Astaroth wasn’t going to push the issue. It was already remarkable she’d shared what she had. “The water’s warm,” he said, sinking neck-deep.
“Is it?” she asked, expression turning sly. This storm was passing, and Calladia, ever resilient, was coming out on the other side with a smile. She kicked her feet, splashing him. “I couldn’t tell.”
He wiped water off his face. “You look cold,” he said. “If you come in here I can warm you up.”
“An interesting proposition. And a totally selfless one, I’m sure.”
Wanting to tease more of her bad mood away, Astaroth looked around, then leaned in conspiratorially. “And—” He broke off, plunging beneath the surface with a shout and a splash. He flailed his arms wildly. “Help!” he shouted as he burst from the surface again. “The kraken!”
Calladia was already halfway in the pool and looked ready to strangle whatever was attacking him. When she realized he was joking, she laughed, then shoved a wave of water at him. “You jackass! I thought you were drowning.”
He coughed out the water that had splashed into his mouth. “Not yet. But you’re welcome to finish the job.”
She slid the rest of the way in and headed toward him. “You know what? I think I will.”
Well, there were worse ways to go.
TWENTY-FOUR
Calladia couldn’t believe the demon had pretended to be attacked by a kraken, of all things. Not a fire salamander, not the tiny hot spring fish that liked nibbling toes. A kraken.
He was grinning now, looking wicked and not at all repentant. His hair was plastered to his skull, and water droplets gleamed on his alabaster skin. It was so far from the icy Astaroth she’d first met that it was hard to believe this was the same person.
The fear rose again: What if, once he regained his memories, he changed?
Her chest still ached with residual hurt after speaking with her mother, but the water was hot, the demon was hotter, and Calladia wasn’t the type to fall victim to long bouts of introspection. She would seize what she could from the day and deal with any repercussions later.
Right now, Astaroth was here, he was smiling, and he was hers.
She leaped on top of him and shoved his head underwater.
The demon broke the surface a few moments later, gasping and sputtering. “Bloody hell!”
“I thought hell didn’t exist,” she teased. “Unless you really are Satan’s spawn?”
The hell question had been a point of confusion when Oz had first shown up, but he’d quickly clarified that demons were a separate species who lived on a plane adjacent to Earth, not evil diabolical creatures of the underworld.
Astaroth swiped water from his brow. “Mortal cursing is catchy,” he said. “And Lilith would resent that comparison.”
“Too evil?” Calladia guessed.
He shook his head. “Too cliché. Satan’s been done to death, don’t you think?”
His dry humor was too much. She splashed him again.
“Careful,” he said. “When attacked, I retaliate.” He glided toward her through the hot water, and Calladia slipped away, circling around the edge of the pool. She couldn’t move quickly in the chest-deep water, but neither could he. An even battleground.
The rock basin of the pool was smooth underfoot. Calladia pushed off, half swimming toward the edge of the pool closest to the rockfall. When she turned to see if Astaroth had followed, he was nowhere to be seen.
A hand curled around her ankle and yanked. Calladia’s shriek was swallowed by the water as it closed over her head. She kicked at Astaroth, then shot to the surface. “Cheater!” she said, spitting out a mouthful of water. Her braid had wrapped around her throat, so she pulled the tie out and started unwinding the sections.
Astaroth had popped up laughing next to her. The skin next to his eyes crinkled adorably, and he looked more carefree than she’d ever seen him. “You had it coming.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” She brought her loose hair over her shoulder, finger-combing it, and grimaced when she encountered a snag.
“Here,” Astaroth said, moving behind her. “Let me.”
The breath caught in Calladia’s throat. He fanned her hair out, running his fingers through the strands gently. She held still, very aware that they were mostly nude. With a slight shift, he could wrap his arms around her. His hands could wander past her hair, disappearing below the surface to explore other territory.
Astaroth massaged her scalp, and Calladia moaned. His motions stuttered before resuming.