Page 51 of Lust

I hate myself for fobbing him off, but the pressure to push our relationship further is mounting, and I’m still not convinced it’s the right thing to do. I still can’t get Dade out of my mind, despite the fact I’ve barely seen him since he verbally destroyed me. I turn and head to the platform, which I take alone.

I take a step back, almost falling from the platform, when I see someone sitting at my door. Not just any someone. It’s Dade. My heart begins to pound wildly at the sight of him. I thought I was over this. Apart from two pretty intense moments, which, okay, were highly sexual and deeply disturbing, plus the last time in his room where he made it clear that I was nothing to him, I’ve barely spoken to him since we came into this circle.

I step off the platform and try to look like his mere presence doesn’t bother me. I want to ask him what he wants, but that sounds too rough after what he did for me in the Earthery. I have to ignore the raging heat that pounds through my blood when I catch a glimpse of his huge black wings, which are currently furled up behind him. He looks up from where he’s sitting when I approach.

My voice is like sandpaper as I acknowledge him. “Dade.”

“Can I come inside?” His breathing is ragged, his eyes manic, and his aura is off the charts. It’s difficult to catch a breath with him so close.

“What for?” I know it sounds rude, but I don’t care. He stands up and though I don’t think he means to, he steps so close to me, invading my personal space that I have to hold my breath. I already know he smells like parchment and ink and something that’s so distinctively him that I don’t want to inhale and remember other times he was as close to me as this.

“I need your help… Please Valentine.”

My head is screaming at me to say no, but as I open the door, I move aside to let him in. He’s like a flame and I’m a moth. My body aches to feel his touch, but my body is an idiot and shouldn’t be paid heed to. I close the door behind us and back up to it. This feels dangerous. “What is it you want from me, Dade? You want what you missed in the Earthery?”

Damn, that came out wrong. I don’t even know why I’m thinking about what happened between us in the Earthery. I’ve tried scrubbing the whole damn thing from my brain. How much he looked at me with desperation, a little how he’s looking at me now, but at least this time his cock isn’t straining against his pants.

“I don’t get why…” he starts then thinks better of it. “Never mind. I shouldn’t be here. Sorry.” He makes to move past me, but as I’m standing with my back to the door, I’ll have to move so he can leave. His hand brushes my side as he reaches for the door handle. My mouth goes dry as he stares down at me. One more inch and our bodies would be touching. My back feels hot against the door.

“You have to move if you want me to leave,” he bites out.

I should move, but I can’t. There’s only one way for me to go, and that’s right into him. I could try to sidle out sideways, but it will be as awkward as fuck.

The tension between us is palpable. There’s enough electricity between us to power a small town, but I still don’t know how much of that is nervous energy on my part. His demon aura is burning brighter than usual and it's making it hard for me to think straight.

“Wait!”

His demon aura relaxes slightly over that one word and I wonder what it is that’s brought him to me. After our last fight, I thought I’d be the last person he’d want to see. “Just tell me what you want.”

“I can’t dance.” He says it so quickly and quietly that I have to think for a few seconds to process what he just said to me.

I shake my head a little. “I don’t see what that’s got to do with me.”

A muscle tics in his jaw. “You said you could dance. I heard you talking to your friends.” He pauses. “I need you to teach me.”

I let my mouth fall open and don’t even bother to hide the shock on my face.

“Dade. I can barely stand to be in the same room as you.” He flinches at the words, but I know he feels the same way about me. “You look at me as though you want to eat me.” As soon as I say it, I remember the time in the bathroom and heat crawls up my neck. I didn’t mean it that way, but his eyes flash and now it’s all I can think about.

“I need to get to Emily, Valentine.” he growls. “Like it or not, you are my partner and I can’t do this without you.”

Damn it.

He’s talking about his daughter. I remember Noémi’s words. The last trial is worth fifty points. I need to win this as much as he does. He’s not the only one who is fighting to get out of here.

“Fine,” I concede, gritting my teeth. “But on one condition.”

His eyes flicker up to mine and I hate how relieved he looks.

“I’m dating Remy.” The words almost catch in my throat. “I’m not having a recurrence of when we were in Purgatory where he kept catching us alone together, however innocent those times might have been.” They were far from innocent if my thoughts were taken into account, but I can’t bring all that up again. “I tell him what we are doing. He comes with us and he watches everything.”

His aura and his eyes flash dark. “No!”

This time, it’s my turn to stare at him. I hold my hands to my hips and try to keep my treacherous heart under control. “Those are my terms. Take them or leave them.”

He doesn’t look up, but he nods his head all the same. “Thank you.” He stands up from the bed and heads back to the door. This time I move away so he’s not pinning me against it.

“Dade?”

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