Page 39 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
“Demon prince,” I corrected over thewhooshof his wings as they propelled us forward, the air cooling me, only for his body to heat me up.
“Whatever. My point is I could summon his spirit. So that you could talk to him. Ask him your questions.”
I stiffened. “You can do that?”
A much longer pause followed. “Yes.”
I twisted slightly to look up at him. “And you never said so? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Chapter Twenty
Belial
Iguided us lower, past a sharp bend in the river where the waters spun, whirling around in a circle before continuing. We flew past a golf course and manmade canals until a deserted strand of trees gave me cover to set us down.
The Gray Knights would be after us, of course, but if we continued on foot without the use of magic, they would be hard-pressed to find us. Of course, what I’d just admitted to Lily would involve aheavyuse of my magic. Heavy enough that it could be tracked by the Gray Knights.
Or someone else …
“Why don’t you want me to talk to my father?” Lily asked, stepping away from me once her feet were on solid ground.
She wanted distance between us. I couldn’t blame her, but I didn’t have to like it, either. She feared me. After the risk I’d put myself through, it hurt to know that, but then again, how could I blame her? Despite my posturing, it was true. I was a demon, and humans had a deep-seated fear of us.
Most of the time, it was a justified fear. But not with Lily. Not from me. I still wasn’t sure why, but she wasimportantto me.
“Summoning spirits is … frowned upon, partly,” I explained. “But more than that, it’s a very, um, noticeable spell.”
“So, people will see it coming from far away?”
“No. As in, anyone who wants to find me will be able to track me after I use it. Doing so will bring trouble my way. Our way.”
Lily glanced behind us at the city lights of Niagara Falls. “I think it might be a bit late for that, Belial. Trouble is already here.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. I can handle Triuk and the Gray Knights.”
The troubled look that graced Lily’s beautiful face—stunning despite the soaking from the falls—was not one I wanted to see repeated.
As she crossed her arms, I looked away. So far, I’d done an excellent job of not staring at her two very hard nipples poking through the wet fabric of her shirt, but when she inadvertently pushed them up like that, it was very hard not to get distracted by them. In fact, the way her wet clothes stuck to her body was starting to gather a response from me.
There was no way she wasn’t cold in them, either. I wanted to suggest she take them off, but I knew if she did, I would want her even more. It would be impossible to resist taking her, and we didn’t have time for that, even if she did want it.
“What kind of trouble are we talking about here?” she wanted to know.
“Worse than before.” I tried to keep my mind calm. I didn’t want her to pick up on my worry.
“So, why were you unwilling to brave whatever this trouble was before? What changed to make you handle it now?”
“I would prefer not to put you even further in harm’s way,” I said. It was the truth, though not directly an answer to her question.
The look in her yellow-brown eyes told me as much. She didn’t have to say a word.
“We have to leave the bakery behind,” I said tersely. “We can’t stay here. If I can help you by giving you some sense of closure, it will make my job easier.”
“What job is that?”
“Protecting you.”
When that had become my job, I didn’t know, nor did I have the time to think about it. But at some point, she’d become a responsibility, not a burden. I wanted to keep her safe and protect her from harm.
