Page 32 of Prince of Demons
Georgia slanted a glance up at the demon’s burning eyes as she chewed on yet another grape. His attempt at shaming her for offering to repay him the favor in the bathroom aside, his interest in her was obvious. She wasn’t here to do his laundry and vacuum his floors, and once whatever hellish training he had planned was complete, she doubted he’d hold himself back like he had up until now.
So she allowed him to feed her far past what was comfortable, keen on delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. Only when her stomach ached and the grape he pressed to her mouth made bile rise in her throat, did she finally put a shaky hand on his wrist.
“I can’t eat anymore.”
The prince frowned down at her. “You’ve hardly touched your food.”
Georgia glanced at the table and let out a weak laugh. “You’ve not dealt with humans much before, have you?”
“I’ve dealt with plenty.”
“Well, I don’t think you ever got around to feeding them. We have limits, you know? Physical restrictions? Less-but-more-frequently works better, if you’re not actively trying to rupture our stomachs.” She put a hand to her belly and groaned, regretting not stopping him sooner. Unless whatever training he had in mind consisted of a long nap while she digested the absurd quantities of breakfast he’d made her eat, being so full she could hardly move was unlikely to make the experience any more enjoyable.
The prince only frowned at her, clearly not convinced. “How are your energy levels?”
“Um…” Despite the urge for a nap, surprisingly good. Somewhere during the ridiculous breakfast, her muscles had stopped trembling, and she no longer felt like a mild gust of wind might make her collapse.
Georgia glanced up at the prince and briefly considering telling him she was still too weak for whatever horrors he had planned, but quickly remembered that apparently he could smell her lies. As much as she wasn’t looking forward to his training, pissing him off by lying first probably wasn’t going to improve the experience. “Better. Thank you.”
“Alright. Let’s go.” He got to his feet and flicked two fingers at her. When she obeyed, he began walking back down the hallway. Toward the bedroom.
The hope she’d harbored that his training would consist of sit-ups and cardio, already practically non-existent, hit the floorboards.
Kesh shouldered his way through the doorway and gestured with a nod of his chin. “Get on the bed.”
Georgia drew in a shaky breath and glanced from the bedding still tousled from when she’d gotten up this morning to the giant demon. “Um… what… what are you going to do?”
“First, I’ll mark you. Then I’ll train you.”
How delightfully nondescript.
She grimaced. “Will it… hurt?”
He huffed a breath through his nose. “If you were worried about pain, perhaps you should have asked this before you sold yourself for that useless brother of yours.”
Unexpected anger flared hotly in her gut, suppressing some of her anxiety. “He’s not useless. He’s kind and good-hearted and he didn’t deserve to die. I’d sacrifice myself a thousand times over for him.”
“Then what do you care if there’s pain?” There was a taunt to the prince’s voice, but also… something else. Irritation? Anger? It made her skin prick with primal awareness, her anxiety pushing to the forefront again at the sound of it.
“If he’s worth your body, your life, then surely he must be worth some pain, hmm? A bit of humiliation.” The prince snapped his fingers. “So get. On. The. Bed.”
He was right. Even when she’d thought she sold her body so Lewin could harvest her juices, she hadn’t expected a pleasant experience. This dark monster might be a better fate than the brothel she’d been facing before one of Jimmy’s goons grew a conscience, but he was still the Prince of Demons. Even if he’d been surprisingly gentle with her so far, she wouldn't soon forget how he’d crushed that poor man’s skull to replenish his own energy. By comparison, a little pain and humiliation wasn’t the end of the world.
Steeling herself, Georgia climbed onto the bed and lay down on her back. He hadn’t asked her to strip out of the silky dress, but the flowy garment wasn’t much help in protecting her modesty. The skirt bunched up around her thighs, and she felt the sear of the demon’s gaze on her skin as he moved closer.
Whatever branding meant, he’d healed Larry. It was worth it.
“You’re shaking.” His deep voice didn’t betray any emotion, and when she cut her eyes up to his terrifying face, the expression on it was impassive.
Georgia clutched her hands in the bedding, trying to anchor her trembling muscles. “Sorry.”
The demon blew out a breath and sank down on the foot-end of the bed, a single fingertip skimming over her bare ankle. “Are you always so sorry, little lamb? When you lay down your life for another, when you don’t do what you’re told… When you tremble and fear for your pretty little cunt, the first thing that comes to mind for you is to apologize?”
His heated touch traveled higher up her shin, rendering her tongue dry and her skin pebbled with nervous goosebumps. His voice was soft, but there was a quiet, lethal quality to it that set her on edge as much as his touch and the ominously lacking explanation of what he was planning on doing to her.
“I… we made a deal. You kept your end of the bargain, and I promised… compliance,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut when his hand moved to her knee and warm anticipation spread up her thighs. Perhaps if her body didn’t remember the two times he’d touched her there already, it would have been nothing but dread. But even as her mind turned over the words ‘branding’ and ‘training’ with frantic repetition, the slow slide of his hand, ever upward, sent a thrill of excitement along her skin. The utter and complete mortification made her clutch harder at the sheets. He was a prince among the darkest monsters to haunt the Earth—and his merest touch made her clit swell against its metal confines, eager for pleasure that should have disgusted her.
Only it didn’t.
