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Romy
The sofa dips, groaning under a weight.
In the darkness, I bolt upright, clutching at my chest. “Fucking hell, Mak,” I gasp, “You scared the shit out of me. I had a dream you’d left for another job.”
My heart rate begins to slow. Then it stops entirely.
The shadow perched on the end of the sofa… it’s too big to be Mak. And why hasn’t he said anything?
My instinct is to kick out, but a strong hand grabs my ankle and yanks it hard until I’m flat on my back.
Before I can lurch upright and use my other limbs to attack, another hand grabs me. This time, it’s around my throat.
“I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I promise you, I’ll make it very difficult for you to get it.” With the hand squeezing my vocal cords, my threat leaves my lips with a rasp.
A deep chuckle slices through the darkness. And that’s when I smell it—the cocktail of leather and expensive aftershave.
My heart skips a couple of beats. The sofa dips again, and this time, the man I now know to be the Devil pins me underneath him, his beard grazing my cheek.
What the fuck is he doing here?
“Is that how you greet all guests?” he says coldly, shifting his grip from my throat to my jaw. God, his body is ridiculously heavy against mine. An impenetrable steel wall I couldn’t fight off, even if I suddenly developed superhuman strength.
I take a few deep, calm breaths. Stay in control of the situation, Romy. And more importantly, tell your fucking ovaries to stop quaking.
“If by guests, you mean assholes who break into my apartment while I’m sleeping, then no. You’d usually be dead by now.”
The way he laughs so breezily makes my cheeks burn.
“Why are you here?”
“I came here to kill you.”
My body stiffens under his. I know he feels it because he presses his hips harder against mine. That wasn’t all of your weight already?!
Calm. Stay calm.
“And that couldn’t have waited until morning? Killing me in the darkness is a cowardly move. You can’t even see my face. Or does not seeing your victims die help you sleep at night?”
Silence crackles between us. No noise except wind lashing the windowpanes and rain hammering against the roof. Then with the speed of a panther going for its prey, he lunges over my head and snaps on the lamp standing next to the sofa. As the amber glow floods the apartment, I wince before forcing my features to harden. Forcing myself to meet the Devil’s gaze.
Holy shit. My heart slams against my rib cage, even harder than it did when he told me he was going to kill me. Yeah, I’m on that level of sick and twisted. He’s closer than I thought he was, giving me a front-row view of the citrine whirlpools swirling in his eyes. His bushy brows knit over the top of them, creating an expression I can’t place. How old is he? Early forties? Older than my twenty-four years, for sure. All I know is that his blistering stare makes me feel…exposed. Like I’m lying here, stark naked, with all of my darkest secrets written all over my flesh. It makes me want to cower, to wither from underneath him and crawl into the shadows to hide.
But I refuse to give him the satisfaction.
“There,” I say firmly, yanking my chin out of his grip. To my surprise, his hand falls away from my jaw, and he lets me. “Now, you can look me in the eyes and kill me.”
The rational part of my brain is screaming at me to shut the fuck up. To stop calling his bluff because he really doesn’t seem like a man who bluffs. But like always, pride takes over. I gave him the satisfaction of bowing to him once. I refuse to do it again.
“You haven’t even asked why,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me. Fascination lingers around his words as those amber eyes scorch every inch of my face. They land on my mouth, and instinctively, I lick my lips.
“I guess I learned a long time ago that monsters never need a reason to do the bad things they do.”
He cocks his head, studying me. He rubs his pillowy lips together then swallows, causing his tree-trunk throat to bob. I can’t tear my eyes away from the movement.
“You know that I’m a monster, but you aren’t scared of me.”
You know. Not think, but know.Finally, fear starts creeping out of its little hiding space in the corner of my brain. I try to shoo it back into the shadows.
