Page 119 of The Devil and His Sparrow

“Got the contract.”

I gasped in surprise at the sound of Coldin’s voice, looking from under Zagan’s arm at the newly-arrived demon. He looked human with his green eyes and horn-free head of brown hair, but blood covered his hands, face, and clothes. There was a certain gleam in his eye that wasn’t usually there, too, but I was too preoccupied with my own demon to figure out what it was.

“Leave it on the couch,” Zagan ordered him, though he never took his eyes off me while he fucked me senseless.

I bit my lip to try to keep my sounds muted, but Zagan was relentless in how he touched me. He didn’t let up, even as Coldin crossed right next to us to drop the rolled-up parchment on the couch.

Nor did Zagan stop when Coldin looked down at us and said flatly, “Since you’re back, I’ll stay here again. You have better hiding places than Dante.”

“Sure,” Zagan answered as his tongue licked a path up my neck and onto my ear. He bit down at the same time that he thrust, and I released my lip as a moan forced its way past my lips.

Coldin seemed unfazed as he shifted, turning from man to snake in a second. When the black reptile slithered down the stairs, Zagan grabbed my chin and forced my attention back to him. “Eyes on me, Sparrow. Don’t make me punish you.”

The threat did something to me. It heated my body to the point of boiling, and with only a few more deep thrusts inside me, I came hard.

“I love it when you cum for me,” Zagan announced. “Almost as much as I love you.”

I smiled and held onto him tightly, soaking in the sight of his expression when he spilled himself inside me. It was fierce, it was passionate, and it was hot. “Right back at you.”

He hovered above me and continued to stare down at me. Neither of us moved, despite reaching our peaks and finishing. Instead, we kept the other locked in our arms, and I wasn’t sure when we’d be ready to let the other go. Probably never.

“I never thanked you,” I whispered, trailing my nails gently up and down his back. “You know, for what you did. I hate the deal you made because of what it cost you, but I … I just can’t thank you enough for doing that.” Emotion climbed my throat, and I had to swallow it down before I could finish, “Thank you for saving my sister.”

He leaned down to press his forehead to mine. “I told you I would, Sparrow. I don’t care what it is or what the risks are. I’ll give you anything, do anything, to make sure you’re happy.”

“Being with you. That’s what makes me happy. So don’t leave me like that again. Deal?”

He pulled back to look down at me, and he cocked his head as a teasing grin lit up his face. “You trying to make a deal with a demon, Iyla?”

I laughed. “Only if that demon is you.”

He kissed me, the caress slow and sweet. “Always me.”

Epilogue

Zagan

“FUCK YEAH! WHAT AN AWESOME show,” Xander cheered, slapping hands and patting the backs of everyone.

I chugged a bottle of water and hid away my demon features. “I love the responses to the new songs. That excitement never gets old.”

I looked up at the clock to see that it read 7:30. Me and the rest of Sinners Do It Better stood around the backstage changing room after finishing our first comeback concert. The hiatus had been a short one but necessary. With Iyla by my side and the pressure off, I’d written—and loved—ten new songs, the most popular of which was “Sparrow,” the song I’d written for Iyla.

“Y’all ready to head out?” I asked.

The guys nodded and began changing. I turned to the full-body mirror, and with a wave of my hand, the sweat from the concert vanished as if I’d showered it off. My leather pants and button-up shirt were replaced by my black-tailored suit. I slicked my hair back and spritzed on some cologne before checking my appearance one final time.

“Whatcha think?” Perseus asked when I turned around to evaluate the guys. “Concert ready?”

Perseus had pulled his golden curls into a bun at the base of his neck and traded in his leather for a suit. Xander now wore a dark purple suit that reminded me too much of Babette’s eyes, but I let it slide since it was a special day. Even Dante, who’d initially grumbled about tonight’s afterparty, wore a faint smile that nearly looked as dashing as his suit. Coldin’s brown hair had been left as tousled as always, but he’d at least put on a black button-up and dress pants.

I smiled at my friend’s efforts.

I wasn’t sure when I’d started thinking of the guys as friends, but I did. It was one of the many things Iyla had helped me see—demons could feel, and having friends was good.

“Looks great,” I complimented. “Let’s go.”

I stepped forward in the same instant that I conjured shadows. When I stepped through them, I came out in the bathroom stall at the theater where Iyla was performing with a philharmonic orchestra. She was still in school for her music degree, but after a recommendation from one of her professors, she’d gotten invited to play piano with the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra. She’d been practicing non-stop for the job, and now the time to really shine as a pianist was here. But it was like I told her—this was just the beginning of her career.

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