Chapter 13 A Devil’s Love
A DEVIL’S LOVE
“You’re teasing me,” she said, surprise coloring her tone, and she wasn’t wrong.
Teasing her came far too easily, a response that seemed to surface instinctively in her presence.
When I glanced back at her and allowed myself a wink, I felt the moment change.
Her beautiful eyes widened and, in such a way, that I knew she was silently questioning my motives.
Not that I could blame her, as I too was questioning my own.
Then, with her hand in mine, I pulled her through the doorway, forcing the choice from her before hesitation could grow teeth. She hadn’t taken more than a single step into my office before the shift registered, her attention no longer on me but on the room itself.
My office would naturally have that effect on mortals, as it was no doubt like stepping back in time.
To an age where physical books still mattered and were not merely decorative relics.
These were not volumes collected for sentiment or display, but tools I used daily.
Each one bound with purpose, filled with spells, castings, and ancient knowledge that predated most of the realm’s mortals believed to exist.
Every book housed within these walls had been earned, bargained for, or taken at great cost. The contents powerful enough to shape realms or unmake them entirely if placed in the wrong hands.
This was not simply an office, but a vault.
A repository of power and memory, where knowledge was both weapon and shield.
Every spell etched into parchment answered to my will alone.
I tried to view it from her perspective. Through the eyes of a mortal, not born of this dark world I commanded. So, I allowed her that moment to take it in.
Then, while her attention wandered, I removed my cloak with habitual ease, unclasping it at one shoulder and letting it slip free in a single controlled motion. My shoulder armor followed, detached from straps hidden beneath the fabric, its weight striking stone sharply enough to make her jump.
Of course, I noticed.
Everything about her registered within me now with unsettling clarity.
From the way her breath stalled to the faint tension gathering in her shoulders as the scale of the room revealed itself in full.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves heavy with old volumes, the massive desk carved into the form of a creature that was both regal and monstrous.
The vast window offered nothing but darkness and her anxious reflection.
This was not a place meant for comfort or reassurance.
It was a place of command.
And she knew it… smart girl.
I leaned back against the desk, folding my arms across my chest, watching as the understanding settled in.
Her gaze lifted, taking note of my height, my large frame, my dark presence, and she froze, just for a breath.
As if her body had not yet decided whether standing still or running would serve her better.
She could try.
Chasing her would be fun, my demon hummed… umm, indeed it would, I agreed. Yet despite these dark thoughts, I still chose to offer her a shred of comfort.
“There is no need to fear me, little human,” I said after her appraisal of me, making her swallow hard, as if just being caught doing so. Something that fed my ego more than I cared to acknowledge.
“No? Not even after I snuck in here?” Direct. Honest. And brave enough to surprise me.
“It is true that there are a limited number of mortals who know of my kind…” I replied calmly, purposely tempering my tone.
“…but it is not entirely unheard of.”
Her shoulders eased, only slightly, but it was enough to tell me she was listening intently.
“I didn’t know what to do, and then your name came up and I…” Now that certainly caught my attention.
“My name came up?” I interrupted her because this mattered far more than she yet understood.
“Yes, I mean… You are Wyedari Oblivion, aren’t you? Oh Goddess, did I sneak into the wrong club?!” Her adorable panic stripped her of any deception and left her wonderfully, dangerously sincere.
I felt the faint twitch of amusement stir again and briefly wondered to myself, since when did I find mortals cute enough to want to bite? And why did the sound of my name coming from her lips make me want to soothe the bite?
“Be at ease, Inanna. I am who you think I am,” I told her, and her relief was immediate and almost tangible enough to taste.
“Thank the Goddess, you nearly gave me a panic attack… My heart already nearly stopped thanks to that big brute downstairs chasing me.”
After this, the shift in me was instantaneous. Every trace of ease vanished in a second. My body responded, straightening from my relaxed position as my attention sharpened into something dangerous.
“Who chased you?” I asked, nearly growling the words.
“Well, I don’t know,” she replied with a frown as she was clearly confused by the abrupt change in me, one I matched with my own as I pushed for more information.
“Tell me what happened.”
“I was downstairs and this demon, a big guy with horns, stopped and sniffed at me, I don’t know… maybe I smell like a human or something,” she explained, halting at first, words stumbling over one another. Each detail tightened something cold and volatile beneath my skin.
“You do indeed,” I said when she mentioned her scent, then pressed,
“Now what else?”
She tested me then, just a little, turning her head and sniffing herself, and my patience snapped.
In three strides, I was in front of her.
My hand closed around her chin, firm but controlled, tipping her face upward until she was forced to meet my gaze.
I felt the tremor that ran through her at the contact and felt the way her pulse leapt beneath my fingers.
Which only meant that it took far more effort than I liked to keep my grip steady.
“Quit being cute, my little Inanna, and tell me. What happened next?” Shock flared across her features, and yes, I noticed that too.
But at least she told me the rest quickly and saved part of my sanity.
“I… he… he started chasing me, and I ran up the steps to the door and, well, you know the rest.”
“Did he hurt you?” I asked, now scanning down the length of her, focusing less on savoring the sight of her sinful little body and more on what parts of it could be injured.
“No.”
“Did he touch you?” The words came out darker than intended, edged with something lethal, and I saw the moment recognition dawned in her eyes.
“It was you… with that guy who grabbed me, the one who was going to slap me… you… you did that to him,” she said, and I knew instantly she was referring to the punishment I had administered to the cretin that had dared try to hurt her.
“No one has permission to harm you,” I told her, the truth of it sharp and unforgiving.
“…To touch you.”
She retreated then, her fear spiking, and irritation flickered through me. Not at her, but at myself. I eased it back before it fractured into something I could not afford to show her.
“I… I came here for your help,” she informed me, something I already knew to be true based on what Torin had already told me.
“And you will receive it,” I stated firmly.
“But?” Ah, there was my clever little goddess.
“But everything comes with a cost, Eliza,” I stated, and her injured hand drew my attention without effort.
The blood bound beneath the tissue was a vivid reminder of how fragile she truly was.
Had she been one of my kind, the wound would have been nothing.
Instead, it stirred a vicious blend of hunger and displeasure within me that I didn’t welcome.
She wisely stepped back again as that self-preservation kicked in. One that meant nothing to me, as I followed with a single step, reclaiming the distance. Then I felt the air between us shift.
“Costs?” she asked, fear threading through the word, no doubt cementing her regret in coming here.
“A price for my help, yes,” I murmured, lowering my voice and wrapping the warning in something softer.
“…but nothing for you to fear from me,” I added when I saw her light brown eyes widen once more, the flecks of green in them almost dancing with apprehension.
She did not believe me. Not yet.
I reached out then, unable to stop myself, my fingers brushing along her jaw, featherlight and careful. And her reaction was immediate. Her breath caught, her pulse fluttering beneath my touch, and something deep and ancient in me answered with dangerous certainty.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered, and I almost groaned. By the Gods, what didn’t I want? It was certainly a shorter list by this point, for I came so close to admitting on a growl…
Everything.
Thankfully, I refrained from giving in to the impulse, knowing that it was too soon for that type of honesty. So, I simply told her,
“All in good time, little Inanna.”
My thumb traced her lip once, just enough to feel the warmth there, to commit the sensation to memory. Enough for me to imagine how it would feel against my own lips. How I wanted to see them glistening wet and swollen from my kiss. How I wanted to bruise them with my bite. How I wanted to…
Fuck them.
So, I stepped back before I gave in to every dark impulse.
“I’ll return soon,” I said, forcing authority back into my tone.
“Don’t go anywhere, Eliza. We are far from finished,” I informed her and willed myself to turn away before my restraint failed entirely.
The door sealed behind me with a decisive lock.
And for the first time in centuries, I welcomed leaving my own space behind.
Because remaining there with her, surrounded by power and privacy, would have pushed me over a line I was not yet willing to cross.
Not when I knew she wasn’t yet ready for that.
Besides, there was something else that demanded my attention.
Someone to punish after my judgment.