I pushed up from the mattress, even though my body was angry at the effort. My phone and clothes lay on the dresser, but I only bothered grabbing the phone before returning to bed. It blinked with an unread text, and since I didn’t get many of those, I clicked it open.
Dad.
I’m worried about you. I’ve been asking around, trying to find a loophole, a way to get you back. I think I’m onto something.
My heart squeezed tight. The one person I missed from outside the Spires was him. And he hadn’t forgotten about me. Yet how could I explain to him that I was coming to enjoy my time here, more than I ever realized I would? In my old life, I’d been replaced—at least at work—whereas here, I had purpose. I liked my PA work, I loved the library here, and the community I’d become a part of was something I’d craved for a long time.
And truth be told, here I had Cillian.
I shot him a message back.
I’m okay, Dad. I’ll be fine.
Then I placed my phone on the nightstand and settled against the pillow. Cillian’s booming footsteps alerted me he was about to return. My body hummed with readiness for his presence, whether the comfort he brought or the excitement. I was wholly addicted to both.
Cillian entered, looking the picture of sexiness with his tousled black hair, his button-down open and baring his chest. He carried with him a tray of food and a small kit in hand. I’d discovered that for as much as he loved to unleash with me, he also loved tending to me afterward. He was a creature of dualities, and the more I learned about him, the more enamored I became.
“Let me clean you up,” he said, settling beside me again with the kit in hand. In a few deft motions, he had swabs doused in antiseptic, which would sting like a bitch. But this wasn’t the first time he’d sunk his claws into me, and I hoped like hell it wouldn’t be the last.
He swiped at the marks around my hip, and the sting made me wince, even if it faded fast. Cillian worked quickly, though, applying the antiseptic and then the salve afterward.
“You know, when I first met you, I never would’ve imagined you’d do this,” I murmured.
He arched a brow. “Did you expect I’d toss you out after?”
“Well, truthfully, I didn’t think you wanted to fuck me at all.”
“From the moment you marched into my casino,” Cillian said, his voice a low rumble. When I met his eyes, a shiver rolled down my spine at the intensity there. “Why do you think I came down in the first place? Your mettle had me intrigued from the start, as did the way you didn’t hesitate to sacrifice yourself.”
I’d expected him to comment on my looks, as that usually attracted most, but the fact that he hadn’t sent a sharp spear of longing right through my heart. Fuck. Everything about Cillian had drawn my curiosity from the beginning as well, and now I was smitten.
Cillian shifted up farther on the bed and spread his legs. “Come here.”
Clearly, he meant for me to sit between them, and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance. I scooted up and leaned back. His arms wrapped around me, heavy but with a sense of safety I’d craved my whole life. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, the sweetness of the motion coursing through me.
“The moment I saw you,” he said. “I thought…maybe it could be you.”
I waited for him to continue, but he trailed off, his quiet the sobering kind I didn’t dare breach. Instead, I relaxed against him and soaked in the warmth he offered, heat rolling off him in waves.
“Why Olivia?” I asked, the question striking me.
A rumble vibrated deep in his chest. “Your curiosity is unending, isn’t it, pet?”
“Is that all the answer you’ll give me?” I asked.
Cillian stroked his claws along my thigh, the sensation sending a sinful shudder through me. “After you had to suffer throughher presence, I at least owe you an answer. I’ve…not had the most successful dating history. My father always had business and wealth, and that offered a protection of sorts in this realm, despite us being demons. Ruthlessness was what he praised, and I was usually found wanting.”
I didn’t dare interrupt, his sensual, rich voice like a lullaby.
“Yet, I had my mother. She was kind, everything my father wasn’t. She wanted to leave him, and I wanted to escape with her. Yet my father had been involved with some dangerous businessmen.”
“Glacier Enterprises?” I asked, seeing the threads tie together.
He let out a low whistle. “Every time I think you couldn’t be smarter, you prove me wrong. Them, exactly. My mother got caught in the crossfire—literally—and when she passed away, every bit of softness was beaten out of me. You asked why Olivia? Because even though I still mourned my mother, some twisted part of me tried to impress my father. And she was everything my father approved of. A go-getter who didn’t hesitate when it came to underhandedness. Ambitious, cutting, strong. And yet those traits didn’t end up saving my father either when Glacier Enterprises decided he was of no more use.
“When the company got passed on to me, I cut all ties with them, and I’ve been holding my ground ever since.”
My heart ached at the loneliness in his tone, at how he clutched me a little tighter as he told his story. Somehow, Cillian had cemented himself in my heart, and the more I learned about him, the more claim he staked.
