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“Get on,” my mystery man shouts.
Too stunned to move, I simply stare at him, unable to comprehend that he’s here. Why is he here? Why is he rescuing me? He must not know what I am—who I am. If he had any idea of the evil that resides within me, of the horrible things I’m capable of, he would send me careening over the edge of this cliff.
His eyes narrow when I make no attempt to follow his order. “Now, little devil.” There’s a thread of warning in his voice, and something about it has me stepping forward.
The swishing of my skirt around my legs halts my momentum. “I can’t. My skirt.”
The Devil—for surely the devil is the only one who would come to my rescue—lowers his gaze. His eyes are like lasers, melting me as they cascade down my petite frame. How he’s looking at me… I’ve never been looked at like that. I’ve never seen the heat in someone’s eyes so severe that it can’t be anything other than intense desire.
Reaching the hem of my skirt, he rolls his eyes. “Here.” Planting a booted foot on the ground, he leans over and threads his fingers through mine, feeling the cold press of his rings against my skin. I jolt at the sharp tingles that erupt along my palm as he tugs me forward.
Letting go, his eyes latch onto mine, holding me hostage as his hands move to my outer thighs. My eyes widen in surprise as my entire body reacts to his touch. I’m sure he can see the instant blush that blooms on my cheeks, but still, his reaction doesn’t change. He simply stares deep into my eyes.
The feel of cool air pressing against my skin causes me to gasp as he pulls my skirt up. I open my mouth to argue, when he stops, holding the dress bundled just above my knees.
“No excuses, little devil. Now, get on before I decide to ride with you over my knee instead.”
Before I’ve genuinely thought it through, I’m lifting my leg to straddle the back of the bike. As he revs the engine, I do my best to keep some space between us. Staring dumbfounded at his back, I fumble with my hand placements, unsure where the best place is to put them. I’ve never touched another person like this and haven’t the first clue of what is or isn’t appropriate.
His chest expands on a sigh before collapsing, and he roughly grabs my hands, yanking them firmly around him. The hard tug has my body sliding forward until it’s pressed against his, and I gasp as warmth sears the exposed skin of my thighs and radiates outward. I’m instantly enveloped in a cocoon of cigarettes and gasoline—a deadly combination that sends my head spinning.
When the devil takes off, the blast of cold air that stings my eyes has me closing them as I duck my head. The world is nothing but a dark blur any time I dare to take a peek. Instead, I choose to block out the world around me and process my current reality.
I’m on the back of a motorbike! And I have no idea where I’m going! And I’m sitting very inappropriately against an incredibly hot stranger!
We bump our way over the loose stones as we descend the mountain track until we reach the main road that leads into town. Rather than turning toward town as I expect, he turns right.
As the bike begins to pick up speed again, a fresh wave of panic courses through me. In a bid to get his attention, I thump his shoulder with my hand, repeating the action until the bike slows and he pulls over to the side of the road.
As the roaring wind dies down, an awkward silence forms, and I climb off the bike on unsteady legs.
“Umm, thank you for that… back there.” I wave in the general direction we came from while staring at the ground, unable to meet the man’s eyes. “But I, eh, should be getting home.”
Creaking of the bike as the man swings his leg over it, has my eyes snapping up, watching as he stretches his broad frame to its full height and prowls toward me. I should be nervous, alone on the side of a dark, abandoned road with a man I don’t know, and yet, compared to the fear I just experienced at the hands of people I’ve known my entire life, I’m not. I’m not afraid of this man I don’t know, even when he’s glaring at me the way he is right now.
“You’re not going back there,” he growls, his voice a low rumble that vibrates against my skin.
Despite my body’s reaction, my eyes round in surprise. “What? Yes, I am. This is where my parents live, my home.”
I’m not sure where this newfound defiance has come from. Perhaps it’s because he is a stranger. He’s not someone I’ve had to walk on eggshells around my whole life. Not someone who has gaped at me in shock or fear or hissed nasty words in my direction when I walk by.
Over the years, I shrunk beneath everyone’s eyes in Esteridge. I curled in on myself, scared to say or do the wrong thing. Afraid to bring more hostility down on me or cause more problems for my parents. I’ve been slowly shrinking, caving in on myself until I was an inch tall and hollowed out on the inside.
Yet, right now, before this man, I feel a flicker of something spark to life inside me. When his eyes flash at my boldness, I wonder if he can sense it too.
“You realize you nearly got lynch mobbed, right? They were ready to fucking stone you to death!” He prowls closer as I struggle to come up with a response to that. “And don’t get me started on the things I’ve heard people say about you.”
“Y-you know who I am?”
His eyes flick over my blazing red hair before he reaches out to finger the ends. “The Devil’s daughter.” His reverent tone is so at odds with how I’m used to hearing those words spewed at me—typically hissed with contempt. “Where I come from, that would make you a queen,” he murmurs in a low voice.
Well, the only place that could be is hell. Maybe he truly is the Devil come to take me home.
His eyes are like two lumps of coal as I stare up into them. “Then what does that make you?”
One side of his lips lifts in a devilish smirk. “That makes me your king.”
CHAPTER FIVE
