Page 19 of Claiming Demons
There was some shifting after that as we all moved under the covers, Fen behind Grey on one side and Ramsey on the other. Like they had before, they pressed close. I wouldn’t have much room to move while sleeping, but I didn’t care. Their heat and the muscled press of their bodies did wonders to relax me into the best sleep I’d had since… last night.
ANAIS
I was so well restedand happy the next day, I couldn’t help but laugh freely and hum to myself as I puttered around Grey’s penthouse. I was on cloud nine… or perhaps even cloud ten or eleven? Was there a cloud one hundred? If so, I was there.
Grey was out. He’d said he had some things to attend to for his business. Mostly, he wasn’t running things anymore, but a few things still needed his attention as he tried to divest himself of those companies.
Caia was doing some early Christmas shopping, and Eva was out with Trent, which left me and Reia at the penthouse.
“You really are out of it, aren’t you, Mom?” Reia asked as she sat on the high chair across the breakfast bar opposite me, folding her hands on the countertop, prim and proper.
Pulled from my heavenly reverie, I blinked at her. “Hmmm? Oh? Why do you say that?”
“You’re eating sour cream straight from the container.”
She gave the container a pointed look, and I stopped mid motion with a spoonful on its way to my mouth.
“I… isn’t this yogurt?” I checked the container.
Nope. Not yogurt. Swell.
“Yup, completely out of it.” I put the sour cream back in the fridge and sighed, still contentedly happy. “Did you need something?”
I glanced back at her, the fridge still open, knowing my meaning could be taken two ways, but Reia shook her head.
“It’s the weekend so I have no homework… which means I’m free. But I also don’t have many hobbies.” Her gaze darted around the room as if she were looking for something to do. “I used to play chess with Uncle Donny, but now he’s away on business a lot.”
Reia had taught me how to play chess, but I was still horrible, so I didn’t suggest we play.
“I was actually coming to see ifyouneededmefor anything?” Her tone suggested I did, and she seemed desperate to be tasked with something.
The poor girl didn’t know how to have fun… which reminded me.
“How was the club last night? Any cute boys hit on you?” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. Then I ducked into the fridge and this time made sure I grabbed the yogurt. When I came back to the breakfast bar, Reia was giving me a sour look.
“Mom… I’m sixteen. Do you really want twenty-something men hitting on me?”
I blinked. No, probably not. But that got me thinking. If she was only sixteen, then… “How did you get into the club?”
“The guy checking IDs took one look at Caia, fell madly in love with her, and mostly ignored me.”
“So…” Did I really want to ask this question. I scooped up a mouthful of yogurt, then decided I’d rather know than not know. It was Reia after all. “Whatdidyou do?”
“I tried a rum and coke, but I didn’t like it. After that, I drank club soda and watched all the silly people trying desperately to hook up.”
Which sounded exactly like Reia.
“And how did Caia get along?” I asked, although, I had a feeling I knew.
“Guys bought her drinks, like… too many. She had a table full of drinks, most of which she didn’t try. She watched the silly people too and we chatted a lot, catching up. She thinks I should try for Harvard Law School.”
Reia did have my aspect of law, so… yeah, I could see that. She was also incredibly smart like Caia, and Harvard wouldn’t be out of reach.
“Do you want that?”
“Don’t know yet. Maybe?” She was agitated, uncertain, which wasn’t like her. She hopped off her stool and got a spoon out of the kitchen drawer, returning to dip into the yogurt with me.
I couldn’t think of anything to ask after that, so silence reigned awkwardly as we each took turns eating spoonfuls of yogurt