Page 56 of The Devil and His Goddess

“Friend?” he roared, his knuckles turning white around the knife while his face grew red with rage. “Youloveme! The way you look at me. The way you smile at me or talk to me. We—We had something special until thatfuckercame. He ruined everything! How could you do that to me?” He panted heavily, and he pounded his free fist on the counter as he screamed, “How could you!”

Fear shot through me, and I grabbed the glass bowls behind me and threw them at him. He ducked to avoid the hit as adrenaline pushed me around the island and back toward the front door.

“Bitch!” he fumed, his voice closing in on me.

I pumped my arms and legs with all I had, but before I could even exit the kitchen, he grabbed my hair and yanked me sideways. I screamed as I fell into the hallway, but I ignored any flare of pain that tried to sprout as I backed away from him along the floor.

“Drake! Don’t do this!” I cried, too afraid to reason with him. All I could do was beg for my life.

“I gave you flowers after your shows,” Drake heaved as he swiped the air above me with his knife, driving me farther and farther down the hall. “I came to every single performance you did. I called and texted you all the time. I showered you with love and attention, so why wasn’t that enough? Why did you have to be with him?”

I shook my head as if that would make his words and his approach stop. But he only closed in as my back hit the closed door of the home ballet studio. I was still on the ground, so I reached up for the handle, hoping to rush in, lock the door, and climb out the window. Drake spotted my movement and made to slash my outstretched arm. I managed to pull it back with a frightened yelp before the blade found its mark.

He towered above me with crazed eyes and shaking shoulders. “You’re mine. Do you hear me?Mine!”

His anger morphed in the blink of an eye as a deranged smile stretched across his face. He reached toward me with his free hand, and I turned my head away with tears slipping down my cheeks as the tips of his fingers traced my cheek. “You can make this right, though. I’ll forgive you. I will. I don’t want to hurt you. You know that. So sleep with me, yeah? You can show me how sorry you are.”

My chest heaved as I hiccuped and shook my head. “No. I won’t!”

He reared back as if I’d hit him. His face went completely blank for a moment before contorting with fury. He lunged toward me with the knife.

Reflexively, I recoiled and squeezed my eyes shut. I threw my arms up to shield myself, but before any pain or impact came, a muffled struggle sounded above me. My hands continued to shake as I dared to peel my eyes open. The sight made my heart lurch.

My masked demon stood there, his clawed hand wrapped firmly around Drake’s throat. Drake fought to break the hold on his neck, which held him high off the ground. His lips opened and closed in futile efforts to suck in air, and he kicked his feet wildly. The masked figure stood unperturbed, his black fingers digging in harder.

“How dare you?” my demon growled low and dangerous. “How fucking dare you come anywhere near her?”

Drake gritted his teeth and swung his knife.

With a horrified yell slipping from my lips, I watched with tear-filled eyes as the blade sank deep into the demon’s torso with a sick, wet snap. Without hesitating, Drake twisted the knife violently and drove it in harder. The veins on the back of the demon’s hand popped as he tossed Drake back down the hall like a weightless doll. Drake’s head bounced on the ground. His eyes rolled back into his head as he was rendered completely still.

The masked demon slowly looked down at his abdomen, gripped the knife still embedded there, and yanked it out with a deep grunt. Blood as red as wine gushed from the wound as he chucked the blade in Drake’s direction, probably hoping to hit him with it.

“Oh my God,” I panted, quickly getting to my unsteady feet.

I closed the small distance between us and reached my trembling fingers toward his wounded torso. “No, no, no, no! You’re hurt! Perseus, you—you need to get to the hospital!”

A sharp inhale came from beyond the mask just as his body stiffened. At his silence, I tore my eyes away from the bleeding wound and found the black eyes of the mask looking down at me. He held perfectly still, like he’d stopped breathing.

“So you do know,” he stated flatly, and while the voice was still deep and sultry, it was no longer distorted. It washisvoice.

“I know,” I replied softly. “I don’t understand it all, but I know.”

He let out a heavy breath, and after a moment of silence, he reached up to pull his mask off.

Many times, I’d wondered and pictured what my demon looked like beneath the black-and-white fabric. Possibly rows of sharp teeth. Maybe wide, white eyes. Perhaps scales for flesh. I wasn’t sure what ademonwas supposed to look like. The sight before me now put every fantasy I could’ve had to shame.

Perseus’s blond waves were tousled, and standing among the hair were two black horns. His eyes, typically as green as rolling grassy hills, were solid black, only broken up by a red vertical slit. The rest was …him.

Perseus.

I swallowed hard, my mouth drier than sun-soaked clay.

“When did you figure it out?” he questioned, his voice coming out softer than normal.

I shook my head and looked back down at his bleeding abdomen. “That doesn’t matter right now. We need to get you to a hosp—”

His clawed fingers intertwined with my own as his mouth collided with mine. I gasped at the unexpected kiss, and in doing so, I opened up enough for his tongue to sweep inside to tease mine.

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