I really didn’t. But I also hardly knew anything about him. I also hadn’t thought I would ever stand in the middle of a demon club and do something powerful enough to terrify a room full of monsters. So clearly, my judgment wasn’t exactly sparkling tonight.
The door shut behind us with a heavy, final sound that made me flinch. Something he felt, considering my body was currently wrapped over him like an Oblivion-filled taco.
For a moment, the only thing I could hear was the muffled thud of his boots crossing the floor. That, and the increasingly undignified rush of blood pounding in my ears as I hung there over his shoulder like a particularly annoyed sack of potatoes. Which was it, Lily-pad? Taco or potatoes? Damn, was I seriously thinking about food at a time like this?!
Food or not, it was a position I had never imagined finding myself in. Which was saying something, considering tonight had already included being tricked into trapping a demon, a suspiciously attractive ruler of Hell, and what I was now fairly certain had been some sort of magical explosion caused by… well,little old me.
Which I still didn’t understand. And judging by the iron tension radiating through the man currently carrying me, he didn’t understand either.
Before I could ask him to stop manhandling me, he stopped abruptly. The sudden stillness made my stomach dip before I even had time to brace for what came next. Then, without warning, the world tilted again as his arm shifted, and I was lowered back onto my feet. For a brief second, I swayed, disoriented by the rapid change in perspective. My heels scraped slightly against the polished floor as I caught my balance. My hair had partially fallen loose from its carefully curled style during the journey. I pushed it back automatically, trying to reclaim at least some fragment of dignity before remembering who I was standing in front of.
Mr. Perfection, who was also my captor.
Goddess, he was so handsome I almost forgot to breathe.
And with the way he looked at me now, I was surprised when he stepped back. Especially when he seemed to be fighting with himself, as if he didn’t know whether to kiss me or spank me. Either one created a fire in his eyes that spoke only of hunger. An intensity I wasn’t ready for, which was, no doubt, precisely why he backed off.
Only a step, maybe two, but the space felt intentional. Like he was giving himself distance for reasons that had more to do with my discomfort than that of his own.
His shoulders were still tense beneath the dark lines of that impossibly elegant jacket. The silver-thread patterns caught faintly in the low light of the office. For the first time since I had met him, he looked less like a man casually in control of everything around him. More like someone forcing control over something that had momentarily slipped.
As if for the first time in his life…he was unsure.
I cleared my throat, mostly because the silence had begun to stretch long enough that it felt like it might swallow me whole if I didn’t break it.
“You know,” I said, smoothing down the skirt of the dress he had forced me to wear earlier,
“Most people would probably start with an apology after kidnapping someone twice in one evening.”
His gaze didn’t shift. No, if anything, it sharpened further.
“Kidnapping implies you were taken against your will,” he said calmly, and I blinked at him.
“Pretty sure being thrown over your shoulder counts.”
The corner of his mouth twitched faintly. But whatever amusement might have been threatening to appear there vanished almost immediately, replaced by something far more serious. His attention dropped briefly to the floor between us, to the faint dusting of marble powder still clinging to the hem of my dress from the shattered circle. When his eyes lifted again, the question in them had returned in full force.
“How did you do that?” There it was. Straight to the point. No teasing tone, this time, no velvet warmth beneath the words. Just the same quiet intensity that had filled the throne room when he had realized something had gone very wrong with his spell.
My stomach tightened instantly because I had no answers for him.
“I told you already, I don’t know,” I said, the defensiveness creeping into my voice before I could stop it. Something flickered behind his expression. Not disbelief, but something closer to frustration.
“You spoke a language that predates most human civilizations,” he said evenly.
“You broke a binding circle designed to contain a demon. And you did it without preparation, ritual, or any training.”When he laid it out like that, it sounded even more ridiculous. I folded my arms instinctively.
“Well, when you phrase it like that, it sounds impressive,” I muttered, trying to ease the tension, but his brows drew together slightly.
“Impressive was not the word I would have chosen,” he replied sternly, and I let out a breath that was halfway to a laugh but never quite made it.
“Look,” I said, running a hand briefly over my forehead,
“I don’t know what you want me to say. One minute, you were trying to drag my friend into a glowing marble prison, and the next minute, my mouth decided to start yelling ancient demon words like I’d suddenly downloaded a language pack I didn’t ask for. That’s literally all I’ve got.”
His gaze didn’t leave my face, but it certainly hardened.
“Your friend?”He practically growled the words.
