Page 77 of Claimed
“Half?”
“My father was Asmodean, mother was a mage.”
She blinks. “That explains a lot.”
My brows knit. “It does?”
“Demons can’t love, Caine. They don’t know how to be gentle or kind.” Her eyes scour over me. “That’s why I …” She trails off and looks away.
“That’s why you what, Onyx?”
“Why I’m falling for you.” The words are so soft I almost miss them.
Silence thrums between us, but I swear she can hear the roaring of my heartbeat. “You—What?”
Her shrug is mild. “I know I lust after you. But it hurt when I found out you love Lilah. Way more than it should. The jealousy … And I know I just met you, but I’ve been in love before and I recognize the signs. It’s not there yet. But it could be in a few months.” She pulls back and my shock is so vast that I let her go. “Which is why it’s better if I walk away now. I don’t complicate things. Including my heart.”
She turns to leave and goes rigid. “Caine. The door.”
“Fuck that,” I tell her. “No. You don’t get to drop that kind of bomb and just walk the fuck out.”
She glowers. “There is no reason for me to stay.” Her shoulders are back, her chin defiant.
Yeah.
No.
I scoop her up in arms and take her to the bed. She squeaks as the towel slips down.
Setting her on the mattress, I snap.
The curtains drop, the room glows a soft red, and soft alternative thumps through the room.
She stills. “Caine. What are you doing?”
I reach for the hem of my shirt and tug it off. Her head whips over and her pupils dilate. The amber hue of her irises darkens too. And I don’t miss the spike in her scent.
“The way I see it, I have one option here,” I say, dropping my shirt beside the bed.
She swallows. “And that is?”
“I need you to stick around long enough to see if you can deal with my idiocy and if this ‘like’ I feel for you, can turn into something stronger.” I grab her towel and pull. It flies from her arms, leaving her pretty tan body naked before me. Her eyelids flutter.
Her pert breasts are already taut with desire. The dusky nipples peaked. Her mound is smooth save for a narrow patch of dark curls above her dewy slit. My mouth salivates with the need to taste her. To take her.
I drop my hand to the button of my jeans. “And the only way I know of to get a woman to stick around is to make her addicted to me.”
Chapter 28
Onyx
I move without thinking and grab Caine’s hand, stilling his long fingers. My breath saws from my lungs and I have to force myself to calm. To breathe. “Caine. We don’t have to …” I look up at him. “This isn’t necessary.”
His crimson eyes darken. “Are you telling me you don’t want me?” His nostrils flare. “Because your scent says something very different.”
I flush so hard I sway and have to hold on to him tighter. “No. I do.” I shiver at the truth of how much I want him. But it’s more than lust and I know it. He’s like a damn demon in shining armor. The one to rescue me from a life of turmoil.
Only I’m grown and more than capable of rescuing myself. This last fuck up notwithstanding.
