Page 3 of The Demon Who Loved Me

The monster chuckles, his eyes glinting with amusement. "You'll what? Throw that priceless relic at me? Go ahead, sweetheart. I dare you."

He takes a step forward, and I instinctively hurl the artifact at him. It bounces off his chest harmlessly, clattering to the ground. I curse under my breath, realizing how foolish I must look. "What the hell are you?" I demand, my fear giving way to a strange mix of curiosity and irritation. "And what do you want with me?"

He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. "I told you, I'm a demon Lord from a realm beyond your understanding. And thanks to that little stunt you pulled with the artifact, I’m pretty sure we're now bound together."

“What?” I shake my head, refusing to believe him. "No, no, no. That is impossible. I refuse.”

“Sorry, what?”

“You heard me. Demons aren't real. You're just some kind of... of..."

"Of what?" he asks, his voice low and dangerous as he closes the distance between us. "Some kind of monster? A figment of your imagination? Trust me, darling, I'm as real as it gets."

I back away, my heart racing as I try to put some distance between us. "What are you going to do to me?" I whisper, hating the way my voice shakes. "Are you going to eat me? Or worse?"

The shirtless horned man throws his head back and laughs, the sound sending shivers down my spine. "Eat you? Please, I have much better taste than that. As for worse... Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of the word."

He reaches out, his fingers brushing against my cheek. I flinch, expecting his touch to be cold and clammy, but instead, it's warm and electric.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he says, his voice suddenly serious. "If you behave yourself. Can you behave yourself for me?"

“Behave myself? Well, I never I’m not some kind of?—”

He steps closer and I realize just how tall and jacked he is. And covered in black arcane tattoos that swirl and dance like smoke. I swallow hard, trying to regain my composure. "And how do I know I can trust you? For all I know, this could be some kind of trick."

Malakai's eyes flash with amusement and something else I can't quite identify. "Careful, little human. You don't want to push your luck with me."

I swallow hard, suddenly aware of just how imposing he is. His broad, muscular chest is covered in intricate tattoos that seem to writhe and shimmer in the dim light of the temple. I force myself to look away, trying to ignore the way my pulse quickens at the sight of him.

"Look," I say, my voice tight with frustration. "I don't trust you, and if you would stop looking at me like you want to eat or do other things to me, it would really help. But if we're really stuck together, then I guess we don't have much of a choice but to work together."

He grins, his fangs glinting in the light. "Whether you like it or not, we're in this together now. So you might want to start getting used to having me around."

I roll my eyes, turning away from him and focusing on the ancient texts scattered across the temple floor. "Let's just get to work, shall we? The sooner we figure out how to break this binding, the better."

I spend the next hour cataloging the ruins and chambers and as I pour over the dusty tomes and crumbling artifacts, I can feel Malakai's gaze on me, heavy and intense. It's unnerving, having him watch me like that, but I refuse to let him see how much he affects me.

“I’m bored,” he says.

“I am trying to concentrate,” I chide, keeping my eyes low so as to not look at how insanely beautiful and otherworldly he is.

“Well concentrate faster. I was in the middle of something before you dragged me into this.”

“Excuse me? I am still not entirely sure you are real… or just that mental break I knew I had coming.”

He steps closer and the scent of sandalwood and brimstone assaults my senses.

“It was all the cats, I know it. Three cats is too many. I remember reading this article saying that if you live with cats your chances of neurosis rise exponentially per cat. Three cats. I had to have three.”

He leans against a crumbling pillar, his penetrating gaze never leaving me as I work. "Trust me, I thought of that, too. I wish this was only a bad dream," he asks, his voice a low purr that sends shivers down my spine despite my best efforts to ignore him. “So if you could hurry it up, I would like to return to my palace."

I shoot him a withering glare over my shoulder. "I don't appreciate being condescended to by my hallucination."

As the hours drag on, I can feel Malakai's restlessness growing. He paces the chamber like a caged panther, his tattoos rippling across his muscular frame with each fluid movement. Every so often, he leans over my shoulder to examine a particular artifact or text, his proximity making my heart race traitorously in my chest.

"Do you mind?" I snap after a particularly close call, my skin tingling where his breath had ghosted across the back of my neck. "I'm trying to concentrate here."

He holds up his hands in mock surrender, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "By all means, don't let me distract you. I wouldn't want to impede your progress with my mere presence."

---