“I think so.”
The pain in his voice had me turning around in the tub to face him. My eyes dropped to his scared lips which were barely visible through the slitted mouth of his mask. I wondered if those scars covered his entire face.
“Tell me how you got your scars and I’ll tell you how I got mine.”
His eyes narrowed. “I know how you got yours. You are the worst kind of thief. A grave robber. You’re lucky you haven’t been speared on one of those fences. I’ve plucked a few souls off those iron spikes over the years.”
I pursed my lips at his arrogance. I had plenty of scars from grave robbing, yes, but there were others he didn’t know about. Some on the surface, and others that ran deeper. “Are your scars from when you were human?”
It was probably stupid to press my luck on this, since this topic clearly had him shutting down. But I was desperate to connect with him, to know things about him, to break through his defenses. I’d scaled spiked fences, broke through countless crypts, and picked every kind of lock there was. I could crack this demon’s emotional armor too.
“From when I died. Don’t bother asking how. I don’t remember, and I don’t care to.”
We fell into a moment of silence. I could tell my line of questioning had stirred up memories—or maybe lack thereof—for him that weren’t so pleasant. Things he hadn’t thought about in a long time.
But, I’d gotten what I wanted: a straightforward answer. Not one riddled with cryptic bullshit. And in a sense, I felt closer to him. It might have been a small crack in his emotional fortress, but it was there. Later, I’d take another stab at bringing the wall down completely.
Eager to lift the vibe of the room, I turned my attention to the chains and charms draped from his horns.
“You’re also a fan of jewelry.”
My gaze dropped to the water where a flash of silver could be seen beneath the bubbles.
“I don’t wear it for fashion purposes. Each demon lord has their own metal, and all demons under their rule wear it to show loyalty and allegiance to their respective realm. The King of Limbo is silver. The King of Lust is gold. The King of Gluttony’s is bronze, and so on.”
“So it’s kind of like a religious thing?”
“Of sorts.”
I smiled at him, and by what I could see of his mouth and the twinkle in his eye, I was sure he was smiling back.
I didn’t want to move. I wanted to melt into Belial and forget about what would happen when the morning came. How I’d once again be out in the maze, fighting to escape.
And if I managed to escape, if I broke out of this realm of death, I wouldn’t see him again. At least, not for a very long time. Not until my body gave out and my soul made its way back to purgatory.
Would he still remember me then?
Or will he have forgotten about these moments?
I exhaled shakily, chasing the thoughts away. None of it mattered, not right now. I could worry about it when the sun rose, when the countdown to my deal with the Lord of Bones stared me in the face again.
I would escape, and I’d deal with the disappointment then. But I didn’t want to be disappointed right now. I wanted to sit here with him forever, feeling the way his chest rose and fell beneath me with every breath. How his rough fingers danced over my skin. I wished the bubbles would disappear so I could admire every inch of him again.
“Are you ready to get out?” he asked, breaking my train of thought.
“And do what?”
He shrugged. “Eat. Sleep. Let me devour every inch of you.”
I found myself smiling. “That sounds fucking perfect.”
Chapter28
RAYVEN
Wrapped in a towel,I made my way back into the bedroom to find Belial splayed across the dark sheets of his bed wearing nothing but a fresh pair of black pants. His hands were tucked behind his head, his pale, muscular chest on full display.
He was sexy and he knew it, the cocky fuck. Still, I drank in every inch of him, wishing once again that he’d abandon his mask and let me see his face.
