I gave up on the paint-sodden towel that was just spreading the mess around on my blouse. My favourite blouse. It was ocean blue with a pattern of dancing rainbow axolotls. Well, it had been all those things. Now it was just brown from the rainbow of paints that had blended on it.

With a sigh, I unbuttoned it, drawing it off my shoulders. Oh, for crying out loud, even my bra hadn’t gone unscathed. I was going to have a lacy pattern etched in brown paint on my skin. But I had nothing to replace that with, so I headed for my box of supplies, dragging out one of the spare oversized painting T-shirts I kept in there.

What a fool. The one day I forgot to cover myself with my painting shirt. I’d been begging for exactly this to happen.

Satan Junior cleared his throat, and I glanced up just as he ripped his eyes from my chest, studiously looking everywhere but at me. His hands were in his pockets again.

Vindictive heat washed over me. I was ninety per cent tempted to strut around for the remainder of the session in just my bra and jeans. He deserved to feel at least as uncomfortable as he was making me.

“Oh, you poor little babies!” Ellie cried, and I turned to find the girls wrapping the little fur demons up in clean towels. They were deviously docile again. “You’re all messy!”

Satan Junior sauntered over to them, producing something from his pocket and handing it to Faith. “They love a warm bath, girls,” he informed them. “It is very calming for them.”

Faith beamed up at him and proceeded to feed whatever little treat he’d magicked up to the vile critter in her arms. “Well, they just had the crap scared out of them, of course they deserve some relaxation after all that stress!”

Harper hurried to the sink, filling it with warm water.

“You’ll be all clean very soon, we promise!” Ellie announced.

“Does no one care that I’m stressed and dirty over here?” I muttered.

“I care, Mouse,” he murmured as he returned to his chair, his expression smug. Not a single blond hair out of place. But his eyes strayed to my chest, just briefly. And his face flushed, high on his cheekbones.

I shoved the T-shirt over my head, stabbing my arms through the holes. He didn’t deserve a free boob show. Besides, I was an adult looking after minors. Walking around in my lacy bra to antagonise my fake boyfriend was the height of inappropriateness.

Oh, who was I kidding? Everything about this entire scenario was inappropriate.

I set to work righting the space, fantasising about gouging his eyes out with a paintbrush as I returned it to the water jar.