Fourteen

Fourteen

DESI

I've spent a week trying to corner Jace and have a conversation about what happened between him and me after the charity dinner. One thing after another got in my way. I wasn't going to bring it up the night of his panic attack, and the kiss setup with Cannon . . . well, that was just awkward timing. I thought I'd catch him at breakfast or dinner, but he always found a way to avoid the conversation. Tonight will be the night. Unless he tries to bail on our movie night because Cannon's out of town, but I have the ultimate weapon to prevent that.

I cue the movie up as he comes downstairs wearing sleeping attire, his glasses perched on his nose.

"I don't know if I'm up for movie night," he says, plopping onto the couch next to me.

"That would be a shame," I say, nodding at the television. "I figured we could just continue our Star Wars marathon now that we're done with the newer movies and it's time to go back in time to the '70s, apparently." I shake my head. "Still so weird how they did that."

Jace looks at me with something like admiration in his eyes. "I'm impressed. You're finally coming over to the dark side."

"I am, but if you don't want to be here to witness my downfall . . ." I say, grabbing the remote, "I can just go watch it in my room."

He reaches over me and snatches the remote from my grip. "No, I didn't say that. I'll stay. This will give me a renewed sense of energy."

I offer him a smile, but inside, my chaotic little demon soul is rubbing its palms together with sinister glee. I've got him right where I want him.

"Speaking of energy, do you want any snacks?" I ask as he presses Play.

"I shouldn't since it's so late, but I've only had two bowls of peanut butter puffs this week. I think I can handle a snack or two."

I give him a sly grin and look back at the kitchen. Like I'm directing traffic, I move my arms and call forth the foods that I've learned are his favorite cheat day items (besides the aforementioned puffs). A cup of ice and a can of Coke float out of the kitchen along with a bag of veggie chips and some gummy bears. My magic places the items on the coffee table, and a carton of Ben Jerry's and a spoon drift into my open hands.

"So weird," he mumbles, grabbing the chips. "My very own demon Jedi."

Pride suddenly swells in my chest. I've never really been proud of my powers before; everyone in Infernis has some sort of power, depending on their rank. But Jace referring to me as his very own demon Jedi is, well, I don't know what it is, but it makes me feel like I belong here, which means more than I care to admit.

"That's me," I say, opening the ice cream and digging in. "Is this your favorite? You keep saying we haven't made it to your favorite movie yet."

I pull the blanket out from behind me and spread it over my legs, lifting it up and wordlessly asking if he would like to share it with me. Surprisingly, he takes it and drapes it over his legs as he speaks.

"It's top three but Return of the Jedi is my favorite. I should give some deep explanation, but if I'm being honest, it's for one stupid reason." He pops a chip in his mouth and stares at the screen.

Is he serious? He can't leave me hanging like that. I told him the biggest secret of my life, the one that could get me in serious trouble with my dad, and he can't share why a movie is his favorite? No. That will not do. The man owes me this at least.

I gesture for him to continue. "And that would be?"

His cheeks turn pink, and he grabs his glass of soda. Bringing it to his lips, he quickly says, "I may have had my sexual awakening because of that movie."

My eyebrows hit my hairline as I think about the dinosaur-looking creature, the gold metal man, and the one creepy guy with the red and black face. "Wait, what? With who? Jar Jar Binks?"

"What? No!" He sits up straight and tips his head toward the television. "Princess Leia."

"Oh," I say with a nod. "I see. Was it the space buns or the white robe that did it for ya?"

His eyes take on this dreamy glaze like he's picturing her in his head. "No. There's this one costume she wears that always took center stage in every wet dream I had from fourteen until, well . . . whatever age it stopped being acceptable to have wet dreams because that's definitely when I stopped."

I'm silent for a moment until laughter bursts out of me and I bend over, clutching my stomach. "Jace, stop," I say through my tears. "You had wet dreams over a Star Wars character?"

"Damn right I did. You don't understand, Desi. You haven't seen that costume. It's the epitome of sexy. It's the costume that puts every sexy nurse and French maid outfit to shame. I'd rather have a woman walk into my bedroom in that costume than any skimpy lingerie."

I stare at him wide eyed with my mouth open. "You are passionate about this subject."

"I'm passionate about many things. That costume just happens to sit high on the list."

"Fair enough," I say, leaning back against the arm of the couch. This is the perfect opportunity to bring up the other night. I take a deep breath and sit forward, placing the ice cream on the coffee table and replacing the lid. "Jace, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."

He pauses the movie and tilts his head to the side as he looks at me. "Of course. When have I ever not told you the truth?"

I ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach and decide to be as blunt as possible. "The other night. After the charity dinner. Did you . . . I mean, did we —"

His eyelids drop slightly, making his gaze dark and hooded as he says, "Did we what, Desideria? Say what you need to say."

"Did we touch ourselves while watching each other through our bedroom windows? And tell each other when to come? Or did I imagine that, and it was just a one-way street? In which case I look really foolish right now, and I'd like to crawl in a hole and disappear," I ramble, wringing my hands in my lap. My heart is racing, my blood throbbing in my veins, and I have to press my thighs together the moment I ask the question.

"Does it matter what happened that night? I think it's safe to say we've moved on."

In what way does he think we've moved on? Asking the question is proof that it still lingers in my head. I can have the smuttiest book in my hand or be folding clothes and the image of him watching me with his dick in his hand creeps in. I haven't moved on from that night at all.

I hold back the derisive laughter that's threatening to bubble up. "Yes, it does matter. It matters to me. And no, it's not ‘safe to say we've moved on.' How can we move on if I wasn't even sure it had actually happened until just now? I need to talk about it, Jace. Please," I murmur, hating the way the word sounds on my tongue, so desperate and needy.

But I am, I guess. I need to talk about it. I want to talk about it.

He removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. "Okay, let's talk about it. I'm not sure what you want me to say. You saw it happen."

I clench my jaw and turn to face him, crossing my legs underneath me. My knees rest on his thigh and I don't bother to move. "I want you to tell me why it happened. Why that happened and somehow the idea of kissing me is just too disgusting to consider!" I blurt, my face heating and chest rising with the frustration building inside me.

Jace springs up from the couch and his glasses hit the coffee table with a clank that makes me jump. "Where did you get that I find the idea of kissing you disgusting? When did I say that?"

"You didn't have to, Jace!" I exclaim, getting to my feet so we are closer to being eye to eye. "I all but offered myself to you on a silver platter, and you turned me down! Then you pushed me to make out with Cannon. Why else would you do that when you knew I'd gladly have made out with you? You can't have any desire to kiss me, or you wouldn't have done either of those things."

He points a finger at me. "Fuck that. I'm not talking to you about this."

"Why not?"

"Because what you and Cannon do is your business. I was just trying to help you both out. But I see I shouldn't have gotten involved. You guys would have figured it out."

I snort and look up at the ceiling. "Yeah, we figured it out, all right," I mutter, flinging myself back down on the couch, snatching the blanket and covering myself up with it again.

Jace looks down at me with narrowed eyes, and while I can tell he's tempted to turn around and walk out of the room, he can't help himself. He sits back down and tucks himself back underneath the blanket next to me and says, "What are you talking about? Didn't y'all kiss last week?"

With a sigh, I nod. "Cannon and I may be best friends, but sexual chemistry we do not have. It was a good kiss, I could tell it was everything I had wanted. Everything you described. But I felt nothing. Nothing at all. And neither did he. In fact, I felt ten times more in that moment with you after the charity dinner, and we weren't even in the same room."

"Fuck, Desi." He slides his fingers through his hair and falls back against the cushions. Staring up at the ceiling, he watches the fan rotate in slow circles. I'm convinced he's hypnotized himself until he says, "It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. Obviously, my actions after turning you down prove that the thought turned me on." He sits up and his gaze travels over my face, soaking in every inch of me. "I was thinking about you even before I noticed you watching me."

My breath catches and I swallow before admitting a secret of my own. "I think of you every time I touch myself."

He lifts a brow and one side of his mouth lifts in a smirk. "Every time?"

"Every. Single. Time."

"Since we're being honest about what we do alone, that wasn't my first time thinking of you either."

Desire courses through me, hot, wild, and nearly uncontrollable, but I manage to stay on my side of the couch and keep my hands to myself. "Really? And what exactly is it that you think about? Because I can tell you that just the idea of you pleasuring yourself to thoughts of me gives me more pleasure than that kiss with Cannon. There's no telling what knowing details would do."

"Are you asking me to add mental images to go along with your secret drawer of sex toys?"

"Maybe."

"I'll let you fill in the blanks, but I will say it has to do with my bathtub and a lot of bubbles."

I cover my mouth but a giggle escapes even as my core clenches. That's a perfect example of what Jace does to me—makes me laugh and turns me on in the same damn breath. How is that possible?

"You're turned on by the thing we had our huge argument about?" I tease, scooting back to my original spot on the couch so my legs are resting on his again.

"Come on, Desi. I had a gorgeous woman naked in my bathroom. Was I happy that you went into my room without asking? No. Did I get turned on by finding you in my tub? Absolutely."

Jace said the night of the charity dinner that he wasn't afraid to talk about sex. I never thought it meant he would be so candid about his fantasies. He's so careful about everything else in his life, but he acts carefree when it comes to this subject. It's a huge turn-on to see him release the tight grip he has on everything else.

"Well, while we're confessing things, that's also not the first night I've watched you from my bedroom window," I say, covering my eyes when I realize how creepy that sounds. "I mean, I've never seen anything like that. I assume you usually do that in the bathroom. Anyway, I know your whole nightly routine by now. Only because I sleep on my left side, and when I turn over, I can see right in. I know I could close my curtains, but you've never closed yours. And I guess part of me hoped you were watching me too."

He pulls my hands away from my face and flashes me a dimpled grin. "Don't close your curtains unless you want to. It would be a shame for everyone involved."

My lips part in surprise. "Wait. You were watching me?"

He takes the remote from my lap and before he presses Play, he says, "You need your spank bank material and I need mine. No harm in that."

It turns out that luring my roommate into an uncomfortable conversation with Star Wars movies is very beneficial. I got more than I bargained for, but I think he did too. And like he said, there's no harm in what we're doing. We're both attractive people spending day in and day out with each other. There's bound to be sexual tension—sexual tension that just reached new heights.

The movie carries on and the next thing I know, I'm running the back of my hand over my closed eyes and the sun is beaming through the living room window. I wiggle my toes and brush against something hard and hairy. Inching my eyes open I find Jace asleep on the other side of the sectional couch. I glide my foot up and down again and realize our legs are tangled and I'm touching his calf.

I start to disentangle our limbs, but I can't find it in myself to do it. He looks so peaceful—his eyelashes so long that they're grazing his cheekbones, his chest rising and falling in a gentle motion. There's something about his skin against mine that is so sensual. It makes goosebumps rise on every inch of my body, and I thank my lucky stars that he's still asleep because I'm sure he would be able to feel them against his leg.

That ache returns, the one that was ignited during last night's conversation. I can't believe we fell asleep so close to each other. I swallow hard and gnaw on my bottom lip. Turning my face into the couch cushion to try to calm myself, I—

The doorbell rings and Jace and I jump up from the couch, nearly kicking each other in the face. Jace lets out a shout, looking back at the door. "That scared the hell out of me."

"Me too," I pant, still startled by the sensations being so close to him had sent through me. "Who's here this early?"

"I don't know. I'll get it," he says, pulling down the leg of his joggers where it's bunched below his knee.

He walks to the foyer, tugging at the front of his pants, and I try not to notice. Don't most guys have to adjust in the morning? It's natural and not something I should overthink.

After I hear the click of the door, a moment passes before Jace calls, "Desi, you have a visitor!"

Jumping up from the couch, I tug my shorts down and pull my hair over my shoulder, trying not to look like I just woke up.

Rounding the corner into the foyer, I stop short and almost run into Jace when I realize who's here.

Not my favorite brother, the one who brought me here to begin with, the one who understands me, knows how to listen, and gets what I'm doing.

But my second oldest brother, the one who can call bullshit at every turn, and knows the ins and outs of love and lust better than anyone in this realm or any other.

Lux.

"Desideria, sister, I hope you're well," my brother says, looking around Jace's house approvingly. His red hair falls over his forehead and his green eyes, identical to mine, are bright and curious. Clad in a monochromatic suit as always, he is 100 percent overdressed for a casual visit.

"Lux, hi. I didn't know—what are you doing here?"

Jace gestures down the hall with his thumb. "I'll be in my office if you need me. It was nice to meet you, Lux," he says, shaking hands with my brother.

"Likewise, Mr. Wilder. Extremely nice to meet you," Lux says, and my eyes widen as my brother unashamedly checks out Jace's ass as he makes his way down the hall.

I slap him on the forearm. "Um. Hello? What are you doing here?"

Lux shoves his hands in his pockets and strolls past me. He lifts his chin and turns in a circle between the kitchen and living room. After several deep breaths, he says, "This place smells just like my den of lust after a long night of orgies."

My mouth opens and closes several times before I say, "What? No! We haven't—Jace and I are just friends. There's no lust here."

"Is that right? And I bet you've taken up ironing and grout cleaning as your new favorite hobbies."

His gaze falls on the rumpled blanket on the sofa and the out of place couch cushions. He turns to me with a raised eyebrow.

"Stop it, Lux. Jace and I were watching a movie and we fell asleep on the couch. That's it."

He picks up the blanket from the side Jace was sleeping on and brings it to his nose. All humor drains from his face and his eyes roll in the back of his head. "Your loss, sister. His pheromones are divine."

"Pheromones? No," I squeak, bringing my palm to my collarbone and nervously running my fingers over it. "He was asleep until you rang the doorbell." I lower my voice to a hiss. "Are you insinuating that he was turned on?"

A sly grin pulls at Lux's lips. "I guarantee you that the human was on the verge of losing it in his joggers. Too bad that delicious smell is tainted by your lust."

"My lust?!" I whisper-yell, my gaze darting down the hall to ensure Jace's head doesn't pop out of his office before I lower my voice. "You're not listening; I don't have any lust for Jace!"

It's a lie. I'm all but clenching my thighs together right now to relieve the throbbing between them. My brother knows everything about how humans function, but even if he didn't, I know my conversation with Jace last night affected us both. It was too flirtatious and way too descriptive. We journeyed into dangerous territory for people who are just supposed to be roommates.

"That's a shame. I was hoping that morsel of muscle and sex would be the human you bring to meet Father in two days. He's eager to see how you're faring in your search for an eternal partner."

My knees go weak, and I grip the back of the sofa for support. "Excuse me. What? Two days? I have to come home in two days? And bring my . . . bring a human? You've got to be kidding me, Lux."

"It has been over thirty days since you left. You should be making some headway. Are you telling me that you aren't narrowing down your options?" Lux clicks his tongue and wanders to the front of the house. "So I should tell Father you're in the same predicament as when you left Infernis?"

Panicked, I let go of the sofa and follow him. "No. No. Don't tell him that. I'll bring Jace. You were right," I say, my words coming out in a rush before I can stop myself. "I like him, okay? I've even told him what I am. I just—" Desi, what are you doing? I don't want to lie to my brother, but I can't let him tell our father that I've made no progress. I'll be so screwed. "I still need to give him the rundown on the family. We're a lot for someone like him to handle, but I swear, I'll tell him tonight."

Lux spares a glance down the hallway and smiles. This demon is shameless in his quest to satisfy his sexual appetite. And if I'm being honest, I don't blame him for being attracted to Jace. I clearly struggle to keep it under control when he's nearby.

"I look forward to getting to know him, and I'm sure our brothers will feel the same."

All I can do is nod and say, "I'm sure they will. I'll see you in two days, Lux."

"Don't be late," he says, and on his way out he flashes me another sly smile over his shoulder.

When the door closes, I collapse back onto the couch and bury my face in my knees. What the hell am I going to do now? It hasn't been that long since I told Jace what I am, and now I have to convince him to come with me to Infernis?

I hear Jace's soft footsteps and the cushion next to me sinks with his weight. "Desi?"

I groan in response, leaning back against the couch and tangling my fingers in my hair.

Jace crosses his arms and sits back. He remains silent as the tension in the room grows. Every passing second adds to the weight of what I have to do. And it isn't until my bones ache and it's hard to breathe that he says, "I'm sorry if that visit didn't go the way you hoped. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes. In fact, I need your help."

Cautiously he says, "Let's hear it, and I'll see what I can do."

I exhale slowly and wring my hands in my lap. "So remember when I told you that my dad was going to send one of my brothers to make sure I was making progress with finding a partner?"

Jace nods and then his eyes widen behind his glasses. "Oh. Oh. Lux was checking up on you."

"Yes. And it's time for me to go home to check in. And Dad expects me to bring home my boyfriend. In two days. And—" I inhale sharply. "Lux assumed that boyfriend is you."

"And you told him I'm not. Right?" When I remain silent, he presses again. "Desideria, tell me you set him straight."

I close my eyes for a moment and when I open them, he's still staring right at me. "Jace, I tried. I tried to tell him we're just friends, but he wouldn't listen. He can te—"

Jace leans forward. "What? He can what?"

I thread my fingers through my curls and tug them at the roots. "I didn't mean to say that," I mumble. "Too late now, I guess. Lux is the prince of Lust. He can sense lust and sexual desire. He could smell it all over the place. And he knew who it belonged to. There was no convincing him differently. It's his expertise."

Jace removes his glasses and rubs his temples. "I consider myself an intelligent human being, but I need you to dumb this down for me. What did he smell?"

My entire body heats and my face turns scarlet. "I assume you know what pheromones are, yes?" He nods and I continue. "Well, he can detect them in the air. Not only can he detect them, he knows who they belong to and who they're directed toward. Don't ask me how. It's like asking me how I can levitate the TV across the room. It's inexplicable. It's just the powers we were given. As far as what he smelled . . . the, uh, the blanket we slept with last night."

Jace runs his hands over his face and falls back. "So because our bodies had a chemical response to being close, he thinks we slept together?"

I chew my bottom lip and adjust so I can bring my knees to my chest, tightening my core. "Actually, no. I panicked when he said he was going to tell our dad that I hadn't made any progress, so I stopped trying to tell him we were just friends. I changed gears and instead told him that you know what I am. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone but the person I picked to be my eternal partner. So, yeah, there's that."

"So now your brother thinks you chose me. What happens when they find out I know about you and I'm not your eternal partner? Do I get cut into tiny pieces and become shark food?"

"My dad isn't unreasonable. I'll tell him I took a chance telling someone but they chose not to come with me in the end. I just needed to buy myself more time. I technically have sixty more days, but if I go home right now for this check-in with no one, my dad is going to make me come home for good and marry me off to a demon and it's game over. This is just a stopgap measure. That's it."

Jace stands and paces the length of the living room. The only time I've seen him more out of sorts is when he had his panic attack. His reaction makes a lump grow in my throat and my heart sink. I should have thought this through, and I most definitely shouldn't have put him in the middle of it. But here I am with my future in his hands.

"You know how much the other realm stuff freaks me out, Desi. How does that even work? Do I walk out in front of a car and then have one of those moments where I see the light at the end of a tunnel? Then we spend days in your realm until I hear a voice saying my time isn't up. When I return, it's only been seconds here and now I've had a near-death experience? I don't know if I can do that after what I've been through."

I stand and move in front of him, grasping his shoulders to stop his pacing. "Jace Wilder, you've seen one too many movies. It wouldn't be like that at all. We'd go through a portal, come out in my realm, spend no longer than forty-eight hours there, get back in the portal, and come back here. Two days pass here, two days pass there. No space-time travel stuff." I squeeze him in what I hope is a comforting gesture. "But I get it. You don't have to do it if you don't want to or don't feel comfortable. I completely understand."

"Forty-eight hours?"

"That's all the time a human can spend in Infernis or Pax while in their body. One visit in a lifetime, for no more than forty-eight hours. Any more time than that and you would become very sick. If you passed in a realm that wasn't meant for your energy, it would be devastating. Once an energy has entered our realms, it can't go back. It's the reason that some energies stay here; they can't make the choice between peace and chaos."

"Ghosts," he says. His face lights up when he realizes that ghosts are real.

"We consider them undecided energies."

"Fuck," he breathes and begins pacing again.

I need to convince him to help me. He's my only shot at buying another two months in the human realm. There's one thing I know—Jace is attracted to me. What I'm about to do will have an effect. Will it do what I need it to? I don't know, but I have to try.

Grasping his wrist, I pull him to me and press my body against his, looking at him from under my lashes. "Jace, listen to me. Think of this as a mini vacation. All you have to do is act like my boyfriend for two days. There are some pretty amazing things to see in my realm, and it might be fun to play pretend, don't you think? We did have a good time at the charity event."

His voice is a deep, serious rumble as he says, "Playing pretend for an investor and dancing, Desideria. We're talking about tricking the devil himself into believing we're a couple."

I grin and slide my arm around his waist and rest it on the small of his back. "My father isn't the devil. He's just Chaos. And my brother knows far more about lust than he does, and he's already convinced that we're hot for each other. He was certain that we were both two seconds away from coming undone, and that he'd interrupted some intense moment. This will be easy peasy."

"No death?"

"None. You just slip through the portal with me and we're there in the blink of an eye."

He shakes his head, which is a complete contrast to the words that flow from his mouth. "All right. I trust you to bring me home in one piece."

I bounce on the balls of my feet. "Oh my gosh, Jace. Thank you so much." I fling my arms around his neck. "You don't know what this means to me. I owe you so big. What do you want me to do for you? Anything you want. It's yours."

"Keep your lust-smelling brothers away from my house. And—"

"Done. And?"

"Finish watching Star Wars with me. I'm going to need a distraction to keep my mind off the wild agreement we just made."

I pull him down onto the couch with me and click on the TV, throwing the blanket over our laps. "Consider it done."