It takes more than a few seconds to make my legs listen again so I can follow him. The attractive brunette behind the desk lights up like a Christmas tree when her eyes land on Kaiden. “Mr. Black, so good to have you back. I have already prepared the penthouse suite, as per your request. I will personally accompany you to your room,” she gushes.
What? Did he fuck her or something?
Crescent moons form in my palms from how tight my fists are.Nope, Iris, we are not getting possessive over a lying demon. Besides, I have to get used to him being with other women. I told him it’s over. Eventually, he will finally get the message and move on.
The thought is so devastating, it knocks the wind out of me.
As if having a direct line to my thoughts, Kaiden throws me a worried look. When he turns to the receptionist, his eyes turnto two glaciers. His tone is equally arctic as he says, “There’s no need. Can I have my key card?”
She flushes beet red when she slides it over the top of the desk. “Of c-course.”
I should probably feel bad for the woman, but I don’t have it in me to care. In fact, I fight the urge to smile. “What about my key card?” I chime in.
“You’re staying with me.”
I scoff. “You must be on acid.”
He levels me with a stony glare. “Iris, don’t make me throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the room because you know I will. I’m not leaving you alone after what happened only hours ago.”
If I thought the receptionist couldn’t turn any redder, I was wrong. She looks as though she’s about to burst into flames. He has a point, though. What if demons come for me again? “Fine,” I bite back reluctantly.
The usual electricity between us is intensified a hundredfold by the elevator’s small space. Then the doors finally slide open, and unlike Noah’s touch, when Kaiden places his hand at the small of my back to guide me to the door, the gesture feels so natural it melts my insides.
The room is precisely the level of opulence one would expect after seeing that lobby. It has a four-poster bed with a seating area in front of it, a bathroom that rivals the one in Kaiden’s penthouse, though not as big, and a separate living and dining room. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a pool table. However, the best part is the terrace that overlooks the city, which right now gives a breathtaking view of the sun cresting the horizon on a fiery background.
“What would you like to eat?”
I peel my eyes off the window. “I’m not hungry.”
His brows furrow as he drops the room-service menu on thetable. “How come? You didn’t want to eat on the plane, either. I thought you would be starving by now. When was the last time you ate?”
Yeah, old Iris would be. I don’t tell him that, though. “I had dinner with Sam.” Well, it was more watching her stuff her face while I pushed the food around the plate.
Concern deepens the lines around his mouth. “Did you?” His eyes sail over my body, but it’s not in a sexual way. “When I held you in the shower, you were too light. I thought I imagined it, but you’ve lost weight. Have you been eating at all lately?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
His nostrils flare as he grabs the landline. “I’m ordering you some chocolate chip pancakes. Do you also want some strawberries? Fuck that. I’m getting the whole goddamn menu.”
I fold my arms in front of my chest—a feeble attempt at putting some kind of barrier between us because him being so worried about me flays me open. “Can you please drop it? It’s a fucking waste to order that much food if I’m not going to eat anything. I can’t, okay?”
“I can’t watch you hurt yourself.”
“And whose fault do you think that is, huh? The day I left your penthouse with a hemorrhaging heart was the moment I lost my fucking appetite,” I blurt out acidly.
Fuck.
I didn’t mean to give him a glimpse into how much he’s broken me. Kaiden looks like I could have stabbed him, and it would have hurt less. I whirl around to open the terrace door and step out. I’m on the verge of tears, and I don’t want to cry in front of him again. Plus, Kaiden’s emotions are so volatile, they sink into my pores as if they’re my own. It’s weird and suffocating.
32
Iris
Kaiden’s hand caresses my naked back, from nape to tailbone, pressing my cheek and breasts further against the velvet material of the pool table. Fireworks go off at every single point of contact. The coldness of his silver rings biting into my feverish skin only stokes what was, until now, a low-burning fire to a chemical one.
“Fuck, angel. I wish you could see yourself. You’re a goddamn vision, all tied up and at my mercy.” Silky rope is not only twisted around my torso, continuing along my middle and pinning my forearms flat against my back, but it also ties my ankles to each of the pool table’s legs. I’m spread open for Kaiden’s viewing pleasure. Just the thought of him having complete control over my body is incredibly arousing. So muchso that I’ve already made a mess out of the fabric beneath me.
He teases me by dragging his thumb over my throbbing clit. “You’re dripping for me, angel.” He pours the amber liquid from his lowball glass in between my ass cheeks before bending to lap at it in long, languid strokes. Stars burst beneath my eyelids when he groans, then plunges his tongue into my pussy. Once. Twice. He stands, placing the empty glass near my head. “Mmm, so fucking delicious. I think this is how I’m going to savor my rum from now on—from your greedy little cunt that was made just for me.”
