She turned her face into his chest, avoiding eye contact and breathing in his scent. How could something that felt this right be so wrong? “I just … I feel like I am damning my soul,” she whispered against his skin.
His fingers stilled on her arm. The silence grew tense, awkward.
“I feel like I will have consequences for being here. With you,” she said miserably.
“What do you mean?”
The words came out in a rush, like poison she needed to expel. “I worry about my judgement day, when my rights and wrongs are weighed. I may not get the answer I want to hear. Because of this time with you. When I spoke with an angel, I realized humans and angels are on one side of the table … and I am now on the other.
“There will be consequences for damning the rules and staying here with you. Maybe not now, but someday, there will be consequences.”
And the worst part is, I don’t care. I should care. I should be terrified. But lying here with you, damnation feels like it might be a fair trade. Like the world could burn around us, and I’d be happy, so long as I have this.
“I’m pretty sure you enjoyed it when I fucked you. You’re notthatgood of a liar.”
She recoiled at his words.
She lifted her face to look at him, heat flooding her face. “Don’t be so crude.”
“I’ll be as crude as I want. There’s not an inch of you that you didn’t beg me to see. You wanted the devil to worship every inch of your body, and I did,” he said, venom on his lips. “You don’t get to blame me for the choices you made, Elizabeth. You came tomyroom that night if you recall.”
Each word he said was a lash.
He smirked, convinced he was right, and the sight made her blood boil.
Elizabeth spoke slowly, trying to keep her words calm and even. “I understand I sought you out. I understand we shared some tender moments, and I don’t regret them. I mean, now, as in currently, I feel like continuing to get deeper and deeper with you—our friendship, being your lover—makes me concerned that itwilldamn my soul.”
“Being my lover. What are you really saying? Because you are not as high and mighty as you seem to think you are. You want to talk deadly sins?"
She scoffed. “I don’t think you can compare my sins with yours—”
“Oh, really? You are one of the biggest sinners of pride I have ever met. Your pride gets in your way, and you wouldn’t even be here with me if it weren’t for your unbendingpride.
“In addition, you are one of the most vain, conceited people I have ever met. Conceit. Pride. Adultery. Let us not forget avaritia, or did you not think I saw how many suitcases you arrived with? How many dresses and gems you hoard? Vain as a dragon you are. Quite the list, don’t you think? If you’re going to pretend to be perfect and throw stones at me, think again.”
Her lips thinned in anger. “You can’t possibly tell me my sins are worse than yours,” she shot back. “Or did those women drop dead in the middle of the woods with their throats ripped out of their own accord? What really happened to the mistresses you had before me? Hmm? Can you honestly tell me they’re alive and well?”
It was the first time she had ever mentioned it, bringing to light what she knew.
Surprise coloured his face. He had well and truly thought she was too daft to pay attention to the writing on the walls, the clear evidence he was a monster in every sense of the word. Her lip curled in disdain.
He half shrugged, waving his hand dismissively. “All of that is a secondary argument.Youare who we are talking about. I have only ever treated YOU with care and respect.”
He gave her a self-assured expression—sure that he had won.
The casual dismissal of murder, of women who might have grown to care for him as she had, made something sharp twist in her chest.
This was who she had fallen for. A demon who killed without mercy or care and shrugged it off, like their deaths were no more of a nuisance than a bit of spilled wine.
“It is not a secondary argument. It is thecentreof the argument, actually,” she said, acidly.
He stood up abruptly, and she felt the absence of his warmth like a physical wound.
“What about that angel you hang around? A bastard,” he hissed. “You’d rather be with him than me?”
“How—”
“I’ve seen you two together. He’s poisoned you against me, hasn’t he?”
