The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,1

to working on my little nature scene.

Capturing the iridescence on the pixie's wings was going to be a challenge, but the plant was easy. Here on Tyrnigg, they had a fullness to them that Earth plants didn't. I hated to use the term fleshy, but it fit. Mostly, because we ate the things for dinner. Nick could do some pretty impressive stuff with a flower.

And speaking of Nick, I leaned again, trying to catch a glimpse of the stone table. That was where he, Ronwe, and Luke should be. Sam had mentioned his idea about adjusting the time bubble into a protective shield that also allowed our real bodies to show. His thinking was that it would make this house the only place in all five realms where I could be human while he was a demon and Luke was an angel. Currently, we all looked like fairies, and it really wasn't the best look for my guys.

Not that they looked bad! Oh, not by a long shot. Sam's carnation pink skin worked for him in a way I wouldn't have expected. It was just that his eyes were just a little too large and "innocent" looking. Since Sam was anything but, it made him look younger. Maybe too young. I could get behind the beautifully pointed ears, but the long arms and legs were just a bit disproportionate. My demons were not built like supermodels. They were big, strong, and very, very manly.

"What?" Sam asked, trying to follow my eyes.

"Just checking on the guys," I said as I filled my brush with paint again.

He chuckled. "Hoping to catch Nick and Luke sucking face, huh?"

"Maybe," I mumbled.

But of course, he heard me. "I don't think it's going to be that easy," he said, sounding almost resigned. "They've been denying this for a very long time, sweetie. Some habits are hard to break."

"Yeah, but Nick's..."

He didn't let me finish. "He's accepted that you like it when he's with a guy. He's still coming to terms with the fact that loving another man doesn't make him feminine or weak." And he lifted a hand. "In the scheme of our lives, it's been a split second that people haven't thought that way."

"Yeah…" I tried for a second time.

Again, he spoke over me. "Luke's not going to make the first move. He never has - at least not inside the legion. Look, for him, it's a fear of screwing things up and a fear of losing the only people he has left." And he ended with a pointed look that made it clear Luke hadn't been alone in that.

I could only sigh, trying not to sound bitchy when I did it. "Sam, I was wondering how Ron was handling it! Having Nick flirt right in front of him? And we both know that Ron kinda has a little hero worship going on."

"Oh."

So I stretched my leg out to tap Sam's calf. "But you sound kinda jealous."

"Fuck off," he grumbled playfully. "No, I'm just..." He huffed, searching for the right words. "Sia, I don't do jealous. Never really have. I get hurt, and I won't deny that, but jealousy? Not really my thing. I'm kinda a 'more is better' type of guy."

I made one last swipe on my canvas, then set my brush down. "Nothing wrong with that," I assured him as I sat up.

"You sure? Because I'm honestly happy for Nick. I'm thrilled he's not trying to make himself fit into some mold that was made for a human. I just know that the more he accepts that it's ok to be with guys, stops hiding it when he gets angry, and everything else, that it might make you feel like you're being ignored or replaced, but you're not. I swear."

I heard him. I honestly did, but my attention had gone elsewhere. Because when I changed position, I felt something. It was the kind of thing that women simply understood after a certain age. Somewhere inside my body, something was a little too... damp. It had been a long time since I'd felt that, but only because of the birth control I used.

No, wait. Shit. I'd last taken a shot on Earth just before I started college. That had been at the end of August. So, what day was it? Never mind that! Did it even work if I made new bodies? Shit! Oh, shit shit shit shit. This was the first warning of my period, and the last date I remembered was in