6
KYLO
A ccusing me of being a sex demon was rather amusing. I was beginning to wonder the same about her. Was she a succubus designed to destroy me from within?
There was no other logical explanation for my inexplicable draw to her. Or the way it was only getting more and more undeniable and potent as more words spilled from her perfect pink lips.
Today’s summer dress was faerie-like—a pastel blue that hung off her shoulders. A layer of wispy chiffon covered the satin material beneath. Combined with her black platform Mary Jane’s and white frilly socks, her big gray eyes, and angelic blonde hair, I thought she was possibly the most enticing, vulnerable little creature I’d ever laid eyes on.
This meant she had a similar effect on others. That much I’d gleaned from men’s lingering stares, my vampiric hearing capable of discerning all manner of lude remarks. She was oblivious to all of it. The first born who passed us homed in on her immediately, nostrils flaring.
The glare I’d sent him was downright venomous. My shadows stirred beneath my glamour and yearned to squeeze the life out of his beady, black eyes.
The desire to protect Evie was instinctual, as strong as my drive to protect my clan and my vision of a better world.
She was everything mortal and pure, a living embodiment of what the born desired most: blood rich with innocence and sunshine.
I wished it was only the thought of the born touching her that sent me spinning into violent, depraved thoughts. But I’d felt the same way when that human man had touched her—no doubt the reason for her declaration that our time together was platonic.
I’d heard the way he spoke to her. And whether the punishment fit the crime, his attitude made me want to pluck his undeserving eyes right from his skull.
He was a fucking idiot. He shouldn’t have been allowed to breathe the same air as someone so open, excitable, and good.
I watched Evie run her fingers over a deck of tarot cards. They’d been taken out of the box to be displayed, and she eagerly leafed through each one. Every once in a while, her eyes grew glassy, as if she were staring into some other plane of existence. Sometimes, she’d frown at what she saw, or her brows would adorably furrow. Other times, she’d smile with pure delight.
What bothered me most about her was the ever-present note of fear in her veins. Vampires could sense fear and arousal in mortals—both sensations making their blood infinitely more delicious. Even better when they were combined, such as when I’d corned her in the booth of magickal objects with my large frame. Or when I called her a very good girl.
Fear wasn’t supposed to be a constant state. It made me equal parts curious and livid, to know that someone or something had harmed her so irreversibly.
“Are you hungry?” I asked her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to take so long,” she said quickly, setting down the card she was examining.
“Don’t apologize,” I said. “You weren’t taking long at all. I enjoy watching your mind work.”
She stared at me like she didn’t believe a word out of my mouth. It only made me want to earn her trust more—to prove to her that not every man was like the shitty one who’d pissed all over her ideas.
I had a feeling Evie was used to people walking all over her. The way she apologized was almost as if she were apologizing for even existing at all.
It made me want to murder someone.
“I wanted to make sure you ate.”
Her stare only grew more confused and suspicious. “Why?”
Because I wanted to take care of her. Because I wanted to keep following this thread of obsession wherever it led.
And I knew how much of a problem that was. She was a liability I couldn’t afford.
But the thought of walking away now was a stab of ice in my heart. There was too much I didn’t understand about her—like that elusive note of darkness in her essence that reminded me of the deepest, coldest winter woods. It was in sharp juxtaposition with everything else about her.
A drop of poison in a field of wildflowers.
“Because you indulged me with your company, and I want to express my gratitude,” I said.
“Oh.” She hesitated, her cheeks flushing with my new favorite shade of pink. “Okay, sure. Something quick.”
“Deal.”
I eyed a booth selling quilts and blankets, perfect for an impromptu picnic. I wanted to pry more secrets from her depths. I wanted to ask her about her family and where she grew up.
“Kylo,” a familiar voice called.
Fuck.
I halted, and Evie slammed into me, clearly lost in her own mysterious inner world again and not paying attention.
When her hand clutched my bicep, she gasped, her eyes getting that faraway look again. She quickly let go.
“Sorry,” she said.
At the same time, Princeton, my maker, moved closer. His light brown, curly hair was past his shoulders, wild and untamed. His eyes quickly moved from me to Evie, sharpening with a ferocity that instantly put me on edge. I didn’t like the shocked fascination that marked his features.
His stance alerted me to a certain severity, which meant my time with Evie had officially been cut short.
I nodded at him, silently communicating for him to wait a moment.
I turned to the blonde angel still staring up at me with her big doe eyes. “My sincerest apologies, Evie, but I’m afraid I forgot about a meeting with my very cranky and impatient mentor.”
“No worries,” she said with an understanding smile.
“I will make it up to you.”
An inner war played out behind those mysterious gray irises.
Before she could decide on a response, I moved behind her. Around her delicate neck, I placed the moonstone pendant necklace she’d been eyeing when that insufferable man had made her feel so small. “A souvenir to remember our day,” I whispered next to her ear.
I was careful not to touch her, no matter how badly I wanted to.
I stole a glimpse of her surprised features before grinning and walking away.
Princeton wore a billowy white top and a series of amulets around his neck, some made of tiny bones, others of arcane, magickal materials. They rattled together as we moved away from the crowds of people around us.
He was a frighteningly powerful witch. If there was a living embodiment of the fine line between genius and madness phenomenon, it was him. He tended to jump back and forth over that line several times a day.
“What in the good gods did I just witness?” he asked in bewilderment. “Is that the new hobby Harmony was blabbering about? I’d hoped it was knitting.”
“Drop it,” I hissed.
Princeton smiled. “Sheesh. And touchy about it too. That makes sense, knowing you.”
“Meaning?”
“That you aren’t interested in anything casually. You want it all-consuming or not at all. I hope that witch knows what she’s in for.” He paused. “Do you know what you’re in for?”
No. I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t like that Princeton now knew about Evie, regardless of how much I trusted him. He was dangerous. He and Evie belonged to two completely different worlds.
“Her magickal signature, I mean,” he continued.
I glanced over at him, noting the way his sharp features twisted in perplexity.
“That she’s a green witch?” I asked. “Gifted in earth-based magick.”
Princeton frowned. “Is that what she told you?”
I paused. Actually, Evie had never confirmed she was a green witch. She’d never corrected me, either.
“Bring her in if you’re going to continue to pursue this new hobby . I need to examine her.”
My teeth ground together. I couldn’t do that to her. At least not yet.
Once Evie was mine, there was no going back.