in the creek. The girl in the laminated photograph smiled back at her, a stranger with flawless hair and makeup and a magazine smile. The life mapped out for that girl would be smooth and seamless. No big surprises, no terror or major troubles. No lost love or heartbreak.

No magic or giddying joy, either.

Sassy pressed the driver’s license to her cheek in farewell. That girl and her life were gone. Sassy wouldn’t go back if she could. She was done playing it safe. She was in love, gloriously in love with Grim Dalvahni. She would open her heart to her demon hunter. She would love him so hard, so completely, so openly and without fear that the universe would shudder at her recklessness.

She tossed the card in the water. It floated on the surface for a moment and sank from view.

Eager to find Grim, Sassy leaped to her feet and whirled around. She gasped in wonder. The glade had been transformed. Slender pillars sprouted at the four edges of the dell, soaring stone fronds of rose and silver marble crowned by a glass dome. Pink and cream roses hung in fat droplets from the willowy columns, their intoxicating scent thick in the air. The afternoon light sparkled on the crystal roof and danced