Page 54 of Coven of Corpses

“This is weird. Let’s get inside.”

Cody led the way into the house, both of them very slowly and deliberately climbing the two steps up to the porch. When they were inside and Demmy had closed the door behind them, he took Cody by the arm and pulled him into a strong hug.

“God, this feels so strange,” Demmy said, lips moving against the top of Cody’s head.

“Strange is a very gentle way to describe this.” Cody was speaking into his own chest, and he realized how much better Demmy’s sense of smell was than his own as his body’s natural odors rushed into his nose. He could smell his sweat and the fresh air from the outdoors still clinging to his clothing, just beneath the smell of their fabric softener. He pulled his head back, unbuttoned the flannel shirt he had pulled on that morning, and pressed his nose into the soft patch of hair between his pecs. Drawing in a deep breath, a rush of heat and arousal swept through him.

“Fuck me,” Cody said. “I do smell good.”

Demmy gently took him by the upper arms and pushed him back a step. His expression was kind and a little sad as he searched his face. “That’s because my sense of smell, well, yours now, was heightened after Nicolae bit me. Well, bit you.” He shook his head and sighed. “Anyway, you’ll be more sensitive to smells than you’re used to. And, yes, you smell fucking amazing.”

“Yeah, I do,” Cody said, putting a hand over the bulge in his pants. “Made me extremely horny.”

“Yep, it’ll do that.” Demmy hesitated, then leaned down to kiss him softly on the mouth. No tongue, no other invitation in it, just a kiss. “And, for the record, you have always made me extremely horny. Even before I was bitten.”

“Yeah, I’ve been realizing that.” Cody put a hand on the back of Demmy’s neck and pulled him down for another longer kiss. “I hope you know how much you mean to me. How much you’ve always meant to me.”

Demmy smiled as he rose up to his full height. “I see it a lot more clearly now. It’s weird to see our memories from your point of view.”

“We’re going to have a lot to talk about once we get this shit figured out.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Okay. For now, let’s focus on swapping back. Where do we start?”

“We’re going to need help,” Demmy said. “Someone already familiar with the situation.”

Cody suddenly had a thought. “Oh, shit. What about Heath’s body?”

Demmy looked guilty. “Right. I nearly forgot about him. How terrible is that?”

“Not really terrible, considering he was always an asshole and we’re dealing with something forty times more unusual than anything we’ve ever faced.”

“Yeah, true. Okay, we need to call that in.”

“And say what?”

Demmy made a face. Cody had seen him make that face practically every day, but he found it off-putting to see himself doing it.

“I don’t know,” Demmy said. “Maybe we need to get Lucia in on this as well.”

It was Cody’s turn to make a face, and Demmy laughed. “What?” Cody said.

“Nothing. It’s just weird seeing a very Cody expression on my own face.”

“Yeah, I’m right there with you.”

“What about Oliver or Clarabell?”

“What about no and hell no?” Cody said.

Demmy laughed again.

Car doors and voices from outside made them both turn to look at the front door.

“Is someone here?” Demmy said.

Before Cody could respond, the front door opened and Grant walked in. He was dressed in joggers and a long-sleeved t-shirt under a hoodie, his hair in the familiar braids. He was looking over his shoulder, talking to Mac, both of them carrying a duffel bag. Their three kids followed, each of them silent and staring down at the phone in their hand.