Page 64 of The Devil's Waltz

I cross my arms. “Gee, thanks.”

“Marcus is a high-level demon who works very closely with my mother,” he explains. “It’s not safe for you to go after him.”

My eyes lift to his. “Now, all of a sudden, you’re concerned with my safety?”How dare he pretend to care?“He should know how important I am to Lucia’s plan and that it would be very stupid of him to hurt me.” My tone reeks of mockery.

“Camille,” he warns in a soft voice.

“Xander,” I deadpan, letting my hands fall to my sides.

He takes a step closer, and I immediately retreat, but in the time it takes me to blink, he wraps his fingers around my wrist, holding me in place. “I understand why you won’t believe me, but I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I tug on my arm, to no avail. “No, you just want me to betray my family and let demons take control of the human world.”

“That’s what Lucia wants,” he says in a low voice.

“What about you? What doyouwant, Xander?” I challenge, though I’ve stopped fighting his grip. It’s useless anyway.

Something akin to pain flashes in his eyes as they darken, and all it does is feed the confusion growing in my chest. Xander appears torn by my question, by how upset I am.

I can’t help the physical pull I feel to him. Even worse, I hate how I can’t stop thinking about kissing him even as the pain of his betrayal still burns in my chest. I lift my free hand and cup his cheek, my fingers grazing slowly across the stubble there.

“I hate how badly I still want you.” The words taste bitter on my tongue, like unsweetened coffee.

His eyes flick to my wrist as if he can hear the quick beat of my pulse beneath the skin. He turns his face to press his lips against it, and my breathing halts. “I know.” His words solidify what I already know. He craves it—my surrender.

Hell, maybe there’s a part of me that craves it, too.

Xander slips a finger under my chin and tilts my face up, tracing his lips over mine in a whisper of a kiss.

“We can’t,” I say, even as I move my lips against his.

“Tell me to stop.” His words against my lips taste dangerously sweet.

“I won’t.”I can’t.

He pauses. “Camille…”

“Is this what you want?” I breathe. “Because you deserve the life you want, same I do. So choose that over what Lucia has planned. For once, chooseyourself.”

He cups my cheeks in his hands, and the air gets caught in my lungs as he leans in until his bottom lip brushes mine. “You have no idea how badly I wish it was that simple.” With that, he pulls back, and I’m left with a cold pit of defeat unfurling in my chest.

EIGHTEENCAMILLE

The campus library is quiet when I arrive the next afternoon with the intention of burying myself in schoolwork and pretending yesterday’s interaction with Xander didn’t happen.

After I left his apartment, I texted Harper that it had been a waste of time—intentionally leaving out the part about the kiss.

I hate that I can still feel the tingle his lips left on mine, made worse by the fact I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

Why can’t I walk away from him?

He’s done nothing but trick me from the moment we met.Was any of it real or just part of his and Lucia’s plan to turn me into a pawn?

I can only imagine how complicated the relationship is between Xander and his mother—hisqueen. I was stupid to think there’d be a world where he’d defy her, even if part of him wants to. It’s not enough.

My phone buzzes on the table in front of me, and I peer over at it, frowning at the screen.

Talk about complicated parental relationships…

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