Oh no.The word had slipped before I could stop it.
“You find me pretty?” His mouth curved.
“Is that what I said?” I scrunched my face and played dumb. Pulling a Lupin. He did that crap to me all the time. “How interesting. I don’t recall.”
I faced away from him and started whipping up enough muffins to feed a small army. The tips of my ears heated as I felt his gaze on me. He moved closer to watch me work, which distracted me so much I lost my footing while turning to grab the sugar and nearly knocked the bowl of batter off the counter.
I heard a soft sound behind me, almost like a laugh, and fought the urge to stick my tongue out at him. No doubt he would’ve snatched said tongue with superhuman reflexes and pinched it or something.
Once the batter was ready, I distributed it between several muffin tins and popped them into the oven. Unfortunately, my feet betrayed me as I stepped away from said oven, and I stumbled, catching myself on the counter.
The air suddenly stirred at my back.
“Clumsy even in the kitchen,” Lord Onyx murmured against my nape, one hand planted on the counter on each side of me. Caging me in. “I thought this was your domain.”
I froze in place. My lungs stopped working, the breaths stilling in my chest. “L-Lord Onyx?”
He slid one arm around my stomach and gently turned me to face him. Ruby red eyes had me in a trance. I couldn’t look away. The scent of cedar and woodsmoke amplified as he slowly smoothed his fingers up my sternum and to the side of my neck. Heat licked at my skin, following the path of his fingertips, as though he were made of fire.
“Do you fear me, little bird?” he asked.
“N-No,” I answered, body tingling from where he touched me.
“No?” Onyx took hold of my jaw and tipped my face up to his. The long strands of his black hair brushed my forearm, silky like a raven’s feathers. “Then tell me why your heart beats like this, if not from fear.”
“I…” My breaths stammered. “I don’t know.”
Did he feel it too? The same restlessness in his core and longing to be even closer? It was like a piece of my soul was reaching out for him. The need was so great my body quaked with it.
“You’re a dreadful liar.” A dark amusement danced across his sharp features.
“I’ve heard that once or twice.” My gaze fell to his lips, and the tingles of heat leftover from his fingertips spread through me like wildfire. “It’s not exactly a lie though. I’m sure all sorts of things can make a heart beat faster. Fear, excitement, desire. Cardio too. Though that might make minestopbeating. I’m too out of shape.”
“Desire, you say.” He glided his thumb across my bottom lip. “Is that it then?”
“Um.” The intensity of his scent made my knees tremble. It amplified as he angled his body closer, pressing more against me. “What?”
Onyx leaned in and ghosted his mouth along my neck. “Did your lovers not sate your lust last night? Is that why you’re trembling in my presence, heart racing and breaths hitching?” Ever so subtly, his lips made contact with the base of my ear. “Do you crave a demon’s touch?”
Goose bumps followed the trail his breath left on my skin.
And then, amidst his scent of woodsmoke, I caught a whiff of black cardamom.
My gaze snapped to the corner near the window. The lights in the kitchen left little room for shadows, but a faint one stretched along the wall. Thin but still enough for a certain spy to linger. Rowan must’ve woken, found me gone, and tracked me down.
Onyx followed my gaze, focusing on the same corner. “They truly are protective, aren’t they?” He lowered his hand from my face and took a step back. “I’ll leave you to your muffins. Fane should be joining you shortly.”
He took his leave without another word or glance in my direction. The moment he left the kitchen, the tiny electrical charges in the air went with him.
“You alright, little treasure?” a raspy voice came from the shadows. Black smoke swirled before Rowan stepped from the corner.
I nodded and held a hand toward him. “It’s early. You should be in bed.”
“The pup kicked me in his sleep and woke me up. Fluffy bastard.” In a few steps, he reached me and pulled me close. “Besides, someone has to make sure you don’t wander off and stumble down a cliff.” Softer, he added. “Or into a demon lord’s arms.”
Prickles assaulted my chest. No sense in playing dumb or denying it. The way Lord Onyx had stared at me—how he’dcaressed my skin and caged me against the counter—made it clear he either wanted to fuck me or kill me. Possibly both.
“That would be bad, huh?” I hid my face in Rowan’s dark red hair. My throat tightened. “Stumbling into a demon lord’s arms.”
