31. Demon

Demon

S ometime in the middle of the night, Olivia slips out of bed. Ansel and Jasper sleep too soundly to notice, but as a demon, I only need a few hours of rest. So, like the good mate I am, I follow her.

She goes to the living room, grabs a blanket from the sofa, and steps on the porch. She leaves the front door open and only closes the screen door. After turning on the light and scanning the front garden, she sits on one of the rocking chairs and wraps the blanket around her.

I blend in with the shadows and watch her for several minutes. She never takes her eyes off the garden.

Is she worried about Rueben and Tyson?

I slowly open the screen door and say, “Olly.” I deliberately keep my voice soft so as not to scare her.

She inhales sharply before her shoulders sag. “Mose. You scared me.” She tilts her head to the side. “I thought you were sleeping.” I shrug. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. I imagine doing that to her. “Care to join me for a hot cocoa?”

I nod.

“You should try speaking more. You sound sexy.”

Despite never wanting Olivia and the others to find out I stutter, I let it slip. I cringed inside while I waited for them to mock me, to look at me with disgust. It was the other way around. The vessels didn’t care, but Olivia? She looked at me like I was a genius or something. Still, talking is not something I enjoy. It’s draining.

“Sexy. You,” I clip. Only if I sound like a half-ass crazed demon can I contain my stutter.

Olivia throws another glance at the garden and sighs loudly before she stands. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

She drapes the blanket over the chair, leaves the light on, and we go inside. She keeps sighing.

Miss Teapot is sleeping in her basket next to the fridge but opens one eye when I turn on the light. After seeing that it’s Olivia and me, she turns her back to us and goes back to sleep.

Olivia goes to the fridge, takes out the milk, and puts it on the counter before taking out a saucepan. I turn on the stove.

As she pours some milk into the saucepan, she sighs several more times.

I finally ask, “W-what’s ww-rong?”

“It’s like four in the morning, and Rueben and Tyson are still not home. What if something happened to them?” Her shoulders drop. “It’s my fault.”

I go to her and pull her into my arms. “T-they aa-re ff-fine,” I try to reassure her.

I guide her to the table, pull out a chair, and sit with her in my lap.

“Do you think they hate me?”

Before I can reply, she lets out a distressed sound. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Her palm comes to rest on my shoulder. “Why do I have no problem being a bitch except when it comes to my…men?”

Olivia doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. She is a gentle soul. Since she already has bonds with almost all her mates, hurting them in any way also affects her. The internal pain she is feeling is not only hers but Tyson’s and Rueben’s as well. I can feel it, too. Some bonds can be more sensitive than others.

Olivia keeps speaking. “Have I ever told you that Tyson and I had a son together?” The pain radiating from her is overwhelming. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I never speak of Spencer. Maybe you are not interested.”

I start massaging her nape. “T-tell m-me.”

She exhales loudly. “I always wanted a big family and to live on a farm surrounded by flowers and animals. I guess the part with the farm came true. Maybe the part about the family also did, as I have more men than I can handle.” A crease forms between her brows. “I never thought I was a hellstar. Imagine my shock when I found out. And to have as my mates the very men who tormented me. Loki got bored and decided to make fun of me.”

I have a feeling my twin is behind everything bad that happened to Olivia. He has a habit of sticking his tail into everyone’s business. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip once more. The temptation to bite her lips until they are puffy and tender is enough to get me hard. I press my thumb to it until she releases it.

“Baby? Me?”

Olivia looks up at me. “You know I can’t have more babies. It’s for the best.”

She might say one thing, but the yearning in her voice tells me something else.

It’s a good thing I hid how strong I really was from everyone, even God. I got to keep a little more divine power than the rest of the Outcasts.

“Cocoa?” I ask.

Olivia presses her lips to mine. “Yes.”

Mose was a great cook, but cooking is not something I enjoy—far from it. Still, I get up. “Stay,” I tell Olivia as I put her on the chair.

The last time I tried to make something for Olivia, I burned the frying pan. But hot cocoa is simple; there’s no way in Hell I’ll mess it up.

Ten minutes later, after almost as many failed attempts, Olivia finally takes pity on me and comes to my rescue.

She takes the whisk from my hand and pushes me to the side. “You must whisk in the cocoa powder while the milk is warming up.”

I try to add more cocoa, and Olivia puts her palms above the saucepan. “This is why you keep messing up. You put in too much cocoa.”

I try to be patient, but cooking is boring as fuck. “Now we add the chocolate chips.” She keeps whisking the hot cocoa until it is done and puts it in two mugs. “And,” she grabs the whipped cream and sprays some in each mug before sprinkling chocolate chips on top, “all done.”

I pick up the mugs, infuse one with some of my divine power, and take them to the table.

Olivia follows me. Once we are seated, I give Olivia her mug. We clink for good luck before we take the first sip.

While I find my hot cocoa alright, Olivia moans as she tastes hers. “Oh, it turned out better than I expected.” I drink mine slowly while Olivia finishes hers in a few seconds. Then she looks at my mug. There’s still half of the cocoa left. Even without words, I know what she wants, so I offer it to her. “Are you sure?”

I nod.

“I am sorry, but this is the best hot cocoa I’ve had in my life.”

I smile while watching her enjoy her second drink, which she also finishes quickly. After we clean up after ourselves, we return to the bedroom. Olivia slides between Jasper and Ansel. Seconds later, she is fast asleep.

Since I’m not tired, I go to the living room and turn on the TV. I put on a random show and start watching it.

From the prison I built around him, Mose screams inside my head, “When the fuck will you release me?” Technically, it’s his head, but since I took complete possession of his body, it’s a bit complicated.

“Stop pestering me, or else I’ll push you into the darkest corner of our mind.”

I might stutter when I speak out loud, but in my mind, I sound normal.

“This wasn’t the deal,” he keeps arguing, ruining my good mood.

“The deal was that I have to protect Olivia from Azael. While he’s still out there, the deal is still on.”

“When will I get my body back?”

I grin internally. “Maybe…never. I like being with Olivia a little too much.” I am a demon, after all. What did Mose expect by making deals with me? That I’ll keep my promise? “She already forgot about you. I am the one she loves.”