Chapter 12
Tobias
Silence settles between us as we walk the rest of the way to Joseline’s hotel.
Tense, anxious energy swirls around her in an invisible cloud that calls to me, but I do my best to ignore it.
Instead, I focus on the nearby shadows, searching for movement, and keeping my senses alert for any hints of dark demonic energy.
Thankfully, we make it without incident, and Joseline jerks her thumb at a ritzy, marble-faced hotel with a revolving door.
“Well, this is me,” she says, not meeting my eyes.
My gaze tracks to the hotel, wondering how much money Sebastian dropped to put her up here for the week, but it’s not my problem.
He has more money than he knows what to do with anyway.
“Thanks for walking me here. I could have taken an Uber but this was… fine.”
“Yeah… it was.”
I hesitate, knowing I should turn right around and head back to the tour bus. But the longer we stand here, the more nervous energy pours off Joseline, like the thought of going up to her hotel room alone is kicking up her anxiety.
Maybe that’s why she was so calm before; she’s kept her feelings locked down tight, undetectable. But her grip on them is slipping, her mask falling.
Before I can stop my stupid fucking mouth from opening, words are falling out of it. “Do you need something to help you sleep?”
Her eyes widen suddenly, snapping to mine. “Excuse me? Are you propositioning me?”
“Wha… no.” I shake my head, wondering what the hell she’s going on about. “No, I just thought… you’re a bit stressed. I can help you sleep.”
She blinks, still looking confused, and tucks a dark strand of hair behind her ear. “With your cock, right? Is that how you plan to help me sleep?”
At the mention of my cock, it twitches, but a different kind of heat crawls up my neck. Embarrassment. That’s definitely not what I was insinuating.
Does she really think I’d ask so casually if I wanted to fuck her? That I wouldn’t at least attempt to woo her first? Is the bar so low with human men that that is the expectation?
My eyes drop down her curvy body, roaming over her goddess-like shape, before snapping back up to meet her impatient expression. I might offer to fuck her to sleep, if I didn’t think she’d want to argue the entire time.
Then again, stuffing my fat cock in her mouth to shut her up might not be so bad…
Nope.
I scold myself. Not worth it.
“You know what, nevermind.” I shake my head and turn to walk away. “Forget I asked.”
“Tobias.”
My name catches me off guard.
Every muscle in my body tightens, and I turn to look at Joseline. For the first time, her mask has completely slipped. She's exhausted, the divot between her brows betraying her worry.
“I’m sorry,” she says, poking her tongue out to wet her lips. “I just don’t understand. I didn’t realize that was… an option.”
I linger, watching her, trying to convince myself to turn and walk away. I did what I set out to do, which was get her to the hotel. That was it; my job is finished.
Still, my fucking bleeding black heart hates the chaos of emotions pouring off her, and I want to help soothe them.
Fuck me. I’m going to regret this.
“Only if you want it to be.” I shrug.
“Will it… will it hurt?” She keeps her voice low as her eyes bounce around the street, checking for eavesdroppers.
I shake my head. “No. It’ll be like falling asleep.”
She shifts again, her eyes flicking between me and the front of the hotel. She obviously doesn’t want me to follow her to her room; I doubt she wants to spend another second in my presence. But the prospect of sleep is promising, and I’m the only one around to help.
“Okay,” she finally whispers. “Come on.”
She shoves her way through the turnstile door, and I follow along behind.
The lobby is glitzy, everything gleaming with gold accents, and our footsteps against the white tile floor are the only sounds as we head for the elevator.
The woman working the front desk doesn’t even glance in our direction.
Awkward silence follows us as we get off on the third floor and head down the hall, and I can’t tell if it’s because of Joseline’s mounting anxiety or my own.
I’ve never been alone with a human like this before, and as much as I want to ignore the delicious energy pounding through her system, it’s starting to make my mouth water.
She pulls a keycard out of her back pocket and scans it on the door, pushing it open and stepping aside to let me in.
The room is fairly large, with a king-sized bed, dresser, and small sitting area in the corner.
Despite the size, I’m honestly impressed by how many suitcases she managed to fit in here.
A few are laying open, clothes spilling out of them and onto the other surfaces in the room.
Some are still zipped and tucked against the walls.
This woman needs her own damn bus to lug around all these bags.
The door clicks closed behind us, sealing us inside, and I shuffle awkwardly into the room. Even though I was invited, it feels like I’m invading her space. Thankfully, I’ll only be here a few minutes.
“Ignore the mess,” she says, pushing past me into the room. “Can you give me like five minutes to get ready for bed?”
I sigh. As eager as I am to get back to the convention center, staying a little longer isn’t going to kill me. “Sure, but I’m counting.”
She rolls her eyes and heads to the bathroom, shutting the door and turning on the sink. I move to the little sitting area in the corner, ignoring the open laptop on the table and the ring-light next to me.
You’re going soft, Kaseilon. My own voice rattles through my head.
Since when do I care so fucking much?
Saving a human, making sure Joseline made it to her hotel, now offering to help her sleep because she’s anxious. Gods, the empathy is getting to be too much to bear. I shake my head and close my eyes, reliving the steps that landed me here.
I wish I could blame it all on Sebastian. After all, the band was his idea to begin with. But I’d always intended on escaping Hell; I’d always yearned for a way out. And if I was always set on Earth, I would have ended up among humans anyway.
This empathy, it’s their fault. The twins’ mate, Ashten. Niki. Joseline. Even our bus driver, Jerry.
They’re all to blame.
My eyes pop open when I hear the bathroom door open, and Joseline emerges.
I almost don't recognize her. Her nearly black hair is down, her makeup washed away.
Instead of her form-fitting clothes that perfectly hug her voluptuous curves, she's in loose pink silk pajama shorts and a baggy T-shirt.
She looks much softer, more approachable, which I know is a lie.
Joseline is sharp as a knife and just as eager to stab someone.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she snaps and crosses the room to the bed, pulling back the perfectly-made comforter. I watch her settle nervously on the edge of the bed, fidgeting like she isn’t sure what to do next.
The corner up my mouth hitches upward as I realize how much I like seeing her this way. Her fiery nature is impressive, but I like knowing there’s something soft underneath.
“Like what?” I shove myself up from the chair and pace toward her, not missing the burst of energy that explodes as she shuffles back on the bed. She watches me with wide eyes as I stop a foot from the bedside, looming over her. “How am I looking at you?”
Her lips part and she swallows hard. “I don’t know. Maybe just don’t look at me at all.”
“Because that makes sense.” I chuckle and jerk my chin toward the pile of pillows next to her. “Lie down.”
She hesitates, and I think she might argue, but then she follows the command and pulls the comforter over her, tucking herself in.
Once she’s safe beneath the blanket, I take a step forward, my thighs brushing the side of the bed, and I don’t miss the uptick in her pulse. Beneath her nerves, fear swells.
Maybe she really is rightly terrified of me.
Good.
“Ready?” I ask, flexing my gloved fingers.
“Yes. No, wait!” She bolts upright, her eyes widening. “I always lock the deadbolt. How will you—”
Laughter escapes me, bouncing off the walls. “After what you’ve seen, you’re worried about locked doors?”
I press two fingers to her shoulder and push until she lays down again.
“I’ll take care of it,” I assure her. “Close your eyes.”
Her eyes remain locked with mine for another long second before she obeys. Slowly, I reach to brush the backs of my fingers along her jaw, smirking at the way she tenses against me.
I begin to draw on her energy, slowly, carefully; I can't risk taking too much. I just want her to fall asleep, not be weak in the morning when she wakes up.
Again, I'm not sure when I started to care so much, but I've given her my word.
“T-Tobias,” she whispers, the word almost too faint for me to catch.
Her energy floods my veins, replacing some of what I gave Niki earlier, and I can tell the moment she slips into unconsciousness. Soft snores hit my ears.
Satisfied, I turn my back on her and head for the hall, clicking off the lights as I go. I pause at the door, looking back at Joseline’s peacefully sleeping form a final time, before stepping out of the room.
As the door closes, I summon a bit of my magic to flip the lock.
It’s not safe to use our powers—it’s like a beacon for other demons, and it could draw them straight to us—but it’s such a minuscule amount that I’m not worried.
Then, I start my trek back to the tour bus.