Page 20 of My Demon Desire
He chuckles, shaking his head. "You'd help me? A monster?" he adds in a sarcastic tone.
"Well." A lump rises in my throat and I look down at the nearly empty cup of creamy liquid. "You saved my life at the risk of your own."
He balks, making a huffing noise.
"Let me do this for you. Your wounds could become infected."
For a few moments, he's silent, his eyes fixed on me. Then he nods slowly and points to a cupboard. "There should be a kit in there."
I rise and rummage around until I find a wooden box with cloth and herbs and I motion for him to bring his chair closer to the fire. As I work, I catch him staring at me with his crimson eyes smoldering and intense. Rather than frighten me, it only excites me, and I hurry to figure out what herbs to use to help his injuries.
After sniffing each one and thinking one smells more like lavender, which I know can help wounds. I fill a bowl with the liquid I'm sure is a form of alcohol, and clean rags, crushing the lavender into the bowl.
“This might sting.” I kneel in front of him and start to clean his wounds. My fingers graze his skin and a thrill of excitement rushes through me. I try to push my emotions away, reminding myself that he is a monster and I should not be attracted to him.
He grunts but doesn't say a word as I start to clean them. I do it with care, making sure not to hurt him. With each slight touch of my hand to his body sends tingles up my arms.
He's watching me the whole time and the intensity of his gaze startles me, but I am determined to do a good job.
When I'm done I see that the wounds are clean and I wrap some bandages around his arms and legs.
"Lift your arms so I can wrap your side,” I say, forcing my eyes not to look at his growing erection that's begging for attention and feel my face heat. How I want to wrap my lips around him and taste him. Sink down on him and see how much he can make me come.
He complies, wincing as he moves. My entire body burns as I wrap his side, tucking the end to secure it.
"There. All done." I rise, wiping my hands on my pants.
He stands, dwarfing me. "Thank you."
My cheeks heat and I look away. I can’t be attracted to a monster no matter how muscular and dark and how he makes my knees weak.
He slowly reaches out and lightly grazes his fingers against my chin, lifting my gaze to his. He stares down at me with those mesmerizing red eyes, and all I can wonder is what he's thinking. The electricity between us is palpable and my breath hitches in my chest.
“Nay, thank you for tending to my wounds.”
"You're welcome," I whisper, feeling my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.
He leans in and his lips hover just above mine.
"You don't have to be afraid of me."
He moves away, taking all the warmth with him, and I am left standing there feeling cold and confused.
My heart thumps in my chest and I'm left standing there feeling like my world has been upturned. I've never felt so confused or alive. I want to grab his hand and kiss him, but at the same time, I want to run away.
"It's been a long night," he says, breaking the silence between us. "Get some sleep."
He walks away, and I stand still, trying to make sense of my feelings. I'm sure I don't want to be afraid of the monster, but I don't want to be attracted to him either.
I want to ask if he'll join me, I don't want to be alone.
"Good night, Annalise," he whispers, his voice is deep and velvety, making me lick my lips.
My heart skips a beat and I'm not sure if it's an emotion of fear or thrill I'm feeling.
“You’ll be safe here.” He clears his throat with a nod. “Either me or Reis will guard you and be right out here if you need us.”
I take a step back, trying to get away from the intensity of us being so close together. “So I’m a prisoner?”
