He isn’t my mate. It shouldn’t matter.
“I’ve slept with demons before. I’ve slept with lots of men, Penelopia.” I tap my fingers lightly against the roses carved into the sleek wooden banister, but I feel his gaze on me.
I feel his gaze like I’ve felt his possessive hands on my body.
I don’t know how many times I can swallow back the emotions bubbling up inside me.
“And demons, they...” She clears her throat lightly, and whatever it is she wants to ask me, it doesn’t seem to have the nerve to crawl out of her pursed lips. “I’m going to check on the flowers,” she says so loudly, and suddenly I flinch.
Her heels click across the floor fast and hard, and she’s gone in a matter of seconds.
But Ryke lingers.
My lashes lift, and my stomach is a mess of chaos as my eyes meet his. Despite his bruises and scars, he’s so damn handsome when he smiles at me.
“She wanted to know if we’re different,” he says on a low rasp.
That chaos turns to a riot of lust low in my stomach.
I lift my shoulders and shrug at him.
“And are we?” He leans in close, his big hands clamping over the banister and caging me in with the weight of his broad chest pressing against my thin dress.
My fingers slip between us, and I trace every line carved deep into his skin. Every rune and every scar is rough against my fingertips. The hard pounding of his heart is smooth, though. Strong and demanding.
That’s exactly what Ryke is: strong and demanding.
“You were more than different,” I say on a ghost of a whisper.
His head tips low, and his mouth is so close to mine, I can taste the iron on his breath. “How so, Pretty Crow?” A big hand slides low down my back, and the room is empty just long enough, he seems to have the demon balls to travel even lower, with his fingers digging into my ass, so, so close to my sex that I can’t even think straight.
My breath shakes when my lips part to give him exactly what he wants. “You were rough. Demanding and in control, but gentle and sweet, as you fucked me so hard, I can still feel your cock thrusting deep into my pussy if I close my eyes.” My hooded eyes burn lust right into his gaze as we both breathe in those delicious memories of mine.
The groan that growls out of him quiets as he slides his tongue across his lips.
A hardness presses against my lower stomach, and it takes everything in me not to find the nearest closet and repeat that night over and over again until the fading memory becomes my every living reality.
“Ryke! I need you,” a voice calls from far off.
That’s all it takes. He shoves off from the banister, adjusting his cock from over his jeans as he strides right out of the room to go to the woman he’s bound to.
And I’m left breathless and watching him walk away.
9
A Deadly Party
Aries
Agown of pure red is tight and distracting against my breasts. How do I know it’s distracting? Well...
“Zav, are you listening to me?” Damien throws his hands in the air from where he stands behind my high backed throne, and I don’t have to look at them to know Zaviar is staring at my chest again.
Krave stands on my right in a surprisingly tailored black suit, and I feel his presence more than I see him. Because my gaze is trained straight ahead on my father, who speaks to the crowd who wear fine dresses and sleek suits. They’re here to drink and dance, and he’s giving a thirty-five-minute speech about the economy.
It’s... super exciting, as you can imagine.
“Our weekly auctions have had less than subpar turnouts the last two weeks. Perhaps it is because demons are not as in fashion as they once were, but as I always say, demons are irreplaceable to our society, and we covet the aid they give us.”
