Meanwhile Nina and the younger brother had apparently forgotten civilization existed entirely. The younger brother kissed like he’d been trying not to for hours and finally snapped under the pressure of his own bad decisions.
Nina matched his energy perfectly. He pulled back barely half an inch only long enough to murmur against her mouth, “You are catastrophically distracting.”
Nina let out a long, suffering sigh. “You started this.”
“You threw shoes at me flirtatiously.”
“That was not flirting.”
“It absolutely was.”
Then he kissed her again before she could argue further. Okay. Yep. There was definitely no slowing in this relationship down anymore. One older council member appeared near the still-open doorway behind the attendants.
He froze there. Then silently backed out again. Meanwhile I became painfully aware of my demon standing beside me watching the chaos unfold while I still held the black dress against my chest.
The atmosphere near us shifted slightly afterward. Quieter now . Because unlike his younger brother, my demon still hadn’t touched me once since the throne room. Not without hesitation. That realization settled heavily between us while Nina kissed the younger brother like Hell itself had thoroughly inconvenienced her personally.
Then softly beside me, my demon said:
“I can leave if this is uncomfortable for you.”
The words hit unexpectedly hard. Because once again, choice, space, patience. He kept giving me all the things he should have given earlier. And that made wanting him worse instead of easier.
Across the room, Nina was still kissing the younger brother like she was trying to start an international incident while palace attendants quietly evacuated themselves from existence.
Meanwhile my demon stood beside me in complete silence. Careful. Controlled. Still giving me distance even now. And, I got genuinely annoyed. Because I was tired. Tired of tension. Tired of restraint. Tired of him looking at me like wanting me was something dangerous he had to survive quietly.
I turned toward him fully and his attention snapped to me in an instant. Silver firelight reflected softly across his face while shadows curled beneath the dark collar of his coat.
“You’re still doing it,” I said quietly.
His brows pulled together slightly. “Doing what.”
“Acting like touching me requires permission forms approved by Hell’s government.”
Something sharp flickered across his expression instantly.
“Eva.”
“No,” I interrupted him while stepping closer. “You don’t get to spend weeks ruining my mind and then become respectful and distant and patient.”
The room behind us had gone quieter now. Not because Nina and the younger brother stopped. Honestly, they’d gotten worse. But because my demon’s entire attention had locked onto me with dangerous intensity.
“You said you were angry with me.”
“I am.”
“And yet you’re walking toward me like that.”
“That sounds like your problem.”
His jaw tightened hard enough that I noticed. Good. I wanted him to be affected. I wanted him to struggle. Because I had been struggling since I came here .Then very softly, dangerously calm, he asked:
“What exactly are you trying to do right now?”
I stared directly into his eyes.
“Honestly?”
