So, naturally, I stepped toward it. But I had barely taken two steps before a soft tsk sounded behind me, and strong hands framed my hips. Then, before I could react, I was lifted clean off my feet. A startled squeal escaped me as he pulled me directly back toward him and settled me firmly onto his lap. He also situated me slightly angled to the side so that he could see my face, getting a pretty good idea of how I felt about this.
“What are you doing!?”I snapped, keeping my voice low enough so that others couldn’t hear my outrage.
“I would think that obvious,” he replied in a teasing tone that made me huff.
“You know,” he murmured lazily beside my ear as I tried unsuccessfully to regain some dignity,
“I am curious where exactly you believed you were going?”
My entire body went rigid.
“Well, you can’t seriously believe that sitting on your lap was the best choice?” I snapped as his arm settled comfortably around my waist again.
“Oh, but I... in fact, I believe it was the only choice,” he replied.
I tossed my arm out to point at the empty seat, countering with,
“No, that was the best choice.”
He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips, nipping at my fingers before reaffirming,
“The only choice, Eliza,”he growled, the low rumble of my name doing strange things to me, and the shiver that ran through me was one he felt against him.Because from the moment he had settled me firmly onto his lap, every muscle in my body locked.
Not because the position itself was uncomfortable, quite the opposite, in fact. Especially when the solid warmth of himbehind me made sitting in his lap far more comfortable than it should have been.
But the reality of where we were quickly caught up with me. We were seated high upon a throne overlooking an entire room full of demons, who had very recently been told that I was apparently his lost Siren. Under that kind of attention, it was nearly impossible for my body to remember how to behave like a normal human being.
The music had returned, though softer than before, and the conversations that had been interrupted by his declaration were slowly beginning to resume. Yet despite that, I could still feel it. The lingering attention. Curious glances that drifted our way before quickly pretending they had been looking elsewhere all along.
Which was hardly reassuring when I was currently sitting across the knee of the most powerful demon in the room.
“Now relax,” he offered, his hand settling back in my lap after releasing mine, once he had finished kissing the places he had softly bitten.
“How am I supposed to relax?”I whispered tensely, my shoulders stiff as I resisted the urge to slide straight off his lap and disappear behind one of the velvet booths below.
“Everyone here is staring at me, and you just went ahead and told them all that I am your… your…” The word refused to come out, and before I could even try and finish that sentence, his voice slipped low and seductive beside my ear, finishing it for me.
“My Siren.”The quiet certainty in those two words stole the rest of my protest instantly.I twisted slightly in his arms, turning my head so I could study his face for even the smallest hint that he might be teasing me.
But there was none.
His expression remained composed, almost thoughtful, as though what he had just announced to the entire club was the most natural thing in the world.
“How can you possibly be so sure?” I asked softly, my voice losing some of its sharpness as uncertainty crept in where irritation had been moments before.
“What if… if you have made a mistake?”This time, the question came out as a shamed whisper, and something in him stilled behind me.
The change was subtle, barely more than a tightening of the arm that rested comfortably around my waist. Yet I felt it immediately. The quiet strength of him, the controlled power that seemed to sit just beneath the surface of everything he did.
“There has been no mistake,”he replied with a certainty that took my breath away. The calm conviction in his voice should not have affected me the way it did, but the quiet inevitability behind it still sent an uneasy flutter through my chest. Which was why I hesitated before speaking again. Yet the thought that had been nagging at me since the moment he made that declaration finally forced its way out.
“But it’s forbidden.”
His reaction was instant, his body going completely still behind me.
“What?”he practically hissed the response, making me flinch against him, wishing I could take it back.
So, when I didn’t say anything further, he took a calming breath, closing his eyes while he did.
