Jennifer Armentrout - Bitter Sweet Love

“Who wouldn’t look at Dez?”

She giggled and then her eyes darted to my door at the sound of a throat clearing. Oh, no. I scrunched up my nose, and Danika winced.

Dez , I mouthed.

She slid off the bed, and that was answer enough. As she hurried across the room, I turned. Dez stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

Danika gave him a quick wave as she all but bounced out of my room. He nodded and then stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He was in my bedroom. Again. He’d been in here many times in the past, but that was before, and everything was different now.

“So...” He drew the word out, chin tipped down as he stopped by the desk that was covered in books, magazines and maps. “Who wouldn’t look at me?”

My lips pursed. “Is there a reason why you’re here?”

“Yes.”

I waited.

And then I waited some more. “Anytime now.”

Dez’s gaze moved from the top of my head to the tips of my neon-purple toenails. “I like what you’re wearing.”

Frowning, I glanced down at myself. I had on a camisole covered by a cardigan and a pair of god-awful sleep shorts Danika had bought me for my birthday. They were covered with teddy bears. Not the best fashion choice.

“Gets me in the mood for cuddling,” he murmured lazily.

“And that gets me right out of the mood,” I replied tartly.

“You lie.” He flashed a quick grin as he reached out, tugging on the edges of my cardigan. “It’s cute.”

Feeling like I’d lost my ability to communicate, I took a step back. He held on for a second and then let go. I folded my arms around myself, figuring he wasn’t going to leave any time soon, and I wasn’t sure I wanted him to. I sat in my desk chair. “Are you hunting with the clan tonight?”

He nodded. “I’ll be leaving in about an hour.”

I lowered my gaze. “Are you going into the city?”

“Yes. Are you worried about me?”

“That’s a stupid question. Of course I’m worried.” The cities were especially dangerous. The more populated they were, the more demons targeted them. “Shouldn’t you be resting then? You’ve spent all day with me.”

“I want to spend this time with you before I leave. Is that okay?”

I looked up sharply. “Yes,” I said quickly, maybe too quickly, but I didn’t want to take it back. I took a deep breath. “Stay.”

“Thank you.” He walked to where I sat and then wrapped his fingers around the edges of my seat. A mischievous glint filled his eyes. “Hold on to me.”

Having no idea what he was up to, I gripped his arms. Meeting my eyes, he winked and then started to pull the chair and me across the floor. It was silly, but a grin stretched my lips.

Dez sat on the edge of my bed and then pulled me into the vee of his legs. My knees pressed against the insides of his thighs. “Ah, much better.”

“You know, I could’ve just sat beside you.”

“That wouldn’t have been as fun.” He dropped his hands to his knees.

My gaze fell to where his fingers rested close to my bare legs. “How’s... how’s your leg?”

“Already healed. Told you it was nothing to worry about.” He paused. “I talked to your father.”

I cringed. “Did you tell him I was with you?”

“No. I should have, but I didn’t.” Dez leaned forward slightly. “I did tell him about your conditions.”

My eyes widened. “Even the skinny-dipping?”

Dez laughed loudly. “I kept that little detail to myself, but I told him that this was something we needed to do, that I owed it to you.”

Owed it to me. What could I say to that? I pulled my ponytail over my shoulder, twisting the ends. “What did he say?”

“He wasn’t too thrilled about it and he listed, in detail, all the reasons why traveling to DC wasn’t safe, but in the end he agreed.”

“He did?”

One side of his lips curved up. “Only after promising to rip me limb from limb if anything happens to you.”

I smiled widely.

He frowned. “I hope you’re smiling about him agreeing and not the ripping-me apart.”

“Definitely him agreeing.” I laughed, dropping my hair and punching him in the arm. “And maybe a little bit of him ripping you apart.”

He caught my hand. “That’s not very nice.”

I gave him a cheeky grin. “Sorry?”

“And I don’t think that’s a genuine apology.” He tilted his head to the side slyly and held my arm between us. “Your father is very frightening. I put my arms, my legs and my balls out on the—”

“Oh, my God.” I laughed. “Unnecessary information, Dez.”

“Look, you just need to know what’s at stake.” He tugged my arm, scooting me forward. “I have a feeling I’m going to need my—”

I swung at him with my other hand, but he caught that too. “You are definitely not going to be needing them any time soon.”

“I strongly disagree.” A wicked look flickered in his eyes a second before he tugged me out of my chair and into his lap. He clamped his arms around my waist as I started to wriggle away. “Jas,” he said, his voice dropping low. “You should stop squirming.” Then he paused. “Or not. I’m kind of partial to it, honestly.”

I froze, hands planted on his shoulders. Warmth crept over my cheeks. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m a lot of things right now.” He lowered his head to mine and inhaled deeply. “I bet you can figure out one or two of those things.”

My mouth went dry, and I didn’t dare move. Bad thing was that I wanted to, and the knowledge made my skin stretch too tight. “How can you be gone for so long and act like you haven’t been? Like this was the way it always was between us?”

“How can I not?” he said, and then shook his head a little. “That answer probably doesn’t make sense to you.”

“It doesn’t.”

He smiled slightly as he ran a hand up my arm and then back down. “When your dad announced that he wanted us to mate, I was happy, Jas.”

So happy that he’d promptly disappeared for three years? I kept my lips sealed shut.

His hand slid up again, but this time he guided my head to his shoulder as he spoke. “You were too young then, but I... well, I knew you wanted this and so did I.”

“You have a strange way of showing that,” I muttered, but in spite of my words, I relaxed into his embrace.

“I know. I messed up when I left.” His other hand settled over mine. Slowly, he lifted my hand and threaded his fingers between mine, squeezing gently. “I should’ve said something to you and I didn’t. I can’t change that.”

I wanted to ask him why he hadn’t, but Dez had always been evasive, even when he was younger, so I went a different route. “Where did you go?”

Dez shifted, settling me in his lap so that my legs dangled off his. “Many places.”

“Like?”

His chest rose against my arm. “I went south—to Florida and then to Texas, up the Midwest and finally to California.”

The significance of the last location didn’t pass me by. “You went home?”

He hesitated and then said, “Yes.”

A sharp pang hit my chest. “You went to the house?”

“It still stands, but it should be... torn down,” he said, and I peeked up. His gaze was fixed on the darkness outside my bedroom window. “The place is just a burnt-out shell. Couldn’t even go to the second floor.”

My father had told me what had happened to Dez’s clan. The demons had set fire to their home after the attack, leaving Dez for dead. It was a miracle he’d made it out alive. He never should’ve gone back there alone.

“The cities out West are teeming with demons, so I hunted.”