Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

23. Chapter XXIII

Chapter XXIII

Jaxon

D etouring from my initial fantasy of showing up in her bedroom and waking her with one of my cocks buried deep inside of her pussy, I blinked into Emily’s studio to check out the remaining mess.

I planned to clean up a bit more and reorganize her work space so she didn’t have to deal with the aftermath herself, but it appeared that Adrian had already taken it upon himself to send someone in to have the drywall replaced and the building cleaned of all evidence of the attack.

Nothing was ever too much for Adrian. He had a very intense “work hard, play harder” mentality. For him, everything from booze, drugs, sex and gambling, to knowledge and kindness was done in excess. The latter being the case when it came to those he cared about.

He never let anyone know that it was him, but he was the kind of selfless that transcended the norm. Seeing all that he’d done for my Witch warmed me; he hadn’t even met her yet and already he’d accepted her as mine.

I made sure to pop over to the coffee shop that she loved and pick up her favorite muffins and some coffee for the three of us before I found myself standing in their kitchen at nine AM. We hadn’t discussed a time for me to come back, but I couldn’t bear to be away from Emily any longer.

As I blinked into her home, I took a seat at the island and gently blew on my coffee, laughing under my breath as my eyes roamed over a sign hanging above the kitchen window. “Live, Laugh, Lobotomy.”

Four freshly baked loaves of bread sat cooling on the counter, the steam from them rising slowly in the air and filling the home with a sweet smell. Someone was up and from what I knew of my girl, I didn’t think it was my Sweet Witch.

“Good morning,” I announced to Charlie as she rounded the steps into the quiet kitchen.

The scream that came from her was enough to wake the dead and made me wince. If Emily wasn’t awake yet, she definitely was now.

“Sorry. I brought coffee,” I added. A resounding crash echoed from upstairs and we both looked at the ceiling.

“Charlie? Charlie, what is it? Are you okay?” Emily’s sleepy voice yelled from above us.

“Ugh, I’m fine. Your fucking Demon is in our kitchen though,” she shouted back grumpily as she inspected the coffee I’d brought for her and made for the box of muffins.

“Banana chocolate chip, huh?” The corner of her lip pulled up into a knowing smirk before taking a bite. “You know, these are Em’s favorites. You might wanna go upstairs and help her, otherwise she’ll be up there for a while.”

Finishing her muffin in silence, she picked up her coffee and headed out the back door.

I watched for a moment out the kitchen window as she tended to the garden. If I were to place bets I’d say she was a green Witch, but like my Witch, there was something more about her that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I placed my coffee on the counter and pulled out a plate, arranging two muffins side by side and picked up the caramel macchiato I’d ordered for Emily before heading up the stairs. As I entered her room, I watched in amusement while she struggled to fix her overturned nightstand from her bed.

Striding through her room, I righted her nightstand and set the coffee and the plate down as she scooted to sit up against the headboard.

“You’re earlier than I thought you’d be. Shit, I didn’t even get a chance to get dressed,” she said, surprised.

I handed the coffee to Emily then climbed into the bed beside her.

“What can I say? I needed to see you.”

She blushed before taking a sip of her coffee and then picked at one of the muffins, breaking off small pieces to nibble on.

“Disgusting. That’s my cue to leave,” Ghost hissed from the corner of her room before apparating out.

I grinned and quirked an eyebrow at Emily as she rolled her eyes.

“He’s a bit standoffish and he’s always grumpy. I promise, it’s not just you. Thank you for this by the way. Banana chocolate chip is my favorite,” she told me bashfully.

I smiled at her as she continued to eat her muffin. She was so damn cute, but I couldn’t think past the thoughts of our dirty texts from the night before.

“Where’d he wander off to?” I asked, jutting my chin towards Ghost's makeshift bed.

“He likes to snoop. He’s around when I need him, but he’s more like a roommate. Cerys, Emily’s Familiar, hardly ever leaves her side, but Ghost prefers to be left alone,” she said with a sigh and a shrug of her shoulder.

I knew the basics of a Familiar. They were to protect their Witch and stabilize their magic. In turn, the bonded Witch kept their Familiar tethered to the mortal realm.

“Oh, I think I found the location spell. Almost everything I need is - well, it’s at my shop. There’s a room in the back that I use for casting. I’ll see what I can figure out while you’re away and hopefully I’ll have more answers for you when you get back from your trip to Hell,” she said, not looking up at me.

The thought of her returning back to her shop after what she went through bothered me more than it should have, but we needed to do this and Adrian would be able to keep an eye on her.

“Hey, you’ll be fine. I promise,” I reassured her, resting my hand on her thigh.

I loved how thick her thighs were. Being near her like this, all I could think about was having them wrapped around my shoulders as I ate her out again. That sounded like a much better way to start my morning than muffins and coffee.

“Stay here and gather what you need and when I get back we can go over together. You don’t have to go alone if you’re not ready. Adrian already upgraded the security and fixed the damage. You won’t be vulnerable there ever again and I won't let anything ever happen to you as long as I’m here.”

“Thank you, but I need to get back there,” she whispered. “When do you leave?”

“I’ve got about an hour or so. I’ll be back before you know it,” I told her.

“Is everything okay? Problems with the war?” She asked curiously.

I furrowed my brows as I thought. I’d mentioned the war to her, but I was surprised she remembered. I wasn’t sure how much to tell her or if it was my place to say anything about her possible heritage, but if it turned out that she was of Angelic descent then that would put us on opposite sides of this battle, wouldn’t it?

No, she was my Maritus. No matter what happened we were on the same side.

The war could be the reason why father was calling me home, but I had a feeling that this summons had something to do with her.

“It could be, but I’m not sure. I’ve been so out of the loop this last year, that I’m not entirely sure what’s going on right now,” I said carefully.

She silently finished her muffin and grimaced as she wiped the crumbs from her lap.

“I could use a million showers after being in the hospital for so long. I feel like I’ll never be rid of that smell,” she sighed.

“I’d be happy to give you a bath,” I chuckled as I kissed the side of her neck.

Her body locked up tight and a shiver coursed through her body.

“I don’t do baths or large bodies of water. I almost drowned once, so now if it’s bigger than a puddle, I won’t go near it,” she whispered.

Fuck.