“Is he a higher demon?”
Byron tilts his head and remains silent.
“I’ll take that as a yes. How does the hierarchy work?”
“Princess,” he slides toward me and flicks my hair over my shoulder, exposing my collar. “Stop playing with fire. Before it gets us both burned.” He downs his tea and walks away. “The collar looks good on you, Adriana. Do you enjoy being owned?”
I roll my eyes and wash up, despite the dishwasher I could use. My back’s turned, but I can feel the heat of his stare as it scalds my back. I try ignoring the fuck out of it, but it’s too intense to pretend it isn’t affecting me, and the attention is unwelcome. Especially when it focuses on my ass.
“You’re very intriguing,” Byron says, leering at me from across the loft.
“You’re very not.”
“You’re being frosty,” he says, sauntering back into the kitchen. “It doesn’t suit you, Adriana. We should be friends. Good friends.” He leans against the island as I lean against the other cabinets. “After all, I’ve seen you fuck. You’re spectacular—and I mean that as a compliment. My dick was in agony watching you that night and I’ve fucked my fist hundreds of times thinking about you since.”
I turn scarlet and he grins, delighted I’m flustered. I cross my arms, hoping they’ll buffer or protect me from him, and all it does is make my breasts seem larger, drawing his attention. It’s unwanted, but he doesn’t care.
“See, we’re getting to know each other.” Byron steps closer, into my space. “We’re going to be very good friends, princess.”
Not if he keeps this up. We won’t be.
My mouth opens to tell him what I think about the idea of us becoming good friends when it’s silenced by the thunder erupting in the loft. It’s louder than anything I’ve ever heard and my ears ring out in pain. My vision blurs as my balance goes, andI fall, tucking my head against my chest as I try to protect it from whatever the fuck is going on.
“Stay down,” Byron roars.
There’s not a chance I’m doing anything other than taking cover. The loft is no longer the safe, secure home it has gradually changed into and I won’t be able to fight back against whatever’s threatening us. Not effectively. Not when it’s using magic.
I can feel the atmosphere change, and the charges pulsing through the air are ferocious. They’re warping the world and bending it to their will, sweeping fear and dread across the room as they bear down on us. The air is tinged with darkness, and the haze that moves closer isn’t welcoming. It’s not here to be nice. It’s here to inflict pain and hurt, and it’s aimed at us.
At me.
It isn’t here for Byron.
My hands cover my head as I cower, curling up underneath him, using his body to protect mine. His arms box me in and the light fades as something covers me and I plunge into darkness.
I shriek and he laughs low. My head snaps up and two crimson eyes stare down at me, illuminating the darkness in a faint, red glow. It’s the color of blood, but there’s little life in the gaze I’m facing, only rage and the destruction that inevitably follows that kind of anger.
My soul shudders as he smiles at me, and I glimpse his teeth. Fangs. Whatever the fuck, the glow from his eyes is illuminating. They’re hideous and designed to main, harm, and kill. Ruthlessly efficient by the look of it.
“Don’t worry, princess, I’ve got this.”
I wish I had his confidence. His strength, if not his features. He’s powerful and I’m safer with him than against him, as much as I dislike that thought.
“We’re getting to know each other rather well indeed.”
“Will you stop gloating and deal with whatever the hell just showed up uninvited?”
His grin widens and it’s terrifying. It’s the smile of those who eagerly anticipate violence and its aftermath. Byron is relishing this and all its horror, and not just because I'm curled up against his chest.
“Are you asking me to save you?”
I grind my teeth. “Would you? Please?” My tone is as tense as the rest of me. “I'm sofucking desperatefor you to be my knight in shining armor.”
“Are you saying you'll let me whisk you away and lock you up in my tower?”
I groan.
“It's truly magnificent.”
