Page 27 of Zodiac Demons

As expected, that just elicited a sigh and no answers.

“Nothing noteworthy,” he said, always so avoidant.

“Somehow, I doubt that.”

“And I doubt you’ll be able to keep your hands to yourself while we sleep in that bed.” The skeptical eye roll, admittedly, made me want to prove him right just to piss him off. I’d use that as my excuse, but I’d wanted to prove him right before he said that, too.

“You act as though the library was a one sided affair.” I eye rolled right back at him. “Don’t pretend you hated it.”

“Th-that’s…” He was so hot and bothered, I could practically see the steam radiating off of him. “You went too far.”

“Which part was too far? How deeply I let you fuck my throat? Or—”

“You know what I mean.” He snapped, though that blush wasn’t going anywhere. “You know how much our parents hate each other. It’s not like we can just become mates and ride happily into the sunset.”

“I made you lick cum off my fingers. I didn’t propose.” I waved a hand dismissively, enjoying being willfully obtuse. “But it’s cute that you’re already thinking of what our wedding might look like.”

“You’re such an asshole.” He sat on the edge of the bed in defeat. “I’ve literally killed every single Alpha who has ever put me in a position where they could mark me, because I can’t reject a mark whenever I want like you can.”

Oh? I knew an Omega couldn’t reject an Alpha’s mark without permission, but the other half of that statement was very interesting. “Why didn’t you kill me?”

“I tried. My Basilisk gaze didn’t work on you, remember?” He took off his glasses, and fuck he was even cuter without them. But also, there was a strange comedy in the fact that he’d actually tried to kill me that night, and I was just so unbothered I didn’t notice. He stared me directly in the eye, and I held his gaze without much thought. “A normal shifter would literally have their organs paralyzed and turned to stone from the inside out just from looking into my eyes without the filtering enchantment on my glasses, but you can hold eye contact like we’re human.”

“A perfect foil.” I shrugged. “The devil works in mysterious ways.”

He opened his mouth, then stopped himself, not offering a single word. His expression was unreadable as he kept staring into me, like he was hoping his magic might finally start to work.

No luck. Poor thing.

With another sigh, he dipped his chin and stared at the bed for several extended moments. He bunched the comforter under his fist, then frowned, stood, and headed out. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or embarrassed or confused, but I figured once he got some space, he’d come around.

The trip continued on to a group dinner and star gazing and all of the mundanities. Ceto remained quiet for all of the festivities, and I wished I could slip into his mind and figure out what those accidental glances meant. Once everyone was dismissed for the night, I headed back to the room alone, not sure where he’d wandered off to.

I waited there for quite a while, with no sign of my roommate, and by about midnight, I couldn’t take the disappointment anymore. Maybe he’d found somewhere else to rest for the night. Or someone else to rest with.

A shot of jealousy sunk into my stomach at the thought, and I shook it off as quickly as it had come.

I wasn’t jealous. He wasn’t my mate. He was just an acquaintance who I didn’t mind being around, and maybe, possibly found incredibly attractive. He was just fun to mess with. I wasn’t trying to fall in love with him.

I paced in the room, now a bit annoyed at myself for having any strong feelings towards anyone or anything so soon, when he clearly didn’t reciprocate, until I couldn’t take my own anxious nonsense anymore. I grabbed a hoodie and headed out into the night for a relaxing dip that would ease my nerves. The facilities were quiet on this late night in winter, and I was looking forward to washing away this weird and unexplainable emotional hang up.

Only, the men’s bath wasn’t empty. Ceto Arya was sitting on the bench, submerged to his chest, and completely bare save a beaded necklace. His head was resting on his shoulder in a relaxed sleep, and his glasses barely hung onto his ears. The only part that really surprised me was the way an empty bottle of sake rested on the edge of the tub.

I fought the urge to snort at the image of the man who was so set on not sharing a room with me that he passed out in the hot springs.

That wasn’t very safe.

I used my vampire speed to undress in total silence, and slip into the pool. The steam warmed my face in the briskness of the season, and the natural minerals of the hot springs rejuvenated my soul. It was with utmost care that I sat on the bench beside Ceto, and it was with significantly less subtlety that I placed an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close.

He startled, a genuinely disoriented panic shaking him out of his restful sleep. I clamped down hard, securing him snuggly against me before he had the chance to realize where he was or what had happened.

“Oh, it’s just you.” He said, as he blinked me into focus. The way he relaxed in my arms was contrary to how tense he’d acted until now. But then, this reaction was all instinct, opposed to the defensive front he crafted when he had time to think.

“Who did you think it would be?” I rubbed his shoulder in a soothing motion that I couldn’t say for sure he even noticed.

“N-no one.” He shook his head. “Well… Someone even less pleasant than you are, I guess. Just a dumb nightmare.” A demon haunted by demons. He was so interesting.

I laughed at that. “Well, at least I’m not ranked last.”