Dusk Avenger (Flirting with Monsters #3) - Eva Chase Page 0,13
just to avoid having to fight, right?”
Rarely had I wished quite so much that I could take a glimpse of the contents of her head without breaking her trust. Something about her powers had unnerved her since we’d come to Chicago, but I wasn’t sure why now or what exactly was going through her mind.
It didn’t matter, though. I could still answer truthfully, “Of course. I’d be less surprised by you giving up your ‘80s tunes than by you running from a brawl where you’re needed, Miss Blaze. Woe betide anyone who messes with our mortal.” I stroked my fingers down her jaw, resisting the urge to lean in to claim more than just a caress. “We’ll get Snap back. These pricks don’t stand a chance. And just imagine how overjoyed he’s going to be to see you again.”
“The feeling will be mutual,” she said. From the momentary dreaminess that came into her eyes, she was picturing that reunion right now. If Snap could have seen her like this, he’d never have doubted her devotion enough to run off in the first place.
If she could accept all the monstrous parts of him—the jaws, the whole eviscerating of mortal souls bit—was it possible she might accept all that I was as well, without the lingering fear of how I might pry inside her mind or sway her to my whim? The one thing I knew above all else was I wouldn’t want this woman coming to me on any terms other than her own. It wouldn’t have been worth it to win her by magic, not when I’d had a taste of utterly unclouded yearning.
I shook that desire off like I had so many times in recent days. It was nothing but noise and clutter. But perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if I presented a distraction in this moment that we’d both enjoy quite a lot?
The ring of her phone served as a cockblocker. I managed not to glower at it as she pulled it out of her pocket to check the number. Her jaw tightened.
“Vivi,” she said, and to my surprise, hit the button to dismiss it.
“Did you two have another argument?” I asked.
“No, nothing like that. I just—with everything that’s going on—” She made a face as if she couldn’t find the words to express her reasoning. Then her phone pinged again, this time with a text alert.
As Sorsha read the message, she let out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh my God. I can’t believe I forgot.” Shaking her head, she looked up at me with a twist of her mouth. “She’s wishing me a happy birthday.”
My eyebrows jumped up. Then a smirk crossed my lips. I could give her something even better to take her mind off everything that troubled her. “It’s your birthday today? Oh, Miss Blaze, you’d better believe I’m not letting that pass uncelebrated.”
5
Sorsha
“This really isn’t necessary,” I said as Ruse guided me down the street with his hand shielding my eyes.
“Oh, no, I think it is,” the incubus said by my ear in his chocolatey voice. “Since you met us, we’ve lost you your apartment, your friends, and practically your life on multiple occasions. The least we can do is give you a proper birthday celebration to make up for it.”
He said “we,” but as far as I’d been able to tell, he’d been doing all the actual planning. While Omen had stayed at the wheel of the Everymobile, Ruse had confiscated the hellhound shifter’s phone to do some research on the city, with Thorn looming over him offering not much more than uneasy humming sounds. Once the incubus had worked his charm on the last two guards we’d been able to track down, he’d given Omen directions that the hellhound shifter had accepted with a long-suffering sigh.
I wasn’t sure how much of a birthday celebration I wanted in the first place. Normally I’d have gone out with Vivi and maybe a couple of the other younger Fund members to chow down and let loose, but the thought of the friends I’d left behind made my gut twist now. It was hard to say no to the incubus when he was charging full speed ahead with all his charming enthusiasm, though.
Now we were at our first destination, although I couldn’t tell where the heck that was since Ruse had insisted on escorting me over to it blind.
“You could at least let me see where I’m going,” I groused.