Page 25 of The Demon

After her sobs subside, I lead her back to the bed and she curls up in my arms as I stroke her hair. Her breathing has evened out, and she appears calmer, so I say gently, “I’m sorry, Eliza.”

“What for? The list is long.”

She laughs softly and I twist her hair in my fingers and say apologetically. “You ran from a monster and were captured by another, and you don’t deserve any of it.”

“I’ve lived with one long enough. I’m kind of at home with monsters. It’s all I know.”

I can definitely relate to that and I’m curious about her life.

“What about your brothers? Why didn’t they protect you?”

“Because they were victims as much as I was. It was easier to keep your eyes lowered and try to blend into the shadows and I became rather good at it.”

She glances up and as our eyes meet, my heart does something strange. It beats faster and lurches a little and despite what’s right on this occasion, I reach down and drag her face to mine and my eyes flash as I growl, “Just for the record, I’m not interested in taking more than one wife. Can you imagine the trouble that would bring.”

She looks surprised and her expression softens as she says gratefully, “Thank you.”

Her breath tastes sweet as it dusts my lips and right in this intoxicating moment, I want to do something nice for her. I’m not known for my gentleness, or even considering another person’s feelings, but right now I want to make her happy. I want to watch the light dance in her eyes and her soft giggle to cleanse the depression away. I need to show her how amazing my love can be, so I rest my lips on hers and kiss her softly, gently, as if she is the most precious thing in the world.

She melts into my arms and as the kiss deepens, so do my feelings and as I lower her gently back against the silk pillows, I prepare to explore every inch of a woman who has shocked me. She has made me consider another person for once in my life. It’s not about sex. Not with her. I want to make her happy and comfortable with me and the fastest way to that is through intimacy.

Her soft gasp of pleasure is all the permission I need and as I trail soft kisses across her face, throat and chest, her body shivers beneath mine. My hands explore her soft velvet skin and merely touching this woman awakens emotions inside me I never knew I had. It’s not all about her either. This is new to me because when I fuck a woman, it usually begins with her mouth on my cock before I finish up inside her. Occasionally I reward her with an orgasm but most of the time I consider my women disposable. But Eliza will be my wife, and I want that to mean something incredible.

I have watched my friends find love and seen how it changed them. They are still bastards, every one of them, but they have a new energy that drives them harder. They are not alone anymore and when you have been all your life, I’m guessing it’s a powerful feeling when you walk beside someone who accepts every dark part of your soul. I can tell Eliza’s soul has many dark demons swirling inside it and I want to own them too. I want to reach out and crush them and make them mine because for the first time in my life, I want to fight someone else’s battle, even if it doesn’t help me in any way.

I reach her glistening pussy and love the embarrassed squeak she makes as I take a long leisurely swipe at it and then suck her clit, gently biting it, causing her to cry out, “Oh my God!”

My own cock throbs with the desire to join in, but this isn’t about me for once. It’s her. Eliza Ortega because knowing how much she has been through makes me yearn to give her a fantastic memory to treasure. So, I suck, lick and bite until she can’t take anymore and her orgasm bounces off the walls of the cabin as she finally experiences pleasure at my hand rather than pain.

“Malik.” Her soft voice sounds weary, and I kiss my way up her body and lie on my side, staring into her eyes with a soft smile, “Yes, my angel.”

“Thank you.”

I’m surprised when her eyes glisten with unshed tears and I shake my head. “For the orgasm? You’re welcome.”

She giggles adorably, “No. For listening.”

“I have my reasons.”

She rolls her eyes. “There he is again.”

“Who?” I play with her hair, allowing it to filter through my fingers, and she grins. “The arrogant jerk who just can’t help himself. You know, I think you’re a fraud.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You play the emotionless, arrogant, assassin and yet when you think no one is looking, you let the mask slip, revealing you are no different from the rest of us.”

“If that’s what you want to believe, be my guest.”

Sighing, I pull her head down to my chest and lie on my back, wishing for the millionth time my life wasn’t an endless cycle of fear, intimidation, and bullying. Lying with Eliza at thirty thousand feet gives me a sense of freedom more powerful than any drug. This is what I crave, why I joined Club Mafia in the first place and now I have experienced a tiny part of that, I’m keen to indulge further.

This woman has many secrets and for a man who thrives on discovering secrets, she is more than just my prisoner. She is a project, a pastime, and a keeper of souls, but most of all she is the key to my prison cell.

Yes, marrying Eliza wasn’t decided on a whim. It was decided for a much more important reason than that. Frankie aside, I have seized my opportunity and I will use this situation to my advantage. When I set Eliza Ortega free from the horrors of her past, I will be right beside her running from mine and if everything goes according to plan, we will be carrying Frankie back to his parents and neither of us will ever look back.

CHAPTER18

ELIZA

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