Page 62 of Their Demon

The sound of glass breaking yanked me from my nightmare-ish daydream. I raced out to the hall toward the source of the commotion.

“Baby, are you okay?” I heard Nicholas ask.

Lilian. Fuck, was she okay?

“I’m al—alright. It slipped from m—my hands. I—I’m not sure what h—happened. It was an accident,” she stuttered, her tone making my heart tighten in my chest.

“It’s alright, little one,” Aiden comforted her. “Let me lift you out of this mess, and we’ll get it cleaned up.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s my mess. Hand me a broom,” she argued.

When I entered the kitchen, she turned to face me, her expression somber.

“You’re not risking hurting yourself, princess,” I declared as I stalked to her side, avoiding the glass shards and picking her up bridal style. “They’ll clean it up.”

“Hey,” the twins protested together, but I ignored them.

Lillian’s arms instinctively wrapped around my neck to stabilize herself, our faces so close, I could smell the sweet, minty toothpaste on her breath. She looked confused, disturbed, and angry all at the same time, a bewildering mixture of emotions to see all together.

The sound of the twins cleaning the glass from the floor faded behind me as I took her to the living room and placed her on the couch. She didn’t object as I took each of her hands in mine, flipping them over to examine them for any signs of injury, then doing the same with her legs and feet.

Thankfully, she was unscathed. I, however, was burning from the inside out as I was forced to remove my fingers from her skin once I’d confirmed she was unharmed.

“Are you alright?” I asked her, worry heavy on each word.

“I—I’m fine,” she assured me, and I nodded, turning to head to the kitchen to check on the mess. “Do you really think that’s what I’ll look like when I die?”

I froze in place, unable to turn back to her or walk away.Fucking hell. She’d seen my thoughts. That’s why she dropped the glass dish. It was all my fault. She could’ve gotten hurt. I was always putting her in precarious situations. When would it end?

I didn’t realize I’d been standing silently for so long until I felt her small hand on my arm. She came around to stand in front of me. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to—”

I gathered her hands in mine. “You did nothing wrong. I am the one who should be apologizing. I let my thoughts get away from me. I didn’t sleep well last night, and—”

“Because of me? Keir, you need sleep. Maybe I should sleep in my room tonight instead.”

“No,” I said far too quickly, startling us both.

“Okay then…” she whispered, looking down at our hands.

Lately, it seemed like my body was looking for any excuse to touch her, no matter what my brain thought it wanted. I, too, stared at the place where we were connected, begging my body to release her. I couldn’t, though. It was like I was stuck in place, an immovable statue.

I closed my eyes as remnants of this morning’s thoughts appeared, and I willed them to leave me alone. I felt her hands squeeze mine, and I opened my eyes to find her emerald green eyes wide with sympathy, looking glassy. A single drop fell down her cheek, and her gaze fell with it.

“Hey…” I brought my fingers under her chin and lifted, forcing her to look at me, then brushed her tear away with the back of my knuckle, grazing her skin so lightly, I almost didn’t feel her at all. “That isnotgoing to happen. Do you understand me?” I waited until she nodded, her sniffle tugging at my heart. “You are going to walk out of that cave in one piece and show my father you are not to be underestimated. You are not going to give up. You are not going to be beaten down. You are not going to stop until you have stomped the hope from his eyes yourself, until he realizes he grossly miscalculated his stupid fucking plan to try and take you from us. You. Will. Beat. Him.”

Her eyes widened, and her breath stalled for a split second at my loud, passionate words. I was just as stunned myself, unsure where it all came from.

“I meant every damn word, princess,” I promised her before she had a chance to start doubting me.

She held my gaze, and I swear, her face was coming closer to mine. Was she moving? WasImoving? I could almost taste her sweet lips on mine. They were so close, close enough that I could claim them right here, right now, and forever mark her body—and her fate—with mine.

The way I would devour her mouth…

The twins gracefully chose that moment to interrupt with breakfast, forcing us to break apart. Nicholas gave me an apologetic glance, but it was fine. This was fate’s cruel way of telling me I couldn’t have her, that I didn’t deserve her.

Despite the hellacious day awaiting us tomorrow, everyone was in decent spirits. Lillian focused hard during her training, and though she never hit 666 ounces exactly, she got within .4 of it.

I felt like a damn watchdog protecting Lillian from the predatory advances of my brothers. It was as if they couldn’t keep their hands off her. They were always touching her, kissing her, feeling her up. I refused to admit it was due to jealousy when Nicholas brought it up.

---