And if he really was as dangerous as they thought he was, there was no telling what he was capable of.
“Listen.” He paused at the door, bracing his hand on the wall behind my head. I swallowed hard as he leaned close and the scent of a bonfire wafted into my nose. I’d smelled that once before around him, and now I understood what it was. He was from Hell. I was smelling literal flames. “At the party, you should call me Az. Everyone close to me does. They’ll find it odd if you refer to me as Asmodeus.”
“Sure.” I stared up into his sharp blue eyes, and my stomach churned. It was almost impossible for me to even remember myownname when I looked into them. “Az it is.”
“Good.” He lifted a finger to my neck and dragged it along my skin. Sparks stormed through my belly, and my chest went hot. I trembled as I leaned back against the wall, my body betraying me. His lips curled. “Also, good. Keep that up. We want everyone to think you want me.”
I didn’t tell him that my reaction had not been fake. Because it sure as hell didn’t mean that I wanted him. It was just my body being weird. He was an asshole. An asshole demon.
Why was I doing this again?
10
The party was being held on a rooftop bar smack dab in the middle of Hell’s Kitchen. I’d hoped we’d get out of this little pocket of the city but no such luck. It seemed as though all of Asmodeus’s business was wound up in these streets, as well as his friends.
As we waited in the gold-plated elevator, he dropped his voice to a low murmur. “I must warn you, some of the guests may be…wearing costumes. Don’t be alarmed. Some of them are fond of gothic horror.”
My heart flipped as I glanced down at my dress. “Costumes? Um, then shouldn’t we be wearing that, too?”
He chuckled. “That won’t be necessary.”
I opened my mouth to ask him another question just as the elevator shuddered to a stop and the doors whirred open. Partygoers were crammed into the rooftop space. In the distance, the lights of New York glowed like a thousand stars. A fanged girl trotted into the elevator, her hand tucked into a guy’s arm whose hands were covered in fur.
Realization slammed down on me as Az led me out onto the roof. He hadn’t meant costumes at all. This was a party for supernaturals, and he hadn’t told me. Because he thought I didn’t know vampires and werewolves are real. Here, they let down their masks, if they chose to. Here, the demons came out to play.
Az gave me a gentle nudge. I glanced up at him, my heart pounding hard against my ribcage. Was I the only human here?
“Are you alright?” Az asked with concern in his voice. “You’ve gone pale.”
“No, I’m just...” I pressed my sweaty palms against my dress and tried to clear my head.
This was fine. Totally fine. I could do this. Sure, I was probably the only human in a swarm of supernaturals, but there was no reason to panic. I just needed to calm the fuck down and act like it wasn’t a big deal. Serena had told me about parties like this. She went sometimes. Supernaturals weren’t inherently bad. They didn’t justattackhumans like the movies suggested they did. Vampires did drink blood, but only the worst of them killed for it. Werewolves rarely lost control of their beast. Fae liked to play games, but they were harmless unless they felt wronged.
This wouldtotally be fine.
Maybe if I told myself that a hundred times, I would believe it.
“Mia.” The way he spoke my name came out like a caress, his deep voice almost a purr. He took my hand in his and weaved his fingers through mine, and then he pushed me back against the wall. I sucked in a sharp breath when his body pressed tightly against mine. He angled in close and dropped his lips to my ear. “Relax. There is nothing to worry about. All you have to do is pretend you can’t keep your hands off me.”
Not an entirely difficult thing. He might be an asshole demon, but Asmodeus—Az—was maybe the sexiest guy I’d ever seen in my life. A part of me knew I should be afraid of him, but I wasn’t. Not really. He set my nerves on edge, but it wasn’t from fear. Deep dislike more like it. But…I didn’t have to pretend I thought he was hot. I mean, it wasn’t even a question. It was a literal fact. The man was a goddamn masterpiece.
Not that I would ever tell him that.
Loosing my pent-up breath, I tried to relax against the wall as I lifted my gaze to his. Flames flickered deep within the ice blue. I swore I could see the flash of them. That intense stare bored into me once more. That soul-stripping, piercing gaze. What kind of powers did he have? Could he see my soul?
He probably could.
Swallowing hard, I wound my hand around the back of his neck. He stiffened beneath my touch, but then shot me a wicked grin. “That’s more like it. Ready to go into the party now?”
“Sure,” I murmured back.
He pushed away from the wall, leaving a gulf of cold air in his wake. I itched to draw him back to me, which was utterly ridiculous. I didn’t want him to touch me. I mean…it was kind of fun. But probably only because we were pretending. It was like we had a secret from everyone else, and we were trying to get away with something scandalous.
That was why it felt so great.
The one and only reason.
Az and I drifted through the crowd. He introduced me to several businessmen before falling into some boring conversation about stock markets and real estate prices. I found my attention drifting away, even though the only reason I was here was to hang off his arm like some kind of human trophy.
