Page 21 of Orion: Galaxy Huntress

“No,” I snapped a little too quickly and defensively, pulling back on my magick too, shielding it from him. Vice was the last person I wanted to discover my identity when he was the kind of creature to twist it against me. “I had three brothers and learned early to defend myself with plenty of wrestling practice.” The truth. Exactly the opposite of what this fiend spoke.

Family that had been taken from me. My father kept his sons because they could work the fields, but I was just a useless female, no good for anything except for selling off with an arranged marriage. But father hadn’t been able to feed five mouths and gave me away to the butcher for two gold coins. All my life was worth.

“Wrestling, huh?” Vice shimmied and wagged his eyebrows, prompting me to shake my head at his sexual inference. Many princes had men and women wrestlers in their palaces for entertainment, and unfortunately for this demon, he would not be as lucky to see me providing the same performance.

“I’m tired, Vice.” I hit him in the shoulder to show I meant it. “Your jokes are making my head ache.”

“All right, kitten.” The flirty, forward demon took the liberty of brushing my jaw with his knuckles, and my body erupted like a supernova. “Just having some fun. We demons live for it.” He jerked me closer, and my body grumbled but didn’t fight him. “Don’t take it to heart.”

I stiffened, suspicious. Men were only sweet to me when they used me. Was Vice’s kindness a ruse? Part of his act? I hated that I didn’t trust him or any other man, and questioned every little action they made. But I’d been hurt. Badly. So badly, it broke my heart. Deception was in his nature, being on guard in mine. It served me well. Kept me alive in a world dominated by gods, monsters, and cruel men.

“Come inside. You look tired.” Vice took my hand, dragging me to his front door, and I suddenly realized he lived in a dwelling large enough to be a miniature palace.

I gaped at the modern, ornate fixings, twinkling light hangings, marble floor and staircase, bronze balustrades, spacious rooms, and statues of gods and goddesses that reminded me of the art in Greece.

“Want a night cap before you head to bed?” Vice flicked on the light of the kitchen with his tail and I blinked at the two servants locking lips in the kitchen. They broke apart, swiped their mouths of the red smear all over it, straightened their wrinkled uniforms, and cleared their throats.

“Good evening, sir,” the male servant said, wiping at the wrinkles in his crisp uniform. “May I get you anything?”

The demon smirked as if this behavior was typical with his staff. He certainly had a laid-back attitude, whereas I was formal and discreet. “Just an herbal tea for my guest. Please get the guest suite ready for her.”

“Right away, sir.” The man filled the boiling pot with water and heated it on the same type of little black stand that Myra had used.

The female bowed. “Just for the night, sir?”

“A week,” Vice replied, and I raised my palms to protest, but he shut me down. “She’s a fine hunter. I’ll have her fill my freezers with meat for the next three winters.”

My mind countered all the dollars I’d make for that. Surely, that would be enough for my journey. The demon was indulgent and obliging.

The female servant stared at him with a mixture of raised brows, pinched forehead, and parted lips that suggested the demon’s guests never stayed any longer. I bet a creature as handsome, beguiling, and seductive as Vice invited lovers over all the time but kicked them out the next morning. He didn’t strike me as the commitment kind when he maneuvered people like sand through his fingers, collecting souls for his boss. Mistresses, maybe, that came and went, but nothing long-term or serious.

“Welcome, mistress.” The female servant bowed at me and scrambled away up the stairs, leaving me to wince at the title.

I didn’t have time to call out and correct her when the demon scooped me into a chair at the counter. “Sit, kitten.”

My muscles sighed at being able to relax, and not be strained like I was while I gripped the handles of Vice’s car for dear life.

Vice grew impatient with the male servant and blinked the tea and a mug at my fingertips. “Drink this. No tricks, I promise.” He leaned in close to whisper, his breath burning my ears and setting off an unstoppable tingle. “I value my cock and want it to stay where it is. The rest of me is fair game for slicing up, though.” He tickled the outside of my arm, withdrew, and winked at me.

Shameless. Brazen. Nothing scared the demon. He’d probably been threatened by all sorts. Lost his horn in some sort of battle. Although, I kind of liked the character of one horn. It made him different from the rest of his kind.

My gaze fell to the drink and I sniffed it for any poisons or sleep potions. Detecting none, I scanned it with my magic, finding it pure and wholesome. I cupped the burning mug between my palms, letting the heat soak into me, sighing as it released my cramped muscles, which were tired and overworked from cutting up the meat. The tea tasted sweet with a hint of tang and citrus.

“It’s nice.” I smiled at him, grateful for his hospitality.

“Lemon and ginger.” Vice blinked a cup for himself and sank into the chair beside me. “Helps me wind down after a long day.”

The man servant cleared his throat. “Anything else, sir?”

“Hungry, kitten?” I appreciated a man who paid attention to my needs.

“Olives, please. And goat’s cheese drizzled in honey.” I hadn’t tasted it in so long and craved a little piece of home.

“Coming right up.” The servant got to work and had everything ready by the time I consumed the last of my tea. He slid a plate of small bowls with all of the items I’d ordered and more.

As I picked at them, groaning at how good they were, even better than those harvested in ancient Greece, the demon smiled, stealing a few to sample. His lips pursed as he sucked an olive between them, and a new fire started in my belly, low and deep. Tingling pleasantly. Dark promises in his gaze made everything inside me squirm. I shifted under the weight of his stare, uncomfortable at his peering into my soul and prying open the darkest of secrets. That same clicking sensation I’d felt with Stormy flicked in my chest. Another piece of my heart coming together in the puzzle.

By the gods, something was wrong with me. I didn’t melt over men like this. Certainly not the kind that could roast my heart in the pits of hell. I stuffed three pieces of honeyed cheese in my mouth to divert my attention from the depths of those eyes, reminding me of that darkness of deep space, my home in the galaxy.

When I swallowed, I asked the question on my mind to stop him from looking where I didn’t want him to go. “Are you going to unbind Ace and me?”

“That, I can promise, kitten.” He brushed a stray lock of hair away from my face in time for me to miss getting honey in it. “What I can’t promise is that you and I won’t become entangled.”

---