Chapter 6 #5
Meanwhile my demon stood beside me in complete silence. Careful. Controlled. Still giving me distance even now. And, I got genuinely annoyed. Because I was tired. Tired of tension. Tired of restraint. Tired of him looking at me like wanting me was something dangerous he had to survive quietly.
I turned toward him fully and his attention snapped to me in an instant. Silver firelight reflected softly across his face while shadows curled beneath the dark collar of his coat.
“You’re still doing it,” I said quietly.
His brows pulled together slightly. “Doing what.”
“Acting like touching me requires permission forms approved by Hell’s government.”
Something sharp flickered across his expression instantly.
“Eva.”
“No,” I interrupted him while stepping closer. “You don’t get to spend weeks ruining my mind and then become respectful and distant and patient.”
The room behind us had gone quieter now. Not because Nina and the younger brother stopped. Honestly, they’d gotten worse. But because my demon’s entire attention had locked onto me with dangerous intensity.
“You said you were angry with me.”
“I am.”
“And yet you’re walking toward me like that.”
“That sounds like your problem.”
His jaw tightened hard enough that I noticed. Good. I wanted him to be affected. I wanted him to struggle. Because I had been struggling since I came here .Then very softly, dangerously calm, he asked:
“What exactly are you trying to do right now?”
I stared directly into his eyes.
“Honestly?”
Tiny pause.
“I think I’m making another terrible decision.”
Something in him snapped quietly after that. Not in an explosive way . But enough to snap all his control and patience. His hand closed around my wrist instantly before he leaned down close enough that his voice brushed softly against my mouth.
“You should be careful saying things like that to me.”
My heartbeat stumbled fast. Finally, there he was, not the patient, not the hesitant demon, But mine .
“Maybe,” I whispered back, “I’m tired of you acting scared of me.”
His eyes darkened instantly.
“Scared?” he repeated softly.
“You keep touching me like I’ll disappear.”
The silence after that sentence felt dangerous. Then his hand tightened around mine before he started walking. Fast, directly toward the private hallway branching off the palace chambers.
Behind us, Nina pulled away from the younger brother long enough to gasp dramatically, “OH MY GOD.”
“I am unavailable for commentary,” I informed her while my demon dragged me down the hallway.
The younger brother was deeply impressed. “That escalated beautifully.”
Then my demon slammed the bedroom door shut behind us. Silence surrounded us heavily. Only my deep breaths paced perfectly with his ragged breathing.
The room was darker than the palace chambers outside. Silver fire burned low inside black lanterns while enormous curtains moved softly near the open balcony windows overlooking the glowing city below. And it was just us.
My demon still held my wrist. Still stood one step away from losing control entirely. But this time he wasn’t hiding it. Good. I stepped closer until barely any space remained between us.
“You know,” I murmured softly, “for someone terrifying enough to scare governments, you hesitate a lot.”
His hand moved from my wrist to my waist hard enough to pull me flush against him. The sudden movement knocked the breath out of me instantly.
“There,” he said quietly against my mouth. “Is that better?”
Oh.
God.
“Yes.”
The honesty slipped out before dignity could save me. His eyes darkened further at the answer. Then finally, finally, his control cracked. His hand slid sharply into my hair before he kissed me hard enough to shut every coherent thought out of my brain instantly.
This time there was nothing restrained about him.
Weeks of holding back seemed to collapse in a single moment, leaving him rougher, needier, far less controlled than before.
I caught the front of his coat to steady myself as he pulled me closer, his grip on my waist tightening with enough force to make my heartbeat stumble hard against my ribs.
The kiss deepened almost instantly, turning fierce before either of us could slow it down.
It was messy with frustration, heavy with all the tension we’d been pretending not to feel for weeks.
Every held-back thought, every lingering glance, every unfinished moment finally collided at once.
And the worst part was, I wanted every second of it.
He pulled back just enough for our breaths to tangle, his forehead brushing mine as he murmured against my mouth, barely sounding in control anymore:
“You are unbelievably difficult to resist.”
“That sounds like a personal failing.”
His hand tightened in my hair again.
“Careful.”
The warning should have scared me. Instead it made heat curl low in my stomach instantly.
“Oh no,” I whispered softly. “You’re finally threatening me properly.”
Something dangerous flashed across his face after that.
Then he turned us both sharply until my back hit the edge of the massive black wardrobe beside the bed.
The impact wasn’t painful. But it was enough to make my pulse spike harder.
His hand slid down my throat afterward before stopping beneath my jaw, forcing my attention completely back to him.
“You wanted honesty?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“I have been trying not to pin you against a wall since you appeared in that dress.”
My heartbeat stuttered hard.
“Oh.”
“That,” he continued softly while staring directly into my eyes, “was me behaving.”
That should not have been attractive. Unfortunately it was catastrophically attractive. His gaze dropped over the black fabric still clutched against my body before returning upward again.
“Turn around.”
The command hit me instantly. Something in his voice, low and certain and impossibly dark, sent a shiver racing down my spine before I could stop it.
Heat flooded through me just as fast, sharp enough to leave me breathless.
I turned slowly, almost afraid of what I’d see in his expression when I faced him again.
The room fell silent except for the uneven sound of my breathing while silver fire flickered across the mirrors ahead, casting restless light over everything between us.
Then I felt him behind me. Close enough that my breath caught instantly. One hand settled against my waist while the other moved my hair over my shoulder. There was nothing gentle about the way he touched me now. Careful, maybe. But possessive enough to make my pulse stutter.
His mouth hovered near my neck while his fingers found the fastening along the back of the dress.
“You are going to kill every demon in that audience tomorrow,” he murmured softly.
“That sounds dramatic.”
“You have not seen the way they look at you.”
No hesitation left in him now. No trace of restraint either. Just hunger, open and impossible to miss. And God help me, that look on his face suited him far too well.
“You’re staring again,” I whispered.
“Yes.”
“No denial this time?”
His eyes lifted to mine in the mirror.
“No patience left for denial.”
Chapter 26
Eva POV
And for the first time since I’d met him, he’d stopped holding himself back.
God, I didn’t even understand why that realization hit me so hard.
Maybe because for weeks he’d touched me like restraint was the only thing keeping him in control.
Careful kisses. Careful hands. Always leaving just enough distance between us to pretend he still could.
And now all of that control is gone. I watched him through the mirror while his gaze moved over me again, dark enough now to make my heartbeat stumble.
“You’re staring harder,” I whispered softly.
“Yes.”
There was no embarrassment left in me anymore.
Under the way he looked at me, I felt almost painfully beautiful.
His hand drifted upward along my side before he drew me back against him, slow and deliberate, until there wasn’t any space left between us.
The sudden heat of his body at my back stole my breath.
He was close enough to make my thoughts blur.
And judging by the way his breathing changed slightly near my neck,he was losing composure too. Good. I tilted my head back just enough to look at him properly. “You know, this would probably be less overwhelming if you weren’t built like a supernatural problem.”
His mouth brushed the side of my throat softly.
“That sounded like flirting.”
“It was criticism.”
“You’re terrible at criticism.”
Then his teeth grazed lightly beneath my jaw and every coherent thought in my brain died.
Okay, that was unfair. My fingers tightened instinctively against his coat while his hand spread across my stomach, holding me firmly against him like he’d already decided letting me go again wasn’t happening tonight.
“You are catastrophically distracting,” he murmured quietly against my skin.
“That sounds familiar.”
“My brother was absolutely correct.”
“The worst sentence you’ve ever spoken.”
A low laugh escaped him softly against my throat before he turned me around.Fast enough that I barely caught my balance before his hands landed firmly at my hips again.
Squeezing painfully enough for me to forget all our distance.
His gaze dropped briefly toward my mouth before lifting back to my eyes again.
“Tell me to stop.”
The words came low and rough enough to send heat straight through me.I stared at him for one second longer. Then stepped closer until my body pressed directly against his again to feel him properly.
“No.”
Something in his expression snapped completely after that.His hand slid sharply into my hair before he kissed me hard enough to push me backward against the edge of the wardrobe again. Messy this time. More desperate. Like every ounce of tension between us had finally become impossible to contain.
I kissed him back just as hard because honestly? I’d been losing my mind too.