Page 47 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

Stellan chuckled darkly behind me. I spun to face him, but he was already gone.

I angled myself in a spot where I could watch who came up behind me, then leaned on the railing, watching them. Cain was floating lazily on his back, sexy as hell with his powerful arms spread and his back arched slightly. Remington did a flashy dive into the lake, and Pax sat on the railing and shook his head at them, a faint smile playing around his lips as everyone cheered for him to jump in. He finally pushed off the railing and jumped in without any of their splashy fanfare.

I wondered where Stellan had gone… partially because I felt a strange pang when I thought of him, and partially for self-protection.

But for now, I watched the other three swimming around. Technically, I was watching all three dozen people in the water, but I was only drawn to those three. Girls kept swimming around them, flirting with them, kissing them and touching them. They flirted back, and jealousy clutched my stomach. Everyone in the water seemed to be laughing and having fun.

“Do you want a drink?” A guy stepped up to the railing next to me, already carrying two beers.

In the water, Cain’s gaze suddenly found me and sharpened as he treaded water. A girl slid her hands across his shoulders, pretending she was going to jump on his back, but he had suddenly lost interest.

So they were watching me just as much as I was watching them.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” I said, still watching Cain, never bothering to look at the man who had just approached me.

He followed my gaze, and even from the corner of my eye, I could’ve sworn I saw him blanch.

I should make out with someone in front of them. Someone dangerous enough to push them back.

But I didn’t think anyone like that was on this yacht. For some reason, those men who hated me had also marked me as theirs, and I got the distinct impression Cain would beat anyone to at least a quick glimpse of the pearly gates if they paid me too much attention.

A few other folks approached me and received an equally cool reception. After a while, they left me alone. I didn’t want the attention of any guys who just saw me as a fun story to tell later, about how they’d dared to get close to The Demon’s daughter.

Instead, I soaked up the glimpse of a life I’d never have. The fairy lights strung over the yacht twinkled, and everyone seemed to be laughing and having fun. It seemed like a magical moment straight out of some teenage drama about rich kids’ existential angst—which happened to be my favorite kind of television. I would’ve liked to have been a part of it, actually a part of it, for tonight.

It seemed like I always belonged on the edges, pretending to be normal but never fitting in.

I’d passed on any drinks because I needed to be clear-headed around these men. But it was probably a good idea I’d passed on the booze too, because I’d probably have been crying into my champagne.

People began to climb up the ladder and emerge onto the deck, where crew mates draped white towels over their shivering shoulders. Cain climbed up last, his bowed head and big shoulders appearing first. His gaze found mine, then he looked away as if I was nothing, speaking to another girl.

The worst thing about being The Demon’s daughter was the loneliness. I’d had a moment when Stellan’s sister was my best friend, when Stellan was my first kiss and my butterflies, when Stellan’s mom would make me tea at her kitchen table… that was when I’d had the briefest brush with normal life.

I usually didn’t get myself lost in my memories in the daylight. It was bad enough that they swallowed me at night.

And there was a good reason for that, because the past was a distraction from surviving the present.

“Whatever did happen to my sister, Delilah?” Stellan said abruptly in my ear.

The next moment, he was scooping me around the waist. I kicked out, smashed my elbow into his jaw, and heard him grunt in dismay. I flailed against him, trying to make him drop me.

And he did.

Right after he heaved me over the railing.

I plummeted toward the dark water. It rushed up toward me, and then I slammed into it so hard it seemed like I lost my breath. I tried to draw a frantic breath only to have icy cold water rush up my nose, burning its way through my nasal passages just like when I was waterboarded.

“You have to calm yourself, Delilah. It’s only death. You and I walk with death all the time. Why are you so afraid when it’s your own?”

I lashed out, trying to claw my way up to the surface. I drew a long, ragged breath.

Up above me, on the deck, people had gathered at the railing. I caught glimpses of laughing faces. Now the beautiful scene I’d glimpsed earlier seemed distorted, ruined.

I swam blindly for the ladder where the others had come up, only to hear aclunkabove me. I looked up the sleek, steep side of the yacht to see Stellan pulling the ladder in.

“Where is she?” Stellan demanded. “All you have to do is answer. Then you can come up.”

There was something wild that broke through Stellan’s carefully controlled demeanor, that leaked into his voice. Remington and Pax exchanged a glance. Cain still stood there beside Stellan, his arms folded across his chest. Then Pax and Remington began to clear the decks, sending everyone away from the railing.

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