Chapter 6 #2
He cupped my chin, the physical contact bringing me back to the moment with a lurch. He could crush my skull so easily. “You will eat before you’re hungry. Otherwise, you’ll get lightheaded. You shouldn’t make a habit of fainting. You never know what monster’s going to catch you.”
“Or none, and then I’d get a concussion and go into a coma and not have to deal with this mess.” I blinked at him. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
He moved his hand up the side of my face to my hair, his head tilted slightly while he studied me. Was he going to rip out my spine? Was this finally when the other shoe dropped?
“I will make a point of catching you,” he murmured then cleared his throat and stepped away.
“Or even better, I’ll keep your blood sugar level so that you don’t faint.
Shall we?” He gestured me toward the door behind to the bar.
I nodded and went ahead of him, but I limped slightly from my ridiculous chair incident.
“Allow me,” he said, moving in front of me to get the door then holding it open so I could pass.
It was impossible to get through the door without brushing against him.
His body was warm, strong, and it sent a bolt of awareness through me that made me want to burn off my skin.
I’d been burned before. I was far too old and jaded to go looking for trauma, but I still walked down the metal stairs from the bar to the basement kitchen with him right behind me, so aware of him that it was almost painful.
No, it was painful. I’d loved him so much and then transferred all of that obsessive passion onto my bundle of sweetness, so now… Yeah. Painful.
The kitchen was directly under the club, but it was a different world, thick pillars wrapped in vines and stone like an underground grotto while the open fireplace on the end danced merrily without any visible sign of fuel. This was a kitchen? Opposite the fireplace on the far wall was a waterfall.
No. This was definitely not a kitchen.
“Are you chilled at all?” he asked in that velvety voice while his eyes glimmered like coals coming to life from our long dead romance.
I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. Are you sure this is a kitchen? I don’t see any dishes.”
“You don’t like it?”
I smiled my most polite smile. “As a kitchen, it lacks certain essentials such as sink, stove, and counter space. You said that I’d work here washing dishes, didn’t you?”
“Did I?” he said, leading me to a half circle couch near the fire. A charcuterie board was laid out on the coffee table with a wide assortment of cheese, meat, and thick crusty bread, as well as a bottle of wine.
I crossed my arms, staring down at the incredibly comfortable looking couch and the snack tray. Protein, complex carbs, with vegetables like he kept tabs on human eating habits. He’d prepared this just for me. Didn’t I feel special? Especially terrified.
“You said the kitchen,” I repeated, not looking at him, because he was terrifying, and I needed to not be terrified of our past or his demon reality while we negotiated this deal.
Which was not dishes in the kitchen. That couch would be a fabulous place to lose your inhibitions or to nap.
Also to have a mental breakdown. Nothing dishes related.
“This is as close as we get to a kitchen. We do drinks and easy snacks that come packaged, but there is no conventional kitchen.”
I looked at that cheese wheel with those fancy crackers with the seeds in them. “Why did you say I would do dishes until three?”
“You could wash glasses. There is a sink, but it’s behind the bar.”
“So, you lied.” That time, I looked up, giving him my serious business face.
Hard to do to a demon who oozed, ‘I might crush your skull or accidentally rip out your spine,’ but I did my best. “I’m here.
I’m obviously in your power. I stole money from you, and you aren’t a human with a sense of compassion.
Not that a human would have felt much compassion towards someone who stole that much from him.
Just tell me. What are your plans for me?
If you didn’t plan to follow through on the payment, I wish you’d told me before I bothered getting papers in order. ”
He blinked at me and then threw himself on the couch. It was incredibly sturdy because it didn’t so much as rock. His tail, that massive sinewy thing grabbed a bottle of water from a fancy cooler and brought it to his hands.
“You want me to be honest with you?”
“If it’s possible for a demon to be honest. Demons aren’t supposed to be big on virtues.”
He flashed me a smile. “No, we’re not. Sit down and eat, and I’ll be honest until you show signs of fainting.”
“Why do you want me to eat? Did you drug everything.”
He laughed, low and rich, a sound that reminded me of how well he gave foot rubs. “No, Cherry Candy, I didn’t drug anything. I don’t need to. As you already admitted, you are entirely in my power. I want you to eat so you’re less likely to faint. Please, sit.” He gestured to the couch beside him.
Finally, I did, but because of the curve, our knees touched.
I winced from my stupid chair injury. He frowned and shifted so his knees to the side, not touching me. I should be bruised all over so he’d keep his distance.
“I’m sorry. You must have really hurt yourself,” he said, studying my leg where it was hidden beneath my sensible jeans. They weren’t the cute kind, but the sort I wore to work on the next candy display. I was here to do dishes, not play CEO of demonland.
“It’s nothing. Did you want to see the paperwork? You can look things over while I snack.”
He nodded gravely. “Excellent. I wouldn’t want to waste your efforts.”
I rolled my eyes and opened my bag while he filled a black plate with gorgeous gold marbling around the edges. It reminded me of his skin, not that the magma streaks were visible now. He was wearing a shirt. Good thing because I didn’t need to be distracted by his ridiculous muscles.
“Trade me,” he said, taking my papers and leaving me with the gorgeous plate. “Please, eat.” He stared at me until I ate a bite of cheese, then he nodded slightly and focused on my papers instead.
For a second the lump of cheese stuck in my throat, but when I washed it down with a sip of water, I was okay.
The next bite of cheese was absolutely perfect, particularly when I bit herb bread that had the precisely perfect amount of chewy.
The fire crackled and I slowly sank back into the downy delicious couch until I was curled up around my plate feeling more content than I had in years, in spite of everything.
I looked over at Dorian, expecting to see the man I loved, but he was a demon with spikes coming out of his hair, his eyes dark gold flecked with flames, and he was staring at me instead of the papers. He looked so…hungry.
I shook my head and put the plate down. I’d eaten enough. “So, what do you want me to do to pay you back if you don’t want me to do dishes? I’m not a stripper anymore.”
“I’m not interested in your money,” he said, putting the papers on the table and leaning towards me with a burning gaze that had me wanting to run or pass out. This is the part where he expected me to be terrified enough to faint again. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
I swallowed hard and straightened my spine. “It’s your money,” I stated, raising my chin.
He raised a dark brow over intent eyes. “Do you think so? I think that I set you up to take that money so that you could escape before it was too late. I left you an even million. I’ve often wondered why you didn’t take all of it.”
I blinked at him while my heart pounded and my stomach twisted. “What do you mean, you set me up?” I leaned forward, anger giving me courage to get in his face, fangs or not.
He cocked his head with a slight smile. “I left the combination of the safe taped to it. That was an invitation, but for months it wasn’t enough. You didn’t leave until you also felt betrayed.”
His words didn’t make any sense. “What do you mean, I had to feel betrayed? You mean that you intentionally hurt me so that I’d leave?
You set me up to be a thief? Is it the demon thing?
Do you need to corrupt the goodness out of people and break their hearts?
Why would you do that? Why couldn’t you just break up with me like a normal person?
” I threw out my arms like I was trying to fly away.
He snapped his wings and I jumped, looking up at those massive spread of deadly, deepest red above his head. “I’m not a normal person. Unfortunately, last night you chose to come publicly into my world and announce our connection.”
I blinked at him. “Unfortunately? Why unfortunately? You don’t have to give me more money so that you never have to see me again.
I’ll just go.” I stood up. I’d never wanted to see Dorian in the first place.
I started stuffing my things into my bag with shaky fingers.
Seriously, what was wrong with demons? You didn’t pay people money to go away unless you had no other options.
Did he think I was so obsessed with him that I’d keep stalking him forever if he didn’t completely annihilate my heart?
“You can’t go,” he said, tail moving to curl around my waist, tugging me back.
I stared at that tail before I turned around, glaring at him.
“I can, though. I’m not that obsessed with you.
I just thought we were in a relationship back then.
Happily, I’m not that delusional these days.
I’m still paying you back, but I won’t worry you with the details.
I’ll just send you a check in the mail.” I had to get out of there before I had a complete mental breakdown.
He’d set me up to steal from him? What kind of monster did that? Demons, apparently. Inconceivable.
He shook his head, eyes burning steadily. “I’ll never cash a check from you. Money is meaningless without the emotion attached to it. Demons feed on emotions, you know.”