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The man shrugged. I watched the visible parts of his tattoos flex under his now-sweaty black t-shirt as he picked up his own shot. “You could say that,” he said. When the bartender returned, the stranger flagged him down. “Put her tab on the house,” he ordered.
“Yes, Sir Alek,” the bartender replied before scurrying away.
In the midst of my tequila fog, I froze. “Sir Alek…” I repeated. He put our tab on the house? And the bartender called him Sir?
Natalie had mentioned the name of the owner in her ramblings on the way here. She had called him… Alekzander Black. He also happened to be the notoriousprince of demons. Not a real prince, of course. Just like his father wasn’t a real king. But together, they ran the underground legion of demons in the area.
And now, the demon prince was standing right in front of me.
The stranger—Alek—stared at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to piece it all together.
“You’re Alekzander Black?” I questioned. “As in, the owner of this bar?”
He nodded and clinked his tequila glass against my own. “The one and only.” A smirk played on his lips.
I was too stunned to down my shot. I watched as he took his without so much as blinking.
“That means you’re—”
“A demon?” he finished, raising a dark brow. “Considering you know that, you must not be human, either.”
“No,” I stuttered. My mind raced for an answer. I couldn’t tell him who I was—who my mother was. Nobody could ever know that. The only reason I knew about demons was because of her, but he didn’t know that. I had to lie. “My mother works with gods and goddesses. She’s let me in on a few secrets.”
He looked me up and down with raised brows.
“I’ve never met a demon before,” I said, desperate to change that topic. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest, I was certain he could hear it. After a few seconds, though, the smile returned to his face.
“Today must be your lucky day, then. I take it you’re here to celebrate college graduation?” His arm brushed against mine as he leaned closer. The bar was so crowded around us, I had to lean in to hear what he was saying.
“My best friend dragged me here. She couldn’t turn down anexclusivenight at Night Raven.”
“Well, I’m glad she dragged you along,” he teased. “It’s not often that we see many newcomers around here. Especially newcomers who know about us.”
I finally took the shot of tequila I had been holding. It seemed to taste hundreds of times better than the first shot of the night. I didn’t even need the lime as I turned back to Alek.
“Do all demons have eyes like yours?” I asked. It was blunt and forward, but the alcohol was turning me into a brand-new Lyra.
“Demons have brightly colored eyes,” he started. He leaned in dangerously close before finishing, “but you’ll never find another pair like mine.” His voice dripped with seduction, whether he meant for it to or not. I stared into his eyes, and he held my gaze like an unspoken promise.
“What’s your name, new girl?”
“Lyra,” I answered. “Lyra Sol.”
“Lyra,” he replied, his lips slowly spreading into a smile. “I like that name.”
“I’ll send your compliment to my mother,” I joked, but the mention of my mother sent a harsh bolt of reality through me. I immediately stiffened. If Alek noticed my blunt change in attitude, he didn’t show it.
“I have a proposition for you, Lyra Sol,” he said after a few seconds.
“Oh, really?” I questioned. “What’s that?”
“My father’s been on my ass for quite some time. He insists that I find a date and settle down, something about what’s best for the family and all of that.” I waited for him to continue. “I know we just met, but would you consider being my date to a small event tomorrow night?”
My first reaction was to laugh, mostly because this entire situation was so ridiculous. But Alek didn’t know that. He didn’t know how sheltered my life had been and now rare this was for me.
“Sorry,” I started, “but I have a very strict mother. There’s no way she’ll let me do something like that.”
Alek moved even closer—close enough that I could see each one of his thick, dark eyelashes as he stared into my eyes. “What if I swore to you that she would never find out? Demons can be very sneaky, you know. You’re the perfect girl to help me get my father off my back.”
