Page 9 of Stalked By the Demon
He shoots me a wry look. “You finally noticed.”
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to be insensitive, I’m just… curious. I’ve never met a guy with horns before, and it’s both really hot and a little bit scary.”
“Flattering. They call me a demon in your culture.”
“But you’re not red and all ugly.”
Bas huffs out a laugh, a pleasant sound like a babbling creek. Everything about him is so earthy, from his very scent to the laughter rumbling in his chest. “No. An older creature of dirt and trees. I’ve walked this field for centuries, when this town was nothing more than a village of huts. You’re the first human that I’ve interacted with in years.”
I have no idea what to say. It’s not every day that the hottest guy you’ve ever seen turns out to not be human at all. I should be running for the hills, telling him he’s crazy, but something in his telepathic voice twinges at my heartstrings.
As much as I complain about not finding my soulmate, I’ve at least got my friends. Val and Quinn are awesome when they’re not tongue-deep in their partners. I can’t imagine how he felt, being alone for this long.
“That seems lonely,” I say, playing with the long tendrils of his hair. “Why don’t you leave?”
“My curse binds me to this place with something stronger than rope. It is a complicated and harrowing story… Charlie.”
Hearing my name in his voice makes me smile. “I’ve got time. Tell it to me, please?”
Bas sighs, low and rumbling, and flips us over so he’s on the bottom and I’m lying on his chest. God, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to his strength. It’s hot as fuck.
“When I was of an age more than yours, my younger sister was accused of being a witch. She had taken after our mother in her gift of medicine and healing, and it was enough to scare the local men. They stole her from her shop, intending to throw her in the river with rocks tied to her feet. But I helped her escape.”
“Go on,” I murmur, listening to the steady thrum of his heartbeat.
“When I returned to my village and it was reported what I had done, the men turned on me instead. Beat me senseless and threw me into the wilderness to be eaten. I was sure I was dying and was ready to, when a demon came from the shadows and made me a deal. He could heal me to be whole, but I would become immortal. Cursed to roam these lands for years.”
A demon? Immortal? All of the stuff I’ve only ever seen in TV shows and those romance books that Val likes, but somehow, it’sreal. With the man here to prove it. Honestly, it’s a lot to wrap my head around.
But one thing is abundantly clear: Bas got screwed over. What a shit deal for someone who risked his life to save his sister. I don’t even know that other demon—and are there a lot of them? Now, I’ve got so many questions—and still I want to chew him out for what he did to Bas.
Shaking, I burrow deeper into his arms, whispering admiration and praise. He’s a hero, and he deserves to be told so. Even if nobody else alive knows.
Bas stills, then a hand cups the back of my neck and tucks my face into his neck. Somehow, I know what he wants me to do. No words necessary. It’s like there’s a giant neon sign in my head telling me the answer. Like we’re connected mind, body, and soul. I press us closer together and take a big sniff, exactly how he smelled me earlier.
That earthy, rich, cinnamon smell of him invades my nostrils and curls around every cell in my body.
“Fuck, you smell so good.” What is with that? I’ve never been a scent guy, but here I am, sniffing at him like a dog. The anger seeps out of me like spreading ink. “You were right, that story is super depressing. What kind of sick fuck binds someone forever?”
Bas grunts, looking away. “Not forever. The demon left me one way out; if I can find my fated mate and bond with them, I will be reverted to a man.”
Fated mates… like a soulmate?
“Those exist?”
“For demons, yes. One day I will find my one and be free from this curse.”
He sounds almost wistful. But I’m too preoccupied with the swirling turmoil in my own head to decipher it. If he finds his fated mate, then there’s no way for us to be together. Maybe it’sa bit presumptuous, thinking that the guy I fucked once is The One, but nothing in my life has ever felt this natural. It’s like Bas is my True North, and every bone in my body is pointed straight towards him.
Yes, including my dick.
I tilt my head up, mouth falling open in a way I know is slutty, sue me. My entire body lights up when he grips my face with large hands and ravages my lips. I’m engulfed in six-foot-four inches of pure muscle, soaking in the heat of his rough palms.
Bas kisses like we’ve got nowhere else to be, like he’s not a demon stuck in this cornfield, and I’m not a human with a terrible track record of relationships.
I want more. More kissing, more sex, more Bas. Anything he’ll give me.
The night is almost over. In a few minutes, I’ll have to go back to my friends and lose this quiet peacefulness. Lose this feeling of home.
