“Get off!” She raises her hand and swats at my chest, causing me to laugh and throw my head back. “I want the heater!”

Before releasing her, I lean down and purr against her lips, “I promise, my warmth will last hours, and hours… and hours.”

“Kai!”

16

Xeraphine

The heater feels so good.

After slapping Kairhyse and him pumping gas into his overly flashy car, we are back on the road. He even turned on the seat warmer, which I have to admit I’m thrilled over. This is so much nicer than Tyson’s sedan. The seats are huge for a sports car, but I don’t need to know much to see that it was custom built. I can stretch my legs fully and still have plenty of space. I’d bet I could even lay flat, considering there are no seats in the back.

One glance at my driver, and he is just as comfortable. He doesn’t squish between the center console or the door, and he has a few inches above his head. For someone his size, that is likely just short of seven feet tall, that is impressive.

The gentle patter of rain hitting the windshield is our sole auditory companion. Its muffled quality suggests the glass might be bulletproof—a somewhat brazen precaution, considering a bullet wouldn’t be lethal to him.

“Hey,” I’m content with the silence, but of course, he has to speak up. “I wanted to tell you something, but only after you got food in your stomach.”

“Okay?” My response comes out unintentionally condescending, tinged with a hint of annoyance. His remark about waiting until afterI ate somehow irks me, as if implying I’m more irrational when hungry. He doesn’t know me well enough to understand that I’m not the ‘hangry’ type when it comes to food—energy, yes, but not food.

“You asked earlier if you had been snoring when you were sleeping, and I told you yes.” Oh, fuck. “You weren’t snoring, you were screaming.”

Welp. My hand instinctively reaches for the door handle, ready to bail out of the moving vehicle.

“Don’t be dramatic, it’s fine.” He locks the door for good measure, though I could easily shove it off its hinges and jump out anyway. “I don’t care, and you shouldn’t either.”

I slump down into the seat, running my hands through my hair.Fucking Belial himself. Why?Had I screamed in the car with Tyson when I had that nightmare?

His hand reaches across the console and settles just above my knee. Now I understand why he did it before—he was trying to comfort me.

Yuck.

Except, damn it, I let his hand stay there. I’m not even sure why but seeing how much bigger it is compared to me makes my stomach warm.

“Did I just scream, or did I say anything?” I avoid looking at him. If I see him smirk, I swear I’ll punch him, and we’ll go straight off this windy road.

He hesitates, and I know he is about to lie to me. “No, just screamed. Don’t worry about it, little demon, it’s fine.”

“It’snotfine, but I’m not going to argue with you.“ I shake my head, slowly grinding my teeth while turning away from him.

He continues, “Was that why you were over at Eldritch Haven? Were you preparing to check yourself in?” I can sense the joke behind his tone, perhaps an attempt to make me feel less self-conscious. Honestly, I’m not sure though. He might actually think that’s why I was there.

I hesitate. Opening up to Kairhyse is the last thing I want to do. I don’t need sympathy, nor do I want him to see me as some broken person. I’m not broken, I’m pissed.

“Imagine me in a padded cell,” I try to laugh at the end of the statement, but the thought actually makes me twitch, and it’s not subdued. My entire body succumbs to it.A white padded cell... a whitebox... I quickly shake my head, “Nope, I was just visiting. Nothing beyond that.” His hand grips tighter on my thigh, “Don’t do that.” I quickly shovel past my anxiety, “Don’t concern yourself over me.”

The bite of his nails against my leg makes me shoot a glare at him. “What did I tell you, little demon?” From the corner of my eye, I can see him gripping tighter on the steering wheel. “Do not tell me what I won’t do. If I wish to concern myself over you, then I will do so.”

“Don’t! There’s nothing to be concerned about, just a bad dream.” I pull my leg away from his grasp, his nails cutting into my skin and drawing blood. “That’s all. Stop acting like you give a fuck beyond making me weak to drop my guard before you drag me off to Achille.”

I’m an idiot for saying that. I know exactly who I am talking to, and when he swerves sharply to a turnout, I have to grab the ‘oh-shit’ handle.

The car comes to a halt and I have no time to even scream when his hand is around my throat, pulling me over the center console. “I am going to fuck that pretty little throat of yours so you can’t talk. It will be so raw and sore that even thinking about forming words will be painful. Do you hear me?”

“Fuck you, Kai. You started this! You won’t do shit!”

His eyes shift, and I can see the bloodlust in them. I’m being overbearing, and I know it. Any girl would swoon over his concern for them. Fall into his arms and cry out all their past trauma and demons.