Defying Instinct (Demon Instinct Series) by Jaye A. Jones

forest green of my father’s eyes.  Seeing part
of him in my reflection for the first time made tears well up again.  I’d never
known before how much I wished for that simple, human connection with my dad.
    I
had his full lips too.  And the light brown in my new…no, my real skin
tone was from his side of the family.  Seeing him and me side by side, someone might
guess he was my father now.  Which meant the copper and the gold in me was my
mother’s.  I wondered what she looked like.
    “See?”
Grayson’s arrogance grated on my now sensitive ears.  “You’re beautiful,
Savannah.”
    Stealing
one last glance at my copper sunburst and forest green eyes, I dropped my stare
and said evenly, “Spare me, Tempter.”
    I
heard Rowan chuckle, a low, animal rumble behind me, and Grayson shot him a
frighteningly cold stare. 
    I
tried to move the mirror away and marveled that I was strong enough to budge
the demon’s arm even a little.  Grayson got the hint and let the mirror fall as
I met his rock-hard stare.  He looked at me no differently now than when my
glamour was intact.  Steady and stony.  Whether I was ugly, or looked like I
did now, it was all the same to him.  I didn’t know what that meant.
    “You
guys mind giving me a minute?” after several silent seconds allowed me to get a
thorough picture of the scene. 
    Three
full-caste male demons, one shooting off vibrant bursts of sexual Tempter
tension and two doing their best not to look at the mostly naked, sweaty,
twitchy female huddled on the floor.  And my best friend seeing me nearly
naked, as vulnerable as I’d ever been.
    Yes,
I needed a minute.
    Without
a word, they filed out.  Cyrus retreated with a formal bow, the same as
before.  Rowan sneered, not looking directly at me.  Grayson smirked, and Benn hesitated
at the door, not convinced he should leave me alone.
    I
felt like I could sleep for a year.  I felt dizzy and hot all over.  As I
wobbled to my feet, I felt achy, as if I’d worked muscles I didn’t know I had.
    Before
Hadrian, I hadn’t.
    I
felt grateful for Benn’s concern, and for Rowan’s sweater.  I felt
embarrassed.  I felt the lingering sensuality of an Incubus who I had no doubt
saw claiming an innocent, fledgling Scion as a worthy challenge, made more
interesting by this more appealing form.
    I
felt scared about my dad’s reaction.  The unknown future terrified me.  I was
proud I’d been able to come out of the smoke-and-fire, and confused about what
happened after my glamour was lifted, little of which I recalled.  I felt happy
to have not been killed and that I didn’t kill anyone or do any permanent
damage to the store.  I was furious, but at the same time, exhilarated.
    For
the first time in my life, I really, truly felt.

CHAPTER 9
     
    When
I opened my closet, I ripped the door off its hinges.
    And
none of my clothes were going to work.  Nothing fit, and everything chafed. 
Even cotton sweatpants were uncomfortable.  My underwear was too scratchy, my
bras way too small.  Each time I turned to reject another shirt, I repeatedly
hit parts of my body I wasn’t used to having against the now door-less
doorframe of my closet.  My new, feminine hips and breasts felt badly bruised.
    Tears
came three times before I tore a pair of jeans apart and screamed at the pile
of clothes in a heap on my floor.
    The
only thing I could stand against my skin was Rowan’s sweater, so I pulled it on
with nothing underneath, and stood in the middle of my room.  If I had a
full-length mirror, I would be staring at myself, studying myself, trying to
get used to it.  I didn’t have any mirror but the small silver one Grayson
yanked off my wall.  Never wanted to see the full picture before.  Better not
to, I always thought. 
    I
wasn’t even sure I wanted to now.  With my skin screaming with remembered pain
and my eyes sensitive to even the slightest light, with my emotions becoming erratically
manic depressive, I had