Page 47 of Demon Sworn
“If she is, that might be me. I haven’t seen her in her school skirt enough lately,” Van replies with a throaty laugh, his eyes focused on my legs.
“Reel it in. No time for lust at the moment.” Zolroth rolls his eyes as Van clears his throat and tries to keep it in his pants. Or wherever he keeps his lust magic.
Kastros signs to me,You were angry. Stare at me. Maybe that will help.His face cringes as he signs the last bit.
But as I turn to face my tall, hulking demon, no flash of anger comes up. A twinge of pain and regret. Some wistfulness as I look into his brown eyes. A whole lot of longing trickles through me like a stream over stones. But no pink sparks fly, and my feet stay unevenly on the kitchen tiles because Kastros left my other shoe behind and only just put me down, so now I’ve only got one on.
“You said pink sparkles?” Zolroth tilts his head thoughtfully when I nod.
“Floating without wings?” Van asks.
I have no idea where that weird shit is coming from, and by the stumped look on my demons’ faces, neither do they.
Great.
Another mystery to add to the pile. Is it wrong that I just want to take all of these stupid puzzle pieces and shove them off the table onto the floor like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum?
I did that once, if you were wondering. But instead of puzzle pieces, it was Monopoly money when I was ten.
I just want a simple life with my demons, maybe working somewhere quiet during the day, like a library, coming home to my guys and Adam, and putting my feet up in front of the column of fire as Zolroth brings me tea and Van and I argue over which rom-com to watch next.
Is that too much to ask?
Before my pity parade can get the marching band started, big drums banging and horns blaring, the backdoor of the house slides open with a whack and Akor’s suddenly in front of me. His wings retract into his back in a flash as he stares into my eyes. His face is deadly white, his deep blue gaze dark and serious as he scoops me up into his arms, striding down the hall past Adam and the menagerie, who are playing a convoluted game of fetch where the animals take turns.
“Hey, Akor!” Adam calls.
“Hey,” Akor grunts in response, but his expression is wild and something’s clearly wrong, because he doesn’t stop to pet or threaten a single animal, just marches through them, expecting them to get out of the way.
I turn to Akor in concern as he kicks open the door to his bedroom. I bring my hand to his cheek to find it’s burning hot. Is he sick? Feverish? But he’s a demon… I’m not sure what to say, other than to gently ask, “Akor?” and wait for him to explain what’s going on.
He doesn’t. He throws me onto his bed, shuts and locks the door, and then leaps on top of me, making the mattress bounce as he climbs up to straddle my waist. He leans down, and his lips are on mine an instant later, smothering me with kisses that burn like bright little embers, as if he’s on fire. It doesn’t take long before he ignites my lust and burns away my worries about him, my strange pink magic, the demons who killed and impersonated my parents, the attacks… All of it dissipates temporarily. His lips brush against mine and send tendrils of longing down my spine that twine together into a need that overtakes everything else. His soft breath roams over my ear as he mumbles something inarticulate before he laps at my earlobe.
“Akor,” I breathe in response.
“Cherry, don’t leave me,” he whispers. I can hear the broken catch in his voice, and I know that something terrible happened on their trip because my pain demon suddenly seems terrified of losing me.
Tenderness and fury both rise inside my chest as I meet his gaze and swear solemnly, “I would never.” I know who he is, what he is.
He smiles but shakes his head, and a hint of a tear gathers along the inside edge of his right eye.
Nothing could be scarier than the sight of my pain demon, Akor, my beautiful monster, about to cry. It feels like someone lit a match and is holding it to the hollow of my throat as I reach up and wrap my hands around his wrists and say, “What is it?” I have to know.
But he shakes his head and returns to kissing me, his arms clutching me close and tenderly in a way that he hasn’t since that first night we cuddled on the couch together. He holds me as if I’m delicate and precious, and he makes my head swim with a thousand different feelings at once.
In the tiny breaths between his gentle kisses, I try to ask, “Akor?” But he shakes his head, his lips sliding over mine as he does.
“No talking, Cherry. I need you.” He closes the miniscule gap between our lips, and instead of the soft brush of lips, he delves his tongue into my mouth and presses his chest down against mine so that I feel the rapid thrumming of his heart.
Since he doesn’t want to talk, I try to pour my reassurance into soft touches, caressing the side of his neck, tracing over the baby hairs at the base of his skull for a moment, before wrapping my arms around his back and trailing my fingers down his spine through his shirt.
I twine my legs around the back of his and try to pull him closer to me, and the mattress dips as his hips press down harder, showing me how much he wants me, how much he needs me.
His desperation for me climbs right underneath my skin and manifests the same sort of frantic need to connect in me. A magical, sizzling sort of connection snaps inside my chest, and I arch up, rubbing my chest against Akor like a cat in heat as my hands skate down to the waistband of his pants and my fingers hook under the fabric for a moment, teasing his skin. Akor moans into my mouth before he rips away from our kiss, panting, pushing himself up. He stares down at me a second, breathing hard, before he rips his shirt in half.
Oh fuck. I didn’t expect that to be hot—because like any hot-blooded, horny woman, I read romance novels, and I always thought it was super far-fetched for a guy to look sexy tearing at his clothes like a Neanderthal—but it actually sends a tiny pulse through my clit that spirals up my spine and makes me shiver.
I giggle in nervous excitement, and Akor’s expression goes from wild to wily as he leans forward and puts a hand on either side of the school blouse I’m still wearing. “I’m going to fuck you so good, Cherry, that you see red behind those eyelids. I’m going to give you so many orgasms, you’ll never want to leave me no matter what I’ve done.”
