Page 15 of The Demon Prince

His pet had hidden herself under the bed. What did she think she was going to do from under there?

Now, Gluttony knew he should leave. The reasonable part of his mind said he had to get out of there because she was very much awake and she knew he was here. But he also knew she’d already seen him.

So why would he leave?

While the reasonable part of his brain screamed at him to get out of her room, the monstrous part of him sat down on her bed. He smoothed his hand over the blankets that smelled so much like her. His fingers danced over the depression on her pillow where she had certainly been laying just a few moments before.

He wanted to spread himself out on these sheets. Damn it, he wanted to smell like her.

Envy was right. He had gone too far with this woman and he wasn’t going to apologize for it. He wanted her so badly it hurt.

Fuck. Looking up at the ceiling, he realized he had no idea what he was going to do. She was pinned under the bed. He wouldn’t be able to get her out of there. And now she was going to be afraid of him. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t be?

Biting his lip, he went for the soft approach. “Katherine?”

There was no response from the woman underneath her own bed. He wondered if it was as dirty under there as it was up here. He could only imagine she was the woman who kicked clothing underneath her bed, so she didn’t have to see everything she had to pick up.

Adorable. Really, it was. He found everything about her so adorable that it hurt.

But he’d have to hire maids when she moved to the castle.

And yes, he was moving her to the castle. This obsession needed to be worked out from his body. He wouldn’t kill this one. He would be good and not bite her too hard, so she would stay alive for a long time. And he’d have the perfect little pet.

“I know you’re in here,” he breathed, trying to keep his voice to a smooth, reassuring cadence. “And I know you can hear me.”

Her heart rate slowed just slightly. There was no way he’d somehow eased her mind, so he had to assume she was holding her breath.

“I assume you know who I am.” Gluttony chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t normally how I meet people. I suppose I should admit this entire circumstance is rather unusual for the both of us.”

Still nothing.

But then he noticed he could see his reflection in the mirror she’d brushed her hair in. And underneath the bed was the slightest hint of red hair. She was watching him, of that he was certain.

She stared into the mirror and he looked back at her with his head tilted to the side. Gluttony didn’t look terrifying. It was one of the best parts of the physical form he’d taken. While his brothers were intimidating, he was very easy to look at. Thin, wiry, handsome to a fault. He lulled humans into a false sense of security because they didn’t know what lurked underneath his skin.

He met her gaze and smiled. “Hello, Katherine.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. That red hair disappeared like she thought she could hide from him still. But he wasn’t letting her get away like a little mouse finding her way into the wall.

“Oh, come now. You have always been so brave with me just outside of your window. What about this makes you feel like you’re unsafe?”

Was that the slightest snort he heard?

He grinned, likely a mistake. The long canines in his mouth flashed in the moonlight. “You find that funny. Why?”

She had to talk. He knew exactly where she was. He’d seen her! And he’d never once heard the sound of her voice and he found himself desperate to know what she sounded like.

Was her voice melodic? Burbling like a clear watered brook? Perhaps she sounded like Varya, loud and opinionated as she took up an entire room with the power of her words alone. He could see that. She had always seemed a little brash when he watched her through the window.

But when she spoke, her voice was unlike anything he’d ever heard before. “I find it funny because you’ve broken into my room.”

His eyes rolled back in his head. Ah, but her voice. Raspy, like she’d inhaled too much smoke, deeper than he’d expected and without an ounce of fear in those words. She said what she wanted without even the slightest bit of hesitation.

Beautiful. So incredibly beautiful, and he was certain she had no idea how lovely she sounded.

Finally, he had to open his eyes again and focused on the room. If he drifted through that obsession, then he was far too likely to let her run.

And if she ran, he had no idea what he would do to her.

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