Page 86 of The Devil and His Sparrow

I shifted in my seat under the obvious appraisal of his gaze. “Looks like it. My living situation … got messed up, and he was kind enough to let me stay with him.”

Eden rested her chin in her hands and listened to me with a smile plastered on.

Perseus scoffed before chugging some of the amber drink in his glass. “‘Kind.’ Right.” Perseus leaned forward on his forearms and met my gaze. “If we do something, it’s for selfish reasons. It’s not out of kindness.”

Eden’s smile fell, and she quickly slapped his arm and glowered at him. The two started bickering in hushed voices, too low for me to make out. I didn’t bother trying to listen. I was too caught up in my own irritation.

Perseus was wrong—maybe not in the general sense, but definitely when it came to Zagan. Zagan had done countless things for me. He helped me study, dropped what he was doing to be there for me, brought me heaps of cake, spent his free time with me and Gemma, and let me live with him. Even if some of his motivations stemmed from other reasons, Zagan did them because he was a good friend. The fact that Perseus didn’t understand that made me wonder how well his bandmates really knew him or if they just saw another demon when they looked at him.

I glanced over at Zagan now. He ran a clawed, black finger around the rim of his glass as he listened to Dante talk. The sight of him made warmth unfurl in my chest, and that feeling washed over me from head to toe.

Everyone at this table saw his horns, his eyes, and everything that made him a demon. When I looked at him, I saw what made him Zagan. I saw someone who managed to always turn a bad situation into a brighter one. I saw a man passionate about his work but also struggling to find that spark. I saw a person who cared and supported me when he didn’t have to. I saw a friend.

Friend.

The word had a snake-like grip coiling around my ribcage and squeezing.

Eden, in her pink bra and black leather shorts, stood then. She held her hand out for me and called, “Come on, Iyla! Let’s go dance.”

I let the giddy demon pull me onto the dance floor, and with little convincing, the two of us began to sway our hips and move to the music. Every set of eyes watched Eden with a sensual hunger, and I didn’t blame them. The way she moved was hot, and I could only hope that I looked even half as good as she did while dancing beside her.

“That’s it!” Eden cheered me on. “Keep dancing like that and—” Her eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on our table, and her erotic movements slowed to a mindless sway. “Shit.”

I slowed, too, nearly stopping altogether as I turned to see what had caught her attention. I sucked in a sharp breath when I saw the scantily-clad red-head sitting in Zagan’s lap, her blood-red nail trailing down his neck while the other pressed to his chest. Her gleaming violet eyes held his as she shared words with him, and her black horns curled behind her head. Zagan’s face was unreadable as he listened to whatever she said, and he sat still against her roaming hands.

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen someone in his lap like that. My first night here, Eden had literally been straddling him topless. But it hadn’t fazed me then. I didn’t know Zagan back then. I didn’t …

This time was different. My stomach soured to the point of near nausea as the well-endowed woman smiled seductively at Zagan and leaned down to run her tongue over his ear.

I quickly whipped my head back around and choked out, “Who is that?”

Eden continued glaring in that direction. “That’s Babette. She’s a Bargainer demon and the owner of Hell’s Gate. She’s also been obsessed with Zagan since the dawn of time.”

There was clearly a part of me that took pleasure in torturing myself, because I looked back. Babette now stood by Zagan’s chair, and she leaned down, her breasts nearly spilling from her green dress, and whispered something in his ear. She stood back to her full, slender height. Zagan’s eyes stayed trained on the table as she sauntered away, leaving demons drooling in her wake.

Nagging voices inside me wondered what she’d said to him. Had she asked him to slip away with her for their own little fun? Did he only decline because he had no choice, chained to me like a dog that craved freedom? The chaotic questions fired off inside my mind, and the knots in my stomach only got worse with each one.

Zagan’s head started to swivel in my direction, so I quickly looked away with a sharp inhale. I couldn’t let him see me watching. It wasn’t my business, bond or no bond.

“If you’re trying to hide your feelings, you’re not doing a good job,” Eden said, leaning in close to be heard over the music. “It’s written all over your face. If you really want to act like you didn’t see or didn’t care, dance. Show everyone just how okay you are with your body.”

She backed away, raising her arms above her head as her body began to move in a rhythmic, hypnotic dance. I swallowed down the unease inside me and tried to do what she said. I’d never considered myself sexy or a very skilled dancer, but right now, I was giving both things my all. I swiveled my hips and ran my hands up my body and into my ponytail, letting the music and sudden whistles of approval fuel my slow and erotic movements.

I’m not fazed by the woman flirting with Zagan.

I closed my eyes and made a figure-eight with my hips.

I don’t care if he wishes he weren’t stuck with me.

I ran my hands back down my body and let the music thrum through my limbs.

I’m fine.

“Back that pretty ass up,” a raspy voice whispered in my ear.

I gasped and spun around to find a Mischief demon smiling salaciously at me. His dirty-blond hair stood up around his tall black horns, and sweat shined on his bare torso. He danced closer and reached for my hands to pull me into him.

“What’s a tasty human like you doing out here all alone?” he chuckled, his golden eyes raking over me.

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