A massive, warm hand slipped beneath my soft, lightweight shirt and rested on my lower back. The moment the skin touched mine, everything changed.
My nausea disappeared.
The spinning stopped.
My panic dissipated.
Even those nonexistent bugs were gone.
The sound of relief that escaped me was nearly a sob. My eyes burned in response to the simple, quieteasethat wrapped around me. Shadows licked at my skin, and I closed my eyes, trying to relish every moment of the silent simplicity.
Nothing felt difficult, in this moment.
Everything felt okay.
I'd never experienced that before, but fuck, I'd kill for it.
Here it was—another reason I hadn't allowed myself to hunt down Grayson Darke. Because I'd known intrinsically that the moment I realized how easy life could be, I'd struggle even more to function under the price of my power.
I'd planned on having a conversation with him about it before he touched me. I’d wanted time and a careful strategy to develop some sort of defense.
But of course Grayson hadn't bothered with a plan.
When I opened my eyes, I finally noticed how blindingly white everything was. The demon royals kept their mansion bright enough that no one could hide their shadows, or hideinany shadows.
"I was going to abduct you," Grayson remarked, climbing the stairs effortlessly. I wasn't even sure I could've made it to the top without him.
"I wasn't interested in being abducted."
"It would've been fun."
"Fun for you, maybe." I would've had a meltdown.
Though, he could've just taken my hand when I started losing my shit. Maybe it would've been doable after all.
He reached the top of the stairs, and I heard the buttons on a keypad beeping.
There must've been a passcode on the door. I hadn't considered that in my plan, and it definitely would've caused me problems. I'd tried to drain the life from batteries in the past, but it had never worked.
I let my gaze move over his back. He was shirtless and sweaty, wearing just a pair of colorful, loose workout shorts that fell to the middle of his thighs, and his usual baseball cap. The tribal tattoo I knew every inch of was on his shoulder, chest, and bicep, on the opposite side from where he held me.
I tried not to stare at his ass, which I knew just as well as the tattoo.
It didn't work. He had a fantastic ass.
I noticed my bag hanging from his shoulder. It was nowhere near as difficult for him to carry as it was for me.
Grayson stepped into his room, shutting and locking the door behind us.
I looked out at the space. It was basically a massive, luxury apartment. He had a giant living room, two huge bedrooms, three oversized bathrooms, and a monstrous kitchen.
One of the bedrooms was empty, the door always closed, but I'd seen it in my dreams. He said he had no use for it.
I'd pictured a library in it, not that I'd ever told him as much. I couldn't read physical books, given the price of my magic. I'd still imagined myself sitting on a couch beside the demon king while we read together.
He didn't read, though. Not that I knew of.
He was constantly on the go, rarely in his room, and certainly would never have the time required to sit around with me even if he did. If I wanted freedom from the personal hell that my magic was, I would have to follow him around like a sad puppy.
