Page 16 of A Surrender Of Hope

“Sorry, but that isn't shocking information. From my dreams alone, I could tell this guy was… is bad. Trust me, I’m not excited about having it on me any more than you are. This is the first time it came back with me from a dream, though,” I muse, looking down to where Nox is still grazing the tender skin etched with the red mark. Nox’s thumb freezes, and I can hear a soft snarl making its way up from his throat, the sound reminding me of what Milo does when Razar gets too close to him.

“How long have you been seeing Inanis?” His voice is deceptively calm, and I frown, trying to think back to the first time I saw the man show up in the field. It had been the night Valen had woken me and… I smile at the reminder of how sweet my dream man was, my body heating as I think about how he had kissed me, touched me, and made me feel things I didn’t know were possible. “Meyer!” Nox snaps, jolting me out of my lust-induced fog. I shake my head, more confused than ever. Sure, I’ve always had a healthy appetite for sex, but hell, it feels like I’m some kind of horn dog right now.

“Sorry. Uh, last week sometime? It’s not been too long,” I add when Nox’s face flushes a weird purple color. His hand tightenson mine, and I roll my eyes, knowing sweet Nox is gone, and I’m back with the asshole version of him.

“Why didn’t you tell me the moment he showed up? This is serious, Meyer. I need to bring you back to Versipellis so we can figure out how to remove it,” he grinds out.

“You have to bring me where?”

“Home. There is no way for us to remove this mark. Valen and I both tried. We need my father’s help,” he admits, and I shake my head.

“I’m not going to Hell,” I say, not sure how I feel about all this. Do I want the mark on me? No. Especially after the last visit I had from this Inanis guy. But to go to Hell… or Versipellis. Yeah, not liking that plan. And meeting the King of the Demons? That's a hard pass.

“It’s not Hell, or I guess for humans it is, but it’s not all fire and brimstone.” Nox’s frustration is clear in his voice as he glares at me. “You should’ve told me about this the moment it happened. Have I not saved your life multiple times? Why didn’t you come to me?” he practically roars, the sound far too loud and making the ache in my already throbbing head worsen. I scoff and yank my hand from his, standing from the bed and trying to put some distance between us. My body feels funny. All flushed and weird, and I’m pretty sure I’m running a fever or something.

“Why would I? I appreciate you saving me, Lennox, but my life wasn’t in danger at the time; I thought they were bad dreams. You haven't exactly been very kind with our encounters, and I had no idea who the dude was. I thought I was going crazy! If I’d told you I was seeing a giant man who touched my?—”

“He touched you?!” Lennox roars, leaping to his feet like the dramatic princess he is. His chest heaves as his shoulders tremble and grow, while large horns appear at his temples. I can hear the seams of his clothes rip just as his magic cords aroundhis body, a dark shadow appearing behind him as huge, bat-like wings slowly materialize.

“My hand,” I finish slowly, eyeing the now furious Demon as he completely loses his shit. Hmm, okay, so that's an odd reaction to a hand touch, but this is Nox, so it really shouldn’t surprise me. I’m definitely going to keep the claws puncturing my shoulders to myself if he’s going to act like this. “Um, maybe try to calm down. You look like your head’s about to explode,” I add unhelpfully, watching in awe as the Demon grows before my eyes. Nox has always been a behemoth of a man, standing well over a head taller than me, but when he’s in this form, I get a kink in my neck from trying to look up at him.

Pursing my lips, I wonder what it would be like to scale that broad chest and grab his horns. They’re dark and pointed, and a deadly black glow surrounds them, sending a thrill down my spine.

“Hmm, probably shouldn’t,” I mutter as Nox growls.

“You let him touch you?” he asks, his voice so deep I have a hard time understanding him.

“Let him? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I practically screech, stepping up to his massive form and going head-to-head with this impossible, infuriating man. “There was nolettingthat man do anything. He did what he wanted after he killed everyone in my dreams. Then he sunk his damn claws into my shoulders,” I snarl, the pain of those claws is way too fresh in my mind, and I shiver a little at the reminder, “while he tried to attack my mind! Do you really think I wouldlethim do that?”

His only response is a grunt as he steps toward me, crowding me back against the wall. His big hands wrap around my waist as he leans in, staring me down, a challenge lit in his now black eyes. This is Demon Nox, not the protective man I’ve grown to know over the last few months, but the beast who killed Senior Axford and took control of the castle.

“Back off, Nox,” I grind out, my anger growing, as a dark, lingering excitement wiggles back to the surface. His nostrils flare, and I quickly realize I’m way out of my depth here. Shit. How does one calm down a Demon Prince? To get him to go back to the slightly more reasonable version than this weird growling one? I look around and spot a cup of water on Creed's side table.Bingo.

Leaning to my right, I grab the cup of water and fling its contents at Nox’s face, then bite my lip to stifle the giggle that threatens to break loose at the surprised expression now plastered on his dripping wet face.

“Cool it, Demon boy,” I snap as he slowly lets me go, bringing his hands up to wipe at the water running down his face into his thick beard. I nod in satisfaction when I see his shoulders no longer trembling, and it looks like he’s stopped getting taller. His enormous curved horns are still there, but appear slightly smaller than before. “Now we can have a reasonable conversation where you listen and then give me information, or you can leave,” I add, my smug mood slowly fading as Nox’s eyes stayed glued on my face.

He takes a deep breath, then another, before his right eye twitches and claws suddenly spring from his fingertips. Oh fuck. Okay, water didn’t help. I quickly step away from the wall, darting from him and toward the door just as he snarls and holds a hand out.

“Don’t.” The word comes out as a plea more than a command, and something inside me twists, the urge to run… to see if he would chase, suddenly filling my every thought.

Would he be fast enough to catch me before I made it out of the room? Would he be strong enough to keep me here? I shiver, goosebumps racing over my arms as liquid heat pools in my center and I take another slow step toward the door. The air around me feels heated, and my mind is in some kind of hazeas my vision narrows in on Lennox. My ears pop and adjust, and the sound of a door slamming downstairs suddenly becomes audible.

“Meyer. You have no idea what you’re doing right now. Please,” he starts to say, but I’m already turning on my heel. The heat in my body burns through my veins like a drug, and the adrenaline makes me feel indestructible as I throw open the door to Creed’s room and try to dash into the hall. Before I can make it even two steps, I’m yanked off my feet by a furious Demon who snarls into my ear, “I let you escape me once. I won't allow it a second time, Little Demon.” Gasping at the raw need in Nox’s voice, I throw an elbow back on instinct, catching him in the ribs and earning a curse as his hold on me only tightens.

“I’m trying to be a good person here, and you’re making that incredibly difficult,” he snaps, his magic flooding my body. Within seconds, I can feel the aches and pains fading away. “I need to heal you, and instead, you try and start ahunting ritual? Do you know how dangerous that can be for you if I don’t control myself?”

The pounding in my head is as loud as my heart thumping in my chest, Nox’s warning only fuels the now painful heat inside me. Cool magic spirals inside me, feeling so much stronger than it ever has before. I breathe out a sigh of relief, not realizing how bad that headache had been until now; the pain slowly lessens, and I momentarily stop fighting his hold, allowing my body to heal. Nox suddenly spins me in his arms, shoves me against the wall, and makes me gasp in surprise as he towers over me, his gleaming eyes locked with mine as he leans closer.

I bring my knee up, trying to nail him between the legs, and Nox’s eyes bulge from his sockets. “Kick me there again, Little Demon, and I’ll put you over my knee,” he warns, making goosebumps erupt over my skin.

Like… as in spank me? Is that what he means? Shit, why does that idea only turn me on and make me want to test his limits? See if he really will make good on his threat.

“Lennox, if you spank me, I will have Razar teach me the most painful way to castrate you,” I snap, not wanting him to know how much I actually like the idea. My hands move to press against his firm chest as he closes his eyes and groans, his head ticking to the side in an almost animalistic way. His enormous wings unfold behind him, catching my attention as they take up the majority of the room. “Can I touch them?” I look at the black leather-like wings, wondering if they would be soft or rough under my fingertips.

“No,” he grinds out, the word clipped like it physically pains him to say. I feel a shift of magic against my skin. In seconds, the wings and horns are gone, but his clawed hands still hold me in place, keeping me pinned against the wall with his giant body.

I almost feel upset at the loss of the wings and horns, wondering why they can’t stay and why he wouldn’t let me touch them. Why can he touch me, but I can’t touch him?

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