demon slayer 05.5 - the tenth dark lord a leaping (6 page)

Dimitri nuzzled me right above my ear. “I kind of like this party.” He was so handsome in the fading sunset.

The night was cool, perfect really. I turned and came up flush against him. “The other one started better,” I said, drawing my hands up his back under his leather jacket.

He tilted his hips against mine. “And I did get naked.”

“Without me.”

He shot me a wicked grin. “Sorry about that.”

I raked my nails against his shirt. “That’s okay. I have a feeling you’ll make it up to me.”

Later.

Meanwhile, Grandma had spotted a glittery silver spell lurking behind the keg. A bearded, much-younger Dark Lord seized it first.

“Looking for this?” He held it out to her.

I nudged Dimitri. “Oh my God, he’s flirting.”

Grandma gave him a saucy grin.

“She’s a cougar,” Dimitri said, half surprised and, if I wasn’t mistaken, a little impressed.

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said as we watched Grandma and her new friend launch the Holiday Decoration Spell.

Holly and ivy raced along the edges of the table. Tinsel exploded from the scraggly trees. Twinkling lights wound around the key, and a holiday wreath popped up on the Porta-Potty on the far edge of the clearing. Knowing the biker witches, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the toilet paper inside even had one of those knitted snowman covers. And oh look—mistletoe popped up over Grandma and her new friend.

“That’s the one she wanted to use in our condo,” I said.

“Classy,” Dimitri said with a smile.

I was about to say that it wasn’t so bad when my stomach tightened and my insides fluttered. I gripped Dimitri tighter and fought off a wave of longing so hard, so deep; it nearly brought me to my knees. I felt empty inside, needy. Suddenly, the barbeque and the potato salad and the pickles didn’t look so good. I wanted fried chips and cheese and jalapeños. Mmm…with a zesty salsa. “I’d kill for a plate of nachos.”

Dimitri met me, grip for desperate grip. “Or a Doritos taco from Taco Bell,” he said. “Why did it take them so long to come up with a Doritos taco shell?”

“Have you ever had one of those seven-layer dips?” I asked.

“Aw, hell,” Grandma said, hands on her hips, showing her backside to the bearded guy who—damn him—was staring as if she were the last chip on the plate. “I knew I should have neutered that decoration before I let him go.”

Left to their own devices, spells tended to breed in the wild. The enchantment had gotten lucky. With a Mexican Food–Craving Spell no doubt.

She gave her new friend a wink. “Looks like you and I need to save the party. We’re making a run for the border,” she announced.

“You’d better come back!” I called after them.

Oh, who was I kidding? I supposed Grandma deserved a little holiday cheer. I certainly had mine, I thought, as I laced my fingers with Dimitri’s.

“Happy first Christmas,” I said, reaching up to give him a peck.

He captured my lips and drew me in for a long, sweet kiss. “Every Christmas is going to be happy, as long as I have you.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

New York Times
best-selling author Angie Fox writes about demon slayers, biker witches, and things that go bump in the night. She claims that researching her books can be just as much fun as writing them. In the name of fact-finding, Angie has ridden with Harley biker gangs, explored the tunnels underneath Hoover Dam, and found an interesting recipe for Mamma Coalpot’s Southern Skunk Surprise (she’s still trying to get her courage up to try it).

Angie earned a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. She worked in television news and then in advertising before beginning her career as an author. Visit Angie at
www.angiefox.com
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