Page 38 of Grave Mistakes
The declaration, and the even, serious delivery of such a ridiculous statement out of Jerif’s cantankerous self forces a snicker to fly right out of my lips. Geez, humble much?
Before I can call him out on it, Jerif turns around, unzips his pants, and pulls them down.
Wow. I didn’t think he’d actually do it.
My drunken butterfly thoughts stay right where they’re supposed to be, and I snag one, ready to make fun of his hairy ass or joke about how asses in general just don’t do it for me. But of course, Jerif has to have theperfectass. It’s so round and juicy that I want to take a bite out of it, and that’s saying something, because I usually reserve those kinds of thoughts for apples or maybe a steak.
There’s no creepy hair or annoying stretch marks, just smooth onyx skin that for some reason makes me think of satin sheets that smell like sex and feel like heaven. He wags his ass for good measure, and I see a hint of balls, but eventhatdoesn’t freak me out. Balls are not cute, but instead of activating myickalarm, all I now want to do is coax him into turning around and showing me what he’s got in the front. He may be a total douche, but I know it’s going to be impressive.
Somehow, I blink back into reality and rein in my ogling. I clear my throat and notice that my mouth has gone dry. I guess that’s not too surprising since I’m pretty sure every ounce of moisture in my body just flooded my panties. The fucker really does have an ass that doesn’t quit.
“Told you that you couldn’t handle it,” Jerif snarks as he pulls his pants up and zips them closed.
I try to snort, but it sounds way too forced to be real. “Psh. I mean, if squats aren’t your thing, who am I to judge?” I taunt, going straight from ass worship right intodeny deny denymode. “I’m sure that someday, someone will look past that concave situation and love you for you.”
What the fuck are you saying, Delta? Abort. Abort!
“Excuse me?” Jerif demands, affronted by my casual dismissal of his fine ass.
“So how about that Hellgate?” I ask with mock cheer, as I attempt to close the floodgates to my vagina and simultaneously change the subject. “If it’s anything like his ass, I can definitely handle Hell,” I bluff. “It’s not that impressive.”
Echo laughs at Jerif. “She insulted your ass. Literally.” Jerif moves to knock his elbow into him, but Echo somehow dodges the move. “Don’t worry, Jerif. Everyone knows I have the best ass of the group anyway.”
Now Jerif and Crux both frown. “The fuck you say?” Jerif asks.
Echo ignores him and wags his white brows at me. “Ready to see mine to compare?”
Now I’m thinking about his pale ass next to Jerif’s dark one, and it’s doing all sorts of things to me. I bet those asses would lookrealgood positioned between my thighs, but I shake off those thoughts. Sex is my go-to distraction when shit is difficult, but it’s not going to help me now. I need to keep my head out of the gutter and my impulses in check, which is a tough feat for me on a good day. But my whole life is about to change one way or another, and I need to stay focused on that. I can’t just have a distraction-fuck and pretend all the complicated shit is going to go away. It’s not.
“No,” Iceman interrupts gruffly. “No more ass flashing.” He shakes his head in front of us as he continues to walk. “I never thought I’d have to fucking say shit like that.”
The other demons snicker but fall silent like chastised school kids.
When our group gets to the cemetery, Iceman leads us to the large stone mausoleum where I first saw the guys. Inside, the five of us cram together in a tight circle, and I look at him expectantly. “If you are indeed a demon like we all suspect, then you’ll be able to pass into Hell with us without issue,” he tells me.
I swallow hard, sudden hesitation taking root. I feel like someone who’s signed up to go bungee jumping, but now that I’m looking over the edge of a bridge and seeing the drop, I’m second guessing why I’d ever want to do anything so mental. “Do I have to?” I ask, my eyes focusing on the non-existent fall into a canyon below me.
“Yes.”
I breathe out stiffly, expounding on my life choices. “All I did was answer a Help Wanted ad. I wasn’t supposed to have to work for demons and go to Hell.”
Echo leans forward. “But isn’t this more exciting?”
I shove him away with my shoulder and then clamp my eyes shut. “Fine. Just do it. Quick.”
“What?” Iceman asks.
“Quick!” I repeat. “Like a Band-Aid, just let ’er rip before I chicken out.”
He pauses, but I can’t open my eyes, because if I do, I’ll probably try to run again, and that’s not really an option anymore. I need to do this, but I need someone to push me over the edge because I can’t jump on my own.
“Alright,” he finally says. “Join hands.”
“Do we need to swap spit and bleed into a chalice too?” I mumble before holding out my sweat-slicked palms.
I feel Crux lean in as he grabs my right hand, while Echo takes my left. “We’ll swap spit with you anyday, Jeter,” Crux says with laughter in his voice.
I open my mouth to say something snarky back, but before I can, Iceman speaks in his demon language. “Ewl uh wiinii.”
