The woman made a breathy noise. “You’re so devoted. What a lucky woman.” She fluttered her eyelashes up at him.
“You’re embarrassing me,” I mouthed across the room at him.
He smirked wickedly, then settled back into the enchanted massage chair that the five of us were sitting in. We were all getting mani-pedis done at the same time.
Me, Sadie, Malum, Orion, and Scorpius.
Sadie’s mates had wandered off to look at weapons, and I’d encouraged the kings to go with them, since only one of them needed to stay with me, but they’d all refused to leave.
Which was why shifter nail technicians, both men and women, were currently twittering over the devils. For each devil, two people were massaging their legs, while another did their nails.
Meanwhile, Sadie and I each only had one worker.
Apparently, we were not impressive enough to be fawned over. Disappointing.
You’d think the shifters had never seen a seven-foot-tall flaming man before?
A male technician grabbed Scorpius’s bicep and squeezed like he was checking out his strength. The blind devil frowned and furrowed his brow like he was trying to figure out if that was a normal part of a mani-pedi.
I snorted and flopped back in my chair.
Closing my eyes, I grimaced as the woman attacked the thick calluses on my feet. She kept mumbling under her breath about disgusting blisters and smacking my foot with a brush like I was a wild animal.
I debated asking her to stop hitting me but couldn’t find the courage.
“What are you getting done?” I asked Sadie, as I tried to distract myself from the torture happening between my toes.
“Something understated and classy.”
“Smart choice,” I said.
An hour later, I admired my glossy-short black nails. They were perfect for battle.
“What do you think?” Sadie waved four-inch-long rhinestone-covered acrylic nails through the air.
“Cute,” I said. “Good thing we’re not fighting in a war.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Think about it.” I patted her head and walked away towards where the men were seated.
“Wait, Aran!” Sadie called after me. “I can’t tie my shoelaces with my nails.”
I ignored her and glared down at the kings, all three of which were still getting their legs massaged an hour later. Sadie and I had gotten ours for fifteen minutes.
“Really?” I asked with exasperation as I stared down at the atrocity that was Malum’s feet. “First, why are your toes so freakishly large? Second, what in the realms made you do that?”
He oozed male satisfaction.
A woman squealed behind me as she looked at his toes, and then there was a thud as if she’d fallen out of her chair.
He had the audacity to wink.
I prayed for patience.
“What do you think?” he asked gruffly.
I stared at the man who had voluntarily gotten “Arabella” spelled out across eight of his toenails. It was white letters on top of dark blue polish. He also had snowflakes on his pinky toes.
“That is stalkerish and creepy,” I finally said.
He admired his feet. “I like them.”
Exasperated, I turned to the other kings. “We all match,” Orion whispered with a smirk as he wiggled his glossy black nails.
Scorpius snapped, “Do mine look good? Someone tell me.” He sounded gruff, but he curled his fingers self-consciously, like he was embarrassed that he couldn’t see for himself.
“They look good,” Orion and I reassured him at the same time.
“Thanks.” He sighed with relief.
I leaned over and patted his arm. “Seriously, they look great. I really like black on you. I think it’s your color.”
He grunted and dragged his hands through his matching hair. A small smile curled the edges of his lips.
“Getting your name was more impressive,” Malum announced confidently.
Everyone ignored him.
A few minutes later—after I’d tipped my nail technician generously and thanked her again for her amazing service, tied Sadie’s shoelaces for her, and redone her ponytail because she couldn’t—we left the salon.
“Wait,” a woman called after us, and we stopped in the middle of the mall.
She blushed prettily and held out a slip of paper for Malum, then she turned and ran back into the salon.
All five of us gathered around the slip.
It was a drawing of a stick-figure on fire, inside a heart. A house address was written below the picture in big loopy handwriting and said, “Visit me anytime you want.”
I pointed at it. “I like how she drew the eyes looking in two-different directions. She really captured your manic energy.”
“She’s so real for that,” Sadie said.
Malum frowned. “I’m sure that was an error.”
“I don’t know,” Orion whispered. “It seems pretty accurate to me.”
Scorpius laughed.
Sadie pulled me down to her level and growled into my ear, “If he goes, I can kill him for you. I can make it clean. No evidence. Easy—only fourteen small payments, subject to twenty-percent interest.”
I rolled my eyes and yanked away from her.
“If I was going to kill someone, I’d do it myself,” I said. “Also, I can’t believe you wouldn’t do it for free. We’re supposed to be best friends.”
She scoffed and blew on her ridiculous nails. “Please, I’ve got to make a living somehow.”
I rolled my eyes at her antics.
There was a burning sound, and we pulled away from each other.
The paper went up in flames between Malum’s fingers, and he smirked at me like he’d proven something.
“Damn it,” Sadie swore. “There goes my business.”
“You’re canceled,” I said to her, then I turned to Malum. “And you’re still not forgiven.”
He bared his teeth, navy fingernails dancing with fire. “But I will be, and then you’ll be mine.”
“Ours,” Scorpius corrected as he gripped Malum by the back of his neck. “She’ll be ours.”
“Ours,” Orion whispered in agreement.
Sadie nodded. “She’s our special Aran.”
The men scowled at her.
I walked away.
Chapter 28
Aran
MORE SHOPPING
Anhedonia (noun): a psychological condition characterized by inability to experience pleasure in normally pleasurable acts.
DAY 20, HOUR 9
“You can’t come in here,” I hissed as the kings slipped inside the cloth curtains of the narrow dressing room.
I was half-naked, clothed only in my bra and the miniskirt I was trying on.
Silver eyes hardened to steel. “You’re never allowed to wear that in public.” Malum trailed his eyes across my body, like he was devouring me with his gaze.
My heart rate increased.
I put my hands on my hips and whispered furiously, “Get out. This is highly inappropriate.”
Scorpius glided forward and grabbed my waist with both his hands. “Shhhh,” he whispered. “Let me feel.” He dragged his hands upward across my abs.
Things were escalating.
Pain streaked across my back, and I swallowed a whimper.
I meant to push him away.
I meant to stand my ground.
Scorpius’s long, elegant fingers trailed mercilessly up to my chest. He pushed my bra up and made a harsh noise as he cupped my chest with his hands.