Page 94 of The Devil and His Goddess

I didn’t know if transforming the gallery into a dance studio would make a difference. I didn’t know if having the option to dance here would help her in any way. But it was a start. I couldn’t stand by and watch Harper suffer without doingsomething. Whether it was offering up my own lifeforce or creating a new world fit for her new needs, I’d do it.

Chapter 34

Perseus

“SIR, I AM SO, SO sorry. I don’t—”

“Save it,” I interrupted in a firm bark while maintaining my blank mask. “I don’t want excuses. Two days in one week of not showing up for work or even calling in? That’s unacceptable, and it won’t be tolerated.”

Mandi’s eyes reddened as they welled with tears. I clenched my jaw to keep from hurtling a ball of fire across my desk to incinerate her where she sat. The audacity of her to tremble, to cry, to beg for forgiveness after what she’d done …

Xander clucked his tongue as he braced his hands on the back of Mandi’s chair and leaned down to study her sniffling face. The longer half of his black hair fell into his eyes as he said, “I should’ve brought a snack to have while you wrung her out.”

Pretending the demon wasn’t there, I plowed on, “Not only has your attendance received two strikes this week, but your performance in class, practice,andthe shows have been lacking significantly. You’re messing up even the most basic of techniques.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Xander chirped and bowed at me. “I tried.”

He hadn’t just tried. He’d done great this past week when it came to fucking up Mandi.

After that first no-call, no-show, she’d missed work a second time, thanks to Xander. Even while she was at the company, he made being here Hell for her, constantly knocking her off balance, making her spill her lunch, and staining her leotard.

That last one had been one of my few requests. I now suspected Mandi had been the one behind Harper’s ruined leotard, and after talking to Aiysha this week, I realized how nasty this human had always been.

It truly baffled me how these creatures could be considered benevolent while we demons got labeled as monsters.

“I’m so sorry,” Mandi whimpered. Her brown eyes searched mine as she shifted to the edge of her seat. “I’ll try harder, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“If it does, you can find another company to dance for,” I said, barely keeping the hatred from my voice. I tipped my head toward the door. “Dismissed.”

She scurried out of my office, faster than a mouse freed from a trap.

Xander dropped into her vacated seat and adjusted his t-shirt once settled. “Lower than a worm, that one.”

Smirking, I let my human guise fizzle away to ease some of the tension lining my muscles. Pressing my clawed fingers to my throbbing temples, I said, “You’ve done a great job. She’s really falling apart.”

He grabbed the stapler off my desk and tossed it up before snatching it swiftly. He continued playing catch with my office supply as he replied, “I honestly haven’t had to do too much. She’s so frazzled all on her own from the constant fear of getting caught. She’s practically given me the rope to hold while she hangs herself.”

“Good,” I snarled. The pounding in my head intensified, and I briefly closed my eyes to rub at the dull pulsing.

Xander stopped throwing the stapler and leaned his forearms on the desk, watching me hard. “What’s wrong with you?”

I shook my head dismissively. “Nothing.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “When was the last time you ate?”

I held his suspicious gaze but didn’t answer. If I told him it’d been two weeks since I’d last consumed Harper’s pleasure, he’d insist on my eating. But I refused to do that. Harper wasn’t ready, even if it was to feed me, and I certainly wasn’t going to someone else for it. I’d never been monogamous, but I’d also never had Harper in my life. With her, I had no desire to be with someone else. Harper was the only one for me.

“You should join Mandi,” I said, dropping my hand and getting to my feet slowly so that he couldn’t tell how I stumbled slightly. “I need to get going. Harper’s surprise is ready.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond, because I couldn’t keep arguing with him, which was exactly what he would’ve done. I vanished in a plume of shadows and reappeared in my living room. The room continued moving, even after I’d stopped, and I had to brace a hand on the back of the couch until the dizziness faded.

Finally getting a grip on my bearings, I made my way to what had become mine and Harper’s room. I’d initially planned on staying in another bedroom while she used mine, but since that first night, it had become our routine for me to sleep next to her atop the covers, holding her hand, and keeping the torturous dreams away—not that she knew I did that last part.

Torturous, I chuckled sardonically.

Torturous indeed. I’d never known a greater pain than this—the person I cared about most cracking piece by piece while I could do nothing but watch.

I shook the thought away as I found Harper in bed.

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