“Ah, so you are mine then?”
Nyte glared at her. “I belong to no one.”
Ember closed the distance between them and reached up, lightly running the tip of her finger along his jaw. Something changed in his eyes, their light becoming more of a gleam than a shine, and his nostrils flared with a deep inhalation. But he didn’t retreat or bat her hand away.
“No, you don’t. But youaresparkly and pretty.” After stroking his chin with her thumb, she dropped her hand and made her way toward the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” he demanded.
“To shower.” She paused in the doorway and looked back at him with a coy smile. “You could join me if you’d like, Nyte.”
His lips peeled back to bare his fangs. “No.”
“I thought you’d say that.” She closed the door behind her.
Chapter Five
Nyte clenched his fists, digging his claws into his palms as he stared at the door.
You could join me if you’d like, Nyte.
Ember’s complete lack of fear had been jarring enough, but her forwardness was even more so. Though she’d claimed she hadn’t known she was a witch, how could he believe her when her charms were as potent as those of a succubus? Why would she be so open in her interest if not for some nefarious purpose? Humans dealt with demons to obtain power—to make deals, to forge pacts, to gain materials and forbidden knowledge so they could work more powerful magic than their mortal vessels could normally wield.
The most ambitious of them sometimes even tried to enslave beings like Nyte. To bind them with spells, to control them and use them as limitless sources of power.
This was different. Ember was different. She’d not yet asserted any such claim on him, and that had left him embarrassingly off balance thus far. He was the immortal being here, he was the one with the magic, the power. She didn’t evenknow the restrictions placed upon him by the summoning spell! And still she was the one in control.
Nyte growled, glaring at the floor under the bed. Though the summoning circle had faded during the night, it was emblazoned in his memory, and he could almost see it there now, taunting him with its light.
Hells, but he had fallen. The way he’d retreated from her…He, a timeless demon coalesced from the night itself, had retreated fromher, a mortal witch who didn’t even know what she was!
His tail whipped behind him, its end striking his leg with a painful sting. With a hiss, he forced it to still.
The sound of falling water came from behind the closed door. His attention snapped back toward it.
The shower. After she’d fallen asleep as though a nocturnus weren’t lurking in the corner of her bedroom, Nyte had tested the limits of the binding and explored his surroundings, including the privy. Though there were familiar features in her home, they were greatly outweighed by the strange and new. Even the tub and wash basin were different.
Strangest of all was the thin little box she’d kept on the stand beside her bed all night. It had lit up a few times, casting its glow on the ceiling, and when Nyte had investigated it, there’d been writing on its face. He understood the words, but their meaning eluded him.
Update has been applied successfully. Swipe up to get started.
He’d refused to touch the thing. He was in no mood to inadvertently trigger the scrying mirror—or whatever it was—and make his presence known to some witch on the other side who actually knew what they were doing.
The tone of the shower changed, suggesting that Ember had just steppedbeneath the flow.
Did that mean she’d undressed? That she’d slid her nightgown off, revealing more of that smooth skin, more of those enticing curves? Was water now cascading over her full breasts, down her belly, along her long legs?
He’d rejected her invitation, but he was tempted to rematerialize on the other side of that door and enter the tub with her, to behold her body and run his hands over every inch of its softness.
Something stirred low in his belly, something he hadn’t felt in centuries. A hot, raw, primal thing beyond his comprehension that had come very close to seizing control whenever she’d touched him.
By the void, the feel of her hands on his skin was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Even the stroke of her finger along his jaw had left him tingling.
There was no denying it. He wanted the witch.
His tail flicked back and forth eagerly. Growling, he swept a hand backward, catching hold of the rebellious appendage and halting its insufferable motion.
Lust. That was all he was feeling now, and he’d been through it before. Where had it led him? What good had it done? The fleeting moments of pleasure and bliss hadn’t been worth the torment he’d endured afterward. He would not allow it to get the better of him again, especially not with a mortal.
