The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,22

dove."

I didn't actually need to put my book away, but I still did, tucking it on the bottom shelf of the table beside the couch. That took long enough that Sia was in her room with the door closed before I stood back up. All around us, the others were quickly heading off to their own beds, almost as if they were escaping the coming explosion. Evidently, the tension wasn't as gone as I'd hoped.

"She knows you were lying," I told Nick.

"I wasn't lying," he assured me. "I was making a polite excuse to save her pride. Yes, she knows it. She also appreciates it." Then he set his book on the top level of that table. "You sure you're ok with this?"

"She will be between us," I insisted.

"Bel," Nick said, a sigh following right after. "I'm asking if you would rather I found an excuse to stay out here."

I shook my head. "We know that this will happen. She will want it, and we cannot tell her no. You and I need to get comfortable with the idea, so Sam is right." Then I crossed my arms. "But I want to rub on her. To ease her body."

"Alone?" Nick asked. "Because I can find an excuse to take a while."

I had to think about that for a moment. In my mind, I'd imagined us alone, but the truth was that I didn't need to hide from him. I wasn't ashamed of wanting to care for my woman. Not at all! It was more that I felt as if there was some unspoken competition between Nick and me. He was strong. He was powerful. And unlike me, he was romantic.

"Can you make it not weird?" I asked.

He just bent over his knees and scrubbed at his face. "Bel, this is pretty weird. I can try, but I'm having as much trouble with this as you are."

"So maybe we should not?" I asked. "I do not want to cause a problem for her."

"No problems," Nick assured me. "I honestly just want to spend some time with my girlfriend - and so do you."

I bobbed my head in a slow and continuous nod. "We need to get over this."

"We do," Nick agreed. "We also need to make sure that she doesn't feel like she's pushing us."

"But this is our idea," I reminded him. "Why would she feel guilty?"

Nick just shrugged. "Why did she feel guilty about Sam? Or being with you? I don't honestly know, but we all know that she did. All I'm saying is that we need to get used to sharing her, because I really do want her to stay with us for the rest of eternity. I also don't want to spend the next century planning out a schedule so we don't accidentally have an awkward moment. She's already stressed about her period. She doesn't need us making tonight any worse."

"I want to make it better," I told him. "I want to spoil her."

"And can I do the same?" Nick asked.

I found myself smiling. "I will rub her body, and you can hold her while she falls asleep." Then I realized another problem. "What side of the bed do you use?"

"I don't care," he assured me.

"I want the right side. That way, I will sleep toward her, not away."

Nick leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "We can do this, Bel. We're just helping each other take care of our Muse, right?"

"Yes. And next time will be easier." I glanced back at the door of her room. "You know that she hurts?"

"I noticed," he assured me. "She's embarrassed that we all know, but we have to prove to her that being a woman in a group of men is allowed."

"And make her feel pretty," I told him. "Not just for sex, but because she is a piece of art. Because we love all of her, in all of her states."

"Kinda what I was thinking," he agreed. "Just do me a favor? Don't laugh when I turn into a mush with her? Don't give me a hard time for the things I say? Because you will hear it, and..."

"It's hard," I agreed. "To expose my tender feelings in front of others makes me feel weak, but I won't listen to you, if you promise not to listen to me, ok?"

"How's this?" he said, making his way to his feet. "You give her that massage to make her feel better, and I'll get rid of today's garbage? I'll probably