Page 46 of Demon Queen
“Changing your dress,” he whispered back.
I blinked at him, so close, smelling of cinnamon bears, and then I pulled away and looked down to find myself in an outfit that was modern, but with many of the same elements of my Queen outfit. I touched my hair, and the wig was a hair clip.
“And you…” As I said the words, his clothing melted into dark pants and button-down shirt that were almost the same, but different enough that we wouldn’t stand out wherever we went. He took off his powdered wig and that was that. We were dressed for dinner. “Wow. You’re like the fairy godmother.”
He shuddered. “I’m not a fairy. If you’d ever met one of the cursed things, you wouldn’t make that mistake.”
“There are fairies? Oh, right, someone said something about the Zombie Queen not ruling them because nobody wants to rule the fairies.”
“It seems that you had a very enjoyable conversation with the White Rabbit. I’m terribly jealous. So much more jealous than you are of Lucia or Callerie. I wanted to die every day that Iwasn’t with you, except that knowing that somewhere you were alive made my life worth living.”
“How alive are demons, exactly?”
He raised a brow. “Beg your pardon?”
I waved a hand around. “Don’t try to sweet talk me. Tell me about yourself, who you really are. Why do you want me to be your wife? Isn’t that weird for you to want some lame human whose parents didn’t even want her?”
“Your parents died, didn’t they? I can’t imagine anyone not wanting you.”
And my mother would have killed me if the White Rabbit hadn’t killed her first. Happy thoughts. “Enough about me. You know all about me, but I don’t know about you. When did you start the Den? Who did you sell the strip club to? Did you do anything else between the two or was it a direct trade? How alive are demons? How are they born? How do they die? Will we have children together or would that not work between a human and a demon?”
He gave me a soft smile that made my insides wobble like they were wearing expensive heels. “Unfortunately we can’t have any children together. Giving birth to a demon would kill you, particularly a demon like me. But we could make arrangements.”
I’d already had his child, but details. “Like adopt the baby demon?”
He shifted slightly. “I am beyond delighted to hear you thinking about having a family with me, but it takes more time than you have to raise a demon.”
“Because I’m a human? It seems pretty crazy that you’d bother with someone like me, much less with the whole, will-defend-you-from-nothing nonsense.”
“I never imagined that I would find my queen.” He held my hand in his, studying my fingers like they were miraculous.
My heart pounded faster and faster while the scent of him clouded my judgment. That’s why I leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.
He tasted so much better than anything else, and suddenly the gray skies cleared up and everything was how it was meant to be. Like magic.
I sank my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I’d lost a lot of blood. When all was said and done, falling asleep was the most normal thing I could possibly do.
I woke up feeling more content than I had in a long time as the car stopped in front of a very nice looking Japanese steak house.
I smiled sleepily at Dorian and then the look in his eyes, the intensity had me straightening up and getting some space. “Sorry, I think I drooled on you. Never mind, you like women drooling all over you, otherwise, you wouldn’t wear that glamour or those pants. Steak dinner? How surprisingly conventional.”
He gave me a slight smile and then he got out and held a hand for me to take. “Perhaps not as much as it seems.”
“Don’t tell me it’s also run by demons.” I let him pull me out of the car and tuck me against his side.
“Oni.”
“Wait, it’s actually run by demons?” I looked up at the normal-seeming building. It was slightly more ominous than your usual steak house, but I wouldn’t peg it as demonic.
“Don’t worry, Candy Queen. I’m much more dangerous than dangerously attractive.” His low words made my heart pound faster. Annoying demon.
I didn’t want to talk about how dangerously attractive he was. If I was an angel, I should be immune to his appeal. Also, vampires shouldn’t bite me. I should be able to put my elbow through a window without ending up with a million painful stitches. Pain shouldn’t bother me. No, I should like it. Butinstead I was this delicate preemie, or whatever, without any super powers other than seducing Dorian so well that he’d paid to get rid of me.
Like that made sense. If I was a seductress angel, I should be cold-hearted and intentional about it. I should mind-control him and the masses. Ridiculous. The White Rabbit had to be wrong about me. And yet, I had eaten Regis. And attracted more demons than the usual human. My whole candy crew was demonic except for Toby? Shudder.
I spent the entire time waiting for our order puzzling over things. Also being distracted by how good he smelled, and how he watched me with perfect attentiveness.
“You’re thinking very loudly,” he said, looking at me like I was something to devour. He was probably just hungry.
