magic. I think about it until my head hurts, and don’t fall asleep again until the sun starts to rise.
When I get up, Ethan is in the kitchen making breakfast. He’s wearing those dark gray sweatpants again, and I pause in the hall, admiring his muscular backside. And then Hunter runs over and gives me away.
“Morning, sunshine,” Ethan says, looking over his shoulder. The smell of coffee and bacon fill the air. “I raided your fridge. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay, and I’m really glad I went grocery shopping yesterday.” I come into the kitchen, stopping behind him and resting my hands on his sides. “And seriously, Ethan, you’re going to spoil me and make me expect this. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He turns down the burner and sets the metal tongs on the counter next to the oven. “If making you breakfast means I get to wake up next to you, then I’ll gladly cook every damn morning.” He turns and takes me in his arms, lips going to my neck. My eyes flutter shut, and I arch my neck, moaning softly as I bring my arms up, fingers catching on the bandage on his arm.
“Shit, sorry,” I say and open my eyes. “I should change that, and did you take your morning antibiotic yet?”
“Not yet. I’ll wait until breakfast is done.” He looks at the gauze around his arm. “You’re not bothered by blood?”
I cock an eyebrow. “I feel like we just had this don’t stereotype me talk,” I joke. “And I better not be bothered by blood since I assist with surgeries at work.”
“Right.” He starts to ball up his t-shirt, which I’m still wearing, and kisses me again. The bacon on the stovetop pops, and we break apart so I can get my first aid supplies and he can flip the bacon. I put everything on the table and motion for him to sit.
“Does it hurt?” I ask as I carefully unwrap the gauze.
“It doesn’t feel good,” he replies. “But it’s not too bad.”
“Sure,” I say, not believing him. “I hate when I get a paper cut, and here you are acting like three deep cuts from demon claws are no big deal.”
“Paper cuts are fucking painful,” he says, and we both laugh. “And you use your fingers for everything.”
“Yeah, you do.” I wiggle my eyebrows, and he brings his non-injured arm around me. I get the gauze off and grimace when I see his skin. “This looks bad, Ethan. Really bad. I think you should go get real stitches.”
Ethan looks down at his arm. “It’s not pretty. Jules usually does better than that.”
“I think she did pretty well, considering.” I toss the bloody gauze in the trash and twist the cap off a bottle of peroxide. “This screams infection. Can I please take you to the ER for real medical treatment?”
“We don’t have time for that.”
“Right now, we do,” I go on and try to appeal to his logical side. “And say this does get infected and you become septic. You can’t protect me when you’re dying of a blood infection.” I wet another piece of gauze with the peroxide and dab it against the wound, which bubbles immediately. “I’m worried, okay?” I look into his eyes. “What if it were me?”
Ethan’s jaw tenses and then he sighs. “I would have driven you to the hospital right away.”
“Exactly. Can I take you?”
“After breakfast?”
I smile. “Yeah. We can’t waste that bacon.”
“Invite them over,” Ethan says, glancing down at my phone. Harrison started a group text along with Laney, asking if I’m still alive since I dropped a bomb on them yesterday, telling them demons want me dead, and haven’t said a word since. “It’s hard to maintain friendships once you’re involved with monsters,” he adds gently. “But Laney has been your friend for years and your brother is family. Being open and honest is probably the best way to go, and I kinda can’t believe I’m suggesting that.”
After spending several hours waiting in the ER for Ethan to get properly patched up, we went to his dad’s place to look through more books. I tried drawing the bird-demon for Julia, but it ended up looking like something a child drew when trying to illustrate their nightmare. It’s late in the evening now, and we’re back at my house, going through my Book of Shadows for any sort of clue to why Aunt Estelle would bind my powers, but so far, I haven’t found