Page 78 of Claimed
But I can’t compete with the love he has for Lilah.
“I do want you, Caine,” I murmur. “So very much.”
He crouches at my feet, his eyes darting over my face. “Then what, Onyx? What is stopping you?” He reaches and cups my cheek. “You know I won’t hurt you.” That flash of tenderness is at odds with the demon from the gala. The darkness I glimpsed in him.
But they are dual parts to Caine. The good and the bad. Dark and light. Both are sexy and hard to ignore.
As nice as Ruin is, I do not understand why Lilah never fell for Caine.
Because I’m having a hard enough time just saying no to sex. Anything more than that and I’m done for.
“I know you won’t, Caine. Not physically.”
He sits back on his heels and I see when it clicks. His eyes darken to old blood. “I won’t use you, Onyx, and then walk away.”
“But can you really swear you won’t still have feelings for Lilah after anything happens?” I ask. “You can’t help that you love her, Caine. I get that. But it seems wrong to do this now. When you do.”
He chuckles and the sound coils low in my stomach. “You are quite the paradox, Onyx.” He kneels before me, his long-fingered hands alighting on my bare knees. The brush of his callused hands makes my core dampen more. “I am Asmodean. I have to feed. Believe me, you will not be the first woman I have taken since meeting Lilah.”
My stomach turns. “Caine, bragging about how much sex you’ve had, isn’t helping.”
His head cocks. Then he reaches behind me, snares the blanket and drapes it over my shoulders before walking to the door. With a casual flick of his hand, the magick disperses and he opens the panel.
“Tanner, might I borrow you for a moment?”
My eyes widen and I scramble to tuck all of me under the blanket.
There is a masculine murmur at the door and Caine steps back to let T into the room.
His silver eyes widen at the sight of me and his nostrils flare, but he doesn’t say a damn word. “Caine, kind of figured you would be busy by now.”
My cheeks flame.
Caine looks at him. “At Silver Rock, who was it that helped you get Nisha through her first heat?”
Tanner looks at him for a long time. “You.”
I jolt.
What?
“Have I bedded you or our kitten since then?”
T shakes his head. “No. You haven’t tried. Or pressed anything. Nish adores you though, and I think she even tried to get Amoret to fuck you when Gage was acting like a dick.”
“She did what?” comes Gage’s thunderous boom.
Tanner waves out the door. “Talk to her about it when she gets back to Lock Lake.” Gage’s grumble make my lips quirk.
“Was I wayward to either you or the kitten?” Caine asks.
Another head shake. “No. You helped keep her sated. Helped to keep her from hurting.” Tanner flicks his eyes over him. “I never said thank you for that. For helping me to …”
Caine doesn’t smile, just raises a fist. T smirks and bumps it with his own. “I knew how much you cared for her. How much you wanted her. I could do no less,” Caine says softly. So softly, that I know I’m not supposed to hear.
Tanner nods gruffly and glances at me. “Wait, you aren’t going to need me for something similar, are you?”
Heat washes through me and I sway.
