Page 16 of Demon Bound

“Should I consider myself your prisoner?” she asked.

He thought before answering. “Yes,” he decided.

Her heart sank. “What will you do now?” She took a slow step toward him. To her surprise, he stood up abruptly. She flinched.

“I know you have a weapon,” he said. “You should not attempt to use it.” Every time he spoke, it was in the same calm, matter-of-fact tone. His words sounded like a threat, but there was little about his voice that was frightening, even if the rest of him evoked terror.

He came toward her again, and she couldn’t help but feel another flash of dread. Darkness and anger still emanated from him, though it was nowhere near as strong now as it had been in the dungeon.

She watched his huge hand close around her wrist, and she forced herself not to cower as he raised her palm to his nose and inhaled deeply. Images of torn corpses and blood-spattered stone flashed through her mind.

He tilted her hand to run his thumb thoughtfully over her palm and then up her index finger, which flexed slightly under his touch. He watched her small, pale fingers curiously. Was it possible she was the first mortal he’d met? Had he ever seen anyone like her before?

As if he couldn’t stop himself any longer, he pressed his mouth to her skin. His lips parted, and she saw the tips of sharp fangs inside his mouth. She imagined those teeth biting through her flesh, severing fingers, draining her of blood.

“What if I stayed with you willingly?” she said in a rush, before she could feel the prick of his teeth.

The demon looked at her, frowning.

Raiya swallowed. He wanted to keep her around so that he could feed whenever he liked, which meant he wouldn’t kill her right away. But the problem with relying on fear for feeding was obvious. Eventually, her fear would fade. And then what tortures would he have to invent in order to inspire new fear in her?

“I’ll let you use my body,” she said, her stomach flipping. “To feed from. I won’t fight you, and I won’t try to escape.”

The demon studied her skeptically. He glanced pointedly at her trembling hand. “You will give yourself willingly?”

“Yes. With some caveats.”

He dropped her hand. “What caveats?”

“I don’t want to be physically hurt. I don’t want to be bruised or bloodied. I don’t want to be forced.” She didn’t know how demon feedings worked, exactly. She hoped he didn’t require any of those things. “But I’ll do my best to… satisfy you, otherwise.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why would you agree to this?”

“Because you can offer me something in exchange. I want you to protect me from my husband.”

“Your husband?”

“Nirlan. The one who summoned you.”

“He is your…” He seemed to struggle for a word. “…Your mate?”

She wished she could deny it. “Yes.”

That seemed to throw him off. He thought about it for a long time.

“No one willingly submits to a demon,” he said eventually. “The only mortals willing to deal with my kind are the ones like your master. Those mortals only summon us when they know they can make us submit.”

Hermaster. That was what he thought her relationship with Nirlan was. She almost laughed, because he wasn’t wrong.

“I don’t want to control you,” she said carefully. “I don’t want to be controlled, either. Neither of us has to submit to the other as long as we stick to our agreement. We could be equals.”

“Equals?” He said the word like it was foreign. He wasn’t saying no, but he wasn’t saying yes, either. She needed him to say yes. She needed protection from Nirlan, and from the world. She had nowhere else to turn.

Steeling herself, she tentatively reached toward him. Her fingers slid beneath the wrapping at his waist.

A wave of anger pulsed in the air. The demon grabbed her wrist. “You will touch me only when I grant you permission,” he said through bared fangs.

She shrank. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

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