Ink & Dagger (Sins of Eden #1)

26. Chapter XXVI

Chapter XXVI

Emily

I laid naked under my blankets in a catatonic state for what felt like hours, staring at the spot Jaxon had blinked from, practically willing him to come back. Being away from him felt wrong.

Giving up, I finally clambered out of bed to get dressed and found myself wandering through my house aimlessly, not knowing what to do with myself. The smell of freshly baked bread drew me to the empty kitchen.

Charlie.

She only baked when she was upset and the four loaves resting on the counter meant that something was bothering her big fucking time.

“Wanna talk about it?” I asked, plopping down beside her in the backyard as she tended the garden.

“My heads a mess, but there’s nothing to worry about,” she shrugged with a glance my way before yanking an invasive weed out with more force than necessary.

I leaned back on my hands and soaked up the morning sun as she worked. If she wanted to tell me, she would, but something or someone had pissed her off and for some reason she wasn’t telling me about it.

I silently watched Cerys run through the garden chasing a butterfly through the wildflowers while Charlie continued taking her anger out on the invasive weeds in the garden. As a green Witch, being around plants helped balance her and allowed Charlie to harness her power and energy from the natural sources around her.

This was her favorite place to be. Her Zen spot. It didn’t matter that this was technically my house, I’d bought it with the intention of her moving in with me anyway. When I first proposed the idea, Agatha put her foot down and forbade her from moving out of the coven house, though. Not that Charlie really stayed there anymore anyway.

“You’ve got it bad, girl,” she said without looking back up.

I could tell that she meant it more as a statement than an accusation, but things were moving so fast for me, I couldn’t tell which way was up from down.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I retorted with a chuckle, plucking a blade of grass and twirling it between my fingers.

I knew she was right, but part of me didn’t want it to be true. I’d already been through too much with Erik and past experience made me afraid to let Jaxon in.

Love was a weakness I couldn’t afford, no matter the devilishly handsome package it came in or the double dicking I’d just received. My pussy clenched around nothing at the thought.

“Don’t. You can lie to yourself all you want, but don’t lie to me. I know you and I support you. I always have. Who gives a fuck if he’s a Demon? Hell, he could be a Gargoyle for all I care, I just want you to be happy,” she said and I snickered.

“Besides, that hickey on your neck says otherwise,” she laughed.

My eyes grew wide and I slapped my hand to the side of my neck. That sneaky fucking Demon. My neck and organs from that rough fuck didn’t feel like the only thing he’d marked, though.

I felt changed.

I dropped my hand back down into the grass and looked over at her with a sigh. Charlie reached her hand over and gripped mine, giving my fingers a soft squeeze of support that I didn’t realize I needed.

We sat like that for a moment, both staring off into the garden, watching Cerys play. I knew she’d always have my back, but she was oddly calm about this new development. It was time to let her in.

“He’s not just a Demon, Char. He’s a Prince,” I admitted softly, breaking the silence. “As in one of the originals. I don’t know anything about him, what if -,”

“How do you feel about him?” She asked, cutting me off and giving me a penetrating look as if she could pull my thoughts from my head.

Fuck. I hadn’t even admitted that to myself. How did I feel about him?

“I feel - fuck. I don’t know. I feel like he’s a part of me. Like he’s the other half of my beating heart. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve thought about him constantly since I first saw him and it’s terrifying. It feels like I’ve known him my whole life, but I only just met him weeks ago.” I said softly.

That wasn’t entirely true, a voice whispered in my mind. I may have only just met him, but I was well acquainted with his aura and I was captivated by him. I squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze as I admitted my truth out loud.

“I thought that might be the case,” she said with a sad smile.

I’d tried to convince myself that it was just his nature. That it was just lust that kept drawing me to him, but even when he wasn’t around, I found myself missing his presence. More than just these brief moments that I’d spent with him even. I could sense him when he was watching me, like an electrical current connecting the two of us.

“I mean shit girl, how would we even make it work? He’s a prince of Hell. It’s not like he’s going to stick around once I find his brother and I have a life here.”

I have you , I didn’t say.

I didn’t need to. Fuck the house and the shop. I didn’t care about the material things. She was the only reason I had never moved farther away from home. “I can’t just leave.”

“Who says?” She asked, squeezing my hand again.

She stared off longingly for a moment as if deep in thought. I couldn’t quite read the expression on her face, but something was bothering her.

“What about you? Would you go?” I asked.

I didn’t know what I wanted her answer to be, but something about the way she looked right now said that she would gladly disappear to a different realm if she could.

“What? If a sexy Demon showed up and claimed me as his and I had the chance to be a Queen of Hell?” She laughed with a raised brow.

Okay, fair point.

“Listen, I don’t want you to go anywhere, but you should at least take this time while he’s away to think about what it is that you want. You know I’m always here for you. Besides, Emily Morningstar kind of has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” She snorted with a soft nudge.

I chuckled under my breath at the absurdity of her comment before letting out a deep sigh and laying my head on her shoulder.

I didn’t know where Jaxon and I really stood relationship wise, but this seemed bigger than just a physical connection. Regardless, I knew that I had a lot to figure out about my future and I doubted that a few days would be enough time to come to a decision.

I left Charlie to her work in the garden, letting her know I was going to head out for a bit and took off for the house in search of Ghost. I was well enough now to drive and get around, so there was no point in just sitting around on my ass until my Demon got back.