Page 87 of Demonic Prince

When I drink, my teeth ache from the cold water. I drain the glass, though it still doesn’t satisfy the gnawing ache in my belly.

“Are you hungry?” he asks.

“Yes,” I admit.

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

“Not since the ruins of Hexfall.” When Rook hunted and cooked a rabbit for me. Frowning, I banish that memory. “There’s only one bed.”

“Our bed,” Scaldric says.

Back at the inn, Rook offered to sleep on the floor. He never pressured me. But he neverwantedme, not like this.

Was I ever more than a dragon in heat? A desperate virgin? A quick fuck?

“Pyrah.” Scaldric’s voice snags my attention. “Wait for me.”

I dig my fingernails into my palms. “Wait for what?”

“Dinner. I will go down to the kitchen myself. All the servants are asleep.”

I don’t turn my back on him until he’s gone. Without taking off my clothes, I climb into the bed and let my head sink into a featherdown pillow.

Could Netherhaven become my home? Could I abandon my cave for this luxury?

This is all happening so fast.

Before long, Scaldric returns to the bedchamber with a plate of food. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

“Meat pie,” he says.

“What kind?”

He puts the plate down on a table by the bed. “Does it matter?”

“Don’t you care what I want?”

The words burst free from my mouth like a startled flock of birds. I clench my jaw, but it’s too late to take them back.

He tosses me a crooked smile and leans against the wall. “Of course, I do. But this was what I found in the kitchen.”

“I’m not talking about meat pies.”

“You need to eat.”

I drag in a long breath. “Need isn’t want.”

He pushes himself from the wall. “What do you want, sweet Pyrah?”

Though he’s taller than me, I look into his eyes without blinking. “I won’t marry you unless I want you, Scaldric.”

“Do you?”

“I don’t know yet.” My heartbeat hammers against my ribs. “I need to find out.”

His lips part slightly as he exhales. “You surrendered to me.” He speaks in a husky purr. “You know you want me.”

“Enough with the arrogant charm.”

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