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“Hmmm …” He eyes me over then steps in front of me. “Let me make sure.” His fingers seek my hair.
I lean to the side. “Don’t touch me.”
He gives me a semi-annoyed look. “I just want to make sure they didn’t do anything to the back of that pretty little head of yours. My pets, while I tolerate them, can be extremely mischievous.”
“Then why did you leave them to keep an eye on me while I was passed out?”
“Because I had to run some errands, and it was either leave you with them or my demon friends. Trust me when I say you were way better off with my pets.”
I frown as the memories of before I fell asleep rush back to me. “You put a sleeping curse on me.”
He smirks. “Well, you shouldn’t have tried to run away.”
“Of course I should’ve.” My lip twitches with irritation as he reaches for my head again. “I woke up in a demon lair, for crying out loud. And after you kidnapped me.”
“I didn’t kidnap you.” He combs his fingers through my hair. “I merely borrowed you for an extended amount of time.”
I cross my arms, debating whether or not to duck away from his touch. On the one hand, he’s bugging the demons out of me, but on the other … Well, it kind of feels good. Like a gentle head massage. And right now, my head hurts.
“You can only borrow someone with their permission,” I point out, shivering as his hands tangle through my locks. A bad shiver, though. You know, the kind of shiver you get when you’re really grossed out by something …
I shiver again as he repeats the movement with his fingers, pulling a little harder on my roots.
Okay, okay, the shivering might be because I feel all fluttery inside.
Damn traitor body!
“That’s not true at all,” he disagrees. “You can borrow someone without their permission, just as long as you give them back.”
“You act like you’ve done that a hundred times or something.” My eyelids involuntarily shut as he slips his fingers through my hair again, his fingertips lightly brushing my scalp. It relaxes me so much and I find myself sitting down on the bed.
Good golly of all euphoria spells, that feels amazing.
He mimics the movement again, going slower, but the sensation is equally as lovely.
You need to stop him, Eva. He’s a demon! A demon who kidnapped you!
But you have been through a lot. Maybe just a little bit longer …
Lips abruptly brush mine, and I freeze, but I don’t pull back as a mixture of confusion, want, and repulsion flurry through me. Then the confusion nearly doubles as his tongue slips out and tries to part my lips. I almost let him, too. I don’t even know why. But then a voice screams in the back of my mind, yelling at me that this isn’t right.
“Hey.” I press my hand against his sturdy chest and push him back. “Back off, demon boy.”
He blinks at me, appearing a little dazed. Then the haziness in his eyes swiftly fades as the cockiness returns.
“Fine, waste your time pretending to fight it.” His lips tilt into a crooked smirk. “I think we both know that, eventually, you’re going to be begging me to kiss you.” He reaches out and grazes his knuckles across my cheek, moving so fast I have zero time to react.
“In your dreams, demon,” I sneer with my eyes narrowed. On the inside, though, my heart is dancing like a loopy pixie at the idea of actually kissing him.
I’m seriously so messed up.
“Max, why did you bring me here? You said it was to talk to me. About what? I’m guessing about what I am.” I have no clue why since he gives me vague answers to any questions I ask him.
He wavers then conclusively nods his head once. “I’m going to tell you what I know about you, but only if you promise not to freak out.”
“Okay …” I wet my dry lips with my tongue as I consider what he wants from me. I mean, sure, it sounds pretty easy to stay calm and take a little chill pill for a few minutes. Considering how I reacted to what Hunter told me, though, I won’t be throwing down any bets that I am going to be all chillaxed while sexy demon Goth prince tells me that I’m a freak. “But what happens if I do freak out?”
“Then I’ll have to curse you with sleepiness again.” He presses his lips together, his eyes leisurely scrolling over my body. “And since my pets are banished from ever watching you again, I’ll have to be the one to do it.”
I hug my arms around myself, wondering why he keeps looking at me like that … Like … Well, I imagine like how I used to look at Hunter whenever he washed his truck. When he’d take his shirt off and his muscles would get all wet …
Holy no self-control!
“Between the two choices, I’d rather have you do it,” I tell him truthfully. “You seem like the lesser of two evils.”
His low chuckle makes me squirm uncomfortably. “The fact that you can say that shows how naive you really are.”
I scowl at him. “I’m not naive. I’ve been through a ton of crap.”
“You are with guy stuff,” he states matter-of-factly as he plops down on the bed beside me. The mattress concaves beneath his weight and forces me to slide toward him. “You have no idea how appealing you are, and I find it highly amusing.”
“Yeah, okay.” I snort a laugh, scooting away from him. “You know what? I don’t think I’m the one who’s naive. You’re just an idiot.”
His eyes flash blood red. “You know, normally when someone insults me, I throw them in the fire pit.” His hand darts out, his palm landing on my thigh. Then he presses his fingers downward as he drags me back toward him. “It’s a good thing I think you’re too weirdly beautiful to ruin that pretty little face of yours.”
I shake my head, huffing an exasperated exhale. “Stop trying to prove a fake point.”
“Which is?”
“That I’m attractive or whatever.”
He muses over something. “Why does this make you so uncomfortable?”
I shrug. “Because it’s a lie. I know what I am—how I look. I’ve been told it enough times.”
“Told what?”
“That I’m hideous.”
He frowns, a crinkle forming at his brow. “What exactly happened to you in Mystic Willow Bay?”
I swallow hard as painful memories creep up of getting mocked all throughout my childhood. “I was told the truth.”
His eyes blaze like wildfires. “The truth?” He yanks me so close to him my legs end up on his lap. “You want to know the truth? The real truth?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer, putting his lips beside my ear. “Eighteen years ago, a little girl was born that was created from a demon with succubus bloodlines and a half-witch, half-demon feeder. The power of all four bloodlines were so powerful that no demon could resist wanting to get closer to her. The problem was, she was also so powerful that any demon that dared try to feed from her power died instantaneously. And then, one day her parents abandoned her in a lair. No one knows why, if maybe they were afraid of their own child or if the child killed them. Although, after meeting you, I no longer believe the latter.”
He wraps his fingers around my wrist, as if he’s afraid I’m going to try to bolt. “Then a bunch of idiotic witches found her and dragged her off to their magical kingdom where they let the girl pretend she was a pretty, pretty, almost powerless witch.” He cups his hand around the back of my neck and draws me closer, his lips kissing my ear as he speaks. “When really, she might be the most powerful hybrid demon that has ever been created.”
My entire body trembles. “You’re lying,” I croak. “I’m not powerful at all.”
“Why would I lie?” He breathes hotly in my ear. “And as for being powerful, you just haven’t been taught properly.”
“That’s not true. I took every power controlling class at school and none of them ever helped me improve my skills.”
“That’s because you were being taught how to use witch power. But you’re more than just a witch, my little rainbow trout.” He n
uzzles his nose into the crook of my neck, breathing in deeply. “So much more.”
I don’t know what to say or do or think. None of this makes sense, yet at the same time …
Well, some of it does make a little bit of sense. Like why the demon died when he touched me, or why the demons want me at all. If I have demon feeder in me—creatures that supply demons with power and magnify it—that would explain that part.
“Why did you bring me here, Max?” I whisper hoarsely. “Did you find a way to … feed off me?”
He continues to nuzzle his nose into the crook of my neck. “Would it matter if I did?”
“That all depends.”
“On what?”
“On what you need the extra power for.”
Instead of answering, he turns his head and places a kiss against my racing pulse. “God, you smell good. Like nothing I’ve ever smelled before.”
“Max …” I start, my voice wobbling. “Tell me what you need my power for. And why the other demons want it—”
The rest of the words are ripped from my tongue as a loud explosion booms throughout the room, vibrating the walls, bed, and the chandelier above us.
