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Asher brought his face closer while maintaining eye contact. “Do you still want to die, Quinn?”
The fact the prince had used my real name instead of his favorite term for me left me speechless, especially with a thick Italian accent leaking into his voice. I could feel my nipples hardening with his arm so close and the rest of my body was just as aware. Not a single word was willing to be woven together to launch off my tongue, which left me with the only option I had left. I shook my head slightly.
That seemed to please him. He drew back and let his hand slide down my throat. The path he left with those fingers left my skin on fire. It wasn’t long until the sensation started to wrap around my throat. Solid material formed against my skin, taking only seconds to nestle at the base of my throat.
I raised a hand slowly until my fingers brushed up against it. It was a new collar, except this one didn’t carry the same heavy weight that the original had. There were only a few links forming a small chain, allowing it to dangle comfortably on my chest. It was still a sign that the prince owned me, yet it wasn’t the immediate wall in my face that I was nothing more than a prisoner.
Asher cocked his head slightly when my stomach grumbled, breaking the tense silence that had engulfed the room. While the heat still remained dominant in his eyes, the amusement had returned and his lips twitched. “I suppose you need to eat something before we get caught up in the moment again, yes?”
When he pulled away from me, the strange hold he had over me finally eased and I sank down onto the ground. My lungs flooded with fresh air so quickly that the air spun around me. I didn’t realize the prince had stopped cold until he knelt down in front of me.
“Is this a habit of yours? Fainting?” His golden eyes surveyed my face.
I struggled to maintain my breathing. “Why do you care if it is?”
Asher didn’t answer me. Instead, he reached out and nudged down my lower lip, exposing my gums to him. His golden eyes narrowed into thin slits. “The doctor informed me that you were underweight. Perhaps I should have asked for more depth to be done to your bloodwork to see just how bad the problem was.”
His words caused a spark to flicker within me. Gritting my teeth, I jerked my head away to tear out of his grasp. “You already know what I am. I’m a bastard child. My mother didn’t hesitate to remind me every day of my life that I wasn’t like her. Half of my blood was his. So, no. Things like three meals a day wasn’t something I got to enjoy.”
“Is she the same one that left the cigarette burns on your back?”
I averted my gaze. The same heat that had haunted my cheeks only minutes ago returned in full force. “She had crafty ways to remind me of what I am.”
There was a sudden shift in the air that took me by surprise and the rage leaking from Asher’s aura had been shrinking down. He reached out to catch me by the jaw, keeping me from curling up into a fetal position right in front of him. All it took was a gentle tug from him before we locked gazes again. “Anita Rossi is your mother? Not your grandmother?”
I didn’t expect my lips to curl into a smile, even if it was one completely void of any emotion. “I look good for my age, huh?”
Asher shifted his hand so that he had a firm grip on my hands. “Get dressed. Your clothes are still in the guest room. We will talk after you get something in your stomach. Understood?”
The last thing I expected to do was nod in return. I had done my best to respond with as much sass or resistance, but I felt completely drained. Having the prince anywhere near me simply crumbled my will to refuse him. It certainly didn’t help that the demon seemed to give more of a damn about my well-being more than my mother ever did. I held on tight to him as he hoisted me off the ground.
He didn’t pull away until I had my feet firmly planted on the ground. “Get dressed,” he reiterated.
I reluctantly trailed after him. From how slowly he was moving, it was clear that he had no intention of letting me out of his sight until he knew that I was heeding his command. Ducking my eyes, I returned to the guest room. It took me a moment to locate every article of clothing. In the end, the only thing that I avoided putting back on was the bra.
The bite wound on my breast had essentially healed with the stunning tattoo left in its place. That didn’t mean the skin itself wasn’t still agitated. Attempting to get food in my stomach simply wasn’t going to happen if I had rough material reminding me of the events that had gone down only a few hours ago. By the time I had everything that mattered, a mixture of smells carried into the room.
My mouth watered at the wide variety that interwoven together to essentially carry out a song in its own way.
I emerged from the guest bedroom, honing in on all the delicious smells to help guide me toward the kitchen. There wasn’t a single part of me that was prepared to find the prince of demons himself moving around the kitchen, pausing long enough in various spots to carry out further preparation while a pot on the stove was already cooking. “Is that…Italian?”
“Contrary to what you might believe, pet, I am Italian.” Asher abandoned the chopped garlic cloves on the chopping board to hoist a thick chunk of meat from the pot.
“You don’t sound like an Italian,” I fired back, wrinkling my nose. Well, except for when his accent decided to sneak back in.
His golden eyes swung my way, causing my breathing to hitch. “Perhaps I’ve had to spend a little too much time in America.” He gestured at the bar stools lined up on the other side of the island counter. “Sit.”
It took everything I had to stifle a sigh and ease onto one of the stools. As soon as my ass sank down onto the cushion, a dull ache pulsed throughout my body — originating from my pussy. I froze with a soft hiss. A pleased chuckle from near the stove drew my gaze. “You’re pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”
“A man is always pleased if a woman he has bedded is having difficulty walking afterward.” Asher continued preparing the dinner without sending more than one quick glance my way.
My cheeks grew hot as the memories came flooding back. “So that…was your demon cock.”
“The incubus version of it that’s tied to my human form, yes.” Asher disappeared into the pantry nearby.
Delighted chills trickled down my spine when he returned with a bottle of wine. A sweet smell lifted into the air the moment he popped the cork and poured some of it inside the pot. “You make it sound like the human version of it is still very impressive.”
The prince’s golden eyes strayed toward me, the edges of his lips twitching. “I’m afraid you might not see much of that one if you keep triggering the reaction that you do, pet. It’s natural for a succubus and incubus to be drawn to each other. The fact you are only half succubus is still curious.”
