Page 12 of The Devil and His Sparrow

“Did you get sentenced to walk with me?” I teased.

She stared at the back of Nahla’s head and murmured, “She’s just giving me some advice that I don’t know what to do with. If anything, my presence is your sentence.”

I pressed my wrists together in mock-cuffs and held them out to her. “Then consider me your pleased prisoner.”

Iyla laughed softly and shook her head at my gesture. The momentary ease vanished as quickly as it came. Her body tensed again as the large group shuffled in and out of rooms. She walked around on eggshells, and I figured she was probably the type to get more comfortable as she got to know someone.

Excited that my meal tonight required some coaxing, I queried, “What do you like to do for fun, Iyla?”

Her brown eyes found mine. “I study a lot.”

I quirked my pierced brow at her. “Study?” I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “I said fun.”

She frowned. “Yeah, I guess studying isn’t necessarily fun.” She thought about my question some more. “I hang out with Nahla in my free time. We go shopping, watch movies, things like that.”

“What kind of movies do you like?”

“Horror movies,” she answered absently, looking into another room we passed. Her body was still rigid, and for someone who supposedly liked scary shit, she resembled a rabbit cowering in the shadows as if she were being stalked by a snake.

Little did she know that was exactly what was happening.

I leaned closer to her and whispered, “So are you always this tense, or is it because of me?”

She quickly whipped her head around to look up at me as her cheeks turned pink. I watched her throat bob on a swallow as her eyes briefly flicked to my lips, which still hovered close, before meeting my gaze again. “Maybe a little of both.”

I titled my head slightly. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”

She considered the question with another fleeting glance at my pierced lips, but instead of answering, she asked, “What kind of movies do you like?”

The dodging of my question was a clear indication. She was definitely interested in me, and she was attempting to ignore it by changing the subject. The truth was obvious, though. It was in the rough tone of her voice, the heat smoldering in her gaze, and in the scent of her arousal. The smell was fucking divine, and my stomach clenched as I pictured sinking my face into it later.

I straightened, giving her distance to catch her breath.

For now.

“I don’t really watch movies,” I answered.

Her eyes widened. “What? What do you do for fun then?”

We reached the room my bandmates had been leading everyone to. The music was loudest here, and prior to the humans’ arrival, we’d turned the lights off with only red LED strips lining the edge of the open room. The couches that had been set up by the homeowners were now pushed against the wall to create an open space for what we were currently here for.

Looking at Iyla as I walked backward into the room, I winked and purred, “It’s a secret.”

Everyone immediately gathered in the center of the space to dance in small groups or solo. Nahla grabbed Iyla and held her hands as she lost herself in the song. I stood with Dante and Coldin, watching the two girls laugh and sway with the other humans and my bandmates.

“We’ve got a good feast tonight,” Dante said with a salacious grin plastered on. His hungry eyes watched the bodies moving around us. “You boys ready to eat?”

Coldin grunted in response as he crossed his arms and watched the human girl with pigtails.

My tongue traced the piercing on my lip as I finally replied, “Not quite. My little bird needs a bit more convincing.”

He laughed and clapped my shoulder. “Good luck. If you get tired of trying to convince her, we can share mine. No need to chase these days.”

Yeah, no kidding. But that was exactly what I wanted right now. The chase. The fight. The sin.

He left to join Iyla and Nahla where they danced. Nahla backed it up on him, and he moved along with her. Iyla watched the two for a moment before she realized she was now the third wheel. Her gaze flicked to me where I stood on the outskirts, and I could see her weighing whether or not to join me now that she was the odd one out. And that was exactly how I wanted it. The more Dante swept Nahla up in the dance and music, the closer Iyla shuffled toward me, seeking someone to be with.

The crowd slowly thinned as demon and prey left the room to get busy. Eventually, a tipsy, giggly Nahla whispered some stuff to Iyla before slipping her hand into Dante’s and leaving the room. Iyla smiled at her friend and gave her two thumbs up as Nahla happily followed the crowd, leaving just the two of us in the room.

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