Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

9. Chapter IX

Chapter IX

Emily

N ot only had I just received the most intense orgasm of my entire life from being finger fucked in my own studio by a Demon, but I didn’t even know his name.

I never understood how Demon’s could convince others to willingly give up their soul, but this one seemed Hell bent on trying to steal it through my damn pussy. That and I would swear on the Triple Moon Goddess and any Holy entity that ever existed that just his kiss alone was enough to sear him in my heart for all eternity, claiming me; mind, body, and spirit as his.

It was the kind of realm shattering kiss that left you breathless and swooning and honestly, I couldn’t think of a single fucking reason to object when his lips touched mine.

Regardless of my ridiculous crush on him, the fact that he made me weak in the knees, or that he made me come harder than even my battery operated boyfriend with just his hand, this could only be a one time thing.

Even if I took his job, I had enough problems of my own that I didn’t need to add a romantic relationship with a fucking Demon into the mix. After the shit I’d gone through with Erik and moving away from home just to start over, I’d be delusional to make this out to be anything more than it was.

Attraction and sexual frustration.

As I wiped down his tattoo, I admired the way the body of the snake curved just behind his ear, accentuating his strong jaw, before applying the waterproof bandage. I hadn’t meant to tattoo Ghost on him, but when he’d asked for a python, I just couldn’t help myself.

He said he wanted to be marked by me and something about his words incited a burning possession over him. It was just the outline, he’d kept me far too distracted to finish the piece, but I couldn’t wait to see it come alive against his skin once it was complete.

“Where’d you go just now?” He asked, grabbing for my hand.

Pulling away quickly, I put a little distance between us as I tried to gather my thoughts and shove my shriveled dead heart back into its cage where it belonged.

“That - was a mistake. Let me just grab the aftercare ointment for your tattoo and you can head out,” I told him nervously, avoiding his gaze so that I didn’t have to feel shame for what I’d just allowed him to do.

For everything I mentally pleaded for him to do and all the things I still wanted from him.

I could feel his eyes hot on my back as I grabbed the ointment and my hands began to shake from fear. How was he going to handle my rejection? Erik would have lashed out if I’d pushed him away. I could take a Lycan in a pinch, but I had no chance of defending myself against a fucking Demon without proper provisions.

I flinched as he stood up and wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me tightly from behind and whispering things I couldn’t quite make out in my panicked state as I struggled to keep my anxiety at bay.

“Nothing about that was a mistake, Little Witch,” he said through my haze, placing a soft kiss to the top of my head. “But, I’m willing to go at your pace for now. Give me your cell phone number and we can set up a time to finish our chat. Okay?”

Just the smell of him and the feel of his arms around me while he spoke calmed me as I focused on our synchronized breathing, but all I could do was nod.

He stepped back, handed me his cell phone and I punched in my number with trembling hands. When he’d confirmed that my number was in fact there, he pocketed his phone and reached out his hand. He turned me around to face him and lifted my chin with his forefinger, forcing me to meet his stare.

“This isn’t over, Sweet Witch. In fact, this is just the beginning,” he proclaimed as he turned and grabbed his shirt from the edge of the tattoo bed.

I couldn’t help but watch his stomach muscles bunch and ripple as he pulled it over his head before picking up his leather jacket and handing it to me.

“Keep this safe for me until I come back?” He smirked.

He was so sure that I’d help him. So cocky in his belief that I wouldn’t tell him no, as if he’d already seen past all of my many defenses, and knew that I would accept his job regardless of how impossible it would be.

Maybe he knew that I was stronger than I appeared or maybe he could just tell how much I loved a challenge, but he wasn’t wrong about either. The moment he had told me that full covens couldn’t help him, I was chomping at the bit and salivating over the task he presented.

“You’ll catch a cold without it,” I said quickly, accepting his jacket, and mentally scolding myself.

I sounded like a nagging mother.

My feet couldn’t move, they were cemented to the spot, but all I wanted was for him to wrap me in his arms again and never let go. I couldn’t explain this draw that I felt toward him, but it terrified me.

“Oh Sweet Witch, you’re precious. The jacket is for aesthetic purposes and to not raise questions amongst the mortals. I don’t get cold, baby,” he winked, before turning and heading for the lobby.

He paused at the end of the hall and turned to look back at me. “Lock up behind me and make sure to lock the back door too. Anyone could get in and I don’t like the idea of you being alone at night with the doors unlocked.”

He turned around and walked out the front door, stealing my breath and a small sliver of my heart as well. Shit, I was so fucking screwed. Silence filled the space around me as I clutched his jacket to my chest, inhaling his sweet smoky scent and the rich leather of the material.

Demon. He was a fucking Demon and here I was falling for his stunning face and irresistible charm. What the Hell was I doing?

I opened the jacket, pushed one arm through the sleeve and then the other before pulling it tightly around myself and wrapping my arms across my stomach.

Peering over at my desk, I smiled widely at the absurd amount of food that he’d brought tonight before slowly gathering up all the containers and taking them to the kitchen to store in the fridge for later on in the week.

I sat all of the food down on the counter and sighed as I checked the time on the microwave. Midnight . There would be no comfy bed in my future. Too many creatures went bump in the night for a Witch to be roaming the streets alone at this hour and something told me that the Demon wouldn’t be watching over me tonight. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’d slept in my studio and it wouldn’t be my last.

Sometimes, I’d get so lost in my books or sketches that I’d end up passing out at my desk or on the tattoo bed anyway, so I’d made sure to keep essentials on hand in case such an occasion occurred. I loved my house, but between the long drive and the fact that I had no one to rush home to, it just wasn’t worth it when I spent most of my time here anyway.

“Enjoy yourself?” Ghost asked, from the corner of the room where he’d burrowed beneath a spare hoodie that he’d stolen to make a nest.

I jumped and clutched my hand to my chest as I turned to face him. Fuck, how did I forget that he was here?

“Yes, Father,” I mocked, with a roll of my eyes.

I didn’t need his sass. If he was worried about me falling in love again after what Erik put me through, then his concerns were moot. There was no way I was going to put myself through that again, this was just business.

I just had to get my traitorous vagina and my swooning heart on board with my brain. It may have been impossible to hide my emotions from my Familiar, but I wasn’t about to admit them out loud.

I snorted under my breath and locked the back door like the Demon instructed, but as I walked toward my tattoo room, I heard the soft ‘ting’ of the front door opening. Shit, maybe he wanted his jacket back after all, I thought, biting at my lip as I thought about round two.

No, Emily. No round anything. One and done.

I checked my phone while I walked towards the front, making sure I hadn’t missed a text from him and froze as I took in the object of my fucking nightmares.