Page 61 of Bad Demon

She nodded. I stood and left my den, closing the door behind me, but I didn’t go far. I stood right there, facing the door, gripping the doorframe like a fucking dickhead. And not only could I feel her hunger, her pleasure building, but with my superior hearing, I could hear every rustle of the sheet, every panted breath, every whimper. My cock throbbed, and my heart pounded, and I could still taste her on my tongue. I was so fucking pissed off that I was out here and not in there, that I was missing it—missing the most beautiful female I had ever laid eyes on getting herself off—and I wanted to punch a hole through the fucking wall.

Her cry, when it came, pierced my fucking soul, and her drawn-out moan made my cock pulse so hard again that my knees almost gave the fuck out. I listened as she panted, as her breathing finally evened out, slowing when she fell asleep. I should stay out here for a bit longer, but I couldn’t stop myself from opening the door.

She lay on her back, her blood-red hair spread over my pillow, the scent of her pussy heavy in the air. I breathed deep as I took her in—so small in my bed, so still, besides her chest rising and falling. One of her hands was still under the sheet between her thighs. The other was up by her face, and there was something dark fisted in it.

I rounded the bed to get a closer look, and when I saw what it was, I bared my teeth and choked down a possessive snarl. My shirt—it had been on the floor. I leaned in and scented it now. I could smell us both. She’d had it by her face. My little female had been sniffing it, breathing in my scent when she got herself off the last time.

Pulling out my phone, I fired off a quick text to Rome. He owed me one, and I was calling it in. I didn’t know what caused this, but I’d never let her get in the state I’d found her in ever again.

I should probably give her some space after what happened; I didn’t want it, but she might. But I couldn’t convince myself to leave, not now. I also knew when she woke, she’d feel even more vulnerable, and I didn’t want that. Her waking up naked beside me wouldn’t help, so I grabbed my shirt from her hand and eased it over her head.

“Huh?” she said drowsily.

“You’re okay, Tink.”

She helped me slip her arms through the sleeves.

“Go back to sleep, baby.”

She muttered something incoherent, rolled to her side, curled up, and went back to sleep. I stripped down to my boxer briefs and slipped into bed beside her. She immediately wriggled closer; her unconscious mind recognized who I was even if her conscious one hadn’t yet.

No, I didn’t know what had happened here tonight, what had driven her to that, but I wanted to find out. Somehow, I had to get her to open up to me.

I wrapped an arm around her and buried my nose in her hair. “You’re safe now, sweetness. No one will ever hurt you again.”

ChapterFifteen

FERN

My eyes flewopen when my stomach revolted violently. I blinked into the darkness. I was still in Relic’s room, and he was asleep beside me, so close that I felt the heat radiating from his body like a furnace.

Oh, fuck.

My hand flew to my mouth, and I scrambled out of bed as quickly and quietly as I could. Then, I stumbled to the bathroom. I bumped the door shut with my foot and rushed to the toilet. Dropping to my knees, I heaved, emptying the contents of my stomach. Biting back my groan, I gasped in gulp after gulp of air and shook my head, praying this was a one-and-done situation, but I knew I wasn’t going to be that lucky when the nausea started to build again instantly.

Idiot.I’d done this to my damn self.What the hell was I thinking?I should never have taken the potion last night. I’d let my anxiety get the better of me, like I always did, but between the hunger, and the break in, I’d been seriously struggling. At that moment, when I’d been lost in my fear, imagining the past repeating itself, while sitting in a room full of freaking predators, I hadn’t seen another choice. The knowledge that it would make me sick had seemed like a far better option than having a full-blown meltdown in front of everyone in the bar, in front of Relic.

I heaved again, and angry tears filled my eyes. I’d never fucking hated myself more.

Even knowing the nausea would come, that the fear and my compulsions would be worse when the potion wore off, I’d still done it.

In my defense, it didn’t usually last that long, but of course, now, out of all the times I’d used it, I could tell this was going to be worse than ever before. Maybe because I’d used it less than a week ago when I went to Agatheena’s, and there’d still been traces of it in my system? I could only guess, but I was never taking it again—at least not when I was with others.

I didn’t need an audience while my fucked-up mind forced me to complete a list of rituals just so I could function. When I took the potion, old compulsions from when I was younger would rear back up; checking and rechecking that I’d locked doors and windows, switching the light on and off while I counted to four, reading certain things like the names of TV shows or street signs and having to repeat them in my head, only backward, not stepping on cracks, retracing my steps, like there was a rope connected to my back that would get all tangled up if I didn’t go back the way I came, whether it was in my apartment or the route I’d taken to the grocery store, the list went on, and all while I counted to four and back, everything in fours—even how many times I fucking orgasmed.

I cringed in shame and horror, remembering what had happened when we came back here last night, the way I’d behaved, like a sexually depraved psychopath. Groaning, I retched so violently I shook. I wanted to disappear. I never wanted to see Relic ever again. Maybe if I begged, Agatheena would let me stay with her. I’d do whatever she wanted. No one would ever find me out there. Not even Relic could get past her wards.

My face burned hotter, and I gagged, straining as bile burned my throat when there was nothing else left.

I jolted when my hair was carefully lifted back from my face, and tried to pull away, but a muscled arm curled around me, holding me still.

“I got you, Tink. Get it all out, baby.”

I shook my head.No. Sweet Lucifer, no. Not this.I didn’t want him to see me like this as well. “Leave me here,” I choked out. “Go away. P-please. Just leave me.”

I felt so weak, my limbs heavy and shaky, and despite the nausea, hunger still gnawed viciously at my stomach. I couldn’t even shove him away. I couldn’t do any-fucking-thing, and right then, I just wanted to disappear and never come back.

“Not going anywhere, Fern,” he said roughly. Then, his arm around me slid away a second before I felt his fingers running through my hair.

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