Not yet, though.
Right now, he had something else in mind.
Taking her by the shoulders, he urged her out in front, giving the shadow beasts below a glimpse of the Fae Perfidious had obtained.
As expected, there was a ruckus that erupted, most of the demons likely eager to get their hands on her.
Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t theirs for the taking. Asmia belonged only to him.
Stepping up behind her, he brushed her long blond hair back, then freed the sash that was holding the blood-red robe closed. He then pulled the silk from her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor, revealing her in all her glory to those who would be envious of him.
“If there’s ever any doubt in your minds who’s the king here on Earth, you should know, I obtained her on my own. Stole her away from those pesky angels without help.” He smiled down at them. “But more importantly, I know of others who are there for the taking. Provided you do right by me, there’s nothing to say you will not have your very own Fae.”
That incited the masses, a round of hisses and growls sounding from the demonic beasts.
“Our objective is to eliminate the vampires. That’s your sole purpose here. From what I’ve seen, you’ve made great strides, but we’re not there yet.”
Perfidious slid his hands around Asmia, cupping her full breasts in his palms.
“Consider this your motivation,” he announced, pulling Asmia back against him. “And you, my dear, sweet queen, are going to know what it’s like to be claimed once and for all.”
“It would be my pleasure, my king,” she said, her voice crisp and clear as it rang out, the response of the shadow beasts exactly as he’d expected.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
It had been a long time sinceOliver had been on a date.
Granted, this wasn’t really a date. It was more like a mutual outing for friends.
Try telling his heart that. That damn organ was doing the jitterbug in his chest, the shimmy and shake so strong they had his stomach churning nervously.
Even now, as he sat in the leather recliner beside Bijou, some chick flick playing on the screen, he could hardly keep his eyes from straying over to her. The only thing that stopped him was his not wanting to make this awkward. He’d never met a woman…err…femalelike Bijou. A woman implied she was human and that was not the case. She was vampire, an entirely different species that he hadn’t even known existed until she’d appeared at Angel Central.
And he’d thought coming to terms with living with angels had been difficult.
Then again, he’d often heard stories of vampires because they were commonplace for humans in terms of storytelling. So perhaps he hadn’t been quite so shocked that they existed. More like … relieved?
Strange word to think, but it was an apt description.
It did not, however, explain why he had this strange fascination with her. Or this irrational idea that one day he could feed from her and her from him. That wasn’t feasible because he was human. Hell, he didn’t even have fangs.
But that didn’t stop his overactive imagination from attempting to conjure it up.
“Are you okay?”
Oliver jerked when a soft hand touched his. His eyes shot to that touch, then over to Bijou. She was watching him curiously.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You … hissed.”
He frowned. “I did not hiss.”
Bijou chuckled. “You actually did.”
Oliver realized she hadn’t pulled her hand away. Nor did she when he flipped his over. His breath slammed into his ribs when she linked their fingers, their palms joining intimately. At that point, the movie disappeared entirely. At least for him. The only thing he was cognizant of was how soft her hand was, how warm her fingers were. As he stared at their joined palms, he felt a warmth deep inside him, as though a glacier had been melted, replaced by … sunlight.
It was an eerie feeling, he had to admit. Almost as though she had unlocked a part of his soul, cracking him wide open.
