The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,8

hard that is to accept. Time is the one thing that our legion has plenty of. Turn your charm on Luke."

I just moved behind him, dropping an arm to the counter on either side of his lithe body as my lips hovered beside his ear. "I'm bad at making the first move too."

He just shook his head, the movement tiny, almost like he didn't want to. "No, you're pretty good at it."

"How's this?" I said instead. "If there's ever a situation, then know that I'm not opposed. Until then, I'll try to behave."

First, he ducked his head, then - slowly - he turned to look at me from the corner of his eye. "I don't mind. I just know I'll be stupid, and probably embarrass myself. I also know that seeing me fumble seems to make Sia feel a little more confident, and I know my pride will heal."

And those words made me lean back. "Ron..." I tried.

He just kept scrubbing at Sia's pants. "I'm kinda new at this, Nick."

"No." I made him stop, pulling his arm so he faced me. "I do not ever want you to feel embarrassed. You are not the honorable mention award, ok? No one should ever make you feel uncomfortable."

"Shh," he said, pressing his palm to my chest. "Nick, listen to me. Being noticed makes me embarrassed. Being treated like I'm useful does it too. Sexy? It's a good feeling, but I haven't yet learned how to deal with it. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It also is a very different kind of uncomfortable. The good kind." Then he smiled. "But you're cute when you get overprotective. Now go take care of our girl. I'll put these up to dry and start on her rune. The guys will be back soon enough."

I just gaped at him for a moment, trying to take all of that in. Unfortunately, the only reply I could think of didn't seem to fit. I said it anyway. "We should've found you a long time ago. You really do belong with us."

And then I left, because he was right. I didn't know how to deal with this, and I felt kind of embarrassed, but in a good way.

3

Lucifer

I took us to the town I knew best. The same one where Sia had gone to college. Arriving in the corridor, all it took was a simple push to slip us to a Wal-Mart. Bel and I walked through the veil, appearing in the casual clothing of Earth, and kept going. We'd both done this often enough that it was a habit now. Even Bel, because he'd been making the most trips back, desperately trying to learn everything about modern humans that he could in his efforts to relate to his girlfriend.

And I was pretty sure he'd mastered it. Sure, he still had an accent, but the fact that he was wearing jeans and a maroon-colored t-shirt meant he'd changed clothes at some point. I was also pretty sure he'd gotten a haircut. His skin on this plane was that of a black man, and his hair matched. The tight curls of it had been styled, twisted on top to look like a normal college guy. The sides were cut in a fade that worked really well for him. Well enough that a pair of girls leaving the store couldn't help but giggle as they tried to sneak a peek.

"You've put in some effort," I said, hoping it sounded casual.

He grinned, never bothering to look at me. "She finds me attractive."

"Most people find you attractive," I pointed out.

He didn't reply as we passed through the first set of sliding doors, but as he angled his feet toward the carts, he said, "She will need things, right?"

I could only nod, pausing for a second to look at the assortment of fliers taped to the wall over the carts. A lot of them seemed to be for missing teens and college students. It made me wonder if this side of town was urbanizing faster than I thought, increasing the crime rate along with it. Or maybe our quiet college town had simply grown more than I realized, and the problems along with it.

"She'll need a few things," I agreed. "We'll need some supplies for the bathroom, too. Like a trash can."

"Housewares," he said, aiming the cart for the main aisle of the store like he was a natural.

I waited until we were past the main group of people at the front, then