Her Witch, Her Demon: Book 1 of Hers Trilogy [WxW]

6. The Bond

On Friday evening, following the address Nyx had given her, Meredith arrived in front of a lone mansion surrounded by nothing but rows and rows of trees and green foliage. The large black gates opened for her automatically and she drove into the house for another several minutes. Such an opulent residence was something she would expect from Onyx Castle. Did Nyx live in this mansion all alone?

Meredith gently knocked once. The door opened, and there stood Nyx in nothing but a sports bra and a pair of shorts. Meredith froze for a moment, staring at the woman's chiseled abs. Never had she seen Nyx dressed so casually, or wearing so little.

"Hey." Nyx's voice finally pulled Meredith out of her trance.

"Hey," she managed to say back without sounding breathless.

Nyx opened the door wider and let Meredith in.

"You have a beautiful home." She had expected the interior design to have a Victorian-era feel. However, it was more modern than she had expected.

"Thanks." Nyx winked at her. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

"Great." Nyx took Meredith's hand, the warmth of her fingers tingling Meredith's skin. "I just made dinner."

Meredith raised a brow. "You can cook?"

"I can do a lot of things, Meredith." Nyx's intense gaze pierced right through Meredith and her heart skipped a bit. Even more slowly, Nyx added, without taking her eyes off her, "A lot of things."

Heat rushed up Meredith's face, then down into the nether regions of her body. Nyx grinned, and Meredith blushed. God, this woman would be the death of her. A delicious aroma invaded Meredith's senses as soon as they walked into the massive kitchen. Nyx pulled a chair from behind the kitchen countertop and helped Meredith sit. Then she went back to stirring the stew. Meredith smiled at how seriously attentive she was.

She blushed when Nyx caught her staring, but the demon smirked and then went right back to stirring. It was refreshingly odd seeing her so carefree, so human. But no... Nyx was neither human nor a witch. A pit opened in Meredith's stomach as she remembered why she had come over in the first place. She'd been dreading this conversation all day.

Ever since Nyx sent her that gift, Meredith's parents had been curious about who she was. She told them she was seeing Onyx Castle. Other than being surprised their daughter was dating one of the wealthiest people in Green Front, her parents didn't mind at all. Meredith knew why; they thought Nyx was human. Just as most people did.

She hated that she was lying to her parents, but she just didn't know how else to deal with this. Especially after what her parents had told her. How should she even bring up this subject?

"Meredith. Are you alright?" She didn't realize that Nyx was already serving her the food. Meredith's lips shuddered a bit as Nyx stroked her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

But Nyx's eyes weren't convinced. The demon sat beside her, watching her silently as though waiting for her to tell her when she was ready. With a single look at Nyx, Meredith knew she couldn't possibly hide anything from her. She sighed. "There's something I have to tell you."

Nyx nodded but said nothing.

After hesitating for a while, Meredith continued, "So, I told my parents about you. About us."

Nyx's expression didn't waver for a second. "They know you're dating a demon?"

"About that..." Meredith twirled her fork in the pasta. "They think Onyx Castle is a human."