Page 33 of Demon Daddy's Hidden Daughter
We spring apart as if burned, both of us breathing harder than the game warrants. Rhyen runs a hand through his hair, messing it further, while I press my palms flat against the tree trunk to stop them from shaking.
"Hide better this time!" Ava calls, and the sound of her footsteps suggests she's already found a new hiding spot.
Rhyen looks at me for a long moment, something like regret flickering across his features. Then that familiar half-smile curves his mouth—the one that's become as necessary to my daily peace as breathing.
"Duty calls," he says softly, but there's heat in his voice that wasn't there before. Promise, maybe. Or warning.
He pushes off from the tree and jogs toward where Ava's laughter echoes, immediately resuming his monster voice. "I hear something moving near the herb garden! Could it be... another tasty little mortal?"
I remain pressed against the oak long after he's gone, one hand rising unconsciously to cover my heart. It's racing like I've been running, like I'm in actual danger instead of standing perfectly safe in a sun-dappled garden.
But maybe I am in danger. Just not the kind I've spent years learning to recognize.
This is different. Deeper. The slow, inexorable pull of something that could destroy me more completely than chains or demons or any physical threat ever could.
Because somewhere in the space between his confession and Ava's interruption, I stopped just wanting his protection. I started wanting him. All of him. Forever.
And that's the most terrifying thing of all.
16
RHYEN
Isuggested we spend the afternoon away from the estate, which Ava was more than happy to agree to. The waterfall is only a twenty-minute walk through the forest, following a well-worn path that winds between towering trees and clusters of wildflowers.
Ava chatters constantly as we hike, her small hand secure in mine as she peppers me with questions about the falls, the forest, whether there might be fish in the pool. I answer each one patiently, but most of my attention is focused on Lenny walking beside us.
She seems lighter today. More relaxed than I've seen her since that night in the garden when she told me about her nightmares. Her hair is loose around her shoulders, catching the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy, and she's wearing a simple green dress that brings out the gold flecks in her eyes.
It's not my fault I nearly kissed her in the garden. She looks so damn good, I couldn't stop myself.
And she didn't look like she was going to stop me, either.
I have to stop the train of thought right there.
"There it is," I announce as we round the final bend, and the sound of rushing water grows to a roar.
The falls cascade down a fifty-foot cliff face in a curtain of white foam, crashing into a crystal-clear pool that's maybe thirty feet across. The rocks around the edge are smooth and sun-warmed, perfect for sitting, and the whole place has an almost ethereal quality in the morning light.
"It's beautiful," Lenny breathes, and her voice holds the kind of wonder that makes my chest tight.
Ava releases my hand and runs toward the water's edge, stopping just short of the pool to crouch down and trail her fingers through the surface. "It's cold!"
"Mountain water always is," I tell her, already pulling my shirt over my head. "But you get used to it."
I'm focused on kicking off my boots when I hear Lenny's soft intake of breath behind me. When I glance back, she's staring at my bare chest with an expression that sends heat shooting straight through me. Her eyes track across the scars that mark my skin—some from battles, others from training accidents—and I see her throat work as she swallows.
"The water really is cold," she says, but her voice has gone slightly hoarse. I don't point out she hasn't touched it.
Before I can respond—before I do something stupid like ask if she wants to touch them—she turns away and begins unlacing her own boots.
I force myself to focus on Ava, who's already shin-deep in the pool and squealing about the temperature. The icy water is exactly what I need right now, a sharp shock to the system that might clear my head.
"Come on, little one. Let's see how brave you really are."
I wade in after her, the cold making me hiss through my teeth. Ava immediately launches herself toward me, knowingI'll catch her, and I scoop her up before she can go under completely.
"It's freezing!" she shrieks, but she's laughing as she says it.
