Demon's Kiss by J.L. Weil

Hi everyone! I’m Jennifer and I write young adult paranormal romance. In honor of Halloween, I thought this would be a great time for a POV from the hot, bad boy in my Divisa series. (Everyone loves a POV from a stop-traffic-kind-of-guy right?) So start the roaring campfire, skewer some marshmallows, and pull up a tree stump. Chase Winters has a story to tell and God only knows what is going to come out of his glorious mouth.

DEMON’S KISS (A DIVISA GHOST STORY)

Leaning against the white porch banister, I waited for Angel to open the door. Like everything with her, she took her damn sweet time. She was infuriating…and for some ungodly reason, that turned me on.

She whipped open the door. Arms crossed, she stood in the doorway in pink fuzzy socks, black and pink plaid boxers, and a long sleeve tee. Her long auburn hair was pulled up into some kind of twisty mess on her head. Her lips turned down at the sight of me. “What do you want?”

I smirked, fighting the urge to plunk the pencil that was holding her hair up. “I was sent to retrieve you.”

Her blue eyes narrowed. “For what? Is someone dying?”

“No,” I said unable to stop staring at her cute pink socks…and her legs.

“See ya,” and then she began to promptly slam the door in my face.

But I was quicker than that – half-demon reflexes. My foot was blocking the door before it smashed into my memorably good looking face.

She gave me an icy glare. “Was that necessary?”

Drastic measures were always a necessity with her, so I dragged her out of the house by her hand, tugging her to the backyard. She of course did not go gracefully or quietly. “Zip it. You’re scaring the ghosts,” I hissed as she wiggled in my arms. If she didn’t settle down, I might very well skip this silly idea of Lexi’s and haul her off to my room.

Angel’s face went pale at the mention of ghosts.

“I’m kidding,” I said, knowing I was going to pay for it later.

Halloween was creeping around the corner and for some godforsaken reason I let Lexi talk me into telling a ghost story. Me. Did I seem like the kind of guy that told ghoulish stories around a camp fire to scare the bejesus out of little kids?

Well on second thought…

“Sit.” I stated, pointing to a sawed off tree stump as I plunked her on her feet.

Angel rolled those big beautiful blue eyes, but took a seat on one of the makeshift stools that were circled around a blazing fire next to Travis and Lexi. The flames licked as high as the treetops. I believed if you were going to do something, go big, no half-assing.

“Chase. Why am I here?” she asked, sounding miffed. Angel always had her boy shorts in a bunch.

“To hear the terrifying, mind-blowing, and bone-chilling tale of…Demon’s Kiss. Bahahaha.” I couldn’t resist the cheesy laugh.

“Are you serious?” Angel asked unimpressed with my skills.

“Deadly.”

“Cute,” she said dryly.

The corner of my mouth lifted, making me lose a little of my dark and dangerous scowl. “It was autumn night just like tonight,” I began.

“Is this going to take long?” Angel interrupted. No doubt her mind was on a video game when I wanted her thoughts to be only of me.

I gave her a steely glare with my silver eyes, and her mouth thinned. “The full moon was high and bright as a young woman with long raven hair roamed these same woods. Lost and heartbroken, her dress was torn and tattered, her feet blistered and bleeding. Her thoughts were consumed with her cheating boyfriend and her best friend – a classic betrayal. She wasn’t sure how much further she could go on when stumbled onto more than she ever bargained for.” An owl hooted from a tree over our heads adding an eerie ambiance to the cool air. “A stranger approached out of the mossy mist. Amadeus was his name, a demon with a reputation almost as bad as mine.”

Angel snorted, and I raised my brow before I continued my tale. “He had solid eyes as black as tar. It was said that if you stared too long and too deep, you could see all the tortured souls he captured in the black pits of his eyes, screaming in agony. His midnight hair was slicked back as he loomed over the weeping woman in red. To her, he looked like a savior in the abandoned forest, a ray of hope to her desolate situation, but the form he wore wasn’t his true nature. If she could have seen behind the mask he wore, she would have found the last bit of strength to run, far and fast.”

The three of them were captured, hanging on my every word. Travis with a sideways smirk, Lexi with her legs curled up underneath her and Angel with wide blue eyes.

I kept my voice low and steady with an hint of mystery. “Amadeus didn’t need guns, swords, or a glove made of knives to kill. It was his lips she should have feared, but those who have fallen prey to his charm found him irresistible. His breath not only steals their souls, it takes their life – their very essence. All were powerless to do anything because he used deception, his devilish glamour, and the ability to put thoughts into their heads. So when Amadeus kissed her tear-streaked cheeks, she was as good as dead. Yet it didn’t stop her from sighing into his the warmth of his lips as he pressed them to hers. Unaware that with each passing second their lips were locked, she lost pieces of herself. One long, earth shattering kiss and she crumbled to the pinecone covered floor. Sapphire eyes frozen in shock and horror, lifeless, they were hard like crystals. Amadeus glanced down from above her and licked the taste of her off his lips, her scream piercing inside his head. It is said that you can still hear her cries echoing with the howling winds.”

A hellhound yowled in the moonlight and Angel jumped in my lap. She had a bad rap with the dogs from hell.

My lips twitched. “It’s Amadeus,” I whispered on her neck.

She shivered and then proceeded to sock me in the gut, and I doubled-over with laughter.

“That better not be a true story,” she said.

My face split into a stupid grin. “You’ll never know.”

“I know one thing. I’m never kissing you again.”

We both knew that was lie.

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