Page 48 of The Devil and His Goddess

The song ended, and I chanced a look at Harper. Her blue eyes had doubled in size at some point, and her cheeks were flushed. “That was amazing! You—You’re actually good!”

A bark of laughter ripped up my throat. “I would hope so since that’s kinda my job.”

She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. “Well, don’t stop now. Make a fan out of me.”

Chuckling, I looked down at the guitar and moved through different songs—some quick and hard-hitting rhythms, others slower and sexy. Each one kept Harper engaged on me and what I did with my hands to produce the sounds.

“I don’t want to add to your inflated ego,” Harper began with a tilt of her head as I finished the sixth song. “But I’m really impressed. Have you always played guitar?”

I looked over the sleek guitar and remembered my first time playing a string instrument, which wasn’t a guitar. My instrument of choice when I first started was either a lyre or kithara, depending on who I was playing for. I fell in love with the method of entertainment but had loved the charm it added to my seduction abilities even more. Wooing men and women became as easy as breathing or blinking. That hadn’t changed, even after all this time.

Only I realized with a jolt of surprise that I didn’t play for Harper in an effort to get her horny. Tempting her into my bed wasn’t even on my mind right now. All that spiraled around my head was the hope that she enjoyed what I played.

“Not always, though I’ve always liked the arts,” I finally managed to answer around the uncomfortable strain in my throat. “Music. Dance. I’ve always viewed them as a way to connect with …people. The art and mastery of it makes someone great in my eyes. It’s power and magic that humans shouldn’t wield but do.”

Harper’s contemplative stare fixed on the ceiling. “Hmm. I like that. Power and magic. That’s definitely a good way of describing how it feels when I dance. It’s like nothing can stop me or break me. When I dance, I’m my strongest and brightest. Nothing else matters. Is it the same for you with your music?”

I leaned back against the cushions and weighed her question. “I love music, and I love Sinners Do It Better. But it’s not myworldlike it is for Zagan. I like seeing the reaction to my playing more than the playing itself.”

She tilted her chin up and flashed me a coy grin. “You mean you like all the fans fawning over you and offering themselves up on a silver platter?”

Throwing my head back on a laugh, I shook it. “Hey. You definitely won’t see me complaining about that.”

Nor was I going to deny that the sex was a big part of why I did it. Being a celebrity made securing a meal of people’s sexual satisfaction easier. I didn’t have to hunt for someone to seduce. Instead, they lined up for it. It made things easy for me, but …

I looked over Harper’s seated form. I wanted her. There was absolutely no denying that, but strangely, I wanted … more. I could’ve secured what I typically wanted from humans earlier in the living room or during my masked visits to her late at night. So sex wasn’t why we sat here tonight. Sex wasn’t why I played for her now.

Was it because she wasmyballerina?

Was it because I’d become obsessed with everything about her?

I didn’t know.

The past couple of days had thrown me for a fucking loop.

“I’m glad you have others to have fun with,” Harper hedged playfully before getting to her feet and making her way over to the table that held my violin. She ran a feather-light touch over the instrument as she finished, “That means you can stop teasing and messing with me.”

Setting my guitar aside, I stood and stalked toward her. She turned to face me just as I reached her. I braced my hands on the table on either side of her. My large frame caged her in, and despite her words, her throat bobbed on a hard swallow.

“I’m not messing with you, Harper,” I revealed softly. “I meant what I said. I want you. I want you to be my principal dancer. I want you to be the naked body under mine.”

I could’ve listed more, but I wasn’t even sure what more I desired. So I stamped my mouth closed, letting those few admissions speak for me. Sex was a starting point, especially for someone like me. ThemoreI desperately craved for could come after.

Her hazy gaze bounced from my lips to my eyes and back again. “Fooling around with each other isn’t a good idea. It will complicateeverything.”

“It doesn’t have to,” I argued. “It’s just sex, Harper. No one has to know if you don’t want them to.”

“And what if things go south? What if the sex muddies things and that bleeds into work?”

“You’re still my top ballerina,” I reminded her. “Above all else, I won’t ruin the dancer I know you are.”

Her chest rose and fell harder as she seemed to process my words. Would it be easier to let this go—let her go—and find someone else to indulge in? Sure. But I didn’t want someone else. I wantedher.

Finally, she met my gaze again to whisper, “I’ll think about it.”

Chapter 18

Harper

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