Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized, #1)

by Annette Marie

“This is … a lot,” he muttered. “Why did you make so much?” “Because you’ve been protecting me this whole time, and I wasn’t holding up my end of the deal. It wasn’t fair.” I twisted my hands. “I also wasn’t sure what you’d like.” Head canting, he picked up a shortbread cookie, its center packed with sugary raspberry filling and the top drizzled with sweet vanilla icing. He lifted it to his mouth, nostrils flaring to take in the aroma, then bit into it. I waited hopefully. Squinting at me, he held it in his mouth—then swallowed it whole. “Chew,” I told him in exasperation. “Ch.” He shoved the rest in his mouth, then picked up a s’more cookie with a crumbly chocolate-and-graham topping. He chomped it in half and gooey marshmallow stretched between the cookie and his teeth. He mashed the whole thing in his mouth. “Do you like them?” I asked anxiously. He selected a red velvet cookie. Ate it. Said nothing. “You were so quick to tell me my blood tasted gross, but you can’t come up with a single observation about my baking?” Smirking, he ate a fourth cookie without comment. “You’re infuriating.” His tail swished. He sampled the final cookie option, then licked a smear of sticky caramel off his finger. Grumbling under my breath, I turned to the sink heaped with dirty dishes. “In my world,” he said unexpectedly, “there is a type of … tree.”