Page 90 of Spit

“As you should.” Legion nodded. “He is astute, as wonderfully sarcastic as you are, and generous to a fault despite the failings of his sin.”

“I like Sev.” I continued.

Legion hummed, running a hand through his raven-wing hair. “Sev is also a fine demon. He is a strategist. He can read a person in a moment and know their every desire.”

“Are you planning on listing the positive traits of every man I mention?”

“Arlo is also a fine choice.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed.

“He is fiercely protective and the most compassionate male I know.” Legion met my eyes. “They want you to stay as well. I wouldn’t have approached you if they felt any differently.”

“Legion…”

“Consider it.”

I ignored his command. “And what about you? What type of man are you?” I asked.

His lip twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Why don’t you tell me what kind of man I am.”

I took a deep breath as I blossomed under his gaze, feeling my nipples harden and react to his stare even though his eyes never left my face. “I think you’re lonely,” I said.

Legion’s face became a mask, and it was impossible to read what he was thinking.

I pressed on. “I think you spend so much time being the steward above your fellow demons and trying to control them to the extent that you don’t allow yourself to connect with anyone. I think you view your facets as your only friends and the only people you can count on. I think that you are a lot more bothered than you let on. I think I’m seeing only a small part of the investigation to find your missing friends—I would bet you have contacts all over the city. Demons that are afraid of you and humans that owe you a debt. I bet that the moment any hint of Mars or Quinn surfaces, you’ll be across the city in a shot. It wouldn’t surprise me if the only reason you are home now is to keep an eye on your facets, but if you could guarantee their safety, you would be patrolling the streets yourself.”

Legion sniffed, looking away. “Sev is not the only one that can read a person in a moment. It seems.” He said in a level tone.

I shrugged but said nothing.

“Will you tell me what happened yesterday?” Legion said, sounding uncharacteristically vulnerable. “You were across the lawn, trying to leave the grounds. I woke up after being beaten into a bloody pulp by Arlo. He wouldn’t tell me what happened. I want to know if I did something to hurt you.”

I licked my bottom lip. “You kissed me,” I said.

“I did?”

I hummed a yes.

Legion smiled; the motion was languid and confident—the embodiment of pride. “More’s the pity that I don’t remember.” He said, reclining in the chair, his legs spreading naturally. Legion brushed his thumb against his bottom lip. My heart started to beat twice as fast when I remembered what it felt like to have his lips on mine—just for a moment before I came to my senses.

I cleared my throat but refused to look away. “You don’t want to kiss me,” I told him.

“I don’t?”

I shook my head, and a lock of my pink hair fell in my eyes and brushed my nose. Before I could lift a hand to push it away, Legion was there. In my space. So close I could see the fine line between his deep inky eyes and his dilated pupils as he looked into my eyes. Legion used a single finger to wind my hair into a curl and tuck it behind my ear. My skin burned from the contact, and I inhaled a sharp breath though it didn’t seem to fill my lungs.

“You can’t.”

“I can’t?” He echoed.

“Stop copying me.”

Legion’s smirk was wicked as the hand at the side of my face traveled across my jaw and cupped my chin; the touch straddled the line between dominating and tender.

“Your face haunts me.” He admitted. “Those eyes. Those lips. The sound of your heartbeat pounds in my ears, dogging my every step. I can hear it from every corner of this house, as large as it is. Why is that?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know.

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