With a frustrated growl, he released his grip on my neck and shoved up from the couch. He paced before me and jammed his fingers into his hair. Emotion poured off his body, washing over me. Deep within my soul, I could sense everything he felt.
Anger, fear, tormented hope.
Suddenly, he stiffened. “How did you do that?”
My heart thumped. “Do what?”
“You just read me. Like Valac does.”
“Oh.” My cheeks heated. That made sense. In a weird ‘I’m practically a demon now with superpowers’ sense. Which was to say, it made no sense at all. “I don’t know. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
He crossed the room and knelt before me. “How are you feeling?”
“Um...” As the hours had spun by, the pain inside my chest had only increased, though I’d tried to ignore it as best I could. If I concentrated on it too much, it ate away at me. My mind stuck on an endless loop of pain, pain, pain. If I really was a demon, I wasn’t one who healed. “Like a pile of dog shit on the sidewalk on a hot summer’s day.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Famished.”
He nodded. “You’ve complained about being hungry since the night of the ritual. I should have noted it, but it never occurred to me that the spell would backfire in such a disastrous way. Your darkness is hungry to get out. It won’t be satisfied with food.”
My mouth went dry. “That’s not really making me feel better about this whole thing.”
His eyes softened as he cupped my cheek, and a new wave of heat soothed my aching bones. “What can I do to make you feel better about this?”
“I don’t know, Caim.” I swallowed hard. “Nothing?”
“I won’t accept that as an answer. As soon as Stolas and Valac return fromInfernal, I’m going on the hunt for that cure. And I won’t stop searching until I’ve found it.”
He sounded so certain that it was hard for me not to believe his every word. Hewouldfind the cure. Iwouldtake it. And everything would go back to normal.
Unfortunately, normal still meant a dozen newborn demons were still on the loose in Manhattan. But at least they wouldn’t be able to use my blood to make more of them.
“Alright,” I said, brushing my tears away. Then, I straightened my shoulders and gave him a firm nod. “I’ll try to have a little hope.”
His eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled. “Good.”
His gaze dropped to my waist, and suddenly, I was very aware of where he knelt before me, perched between my thighs. Heat stormed through my core. I swallowed hard at the flicker in his eye, the darkness and desire bleeding together.
With a wicked smile curving his lips, he palmed my legs and traced the path from my knee to my hips. My breath caught in my throat, my entire body stilling beneath his touch. This had been the last thing on my mind, but now that he was looking at me like this...
Who cared about demons and blood magic and dangerous cults? Not me. Not when there wasthis.
“This is the first time we’ve been alone in awhile,” he murmured. “I haven’t stopped thinking about how you feel. How much I want to touch you and kiss you. And fuck you.”
Heart hammering, I began to shift toward him—just as the door flung wide and Stolas strode in with Valac. The white-haired demon swung his gaze across my face and instantly stiffened. It was the first time I’d ever seen his cheeks go pink. Normally, he was as pale as the clouds.
“Oh.” Valac cleared his throat and hovered in the doorway while an oblivious Stolas charged over to the coffee table and dumped a mound of books next to where Caim still knelt between my legs.
“Luckily, there was no sign of intruders. No one has been there to tamper with the doors or the security cameras.” He gave me a firm nod. “How are you feeling, Eva? I brought back some books I thought might help you understand what you’re going through.”
“Um.” I flushed as Caim pulled back to stand. “Thanks.”
He frowned at the looks on our faces. “Is something wrong? Has something happened?”
Valac cleared his throat again. “We’re interrupting, Stolas.”
“Oh.” Stolas turned his gaze onto his feet and rocked back on his heels. A little smile played across his lips. “With Phenex up on the roof? You’re playing with fire. He would have heard the whole thing, and he’d never let you live it down.”
