Page 96 of Demon Kissed
Zolroth nods to a wide-eyed Wade, who hesitantly tosses his own steak knife at a still-grinning Akor. He catches it easily, never breaking his…juggling circle, or whatever the hell it’s called.
“I’m doing this for you, Kitty Kat!” Akor winks in my direction, but it’s suddenly too much.
My feelings, these men, my date with William.
It’s too fucking much, and I’m drowning in the emotions all of them have somehow evoked in me.
“Excuse me,” I murmur half-heartedly to William as I fly from the table and in the direction of the bathrooms. Tears slip down my cheeks as I struggle to get a grip on my tumultuous heart.
What the hell is happening to me?
It feels as if thousands of dime-sized ice pellets are being tossed at me from all directions, bruising my skin. All I want is to get away, to take a moment to compartmentalize this sudden surge offeeling.
Fuck feelings. Seriously, fuck ’em.
But before I can retreat into the ladies’ restroom, a large body blocks my entrance, and I stare up into the harsh planes of Kastros’s face. His expression is utterly unreadable, hewn from stone, as he crosses his thick arms over his chest.
Tears blind my vision as I blink rapidly up at him. “I think I made a mistake,” I whimper, but I can’t put my finger on what that mistake is. Going on a date with William? Hurting the demons’ feelings? Everything? My sins and transgressions are piling up on me like dirt buries a coffin. I’m six feet deep and trapped.
The tension in the hall is so thick I’m gagging on it.
You did,Kastros signs, expression still impassive, and my heart plummets, bottoming through my stomach.
And then, he breaches the distance between us and kisses me.
His lips are smooth against my own as his teeth gently nip then tug on my lips, taking, taking, and taking. I give in with a sigh of longing, standing on my tiptoes so I can wrap my arms around his neck. Of course, he’s so freaking tall that I settle for resting them on his strong shoulders, enjoying the way his muscles ripple beneath my wandering hands.
He fists my hair and angles my head to the side, moving his lips to the very sensitive spot below my ear.
Another tiny sigh of contentment escapes me as his hands lower to my ass, pressing me flush against his hard body. And his otherhardthing.
Someone gasps from behind me, and we immediately pull apart to see Alanna staring at us with wide eyes. The confusion on her face turns into white-hot anger, so pronounced that I can practically taste it in the air. With a glare first in my direction and then in Kastros’s, she turns on her heel and stalks away.
Oh fuck.
33
I thoughtthe hotel room was bad when Janie was mad at me. But when Alanna’s mad, it’s ten times worse. Her fury is so incandescent, it practically lights up the entire room.
Going back to William after I’d kissed Kastros was complete and utter torture. Because I realized I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to be at his table. I wanted to be at the next table over, with my demons.
My demons. How ridiculous. They have a Center somewhere who’s perfect for them, and I’m over here pining. Me. A pathetic human. It’s even more awful than pining over William because it’s five times as impossible.
I drag my feet across the hotel room and climb into bed without making eye contact. I close my eyes, but I don’t dare fall asleep. Janie might not be as pissed as before, because I cut my date short with William. When I came back to the table, I was pale and my hands were shaking. All the blood had fled my face and gone…other places.
“I think I’m coming down with something,” I’d told him.
His eyes had flashed with surprise, a hint of annoyance, and then finally, had changed to a smirking wink. “Let me just grab the check,” he’d said.
He’d actually thought I was faking so we could get out of there.
I had been faking so I could get out of there, but notwith him.
Raz had saved me from a fate worse than death, growling at William and telling him that only chaperones could escort ill students, and he should stay with the team and away from me to ensure he didn’t get sick too.
Raz had risen from the table, where Akor had gotten to juggling nine knives. And he’d walked me back to my room just like a proper guardian would. Just as if the air hadn’t swirled with anticipation and my eyes hadn’t darted to his with longing every two seconds.
Nothing had happened. No conversation about feelings or William. No lectures. Not even the angry yelling I expected from him. Not unless you counted Raz’s parting line at my door. “I’ll see you soon.”
