Page 56 of The Devil and His Ghost

Xander’s smile grew with the news. “Is that right? Want to spend those days off with me?”

“Hmm,” I pretended to ponder while studying my black nail polish. I shrugged. “I suppose I could hang out with you. Since I have nothing better to do.”

He laughed, and I looked away to hide my own mirth.

Just a few more days. I wanted a few more days with my monster.

Chapter 20

Xander

(Two Years Ago)

SWEAT LINED MY FOREHEAD, MAKING the ends of my black hair cling to my face. The energy of the crowd still rushed through my veins as the guys and I filed into the backstage area with shouts of Sinners Do It Better still echoing through Madison Square Garden.

“That’s how you do a show,” Zagan cheered, clapping all of us on the back. “Fuck, that was perfect.”

“My body is buzzing,” Perseus practically moaned. His heavily ringed fingers tugged at the elastic band holding his golden curls back and shook his hair out. “I can’t wait to burn off all this pent-up energy in the hotel room with a delicious meal.”

All of the guys snapped their fingers, turning any sweat and grime on their bodies into shadow. They were as clean as though freshly washed. I could’ve done the same, but there was something I found therapeutic and refreshing in taking an actual hot shower after a concert. Typically, I’d follow that by joining the rest of the guys at whatever after-party we had set up where there would be lots of sex with humans, music, drinks, and human drugs.

But tonight was different.

“I’m actually going to dip,” I announced. “I have other plans.”

“With your pet fish?” Perseus asked flatly with a raise of his brow.

I flashed him a wide grin while ignoring the confused looks that Zagan and Dante now wore. “You got it.”

Much like last night, our concert ended late, the clock reading just past 11 p.m. I wasn’t sure what time Kendyll would be released from her duties with Bethelma after their live show, so in case she finished before me, I’d given her my apartment address and the security code to get the elevator up to my penthouse. My blood heated at the thought of Kendyll waiting on me in my place right this very second.

With a rush of shadows converging around me, I vanished and reappeared in my penthouse living room. My demonic senses picked up on a presence. I turned and found Kendyll sitting at my kitchen island, an array of to-go boxes laid out before her. Nightly, the stuffed bat, was in the chair next to her, and Catsper perched on the kitchen island, trying but failing to get into the boxes of food.

She straightened her glasses when our eyes met and cleared her throat. “I thought you might be hungry after your concert, so I grabbed food on my way over.”

The smell of the authentic Chinese food wafted over, making my stomach growl and something even sharper twist through my chest. She could’ve brought any food, yet she’d chosen this restaurant. “You remembered that place?”

“Of course,” she grumbled with a purse of her lips and averting of her eyes. “It was my first meal after leaving Mountview.”

I closed the distance between us and braced my hand on the back of her chair to box her in between me and the island. I reached behind her to peek through the dishes.

“You got all the good stuff. What a good girl. Give me five to shower. I’ll be right out.”

“I’ll make the tea while you wash off.”

I hopped into the shower, but where I normally would’ve taken my time to enjoy the heat and steam, I finished quickly tonight. With only a pair of sweatpants on, I padded back out into the main area of the apartment. Kendyll was pouring the tea into two cups, dark hair falling into her eyes as she looked up at me. Her gaze dipped to my bare torso where a few drops of water landed from my damp hair.

She pressed her lips together and refocused on the tea. “The food should still be warm.”

From the color dusting the tops of her ears, I’d wager the food wasn’t the only thing warm. The memory of the other night was still maddeningly fresh. Kendyll discovering herself was hotter than anything I’d ever fucking seen, and I didn’t even see anything. Her clothing had remained on, our physical contact the bare minimum.

I was trying to take Perseus’s advice, helping her learn how to be comfortable with herself, which would hopefully help her be comfortable with me. But it was gooddamn hard, especially when our eyes would meet with a deep longing for more simmering there between us. I wanted to see her lose herself to pleasure. I wanted to see every naked inch of her stunning body. But I’d wait until she was ready.

Sitting side by side in my kitchen, we dug into the food.

“How was the live show?” I asked her while grabbing some smashed cucumber.

She sighed around a bite of her black sesame bun. “Exhausting. There were actually a lot of people there with attachments. Once the ghosts realized I could see and communicate with them, it became a mad house, each of them wanting their turn.”