Bigfoots Don't Do Mini Coopers (Kate Storm Book 1) (12 page)

“Aren’t you disgusted with me?”

Oh. Ash.

It struck me. Hard and fast and just as powerful. We were both waiting for the other to acknowledge their horror and end the relationship.

In a million years I
’d never be able to treat him as others had treated me. This was Ash. The demon of my dreams.

H
e’d pursued me. He’d come to my rescue. He’d treated me as if I was special to him.

I
’d treasure every moment of our time together for the rest of my life.

“
No. I’m not disgusted.” I stopped pulling away, let my shoulders go lax, leaned into his grip. “I’m so very sorry you killed your father.” He hadn’t done it as a power play, or to show his dominance. The pain of it was written all over his face. I didn’t know the specifics, but on that account I was confident.

“
I’m sorry you suffered because of it.” I tugged one hand free and brushed his scars with my fingertips. “I
hate
that you suffered because of it.” I pulled back, suddenly able to free myself totally of his hold. I sat down on my side of the booth and waved Candy over for the check.

“
I’m not disgusted with you, Ash.” I handed Candy my card. Looked him straight in the eyes. “I could never be disgusted with you.”

I wanted to smile at him. Show him I meant each and every word. As if I wasn
’t falling apart, into pieces so small a microscope couldn’t measure them. As if we were the same two  beings, in the same crazy relationship, we had been ten minutes before.

I took the folder, my card and the check back from Candy. I stood, tucked the receipt and my credit card into my purse.

“You’re a good demon, Ash.” I wanted to say more, but my throat had closed up. I was done.

Turning on my heel, I moved steadily to the door, opened it and walked out. I didn
’t stop. I continued moving, as if my life depended on it, toward the street. Nothing mattered. Walking and moving forward were the only things I could do. If I stopped, I would cease to exist.

I
’d played out this scene so many times throughout my life, you’d think I would almost be used to it.

I was in between a row of vehicles in
Madge’s
parking lot when a steel hand yanked me to a stop, refusing to let me move forward.

“
I don’t disgust you?”

Spirits, were we back to this? I
’d already given him my answer. Couldn’t he just let me walk away without torturing me?

“
No, Ash. You don’t disgust me.”

I didn
’t care if I smiled now. I was done. Held up by the most fragile of bones.

“
Then why are you walking away from me?”

Son of a . . . he hadn
’t heard me in the diner. He’d been so caught up in his own torment, he hadn’t heard what I’d said. It was the only thing that made sense.

And now I had to replay everything. Lay my naked self open for his whip.

“Didn’t you hear what
I
said?” As if from a distance I heard myself scream the question at him. Flinging each syllable like  razor sharp daggers.

Damn him. I
’d wanted to walk away composed. Or at the very least,
not a sobbing mess
.

“
You said you were mortal.”

Ash wrapped his huge hands around my upper arms and pulled me upwards. My chest flush with his. My forehead near his lips. My feet a good foot plus off the ground.

“So what?”

So what? What the hell did that mean? So what? I
’d just told him that I was mortal.
Not of his kind
. Not of any kind really. I was something different. Something weak. Something lacking.

So what?
So everything.

“
I’m mortal,” I shrieked it inches from his face. “Mortal. MOR-TAL.” I sucked in a breath, my chest heaving. “I’m not immortal.” I kicked his shins, smacked his chest with my fists. “I’m not . . .”

Ash shook me hard. “
Kate. Stop it.”

I kicked him again as hard as I could. I didn
’t want to stop it. I wanted to keep screaming at him, at fate. At everything wrong with my life.

But it didn
’t matter. It never did. This wasn’t helping. My little fit wouldn’t do any good. Change anything.

Ash lifted me higher so his next words brushed over my f
ace. “You’re not what?”

I opened my eyes. “
I’m just . . . not.” A sob caught in my throat. “Not immortal. Not a full witch. Not fully human. Just plain NOT.”

Fire roared to life over Ash
’s shoulders and down his chest. A second later the flames engulfed his neck and face, surrounding him in a cage of deadly hellfire so intense only his eyes were visible. Heated orbs of molten amber.

I
’d never seen Ash in his full demon state before. And if I survived his fury, I prayed that I never would again.

I couldn
’t look away. He was both horrifying and beautiful. Raw rage and incredible power.

I called on my magic, but it was too late. Nerve endings shrieked as flames burned my skin. I could barely form a clear thought, much less summon the words to a protective spe
ll through the agony.

Heat scorched my lungs and the smell of my own flesh burning filled my nose. Black dots crowded the edges of my eyes. As my vision began to fade, I saw his mouth open.

When he spoke, I didn’t recognize his voice, it was so guttural and demonic. His words passed through me, vibrating my charred flesh and shaking my bones with their force.

“
Never say such a thing to me again. NEVER.”

I had a brief moment to wonder at his words and then everything went black.

17
. Deliberate or Accidental Attempted Murder?

I woke up.

Funny, I hadn
’t been expecting that. I’d sort of thought I’d be dead right now.

But I was alive and - I lifted both arms, examining them closely - whole and healthy. A few freckles might be re-ar
ranged, but I wasn’t in agonizing pain, had no charred skin or even a blister marking me.

I was also in my own bed. With no memory of getting here. My last few thoughts had been totally caught up in the fire consuming my body.

The fire and a horrific amount of pain, I remembered that quite distinctly, thank you very much. I didn’t need those memories, the nightmares were going to be bad enough.

My brain wanted to shy away from the fine points of what had happened. Such as the fact Ash had almost killed me
.

The demon love of my life had nearly turned me into a crispy fried husk of myself.

The precise details were a little foggy.

Although I didn
’t think he had been trying to kill me. He’d been enraged. The hellfire consuming his body had been a clear signal of his fury, but I didn’t think it had been intentional. More like a by-product.

Then again if I was going to be killed, I
’d prefer it to be deliberate rather than by accident.

Wow. Where was my ostrich half when I needed her? My brain was just full of ha
ppy thoughts. I’m fairly certain I was simply trying to accept the fact that I was still alive.

It was so much better than dwelling about my boyfriend nearly killing me.

Boyfriend? No. Some of the details were starting to emerge. I drew in a ragged breath. Not my boyfriend anymore. I’d told Ash I was human.

“
You awake, Doll?” Al poked his head around the edge of my bedroom door as he whispered his question.

Right. Life carries on. My pity party would have to wait.

I tried to sit up, discovered I could do so easily and without a single twinge, and swung my legs over the side of my mattress. Someone had put me into the long t-shirt I used as a nightgown. “Awake and just fine.” I tried a small shimmy. No pain at all. “Where is Aunt Tabs?”

She was the only poss
ible answer.

“
She went home about a half hour ago.” Al jumped onto the bed beside me and began sniffing my arms. “She was exhausted. She had to put Bigfoot under again and you were a mess.” He growled deep and low. “It took a lot of magic to fix ya up.”

I
could imagine. On second thought, I didn’t want to imagine it. I’d lived it. That was enough.

“
And Ash?” A small dent in my bedroom door became suddenly interesting.

“
Ass is on the porch. He kept catching things on fire and settin’ off the smoke alarms.” Al crawled onto my lap, stood on his back legs and set his paws on my shoulders. “You sure you’re okay, Doll? I gotta tell ya,” he licked my chin, “I wasn’t sure you were gonna make it.”

I sighed. Kissed his furry little head. “
I’m fine, Al. I need to go talk to Ash right now.”

Al stiffened. His ears twitched and his back end trembled. “
Whatcha mean
talk
to him, Doll? That doesn’t sound like you’re gonna turn him into a toad and then put him in a pot of boilin’ water.”

Well, I would never lack for ways to
torture and kill someone with Al around.

“
No, Al. That is not what I am going to do.” He opened his little jaw. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt him, Al. I just need to talk to him.”

Al raised his lip. “
He tried to kill you. You were half burned . . .” His entire body shuddered.

I kept that part of my brain on hold. I was alive. I concentrated on that.

“I know, Al. I don’t think he meant to hurt me.”

Al snapped at my mouth. Shocked me into silence.

“Don’t ya dare make excuses for him, Doll.” He snarled. “Don’t ya dare.”

I buried my face in his little neck. He was right. Maybe. Sort of. I didn
’t know. Couldn’t recall much of anything.

I needed to talk with Ash.

“Al, I need to talk to him. Figure out what happened.”

“
He tried to kill ya. That’s what happened.”

“
Al.
Please
.”

He growled then jumped down and stalked to the door. “
I’m gonna watch ya through the kitchen window. That demon tries
anything
, Doll, and he’s done.” He walked out of my room and into the hall.

I didn
’t think he could truly hurt Ash, but then again, he is a very determined Chihuahua.

And if Ash
had
tried to kill me, it wouldn’t hurt to have him watching out for me.

I stayed where I was for a minute. Despite all my insistence with Al, I wasn
’t entirely certain I was up for a confrontation.

I remembered leaving
Madge’s,
crossing the parking lot and Ash stopping me. I felt fairly confident he’d been mad I hadn’t confessed my mortal status at the start of our relationship.

Pretty much status quo for me. I
’m a damned if I do, damned if I don’t witch.

But then . . . I swear, part of me remembered Ash getting angry on my behalf. But that didn
’t make any sense. No one ever got mad
for
me. I’m shunned for what I am.

I
knew
I wasn’t remembering things correctly. My mind had to  be playing tricks on me. But . . . Damn it all. What if Ash hadn’t been trying to end things between us?

Okay. So that was about one chance in, well, I wasn
’t sure I could even count that high, but the chance remained. A chance.

Spirits. Wasn
’t that what I’d always searched for?

And if I did have a chance, what then? Ash had nearly killed me. Accidental or deliberate, the facts remained the same. I was either about to face an ex-boyfriend who wanted to kill me or a current boyfriend whose fiery nature had ne
arly done me in.

My choices sucked.

I pushed to my feet, walked around my bed and went out the other door in my tiny bedroom that led to my porch. Where Ash waited.

He was at the other end of the porch. As far away from my bedroom as he could get.

My heart sank. Of course, he wouldn’t want to be near me. I was mortal. A freak in two different communities.

What had I been thinking? I
’d told him the truth about me and he wanted nothing to do with me. Nothing at all. He’d been so angry he’d
tried to kill me
. A simple break up text would have sufficed.

I took a deep breath. Shoved my shoulders back.

“Well, I’m alive.”

Ash jerked upright. The chair he
’d been sitting in toppled over and crashed on its side. He took one step in my direction and then stopped. Froze. Stiffened from those incredibly broad shoulders to his rock hard legs.

He
’d almost fried me, would walk out of my life in the next few miserable seconds and still I lusted after him.

Lust.

A paltry word, really, for what I felt. But I knew what was coming. I had to start protecting myself.

“
You are unhurt?”

I
’d noticed Ash would revert to a stiff and oddly formal manner of speaking when he was uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable.
Spirits, now I made him uncomfortable.

“
Not a scratch.” I smiled widely, displaying more teeth than Al at his worst. “Just fine and dandy.” I stretched my lips until they hurt. “And mortal.”

My fingers twitched. A reflexive action in response to my currents thoughts on how Ash would look as a toad.

Anger suited me just fine. I relished it. No way was that demon going to reduce this witch to tears.

No. Way.

“You do not feel pain?” Ash clenched his hands into massive fists. I cupped my magic. Ready for any move on his part. His voice dropped to a bare whisper. “You were very injured when I brought you here.”

I cocked a hip. And managed to casually thrust my breasts forward. “
No pain.” My shoulders twitched which shimmied my entire chest. “Like I said, I’m totally fine. And mortal.”

Wow. I
’m not a rip the bandaid off type witch, but right now I could not help but dig at my wound. Exposing it, in all its awful glory, for both of us to see.

Ash grimaced. “
I know.” He rubbed one large hand over his face. “I was so angry I . . .” He growled something under his breath.

There was a pause, a moment when it seemed as though we were both holding our breath. Waiting.

Then Ash thrust his shoulders back into a proud line. “Kate.”

He stopped. I dug my fingers into my palms and concentrated on that small pain. I would not cry.

I would not cry.

“
I’m sorry.”

Yeah. Me too.

So Ash hadn’t wanted to kill me. Great. Wonderful. I should be happy, but since he was going to leave me, I’d almost rather he did want to kill me. I was good at anger and revenge. Not so much the total annihilation of my heart.

I braced myself for his next words. Clenched everything in me to hold it together. I would not cry.

And I waited.

I honestly have no idea how long we stood there staring at each other. It could have been seconds. Minutes. But finally it h
it me that Ash was waiting too.

“
Okay. You’re sorry.” His shoulders might have flinched. I couldn’t be sure. I could only focus on keeping it together. “I got that.”

“
I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

Forgive him? Oh. Right. For setting me on fire. I
’d deal with that later. At the moment I was still waiting for him to break my heart.

“
You flame up when you’re upset.” Or when he was aroused. “I get that. I should have cast a spell first.” Damn it. I really should have. I’ve survived this long. I know survival techniques in dealing with the HC. My mom and aunt had drilled them into me every day as I was growing up.

And it took one demon to forget them all.

I couldn’t take this anymore. “Just get it over with.”

Ash frowned. “
Get what over with?”

“
Ending this.” I waved my fingers back and forth between us.

“
Ending this?
” He repeated the words back to me as if I hadn’t spoken them in English. “You think I am going to end our relationship?”

I had never taken him for a slow demon. Hot, hunky and loads of trouble
for my heart, but never dim witted.

Or it could be
I
was the slow one. Maybe in the demon realm setting someone aflame was the same as a break up text. Maybe we were already done and he’d just stayed to . . . What?

“
Yes, of course.” I scrunched up my forehead, trying to remember exactly what had happened after Ash grabbed me in the parking lot. “Unless you already did. I don’t remember much after I told you I was mortal.” I shrugged.
See?
I don’t care. I am not upset about this. My world is
not
ending.

Abr
uptly, Ash appeared to grow taller. Bigger. His shoulders swelled. Flames tipped his horns.

“
This is about you being mortal?”

Duh
. It always came back to that.

“
You think I don’t want you because you are mortal?” The flames flew down his horns and exploded over his entire body. Hellfire out of control.

And it all came back to me. Ash, engulfed in flames, shaking me. Burning me. Yelling at me. To never say . . .

“You are not less because you are mortal. You are
more
because you are part of both worlds. You are unique.” The flames went out as if someone had doused him in cold water. His body shrank back down to his normal size. Massive, but not scarily so.

“
And I hurt you.” He turned away. “Lock your door behind me.” Ash opened the door that led into my hall and walked inside.

The sound of Al barking ferociously jarred me out of my daze.

I reached my front door just as I heard Ash’s truck pull away from the curb outside. I slowly shut the door, turned the lock and sank down to the floor.

Al jumped into my
lap, licking frantically at my face. When his tiny tongue shot up my nose, I pulled him away and tucked him under my arm, grateful he was just a Chihuahua right now.

My entire brain had frozen right up. Every once in a while a word or a phrase would surfa
ce and make sense.