Page 54 of Deal with the Devil

“No!” Knox ripped away from his desk, pacing from it before returning and snatching up the knife. “Yes, but no. I’m… She demanded to stay by my side, she refused to go home, so she watched me feed on Buttons and…I may have gotten a bit carried away. But then she…”

It still left a queasy feeling in his belly. He hated and loved how good her fear tasted. It was deep, profound, true terror that was directed at him. She’d been afraid of him in the woods. Normally, that would turn him off. He wasn’t with Amelia because she was scared of him. But, in that moment, thoughts and mind swirling with betrayal and hurt…he wanted it. He wanted to feed on her fear and fill his chest with the familiar feeling.

Because fear was somewhat of an old friend of his.

“I think we’re fine,” Knox whispered.

“Well, before you stab someone, maybe you should go see about getting a relaxing bath or a snuggle or something. Take the edge off. You can’t think clearly when you’re riled up.” Maevin slipped around the desk, putting a tender hand to Knox’s shoulder. “I have some leads, and with your information from Buttons, he can’t hide from us.”

Knox dropped the knife into the open drawer from whence it came and slammed it shut. “You have a point.”

“Go take care of you first.” Maevin squeezed his shoulder cap affectionately before shoving him toward the door.

Knox stepped out of his office and came to a screeching halt inches from the frame when he found Amelia coming down the steps. She was in a large t-shirt and pajama shorts, hugging her torso. She looked up from the steps as she stepped into the foyer. Her face softened and she croaked, “Hey.”

He closed the space between them, only leaving an inch as he cupped her by the bicep. “Why are you up?”

“You didn’t come to bed.” She furrowed her brows. “I was coming down here to strong arm you into coming to bed.”

His lips curled into a smile as a choked laugh fell out of his mouth. “Ms. Armstrong, trying to strong arm me into returning to bed.”

Amelia chuckled, rolling her eyes, “Laugh it up now, Mr. Zrazduel.”

“Now?” He cocked a brow. “Thinking of changing your name?”

“Maybe…or maybe, in the future I’ll take someone else’s?” There was a challenge in her eyes as she sat back on her heels. “If, that is, he can ever find the time to come to bed with me.”

Knox made a show of mewling over it. Amelia narrowed her eyes on him. He smirked in response, “I thought you had a rule against marrying?”

“I have a rule against marrying the first guy who offers, but you haven’t offered yet…and you’re also not the first one to offer.” She stuck her tongue out and he nearly snatched it with his teeth. He lurched forward but froze as she stared up at him. Flashes of her in the forest returned with a vengeance. She searched left and right for him, eyes wide. He could hear the panicked thump of her heart against her ribs. He could smell the fear pouring out from her skin. He could taste the tangy terror as he chased her through the trees.

She wasn’t scared now.Knox forced his mind to remember. They’d fought and she apologized…they’d talked it out. Yet, why did he feel like something still hung in the air? His shame hung in the air. He’d fed on her fear and felt himself a monster.I’m your monster, Amelia Armstrong.

His ego would not be easily healed.

“I would have thought you wouldn’t find my presence comforting.” His raspy, whispered confession lingered in the air.

“Do you smell any fear on me?” she shot back, crossing her arms tighter under her chest.

“No.” He scanned her from head to toe, then back to her pretty, sharp eyes once more. She cocked her head, as if waiting for him to explain but he didn’t. So, instead, she peeled an arm away from herself and offered it to him. Knox let his pet lead him up the steps, around the bend of the hall, and back into his room. She brushed off his suit jacket and undid his vest. When he tried to undo his belt, she slapped his hands away. Knox held still while Amelia undressed him down to his undershirt and boxes. Then, she took his hand again and brought him to the bed.

“You never want to feed on my fear again,” she broke the silence first with a sigh. “And I never want to go to sleep alone again.”

He chuckled, “I’m not amending the contract.”

Amelia huffed, “Why not?”

“Because you’ll get my soul too easy. I can’t promise work won’t keep me up or away at night when humans sleep so regularly.” He pulled back the blankets once more and slid into the bed. She dropped down into the mattress with him. He kissed the back of her head, sinking into the scent of her soap and clean skin. “But I can swear that if I am available for sleep, I will never deny you again.”

“Good.” She snuggled back against him, using his arms as a blanket to wrap around her. He gladly engulfed her in his arms and relaxed into the mattress.

Maevin’s right, they would be able to find Declan in the morning. That cretin had already robbed Knox of too many good nights of sleep. He wouldn’t allow him to rob Knox of another. Breathing in her scent, feeling her warmth against his chest, he descended into sleep after an hour.

At first it was blank. Endless, inky, peaceful. Nothing but the back of his eyelids and the feeling of Amelia in his arms.However, as he slipped through the night, something began to play in his mind.

Something that wasn’t his.

“I swear I don’t know what happened to it,” Havlaina cried out, strapped to a chair. Beside a massive fireplace, crackling fire and bubbling potion to her right. A bubble burst and splashed across her face. Havlaina screamed, lurching away. The chair groaned and forced her back in place once more. “Please, please let me go! I don’t know what happened to it! I didn’t see anything.”

---