Page 12 of In My Closet

Her body tightened against mine with a grunt from the shadow tendrils pulling taut. With her limbs tied down, I grabbed her face and forced her to tilt her head so I could have access to her succulent neck. Leaning in, I pressed my injured tongue against her innocent skin, tainting it with a streak of my saliva and blood as I licked up her throbbing artery to her cheek. "Maybe I might just let you go on that stupid date," my voice dropped lower and lower as I got to her ear, "After I mark you as mine."

Her eyes went as wide as her stupid dinner plates at my words, causing a small wave of laughter to below out of my shaking chest. "What is my little blessing thinking to have such a face?" Well, I had some good guesses, but I didn't mean anything too dirty by my words.

"Y-you touch in any way without my permission, and I will move out and light this place up as I walk out." Her voice may tremble, but her threat was stern, along with her hardened eyes that chilled my spine.

Letting go of her face, I held my hands up in surrender while leaning back slightly. "I'm a demon, not someone with no morals." Okay, that was better in my head, but it was true!

Sputtering out a laugh, Gracie struggled to reel herself back in with some coverup coughs. "You want to repeat what you just said? Maybe a little louder so it gets through your old ears?"

Rolling my eyes, I reached out and flicked her forehead. "I ain't into non-consensual stuff, especially with someone who's a virgin." If her limbs weren't restrained, she probably would have reeled back and placed a hand on her chest with her exaggerated sigh of offense. "Oh, don't you get all prude with me now, little Prudence. I can smell your innocence as much as I can feel it, your soul and aura, I mean." If I were daring enough, then technically, I could stick something up there and violate her, but I wasn't that kind of demon.

She let out a seething breath and puffed her angry cheeks out with a displeased growl. "Don't call me that!" She snapped with a deep scowl.

"I mean, if that were my name, then I wouldn't want anyone calling me it either." Seriously, did her parents hate her? I wonder how badly she was bullied for her name growing up.

Gracie thrashed against her restraints. "Well…! Well…! Ugh!" The way she pressed her lips into a tight line meant I'd won this round.

Or so I thought. "Well, at least I don't look like a dog or a little baby deer, Fawny."

Okay, a little offended, not gonna lie because, well, "What the fuck?" Okay, maybe I misheard because, "What. The. Fucking. Finest. Pardon."

"You're a little Fawn." Cocky little thing even dared to stick her tongue out at me.

"Woman, are you high out of your unholy mind?" Did she have a fall I was unaware of? Get hit in the head when she went out grocery shopping earlier? Rotted her brain away with all her manuscript editing?

"You look like Goldie, and he has a fawn coat," Gracie remarked with a sneer and puff of her chest.

Yep, really offended now. "Did you just put me on the same level as your mutt? The one who chases his own tail and licks his own ass?" Or maybe I was hallucinating or caught in a very bad nightmare because in no way in this limbo realm did my own mate just equate me to her dog. Albeit a cute dog, I'll give the thing that much credit, but not a hair more.

Still offended. I mean, I looked way cuter and better than a dog by eons. Also, I had more brains than a dog, so was she insinuating that I was also stupid with her comparison?

"How on earth do I—" Cutting myself off, I shook my head with a dismissive wave of my hand, "Never mind, I don't want to know."

Shoving my irritations out of my mind, I grabbed her face to bring her into another kiss, wanting to lose myself in her intoxicating freshness again. Breaking away briefly to let her breathe, I glared softly into her eyes, "You are not going on that useless date." I grumbled against her lips with a deep growl and scowl. "You step out of this closet, out that door, and you will not be sleeping tonight."

Slipping my hand into her dye locks, which were surprisingly very soft, I gripped them tightly to tilt her head up at me. "And make no mistake, my words are no threat or warning. They are a promise." Leaning her back, I loomed over her menacingly. "Just because I am nice doesn't mean I do not have a mean bone in my body. I may sweeten you with words that light up your face like a sunny day, but those words can easily light a different kind of fire within you along with my touch."

Make no mistake, the thought of cherishing her in my arms, snuggling in bed, having her in my lap while she worked, all of that was lovely, but I had my baser needs, which darkened my lustful thoughts about my beautiful mate. The need to hold her down and make her scream for all of Heaven and Hell to hear stiffened every—and I do mean every—inch of me with a burning desire for her.

Oh, the things I will do to you once you kneel to me, my little blessing.

That thought caused another flurry of sinful images to cross my mind.

Pressing my smirking lips against her in a sensual kiss, I chuckled softly. "Well? What's your choice, little blessing? Out? Or in?"

Tauntingly, I had a shadow hand pick up the outfit she'd set out for the night and waved it in the air like a flag.

"Choose wisely for the sake of being able to walk and think straight tomorrow."

Chapter 9

Gracie

I don't think I chose wisely.

Pretty sure if I did, then I wouldn't be hesitant about entering my room, where Valphan stood at the closet door, crowding the opening with his menacing grin while beckoning me toward him with a clawed finger.

Swallowing the nervous lump in my throat, I glued my feet to the floor right outside the door to my room. Steeling my nerves, I defiantly shook my head at him while shaking in my panties.

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