Angel Blood

19- Pillow Talk

A muscle in his jaw twitches. "Yes?"

"I'm not tired."

He sighs. "Of course you aren't."

"Tell me about yourself." I don't know what we are, but if there's one thing for sure it's that I don't know nearly as much about Sinclair as he knows about me.

He squints at me, forehead crinkling. "Like what?"

"Your favorite animal, favorite food, what circle of hell you crawled out of." I snort at the disgruntled look on his face. "The basics."

He hesitates before speaking. "Cats, whiskey, and Chicago."

I stare at him. At some point, the idea of him emerging from hell had faded with the illusion of his uncrackable armor but the idea of him living somewhere so mortal remains strange. "Chicago? Are you mixed blood?"

"Both parents are full-blooded, as far as I'm aware." He rolls his eyes at the surprised expression on my face. "Unfortunately, I'm not part of the generation who crawled out of hell. Sorry to disappoint."

"I am a little bit," I mutter, grinning when he scowls at me. "What are your parents like?"

"Dad's a deadbeat and mom's a drug addict."

"Oh," I blink. "Damn. Sorry."

"Don't be." He sighs into my hair but doesn't bother looking torn up at the fact. "I got over it a long time ago. Left that life behind when I settled down here."

I hum, studying the way he keeps his face carefully neutral. I know what it's like to have mommy and daddy issues (well, lack thereof, but still), and can recognize the uncomfortable shrug-off that comes with curious and sympathetic questions from a mile away.

"So," I say, reaching up to brush the stray piece of dark hair that falls over his forehead, "cats, huh?"

"They're cute and angry," he says, pausing thoughtfully. "Maybe that's why I like you too."

"You finally admit to liking me, huh?" I poke his cheek again, enjoying the flash of annoyance that flits over his face. "Does that mean I get special privileges?"

He raises a dark brow. "Such as?"

"Clothes, for starters? Maybe something to do around here instead of laying around and being bored out of my mind?"

His head tilts as he gazes curiously at me. "I'll see what I can do."

My chest swells so intensely that I have to resist the urge to wiggle with excitement. "Really?"

"Really." His lips twitch at the unadulterated delight that fills my face. "On one condition."

I still. "What?"

"In a few days I'll be having a few business partners over. Some that are very curious about your presence." His fingers brush over my lips as they pull into a firm line. "I need you to be willing for me. Quiet for a little—just enough for them to satisfy their curiosity."

"I don't like being your show dog."

"I'll let you have a job at the bar." Any complaints die on my tongue as I blink in astonishment. "No Theo or Oliver watching you. Just someone to teach you the ropes and help out if you need it."

I grab his wandering figures and they cut down my chin, looking for any teasing traces across his face. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He tugs his hand from mine and pushes the hair back from my face. "You can have one drink a night. And for fuck's sake, stop drinking all my ten thousand dollar vodka."

I frown. I know it's only pocket change for Sin and annoying him by drinking his expensive liquor is far more amusing than it should be. "It's only ten thousand?"

"Only?" He flicks my nose. "Stop being a brat."

I slap his hand away. "Only when you stop being an entitled asshole."

We fall into a comfortable silence after that. I curl closer to Sin's body, nearly drifting off again until the door to the downstairs swings open forcefully. I startle, clutching the blankets to my chest even though Sin's oversized shirt still drapes around me.

Theo's head peeks from the corner, eying us suspiciously from around the wall. "How naked are you from one to ten?"

Sinclair groans, turning his head away and shutting his eyes again. "I thought I sent Oliver."

"You did," he says, deciding that we're not nearly bare enough to deter his presence and strides over to the bed. He tosses a box in my lap. "'I don't want to walk into him cramming his ugly into every available hole. You do it.'" Theo shrugs as Sin scrubs an exasperated hand over his face. "He said it, not me."

"Does she have it?" Sin says, cracking an eye to scowl at him.

He smiles pertly. "Yes."

"Okay. Now you can leave."

He frowns. "But I haven't had the chance to ask Calli—"

"You can ask her later, Theodore. Leave."

I smile as Theo huffs. "Why?"

"Because I'm assuming you don't want to watch me cram my ugly into every available hole." He pauses as Theo stares blankly at him. "Right?"

Both of us know that he'd be hardly fazed by such a sight but the dangerous look growing on Sin's face makes him wince. "Uh, right." He glances at me as he heads for the door. "Please wear a condom this time. If Oliver bitches this much about you two fucking I can only imagine what I'll have to listen to when he has to babysit your hellspawn."