The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,75

it to actually heat up, I couldn't help but wonder how things would change if we all came back.

It wasn't fair for me to always spend the night with Nick. And yet, all of my clothes were in here. He'd made space in the drawers for me. Still, this was the blue room. Nick was blue. That meant this was his room, not mine, not even really ours. If I was going to be with these guys for the rest of eternity, and we were going to be using this house, then we’d have to talk about that. I could only guess that Sam and Bel might have strong opinions. Ron usually didn't, but he probably had a soft opinion.

That was where my mind went while I enjoyed the heat and pressure of the modern shower on Earth. Once, long ago, Nick had made a comment about how frivolously we humans use water. Now, I could finally understand what he meant. Bathing in a brook worked, but it wasn't exactly luxurious. It made me feel more like I was out camping than actually getting clean. Hell had been even worse. There, the water was so rare that use of it was tightly controlled.

For a moment, I thought about shaving my legs, but that would really be a waste. It'd probably be easier to just magic that off, but I didn't know how. Not yet, at least. Besides, these men were used to women who lived in a time long before razors. If they couldn't deal with a little bit of stubble, then someone had bigger problems. Granted, I wasn't sure if that was me or them. Maybe both.

Eventually, I was as clean as I was going to get. I stepped out and dried my hair with a wonderfully thick and soft towel, and wound a second around my body. I found my brush beside the sink, so I worked the knots out of my hair, paused to use actual mint-flavored toothpaste, and then headed into the room to find some clean clothes.

Luke was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the side wall, with a long, narrow cardboard box in his hands. That, he bounced lightly against the fingers of his opposite hand, but stopped when he heard my feet on the carpet. Without looking, a smile spread across his face.

"Figured you might as well do this now," he said. "So, how about you grab some clean clothes, go back in the bathroom, pee on a stick, and then we can wait together?" Finally, he turned his head to look at me. "Because I know what it's like to need a little moral support."

As I took the box from his hands, I leaned in to press a kiss against his brow. "You do know that your boyfriend is supposed to be my best friend, right?"

"Is there really a rule that says you can only have one?"

"If there is," I told him, "then I'm pretty sure I was meant to break it. I'll be right back."

18

Lucifer

When Sia came out of the bathroom, she said we had to wait for five minutes. I grabbed my phone and set a timer. It may have been the longest five minutes of my life. Beside me, Sia sat with her hands clasped in her lap, staring at the ground. I could tell she was worried. The chances of her being pregnant were astronomically low, and yet she still wanted to be sure. I couldn't exactly blame her.

So I scooted a little closer, until our legs just touched. "It's going to be negative," I told her.

"Yeah, but what if it's not?"

I couldn't help myself. My hand moved to her back, and I gently caressed the line of her spine. "Then we'll figure it out. Do you feel pregnant?"

"I don't even know what that would feel like!" She told me.

"Me either," I admitted. Then I decided to change the subject, because this wasn't making her feel any better. "So, you going to tell me about Ron's first time?"

That made her giggle, even if it was half-hearted. "He's really sweet, you know? And I love the way that he’s so shy and yet also not, all at the same time. You know how I managed to fix his body - I mean, that's why he was naked in the first place - and then things just kinda went from there."

I ducked my head so I could see her face a little better. "Are you blushing?"

"No!" she insisted.

And